The Gilroy Chamber of Commerce has asked us to present the basics of Web Design and Ecommerce.

Web Design and Ecommerce

 

Website Basics:

Any website needs 4 key elements:

1. Domain Name

A domain is the address you need to access a website.

1and1.com, hostgator.com, justhost.com

These services are $10 – $12 per year and allow you to create your own domain name.

Ex. Mycoolsite.com

This also allows you to have custom email addresses: Steve@mycoolsite.com

 

2.       Server

A server is the computer that stores the information necessary for your website and allows access to the site throughout the internet.

Servers range anywhere from $8- $20 per month 1and1.com, hostgator.com, justhost.com

 

3.       Site Infrastructure

Most sites are not built from scratch.  Designers use Content Management Systems (Joomla,  WordPress, Drupal,  Magento) which provide templates for the creation of websites.  Care should also be used in selecting a CMS that is customizable to ensure that the site and it’s content is easily indexed by Google and other search engines.

 

4.       Website Content

Websites can display anything from business information and contact numbers, to services offered.  Content can also include an online store with detailed product descriptions, shopping cart and secure credit card processing.  Fresh content is necessary to keep people visiting your site.  Blogs, webinars, video some of many ways to keep content fresh.

 

 

Ecommerce:

The ability to collect online payments for the sale of goods and services.

Ecommerce servers differ from website servers in that they are built using various security protocols to protect customer information and credit cards.  Payment Card Industry Standards (PCI) are a set of standards agreed upon by the major credit card companies to provide a benchmark for Ecommerce security.

 

Two main types of Ecommerce:

1.       Sell products online using the secure shopping cart provided by PayPal or Google.  These services do not charge for setting up, but both have higher than normal processing fees.

2.       Sell products online using a custom shopping cart content management system.  This method is more expensive to setup but allows for a higher profit margin.

 

Is that all you need?

If you build it they will come.  No.

Millions of sites are built and forgotten. Visit this page to see how, without effort, your new site can just sit there and you will receive little traffic.

 

The Next Step.  SEO

Search Engine Traffic: Google 70%, Yahoo 15%, Bing 10%

Concentrate on Google:

Google’s Rules

PageRank-The importance Google assigns to your site.

Back Links -The more sites that link to yours, the higher your PR

Links from industry related sites have more importance, work with press releases for SEO

High PR backlinks have the most importance

Unofficially-

  • 1000 backlinks from a 0 PR site =
  • 100 backlinks from a 1 PR site =
  • 10 backlinks from a 2 PR site =
  • 1 backlink from a 3 PR site

 

Old Joke:

Two hikers in the woods being chased by a bear.

One stops, takes out running shoes from his backpack and puts them on.

His companion asks him “Do you think running shoes are going to help you outrun a bear?”

He replies “I don’t have to outrun the bear, I only have to out run you.”

This thought process goes the same for websites.  You are never going to outrun  Amazon.com, Staples, Dell or Apple.com.  But it is crucial for you to have higher search engine rankings your local competitors.

 

Grow your business through webinars and webinar marketing, By Chris Hoch