I Need A Website! Where do I Start?!?

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You have started a business, developed a new product or you are an established business that does not have a web presence.  You know that in order to compete in today’s technologically driven landscape; you need a website.  The problem?  You do not know where to start, what you need or what it even means to have a website.  Clients tell me all of the time during the course of their web projects, that they never really realized what all goes into having a website.  They just knew that they needed one, but did not realize what that would entail.  The goal of this article is to provide some basic and general information to arm you with the knowledge you need to know.

The Basics

First, let’s start with the basics.  When you view a website from your computer or mobile device, there is a lot more going on than just what you see on screen.  It’s kind of like macaroni and cheese.  When you see it sitting in front of you in all of it’s ooey, gooey, goodness; you rarely think about the components and the time and effort that was put into making what you see and are about to taste.  That is unless you are like me, and you are calculating how many extra miles and reps you will need to put in, to keep your left thigh from enlarging.  I digress.  A website is the same way, just without the fitness calculations.

A website is comprised of files that contain code.  The code in those files dictate what you see on screen.  They dictate where images are placed, where forms and buttons go and how they should behave and the text that you see on screen.  There are also image files and files that even dictate the overall styling of colors, fonts, etc for the entire site.

These files need a place to live, much in the same way that your couch, bed, pots and pans need a home or dwelling place.  The dwelling place of your files is on a server with a “host.”  This is also known as web hosting.

The final component to all of this is the domain name or web address.  When you view an advertisement from a company and they list their web address as www.CompanyName.com, you are looking at and typing in their domain name.

My analogy for all of this (I am the self proclaimed queen of analogies) is that a website is like your home.  Your home has a physical street address where the actual structure lies.  Inside of that structure are all of your belongings.  A domain name is like your physical street address; it is the virtual street address for your website.  Web Hosting (sometimes just referred to as “hosting”) is the structure that resides at that virtual address; just like your home’s physical structure.  The files that compose and control the visual representation of your website are like your belongings.

Where to Purchase Domain Names & Web Hosting?

Now that we have covered the basics, where and how do you obtain a domain name, web hosting and create these files?  What are your options?  There are a ton of options and solutions available to you.  Some cost a little, some may cost a lot depending on your needs and technical adeptness.

For domain names and web hosting, there are companies that only provide domain name registration (purchase) or web hosting and companies that provide both.  My personal favorite at the moment is Host Gator, which provides both web hosting and domain name registration.  I wrote about my experience with them and why I love them so much here.  Since the writing of that post, I am still a happy and satisfied customer.

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  • NameCheap.com
  • DomainNames.com

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  • JustHost.com
  • iPage.com

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I always recommend that my clients make the purchase themselves for domain names and web hosting, because it is in their best interest.  It is definitely easier on them if I make the purchase for their domain name, but then I am the registered owner of that domain name and address.  Yes, I am an honest person, but what if I became incapacitated in some way?  Do you really want your brand and website to be under the sole control and ownership of someone else?

If you are using a web designer to build the actual site (files), you retain ownership by making the purchase yourself.  All you will need to do, is give them the information they request to gain access to the hosting server; where they will place the files they have created for your website.  Most web designers have no problems doing this and can make recommendations as to where to purchase hosting and a domain name.  Some web designers also sell hosting space that you can purchase from them, just be sure to read any small print.

Another alternative is to go with a company that is an all-in-one shop and provides everything.  There are companies that offer domain names, hosting and web design all for one price and/or monthly payment plan.  The benefit of using a company/service like this is that you do not have to deal with the hassle of trying to navigate making purchases for a domain name and web hosting.  The downside is that the company will be the registered owner of your domain name and should you become dissatisfied with the service and wish to take your business elsewhere, you may not be able to take your actual site (files) and domain name with you.  Some companies have clauses in their contracts to allow you to do so, but usually at a price.  Just make sure to read any fine print and enquire about such things.

DIY Alternatives

While I advocate hiring a web designer, there are options available that allow you to design a website on your own and without the aid of a web designer.  With a web designer, in my opinion you will get a better final product.  It will probably look better, function better, be more intuitive and user friendly for your site’s visitors.  However, if you are so inclined, you can use the WordPress platform and a basic template, or a site like Webs.com or Wix.com to create a website on your own.

Choosing A Web Designer

If you decide that you would rather hire a web designer, here are some tips for finding and choosing the right designer for you and your needs.

Ask Around for a Referral – If you have a friend, family member or business associate that has a website that you like, ask them who did their site for them.  Ask them how there experience was with the designer and whether or not they would recommend them to someone else.  If their review is favorable, ask them for the designer’s information and contact them.

Check Their Portfolio – If a designer tells you that they make websites, they should be able to show proof that they really can do what they say, with work that they have done.  You would not hire someone to cater your party, wedding, etc, without first seeing proof that they can actually cook and cook well?  The first bit of proof should be the designer’s actual site.  If they do not have one, run away.  Far, far, away from them!  If you visit their site and you do not like what you see, you may not like what they build for you either.  Granted, as designers in general, our own materials may not show our full potential.  Mainly because we are so busy putting in work for our clients that we sometimes neglect our own stuff.  However, we should at least be able to show you client work that we have done and our own site should be presentable in the very least.

Ask Lots of Questions – No matter how stupid you may think it sounds, ask it if it is something you are unclear about.  Chances are, it’s something that someone else has asked us as well, which makes the question an intelligent one and not a stupid one.  Most designers will send you a detailed estimate with the scope of the project, what it will entail, and what you can expect to receive.  If there is something that you feel is missing, ask about it to make sure that it is something that will be included.  If need be, ask that it be worded into the contract that you sign as well.

Read the Fine Print – Before signing any contract, make sure that you read all of the fine print!  Most of it may be benign, but make sure you read it anyway.  There may be something in the fine print that you did not think of or that you may have assumed would be included/standard.  This will help protect you from an unwanted surprise or hiccup in the process.

I know this article was a little long, but hopefully if you made it this far in reading, you now feel you have a better understanding and some tools to complete the task of having a website built.

*Note:  The links for Host Gator are affiliate links and if you sign up for one of their hosting packages after clicking the link; I will make a small commission off of your purchase.

Landing Pages: The What & Why

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If you are an e-commerce business or you are a small business focusing on an online marketing strategy; you have probably heard the words “Landing Page.”  What are landing pages?  They are single web pages designed to get the visitor to commit a very specific action or to deliver a very specific set of information.  They are pages with a specific purpose that usually help to drive sales in some way.

The Why

The premise behind why these types of pages are needed, is to cut down the amount of noise and distractions a visitor to your site might face in order to get a specific message across.  For instance, if you owned an olive oil company and wanted to push sales for a new flavored olive oil, you might want to create a landing page for that specific purpose.  Yes, you could create internal sidebar advertisements or banner advertisements throughout your site that called attention to this new product, but it will not be as effective as combining this strategy with a landing page specifically for the new product.

If you are advertising online and in traditional media to drive traffic to your site to buy this new product, your visitor may become distracted once they reach your site.  Even if the direct link they followed brought them directly to the product page, they may become distracted by other suggestions, advertisements on your site, or just the design of the site and navigation buttons.  While they are touring your site, they may forget why they came there in the first place and leave without making a purchase at all.  This is where a landing page built specifically for the new product can come into play.

If instead, a landing page was design that focused only on that product and included great and high converting sales copy, you could potentially land that sale.  Instead of driving traffic to your home page, product page or general store area of your site, drive the traffic to the landing page.  Visitors that followed your direct link to the landing page, will be more satisfied because the content they are seeing is directly related to their reason for the visit.  Landing on your home page may put them in the general category, but it does not relate specifically to what they were looking for.  The more relevant their “landing” on a “page” is to what they want or are looking for, the higher the chance is of you making a sale.  Relevancy is key.

Characteristics of a Great Landing Page

High converting landing pages utilize minimal graphic elements, are “clean” in their design presentation, simplistic and present information in an easy to digest format.  A visitor should arrive on the page and know exactly what you want them to know and what you want them to do.  Going back to our olive oil company example, the new product’s landing page should tell them the what, and the why.  The why needs to also be relatable in terms of why they need the product to begin with.  An easy way to do this is to combine using the AIDA (attention, interest, details, action) concept with the visitor’s need to know “What’s in it for me? Why do I need this?”

Avoid adding to many “actions” that the visitor may become distracted by and try to perform.  For example, navigation links, social media links, newsletter sign-ups, ebook downloads, etc should not be included unless that is the focus of the landing page or is pertinent to the call to action (CTA) on the landing page.  Make sure that it is very clear what you want them to do and as much as possible, keep that particular action “above the fold.”  In design speak, anything a visitor sees when they land on a page without the need to scroll, is considered “above the fold.”  When a visitor has to scroll down to see the rest of the content, that information is considered below the fold.

When designing your landing page, assume that everyone has ADD or a short attention span.  In our go-go-go society, people often do not have the time, patience or attention span to read long, boring copy or wait for you to get to the point with your copy.  Think PowerPoint presentation and keep it short, relevant and use bullet points.  Use big buttons and CTA text that stands out and calls attention to the action that you would like for them to commit.

Including testimonials, user reviews, and social proof (tweets and status messages on social networks from others) are also great ways to help reinforce why the visitor needs to buy your product or commit the action you are trying to get them to commit.

By removing a lot of the noise and distractions a user might face on your main site; you have a better chance of getting higher conversion rates from your visitors. Streamlining things and putting a laser like focus on what you want them to do, keeps them more focused on that task than they would be if you directed them to a more generalized area of your site.

This is especially helpful and beneficial if you use pay-per-click (PPC) advertising platforms like Google’s Adwords.  Link those ads directly to your landing page and you will see better results and conversions.

Free eGuide: DIY Mobile Content Creation

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I often get remarks by those that follow me on Instagram, about the quality of my photos and many are surprised to learn that 90% of what I post on Instagram is shot by me with my iPhone and edited on my iPad.  People assume that because I am a graphic designer, that the visual text postings and photos with text were created in one of my “fancy” design programs on my computer.

They are even more surprised when I tell them that they can do the same with the same level of quality themselves.  No graphic designer needed.

Social media marketing is a fast paced strategy that requires a lot of content creation and the bulk of that content is visual.  Depending on the type of business that is utilizing this marketing strategy, one needs to be able to quickly put together content to post on the various social media networks.  For instance, if your business is hosting a live event, posting photos from the event live in a compelling way is a great way to show your audience what they are missing out on and why they need to drop what they are doing and head your way.

Corralling the official event photographer, asking them to remove their memory card and upload the raw, unedited images for your immediate social media needs, is just not going to work.  Instead, you can take a photo, edit it, add some text, watermark or brand the photo and even add a hashtag for them to follow, all from your mobile device.

To help you learn how to easily create this type of content, I put together an eGuide to show you how.  To grab your free copy and start your on-the-go social media blitz, fill out the form below to sign up for my email newsletter and download your copy today!

 

Facebook Fan Pages vs. Facebook Groups

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facebook-fan-page-vs-facebook-group

I am often asked what the difference is between a Facebook Fan Page and a Facebook Group.  The next question is always, “which should I create.”  The answer to the second question depends on what you are trying to accomplish by creating either.

Let’s start with a basic definition of the two:

Facebook Fan Page:  Fan Pages are a popular choice for businesses and brands to share content with their audience and engage with them.  They are separate from being an actual profile page/account that you would have on the personal side of things and instead of receiving friend requests and initiating them, you garner “likes” for the page itself.  These “likes” are what connect you to your audience.  Those that are fans and have “liked” your page, will receive your updates in their news feed (if Facebook’s algorithm determines that they are so privileged).  If they do not interact regularly with your page, they may not receive all of your updates, but if you spend a little money, you can promote your fan page content to extend its reach.

Facebook Group:  A Facebook Group in my opinion, is similar to a forum that does not have sub discussion groups.  A Facebook Group is just that, a group.  They can be made private, which means you can only join if a member adds you into the group or they can be public, which allows you to find them in a search and join on your own.  Groups are usually centered around one subject matter, but that subject could be a company or a topic of interest.  Groups function as a community where members can easily interact with each other within the group posting questions, comments, and sharing visual content.

Which Should You Use?

This really depends on what your goal is.  If your goal is to create a community that can interact not only with you, but with each other as well, create a group.  If your goal is to create an audience that you can engage with directly, create a fan page.  What I do not suggest, is creating a personal profile page for your brand.  It is true that in order to create a fan page, a personal profile account is needed.  Some people fall into the trap of creating an additional personal profile account for their brand, in an effort to keep it separate from their own account.  This can create headaches later down the line and is confusing for those searching for your brand on Facebook.

If you create a separate profile for your brand and a fan page; when users search for your brand on Facebook, both will come up in their search and they may “friend” you instead of “liking” your page.  The result will be you trying to manage a brand profile page as well as a fan page.

Instead, create the fan page using your personal account.  Even though you are using a personal account to create the page, your personal account will not have any visual or obvious link to your fan page to your visitors.  It will also make it easier to set up additional admins for the fan page from your own network and friend’s list.

Law of Attraction for Business :: Food for Thought

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law-of-attraction-for-business

The basic foundation of the “Law of Attraction” can be applicable to small business owners and entrepreneurs just starting out in their business ventures.  Proponents of the Law of Attraction believe that like attracts like.  If you put out negative energy, you will receive negativity in return, but if you put out positive energy, you will receive positivity in return.

We can apply that concept to business in this way:  If you are constantly focused on negative thoughts like a fear of failure and allow that fear to color your every action and thought when it comes to your business, you will probably fail.  Why?  Because you already believe that you will, but you are hoping that you won’t.  How can you expect to succeed when you already believe that you will fail?

Conversely, if you believe in yourself, your product or service and your business, you will succeed.  This does not mean that you will not face speed bumps and stumble along the way, but if you keep that belief that in spite of everything, you will succeed, you will.  You just have to figure out a way to make that belief come true.