Small Business Websites What You Need to Know! October 18, 2007

Small Business WebsitesSmall Business WebsitesWhat You Need to Know!What You Need to Know!

October 18, 2007October 18, 2007

Liz Niederberger

Zumu Software

OverviewOverview Why every small business needs a website? Basic Terms You Need to Know What should you have on your website? Who looks at your website? How do you use your website effectively? How often should you change your website? Tips and Tools Questions and Comments

Why Every Business Needs a Website?Why Every Business Needs a Website?

More people are on the web than ever before The phone book is obsolete When looking for something, many people will look

on the web first Business Legitimacy A good website conveys a lot about your business. A bad website conveys a lot about your business.

Basic Terms You Need To KnowBasic Terms You Need To Know

Domain Name Hosting Provider Website Design Website Updates Content Management Email

Domain NameDomain Name What is it? How do I get one? www.NetworkSolutions.com

Some Hints About Domain NamesSome Hints About Domain Names

The name of your business. An abbreviation of your business name. Something short and easy to remember (if

possible) .com (if possible) .org (if non-profit)

Hosting ProviderHosting Provider

What is hosting? How do I get one? How much does it cost? How do I learn more?

Website DesignWebsite Design

Layout of the site Navigation of the site What pages you want on the site How each page will look

Website UpdatesWebsite Updates

Once everything is setup, you must keep the site up-to-date

Who will do the updates? How often? What’s really needed?

Website UpdatesWebsite Updates

Once everything is setup, you must keep the site up-to-date

Who will do the updates? How often? What’s really needed?

Content ManagementContent Management

Setup and Design of the Site User can login and change text with no

technical knowledge New pages can be added easily Additional features that were not need

initially can be added quickly

EmailEmail You should have an email address with

your domain name, e.g., [email protected] This is the email you should print on

business cards and sales material If you don’t want to have more than one

place to check your email, you can always forward email

People often use email address to find company websites

What Should I Have on My WebsiteWhat Should I Have on My Website

Business Name, Address, Phone Number, Logo What you do! (services, products) Business Hours Product Photos Pricing Information About Us Contact Us (email, phone, form, etc.) Directions Credit Cards Accepted Upcoming Events

What Should Not Be On Your WebsiteWhat Should Not Be On Your Website

Broken Links Old, out of date information Spinning, flashing, blinking Advertisting that is not yours! Hard to read text Unclear images

Build It and They Will ComeBuild It and They Will Come Publish your website address. Include it on all

your sales material. Make sure your site can be found using the major

search engines (Google, Yahoo, Ask, MSN) Try to get your site on the first page of search. The

top three is better. First is best. Title Tags and Meta Tags are the most important

components of search engine listings. Utilize other sites to get your site out there, e.g.

Chamber of Commerce sites, town sites, municipal groups, etc.

Who Looks at My Website? Who Looks at My Website?

Almost any service you host with should provide statistics about your site.

Google allows you to embed code so you can get statistics

www.google.com/analytics

What Statistics Tell YouWhat Statistics Tell You Number of Unique Visitors Number of Hits Monthly, Weekly, Daily, Hourly History IP addresses of visitors Robot and Spiders that stopped by Duration of the visits Pages visited

How to Use Your Website EffectivelyHow to Use Your Website Effectively

Collect email addresses from customers and website visitors

Use email list to send information about discounts, sales, and special events

Add new pages for sales and special events Create reasons for people to go to your site Provide useful information for customers Gather feedback from customers using web

forms

How Often Should You How Often Should You

Change Your Website?Change Your Website? It really depends upon your business But you must update it as often as needed Pricing should be up-to-date Menus should be up-to-date Pictures should be up-to-date

Tips & ToolsTips & Tools Useit.com Allbusiness.businessweek.com NJentreprenure.com Google.com NY Times Small Business Trentonnj.org www.zumu.com

Questions & CommentsQuestions & Comments