developing & maintaining your own website

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Developing & Maintaining Your Own Website

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Developing & Maintaining Your Own Website. Introduction. Every day it becomes clearer that the Net is taking its place alongside the other great transformational technologies that first challenged, and then fundamentally changed, the way things are done in the world. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Page 1: Developing & Maintaining Your Own Website

Developing & Maintaining Your Own Website

Page 2: Developing & Maintaining Your Own Website

IntroductionEvery day it becomes clearer that the Net

is taking its place alongside the other great transformational technologies that first challenged, and then fundamentally changed, the way things are done in the world.

- Louis Gerstner, Chairman & CEO of IBM

Page 3: Developing & Maintaining Your Own Website

Question…

• How do you decide whether to create a business website?

Page 4: Developing & Maintaining Your Own Website

Question…How do you decide whether to create a

business website?• Do your competitors have

websites?• Where are your customers

located?• What questions are commonly

asked?

Page 5: Developing & Maintaining Your Own Website

What we’ll cover• Website

development– Domain names– Content– Design– Building– Hosting

• Website maintenance– Monitoring use– Updating

Page 6: Developing & Maintaining Your Own Website

Website Development• Requires a plan

• Takes time

• Will cost money

• Hire help or professional assistance if needed

Page 7: Developing & Maintaining Your Own Website

Domain Names• Domain name is your internet

address/identity

• Typically the business name– Ex. Mercer Vu Farms –

www.mercervufarms.com

• Can be a product name– Ex. Mountain Dew – product of PepsiCo,

Inc www.mountaindew.com

Page 8: Developing & Maintaining Your Own Website

Domain Names• Two parts

– Label– Extension

• Mercervufarm.com

• Possible extensions– .com, .net, .org, .edu, .gov, .info, .biz

Domain Name Registrars

The popular registrars:

•www.godaddy.com

•www.easydns.com

•www.networksolutions.com

Page 9: Developing & Maintaining Your Own Website

Domain Names

• Two options– Stand alone website

• Ex. Yourbusinessname.com

– Your website is part of a larger website• Ex. Earthlink.com/yourbusinessname

• Can register a domain name without creating a website

Page 10: Developing & Maintaining Your Own Website

Website Content• Only include pertinent information

• Get input & feedback from people familiar with your business

• Start simple – Can always add content and features

Page 11: Developing & Maintaining Your Own Website

Question…

• What content should a business’s website include?

Page 12: Developing & Maintaining Your Own Website

Website ContentContent Musts

• Business name• Contact information

– Address– Phone number– Fax number– Email address

• Business description• Product descriptions and/or photos• Service descriptions

Page 13: Developing & Maintaining Your Own Website

Website ContentPossible content

• Company logo• Company vision and/or mission statement• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)• Purchasing Information• Special project info• Calendar of events• Product use ideas/suggestions• Forms/links for sending email

Page 14: Developing & Maintaining Your Own Website

Website Content• Content must be accurate, clear, and

explicit– Don’t assume people know what you mean

or understand what you’re telling them

• Must abide by information presented on the website– Updating is essential when things change

• Ex. Product prices increase

Page 15: Developing & Maintaining Your Own Website

Website Design• Develop content before designing the

site

• People form instant opinions – Designs should

• Be eye-catching, appealing, not too busy• Encourage people to stay & explore• Clean & Professional

• Use flow charts or storyboards

Page 16: Developing & Maintaining Your Own Website

Website Design• Check out other websites for design

elements that you do and don’t like.

– www.webpagesthatsuck.com

Page 17: Developing & Maintaining Your Own Website

Building the Website• Two choices

– You • Saves money• Takes time away from other activities• May take longer depending on

ability/knowledge– Lose potential sales

– Someone else• May be costly• Already possesses the skills/knowledge• Website can be finished more quickly

Page 18: Developing & Maintaining Your Own Website

Website Hosting• Websites need a home – called a server• Internal or External hosting

– Internal • You house and maintain the server• Typically more expensive• Requires experienced technical knowledge

– External • Someone else owns and maintains the server• Multiple websites on the same server• Most internet service providers (ISPs) offer

hosting services. Also local hosting businesses.

Page 19: Developing & Maintaining Your Own Website

Website Hosting• Hosting Service Considerations

– Support for the software and programming language used to design your website

– Web space or storage space needed– Bandwidth – speed and amount of data

you can transmit– Back-up services– Other software offered

• Shopping carts, email, forums, blogs, etc.

Page 20: Developing & Maintaining Your Own Website

Brief ReviewSteps to Build a Website

1. Register a domain name2. Develop content3. Develop a design4. Build the site5. Find someplace to host the site

Page 21: Developing & Maintaining Your Own Website

Website Maintenance• Need to keep your website up to date

and error free– You can do this yourself or hire it to be

done

• People stop visiting websites with incorrect, out of date, or old information

Page 22: Developing & Maintaining Your Own Website

Monitoring Use• Monitoring methods

– Logs– Visits– Hits– Cookies

• Utilize website monitoring software– Provided by hosting services– Purchase your own

Page 23: Developing & Maintaining Your Own Website

Monitoring Use• Use information from web

monitoring to decide on necessary updates

– Is the website being found?• What are you best sources of traffic?

– Are people leaving quickly?• No hits on sub-pages

Page 24: Developing & Maintaining Your Own Website

Question…

• How do you know when and what to update?

Page 25: Developing & Maintaining Your Own Website

Updating a website• How do you know when and what to

update?

– Dependent on content• New, Seasonal products?• Monthly newsletter?

– Get feedback from visitors• Feedback forms• Email

Page 26: Developing & Maintaining Your Own Website

Section Wrap-Up• Website development takes time• Process involved

– Register a domain name– Develop content– Develop design– Build the site– Find hosting

• Regularly monitor use• Maintain and update as needed• Get assistance!