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Website Do’s and Don’ts

This presentation by WideNet for the Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce covers website best practices, search engine optimization, paid search engine advertising, and important considerations for creating a successful website. It also emphasizes the importance of personal relationships and integrated marketing campaigns.

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Website Do’s and Don’ts

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  1. Website Do’s and Don’ts A Presentation By WideNet For the Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce Derek Conrad Brown September 24, 2008

  2. Resources and Questions • This presentation, all resources referenced, and all links are available online for you at: www.widenetconsulting.com/resources www.widenetconsulting.com

  3. Search Engines How they work

  4. How Search Engines Work:Organic Search Results • Old: <meta tags> • New: Complex Proprietary Algorithms produce ‘organic’ results and rankings • Each search engine’s algorithms perform differently • Most important attributes for a website to have: • Text based vs. verbiage captured in images • ‘Keywords’ on site and especially on homepage • Incoming links to your site from relevant sites NOT link farms • Your domain name • Traffic and periodic updates • SEO or Search Engine Optimization and Snake Oil Salesmen www.widenetconsulting.com

  5. Paid Search Engine Advertising • No guarantee on organic rankings • Can buy advertising for paid search engine ads • How it works • Set up budget with particular search engine • Bid on keywords • Show up when someone types in something relevant to those keywords • Only pay out of budget if someone clicks on your ad www.widenetconsulting.com

  6. Websites and the Internet Important Knowledge for Your Company

  7. Do’s • Understand your audience and how they describe your services or products • Start out with reasonable expectations • Organize your website content well • Remember that a website is part of a good marketing arsenal, not the only gun • Ensure that your website works correctly in all browsers- especially IE (6,7,& 8) Safari, and Firefox • Prepare your website to accommodate both major screen resolution settings www.widenetconsulting.com

  8. Do’s • Ensure information is easily and QUICKLY accessible • Research your competition online • Use an Analytics program to monitor how people are finding you • If you want to start an ecommerce website, do consider experimenting on ebay or other venues first www.widenetconsulting.com

  9. Don’ts • Don’t use worthless information or ‘art’ that clutters your website (weather, counters, dancing smiley face clip art) • Don’t create areas on the website that require updating if you or your staff aren’t actually going to have time to keep them updated (calendars, news, etc.) www.widenetconsulting.com

  10. Personal relationships Personal contact Multi-pronged, integrated marketing/ education campaigns Websites and Technology are NOT a begin-all, end-all one stop shop marketing campaign. It is PART OF the big view. Websites and e-Communications are NOT A Replacement For: www.widenetconsulting.com

  11. What Is A Website To You? • Your face to the world, your second door front • Your informational office that is open and available 24/7 365 days a year • Your connector with all of your potential and current stakeholders- future staff, volunteers, constituents, donors, partners, community leaders, etc. • You WILL BE JUDGED by stakeholders on whether you have a website and if it is a professional website www.widenetconsulting.com

  12. Evaluating Your Current Website • Organization- Is your website easy to use? • Generic- If you want to be found online, does your website relay a message in generic terms for someone unfamiliar with your service area’s jargon but in need of your services? • Modern- Does your website look modern and professional or does it look like it was created in 1995? • Browser Compatibility- Does your website work properly in Internet Explorer 6 and 7 as well as Firefox and Mac’s Safari? • Easy to Update- Is it easy for you to update and expand your website or is it a major hassle and hurdle? www.widenetconsulting.com

  13. Getting A First Website ORA New Website • Organize- Think through the organization of your website to make sure it is easy to use and easy for a visitor to find what they need asap (remember short online attention spans) • Consistent navigation structure throughout site • Have you thought through an organization that is logical enough so that if you want to add more content later there will be a logical place for it? www.widenetconsulting.com

  14. Getting A First Website ORA New Website • Design- Make sure that the design of your website looks modern and professional. Just because you are having a website designed today doesn’t mean that your chosen designer isn’t still designing likes its 1999 • Functionality- Make sure that your website works correctly and in a way that is consistent with other peer websites www.widenetconsulting.com

  15. Website Development:What is Important • Modern design • APPROPRIATE design • Ease of use • Consistent navigation structure • Logical organization • Fast loading • Control • Active communication with your web developer www.widenetconsulting.com

  16. Website Development:Vendor vs. In-House • If you have a staff member with professional web development skills they may be appropriate. Be sure to ask the staff member for a examples of their best work and compare those examples to sites of your peer organizations before committing • Generally, it is not wise to invest in web design software for an employee who says they can learn to do it themselves • The result will be more time, lower quality results, and a considerably higher cost when software and employee salary time are considered www.widenetconsulting.com

  17. Website Development:Vendor vs. In-House • A professional vendor usually brings expertise from past website projects to the table • The optimal arrangement is usually one where the vendor develops the site to your specific specs and then a non-technical employee can maintain the content easily www.widenetconsulting.com

  18. Website Development:Choosing The Right Vendor • All choices are not equal • Do not judge solely on price, high or low • Very high turnover among web design/ development companies • Many fly-by-night firms because of what is viewed as low start up costs • Many do not last past first year • Part time design/developers a big risk www.widenetconsulting.com

  19. Website Development:Choosing The Right Vendor • Among options, be certain to truly compare ‘apples to apples’ • CHECK REFERENCES! • Review portfolio • Important questions to ask web company: • What happens if you go out of business? • Once the site is created, how will I be billed for changes? • How long do changes normally take? • Does the you or I provide the web and email hosting for the website and email addresses @YourDomainName.org • Is there a content management option for me with your website that allows me to make normal content updates? www.widenetconsulting.com

  20. Websites: The Control Issue • Traditionally, the client had to send website changes to the web developer and he/she had to make the changes • Now some companies offer content management systems allowing you to make content changes yourself • These systems are not equal in what they allow you to do nor in how easy/difficult they are to use • Training new staff on a difficult system could become a challenge over time so a system designed for use by a ‘non-techie’ is important www.widenetconsulting.com

  21. Additional Website Element Ideas • Video • Private login sections for board or employees • Analytics (statistics) for measuring trends, visits, and origin of visitors • Enewsletter system • Intranets www.widenetconsulting.com

  22. Common Scams to Avoid • Fake invoices for domain names and search engine listings • Callers trying to sell you similar domain names for inflated prices • SEO/ meta tag ‘consultants’ trying to sell you on optimization or listing services www.widenetconsulting.com

  23. www.widenetconsulting.com

  24. www.widenetconsulting.com

  25. Powerpoint Templates • www.brainybetty.com- Where I got this powerpoint design www.widenetconsulting.com

  26. Your Computer Screen:What you see is not necessarily what ‘they see’ • Increase Your Computer Screen Real EstateHave you ever noticed that you may have to scroll left or right to see all of a website on your computer while a friend's computer allows you to see the whole website without scrolling left or right? If so, its time for you to increase your computer screen real estate. 800 x 600 is the old standard and you will see more and more company websites large and small that are moving to a larger screen resolution. • Yahoo! recently optimized their homepage for 1024 x 768. This is the most common screen resolution by far and is becoming a standard. So please, right click on your desktop and click on properties. Then click on the setting tab at the top. There should be a slider bar that says Screen Resolution and if the numbers are smaller than 1024 you should slide it to 1024 x 768. Click OK www.widenetconsulting.com

  27. Thank You For Your Time Contact Info: Derek Conrad Brown WideNet Consulting, LLC www.widenetconsulting.com (866) 645-9235 derek@widenetconsulting.com www.widenetconsulting.com

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