Tips for students from Papamoa College about building websites

1. Sheldon Nesdale
www.MarketingFirst.co.nz

2. I’m interested in...
• Learning, Being Inspired, Exploring the web
 Business Books + TED videos + Kahn Academy +
Googling
• Creating
 Unique Content + Online communities
• Tauranga + The Mount
 I love where I live
Sheldon Nesdale :: www.MarketingFirst.co.nz

3. I’m interested in...
• Technology
 How it connects us & improves our lives
 iPad + Robots + Games + Facebook
• Being Entertained
 Videos: Comedy + Movie Cartoons + Sci-Fi + TED
• Making Money
 Small Business + Micro-Business, Start-Up
Businesses
Sheldon Nesdale :: www.MarketingFirst.co.nz

4. I get paid to...
1. Read
2. Ask Questions
3. Listen
4. Write (email + content + articles)
5. Talk about ideas
6. Create
Sheldon Nesdale :: www.MarketingFirst.co.nz

5. Why I Love Building Websites
1. Websites are cheap
 $84.73/year (or free)
2. Websites are public
 no barriers between you and the world
3. Websites attract an audience for free
 thanks to Google
4. Websites are valuable
 so people will pay you to build them
Sheldon Nesdale :: www.MarketingFirst.co.nz

6. My Web Work
• 20 client websites
 Scuba Diving, Management Course, Airport
Shuttle, Winery, Fences & Gates, Charity
• 17 of my own websites (66% of my income)
 LoveOneDaySales.co.nz
 NZHotPools.co.nz
 WhyIHateDogs.com
 AntiSmokingSeahorse.com
Sheldon Nesdale :: www.MarketingFirst.co.nz

7. Sheldon Nesdale :: www.MarketingFirst.co.nz

8. Sheldon Nesdale :: www.MarketingFirst.co.nz

9. Sheldon Nesdale :: www.MarketingFirst.co.nz

10. Sheldon Nesdale :: www.MarketingFirst.co.nz

11. Want to start your own website?
• Find a topic you are passionate about
 This gives you energy to keep going
 Eg an author, a type of movie, a hobbie, a sport
• Provide content that is valuable & interesting to
certain people (not everybody)
 Eg reading order list, ranking list of movies & indepth
character details, how-to videos
• Have an attitude. Take a stand.
• Once you have an audience, making money is
easy
Sheldon Nesdale :: www.MarketingFirst.co.nz

12. Building a website for a client?
5 questions to ask:
1. What are your overall goals for your business?
 Growth? More revenue? More profit? Highly quality?
Higher prices? To be the leader?
2. What are your personal goals?
 Work less? Make more money? Both? Be famous for
something? Sell the business & retire?
 This tells you what motivates them
3. How will a website help with your goals?
 Let them tell you why they want one
 This tells you what they expect from you
Sheldon Nesdale :: www.MarketingFirst.co.nz

13. Building a website for a client?
Questions to ask:
4. What action do you want customers to take?
 Call your phone number? Fill in an email enquiry
form? Buy something? Walk into your shop?
 This tells you how to measure success
5. Why would a customer buy from you
anyway?
 What makes you unique / different / special?
 This tells you what the content should be
Sheldon Nesdale :: www.MarketingFirst.co.nz

14. When building a website, who’s
perspective is most important?
1. Your client?
2. You?
3. The clients customers?
Sheldon Nesdale :: www.MarketingFirst.co.nz

15. Most important perspective:
Your clients end-customer
• Without them, the pyramid falls over
• The more you know about the end customers
the better the website will be
Sheldon Nesdale :: www.MarketingFirst.co.nz

16. What questions are customers asking
themselves when they visit a website?
1. “Have you got what I want?”
2. “Can I trust you?”
3. “How much will it cost me?”
Sheldon Nesdale :: www.MarketingFirst.co.nz

17. “Have you got what I want?”
Sheldon Nesdale :: www.MarketingFirst.co.nz

18. “Have you got what I want?”
Sheldon Nesdale :: www.MarketingFirst.co.nz

19. “Can I trust you?”
Sheldon Nesdale :: www.MarketingFirst.co.nz

20. What builds trust?
1. Testimonials
2. Guarantees
3. Details that prove expertise
 Eg “How we do things...”
Sheldon Nesdale :: www.MarketingFirst.co.nz

21. “How much will it cost?”
• Dont’ waste my time!
Sheldon Nesdale :: www.MarketingFirst.co.nz

22. Guidelines for building a website
1. Keep the end customer in mind
2. Before you add extra “stuff” ask if it might get in
the way of results
3. Be predictable
 So new visitors don’t get a headache learning how to
get what they want
 3 column layout
 Black text on white background
 Blue underlined text for hyperlinks
 Use headlines, subheads, bullets, images, links, video
Sheldon Nesdale :: www.MarketingFirst.co.nz

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24. Sheldon Nesdale :: www.MarketingFirst.co.nz

25. Resources
• Domain Names:
 1stDomains.co.nz $25/year
• Web Hosting:
 HostGator.com $60/year
• Website Building:
 WordPress.org
• These Slides:
Sheldon Nesdale :: www.MarketingFirst.co.nz