Small Business Development - How do I create a website for my small business?

SUMMARY

• Small business owners should understand each of their marketing channels and have specific goals for each channel
• They should articulate their web channel needs before creating a design and selecting a technology platform
• The best sites are first designed in the small business owners mind before a technology platform is selected and implemented
• Small static sites work just as well as complex and dynamic Content Management Systems depending on the goals for the web channel

Small Business Development - How do I create a website for my small business?

This week I had the pleasure of presenting to a group of small business entreprenuers who are participating in a business planning class via Edmonds Community College in Edmonds Washington.

We talked about how to use the web as a way of communicating with your customers and community.  My talk centered on setting the foundation for selecting the type of web presence a small business owner 'needs' and using the appropriate technology to get their web site realized.

As a way of helping the participants select the appropriate platform for their needs, we provided the following table:

The first column describes the basic category of needs.  Services represents different types of web services that would be useful in fulfilling the needs.  The third column is a starter list of the possible technology platforms useful in solving the needs.  The Implementation column talks about different implementation strategies in creating and operating the website.

We rounded out the discussion with a demonstration of the Drupal CMS and how it was used in solving Ceptara's website needs.

The full presentation is available for download by following this [link] [1].