Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Katherine Chalmers
Big Business Websites for Small Budgets
We hear the same old story over and over…
I hired a web developer who was:a) some guy I found online from
India/Ukraine/Memphis/Floridab) a friend's kid home from college
for the summerc) a local part-time programmer
who I heard from someone might be pretty cheap
For a 10 page website he charged:
a) $50b) $250c) $1,000d) $2,500e) $7,500
Now, there are problems.a) I can't update anythingb) Something on the page is brokenc) It doesn't work right on mobiled) It doesn't appear in search enginese) It's hideously ugly and outdatedf) I got a cease and desist letter saying
that all the images are stolen
The developer won’t help because…a) He wants a *lot* more
money to make changesb) He won't take my callsc) He's flaked/disappeared; no
one knows where to find himd) He's a jerk and I hate hime) All of the above
It doesn’t have to be this wayOption 1• Spend a lot more and
hire a really great marketing agency or an experienced digital marketing pro
Option 2• Learn how to manage
web projects better –what you need, what questions to ask, or even how to do it yourself
Class Overview1. How will you use your site?2. Whom will you reach on your site?
How will you use your site?Your digital marketing plan
Online/Offline Marketing Integration• Include Web address everywhere!
– advertisements, direct mail, brochures, business cards, email signatures, fliers, etc.
• Mini-sites & landing pages– Create custom pages to support specific marketing campaigns
• Capture sales leads online– Info request forms, live attendant chat, etc.
• Channel extranets/sales intranets• Market research
The rise of inbound marketing• Driven by search and Internet self-service– 50-70% of purchase decisions made before sales engaged
• The art of making it easy for prospects to– Find your company– Learn about your products– Prefer your products and your company– Be ready to engage with sales
Integrating Email Marketing• Benefits–Drive additional traffic to your Web site– Build credibility and top of mind awareness among your
customer/prospect audience – Leverage content development across both– Very inexpensive to implement
What marketing automation does
Engagementcampaigns
Webtracking&personalization
Forms&landingpages
Contenttracking
Leadnurturing
etc.
Reports
How to maximize your budgetSqueeze the turnip
The Fundamental Rule of Marketing
CHEAPFAST
GOOD(Choose two)
Maximizing Quality; Minimizing Cost• Knowledge– The more you know the better your decisions
• Planning– Avoid costly changes and mistakes– Increase long term effectiveness
• Spend wisely– Consider long-term impact & cost
• Vendor selection– Find bootstrap vendors and free/low-cost tools
Plan for Success• Why do you need a Web site?• Who are your audiences?• How will the site fit into your overall marketing plan?• What other functions do you need your site to do?• What about your competitors?
What do you need for a website• Sales/Marketing Strategy•Domain•Hosting•Wordpress• Theme (design)• Plugins• Content
Big marketing, small budget rulesOmit– Seriously? Are you sure you need it?
Delay– Can you add it inexpensively later?
Be flexible–Do not build if you can inexpensively buy–Do not buy if you can inexpensively license
Don’t be cheap where it counts most– Spend generously for long term value
Understand the technologyJust the basics
Whatyouneed Whatitis Whereyougetit
Domainname Thenameofyourwebsitemydomain.com Domain registrar
Webserver Whereyourwebsitelives ontheweb(aphysicalorcloudserver) Webhostingprovider
ContentManagementSystem(CMS)
Aprogramonyourwebserverthatallowsyoutoenter contentforyourpagesandposts.Thecontent isstoredinadatabase.
Upload andinstallonserveror1-clickinstall fromhost
DNSRegistryAlookuptablethatconnectsyourdomain
namewiththeIPaddressofyourwebserver.(TheMXrecordpointstoyouremailserver)
Manage inyourdomainregistrationaccount
FTP Connection protocolthatallowsyoutouploadfilesdirectlytoyourserver. Webhostingprovider
Selecting a domain name
• Try the one you want– Namevine.com
• Get ideas– BrandBucket.com– NameMesh.com– Dotomator.com
Before you decide• Is it easy to spell?• Are the social handles available?• Does it fit your brand?• Check trademark at USPTO.gov
What if the Domain I Want is Taken?
• Check Whois• Select a similar name
– go, hq, lets, get• Choose another version
– .co .net .io .fm• Backorder a domain
– Common service at registrars
• Acquire a domain– Who owns it? Make an offer!– Snapnames.com– Sedo.com
Seedomains backend
Web hosting• What is hosting and why you need it–Why Internal hosting is usually stupid!
• Types of hosting plans– Shared, virtual servers, co-location, free– IT guy’s internal server? (NO, NO, NO, NO, HELL NO!)
• My hosting recommendations–MediaTemple.net, Bluehost.com
• FTP software recommendations– Transmit (Mac), WS-FTP Pro (PC)
Cheap hosting is EXPENSIVE• Downtime, slow response impacts revenue• Downtime, slow response impacts SEO• Bad support costs you money• Security and malware attacks• Potential spam blocking and blacklisting
What to look for in hosting provider• Hosting account types– Shared, VPS, managed, dedicated, co-location– Cloud, grid, reseller
• 10GB disk space/100 GB should be enough resource• 24/7 telephone and chat support!• Easy to use control panel• FTP access, databases, email accounts• Doesn’t degrade women or kill elephants!
Media Temple
cPanel
SeeMediaTempleBackend
CMS: Wordpress• It’s free, open source, software, 1-click install • It powers 25% of the web; 59% CMS marketshare• 44K plugins with 1.2 billion downloads• It works for sites A LOT bigger than yours–New York Times, TED, CNN, Major League Baseball– People Magazine, Forbes, National Geographic
• Modular model-view-controller architecture• Wordpress.com vs Wordpress alone
Source: ManageWPblog, MarketingLand
CMS: Hubspot• Integrated marketing automation platform• Free CRM and SFA add-on software available• Limited add-ons and templates• Out of the box lead management
Drupal and Joomla• IT guys love them them; many marketers hate them• They can do nearly anything you program them to do• If you want them to do nearly anything, you have to
program them to do it• Smaller user bases; fewer plugins and templates• AVOID if you don’t know PHP or don’t want your
marketing programs bottlenecked the IT department
Website builder platforms• WYSIWYG website builder
and hosting platform• Closed, proprietary system;
automatic updates• Centralized email support• Defined service packages
Start with your brandWho are you?
Do you have a branding/design guide?• Brand essence• Key attributes & personality• Customer segments & personas• Value propositions by segment• Standard descriptions• Logos (including vector format)• Color palette• Typography
Brand attributes
Who are your audiences?
• Prospects• Customers• Employees• Partners• Media• Investors• Community
Buyer’s Journey
Source: Akoonu
Your logo• Do you have editable source
files for your logo?– EPS, AI, PSD (not flattened)
• Does it work in 1 color and reverse formats?
• Do you have horizontal and vertical versions?
• Do you know/have the font?
Source: 99designs.com and Fiverr.com
Select your colors
Source: ColorPalettes.net
Color Palette & FontsSelectingPMScolorsandspecificfontshelpsyoukeepyourbrandingconsistentonlineandoffline
Select your typeface
Preparing your contentContent is king!
Preparing Your Content• Consistent, targeted branding• What should you include?– Check competitors, analyze sites you like,
ask friends and colleagues• Organizing the content– Two-click rule– Content development plan– Flexible navigation structure
Site Map: Organizing Your Content
Page Content Guidelines• Company– Background, management, investors, clients, careers,
locations/contact• Solutions/Products– Primary selling area of the site
• Services– Customer service, professional services
• Partners– Program overview, directory, extranet login
Page Content Guidelines• News– Releases, headlines, events, awards, press kit
• Contact us– Link on every page
• Information request form– Link on every page
• Site map/search• Explainer/demo videos
Blog Content Guidelines
Source: DigitalMarketer.com/blog-post-ideas
Repurposing Content
Source: WebDam.com
Setting up your siteGetting online!
Effective Design and Navigation• Design for your audience– Technical considerations• Download speed, browser compatibility, colors, page size
–Usability considerations• Demographics and expectations• Section 508 compatibility requirements
– Branding considerations• Design quality, style, consistent branding
Page Layout Grid
Page Layout
Select a theme
Where to get themes• Wordpress.org/themes• ElegantThemes.com• ThemeForest.com• DIYthemes – Thesis framework• StudioPress – Genesis framework
Popular Plugins
• Akismet• Broken Link Checker• Contact Form 7• Discus comments• Gravatar• Jetpack• MailChimp• Olark chat
• Sucuri security• SumoMe• W3 Total Cache• WooCommerce• WooCommerce Memberships• Wishlist member• Yet Another Related Posts• Yoast SEO
Divi Builder
WooCommerce
SeeWordpress Backend
Promoting your siteShare with the world
Why SEO is crucial
So how do you get to the top?• Relevant keywords• Relevant titles• Relevant, respected inbound links with keywords• Reputation and credibility• Social media engagement• Fresh content
Keywords• Relevant to the
search or content• Specific, not
general• Interlinked onsite
and offsite
Integrated Marketing
Website Social,promos,publicrelations
Email,nurturing
Online/Offline Marketing Integration• Include Web address everywhere! – advertisements, direct mail, brochures,
business cards, email signatures, fliers, etc.• Mini-sites & landing pages– Create custom pages to support specific marketing
campaigns• Capture sales leads online– Info request forms, live attendant, etc.
• Channel extranets• Market research
Integrating Email Marketing• Benefits–Drive additional traffic to your Web site– Build credibility and top of mind awareness among your
customer/prospect audience – Leverage content development across both– Very inexpensive to implement
• Getting Started– Create a dedicated page for your ezine– Promote your ezine throughout your site– Archive issues online
Basic Online Site Promotion• Effective page creation–META tags, ALT tags, well-written copy
• Search engine submission– Submit-it, hosting company, registrar
• Reciprocal links– Friends, customers, partners
• Targeted online ads –Overture, Google, banner ads, ezine ads, etc.
• Public relations– Press releases, byline articles, mentions
Hiring a web developerGetting help
Selecting a Web Developer• First, evaluate the skill sets you’ll need– Strategic Marketing–Graphic Design –Web Design and User Interface Planning – Programming – Copy Writing– Customer Service
• Then, select the team to match your needs
How to Save on Web Development• Know what you want
– Design styles, colors, functionality• Provide marketing source files
– Existing style sheets & collateral– Colors, fonts, logo files, etc.
• Make self-service updates an option– Use templates and consider basic content management software
• Use off-the-shelf software and scripts!• Limit Flash• Pre-plan content and marketing integration
10 Questions to Ask• What is your approach to Web design?• In which services does your firm specialize?• What technologies will you use to create my Web site?• Can you show me samples of sites you have designed? • Do you have experience in my industry?• How experienced are the people who will work on my
project? • What is the process for updating the site? • How often do you work on projects in my budget range?• What are your payment terms for initial development and
maintenance?• Will I get all of the source files needed to maintain and
revise the site, including all editable graphics files such as Photoshop, Illustrator, or Fireworks files?
5 Things to Make Sure You Get• A detailed specification for the site and its features before any design
or programming begins• A clear site map to illustrate the content organization• All of the source files relating to your site, including original graphics
files. (Usually Photoshop, Illustrator, or Fireworks files. They are crucial for maintaining your site cost-effectively.)
• The server requirements you need for hosting the site• A clear, concise contract that outlines all work to be done, testing and
acceptance criteria, copyright issues, all charges associated with the project, and payment terms
Planning your budget• Domain registration & hosting• Premium theme, stock images, plugins• Copywriting and content development• Email, marketing automation services• Professional services–Web design, search engine optimization
Measuring Success• Revenue!–Online orders, sales leads, inquiries
• Traffic!– Visitors, click-thrus, downloads, surfing time
• Media coverage!– Inquiries, mentions
• Glory!– Fame and fortune for your department
ResourcesSoftware & training• Adobe Creative Suite• AppSumo.com• Lynda.com
Freelance & Crowdsourcing• Fiverr.com• Upwork.com• 99designs.com
Design & templates• ColorPalettes.net• Dreamstime.com• ElegantThemes.com• iStockPhoto.com• StockUnlimited.com• Google Fonts/Adobe Typekit• FontSquirrel.com
ResourcesDomain Registrars• Hover.com• Network Solutions• UltraCheapDomains.com
Hosting• Bluehost.com• MediaTemple.com
Themes• Wordpress.org/themes• ElegantThemes.com• ThemeForest.com• DIYthemes.com• StudioPress.com
ResourcesSoftware & training• Adobe Creative Suite• AppSumo.com• Lynda.com• Transmit, WS-FTP
Freelance & Crowdsourcing• Fiverr.com• Upwork.com• 99designs.com
Domain Registrars• Hover.com• Network Solutions• UltraCheapDomains.com
Hosting• Bluehost.com• MediaTemple.com
