This presentation is available as a free webinar: http://www.theurldr.com/register-omg-website-ugly-webinar/ Have you been wondering why your not doing much business online? It could be your website. Your website needs to convey in 5 seconds or less that you're reputable and trustworthy, you're an expert in your field, you can solve your visitors' problems, and lead them in a direction through your site so they can find what they're looking for. It's a lot to ask a poor website to do, But if you're website is ugly, then your visitors may be leaving. The presentation also discusses the benefits of using WordPress. Learn 6 of the top WordPress plug-ins for small business, how to choose a web host, and how to keep your website safe.

1. OMG! Your Website is Ugly!
How to improve your online presence with WordPress

2. KimButler@TheURLdr.com
www.TheURLdr.com
@TheURLdr
The URL Dr
Kim Butler
The URL Dr.
4539 Metropolitan Court
Frederick, MD 21704
301-363-2710

3. Agenda
What we are going to discuss today.
2 Most Important Pages
Why you absolutely need
both of these pages.
Best Practices
Usability and design for
conversion.
5 Seconds
What is your website
saying about you?
Why Use WordPress
How WordPress solves
your biggest problems.
Website Hosting
It’s much more important
than you know.
6 Best WP Plug-ins
Fast and easy ways to add
features & functionality.

4. Sound Familiar?
Frequent website issues that small and mid-size businesses face

5. Website Usability & Design
Best practices to increase your conversion rate and success online.

6. •Tell your visitors who you are
You’ve Got 5 Seconds
From the time a visitor lands on your website, you have seconds to engage them
•Convey you’re credible & trustworthy
•Lead visitors in a direction to help them
solve a problem or get info
•Convince them you’re an expert
•Tell your visitors what you do

7. Basic Elements
These should be on every page of your website Phone #
Logo
Logo Links to
Homepage
Social Media Links
Call to Action
Call to Action
Footer
Header
w/Navigation

8. Web-wide Conventions
Don’t violate the norm.
Visitors get confused when
you do things in
unexpected ways they
don’t expect.
Flash & Animation
It doesn’t grab visitor
attention. It drives
them away.
Don’ts In Design
Visitors need to have a positive
experience on your website. If they don’t,
you can lose them forever. They won’t
call. They won’t visit your store or office.
They’ll go back to Google and click on
your competitor in the search results.
Back Buttons
Don’t break them.
Make sure visitors
can use them.
Frozen Layouts
Your site needs to
be viewable on any
device. Use
responsive design.

9. After Clicking
After the visitor clicks on the link, visits a new
page, and then returns to the original page, the
anchor text is purple.
Before Clicking
Before the visitor clicks on the link to visit a new
page, the anchor text is blue.
Links Should Change Color
When you click a text link on a website, the text needs to change color

10. Dark Text on White Backgrounds
Easiest to read online. Dark colors are best for
text and light colors are best for backgrounds.
White Text on Dark Backgrounds
Causes eye strain and discomfort. More difficult
to read online.
Use Dark Text on Light Colors
Highly contrasting text and background colors makes your content easier to read

11. Limited Number of Colors & Fonts
Consistency breeds trust and
professionalism online.
Too Many Colors & Fonts
Makes your site look unstructured and
unprofessional.
Limit Fonts and Colors
Use no more than 4 different colors and 3 typefaces

12. Clean, Uncluttered & Professional
Using white space throughout your site helps
visitors process information.
Too Much Going On
It’s extremely difficult for visitors to quickly
identify what’s important and create order.
Don’t Forget White Space
Adequate white space gives a clean, uncluttered look to your pages and makes them easier to read

13. Text That is Readable
When in doubt, use Verdana. Modern, simple,
professional and high in user preference.
Text That is Too Small
If you’re audience can’t read your content, they
won’t spend much time on your site.
Legibility is Imperative
Use san serif fonts that are at or above 10 points

14. Ask Just What is Needed
Ask only for what you need at this point. As the
relationship progresses, you can ask for more
Too Many Questions
Visitors will refuse to answer too many
questions. They’ll leave, frustrated.
Too Many Nosy Questions
Build up a relationship with your prospects before you ask too many questions

15. Using Graphics
Set Standard Sizes
Especially for product
images with E-commerce,
use the same size images
throughout your site
Use Alt Tags
Use image alt tags to
describe your images. This
helps your on page SEO.
Optimize Images
Save images at as low a
resolution as possible without
sacrificing visual quality.
Image Size
Use images that are large
enough and can zoom in to
show adequate detail.

16. Goal of the Page
Get their contact information? Buy something?
Download something? Sign up for a free trial
or newsletter? Donate?
Make Calls-to-Action Stand Out
Use contrasting colors, unique shapes,
compelling images, show your product or
service and include some white space.
Be Compelling & Clear
Have a good reason why your visitor should
do what you’re asking. Write your call-to-
action clearly and action-oriented.
Lead Capture Forms
Keep it short. Ask only for the information
you absolutely need and will use.
Calls-to-Action
What do you want your visitor to do?

17. Two Most Important Pages
Your website should not only have a home page, but one or more landing pages, too.
Home Page Landing Page

18. Home Page
The main goal of the home page is to get people off the home page. Quickly!
Main Goal
To lead visitors to the place in your website
to answer their questions and solve their
problems
Every Second Counts
Each consecutive visit to your site has
visitors spending less and less time on your
home page. You have seconds.
They Won’t Read It
Ten to twenty words is a realistic number
that people will read on your home page.
Navigation Is Key
Your home page needs to show visitors an
easy and direct path through your website to
what they are trying to find.

19. Landing Page
The most overlooked page on most small and mid-sized business websites.
Main Goal
To capture contact information from the visitor,
sell something, etc. Landing pages can be E-
commerce or lead collection forms.
All Inclusive
A concise selection of images and text that
allows the visitor to act on this page, without
going to another one.
Navigation Is Sparce
Navigation on landing pages is eliminated,
maybe with the exception of the logo linking
to the home page.
They’ll Read a Little More
If you’re lucky, you’ll get visitors to read more
on a landing page than your home page.
Also a great place for a video.

20. Ashley
Kim Butler
The URL Dr.
4539 Metropolitan Court
Frederick, MD 21704
301-363-2710
11th Grader
Struggling w/ English
Mom does Google
search for “English
tutors”

21. Finds TakeLessons.com
Landing Page for Private
English Lessons
Contact Form to Get Started
Phone Number
Credible List of Press and
Security Listings (BBB)

22. TakeLessons.com home
page
Landing Page doesn’t
mention English lessons
No Contact Form to Get
Started
No Phone Number
Credible List of Press and
Security Listings (BBB)

23. WordPress
The most powerful, versatile, easy to use, flexible Content Management System
available today. (Yeah, WordPress rocks and you should use it!)

24. An Impressive Portfolio
23.3% of all websites online today are powered by WordPress.

25. WordPress is Free
WordPress is free for use by any company or individual.
WordPress is open source, which means you can modify it in any way that you choose. This openness has created a huge
WordPress community of companies and people that exist to support businesses with WordPress websites.

26. WordPress Themes
A theme is a collection of files that work together to display your website in a particular manner.
Themes provide the page layouts, color schemes, and fonts that make your website look unique.
No Coding Needed
Anyone can install and use
a WordPress theme. No
coding is needed.
Mobile Friendly
Many themes are
responsive design and are
mobile friendly
Premium Themes
More themes available for
under $75 from commercial
sites
Free Themes
Over 2,000 free themes in
the official WordPress
Theme Directory

27. Free Plug-ins
There are over 33,000
plug-ins listed in the
official WordPress plug-
in directory. Many are
free. Some are paid.
Easy to Install
One click installation
makes using plug-ins a
breeze. No coding
needed. Easy. Quick.
Endless Features
Plug-ins give a website a
virtually endless array of
additional functions and
features.
Update Easily
Keeping plug-ins up-to-
date is a breeze with one
click updates.
WordPress Plug-ins
A plug-in is a bit of software code that can be uploaded to your website and expands the functionality.

28. Best WPPlug-ins
Top 6 WordPress plug-ins every
small and mid-sized business
website should be using.

29. Gravity Forms
Easiest to use web contact form for WordPress.

30. WordPress SEO by Yoast
Gives you control over elements important to search engine optimization and getting found online.

31. Akismet
Scans and removes SPAM automatically.

32. W3 Total Cache
Caching plug-in makes your web pages load faster.

33. GoogleAnalytics for WP by Yoast
Simplifies basic setup of Google Analytics. (GA dashboard inside WP coming soon!)

34. Constant Contact
Automatically add contact information from your web forms to your Constant Contact account.

35. You’re In Control
WordPress gives you complete
control over your website. For
every business owner who is in
a situation where you’re not in
control of your online presence,
WordPress is your answer.

36. Types of Web Hosting
Picking the right type of web hosting for your business is imperative.
Free Hosting
Remember, in hosting,
as with life in general,
you get what you pay
for.
Shared Hosting
You and thousands of
other websites share a
server.
VPS Hosting
Virtual Private Server.
Hosting in the cloud.
More controlled
environment.
Dedicated Hosting
Your website is on its
own server. Not
necessary for most
small businesses.
Managed WP Hosting
Hosting especially for
WordPress websites.
Includes maintenance,
updates, extra security
Managed Hosting
Includes maintenance,
updates, extra security.
Can be VPS. No worry
hosting.
Website Hosting
Most small businesses
don’t understand how
hosting impacts their
website.

37. Help When You Need It
Who do you contact if there’s a
problem? Can you get help when
you need it?
Not Large Resources
You’re not going to get decent
bandwidth or resources for free.
No Premium Hardware
You’re not going to get
premium hardware without
paying for it.
Banners or Ads
You may be asked to place
advertisements on your
website.
Free Hosting

38. Customer Service
Do they answer their phone when
you need help? Customer service
can be a problem.
Can’t Control Your Neighborhood
If one of the other websites on your server
gets hacked, it could negatively impact
your website.
Performance
Shared hosting is notoriously
slow and not optimized for
performance.
1000’s of Other Sites
You’re sharing a server with
hundreds or thousands of
other websites.
Shared Hosting

39. Safest & Most Reliable
VPS hosting averages $20 to
$160 a month. It’s by far the
safest & most reliable hosting.
In The Cloud
Multiple servers work together so a
hardware failure of a single server
won’t bring your website down.
More Protection
Multiple servers add another
layer of protection for your
site.
Virtual Private Server
A portion of the server is
partitioned off for your
website. Gives you control.
VPS Hosting

40. Maintenance Included
Maintenance and updates to your
server and website are included
in one monthly fee.
VPS & In The Cloud
Many managed hosting setups
are in the cloud with VPS. Ask
your host for more information.
Plug-ins & Email Included
The really good hosts set up
your company email
addresses and install plug-
ins for you.
No Worry Hosting
Everything is done for you.
Updates, maintenance, security.
Just sit back & relax.
Managed Hosting

41. Maintenance & Updates
Many will update WordPress,
your themes & plug-ins as part of
your contract of service.
VPS & In The Cloud
Many managed hosting setups
are in the cloud with VPS. Ask
your host for more information.
Knowledge of WordPress
These hosts know WordPress
and are aware of the nuances
of dealing with a company that
has a WordPress site.
Specialize in WordPress
These hosts have their
servers tweaked to provide
the optimum performance for
WordPress websites.
Managed WP
Hosting

42. Who Will Maintain It?
Most hosting companies only
provide the hardware and not the
maintenance & management.
Most Expensive
Dedicated servers average $150
to $375 a month.
Overkill for Most Small Biz
Most small businesses don’t
need a dedicated server.
Your Own Private Server
A server just for you. No
other website is on it.
Dedicated Hosting

43. 6 Considerations in Picking a Host
Use these questions and talking points to help you pick the best web host for your needs.
Knowledge
Have experience dealing
with small businesses?
Speed
Your pages need to load in
2 seconds or less. Check
Pingdom and Google.
Price
Expect to pay $20 to $99 a
month for quality hosting,
depending on level of service.
Customer Service
Do they answer their
phones? Can you get help
when you need it?
Performance
Stack up against the
competition. What is their
real uptime? Guarantees?
Specialties
If you’re running
WordPress, does your host
specialize in this?

44. YouAreAt Risk
Cyber attacks are targeting small
business because many don’t
have the proper security
measures in place.
30,000 Hacks
In Sept of 2013, Forbes reported
that 30,000 websites get hacked
every day. The majority are small
business.

45. Phishing Schemes
Many cyber attacks are phishing schemes to steal personal data and credit card information.
Fewer Resources
Hackers Know
Small businesses have fewer resources
available to protect their websites
Security Measures
Aren’t In Place
Many small businesses don’t have the proper
security measures in place.
Don’t Know
Huge Problem
Most small businesses don’t know what a huge
problem website security is.

46. How to Keep Your Website Safe
5 Ways to keep your website safe and secure from hackers.
Make sure your software and plug-ins are up-to-date.
If you’re passing credit card & personal data, use
an SSL to encrypt your website traffic.
Make sure you’re backing up your website
frequently, in case you need to restore it.
Use a web hosting company that is
providing additional security measures.
Make sure your themes and plug-ins are
coming from reputable companies.

47. Does Speed Really Matter?
Does the speed of your website really impact your bottom line? (Yes, it does.)
2 Seconds
Half of website users expect a
site to load in 2 seconds or
less and tend to abandon
sites that don’t load in 3.
7% Reduction
1 Second delay in page
response can result in a 7%
reduction in conversions.
79% Won’t Return
79% said they wouldn’t return to
a site where they encountered a
problem & 44% would tell a
friend.
Site Search
Google has made page load
speed on of the over 200
different signals that affect
search rank.

48. How to Run at Top Speed
These 5 tips can increase your page load times and get your site running faster.
Google’s Page Speed Tool
Check your site’s page speed.
Tool gives priority fixes to help
your pages load faster.
Optimize Your Images
Make sure file sizes are as small
as they can be without altering
the clarity & visibility.
Use GZIP Compression
Ask your webhost if they are
using GZIP compression on your
server.
No Shared Hosting
Make sure you’re not in a shared
hosting environment on a gang
server.
Use W3 Total Cache
If you have a WordPress
website, use a caching plug-in,
like W3 Total Cache.

49. Next Steps

50. KimButler@TheURLdr.com
www.TheURLdr.com
@TheURLdr
The URL Dr
Kim Butler
The URL Dr.
4539 Metropolitan Court
Frederick, MD 21704
301-363-2710