This may seem obvious, but determining the structure of your site (i.e., what pages you want to include) is often overlooked by those planning a new website.  Proceeding with a build without a plan is like going to Home Depot and buying lumber and nails before you have a blueprint for your house.

How DO you know what pages you should have on your site?  We recommend three strategies; do all of them.

(Estimated time to complete:  2-4 hours)

Strategy 1:
Think of all the services/products that you offer.

1. Create a list of the them.  Plan to create one page per item on your list.
2. Add other pages that are common to most websites.  You might consider:
   - About Us/Company History
   - Contact Us
   - Privacy Policy
   - Philosophy
   - Why Choose Us
   - Awards/Affiliations
   - Map/Locations/Directions
   - Warranty
   - Testimonials/Reviews

Strategy 2:
Visit your online competition (remember to search with your target search phrase)

To go with the example that we started with when exploring SEO terms, we will play like we have a roofing company in Fort Worth/Dallas that specializes in commercial roofs.  Let’s do a search in Google for “Dallas Fort Worth commercial roofing”.  Here are the first few results we get:

Visiting the first site (Pitts Roofing) we can see the pages that we might consider adding to our list:

• Commercial Roof Repair
• Commerial Roof Replacement
• Roofing products:  Single Ply Systems
• Roofing products:  Roof Coating
• Roofing products: Modified Bitumen Systems
• Roofing products:  Tar and Gravel Systems
• Energy Saving Roofs
• Free Estimate
• Gutters & Downspouts
• Coping
• Emergency Repairs
• Roof Repairs
• Partial Roof Replacement
• Roof Penetration Repair
• Roof Checkup

When we go to Ferris Roofing, we get these ideas for pages:

• Project Gallery
• Video
• Roofing Product Manufacturers
• News
• Press Releases
• Employment

From Mount Auburn Roofing, we get these page ideas:

• New roof installation
• Roofing Services
• Roof Inspections
• Commercial Roofing

From Lone Star Roofing, we get these page ideas:

• Thermal Roof Coatings
• Metal Roofs
• Buit Up (Hot Tar) Roofing
• Maintenance Contracts
• Online Bid Request

Strategy 3:
Create one page for each region you serve

In this case, we will create two pages:

• Fort Worth Commercial Roofing
• Dallas Commercial Roofing

The Result

Take all of your ideas and divide them into logical categories.

You know how you go to a website and you see a top navigation bar that lists the “main parts” of the website?  If you hover over one of those tabs, you will see a drop-down navigation.  You have just witnessed how pages are grouped into categories.  We divide pages into categories to make site navigation easier for the visitor.

By using the three strategies outlined above, here is the proposed site structure for our commercial roofing company in Dallas/Fort Worth.

Homes

About Us (Category page)

• Why Choose Us
• Company History & Philosophy
• Awards/Affiliations
• Location/Map
• Warranty

Commercial Roofing Services (Category page)

• Fort Worth Commecial Roofing
• Dallas Commercial Roofing
• Roof Repairs
• Roof Replacement
• Roof Penetration Repair
• New Roof Installation
• Roof Check-up
• Roof Inspections
• Emergency Repairs

Roofing Types/Products (Category page)

• Single Ply Systems
• Roof Coating
• Modified Bitument Systems
• Tar and Gravel Systems
• Energy Saving Roofs
• Gutters & Downspouts
• Coping
• Thermal Roof Coatings
• Metal Roofs
• Flat Roofs

Our Work  (Category page)

• References/Testimonials
• Videos
• Project Gallery

News/Blog

Employment

Contact Us

• Privacy Policy

Free Bid Request

This site will have a total of 37 pages.

For SEO purposes, you should expect to write SEVERAL paragraphs on each page, discussing the topic of that page throughly.

Tune in later for more details on writing copy for your website that is search engine friendly.

Aside from popularity, having a site FULL of rich text is the MOST IMPORTANT thing you can do to ensure the best natural ranking in the search engines for your website.

For the purpose of illustration, we will give you our rules as if you have a company that does commercial roofing repair.  Once you grasp the basic idea, you can appy these concepts to your own site.

Rule 1:  Don’t be too generic

It will be next to impossible to rank highly for a single search term like “roofing.” One problem with single-word search terms is that they are used by many types of businesses. Any company that offers roofing supplies, roofing products, roofing installation, or other roofing services is going to be using and competing in the generic term, “roofing.”  Secondly, it is often big corporations, who have huge link networks and large SEO/web development budgets that will have already firmly secured those highly-prized rank positions.

Lost in a sea of irrelevant search results after inputting in a generic search, a consumer will eventually use a more specific search phrase when looking for a specific product or service. That’s where you try to capture them.  If your company repairs roofs on commercial buildings, then the search phrase “commercial roof repair” is a much better search phrase to optimize because it is more specific to what you actually do (and you do not have to compete with websites that are not your true competitors.)

Rule 2:  Be regional if your business is regional

Because your services are location-specific (you don’t repair roofs in New York) your search phrase should also be location-specific. “Fort Worth Commercial Roof Repair” is even more specific to your audience and prevents you from having to compete with New York roof repair companies.

Rule 3:  Test Your Search Phrase

Put your search phrase into Google and look at your online competitors for this term. If the results are companies that do not offer the same kind of services you offer (where you offer it,) then maybe the search phrase is not specific enough to what you do. If the results are your local competitors, then you probably have it just right.

Rule 4:  Scope Out the Competition and Do Better

Once you have determined your target search phrase, go back to Google and input your search phrase.  Visit the the five top-ranking web sites.  (Ignore the “sponsored” listings; look at the websites that rank at the top of the list, naturally.)  At each site, look at how much they talk about this product/service that you offer.  You should plan to write about it more than they do to rank higher than them.

Rule 5:  Repeat rules 1-4 for each term you want to optimize on your website.

In this case, you will also create text (preferably one page  on your site for each term you use) for:

• Fort Worth commercial flat roofs
• Fort Worth flat roof repair
• Fort Worth commercial roof installation
• Fort Worth roof repair estimate
• etc.  You get the picture.

Tune in later for more details on rules for copy-writing for a search-engine-friendly website!

There are several slideshow programs available to the do-it-yourself-er.
This post describes one that uses Cool Iris Express.

Here is an example:

What is nice about Cool Iris is that you manage your photos in an online gallery (in Picasa, Flickr or even Facebook!) where you can easily add or delete photos in the future.  You don’t need to update your Cool Iris slideshow when you do.  It will automatically update the photos it shows.

1. Set up your gallery on either Picasa, Flickr or in your Facebook by uploading your photos in a gallery on one of those sites.

2. Log in to Cool Iris Express.

3. You click on the button where you have your gallery and fill in the details.  If you have a Facebook account, that is the  easiest gallery to work with.  (HERE’S A VERY IMPORTANT HINT:  put your photos into your Facebook gallery in reverse order in order to get them to show up correctly in your slide show.)

4. Assuming you have uploaded all your photos to your Facebook gallery, in Cool Iris Express, select the Facebook button, log in, and select the gallery from your account.

4.  Click on “Customize”.

5..  You can play with the display options.  You can give your slideshow a name, say how many rows you want in it and select background colors.

6.  Click “Publish”.

7.  The next screen  will give you the code to insert into your website source code.  Just copy and paste it.  OR…. (and this is really cool) if you want to publish on your Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Blogger, TypePad, WordPress, or other social media account, you can click on the icon and it will walk you through the publication process.

8.  That’s it!  It’s EASY!

An example of your Facebook URL.  Yours might have a number in it.  

Creating online forms used to be difficult and only a job for a professional web designer.  New tools now put the power back in the hands of the everyday user.

WuFoo is an awesome online form generating and hosting service.  (This means that you don’t even need a website to use their services.)

The easiest way to learn about it is to watch this really excellent video:

WuFoo gives you the ability to create a form to do these kinds of things:

• Generate a mailing list
• Contact Form for a website
• Satisfaction Survey
• Employment Applications
• Event Registration!
• Online Order Form (yes, you can set it up to collect money, too!)
• Party Invitation
• and more

 
It’s free to try. If you like it, the prices are based on a monthly subscription.

Visit WuFoo >>

There is a common misbelief that if you find an image on the internet, that image is “open-source” or “free to use”.   This belief is WRONG and it could cost you dearly.  Getting an image off of Google Images (or any other website) and putting it on your site is a great way to get sued.

Here’s the truth: USING OTHER PEOPLE’S IMAGES WITHOUT THEIR EXPLICIT PERMISSION IS STEALING!

Not to worry, though.
If you are on a budget, you CAN get very affordable stock photography online, legally.  You can get legal, licensed images in the $.10 to $5.00/image range. Cool, right?!

Who do we recommend?

Deposit Photos:

iStockPhoto:

Click the link below.
It will take you to our page on their site.  Just type in the photo you are looking for in the search bar at the top of the page.

BigStock Photo:

Stock.Exchng:

This is a completely free site; HOWEVER, each image comes with its own terms (often you must notify the photographer of your use and you will need to give credit on your website.) This can be a pain in the rear-end, and if you ignore those rules, you could find yourself served with “Cease and Desist” legal papers. We recommend using the previously listed stock-photography sites where you purchase the license to use the image free and clear. It will only cost you a few bucks and you can avoid any potential legal issues. With that said, if you REALLY want to get a free photos, this is where you go to get it. (Just follow their rules.)

WHAT NOT TO DO:

Just as a reminder, never assume you can use images you find on:

• Google Images
• BING Images
• any other search engine Images results
• Flickr
• Photobucket
• Picassa
• or any other photo-storage or photo-sharing site.

If you find an image you really like on one of those sites, remember to contact the artist and ask what is required to use their image.

Did you know that you can get your business listed in Google even if you don’t have a website? Google Places allows you to provide information about your business on Google’s maps. Whether you have a webpage already or not, Google Places is the place you want to be… and you can get there for FREE!

Here’s a quick overview video:

1.  Sign up for Google Places:
You can do this with your gmail or other Google account login.  If you don’t have one, they are free.

2.  Add your business.
Fill in all the information about your business, including your location, hours of operation, contact information, payment types accepted, list of services, etc.

3.  Upload your image(s)
Logo or your business photo.

4.  Make status updates (similar to Tweets)
Let people know what you are doing or specials you are currently offering.

5.  Consider..
paying for Google Places add-ons, like Tags and  Boost Ads.

6. Get rated.
Lastly, remember to ask your satisfied customers to visit your Google Place and give your place a five-star rating!

Get in Google Places today >>

How to Build an Online Store

We will start with our first recommendation for an online store.  It has every feature you can imagine.

Online Solution – Instantestore:

Instantestore allows you to build your site online without having to download any software on to your computer. It has a dazzling number of features available. You pay by the month and there are no contracts. This is the easiest way to get a great store up and running quickly. Additionally, it is search engine friendly.

You get a design, web hosting, social networking, even products!

All for less than $50/month!

Start Your Own Ecommerce Empire Within 24 Hours. Click here now!

Every website MUST be “hosted” on a computer that “serves” your website to the internet.  In fact, most  webhosts offer package deals where they will sell you the hosting, domain name and website building/blogging tools all together at a discount.  Check it out!   (Be aware:  Price is not everything.  Choose wisely.  Things like availablility of customer service or protection from natural disasters may be worth a few extra bucks/month.)

Vocabulary:

Companies that host websites are sometimes called “Web Hosts” or “Hosting Companies”.

Recommendations:

If you have a website that you have built yourself and you need a web host in order to publish your site to the internet, we have a few recommendations.

If you have built your website in standard HTML, then we highly recommend you go purchase web hosting services on a Unix/Linux platform.  It is more stable and less expensive than Windows servers.

With your hosting account, you should get email service.

We recommend three different hosts:

1.  Host Gator (Your server will be in Dallas, Texas – relatively safe from any natural disasters.)

2.  Panther City Web Source (All their servers are located in the US and Europe, but we are not sure about their exact locations.)

3.  Lunarpages (Their data center is located in San Diego in a highly secured facility.)

Things you might want to consider when choosing a hosting package are:

• Where are the servers?  What happens if the data center is hit by a tsunami or earthquake?
• Is support available?  When?  By phone, email, or online only?
• What type of server is available?  (Note:  Select a Unix/Linux server instead of a Windows server.  It will be less expensive and more reliable.)
• How much disk space (space for your website files) and bandwidth (amount of download) is included?
• Is a website building tool included?
• Is a bloggin tool included
• Are you locked into a contract?
• Is email included?  How many email accounts?
• Are there programs you can use to run forms, blogs, etc.?
• Is there a control panel?  What sorts of features are available?
• Can you view your website statistics?
• Is e-commerce included?  What kind of program?
• Is it easy to get a Dedicated IP and SSL if you run an e-commerce program?

What to avoid:

Don’t, don’t, don’t host with your phone company or with a “free” web host.  There is no such thing as truly free, as you will have to deal with ugly ads or, at best, lack of flexibility in what you can do with your website.  We do not like ATT or Yahoo as web hosts.

Vocabulary:

The company from which you “purchase” your domain name is called a “registrar”.
How it works:

You will purchase the license to use a domain name for a given period of time.  The minimum time period is one year.
Where to go:

We recommend www.panthercitywebsource.com.  They almost always have sales going and they are competitive with the most inexpensive domain names on the internet.

Where NOT to go:

Two very popular “registrars” that cost too much and are VERY hard to work with are Register.com and NetworkSolutions.com.

BEWARE:

Once you have a domain name, you can expect to occassionally recieve a “bill” in the mail from a company that is sending you a domain name renewal notice.  This will NOT be your registrar.  These are scam artists that trick you into sending them a renewal payment (usually four to five times the cost that you should pay) and then that take control of your domain name and trap you into doing business with them.  Once you’ve paid one of these bills, it can be VERY hard to wrestle your domain back to the registrar of your choice.