YES! in this presentation:

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1 in this presentation: All About Web Sites Why you need a web site Getting the ball rolling What should be on your web site What type of web site is best for you How to get your web site found Does my agency really need a web site? YES! 1

2 Why? Why? Ask yourself, "Does my business need 24 hour exposure, 7 days a week, 365 days a year? Your competition probably has a web site. How many of these successful companies have web sites? Visa Apple Mercedes Benz Wal Mart General Electric AT&T Microsoft Kroger Home Depot McKesson CVS Riley Hospital Indianapolis Colts McDonald s Clarian Health The internet is a level playing field for small businesses The internet is a level playing field for small businesses and large corporations. All of them! 2

3 Numbers, Numbers, Numbers Numbers, Numbers, Numbers 18billi 1.8 billion people around the globe have internet taccess In the USA, 74.1% of the population uses the internet There are over 13 billion searches performed on the web each month and growing g( (compared to 1 billion references per month made in yellow page publications) 82% of small businesses use search engines. Yet 56% of small businesses still don t have web sites. What s wrong with this picture? (sources: Nielson Online, webtrafficpartners.com) What makes a web site better than other forms of advertising? What makes a web site better than other forms of advertising? It can hold more information Information can be changed instantly A web site is a permanent sales person It encourages the visitor to take action Global l exposure 3

4 Step One: Know Your Budget Hopefully you see by now why you need a site Now what? Determine your budget for the project. Web sites can cost anywhere from $500 to $50,000 and more. Seriously. Your agency can probably get a custom web site for between $750 $3000 depending on what you want on your site. Step One: Know Your Budget Step Two: Set Your Objectives The old adage is still true You get what you pay for. If your budget is low, you can choose to start with a basic site and upgrade later when more funds are available. Or, you may have to sacrifice some of the things you want on your site. When you are ready to start planning your web site, write your objectives down! With that said, don t limit your ideas when determining what you want for your site. 4

5 Step Two: Set Your Objectives Step Two: Set Your Objectives How do you want a potential patient and/or their family members to benefit from using your site? How do you want a potential employee to benefit from using your site? Step Two: Set Your Objectives Step Two: Set Your Objectives How do you want potential partnering agencies to benefit from your site? b f f h How do YOU want to benefit from having your site? How do you want your competition NOT to benefit from seeing your site? (here s a hint: don t list your prices!) 5

6 Step Two: Set Your Objectives Use your objectives to determine what you will require on your web site. Make notes! You will use them later. Step Two: Set Your Objectives You don t have to know the technical details for what you want, just know what you want. A competent Web Designer should be able to help you determine what you need to reach your objectives. Step Three: Gather Ideas Step Three: Gather Ideas Do you have a logo? If so, do you even like it? Do you have a color scheme in mind? A web site is a reflection of your company. Does your company have design guidelines that must be followed? 6

7 Be a sponge! Step Three: Gather Ideas Look at web sites of other agencies in your field to get some ideas. Look at what pages they have, how the text speaks, and the web site s usefulness. It's important to take note of a few of the competitors that strike you, either as examples of what you want to do or what you do NOT want to do. Step Three: Gather Ideas Using your outline as a guide, think about the categories of information that you want to include on your site. This will help you figure out what pages you need on your site, and the functionality that those pages will need. Also think about the titles that you want these pages to have. Some examples are: Home, About Us, Employment, Frequently Asked Questions, Our Services, Contact Us, etc. Step Three: Gather Ideas Step Four: Create a Plan Get ideas for what you want your domain name (your web address) to be. You know those objectives you ve set and those ideas you ve gathered? It s time to put them to use. Try to pick a name that is easy to remember. 7

8 Step Four: Create a Plan Start outlining your notes. Write a one paragraph description of your site and its purpose. Write out what pages you want, what features you think you need, the colors you want, etc. There is no right or wrong way to do this. You can write your plan however you like, however it makes sense to you. Step Five: Talk with Designers Now you know what you want on the site, and may have some ideas for how it should look. Meet with web design companies and share your ideas and requirements. They will probably be impressed with how prepared you are! Step Five: Talk with Designers Ask the design companies what they can do to hl help you reach your goals. Ask them to be specific and to tell you what solutions they can offer. Step Five: Talk with Designers Make sure the company you choose understands what you do, your values, and the general profile of your agency. 8

9 Step Five: Talk with Designers Step Five: Talk with Designers Have them prepare you a quote. The quote should tell you what pages will be on the site, what features will be used, and how much each of those things will cost. If the initial quote is over your budget, don t be scared! Let the designer know your budget, and ask what you can do to get it under your budget. Step Five: Talk with Designers Many web designers will work within your budget. Some companies will let you make installment payments. Figure out what features are most important to you, and what you could live without. Step Six: Get a Contract Once you find a designer you can trust, a quote with all of the right details, and a price you can afford, ask for a contract. If they don t have a contract, don t give them your money! Don t sign it until you ve read it and understand Don t sign it until you ve read it and understand the terms of the contract. Ask for clarification if needed. 9

10 Step Six: Get a Contract Make sure it is in the contract that when the site is completed and paid for, you will be the copyright owner of the site. Step Six: Get a Contract Paying for a web site does not necessarily mean you have obtained copyright ownership of the site. You may have only been given a License to Use, which may create headaches later if you update the site or change a few things on your own or with another designer. Okay! The designer is picked, the budget is approved, and the contract is signed! Our work is done! Right? Nope. Now come the two most important parts of your web site: The content and the design. 10

11 Content, Content, Content Your quote from your designer should break down in detail what pages will be on your site. Your quote is like a table of contents. Use it to start figuring out what information you want on what page. Content, Content, Content Sample pages: Home About Us Our Services Employment Testimonials F.A.Q. Contact Us Content, Content, Content Before writing any copy, understand your target markets and what they are looking for in your home health or hospice agency. If your web site s content doesn t speak to your target market, what purpose p is it serving? Focus on your audience s needs. Content, Content, Content Some general rules: Keep your information focused and precise. Be honest and give the straight facts. Use your copy to establish credibility and trust. 11

12 Content, Content, Content Some general rules: Web users detest "marketese"; the promotional writing style, with boastful subjective claims, that is currently prevalent on the web. Write copy (text) for your web site that will engage the visitor. Make your web site conversational and personal. Content: Your Home Page The Home Page The first page most visitors will visit is your home page. Make that first impression count. People judge the usefulness of a web site by its home page. Content: Your Home Page Content: Your Home Page The content on your home page should set out quickly and clearly: What s on your web site Where to find it How to contact you Why the visitor should explore further Don t tell them tell them what you are going to tell them. 12

13 Content: Your Home Page Content: Other Tips Include relevant keywords and phrases that say what you do, who you serve, and where you serve. Provide your designer with every single word to be put on your web site. No one knows your company like you do, so why should a web designer be speaking for you? There are professional copywriters that can help you. Content: Other Tips Be consistent with your other marketing materials. Keep the information on each page relevant to the topic. Remember: What you say on your web site is what a search engine will see. Content: Other Tips Speling mistakes and grammer mistake don t look good. Watch out for formattingerrors and missing punctuation Make sure your page is easy to read. Break text into manageable pieces, use sub headings, short paragraphs, highlighted keywords and bullet points. Don t try to fit too much information on one page. 13

14 Content: Other Tips Content isn t just text photos help the user relate to your business, and can display creditability. If you don t have photos to use, and can t get any taken for you, there are plenty of stock photo web sites with reasonable prices, or sometimes even free photos. Free sites: Pay sites: Content: Write It Out Create a Word document for EVERY page. Put the text in the document just like you want it to appear on the web site. For each page, also include a brief title,a 1 2 sentence description, and include about 20 keywords. Content: Write It Out Content: Write It Out When you have completed the Word documents, give them to your designer. Once again, your designer will be amazed at how organized and prepared you are! 14

15 The Design So now you ve got content what s next? The Design. Balancing Creativity and Usability: Usability is #1. The Design The Design: Do s Consider these questions from your visitor s point of view: Can they find pages they are looking for? Do the images/audio/video work in their browser? Do they get annoyed at anything? Are they pleased by anything? Your web site ss template should be easy on the eyes Clean and sharp Use standard fonts and colors Be consistent from page pg to pg page White space is your friend 15

16 The Design: Do s The Design: Do s Make your web site as intuitive i i as possible. The simpler your web site is to understand and to navigate, the longer visitors will hang around. The Design: Do s The Design: Do s Search engines don t see images, so if your main navigation system uses images, make sure the designer also creates text links. Links should be clearly distinguishable from plain text. Follow the 3 Click Rule. 16

17 The Design: Do s The Design: Do s Your site must be cross browser compatible. Have your designer install Google Analytics on your web site. The Design: Dont s The Design: Dont s Don t use huge images that increase load times. Don t put Under Construction signs on your web site. Don t let your visitors get lost. Don t let your web designer use frames! 17

18 The Design: Dont s The Design: Dont s Don t put a visible page counter on your site. Don t use auto playing background music. Don't center everything on your web pages. Don t create your whole web site in Flash! Flash can be fun and highly interactive, but it can also detract from the user experience, take forever to load, and cannot be seen by search engines. If you want Flash on your site, use it sparingly. Templates vs. Custom Designs A web site template (or a web site builder tool) is a pre made design that anyone can purchase to use for their web site. A custom design is a unique web site made specifically for your company by a web designer. Templates vs. Custom Designs Advantages of using web site templates: Initial cost is lower. Can be good if you need a temporary site or need something online very, very quickly. With some knowledge, you may be able to do ityourself. 18

19 Templates vs. Custom Designs Disadvantages of using web site templates: If a certain template really appeals to you, chances are other people have bought that same template, too. You will be limited in the changes you can make to the site. Some templates have pre cut layouts that may break when you insert your logo, photo, etc. May be difficult to incorporate your agency s branding and colors. Templates vs. Custom Designs Disadvantages of using web site templates: You will have to take the time to learn basic web design skills to use the template. Many templates have been around for a long time and use improper and/or antiquated coding. May not be search engine friendly. Templates vs. Custom Designs Disadvantages of using web site templates: If you run into problems down the road, you will have to figure it out on your own, or possibly end up hiring a web designer anyway. Professional web designers may refuse to work on a template based site. Templates vs. Custom Designs Advantages of using a custom design: Your web site will be unique. You can customize everything. Since the site will be brand new, it should use up to date coding and technology. Scalability. 19

20 Templates vs. Custom Designs Advantages of using a custom design: You will own the design. You may be able to re use elements from your custom design in other marketing materials. Can be built with a Content Management System (CMS) that allows you to add/edit pages easily on your own. You ll have the knowledge of a professional to help you. Templates vs. Custom Designs Disadvantages of using a custom design: Initial cost will be higher If you don t get a CMS, changes to your web site are at the mercy of your designer. If you don t get a CMS, there may also be maintenance fees. Templates vs. Custom Designs Get Your Web Site Found Think about what s most important to you: Getting a web site up easily Having a professional, unique site Keeping your brand image Saving money by doing it yourself i Saving stress by letting a designer handle it Visibility + Credibility = Profitability (Ivan Misner) 20

21 Get Your Web Site Found There are basically three ways to get your site listed in a search engine: Submit your site directly to the search engine using a free submit form. Let the search engine find your site through links to your site from other sites. Buy ads to be displayed on the search engine. Get Your Web Site Found Submit your site to search engines and directories: Google.com Dmoz.org Yellowpages.com Yahoo.com Ask.com Localeze.com Get Your Web Site Found Get Your Web Site Found You can buy ads, but you can t buy a #1 ranking. After your site is online, even if you submit it to search engines, it may not show up right away. Don t worry. Search engines crawl through the web to find web sites, and it can take up to 6 months to see any real results in searches. 21

22 Get Your Web Site Found Proper Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is vital to your web site s success and a search engine s ability to see your site. Custom sites may already be optimized, but most templates are not Never hire an SEO company that says they can guarantee you a #1 ranking on Google! An SEO company can actually damage your site s ranking Get Your Web Site Found The most important things you should do: Use unique titles, descriptions, and keywords on every page. Submit your site to search engines. Keep your web site up to date. Get links to your web site. Market your web site in everything you do! Q & A Thank You! matt@creativevantagedesigns.com