website basics 2-12-08 slide 1 introduction to setting up a website: basics for small businesses...
TRANSCRIPT
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Website Basics
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Introduction to Setting Up a Website: Basics for Small Businesses & Communities
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Website Basics
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Slide • Introduction– What is a website? – A little history…– Why are websites needed?
• Website Basics– What to include in your website – Domain name– Web hosts
• Options to proceed– Design-it-yourself options
• Microsoft Word• Free sites• Dreamweaver / Front Page
– Outsourcing options
Agenda
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What is a Website?
• A collection of web pages, images, videos, or other digital material– Web page: written in html (hypertext
markup language)
• Usually accessible over the Internet
• (Hopefully you already know, or this whole Centra thing would be really challenging!)
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A Little History…
• WWW started in 1989 as a way of transferring documents
• Graphical web browser developed in 1993 (funding came from Al Gore’s program)
• Dial-up servers begin to provide access in 1994 (AOL, Prodigy)
• 1997: 1 million websites• 2006: 100 million websites
Source: Netcraft Web Server Survey
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Why Are Websites Needed?
• Lots of Reasons! For Businesses: – Reach new customers– Leverage “bricks” with “clicks”– Sense of Legitimacy
• “What’s your website?”
– Make / save money– Keeping up / staying ahead of the
competition– Provide a community for your customers
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Why Are Websites Needed?
• For Communities:– Allow potential residents / businesses to
find out more about you– Promote local tourist attractions– Contact information for public works /
city council / other departments– Post job opportunities– Give residents a source of pride
• Local pictures
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Some Examples
Agritourism• www.thetatankaranch.com • Stroud, OK
• 1,000 acres with fishing, kayaking, horseback rides
• Scenic pictures• List of activities• Reservation rates
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Some Examples
Services• www.jdapublishing.com
• Claremore, OK
• Professional website design
• Marketing assistance• Search engine
optimization
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Some Examples
Retail• www.allcleansupplyonline.com • Blanchard, OK
• Janitorial supply• Online sales leveraged
with brick & mortar store
• Targets larger metro market
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Some Examples
Community Sites• www.cityofaltus.org • Altus, OK
• Rotating Images on Front Page
• Reasons to relocate• Departmental contact
information
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Website Basics
What do you need to start a website?
1) An idea of what you want to include on the site
2) A domain name
3) A web host
The KEY INGREDIENT:Someone who knows how to pull
all of these together!
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What to Include in Your Website
• Depends on the purpose of your site– Information only?
• Communities – info on city council, economic development, schools, library…
• Businesses – background information, current projects
– Selling a few items?– Selling / shipping LOTS of items?
• Understand your audience and what they want to see
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What to Include in Your Website
• CONTACT INFORMATION– Phone Number, address, email– Nothing draws the ire of customers like
not being able to find that information!
• Background information (“about us”)
• Product information
• Pictures!
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What to Include in Your Website
• Check out other sites on similar topics
• What do they have that you like?
• What can you offer that they don’t?– Specials / coupons / testimonials
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What is a Domain Name?
• A DOMAIN NAME gets you the “www.mybusiness.com” name
• Is this important? YES!
• Put some thought into what domain name you want
• Most domain name providers will tell you which names are / aren’t available
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What is a Domain Name?
• Using FREE web page creators like www.geocities.com or www.pages.google.com will NOT give distinct “www.mybusiness.com” names
• Instead, your page will be located at www.geocities.com/mybusiness or www.pages.google.com/mybusiness
• Doesn’t sound quite as nice!• To get a www.mybusiness.com name, you will
have to buy a domain name• Can also use .net, .org, .biz
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What is a Web Host?
• A WEB HOST gets you the storage space to put up your website
• Most sources today offer BOTH domain names and web hosting:– www.godaddy.com– www.register.com– www.networksolutions.com
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How Do I Get a Domain Name / Web Host?
• There are LOTS of resources online that offer these services – search around!
• Check out their ratings:– www.webhostingratings.com (over 200 to
choose from)– Compare cost, data storage, visit some of
their sites
• Most sources today offer BOTH – buy at one time
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Typical Costs
• Domain Name Registration– www.networksolutions.com: $35 / year– www.godaddy.com: $10 / year– www.bulkregister.com: $10 / year
• These companies all offer basically the same thing - with very little difference in service.
• It’s easiest to get a domain name and web host from the same company
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Typical Costs
• Web Hosting– Offer different levels of services (Basic,
Deluxe, Premium) based on storage size and data transfer
– Typically you can pay by the month
– Service you receive will differ – who do you call if your site goes down?
Yearly CostBasic Deluxe Premium
Network Solutions $120 $160 $348GoDaddy $45 $75 $162BulkRegister $72 $120 $288
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So, How Do I Build a Website?
• Microsoft Word• Free sites
– www.geocities.com – www.pages.google.com
• Dedicated Software – Frontpage– Dreamweaver
• Outsource!
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Build It Yourself With Microsoft Word!
• Can be done in simple programs like Microsoft Word– Put in text, pictures, etc. – File -> Save as-> Web page (Word basically converts to
html)– Save several pages and link them together
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Build It Yourself With Microsoft Word!
• Make sure you save your “Home” page as “index.htm”– This ensures that this page opens when someone browses to
your site
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Slide • Make a few pages (Home, Background, Products) and save as web pages
• Link them together – Highlight words
– Insert: Hyperlink
– Can also link to other webpages
Build It Yourself With Microsoft Word!
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Slide • Keep all files used (pictures, pages, any logos) in the SAME FOLDER
• This will save a lot of time when you “upload” your files to the Internet
Build It Yourself With Microsoft Word!
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Slide • STILL REQUIRES purchasing a domain name and web space in order to upload
• Uploading instructions will be sent by Web host– Typically involve logging onto your account and
selecting which files are involved– Most sites use FTP: File Transfer Protocol
• Similar to Windows Explorer: Click & Drag which files you want to upload
Build It Yourself With Microsoft Word!
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Slide • Uploading Files Example: – File Transfer Protocol as part of GoDaddy.com
Build It Yourself With Microsoft Word!
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FREE Sites
• Can also be done online - free sites like www.geocities.com www.pages.google.com
www.bravenet.com
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FREE Sites
• Free sites offer step-by-step instructions, and use general templates for their design
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Pros and Cons
Microsoft Word• Pros
– Most people have general knowledge
– Simple to use / create
• Cons– Lacks sophisticated
techniques other software allows
– Still requires domain name / web host purchase
Free Sites
• Pros– They’re FREE!– Allow for experimentation with
different layouts, fonts, etc.
• Cons– Limited choices– Most serious businesses will
want a dedicated “.com” or “.org” name
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Dedicated Software Packages
• Most professional websites will be built with “fancier” software packages:– Microsoft Frontpage (~$150)– Adobe Dreamweaver (~$420)
• These give much more control to the designer and allow for more complex designs / features
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Dedicated Software Packages
• Frontpage is being phased out – Microsoft now offering “SharePoint Designer”
• Dreamweaver seems to be what most professionals use– Uses split screens to show how your text turns into HTML code
• Full, semester-long classes on Dreamweaver are offered• Check your local technology center!
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Outsourcing
• Most people are NOT website designers• Putting together a website that reflects highly on your
business requires a significant amount of time and money• Lots of businesses pay others to design websites for them
– Can look at several different layouts / styles
– Review the website before it goes “live”
– They are probably more artistic than you!
• Costs– Can be all over the place!
– Some ballpark estimates: $300 for a home page, $100 for each additional page
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Outsourcing
• Who are you hiring?– Evaluate sites they’ve worked on– Speak to clients and see how they were to work with– Is it worth it to hire your nephew, cousin, etc.? They can
probably do the job fairly cheaply, but will they be around when you need to update the site TODAY?
• A good web developer can save you time and money – and headaches!
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SUMMARY
• 3 things you need to have a working website:– Basic layout of a site (at least 2-3 different pages)– Domain Name– Web Host
• Design options– Microsoft Word– Online Do-it-yourself’ers: geocities, google pages– Dedicated Software: Dreamweaver, Frontpage– Pay someone else to do it
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SUMMARY
• What you should be able to tell people who ask about websites (I hope!):
– What they need to get started (an idea, a domain name, and a web host)
• Get their plan nailed down BEFORE buying a domain name
– Typical costs they will encounter– Options for proceeding
• Pros and cons of each
– List of resources: free pages, web hosts, examples
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Any Questions?
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Additional Training
• E-commerce Workshops
• 3 Topics (~1.5 hours each)– Introduction to e-commerce– Planning your website– Marketing your website
• Coming to Southeastern OK in early 2008• Feb 13 – Idabel • Feb 21 – Ada• Mar 5 – Antlers• Mar 11 – Seminole• Mar 25 - Ardmore • May 21 – Sulphur
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Contact Information
Brian [email protected]
(405) 744-9825
Department of Agricultural EconomicsRural Development
504 Ag Hall, Stillwater, OK 74078http://agecon.okstate.edu/broadband/