Handing out a mobile phone number or a business card to someone you’ve met at a party is so last century. These days the best method is to direct them to your web profile — be it a page on a social networking site such as MySpace or your own website. Not only does it show your prospective paramour that you’re cutting edge, but in one fell click he or she can decide whether you have anything in common — before you both have to suffer a tortured first date.

It is estimated by Ofcom that almost half those aged 16-24 use social networking sites, while one in five has a web page or blog.

Apart from social networking, personal websites are used by jobhunters to advertise skills to potential employers, by entrepreneurs setting up a business, by families to keep relatives up to date and by enthusiasts to showcase a hobby.

The internet is full of easy-to-use tutorials, and building a web profile has never been easier.

EASY ENTRY

Creating your own page on a social networking site is by far the easiest way to maintain a profile online. These have been described as online bedrooms where users list their favourite films, music and books and are able to get in touch with other people with similar tastes.

There are a host of sites to choose from, including www.bebo.com , a site popular with schoolchildren, and Microsoft’s snazzy offering called Windows Live Spaces (www.spaces.live.com ). Like Bebo, Spaces is free and signing up takes minutes.

However, the bigger the site (and therefore the more people you can communicate with) the better and there is none bigger than www.myspace.com . This is by far the most popular social networking site in the world.

A “get started” section explains the process with a visual walkthrough. First you create your profile by filling in your personal information. Next you invite friends to join your personal network. Now you can check out your friends’ profiles, then friends of friends and so on, expanding your social network as you go.

There’s more. If you don’t like the look of your profile, sites such as www.mygen.co.uk will help you design a better one, and show you how to include photos, video clips and your favourite music.

CREATE YOUR OWN WEBSITE

If you want to present a larger, more structured body of information, with attractive layouts, navigational links and a cohesive overall design, you need a conventional website.

Websites are stored on host computers permanently connected to the internet, so you need to find a host. First, try your ISP, which may offer free web space and a means to create a site. Orange broadband customers, for example, can go to www.orange.co.uk/email and communicate and click the “build a website” link. If you’re using your site to promote your business, or it’s generating a lot of traffic, your ISP might charge you extra. You can always shop elsewhere. For instance, uk.geocities.yahoo.com offers a free site in minutes. Yahoo’s PageWizard will produce your first page in a jiffy, and help you get it up and running.

PERSONALISE YOUR SITE

There are many ways to personalise your site further. First comes extra security. Ask yourself: do you want all-comers to be able to see your website? If not, then you can protect it with a password. Mac owners have it easy. A dot.mac subscription (www.apple.com/dotmac ) costs about £65 a year and provides excellent online templates. Simplesite.com will do the same for PC owners. For £27 a year you get an attractive, easily navigated site and there’s a free 30-day trial for the undecided.

Next you may want a personalised domain name. Domain registration is surrounded by red tape but, for a fee, companies such as www.chillydomains.com/uk will check whether a domain is available and then host your website.

Alternatively, try a web hosting service such as www.moonfruit.co.uk , which will let you choose a user name so you end up with something like www.bobbuilder.moonfruit.co.uk . If you want to design a site without the help of templates, there are tons of tips at www.entheosweb.com , including ways to promote your page.

TAKE YOUR BUSINESS ONLINE

A website is an ideal way to advertise services and sell products, now that nearly two-thirds of the nation’s households are online. The Mr Site web builder package enables you to create a professionally designed business website where you can catalogue and sell your goods (£35 plus £2.50 per month from www.mrsite.co.uk ).

The easy-to-set-up service includes site templates, a gallery feature where you can upload pictures, and a PayPal shopping cart so shoppers can make secure payments to you.

The Merchant Five package from www.smallbusiness.miva.com is even more sophisticated. For a one-time licensing fee of £540, you buy software that includes templates, inventory management, shipping calculation and a shopping cart.

HSBC customers can set up secure e-payments on their site through the bank: it costs £50 plus £20 per month and 1% commission on credit card payments or 10p per debit card.

PayPal, (www.paypal.com/uk ) makes it easy to set up a secure cart — you simply copy and paste a small amount of code into your page. The service takes 1.4%-3.4% of each transaction, plus 20p.