business website basics | greg cross
DESCRIPTION
This is a presentation that I gave to the Business Ownership Initiative on May 19, 2011. They invited me to teach a 2 hour class on the basics of creating a website for small business owners.TRANSCRIPT
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Introductions
Business Website Basics
Sponsored by: Presented by:
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A Little About Me• Greg Cross | Cross Creative Marketing | Greenfield, IN• Ball State University | August of 1988 | B.S. in Journalism• Full Time Ministry 1989 – 2002• Launched 1st Small Business | 2003 (8 months) | Aspire eSolutions• Director of Business Development | 2003-2007 | Chicago
Marketing Firm• Launched 2nd Small Business |October 2007-Current | Cross
Creative Marketing• Hired First Employee in 2010• Hired First Intern in 2010• Looking to hire Second Employee & Intern in 2011
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Introductions
1. Web Terminology2. Securing a domain name3. Securing a hosting solution4. Identifying the type of website you need5. Anatomy of a website6. Do-It-Yourself vs. Professional7. Next Steps
What we will cover in this session …
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Introductions
The “www” . “businessname” .
.com
.org
.net
DOMAIN NAME
Top Level Domain (TLD)
www.crosscreativemarketing.com = 173.201.145.1 NAME SERVERDOMAIN NAME
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Introductions
CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (CMS)
A dynamic website that is
database driven and enables the owner to make
changes to their own website.
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Introductions
CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
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Introductions
CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
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Introductions
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
The practice of tweaking
website meta-content and
content to achieve the
highest possible search engine
ranking.
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Introductions
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
The practice of tweaking
website meta-content and
content to achieve the
highest possible search engine
ranking.
Meta is a greek word that means “beyond” or “with”. Websites have data or content that is “behind the scenes” that search engines like Google and Bing use to boost your position in searches.
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Introductions
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
The practice of tweaking
website meta-content and
content to achieve the
highest possible search engine
ranking.
Content is King on your website. Take for instance this object …
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Introductions
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• Jump Drive• Flash Drive• USB Flash Drive• Flash storage device• Pocket drive• Thumb drive
Keywords
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Introductions
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
The practice of tweaking
website meta-content and
content to achieve the
highest possible search engine
ranking.
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Introductions
Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)
HTML is the basic building-blocks
of webpages. HTML allows images and
objects to be embedded and can be used to
create interactive
forms.
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Introductions
Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)
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Introductions
Cascading Style Sheet (CSS)
CSS is designed primarily to enable
the separation of document content
(written in HTML or a similar markup
language) from document
presentation, including elements such as the layout,
colors, and fonts
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Introductions
You Need Three Things To Have A Website
1 2 3
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Introductions
Securing Your Domain Name
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Introductions
Securing Your Domain Name
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Introductions
1. Brainstorm keywords2. Choose a “Dot Com” (if possible)
3. Make it easy to type4. Make it easy to remember5. Go for short names (if possible)
Tips on Choosing the Right Domain Name
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Introductions
Tips on Choosing the Right Domain Name
Hancock County Visitors Bureauwww.hcvb.comwww.visithancockcounty.com
Hancock Economic Development Councilwww.hedc.comwww.hancockedc.comCross Creative Marketingwww.crosscreative.ccwww.crosscreativemarketing.com
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Introductions
Securing the Right Software
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Introductions
Wordpress
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Introductions
Wordpress
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Introductions
Wordpress
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Introductions
Wordpress
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Introductions
Wordpress
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Introductions
1. SEO2. Content Management3. Plugins4. Support5. Minimal Learning
Curve
5 Reasons To Use Wordpress
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Strong Encouragement:
Find someone to help you install
Wordpress on a server.
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Introductions
Securing Your Hosting Provider
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Introductions
Securing Your Hosting Provider
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Introductions
Securing Your Hosting Provider
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Introductions
1. Small Business (marketing)
2. eCommerce3. Social Networking4. Informational5. Blog
What Kind of Website Do You Need?
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Introductions
1. Header2. Navigation3. Home Page4. Sidebar5. Footer
Anatomy of a Website
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Introductions
HEADER
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Introductions
NAVIGATION
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Introductions
HOME PAGECONTENT
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Introductions
SIDEBAR
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IntroductionsFOOTER
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Some Design Layout
Examples
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Introductions
1. No background music 2. No animated GIFs3. No Page Counters4. No Under Construction Pages5. No Flash Intros or Intro Pages -
Period.6. No Blinking or Flashing Text7. No funky colors randomly inserted
7 Website No-No’s
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Introductions
1. Site Map2. Content3. Header Design4. Colors 5. Keywords
Basic Website To-Do List
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Introductions
Option 1: Do-It-Yourself
Pros of Do-It-Yourself
1. Save Money
2. Do it in your own time frame
Cons of Do-It-Yourself
1. Frustration
2. It’ll look homemade
3. Limited Skills
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Introductions
Option 2: Hire a Professional
Pros of Professional
1. Done Right2. No Hassle, No
Frustration3. Marketing
Knowledge4. Custom Design
Cons of Professional
1. Bigger $$ Investment
2. Additional costs for changes or site management
3. Could take longer depending on their client load
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Next Steps
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Introductions
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Introductions
Who is going to build the house?
You? Professional?
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Introductions
1. What is your skill set?2. What is your time worth?
$65/hr X 40 hours = $2,600.00
Before you decide which path …
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Introductions
1. What is your skill set?2. What is your time worth?3. What kind of site do you want
to build?4. What is your budget?
Before you decide which path …
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You or Professional?
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Professional
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You or Professional?
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ProfessionalProfessional
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YouDone!
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Introductions
1. What is your skill set?2. What is your time worth?3. What kind of site do you want
to build?4. What is your budget?
How you answer these 4 questions
will decide your next steps …
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Questions?Please take a few
moments and fill out the survey
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Greg Cross
1 Courthouse Plaza
Greenfield, IN 46140
(317) 572-7677
www.crosscreativemarketing.com
www.facebook.com/crosscreative
www.twitter.com/gregorycross
www.youtube.com/crosscreative