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Your Small Business Website:   Light the Fuse or Thank the Muse?
Introduction Review website development steps Light the fuse on your website or simply your thoughts of a website Rarely are we able to thank the muse when considering enhancements.
Where to Start? Purpose & Motive Target Audience Domain Names Website Hosting
Where to Start? Content Management Systems (CMS) Content – text, images, audio, video... Functional components Design development process
Purpose and Motive Why are you moving forward on the Internet?
Market Differentiation
Branding
Increase Sales
Advertising
New Business Direction
Educate / Spread Information Town Crier
Keeping up with the Jones’s
Ready for Lift Off?
Not Yet
I want a website to… Increase/reduce email/phone inquiries Sell beyond the local area Display a portfolio or calendar Develop a community online Provide e-books or case studies Allow visitors to sign up for X
Target Audiences It is not YOU – no trophy sites please Existing clients New clients Influencers – trusted resources Personas – demographics, buying habits, goals/needs, proficiency/knowledge
Serve current customers
Influencers
Know who you are trying to reach
Domain Names
Domain Name = URL Web address =  www.jbspartners.com Email =  [email_address] Market your own business w/ each email NOT  [email_address]
Domain Names Domains are registered, like a car.  Register for up to 10 years Keep contact info up to date Renew 6 months before expiration
Domain Name = web address Shorter than longer Easy to spell Easy on the phone Memorable No Hyphens
Domain Names Dot Com is king for business Choose domain name before incorporating Brand or describe your business Don’t focus on search engines. They change Sound legitimate. Not adf.bz
Website Hosting Operating System Linux Windows Shared server Dedicated server Managed server Cloud Computing
Website Hosting Support – “who ya gonna call?” Open Source - Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP = LAMP You get what you pay for
Content Management System  The Pitch – You can update your website Depends on You WordPress – known as blogging platform Drupal - foundation to build on Etomite or Modx
WordPress
WordPress Editor
Drupal
Revolution Theme
Becomes This
Thesis Theme
Your Website Content Text Images Audio Video
Your Website Content Can you solve my problem? Have you solved problems for someone like me before? Details – quality, price and proximity
Functional Components Shopping Cart Blog Forum Photo Gallery Dynamic Calendar Client Login area Subscription / Registration
Functional Components Streaming Video (live feed = Expensive) Online Giving / Donations Podcast  Video Interactive Driving Directions
SEO Best Practices On Page SEO Key Word Research Meta Data URL structure Internal Linking Images Off Page SEO
Design Factors Logo – Very impactful Keep page design simple and focused Colors Layout Sound – usually not Moving things – usually not Three clicks to content
Insight into the Design Process First concept through to completion Art Direction for the client
Original Website
First Mock Up
Third Mock Up
Fifth Mock Up
Seventh Mock Up
Final Mock Up
Summary Purpose and Motive Domain name then incorporate Keyword research Select functionality required Develop content Customize a CMS pre-built theme Plan on maintaining Analytics – Mint or Google Analytics
Photo Credits from Flick r mleak  -  artbear.etsy.com   - branding Flipped Out  - ducks iDream_in_Infrared   - salesman seeinside  - advertising Hoeski  direction lbsmsp  town crier denis   collette  – flock DitB  -  Downintheblue  – lift off Sofia  Katariina   - stop C&C Collision  – auto body bookielovescta   - video Businesscoach  – business coach photobucket datflydipsetchick2006   - sports coach photobucket Thai Yin  – blue shirt and suite Simple Simon  - server
Thank You This presentation will be available at    www.jbspartners.com I look forward to your questions  any time.