This is a presentation that I gave to the Business Ownership Initiative on May 19, 2011. They invited me to teach a 2 hour class on the basics of creating a website for small business owners.

1. Business Website Basics Sponsored by: Presented by: Introductions

3. Ball State University | August of 1988 | B.S. in Journalism

4. Full Time Ministry 1989 – 2002

5. Launched 1st Small Business | 2003 (8 months) | Aspire eSolutions

6. Director of Business Development | 2003-2007 | Chicago Marketing Firm

7. Launched 2nd Small Business |October 2007-Current | Cross Creative Marketing

8. Hired First Employee in 2010

9. Hired First Intern in 2010

11. DOMAIN NAME The “www” . “businessname” . .com .org .net Top Level Domain (TLD) www.crosscreativemarketing.com = 173.201.145.1 NAME SERVER DOMAIN NAME Introductions

12. CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (CMS) A dynamic website that is database driven and enables the owner to make changes to their own website. Introductions

13. CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM Introductions

14. CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM Introductions

15. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) The practice of tweaking website meta-content and content to achieve the highest possible search engine ranking. Introductions

16. 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

17. 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

19. Flash Drive

20. USB Flash Drive

21. Flash storage device

22. Pocket drive

23. Thumb driveIntroductions

24. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) The practice of tweaking website meta-content and content to achieve the highest possible search engine ranking. Introductions

25. 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

26. Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) Introductions

27. 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

28. You Need Three Things To Have A Website 1 2 3 Introductions

29. Securing Your Domain Name Introductions

30. Securing Your Domain Name Introductions

31. Tips on Choosing the Right Domain Name Brainstorm keywords Choose a “Dot Com” (if possible) Make it easy to type Make it easy to remember Go for short names (if possible) Introductions

32. Tips on Choosing the Right Domain Name Hancock County Visitors Bureau www.hcvb.com www.visithancockcounty.com Hancock Economic Development Council www.hedc.com www.hancockedc.com Cross Creative Marketing www.crosscreative.cc www.crosscreativemarketing.com Introductions

33. Securing the Right Software Introductions

34. Wordpress Introductions

35. Wordpress Introductions

36. Wordpress Introductions

37. Wordpress Introductions

38. Wordpress Introductions

39. 5 Reasons To Use Wordpress SEO Content Management Plugins Support Minimal Learning Curve Introductions

40. Strong Encouragement: Find someone to help you install Wordpresson a server.

41. Securing Your Hosting Provider Introductions

42. Securing Your Hosting Provider Introductions

43. Securing Your Hosting Provider Introductions

44. What Kind of Website Do You Need? Small Business (marketing) eCommerce Social Networking Informational Blog Introductions

45. Anatomy of a Website Header Navigation Home Page Sidebar Footer Introductions

46. HEADER Introductions

47. NAVIGATION Introductions

48. HOME PAGE CONTENT Introductions

49. SIDEBAR Introductions

50. Introductions FOOTER

51. Some Design Layout Examples

60. 7 Website No-No’s No background music No animated GIFs No Page Counters No Under Construction Pages No Flash Intros or Intro Pages - Period. No Blinking or Flashing Text Nofunkycolors randomly inserted Introductions

61. Basic Website To-Do List Site Map Content Header Design Colors Keywords Introductions

62. Option 1: Do-It-Yourself Cons of Do-It-Yourself Frustration It’ll look homemade Limited Skills Pros of Do-It-Yourself Save Money Do it in your own time frame Introductions

63. Option 2: Hire a Professional Cons of Professional Bigger $$ Investment Additional costs for changes or site management Could take longer depending on their client load Pros of Professional Done Right No Hassle, No Frustration Marketing Knowledge Custom Design Introductions

64. Next Steps

65. Introductions

66. Who is going to build the house? You? Professional? Introductions

67. Before you decide which path … What is your skill set? What is your time worth?$65/hr X 40 hours = $2,600.00 Introductions

68. Before you decide which path … What is your skill set? What is your time worth? What kind of site do you want to build? What is your budget? Introductions

69. You or Professional?

70. Professional

71. You or Professional?

72. Professional Professional

73. You Done!

74. How you answer these 4 questions will decide your next steps … What is your skill set? What is your time worth? What kind of site do you want to build? What is your budget? Introductions

75. Questions? Please take a few moments and fill out the survey

76. 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