Transcript sba web presentationh - ACT! Software Consulting Services

Internet Resources
SBDC Business Executive Training
Program
Patricia Egen
[email protected]
www.egenconsulting.com
Agenda
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Why do I want to use the Internet?
Tools of the trade
A few definitions to help navigate the acronyms
The power of search engines
Key business sites
Freeware/Shareware - gifts of the Internet
Downloading tips and techinques
Setting up your own Web site
Where to find more help
Demo of web sites and tools
Why the Web “Works”
• Geographic Distribution -- The net reaches around the world.
• Robust Architecture -- The net adapts to damage and error.
• Speed -- Data travels at 2/3 the speed of light on copper and
fiber.
• Universal Access -- The same functionality to everyone.
• Growth Rates -- fastest growing technology ever.
• Freedom of Speech -- The net promotes freedom of speech.
• The Digital Advantage -- The net is digital, and can correct
errors.
• Ease of Use
• Search capabilities
How the Web Works
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Addresses or URLs (Universal Resource Locator)
– Domains (com,edu,gov,org,mil,net) are part of URL
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Servers
– Programs and computers that manage web sites.
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HTTP
– The protocol (or language) used to communicate web pages over the net.
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Pages
– Web pages are windows.
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HTML
– The language used to define web pages.
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Links
– Jump to other sites and connections using “hypertext.“
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Applets
– Download little programs on-the-fly, such as Adobe or Shockwave
Growth of the Web
• 1998
– 47 Million U.S. Internet users
• June, 1999 Study results
– 63.4 Million U.S. Users (105.4 Million with Internet
Access)
– The average user visited 12 websites and spent 7 hours,
38 minutes online that month
Business Uses of the Internet - Part 1
• Government and SBA
– IRS tax forms and publications
– US Post Office - rates and e-stamps
• Financial information
– Quickbooks.com, loan information, mortage info, online banking
• Supplies
– Computer equipment - OnSales.com
– Staples, Office Depot
• Software assistance and support
• Current events and up to the minute weather and news
• Electronic Mail
Business Uses of the Internet - Part 2
• Reference
– Maps, directions
– Phone books, mail directories
• Business Research
– Competitor information
– Market analysis
– Supplier listings
• Thomas Register, IndustryNet, WIZnet, MacRAE'S Blue Book Directory
• Business services
– eStamp
– ePrinting
– Travel (hotels, airfare, cars)
Cool Business Sites - Part 1
• Financial and Business
– Guides for Small business and the web:
www.looksmart.com/eus1/eus65300/eus65319/eus578863/r?l&
– Bloomburg: www.bloomberg.com/
– CNNFN: www.cnnfn.com
– Quickbooks for small business: www.quickbooks.com
– American City Business Journals: www.bizjournals.com/
– Bell South - www.bellsouth.com/state/ky/edressof.htm
– Small Business Association - www.sba.gov
– SOHO - work.soho.org
– Stocks: quote.yahoo.com
Cool Business Sites - Part 2
• Business Services
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US Postage Rate Calculator: www.usps.gov/business/calcs.htm
Currency converter: www.xe.net/ucc/
Track your UPS package: www.ups.com
Faxing over the Net: www.efax.com
– Maps: www.mapquest.com/
• Travel
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Travelocity: www.travelocity.com
Flifo: www.flifo.com
The Trip: www.thetrip.com
Expedia : www.expedia.com
Cool Business Sites - Part 3
• Weather
– Weather Underground: www.wunderground.com
– Weather service: www.wx.com
• Computer and Software
– Bug and fix reports on software: www.betafix.com
– Windows 98 help: www.annoyances.com/win98
– Windows drivers: www.windrivers.com
• Small Business Tools
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Virtual University for Small Business :www.vusme.com
Documents online (including storage): www.netdocuments.com
Invoice and billing: www.timebills.com
Mass Mailings over the Net: www.eletter.com
Email over “the Phone”: www.enow.com
Software to Download
• Free Software and Shareware
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www.freewarehome.com/
www.winfiles.com
cws.internet.com/
www.tucows.com
Are people buying on the Web?
• You bet! These are in “Billions” of dollars
How to use the Web
• Use your computer with a modem to call an ISP - Internet Service
Provider (your “gateway” to the Web)
• Internet access speeds (are you part of the “World Wide Wait”)
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Modem - 56,000 BPS
ISDN - 64,000 - 128,000 BPS
Cable - up to 3 million BPS (usually not available at those speeds)
ADSL - 384,000 to 1,500,000 BPS
• Use a Browsers, a tool to view Web sites and pages
– Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape
• Start by “Surfing “ - Just look around, following links
Using Search Tools
• Use Search Sites - also called Search Engines
– Key Search Sites
• AltaVista, Excite, HotBot, Infoseek, Lycos, Yahoo
• MetaSearch Sites (sites that search multiple search sites)
– Dogpile, Metacrawler
• Searching techniques
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Boolean Algebra
Use Unique Identifiers
Combine Keywords, With "And”
Add Phrases,
Use Related Keywords
Use Question Phrases with Quotes
Filter Choices With "Or",
Use Restricting Searches (and “not” )
Wildcards (*)
Does your business need a Web Site?
• Probably - over 3000 companies join the net “a
day”
• Questions to ask
– Does your competition have web sites?
– Do you sell a product or a service
– How much do you want to spend, who will manage
the site, prepare the information, etc.
• What can I use it for?
– Marketing, sales, product literature, information,
brochures, shopping carts
– Access is measurable - you can tell how many people
“visit” your site
So You Want to Build a Web Site
• Step one.
– Plan, plan and then plan some more
– Get your domain name! Now!
– Questions to ask yourself
• Understand your audience
– What do you want to say
– What do you want your customers to “hear”
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What do you want to spend
How often will the information be updated
Do you have technical resources available
Where will the site “live”
Design Tips
• KISS* rules
– Keep it simple
• Graphics are pretty; they are also slow
– Design for the lowest common denominator
• Not everyone has a fast Internet connection
• Not everyone has a large or fancy monitor
• Some people have trouble seeing certain colors
– Keep your site interesting
• Add something that changes, like a newsletter, or
“favorite site of the month” to draw return visits
* Keep it simple, silly
More Design tips
• Don’t cram everything on the first page
– Add “links” to other pages on your site
– Draw them in. If you build it they will follow
• (and follow, and follow).
– Add links to other favorite places. Link pages
are interesting to people searching the Web
• Warning - put this at the end of your site or you’ll
lose people as they wander off to your favorite sites
too.
Top Ten Design Mistakes
• Slow download times
• People hit Escape quickly rather than wait.
• Frames
• Oh, how I hate frames!
• Outdated Information
• Very unprofessional
• Sends a strong “we don’t care” message
• Bleeding edge technology
• Shockwave, sound, movies
Top Ten Design Mistakes - part 2
• Scrolling text and animations
• Bouncing balls and banners
• Complex URL’s
• If they are too long, people won’t bother typing them in
• Orphan Pages
• Where do I go now? How do I get back.
• Scrolling Navigation pages
• People generally scan, not read
• What they see in the immediate area is what they go
away with.
Top Ten Design Mistakes - part 3
• Lack of Navigation support
• Again, which page am I on; where’s the home page
• Every page should have links to your other pages
• Try to keep them in the same location.
• Non-standard link colors
• Not a biggy, but annoying to seasoned surfers
www.useit.com/alertbox
Where to Start
• HTML literacy no longer a pre-requisite
– Both Internet Explorer and Netscape come with
tools to help you design and compose pages
– Tools like Publisher step you through web
design using Wizards and design tools
– Microsoft Office products (especially Office
2000) save files as HTML and are designed
with the Web in mind
• You can even use an Excel spreadsheet as an HTML
page.
After you build it
• Once you have built your site, make sure people
can find it.
• Use services that post your site on search engines
– Some are free; most have a nominal fee
• Make sure you put information in the page titles
that send your message clearly
• Put your AD on other web sites
Tips to help people find you
• Title keywords
• Quality Printing vs Acme
– Does the searcher know who Acme is?
• Meta tags
– description
• “The best Print Shop in Chattnooga”
– keywords
• printing, brochures, mailings, copy setup, full color
press Chattanooga quick
Use an evolutionary approach
• Start simple
– Use a free Web site service like Excite, Yahoo, AOL,etc.
– Most services have wizards that step you through the design
of a web site
– Use your ISP, like CDC, Virtual Chattanooga
– Some ISP’s will set up a root domain name for a set price
– This means people find you by your company name not by the
name of the Hosting ISP
• Example: www.acmeprint.com versus
www.cdc.net/~acmeprint
– Grow your site slowly
– Use “Under Construction” to let people know it’s coming
How did I start?
• Design
– Used Frontpage to get a feel
– Researched what other people did
– Searched the Web for advice
– Switched to Publisher and now use Netscape Composer
or an editor and actually code in HTML
• Set up a free website on Angelfire
– Did my family home page first, then set up business
page
• Submitted my sites to a Search company
What’s happening now
• Run my own server
– www.egenconsulting.com
• Continually updating my site
• Get an average of two business leads a
month
– Server is hit on the average of 10 times per day
• Still learning every day
Places to go for information
• Web Design sites
• Create a successful website:
– http://www.hooked.net/~larrylin/web.htm
• CNET Web design tips:
– http://builder.cnet.com/Graphics/Design/
• Search engine Submittal companies
• Submit-It.com
– http://submit-it.com/subopt.htm
• There are literally hundreds of companies
– Go to these sites and search there
• http://www.looksmart.com
• http://www.about.com
• Learn Web Jargon: www.webguest.com/glossary/
More places to go
• Free web site organizations
– Free Sites Network
• http://www.fsn.net
– Homepage.com
• http://www.homepage.com
– Bizland
• http://www.bizland.com
– 411Web
• http://www.411web.com
Questions and a quick demo
• Questions?
• This Powerpoint presentation can
be found at the following URL:
– http://www.egenconsulting.com/egcforms.nsf
• It will be under General Presentations