1. Home Office Workshop Presentation
What A Website Needs
Home Office Workshop Presentation

2. Who Am I? Shawn DeWolfe Web Developer at the Web321
I build websites with WordPress and other technologies.
Contact: Twitter: web321co

3. What Is A Website?
20 years ago, this answer was pretty easy to figure out. Nowadays: it’s a murkier topic.

4. What Is A Website? It’s your own piece of the Web.
20 years ago, this answer was pretty easy to figure out. Nowadays: it’s a murkier topic.
It’s your own piece of the Web.
It has its own domain name (eg. web321.co).
It’s hosted on a web server that keeps the content and serves it to users.
You control all of the design, content and functionality.

5. What Is NOT Your Website?
So many people make a living from their online and social media presence, it’s important to note the differences between a website and space on a platform.
An account on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Yelp, etc.. is space on their site-- their platform-- and in their jurisdiction.
Facebook, etc. have lots of reach, but they control the functionality, access-- and technically, they own the content you post there.
Listings in these platforms leaves you at the mercy of their upsells. (cough: Yelp).

6. Why Have A Website?
In an era of social media, Google My Business and Yelp, why would you even need a website?

7. Why Have A Website? It’s your own piece of the Web.
In an era of social media, Google My Business and Yelp, why would you even need a website?
It’s your own piece of the Web.
It can work however you choose it should work.
A website can have lots of goodies: newsletter signups, e-commerce, FAQs, galleries. It’s all findable by Google, Bing, etc..
If Facebook’s policies change, your website remains unaffected.

8. What Can A Website Do For You?
There are three good reasons (and one bad reason) to have a website.

9. What Can A Website Do For You?
There are three good reasons (and one bad reason) to have a website.
Promote your business.
Having your own website gives your business the freedom to market as you choose and stand out from the crowd.

10. What Can A Website Do For You?
There are three good reasons (and one bad reason) to have a website.
Promote your business.
Having your own website gives your business the freedom to market as you choose and stand out from the crowd.
Provide detailed information.
Off-load information to your website and provide it 24×7. Deliver answers better and accomplish that in less time.

11. What Can A Website Do For You?
There are three good reasons (and one bad reason) to have a website.
Promote your business.
Having your own website gives your business the freedom to market as you choose and stand out from the crowd.
Provide detailed information.
Off-load information to your website and provide it 24×7. Deliver answers better and accomplish that in less time.
Execute a process through digital tools.
Create nearly instant transactions: sign-ups, digital product sales, e- commerce. Once set-up, the digital parts of those interactions require almost no staff time.

12. What Can A Website Do For You?
There are three good reasons (and one bad reason) to have a website.
The bad reason?
Vanity. You would be surprised by how often best practices and marketing goals take a back seat to “that’s how I like it.”

13. What Can A Website Do For You?
There are three good reasons (and one bad reason) to have a website.
The bad reason?
Vanity. You would be surprised by how often best practices and marketing goals take a back seat to “that’s how I like it.”
Your website needs to accomplish a goal. If all it does is make you feel better, well: maybe get a dog. They’ll love you more than a website ever could.

14. The (not-so) Secret Sauce Of A Killer Website?

15. The (not-so) Secret Sauce Of A Killer Website?
Start with A Logo and Your Branding
If you have a storefront, make sure the website and the storefront are tied together through design decisions. If possible, use the same logo on your signage.
If your branding is less than ideal, maybe a branding refresh is part of the exercise.

16. The (not-so) Secret Sauce Of A Killer Website?
Call Today!
Capitalize on Immediacy (part 1)
Unless you have telephonophobia (that’s fear of phones), don’t be afraid to take phone calls. Having an easy to find phone number is critical for driving people to connect with you. Phone numbers can use “click to call” -- hitting the phone number on a mobile device will spawn your phone function and let the user phone through to the number you supply.

17. The (not-so) Secret Sauce Of A Killer Website?
Call Today!
Capitalize on Immediacy (part 2)
If there is some key action, you want a client or potential client to take, make that a big obvious button-- a call for them to act-- a call to action. Make it easy.

18. The (not-so) Secret Sauce Of A Killer Website?
Call Today!
Web Navigation
Put your navigation horizontally across the top. Use the phrases your clients will use-- that’s more important that the phrases you use in your day-to-day work.

19. The (not-so) Secret Sauce Of A Killer Website?
Your clearest statement goes first
Put in your value proposition. Why will clients love you? What can you do? Add in an image to dress it up.
Call Today!

20. The (not-so) Secret Sauce Of A Killer Website?
Call Today!

21. The (not-so) Secret Sauce Of A Killer Website?
Use Your Footer

22. The (not-so) Secret Sauce Of A Killer Website?
Use Your Footer
Put all of the other good stuff into the footer of your site: other navigation, links to your privacy policy, links to your social media connections, etc.. If someone scrolls to the bottom, give them something useful in a bid to keep them happy.

23. The (not-so) Secret Sauce Of A Killer Website?
Remember Mobile!
People are using phones and tablets to access content. If your site doesn’t look good on mobile, your site is in trouble.
Most developers have adopted this approach-- called “mobile first” or “responsive” -- and it’s the new minimum bar a designer needs to clear to design an effective website.

24. The Trickier Part Of A Killer Website?
The Technical Stuff
There is a ton of technical stuff involved. You don’t need to know it, but you do need to know it’s there and that it’s all well cared for:
Is your indexable (findable) by Google?
Is the performance good?
Is the machine code running your site up to date?
Does it look good when shared via social media?
Are you capitalizing on everything that is technically possible with your website?

25. Where Do You Start?
Understand what you want to accomplish with a Web presence. Peek at how competitors are using the Web.

26. Where Do You Start?
Understand what you want to accomplish with a Web presence. Peek at how competitors are using the Web.
Gather your assets. Understand what you want to say, how you will say and how you will present your business online. Ask: is your branding in its best place?

27. Where Do You Start?
Understand what you want to accomplish with a Web presence. Peek at how competitors are using the Web.
Gather your assets. Understand what you want to say, how you will say and how you will present your business online. Ask: is your branding in its best place?
Look for ways to popularize your website: authoritative content, social media, print advertising, inclusion in listing systems like the Better Business Bureau, Yelp, Chamber of Commerce-- those are good starts. Could you stand to learn how to use social media better for your business?

28. Where Do You Start?
Understand what you want to accomplish with a Web presence. Peek at how competitors are using the Web.
Gather your assets. Understand what you want to say, how you will say and how you will present your business online. Ask: is your branding in its best place?
Look for ways to popularize your website: authoritative content, social media, print advertising, inclusion in listing systems like the Better Business Bureau, Yelp, Chamber of Commerce-- those are good starts. Could you stand to learn how to use social media better for your business?
Find experts. An expert could accomplish in an hour what it may take you a day. There’s no shame in that: you let a pilot fly you to your last vacation, after all.

29. Where Do You Start?
Understand what you want to accomplish with a Web presence. Peek at how competitors are using the Web.
Gather your assets. Understand what you want to say, how you will say and how you will present your business online. Ask: is your branding in its best place?
Look for ways to popularize your website: authoritative content, social media, print advertising, inclusion in listing systems like the Better Business Bureau, Yelp, Chamber of Commerce-- those are good starts. Could you stand to learn how to use social media better for your business?
Find experts. An expert could accomplish in an hour what it may take you a day. There’s no shame in that: you let a pilot fly you to your last vacation, after all.
Come up with a plan for how to care for your website: keep the domain name registered; keep the hosting running; keep the code up to date; and keep putting up content you generate.

30. Thank you!
More info:
Shawn DeWolfe Consulting (Web design and development)
Web321 (Total WordPress Support)