Website 101 Podcast

Sean and Mike talk about the value of having your own website rather than just social media accounts. What are some benefits of having social media accounts at all?What are some drawbacks of making social media accounts your primary Web presence?Having your own website gives you full control over your content.Don't be bound by social media algorithms. Social networks are satellite sites, not your home planet. Sharing content to social media sites.Social networks make you look exactly like your competitors.How people tend to find you online.Social networks can limit your audience to members only.Social networks come and go. Remember Myspace? Show Links Use social media to promote your website, not replace it. Own Your Digital Content What's The Best Home For Your Content? More Website 101 Podcast Email the Podcast! Twitter Sean on Li

Mike and Sean discuss what a content audit is and why you should perform one. A discussion of what is included in content audit including orphan links. A content audit is a good opportunity to prune outdated content.Mike explains how to use a spreadsheet and common columns to include when doing your content audit. Show Links Airtable How to Perform a Website Content Audit to Guide Your Content Marketing Strategy Screaming Frog WordPress All Export How to conduct a website content audit for your nonprofit More Website 101 Podcast Email the Podcast! Twitter Sean on LinkedIn Mike on LinkedIn  

Sean and Mike discuss the benefits of having a regular maintenance plan for your website, and having a Web developer on a retainer contract. What is a maintenance plan / retainer?Retainers can help with budget limitationsPotential forms that maintenance plans can takeBenefits of having a developer on retainerDrawbacks of not having a developer on retainer Show Links Why Your Website's CMS Should Be Updated More Website 101 Podcast Email the Podcast! Twitter Sean on LinkedIn Mike on LinkedIn  

Mike and Sean discuss best practices for creating email accounts to represent your business. Why shouldn’t I use a free email address that ends with @hotmail.com or @gmail.com?How you can use a free email service while keeping your company domain name in your email address.Free email options provided by cPanel in shared hosting accounts.The plus ("+") hackEmail address naming best practices Show Links Gsuite More Website 101 Podcast Email the Podcast! Twitter Sean on LinkedIn Mike on LinkedIn  

Do you have a backup strategy for your website? If you value your website content, you need to have regular backups. In this episode, Sean and Mike discuss what a backup strategy is, why you need one, and what options are available to make it happen. What is a backup? Why do you need a backup solution? Backup service options How does a backup service work? Be sure to test your backup solution. Examples when backups saved the day. Show Links cPanel JetBackup Backup Pro CodeGuard BackupBuddy Dropmysite SimpleBackups Ottomatik A Website Backup Strategy is Essential Do you have a backup solution? More Website 101 Podcast Email the Podcast! Twitter Sean on LinkedIn

Mike and Sean discuss the pros and cons of extending a content management system with plugins. What is a plugin?Why might a website owner use a plugin?Why might a developer use a plugin?Some of our favourite pluginsThe dangers of using pluginsWhat to consider when choosing a pluginHave a strategy for when plugins fail Show Links What is a CMS? Veto Ctrl+S Field Manager Template Comments Structure The Dangers of Over Reliance on Plugins in Website Builds More Website 101 Podcast Email the Podcast! Twitter Sean on LinkedIn Mike on LinkedIn  

In this episode Sean and Mike discuss what to do when your web developer goes on vacation. web developer should have a system in place for vacationslogins/passwords available for backup personDefine emergency workPlan important work for before or after vacationswhen the client goes on vacation what are their responsibilities? Show Links More Website 101 Podcast Email the Podcast! Twitter Sean on LinkedIn Mike on LinkedIn  

In this episode we talk with Peter Kelly about using video on your website and why you should have a video. it's good for SEOImproved conversion rate on landing pages with videoThe most important part of video is audio qualitytranscribing video Show Links Tips for making videos with your smartphone Rev Transcription More Website 101 Podcast Email the Podcast! Twitter Sean on LinkedIn Mike on LinkedIn  

A special out of sequence episode of the Website 101 Podcast where we talk about being nimble and adapting during an emergency Recording on Sunday April 26, 2020 during the height of the Covid-19 self isolation.We discuss how business is going and the impact that the Covid-19 epidemic and social isolation is having on us and our businesses. We then discuss some ideas and strategies to use for the future. Show Links Ecommerce with Shopify Building Trust in Trying Times More Website 101 Podcast Email the Podcast! Twitter Sean on LinkedIn Mike on LinkedIn  

In this episode Sean and Mike talk about WordPress with Gregory Hammond - plugins, security, themes and everything you want to know about WordPress What is WordPress, who owns it and what does open source mean? The difference between wordpress.org and wordpress.com Do WordPress sites always get hacked? yes and no. How to choose the best plugin out of the myriad options availablePros and Cons of WordPress Show Links Hosted Wordpress (SAAS) Wordpress to download Digital Ocean Laravel Forge Server Pilot Web Hosting 101 Why Website Maintenance is Important Word Fence The Dangers of Over Reliance on Plugins in Website Builds Gregory J Development More Website 101 Podcast Email the Podcast!

Sean and Mike discuss the idea that not every business requires a website. What are the reasons you are building a website? Is it because everyone is doing it? What do you want your website to accomplish? You need a good business reason to have a website. AnalyticsConversionsReasons why your business doesn't need a websiteSocial media should your satellite sites and your website should be your home planetBuilding authority by giving away knowledge for free Show Links Google Analytics Home Stars Own Your Digital Content Use social media to promote your website, not replace it. Do I need a website? More Website 101 Podcast Email the Podcast! Twitter Sean on LinkedIn Mike on LinkedIn  

In this episode we do a brief recap of Season 2 and discuss upcoming episodes and guests in Season 3. Show Links More Website 101 Podcast Email the Podcast! Twitter Sean on LinkedIn Mike on LinkedIn  

In this episode we talk with Mark Poppen, owner of Funky Moose Records, about running a ecommerce website with physical product using shopify. Mark provides some history and background into his decision to run a used record businessTalks about his decision not to use Opencart.Wordpress and WooCommerce - not as simple as ShopifyIt's better to use Shopify payments as there is no extra charge, but if you use a different payment gateway such as paypal you pay the paypal feel plus an addtional 1% fee.Shopify ThemesSteps involved in setting up shopify for a new business.People underestimate what's involved in ecommerceHow to manage your inventoryOverselling and shipping guaranteesShipping costs, weight etc.ReturnsWhat is a payment gateway and a merchant account Show Links Funky Moose Records Opencart Shopify Big Commerce Merchant Account Vs. Payment Gateway: What’s The D

In this episode Sean and Mike discuss the ins and outs of photography and stock photos for your website. How to choose imagery, where to find it, how to edit it and more. How to choose the correct imagestyle of photo - illustration? black and white? bright? dark? mood?Be aware of authenticitycropping photosWhere to find images or photosTips for taking your own photoslicensing and model releasescomments from Lyndon Johnson, John Morton, and Ben Parizekhow to edit photos How to use some native tools on your Windows or Mac computer to make basic edits to a photo.The rule of thirdsfocal points and cropping Show Links Headset Hotties Sean's Photo Blog Istock Photo (paid) 123 RF (paid) Adobe Stock Photos (paid) Unsplash Burst Shopify Pixabay Public Domain Archive

In this episode we talk with Guarav Iyer all about copy editing and writing. Guarav has extensive experience with professional writing including a background in journalism, including writing for the Motley Fool. Guarav discusses the difference between a copy editor and a copy writer. We also get into the Oxford Comma. Next we address why you woul.d want to hire a copy writer instead of writing your content yourself and the curse of knowledge. Guarav also provides advice to DIY website owners on how to improve their copy. Show Links The Motley Fool Capital Communications The Elements of Style George Orwell’s Six Rules For Great Writing Fight Club The Necessity of the Oxford Comma (MEME) More Website 101 Podcast Email the Podcast! Twitter Sean on LinkedIn

In this episode Mike and Sean discuss what a minimal viable product is and what the pros and cons of launching a website as an MVP are. We discuss what an MVP is as well as the pros and cons of taking an MVP approach to your company website. We also talk about examples of MVP sites we've worked with including this very podcast site. Show Links The Why and How of Developing a Website MVP What is an MVP Website? How to Redesign Your Website Using a Minimum Viable Product MVP (Wikipedia) Thomas Yu More Website 101 Podcast Email the Podcast! Twitter Sean on LinkedIn Mike on LinkedIn  

In this second episode on web jargon Sean and Mike explain web terminology that every website owner should be familiar with. This will help when working with a developer or when DIY your website. Jargon that we explain include: HTML, CSS, JavascriptThemeUser testing / usability testingCTA / Call to ActionConversionfaviconCache / cache bustingwireframe / mockupDiscoveryAbove the foldCookieRemarketingGDPRThe Cloud / Cloud basedSEO / Search Engine Optimization404, 301, 500 Error Pages URL Show Links Web Jargon Part One - season 2 episode 5 Theme Forest Above the Fold - Sean's blog post I Am The Fold SEO 101 - season 1 episode 5 GDPR - wikipedia More Website 101 Podcast Email the Podcast! Twitter Sean on LinkedIn Mike on LinkedIn

In this episode Sean and Mike explain web jargon that every website owner should be familiar with. This will help when working with a developer or when DIY your website. Jargon that we explain include: Host, web space & bandwidthShared Hosting, VPS, Dedicated domain, domain registrarDNS, A Record, MX RecordCMSSSL, HTTPSAccessibilitySite map404 PageXML site mapAnalyticsUsability, user testing Show Links Go Daddy Season 1: Web Hosting 101 Host Gator Name Cheap Rebel WordPress Drupal Joomla Craft CMS ExpressionEngine Statamic WikiHow - How to Install SSL Certificate Season 1: Accessibility - Why it's important Google Analytics

In this episode Sean Smith and Mike Mella discuss how much a website costs and why the real answer is "It Depends" This episode marks the beginning of Mike joining the podcast as co-host. We start off by comparing a website to a car. This comparison works well because cars like websites have a wide range of costs and it all comes down to the number of features and quality of the final product. We then go into all the parts of a website build that the layperson is not aware of and the opportunity costs of DIY. Show Links Wordpress.com Wix Webflow Why Content Writers Love Craft CMS Website CMS User Manual for End Users Mikes Google Analytics Package How Much Should a Website Cost You? A Definitive Pricing Guide For You More Website 101 Podcast Email the P

In this episode I talk with Angie Herrara of Block 81 about how to choose a web developer or agency. This could be due to your relationship with your current developer isn't working out or because your business website needs have grown beyond what you can do by yourself. Price is not the bottom line you should focus on. Your focus should be on does the web developer try to understand your business and your business goals for the website. A good developer will be able to translate all the web jargon in a way that makes it easy for you to understand and work with them. The starting point shouldn't be technology, it should be the goals of the website. The key takeaway from this episode is that your developer or agency should be communicative and responsive. Show Links Wix More Website 101 Podcast Email the Podcast! Twitter Sean on LinkedIn