Build Your Site Tonight, Be Blogging Tomorrow

Too many people think building a site is hard work, or something only a “professional” can do.

For less than the cost of a cheap developer, you can actually create a better result yourself.

Transcript

1. BUILD YOUR SITE TONIGHT ! BE BLOGGING TOMORROW ! (No Technical Skills Required)
2. DOES THIS SOUND LIKE YOU? • New business idea that you want to move fast on • Don’t want to wait months for a developer • Don’t have a big budget to hire a good developer • Want something that looks professional and will help build your business
3. Time to roll your sleeves up and do it yourself…
4. A LITTLE ABOUT ME • Co-founder of DIY Website Coach • Been creating WordPress sites since 2007 • Regularly create these sort of sites for clients • WordPress trainer
5. WHAT ARE WE BUILDING? • Solid, secure WordPress base (to keep hackers out) • Professional looking site (to give you credibility) • Integrated email opt-in (to build your list) • Fully responsive (works well on all devices) All with no coding, completed in a night for < $500
6. The End Result
7. SOME ASSUMPTIONS… • You already have a hosting account • You already have a domain name (and it is linked to your hosting account) • You can follow a few simple video tutorials - full videos available at: http://www.diywebsitecoach.com/build-your-site-tonight/
8. LET’S GET STARTED…
9. INSTALL WORDPRESS • Manual install for extra security • Update basic settings (site title, tagline, permalinks) • Update user profile
10. Time Elapsed: 11 min ! Total Cost: $0
11. ADD PREMIUM THEME • Provides great functionality and design at a fraction of the cost of a custom theme • We use and recommend the Genesis framework • Wide range of child themes available • Clean, efficient code • Strong community support
13. Time Elapsed: 19 min ! Total Cost: $100
14. BACKUPS • Backups provide a safety net if something goes wrong • Scheduled backups provide peace of mind • Storing offsite provides extra protection • Safest not to rely on backups provided by your host • We use and recommend BackupBuddy
15. Time Elapsed: 24 min ! Total Cost: $180
16. SECURITY • Most sites are compromised by automated bots • Make it hard for them and they will just move on • Sucuri plugin provides 1-click hardening for the major vulnerabilities hackers exploit • Also regularly monitors your site for malware • Best of all, it is FREE
17. Time Elapsed: 27 min ! Total Cost: $180
18. FORMS & INTEGRATION • Every site needs a contact form • Premium form plugins can also integrate with your mailing list provider and PayPal • Allows you to easily build payment paths • We use and recommend Gravity Forms
19. Time Elapsed: 34 min ! Total Cost: $379
20. ADDITIONAL PLUGINS • eNews Extended (for email opt-in boxes) • Simple Social Icons • Jetpack (social sharing and related posts) • Akismet (comment spam protection)
21. Time Elapsed: 42 min ! Total Cost: $379
22. BASIC PAGES & MENU • About page • Services page • Blog page • Contact page • Remember to add the pages to the menu
23. Time Elapsed: 58 min ! Total Cost: $379
24. WIDGETS & BASIC STYLING • Available widget areas will depend on the theme you are using • Genesis themes have good tutorials on how to configure each area as per the demo • Access to community forum or support ticket system for additional help
25. WIDGETS & BASIC STYLING • In this case: • Background image • Welcome area on home page • Main sidebar (optin, brief about, social icons) • 3 Footer areas (key message, recent posts, search and tags)
26. Time Elapsed: 80 min ! Total Cost: $379
27. EXTRA CREDIT • Additional styling and branding • Directly update stylesheet • Visual aids such as Design Palette Pro or Genesis Extender (an additional $49)
28. COMMON QUESTIONS • What if I want to change themes later? • All your content will flow in to the new theme. Widgets may need to be moved and/or reset • What if I need more functionality? • You can alway add more functionality to the site as your business grows and evolves (e-commerce, memberships, etc)
29. NEED MORE HELP? • http://www.diywebsitecoach.com • http://www.diywebsitecoach.com/ build-your-site-tonight/ • https://www.facebook.com/ diywebsitecoach • Twitter: @WarrenDenley