THE BIG QUESTION... THE BIG QUESTION... What am I looking to accomplish by taking my business online? Small Business Web Site Design

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1 THE BIG QUESTION... THE BIG QUESTION... What am I looking to accomplish by taking my business online? Who are my potential customers? Who are my competitors? What motivates my customers to buy online and offline? What makes my business/product(s) unique? What are my strengths and weaknesses in the online marketplace? Pat McKenna mojoman@mojoweb.com 1

2 THE BIG QUESTION... Why Ask Why? Source: Opus Research/AllBusiness.com 2008 Pat McKenna 2

3 The Web s Not Magic Web Server ISP It s Just Computers Talking to Each Other You Telco/Cable Building a Web Site Works the Same Way Web Server ISP FTP Software You HTML File/Graphics/Movies Pat McKenna mojoman@mojoweb.com 3

4 Let s Learn a Little Geek The Lingua Franca of the Net IP Address: If a web site is a house, than this is it s street address. Example: Domain Name: Domain Name Record: Master Data Record used to connect a domain name with its server and service. Registrar: Company that manages the domain name record for a given web site. (GoDaddy.com.) Let s Learn a Little Geek The Lingua Franca of the Net ISP: Internet Service Provider; service used to connect to the Internet. Hosting Provider: Company offering shared or dedicated server space for hosting a web site. SMTP Server: Mail server used for sending mail. POP Server: Mail server used for receiving mail. Let s Learn a Little Geek The Lingua Franca of the Net HTML: Hypertext Mark-up Language. The primary computer language used to code Web pages. FTP: File Transfer Protocol; the process By which files are transferred over the Net to a web server and/or back to a PC. Root: Primary level of a web server. CGI-BIN: Special directory on a server where software scripts written in the PERL language are stored. Pat McKenna mojoman@mojoweb.com 4

5 Getting Your Domain Name Domain names are available from a variety of registrars such as Network Solutions, GoDaddy.com and Register.com. Pricing depends on term length, promotions and the company: Getting Your Domain Name But how do I know whether or not someone already has the domain name I want? << Do a Who Is Search to Find Out! >> If it s taken use the info to make an offer to the owner or visit AfterNic.com or ebay to see what s for sale or auction. Guidelines for Good Domain Name Choices DON T BE CUTE! Cute is too hard to remember and too hard to brand with your audience! If People Know Your Name & Your Local -- USE IT! Avoid strange spellings, tricky last names hyphens, words separated by dots, double letter combinations. Pat McKenna mojoman@mojoweb.com 5

6 Guidelines for Good Domain Name Choices Only Alphabetic Characters, Numeric Characters, or the Minus Sign "-. Sorry, no exceptions. Up to 67 characters, but short, memorable and distinct is the rule. McKenna s Rule If you ve gotta explain or spell out your domain name over the phone, get a new one. Finding the Right Hosting Provider ALL WEB HOSTS ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL! BEST DEAL = PRICE + SERVICE GOOD PLANS CAN BE $3.95/MO 99.9% UPTIME COMMITMENT 24/7/365 TECHNICAL SUPPORT LONGEVITY COUNTS! Finding the Right Hosting Provider 10 GB of Disk Space 10 GB Monthly Transfer (or better) Multiple accounts with web mail access and auto responders. Plan Scalability Pat McKenna mojoman@mojoweb.com 6

7 Highly Recommended First Impressions Matter Pinstriping Too GOOD DESIGN = CUSTOMER TRUST McKenna s Rule The Design Of Your Web Site Should Match Or Exceed Your Competitor s Site Or Their Best Brochure or Print Ad Pat McKenna mojoman@mojoweb.com 7

8 1. Fast Loading 2. Intuitive Navigation 3. Universally Accessible 4. Contact Info Always Present 5. No Runs, No Drips, No Errors! 231K! It s the end user, not you. Uncluttered/Uncompeting Organizes content for results Makes or breaks the overall usability of a site Pat McKenna mojoman@mojoweb.com 8

9 Technology enhancements, should not confuse, distract or challenge site use and they should work! Contact info should be a fixed point in your navigation and include all options. Did I mention that you ve only got 500 milliseconds? Journal Behaviour and Information Technology, 2006 Pat McKenna mojoman@mojoweb.com 9