week 3 sprint accelerators...types of hosting virtual private servers (vps) • a hosting...
TRANSCRIPT
Launching Your Website
Week 3
Sprint Accelerators
Agenda
1. Domains2. Hosting3. Website Structure4. Ecommerce5. SEO 6. Security
Domains
■ What is a domain?
• A domain is a “mask” for an IP address
• A domain is the address of your website, similar to a street address
• A domain also works like a sign on your store, telling people who is
at the address
■ Pro Tip: If possible, have your company name be your domain name. If
that’s taken, think of what your business does and add that to the name.
• Ex. acme.com or acmecorp.com or acmetraps.com
Domains
■ Extensions
• An extension is the the last
part of a domain name
• Ex. .com, .org, .net, etc
• Some extensions are
premium and cost extra• Ex. .ai, .club, .dev, .io, .tech
etc
■ Price
• Most domains run
between $10 - $25 per year
• Some domains are considered
premium because of certain
high-value keywords
• These can cost thousands of dollars
Where to Register Your Domain
■ To purchase a domain, you have to go through a registrar
• Some popular registrars include
GoDaddy Namecheap Bluehost
Domain Registration & Privacy
■ Registration• All domains need to be registered
with a registrar who then submits
info to ICANN, or Internet
Corporation for Assigned Names
and Numbers
• ICANN acts through the IANA, or
Internet Assigned Numbers
Authority group
■ Privacy• All your information is public
domain and can be found under
WHO IS
• Never put home address or
personal number if you can
• Opt for the domain privacy - a bit
extra but it is worth it
Hosting
■ What is hosting?
• Your website is a collection of files, similar to your personal
computer
• Hosting provides your files a place to “live” that is always on and can
be accessed from other computer through a network, in this case
the internet.
• Unless you build your own server, you need to “rent” a place for
your files to live, and this is through a hosting provider.
Types of Hosting
■ Shared Hosting
• Great option for beginning website users
• Ideal for blogs, information, and hobbyist websites
• Most affordable options for small businesses.
• Multiple users will share the resources of a secured server or group
of servers.
• Think of it as having roommates to help cover the cost.
Types of Hosting
■ Virtual Private Servers (VPS)
• A hosting environment that
allows for resources, such as
RAM and CPU, to be
dedicated to your account
• Great for moderate to high
traffic sites
• Moderately expensive
■ Dedicated Hosting
• Great for websites with high
traffic
• Similar how shared hosting is
like renting a home,
dedicated hosting is like
owning a home
• Very Expensive
Where to Host Your Website
■ Some popular hosting providers include:
Bluehost Siteground Hostgator
Website Structure : Sitemap
■ Planning your website
• Create a sitemap• A sitemap is just a basic
diagram outlining the
structure of your website
• This will help you figure out
what content you need to
create for your website
• Is generated in XML or
HTML
Sitemap Examples
■ A visual sitemap looks
like a flowchart and is
a helpful tool when
designing your site
• Here is a simple
example of what
your sitemap should
look like
Sitemap Examples
■ A complex sitemap will
help you plan out even
the most complicated of
websites
■ Starting off, a new
website should never be
this complicated
Website Structure : Navigation
■ Menu
• You need make sure your navigation follows your sitemap
• Any of the important pages you want people to visit needs to be
included in your menu for easy access
• If people cannot find the information they want easily, they are not
going to use your site
Website Structure : UI/UX
■ User Interface
(How your website is designed)
• Is your interface
user-friendly?
• Does the order of the
content make sense?
• Is information easy to find?
■ User Experience
(How your website operates)
• Does your website load
quickly?
• Does your website
encourage user interaction?
• Is your site easy to use?
Website Structure : Responsive Design
■ Responsive Design: The website display
adjust accordingly to the size of the
device accessing the site (mobile, tablet,
or desktop)
• In 2013, up to 16.2% of web traffic
came from mobile phones; in 2019,
52.2% of traffic comes from mobile
phones
Website Structure: Responsive Design
■ Having responsive elements can be a huge deal-breaker/deal-maker● 53% of mobile website visits are abandoned if a mobile site takes
longer than three seconds to load● For every one second delay in site load time,
conversions fall by 12%● 52% of all online traffic comes through smartphones
Website Structure : Layouts
■ The way your site is presented to others
■ How the different elements interact with each other
■ Where information is placed■ It’s the skeleton of your website
Layouts
■ The two biggest points to remember for website layout are:● Needs to be simple to use● Needs to be intuitive; 76% of customers want a site that makes
information easy to find■ Also should be:
● Streamlined● Goal-oriented● Designed for skimmers● Responsive
Layouts
■ 88% of online consumers are less likely to return to a site after a bad experience
■ 85% of people think that a company’s mobile website should be as good or better than their desktop website
■ 57% of users say they won’t recommend a business with a poorly designed mobile site
Layouts
■ The “Fold” is a big part of your design efforts● Things “Above the Fold” are what is first presented on the Home page● Things “Below the Fold” are what you have to scroll down to see● Remember responsive sites; the “Fold” might change between device types
■ Think of it like a newspaper● The first thing people should notice is your “Headline”
• This is the reason they are coming to your site● The second thing is there should be something else for them to do; turn to page 5 for
the rest of the story. This is your primary call to action (CTA)
Layouts
■ The Headline should be your simplified mission statement or company vision; shows up right under your initial image
● “Growing Your Business”● “Helping You Take That Next Step for Success”● “The Media That You Want, When You Want It”● “The Softest Wool for Your Knit Projects”
■ The Sub-headline follows right under the Headline and provides more description for your product or service
● “Providing free business development and growth assistance throughout New Mexico”● “Creating high-impact videos and animations for your next product launch”
Layouts
■ Call to Action● This should be
something for them to do as a next step
• This step needs to be something of value to your customer
Layout Design: Design on a Grid■ Responsive design works well with a Bootstrap style grid system approach
• The system allows you to divide a row into 12 equal columns
• These columns can be combined to create wider columns
• This grid is responsive, rearranging the grid depending on the screen width
Layout Examples
Layout Examples
Layout Examples
Layout Examples
Layout Examples
Layout Examples
Layouts - Purpose
■ Keep people using your site■ Make them interact with multiple points of content■ Support “calls to action” that enable easy purchases■ Host interactive content that drives “click-through”■ Make it easy for people to interact with your outreach and engagement
content - blogs, videos, press releases, stories, etc.■ Make it easy for you to post content and keep your site up to date■ Build trust and relationship with potential clients/customers
Ecommerce
■ Ecommerce is selling your products
or services online.
• Physical products
• Digital products
• Services
Ecommerce - Important Notes
■ An online store is very similar to a physical storefront• You need to manage inventory
• This needs to be a separate inventory if you’re operating both physical and online store fronts
• You need to keep track of shipping, taxes, invoices, etc.• Consult a professional for questions related to taxes and other legal
information
Ecommerce Platforms
■ There are dedicated software and platforms out there to help you get an
online store up and running quickly
ShopifyWoocommerce
Shopify vs. WooCommerce
■ Shopify - self contained platform
• Designed specifically for
creating an online store
• Built in hosting and domain
available
• Prebuilt templates
• Built in analytics
• Integrates with other
services
■ WooCommerce - WP plugin
• A lot of customization
options
• A higher learning curve
• Easily integrated into your
existing WP site
• Integrates with other
services
Website Essentials: SEO
■ Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• SEO is where you show up in
Google results
• ~65% of search engine users will click on one of the top 5 suggestions in the results page
Website Essentials: SEO
■ Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• Basics of good SEO are very close to the basics of good design• The SE is the most important part of the acronym; it's as much
about how people are searching for info as the info they are searching for
• Search engines “crawl” the web, indexing results to be “ranked” based on the number of links, secondary results, and other factors
• This is how Google actually works
Search Engine Optimization
■ Seven Fundamentals for good results● Crawl accessibility so engines can read your website● Compelling content that answers the searcher’s query● Keyword optimized to attract searchers & engines● Great user experience including a fast load speed and compelling UX● Share-worthy content that earns links, citations, and amplification● Title, URL, & description to draw high CTR in the rankings● Snippet/schema markup to stand out in SERPs
Search Engine Optimization
Search Engine Optimization
■ White Hat - the right way● Techniques, tips, and best practices● Drives “organic” content● Don’t make content for a search engine, make it for people
■ Black Hat - the wrong way● Hidden links on page● White text against white background● Keywords embedded in metadata of page● These can get your site booted from search results
SEO Tools
■ There are some tools to help your SEO and for you to research the best SEO
strategies for your website
Google Search Console Google AnalyticsYoastSEO
Website Essentials: Security
■ Your website security needs to be
taken seriously• It is never “set and forget” but
requires constant vigilance
• If a website is hacked and blacklisted,
for example, it loses up to 98%
of its traffic.
• Data breaches can result in lawsuits,
heavy fines, and a ruined reputation.
Website Security
■ Some types of threats include:● Automated web attacks● Malware infections and attacks● SQL injections● Cross-site Scripting● Brute Force Attacks
Steps you need to take to protect your site
■ With all these threats and more, you need to take some basic steps to
protect your site
• Backup your files• Updraft Plus is a free WP plugin that does this for you
• Basic firewall & malware protection with security plugins• Wordfence is a great all-in-one security plugin for WP sites
• Server side protection• Sitelock is an affordable option
Steps you need to take to protect your site: SSL■ SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) Certificate
• This gives you the padlock and an
“HTTPS” compared to the “HTTP”
• A SSL certificate is mandatory now when
building a website• If you don’t have one, Google will turn users
away from your site
• There are different encryption levels• If you are processing any type of payments
on your site, you need an SSL
Website Security
■ If a site is hacked:● You need to delete all the infected files
• Don’t lose your data by making backups and storing them on different machines or on the cloud
● Change all your passwords● If you store client information, you need to notify them of the breach
as soon as possible.
