Presentation for NextLevel April 29, ‘10 with Jonathan Blackman Helping demystify the business website What is a Website? Content/Design Promotion Budgeting for a Site Your Site: An ongoing project. 1

What is a website? Know a few things about websites to demystify them and to make the best use of them for your business. A website is a collection of related web pages, images, videos or other digital assets that are addressed relative to a common Uniform Resource Locator (URL), often consisting of only the domain name, or the IP address, and the root path ('/') in an Internet Protocol- based network. A web site is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network.web pagesUniform Resource LocatorIP addressInternet Protocolweb serverInternetlocal area network A web page is a document, typically written in plain text interspersed with formatting instructions of Hypertext Markup Language (HTML, XHTML). A web page may incorporate elements from other websites with suitable markup anchors. textHypertext Markup Language XHTMLmarkup anchors For our purposes a website is a portal through which anyone can interact with your business from anywhere, anytime. It can serve as a business card, contact conduit, point-of-sale, information provider, network tool, map/directions to your business. It reflects the philosophy, style, flavor and mood of your business. It is limited only by your imagination not a budget. A website evolves with a business and should not be static. Because your site is an ongoing, developing reflection of your business, then it should be refreshed and promoted regularly. 2

Pick a Domain Name 1 st thing to do is to consider a URL (uniform resource location) aka domain name, Best URLs are easy to remember and spell. Company name is a common choice with 2 considerations: it must be available and it should be brief. Find available domains here : And you have to decide the extension considering what’s available..com.net.org.us.us.com.biz.info.mobi.tv.tel.me.name.de.e u.co.uk.am.fm.de.com.eu.com.uk.com.pro.bz.cc.gs.ru.com.at.be.br.com.ca.cc.cn.com.cx.es.gd.gs.im.in.co.in.jpn.com.kr.com.la.ms.com.mx.co.nz.se.com.tc.tw.com.tw.vg.ws Suggestions: 1.Register a domain name today…you do not have to pay to host the domain until you’re ready. 2.Sites are as individual as individuals or businesses so the cost to design will vary widely. I believe whereas design is important, marketing to your audience is typically overlooked but as or more important. 3

Content Info is king but not too much. There is one aspect of design that I feel is vital – make the objective of the site obvious at-first-glance. Why are things always in the last place you look for them? Because you stop looking when you find them. —Children’s riddle Studies show you have 0.75 seconds to capture the attention of the average web visitor. Doing so keeps them there…getting them return is a constant pursuit. Beyond that… To some…good design = good navigation. For others it’s about an aesthetic or a technical wow. Bottom line its about getting your audience to notice and return and buy and return and buy. If you do not have a clear idea of how your site should look, start out simple, provide basic, standard info, content. Company name, what your company does, contact info, a bio. Images are important but design is not as important as info unless yours is a design company. Then you better have an idea how you want it to look. Tips on design: What is the competition is doing? Look at their sites. What resonates? Pick out elements that bling. What reflects your business’ personality? “sound bites” 4

Design To inform & delight 5

Promotion Search engines | Advertising | Site Links | 2Dos Meta tags:,, Search engines spider to rank sites amongst others when relevant searches are made. This is basic search engine optimization and unimportant for you except that you should consider the meta tags when you think of promoting your business. Promotion might be drawing an audience to a site for the 1 st time or getting them to return (Ron Whitney’s SF event ) or it might be to get them to submit info on the site so you can get back to them. Suggestions: 1.check your traffic regularly and notice trends and changes. Anything you do to promote should be reflected in an upswing in traffic. Therefore try things in shifts. 2.Come up with a promotion plan-of-action that includes a budget, profile of your audience, goals and a step-by-step process that reviews results. This is a long term process. Take your time. 6

Budgeting for a Site Website budget should match site development in terms of time. A site does not have to be a capital expense. Budget should be ongoing over time. $70/year to register a domain 2.$10-$25/month to host the domain on a server 3.Design – you should maintain control 4.Media – photography, image editing, video, sound 5.Site maintenance – content editing 6.Promotion (if you want to be found this is where your budget should be focused). Spend at least as much to promote as you do to maintain. 7.Overall minimum cost to maintain a website $200/year. 8.+ time commitment to update, freshen and promote your site. 7

Conclusion: How do I make my website work for my business? Decide why you need a site; what is the objective? Who do you want to attract to the site? What do you expect in return? Content/Design must evolve. Consider site development as you do cleaning house or re-arranging furniture. Promotion is a focus over time. Learn how to promote your site yourself. Budgeting for a site should not be a CapEx. Spend a trickle as an ongoing cost. 8