Lesson 2.

Building your Web Presence

• Choosing your online presence

The most obvious way to “go digital” is with a website. Early websites weren’t much
more than online brochures that described the who, what and where.

Some businesses use local listings to create a digital presence, using products like
Google My Business and Bing Places for Business. These types of directories let
businesses publish details like descriptions, reviews, maps, and images. These
listings are usually free and are a good way to help your business appear on results
pages when people search.

Beyond local listings, there may be review sites for your specific type of business
where people can leave feedback — and you can respond. Rave reviews will give
you the edge over the competition.

You can also use social media as your digital presence. People all over the world
use Facebook and Twitter pages to complement — or in some cases replace — a
website. Another way you can reach customers online is through their mobile.

Apps can take advantage of a mobile device’s unique capabilities, like GPS,
mapping, and phone, to connect with customers. If a customer installs your app on
her mobile, the next time she’s near your shop, the app might send her a special
offer, thanks to GPS.

Whether you use a website, local business listings, social media, mobile apps, or all of
the above, the trick is to decide what you want customers to do, then create a home that
accomplishes those goals. Together, these things work as your digital storefront: your
space to interact with customers online.

• How Websites Work

Website - is your business’s home on the Internet. Its where potential customers can
come and learn about your business and what it has to offer them.

To launch a website, you need to get what is called hosting space. Think of it like a plot
of land for a house. Sometimes you must pay a fee. In some cases, it’s free.

Server- is a computer connected to the Internet, with software that allows it to store or
'host' the pieces of your website: the code, the images, the video clips and anything else
that makes up your site. It’s called a server because it ‘serves’ up the right content when
requested — that is, when someone wants to view a page on your website.
Every single server in the world has its own address. This is called an IP address,
which is short for internet protocol. All you need to know is, it’s a long string of numbers
that means any device connected to the internet can talk to the server and find it.

Domain name is how potential customers will find you, the same way people would find
our real-world bakery: by the sign above its door. It’s the thing you type into the browser
window to get to any website. Like www.google.co.uk or
www.yourbusinessnamegoeshere.com

But what if someone wants to find you, or in this case your website? They’d use a
browser like Google Chrome. This locates and retrieves the website information, and
then displays it. How long a website takes to load depends on things such as the
amount and type of information, and internet speeds.

• Key Website Ingredients

1. Domain name - When choosing a domain name, you first need to check if the one
you want is available. A good domain name is one that people can easily remember.
Keep it as short, relevant and as to-the-point as possible.

How do you know if the name you want is taken?

Just do a search for 'domain registrar' and click on one of the results. There should be a
tool on the site that lets you see if someone is already using the name you want. And, if
they are, it may suggest another similar name that’s available for you to use.

You may be able to get a variation of the name you want by choosing a different
extension, which is the fancy name for the bit at the end. You’re probably familiar with
the '.com' or ‘. co.uk' extensions, but you might find others that are available or a better
fit. For example, non-profit organizations often use '.org.'

2. Home page - is your shop window, where you invite people in and explain what
you’re all about. A home page also directs visitors to other pages of your website
through what we call 'navigation'. Your navigation headings may run across the top
of a page or down the side. Either way, it’s a menu that lets people travel from one
part of the site to another.
3. Organization of the Website – How you organize the site is very important. Start by
thinking about the websites you visit regularly. How are they organized?
4. Content -Decide what kind of content you want to offer, and then group it together in
ways that make sense. Incidentally, many website-building tools offer business
website templates that can help you get started.

Your website — your digital storefront — is a great opportunity to connect with

customers. Choosing the right domain name, organizing the site logically and including
nifty features can help your visitors find exactly what they are looking for.
• Websites and your business goals
How can your website unite your visitors’ wants with your business needs?

So, you’re starting to design your site. As you do this, keep your goals in mind, but also
consider what your visitors are looking for. Marrying what you want people to do on your
site and what they want to do is the secret to success.

If you’re a business, be sure to put your phone number in a very visible location—
maybe even highlight it—on every page of your site. You might even consider adding
some text encouraging visitors to “call now.” And make your Contact page easy to find
in case that’s their first stop.

Let us say you want more locals to visit your bakery. Meanwhile, your customers want
to know how to find you when they’re craving some fresh baguettes. Including maps
on your website along with specific directions can make you both happy.

So, what other things visitors might be looking for on your website? Prices? Special
offers? Certifications to show you’re qualified to provide a service? By making sure all
these things are easily available, you match your business goals with your visitors’
needs.

The words you use should be so much more than just a sales pitch. Explain how you
can meet the needs of your customer or solve a problem they have. By framing it in
terms of what you can do to help visitors, your content will be much more engaging, not
to mention more helpful.

Tell a story to help connect with your visitors. Things like testimonials or videos
starring satisfied customers whose problem you solved, or letting people write reviews
about your products and services directly on your site can really help.

People won’t be on your website for long, and they may scan words quickly or not at all.
But images, headlines and clear navigation can help them find exactly what they’re
looking for before they move on.

Design and build your website with your business goals and your visitors’ desires in
mind, and it will have a much better chance of success.
• Make your website easy to use

Look at navigation: the stuff that guides visitors around your site. Good navigation
means arranging your site in a way that makes sense for your visitors. You can
organize things the same way and have the main menu navigation tell visitors what
they’ll find in each section, like signs in your shop.

Including a search box might be a good idea, especially if your site has lots of pages
or products. Put the search box in the same place on every page of your site, so it’s
easy to find, and visitors who are in a rush will always be able to find it, and whatever
they’re looking for.

Things to consider about navigation: When people visit any site on the web, they expect
things to work a certain way. Say you’re browsing a site and you want to get back to the
home page—what do you do? Click on the logo. This is something visitors will expect,
and it’s common to nearly every website, so be sure your logo is clearly displayed on
every page, and that a click on it takes them “home.”

Style of the Website

Consider your page layout. It should be consistent across your site, with similar
fonts, images, and other design elements. When it comes to color, you may be
inclined to go bold to grab attention.
Use headers and bulleted lists to help them quickly scan your pages and decide if
it’s worth their time to stay.
Write for your audience. Are they a highly technical bunch? Then jargon is A-OK.
Otherwise, write for the everyman.
Encourage visitors to take an action while visiting your site. This is called - can you
guess it? - a “call to action,” and it can help them understand what to do next.
Want them to pick up the telephone? Tell them to “Call now.” Hoping they’ll pay you
a visit? Point them to “Get directions to our store.” Or nudge them to make a
purchase with a “Buy now!”

When you are creating a website, try your best to make it easy to use. Give visitors a
clear roadmap to your site’s pages, keep design consistent throughout, write content
that speaks their language, and give them the experience they are looking for.
• Websites Do’s and Don’ts

How to make sure your pages load fast, making your site mobile friendly, general
accessibility and the quality of your content?

First, you need speed. Internet users are not famous for patience, and if your pages
take too long to load, they’ll leave.

If you have images on your pages, use the smallest ones you need. Ditch large,
high-resolution files if they’re only going to appear as thumbnails. Plenty of software
programs can resize or compress images to make them smaller, and this translates
to faster loading times.

Simplify your design. Generally, the more you limit what your visitors’ browsers have
to download and re-use, the faster pages will load.

Make sure your website is easy to use on a mobile. More and more people are using
their smartphones as their primary device for browsing the web, and if your site is
difficult to use on these devices, you’ll potentially lose customers.

The easiest way to have a mobile-friendly website is to build it that way from the
start, using an approach like “responsive design,” which automatically detects the
type of screen being used and displays the site, accordingly, doing things like
stacking text and photos vertically on a smartphone being held upright.

Keep in mind things like swiping or tapping, which are unique to touchscreens. Be
sure the components of your website respond properly to these kinds of “inputs.”
Using widely recognized icons and making content clear and well organized will help
visitors using smaller screens to find what they need.

Make it easy to find your address and phone number. Many devices are equipped
with GPS and mapping features, which can help visitors on-the-go. And of course,
when accessing your website from a mobile, it should be easy for visitors to give you
a ring.

Do a test run from as many computers, devices and browsers as you can. Does your
site look right in every case? Are you prompted to download plug-ins? That’s an
extra step that may send visitors away.

Remember that your website is not just for selling—it’s for solving.

For example, if you own a bakery that makes custom cakes, someone is probably
visiting your site because they need one. You could write pages about your
decorating style and inspirations. But a testimonial and photos from a real-life
customer might be a better bet.
An example of elements with the longest duration of load time, up to the shortest.

• 2-minute HD advertising video for the bakery

• Large high-res, full-screen background image
• 20-second explainer animation
• Low-res compressed thumbnail image
• Twitter button that links to Twitter page
• Text descriptions

You should design your web pages efficiently using compressed images and not too
many large files such as videos. It’s good to test how long it takes for a business
website to load on different devices and connections before it goes live.