business website basics | greg cross

Introductions

Business Website Basics

Sponsored by: Presented by:

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

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 …

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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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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CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

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CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

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Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

The practice of tweaking

website meta-content and

content to achieve the

highest possible search engine

ranking.

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.

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 …

Introductions

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

• Jump Drive• Flash Drive• USB Flash Drive• Flash storage device• Pocket drive• Thumb drive

Keywords

Introductions

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

The practice of tweaking

website meta-content and

content to achieve the

highest possible search engine

ranking.

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.

Introductions

Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)

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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

Introductions

You Need Three Things To Have A Website

1 2 3

Introductions

Securing Your Domain Name

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Securing Your Domain Name

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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

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

Introductions

Securing the Right Software

Introductions

Wordpress

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Wordpress

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Wordpress

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Wordpress

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Wordpress

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1. SEO2. Content Management3. Plugins4. Support5. Minimal Learning

Curve

5 Reasons To Use Wordpress

Strong Encouragement:

Find someone to help you install

Wordpress on a server.

Introductions

Securing Your Hosting Provider

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Securing Your Hosting Provider

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Securing Your Hosting Provider

Introductions

1. Small Business (marketing)

2. eCommerce3. Social Networking4. Informational5. Blog

What Kind of Website Do You Need?

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1. Header2. Navigation3. Home Page4. Sidebar5. Footer

Anatomy of a Website

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HEADER

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NAVIGATION

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HOME PAGECONTENT

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SIDEBAR

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Some Design Layout

Examples

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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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1. Site Map2. Content3. Header Design4. Colors 5. Keywords

Basic Website To-Do List

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

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

Next Steps

Introductions

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Who is going to build the house?

You? Professional?

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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 …

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 …

You or Professional?

Professional

You or Professional?

ProfessionalProfessional

YouDone!

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 …

Questions?Please take a few

moments and fill out the survey

Greg Cross

1 Courthouse Plaza

Greenfield, IN 46140

(317) 572-7677

greg@crosscreativemarketing.com

www.crosscreativemarketing.com

www.facebook.com/crosscreative

www.twitter.com/gregorycross

www.youtube.com/crosscreative