Free Seminars

Canada/Manitoba Business Service Centre

Things to Know Before Starting your Small Business Website

Seminar Summary:	Things to Know Before Starting your Small Business Website Topics include choosing your domain name(s) determining your website needs and choosing a hosting provider, web design company, and/or shopping cart solutions. Don't start a web site without knowing these basics.
Date and Registration:	TBA Call (204) 984-2272 or 1-800-665-2019 to register for this or any other seminars by phone.
Cost:	FREE
Facilitator:	Nico Wlock is a bilingual design and communications professional specializing in print media, branding, advertisement, public relations and social media. Under the name Muse Media, Nico has delivered cutting-edge creative concepts for local and national businesses, governments, not-for-profit organizations and events since 2005.
Materials:	To be given at the seminar. Please register early so we have enough notice to print copies for everyone. Optional book resources are here.
Additional Information:	Please note that we can not give out copies of any handouts unless you register and attend. Phone: (204) 984-2272 or 1-800-665-2019 Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday Fax: (204) 983-3852 Hearing Impaired TTY: 1-800-457-8466 250 - 240 Graham Avenue, Winnipeg, MB (2nd Floor of The Cargill Building, near Canada Post) Mailing Address: P.O. Box 2609, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3C 4B3 Web: http://www.canadabusiness.mb.ca/ E-Mail: manitoba@canadabusiness.mb.ca Parking Information All CMBSC seminars, listed by date: http://events.ebsc.ca/events_bydate.aspx View Larger Map

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this seminar, you should have a basic overview of questions like:

Do I have a business plan?
Do I know what my goals are?
Do I know what to budget for?
Do I know my target audience?
Do I have an idea of what I want my site to look like?
Do I have ideas about my content?
Do I have any marketing ideas?
Do I know who will create and maintain my site?
Do I have a domain name?

Prerequisites

The following may be helpful before taking this seminar:

A general understanding of computer and internet technology

Course Format

This seminar will be informal, allowing questions from participants at any time so the topics can be tailored to the needs of the people attending.

Topic Outline

For more information beyond this seminar, please feel free to look at some related books.

INTRODUCTION
- Who Should Take This Seminar?
- Why Should You Take This Seminar?
- What Will You Learn?
- When Should You Apply These Concepts?
- Where Can I Learn More?
WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT IS YOUR BUSINESS?
- Do You Have a Business Plan?
- Do You Have a Sales and/or Marketing Plan?
- What Industry Do You Exist In?
- Who Is Your Target Audience?
- Why Do You Want to Create a Website?
- In Terms of Time, Budget and Resources, What Are Your Wants and Needs?
- What Do You Want Your Website to Do for You?
WHERE IS YOUR WEBSITE GOING TO RESIDE?
- Hosting
CHOOSING YOUR DOMAIN NAME
- Variations of Your Domain Name
DEVELOPING YOUR WEBSITE
- Roles and Responsibilities
- Will You Need to Update the Website Content or Images Often?
- Intellectual Property and Copyright
- Limitations and Liabilities
- Support and Maintenance
WHAT DO YOU WANT YOUR WEBSITE TO LOOK LIKE?
- Do You Have Any Visual or Branding Requirements?
- What Features Do You Like About Other Websites?
- Follow Existing Conventions
- Start Off the Website Design with a Design Mock-Up
CONTENT
- Animation and Other Features
- Do You Have Any Content Requirements?
- Web Is Not Print
- Images
- Business Contact Information
- Website Credibility
HOW WILL YOU MARKET YOUR WEBSITE?
- Organic Search Engine Results
- Pay Per Click (PPC) Marketing
- Mailing Lists and Other Marketing
- The 4 Ps of Product Marketing
- The 3 Ps of Service Marketing

Additional Resources

Checklists

Marketing Ps

Business Plan Resources

S.M.A.R.T. Goals

Unique Selling Proposition

Considerations

Please consider turning off any cell phones and pagers while in lectures or seminars. If you need to be available (on call for work, for example) please set your cell/pager to vibrate. Also, please remember that checking email, typing instant messages, or surfing the Web may be distracting to others.

More Information

Here are links to more information that you may find helpful:

Winnipeg Transit: The Winnipeg Transit site includes links for fares, the free Downtown Spirit service, schedules and more.

Exchange District BIZ: The Winnipeg Exchange District BIZ site has maps and information about the area around our campus.

Downtown Winnipeg BIZ: The Downtown Winnipeg BIZ site includes links for parking, restaurants, and the BIZ Patrol.

Notice

The contents of this page are given as a guideline only and are subject to change.

Coming Soon:

Feb 13: ISSD 24 - XML

Feb 14: Web Design Level 4: XHTML Advanced

Feb 21: ISSD 23 - Web 2.0 Technology

Feb 23: Facebook for Business
Hours: 2
Cost: Free!

Feb 25: Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Hours: 2
Cost: Free!

Feb 25: Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
Hours: 2
Cost: Free!

Feb 27: ISSD 24 - OLDB (Online Databases with MySQL and PHP)

Mar 05: ISSD 23 - Ajax

Mar 20: Web Design Level 5: DHTML Introduction

Free Seminars - Canada/Manitoba Business Service Centre - e-Business - [ Things to Know Before Starting your Small Business Website ] -
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