setting up and maintaining a website
DESCRIPTION
This presentation shows simple, cheap ways for beginners to get themselves a presence on the web. Setup videos of three of the services mentioned can be found on my blog: http://espirian.co.uk/setting-up-a-website-with-squarespace/ http://espirian.co.uk/setting-up-a-website-with-weebly/ http://espirian.co.uk/setting-up-a-website-with-wordpress/TRANSCRIPT
Setting up and maintaining a website
by John Espirian
Thinking about websites
What will be the purpose of your site?
How much time do you have?
How much money are you willing to spend?
Your brand and message
What is your visual message?
How will you write about yourself?
Do you have any testimonials?
The quick way to get started
Choose a WYSIWYG website builder
Choose a visual theme
Add some interesting content
… and then do some refining
Domain names
Example: google.com
Example: espirian.co.uk
A name used to reach a website on the internet
Some free ways to test the water
Experiment by creating a free website
Limited choice of domain names
Let's look at a few examples
about.me
www.squarespace.com
www.wordpress.com
Benefits of the website-builder approach
Quick and easy to get started
Low cost
No reliance on another person
Develops your CMS skills
Drawbacks of the website-builder approach
Generic look and feel
Limited control over some aspects
Content may be difficult to export
Locked in to price/server performance
The hard way
The hard way
Benefits of the manual approach
Full control over design
Host content anywhere
Develops your web skills
Drawbacks of the manual approach
Limited by your visual/coding skills
Testing required
Development can take a long time
Promoting your website
Use existing social communication channels
Update stationery and signatures
Tell people about your online presence
Website maintenance
Keep your content fresh and concise
Perform a regular review
Don't forget domain and hosting payments
