Creating a Web Presence

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Creating a Web Presence
Bernard Charlebois VP Market Development Virtuo.c
a CMS Technologies March 31st 2009
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Seminar Goal

• To provide small business owners with the
  knowledge necessary to draft an effective
  informational website.

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Seminar Objectives
At the end of this seminar, you will be able to

• Determine the type of website presence that suits
  your needs
• Identify the key steps for designing an
  effective website

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Toolkit
More available from the MSBCS website
www.ontario.ca/sbcs
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What do you use the Internet for?
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Possible Answers

• Gaming
• Email
• Remote Access from Work
• Collaboration on Projects
• Streaming Media
• Voice Telephony
• Skype

• Research
• Shopping
• Social Networking
• File Sharing / Downloading
• Directions
• Map Quest
• Telephone Book
• Canada 411

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Four Types of Websites

• Informational
• Provides information about your business,
  products and services

hyperlink
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What type of website?

• Interactive
• Not a shopping site, but it allows for
  interaction between you and your customers (e.g.
  forums, forms, etc)

hyperlink
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What type of website?

• Transactional
• Typical shopping site orders are placed and
  payments are made.

hyperlink
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What type of website?

• Integrated
• Contains software that integrates information you
  collect from the web into your other systems
  (e.g. inventory, contact management, etc)

hyperlink
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Exercise
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Designing an Effective Website

• Most business websites are informational first
  and foremost.
• In an e-business environment, customers expect
  quick access to information about your business
  and products/services.

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Five Steps to Create a Web Presence

• Select a good domain name
• Develop an easy to use site
• Make sure your web host is reliable
• Promote your site to your customers
• Regularly check and update your site

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• Selecting a Domain Name

The domain name should

• Help to brand your business and establish your
  online identity
• Be registered!
• The domain name shouldnt
• Be embarrassing to say or read
• www.penisland.net (Pen Island)
• www.miscommunications.com (MIS Communications )

• Relate to your business
• www.rugman.com
• Be easy to remember, preferably short, and use
  common words
• www.nike.com
• Be easily distinguishable from other domain
  names on the Internet
• www.aa.com vs. www.aa.org

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• Developing an Easy to Use Site

• Two options for designing a website
• Design the website yourself using desktop or
  online software, such as
• Adobe Dreamweaver CS4
• CoffeeCup for Windows
• Homestead SiteBuilder
• Consult the Top 10 Reviewed Software Packages
• http//website-creation-software-review.toptenrevi
  ews.com/
• OsCommerce
• NVU
• 2. Outsource the design of the website to a
  website developer/designer

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Steps for Developing Your Website
Please refer to page 30 within the E-Business
Introductory Toolkit
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What Makes a Good Website Page?
Please refer to page 31 within the E-Business
Introductory Toolkit
hyperlink
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What Makes a Good Website Page?

• Clean and uncluttered appearance
• Easy to find information
• Correct information
• The benefits of its products and services are
  highlighted
• Current and working

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• Ensuring Your Web Host is Reliable

• What is a Web Host?
• A web host stores the website you create on their
  servers and transmits it to the Internet.
• E.g. Capital Freenet, Yahoo, Google, and
  Microsoft (Small Business Live)
• As a result, when someone types in your domain
  name, your website appears.
• A server is just a fancy computer that "serves
  up" your web site to the Internet.

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A few things to consider
about your web host

• Length of time in business
• Proven track record
• Examples of websites with e-commerce hosting
• Do they offer quick, understandable technical
  support?
• Do they have strong performance standards for
  quality and hosting reliability?
• Do they offer good security protocols?
• Make sure security measures are in place,
  including anti-virus, anti-spam,
  firewalls, etc.
• Can you get enough space to cover your site
  requirements?
• Do they have reasonable Data Transfer or
  Traffic Limits?
• Are they using compatible operating systems and
  server?

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• Promoting Your Website

How can you promote your website?

• Offline (e.g. traditional marketing print-based
  materials)
• Search Engines (e.g. Google, Yahoo, etc.)
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• Links (e.g. businesses and community and industry
  associations)
• Banner advertisements or pop-ups
• E-newsletters or information-based websites
• Blogs
• Social networking sites (e.g. www.facebook.com)

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• Regularly Check and Update Your Site

• Ensure your website is current and working
• Regularly update information about your products
  and services
• Check spelling and grammar
• Update prices and other key information
• Ensure all links are working properly
• Ensure the content is current and applicable to
  the needs of your customers
• Website maintenance
• Modification of website content
• Regular submission of your site to search engines
• Software updates
• Checking to ensure the links are functional

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Maintaining Your Website
Please refer to page 33 within the E-Business
Introductory Toolkit
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