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Small Business Digital Toolkit
Doing Business Digitally:
Website Fundamentals

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Instructor Orientation
NYC Business Solutions is a set of services offered by the Department
of Small Business Services to help businesses start, operate, and expand
in New York City.
Our services are provided at no cost, regardless of the size or stage of
the business. For more, go to: www.nyc.gov/nycbusiness.
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Set of ServicesWelcome!

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Today’s course will help you…
Determine What You Want Your Website to Accomplish
• Building your brand
• Selling products or services
• Integrating customer service and support
• Generating ad revenue
• Cutting costs
• Reinforce your point of sale
• Maintain an anchored presence on the internet
Learn Five Simple Steps to Develop Your Website
• Selecting your business domain name and web host
• Differentiating between in-house development and outsourcing
• Developing a framework for your website content
• Defining your website’s role in your overall marketing strategy
• Understanding tools used to analyze and maintain your website
Website Fundamentals
Agenda
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Part I
Determine the Objective of Your Website
Website Fundamentals
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Websites are a useful way to deliver important messages to your
customers about your products or services and should be
integrated into your overall marketing efforts.
 You can use your website to:
• Build marketing and sales strategy
• Sell products or services online
• Provide customer service and support
• Generate revenue by selling advertising
• Save resources
• Reinforce your point of sale
• Maintain an anchored presence on the internet
Website Fundamentals
Purpose of Website
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What is the purpose of Amazon’s website?
Website Fundamentals
Purpose of Website
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Your website builds your brand and reinforces the message
about your products and services.
 A consistent marketing strategy can help you:
• Increase awareness about your product or service.
• Build loyalty amongst your customers.
 Website marketing should follow the basic marketing principles of:
• Engage your target audience.
• Determine the best method for promoting your website
 Website marketing strategies include:
• Advertising on other websites (Adwords, Bing, Facebook,
Twitter)
• Creating blog
• Linking to Social Media (i.e.; Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn)
• Utilizing search engine optimization (SEO)
Website Fundamentals
Purpose of Website – Build Marketing & Brand Strategy
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Website Fundamentals
Purpose of Website – Build Marketing & Brand Strategy
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Does this website reinforce RedBull’s brand? If so, how?

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Build a site that makes it easy and appealing to buy your products
and services.
 If you are considering selling products online, answer the following
questions:
• How will you drive customers to your website?
• What inventory levels must you maintain to manage purchases?
• How will you ship your products?
• How will you ensure secure online payment?
Website Fundamentals
Purpose of Website – Sell Products or Services
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Incentives
motivate
customers to
take action.

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What features make it easy for this website to sell products?
Website Fundamentals
Purpose of Website – Sell Products or Services
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Customer
Service/Contact
information
Product
Image/
Video
Customer Reviews
Shopping Cart
Product
Description
Price

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Generating revenue through website ads is a way that some
businesses make extra money. This approach is typically used by
creative content-based sites (i.e. blogs, entertainment sites, news sites).
 There are several types of online advertisements:
• Text advertisements
• Banner advertisements
• Video advertisements
• Interstitial advertisements
• Pop-up/pop-under
 Obtaining advertisers on your website requires:
• Analysis of current website traffic to understand key customer
demographic information (Google Analytics, Clicky).
• Keeping customers engaged, ensuring consistent traffic to your
website.
• Determining payment structure for advertisers.
• Making sure that advertisements are relevant to your target
audience. Can they hurt user experience?
• Advertising networks (Adsense, Tribal Fusion, OpenX, Complex
Media, Playwire Media, Hexagram)
Website Fundamentals
Purpose of Website – Generate Revenue through Advertising
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Sample online advertisements:
Website Fundamentals
Purpose of Website – Sell Advertising
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Banner
Advertisement
Text
Advertisement

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Your customers’ overall experience and satisfaction should be at
the heart of the products and services that you sell.
 Your website can be a way to further engage with customers and
provide additional support.
 You’ll want to consider key best practices to support your online
service efforts:
• Create standards in customer satisfaction.
• Determine appropriate methods of communication.
• Select Customer Support Software (ex. Contact Form 7,
Qualaroo, SalesForce Service Cloud or H2Desk).
• Frequently Asked Questions portal or page.
Website Fundamentals
Purpose of Website – Customer Service & Support
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What type of support does Best Buy offer to its customers online?
Website Fundamentals
Purpose of Website – Customer Service & Support
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Moving your company’s info and services online can help you
save time and money.
 Use your website to decrease costs if you want to:
• Change phone support to online support.
• Send emails instead of postal mail.
• Move in-store sales to online sales.
 It is important that you carefully consider the impact that this will
have on the:
• Overall customer experience.
• Costs for transitioning to selling all products online.
• Computer purchasing habits of target audience.
Website Fundamentals
Purpose of Website – Save Resources
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How is CHOPT saving time and money with their website?
Website Fundamentals
Purpose of Website – Save Resources
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How is Pizza Hut saving time and money with their website?
Website Fundamentals
Purpose of Website – Save Resources
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Part II
Five Simple Steps to Website Development
Website Fundamentals
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To develop an effective website for your business, you need to:
1) Select and register your domain name.
2) Choose a web hosting company.
3) Choose a method for developing your website (in-house vs.
outsourced).
4) Develop a structure for your website.
5) Launch and maintain your website.
Website Fundamentals
Steps for Developing Your Website
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A domain name is how you will be known on the web and its an
essential part of getting your site up and running.
 Domain names should be:
• Short and easy to spell
• Five syllables or less
• Company or brand name of your product or service
• Free of any hyphenations - or redirected from a domain without
hyphenations.
Website Fundamentals
Step 1: Select & Register Domain Name
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Domain Name

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There are a variety of free and paid domain name options
available for your website.
 Pros & cons of paid domain names
• In-demand domain names are typically available
• Allow more flexible web hosting capabilities
• Costs average about $2-12 per year
 Pros & cons of free domain names
• Come with unwanted banner ads
• Typically not top level domains
• Don’t allow flexible web hosting
Website Fundamentals
Step 1: Select & Register Domain Name
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Domain name registration is a critical step to getting your
website hosted on the World Wide Web.
 To register:
• Send your domain name to a registrar.
• Provide the name/contact of the domain name registrant.
• Select the terms of your domain registration.
• Provide payment information.
 Once you submit this information, the registrar will process and
make the website active on the World Wide Web.
 Change the A Record or point name servers to your hosting
provider’s addresses.
Website Fundamentals
Step 1: Select & Register Domain Name
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Simply put, web hosting services allow websites to have access
to the World Wide Web.
 Most common type of web hosting is shared hosting
• Relatively affordable
• Risk of exposure to spam/hacking of other sites
• Offers flexibility during growth
• Average cost around $5/month
• Sharing with potentially hundreds of sites.
 Top web hosting providers include:
• AnHosting.com
• HostGator.com
• BlueHost.com
Website Fundamentals
Step 2: Choose Web Host
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When choosing a web host, consider a combination of:
• Ease of access
• Performance
• Security
• Price
 Web hosts offer a variety of features:
• Unlimited email & bandwidth
• Personalized domain names
• Multiple static IP addresses
• E-mail and web marketing tools
• Web-based site administration tools
• Site design services
• 24/7 phone support
Website Fundamentals
Step 2: Choose Web Host
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You can create your website by using web building software or
by hiring a company with website development expertise.
 Both methods will help you achieve your goal, but these key factors
will determine the better option for you:
• Your technical expertise (develop it at w3schools.com, Udemy)
• Cost
• Time
Website Fundamentals
Step 3: Choose Method for Developing Your Website
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Using web builder tools and software is one way to
create your own website.
 Choosing the right website building software depends on:
• Ease of use
• Technical support
• Graphic/imaging tools
• Features
 Free and paid options for website building software are
available.
• Free website builder software includes: WordPress,
Joomla, Drupal, Blogger.
• Paid website builder software includes: SquareSpace,
Shopify, Rainmaker Platform, Wix
Website Fundamentals
Step 3: Choose Method for Developing Your Website
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Outsourcing the development of your website is a good
alternative if you don’t have the time to create one on your own.
 When hiring a website developer, you’ll want to:
• Obtain referrals
• Check out their website(s)
• Ensure that they are familiar with your industry
• Obtain detailed price quotes
• Check references
 Once you hire a website developer:
• Set realistic timelines
• Communicate objectives clearly
• Provide outline of website content
Website Fundamentals
Step 3: Choose Method for Developing Your Website
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How To Get a Free Wordpress site in 5 Easy Steps:
1. Click “Create Website” at https://wordpress.com/ and pick what your website is
about on the next page.
2. Choose a theme (a design template).
3. Use a free domain or register a new domain for about $18; or map an already
registered domain for $13.
4. Pick a free or premium plan.
5. Create your account and start posting.
Website Fundamentals
Web-building Resources: Wordpress
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Create a Title for your website.
This may just be your company name, but will let visitors know what they are
looking at.
Website Fundamentals
Web-building Resources: Weebly
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Try to select a domain that is easy to remember. If your ideal
name is not available try a different combination or TLD, such as
<.org> <.net><.biz>
Website Fundamentals
Web-building Resources: Weebly
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The Weebly Editor is where you will spend most of your time. You can edit and build
your site in one place quickly and easily.
Click the Design Tab and browse hundreds of themes. Select a theme that best
reflects your company, industry and style.
With an easy to use drag and drop
interface, just drag the elements
(video, pictures, content, etc) you
want on to your webpages and
edit it live!
You don’t have to remember all of
this today, you can visit our
webinars online to see step by
step tutorials of how to set up
your site.
http://kb.weebly.com/training-
videos.html
Website Fundamentals
Web-building Resources: Weebly
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Hospitality
Nail Salons, Laundromats,
Barbers
• Minimalist
• Light
• Crisp
• Charm
• Wedding
Food
Restaurants, Cafés, Bodegas,
Delis
• Gourmet
• Waterscape
• Justin 26
• Fixr
• Bokeh
Retail & Professional
Boutique Owners, Sole
Proprietors
• Distinct
• Creative 1
• Efficient
• Business
• Clear
• Identity
• Chic 1
Some Recommended Themes to Get Your Business Started
Website Fundamentals
Web-building Resources: Weebly Themes for Businesses
Visit the Business Library online for a detailed guide on How to Create a Website Using Weebly

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Creating a framework for your website is important to help
organize key information about your products and services.
 Basic information includes:
• Home – company name and logo
• About
• Contact information, including directions and hours
• Description of products and services
• Links to other social media and/or blog
• Articles around topics for your target community members.
 Follow these best practices when designing your website:
• Include your business logo on your website.
• Maintain consistent look and feel with other marketing
materials used to promote your product and service.
• Use consistent language when describing products and
services.
• Keep it simple. Your site should be easy to navigate and have
an uncluttered look and feel.
Website Fundamentals
Step 4: Develop Website Structure
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What makes this website’s design and structure work?
Website Fundamentals
Step 4: Develop Website Structure
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Maintaining your website once it is developed is just as
important as the time and effort you spend putting it all
together.
 You’ll want to:
• Schedule regular updates (i.e. monthly, quarterly)
• Determine method of updates (i.e. hire vs. do-it-yourself)
• Monitor customer activity on your website
 Content Management Systems (CMS) are a good way to manage
content, images, etc. on your website. Tools used include:
• WordPress
• JOOMLA
• Drupal
Website Fundamentals
Step 5: Launch & Maintain Your Website
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Tracking your website activity is a useful way to understand your
customers and provide a better overall experience.
 Website measurement tools, also known as web analytics, measure
website performance. Web analytics include:
• Google Analytics
• Clicky
• Crazy Egg
• Optimizely
Website Fundamentals
Step 5: Launch & Maintain Your Website
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Analyzing key performance indicators (KPI) help you understand
the areas of your website most and least frequented by your
customers.
 Typical KPIs include:
• Visits
• Page Views
• Unique Page Views
• Average Time Spent
• Bounce Rate
• Exit Percentage
• Conversion
Website Fundamentals
Step 5: Launch & Maintain Your Website
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Website Fundamentals
 A responsive design allows a varied version
of a standard website, optimized and
designed to engage your customers on
their mobile devices such as cell phones
and tablets.
 Since mobile devices have smaller screens
and use different operating systems and
browsers, your website needs to be
redesigned.
 A few companies, like bMobilized, offer a
DIY (Do It Yourself) solution for this.
 Visit the NYC Business Library for a
detailed Guide on How to Optimize Your
Website for Mobile
Optimize Your Website for Mobile Devices

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 91% of US citizens have their mobile phone within reach 24/7.
 25% of people in the US have totally abandoned their laptops for exclusive
use of their mobile device.
 Mobile use is growing and the population is using it to share and
communicate. This is an easy tool to get involved with this growth.
 For most social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest),
almost 50% or more of all users are active mobile users.
 By 2013, more people will use their mobile phones over desktop and laptop
computers to go online.
* Source: Mashable and bMobilized
Website Fundamentals
Importance of Building Mobile Websites for Your Business

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Website Fundamentals
Putting It All Together
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Remember…
 Create a website aligned with your business mission and purpose.
 Select a domain name that adequately reflects your business name.
 Choose website features that you need and will be able to maintain.

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Website Fundamentals
Putting It All Together
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What will your website be?

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For more info, visit our website at: www.nyc.gov/nycbusiness.
Website Fundamentals
Visit NYC Business Solutions!
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