Creating a Winning Website for Your Small Business
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Creating a Winning Website for Your Small Business Presenter • Scott Loggins - SCORE Mentor • Former Business Development Manager and Software Development Manager GoDaddy.com. • Former Case Mgr – Business Success Initiative. Scott Loggins Currently runs several family owned [email protected] businesses including Air Management, CR Office 363-7172 Business Brokers, Sniggol Holdings, LLC, SKA, Inc. and KAS Maintenance. Workshop Agenda What We Will Cover What We Will Not Cover Night One Importance & Benefits of x Social Media a Web Presence x Search Engine Optimization Internet and x Internet Marketing MarketingStrategyfor Your Business Key Elements of Effective These Topics are covered in other Web Design SCORE workshops Web Development Measuring Results CREATING YOUR WEB PRESENCE Every Business Needs a Web Presence To inform potential customers about your business with relevant and concise information To advertise and describe offerings and location To sell products and services To generate business leads To brand your business and provide contact information To be “found” by potential customers using search engines To build a foundation for customer interaction (ordering, returns, feedback, etc.) Keep in mind: Over 88 percent of Americans use the Internet Nielsen Online. Benefits of Having a Web Presence More Professional Eyes Increased Web Looking Sales Presence + At Your = Business B2C (Business to Consumer):85% of US/UK people surveyed are influenced by personalized home page promotions (Kibo 2017) B2B (Business to Business): 94 percent of business buyers do some form of online research: (Acquity Group,) How people will access your web site CREATING YOUR MARKETING PLAN AND INTERNET STRAEGY Marketing Plan & Internet Strategy Your Marketing Plan: Defines your target market Details your competitive strategy Documents a pricing strategy Establishes a marketing budget Defines your Internet strategy’s role in your marketing effort Consider Target Audience & Competitors Target Audience Competitors Who are they? Who are they? What are their What do their websites characteristics (age, do well? income, tech savvy)? What could they What are they looking improve on? for on your website? What are the opportunities Where are they and how for your business? far will they travel? Goals for Your Website What do you need your website to do? The answers will create your Internet strategy = a measurable plan of action using the Internet to get desired results. Think about: Your business goals Your marketing goals Your target audience Your competition 4 Functions of a Website Promote your business by telling customers about it Publish information that’s useful to your customers Communicate with customers Serve customers by handling business functions What Functions Does Your Website Need? A website doesn’t have to be complicated. Here are some components different types of businesses might want to include: Restaurant or Retail Store: Address, photo of location, product photos, menu, phone and e-mail contacts, map, hours, online reservation tool. Consulting or Accounting Business: Most of the above plus photos/bios of key personnel, explanation of services provided, client list, appointment scheduler, articles or tips from owner. E-commerce Business: Product photos/descriptions, online ordering and payment, frequently asked questions/help, shipping policies and costs. THE WEB PRESENSE FOUNDATION HOME (WEBSITE) ARCHITECT (WEB DESIGNER) ADDRESS (WEB DOMAIN) LAND (HOSTING) What Is a Website A website is a collection of web pages, images, videos or other digital assets that are addressed to a particular domain name. Web Address = Domain Name www.yourbusinessname.com or Keep it short and simple ADDRESS (WEB DOMAIN) About $10-$12/year at most domain providers Buy your domain name before someone else does! Consider buying several Web Hosting Your website needs to be hosted on servers, which are computers used to store your Web files with a connection to the internet. Starting at a few dollars per month Ask about: Up-time Support Backup Number of domains Shared or dedicated servers LAND (HOSTING) EFFECTIVE WEB DESIGN Effective Websites Are… Professional looking Consistent Easy to navigate Simple Elements of Website Navigation Top navigation bar should be constant across pages. Side navigation bars are optional. Bottom bar should consist of simple text links to your site; it is important for search engine ranking. Page body is where you put that page’s relevant information. Tips for Navigation Organized structure Keep it simple – users should be able to get anywhere in 2-3 clicks Keep important links, content, etc. “above the fold” Use white space to simplify How Users Scan Sites: Hot Spots “F- Pattern”: Focus user’s attention USERS DON’T READ – they scan! Put most important elements in places where eyes naturally go. Using Color, Graphics, and Text Use colors that work well together Keep colors consistent with your brand Keep text size readable Keep text and background colors readable Use high-quality photographs Avoid sound unless that is your business What Is Web Content? “Content” refers to any written material on your website, including: Titles FAQs Headlines Customer service information Product names Articles Product descriptions Blogs “About Us” page Help page Writing Effective Web Content Know your target audience Keep it short and simple - Headings 8 words or less - Paragraphs 40-70 words Write active content Write for how people search Keywords - Google and Bing offer Search-Based Keyword Tool Edit and proofread CYBERSECURITY Cybersecurity and Your Business Why should a small business be concerned with information security? Protect customer information Protect employee information Protect business partner/vendor/supplier information Protect your business’s information Protect for: Confidentiality Integrity Availability What’s at Risk? What do you risk if you fail to protect your data? Fines from banks, credit card issuers, state and federal agencies Lost productivity Lost sales Costs/time to repair damage Loss of trust Lost reputation Legal costs 10 Steps to Cybersecurity 1. Use and update antivirus/anti-spyware software 2. Secure your Internet connection (firewall via WAP/router or ISP) 3. Turn on the firewall on each computer 4. Patch/update OS and applications 5. Regularly back up data 6. Secure wireless access 7. Train employees in security processes 8. Require individual user accounts 9. Use strong passwords and change them often 10. Limit employee access to data/limit installation authority WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT OPTIONS Choosing the Right Option When assessing your development options, consider the following: Your time Your tech skills Your budget Web Development options Templates verses Web development software Templates Web development software Fast and easy More costly the 1st year Fosters good design Requires a higher skill More costly over-time More flexible results Less flexibility Web Development options Popular Web development software Most are $50-$120 to purchase WebEasy Professional Web Studio WebAcappella Web Plus Xara Web Designer EZGenerator Web Creator Pro Source web-design-software-review Web Development Options -Templates Popular Template web site builders $40-$150\year including hosting WIX.com Web.com Weebly.com Squarespace GoDaddy.com Network Solutions.com BuildYourSite.com Source: top10bestwebsitebuilders.com Web Hosting Choices If you build your own site, with Web development software you will need a Web hosting company. Costs $40-$60\year Some of the top Web hosting companies include: 1. Ipage.com 2. Bluehost.com 3. HostGator.com 4. JustHost.com 5. Yahoo.com 6. GoDaddy.com Source: consumer-rankings-com MEASURING RESULTS Your Site Is Up - Now What? A successful website generates measurable results for your business. To get the most from your site, follow this 3-step process: 1. Know your goals for the website 2. Continually adjust site as needed 3. Measure results All major search engines (Bing, Google and Yahoo) offer sophisticated free analytics tools to help you track and benchmark your website results. What Should You Measure? Number of site visitors Individual page impressions Average visit length Most/least popular pages Most popular site entry pages Where users come from (sites or search engine phrases) Number of inquiries, leads or sales generated Conversion rates Total sales volume online Average purchase per online customer Module In Review Summary Benefits of a Web presence Developing a Marketing and Internet strategy Components of a website Elements of effective Web design Developing your website Measuring Results Next Steps Connect with a SCORE Mentor - SCORE has over 13,000 successful and experienced executives with small business know-how that want to help you - Visit www.scorecr.org for additional workshops and more information Take the survey Creating a Winning Website for Your Small Business Questions? Thank You! Scott Loggins [email protected] (319) 363-7172 .