No matter how well a website is designed or setup, it will not matter if no one can find it. This makes search engine optimization (SEO) a vital part of creating a successful website. There are different steps that help a website easier to find, resulting in more web page visitors.
It starts with having quality content that is accessible. Once viewers find the site, this keeps their interest and attention on what they were searching for and other aspects of the website. Including keyword research and targeting is also an important aspect of SEO. Inserting keywords that will generate hits on a web page helps the site appear more when an individual uses a search engine. Identifying a target audience is also vital because different target audiences may refer to different key words.
Link building is one of the most import parts of SEO. Examples of this include creating a Google Business profile, this will affect a web page’s rank in a Google search. Every search engine has ways to optimize a site’s rank, researching these tactics is important in increasing publicity for a web page.
The last major part of SEO is social media and viral marketing. Creating social media pages to go along with a website will increase the viewership of the site. The more active an organization or company is on social media will increase their hits on search engine results, thus referring more people to their brand and website.
Creating a Domain: the next step
A domain is defined as an area of territory owned or controlled by a ruler or government. It is no different when it concerns the internet. Essentially, a domain is an “area” (a webpage) that is controlled by a company or individual with the rights to that domain.
On the Internet, a domain name is a unique identity. Any individual, business or organization planning to have a significant Internet presence should invest in a domain name. Having a personalized domain name, website and email addresses will give the company or individual along with its service or product a more professional look and feel.
So where or what does one need to do to go buy or invest in a domain? This is a common misconception about domains. You don’t actually buy the domain name, you rent it from your registrar. The price you pay them is for the service of routing the domain name to an actual server. Without that service a domain name would lead nowhere, they have to point visitors to the right server. They need servers to do that, which you pay for.
There are multiple places to go that provide access to domain servers. WHOIS.net, NameCheap.com, and NameSip.com are few popular providers. However, GoDaddy.com is probably the most recognized out of all of them due to the amount of advertising they do in today’s media.
Investin and creating a domain is a major step in the publicity of a business, company, or individual. It allows consumers to connect to the company on the world wide web while still associating the website with a businesses name, logo, slogan, etc.
Going Viral
Virality as defined by Google is the tendency of an image, video, or piece of information to be circulated rapidly and widely from one Internet user to another; the quality or fact of being viral. Anything can go viral today on the internet, from stories, videos, picture, memes, etc. This makes virality a part of the field of communications.
Understanding what makes a certain meme, picture, or video go viral is a major part of communications. It helps people in the field keep up with what is popular to the younger generation. This in turn makes it easier to market to this target audience. By using the same characteristics of something that went viral communications professionals can use these same tactics in their professions.
Jonah Berger outlines comprehensive “STEPPS” system in his book, Contagious: Why Things Catch On, which looks at common elements on viral pieces of content. One element is social currency. This is the concept that people share and post things them look good. The more interesting posts and shares equal more social currency. Another element is emotion. People have the tendency to share things that strike them emotionally. Triggers are another important part that makes up virality. If a brand, topic, or product has common trigger, such as a common greeting, it is more likely to go viral.
Becoming viral is one the most effective ways to spread word of a product or idea, especially in today’s society. Understanding what makes something go viral is important for communication specialists. Important elements of virality are popularity or fads, emotion, and triggers.
Keeping Passwords Safe
Website security is one of the main concerns in building a web page and users of these websites. There are precautions that individuals and web designers must take to ensure the security and safety of their accounts. Wired.com listed three helpful precautions in the article by Mat Honan, “Three Essential Steps to Make Yourself More Hack-Proof.”
Do not reuse passwords. This is the most important rule in maintaining web security. If someone gets hacked on one server, they can get hacked on another within seconds if they reuse passwords. Using multiple types of characters will help with this. Use a variation of numbers, uppercase letters, lowercase letters, and compatible symbols.
Set up a two-factor authentication. This will add another line of defense to web accounts. All this means is that another six-digit password or pin number must be entered in order to log in to an account. It creates another barrier that a hacker would have to get past in order to hack into an account. This process only takes a few extra moments which is well worth the extra time.
Use a password manager. A password manager helps individuals create strong passwords while being able to maintain them. It makes encrypted passwords which makes them even harder to decipher. Examples of good password manager choices are Dashline, 1Password, Keeper, and LastPass.
Taking these simple precautions when setting up passwords can make a major difference in web security. It is much better to be safe than sorry when it comes to the safety of account information.
Learning Online
Online education is a rapidly increasingly popular way to learn. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have become an e-learning option that individuals can do on their own pace and schedule. https://www.creativebloq.com/web-design/training-online-resources-812225 listed many of the top MOOCs available.
Treehouse would have to personally be my top choice simple because I am a visual learner. With it being video based in its curriculum, I believe this would help students like myself grasp concepts better. Havin the ability to watch another individual demonstrate the lesson would be very beneficial. Students can also go back to the video for reference and clear up any confusions or misunderstandings in their learning process.
If this course were entirely online, I believe it would be beneficial for certain students. It would help students in making a more time convenient schedule based on major, conflicting courses, or personal obligations. A completely online source could also take away from students. Not being able to have a professor in class to answer any questions, or address any questions or concerns is one downfall. However, online courses are becoming more and more interactive, so this could vary form student to student.
The world as a whole is becoming technology based, and education has followed in suite. Many colleges are still fine tuning their online systems and making them more interactive for students. On-campus classes are still the best way to retain and learn new information, but with how fast technology and the world change, colleges could move towards more online courses.
Content Managements Systems
A content management system (CMS) is a software application or set of related programs that are used to create and manage digital content. CMSs are typically used for enterprise content management. In todays society simplicity and ease of use more and more businesses are using CMSs to create a public web page for their product and services.
I would use WordPress if I were to recommend a CMS to a business. The main reason is that you can add plug-ins to the website for free that optimize its use as a business. For example, you can add plug-ins for business directories, according to WordPress.com. This contributes to the business aspect of a website while maintaining its creativity.
WordPress is also very easy and simple to use. The side bar makes navigating throughout the editing process simple and convenient. It also makes its easy to edit pages and save them for a later time with tis autosave feature.
WordPress allows businesses to set up and organize a web page quickly and effectively. It also allows businesses to share important information about their products or services while creating an easy to navigate and access web page. This combination makes WordPress a great choice for businesses searching for a CMS to take their product or service to the next step.
Making Email Simpler
Going through emails can become a huge hassle because the amount of spam and influx of emails that we are sent. Weaving through what emails are important and which ones are not can take a very long time. This can even cause important emails to get “lost” in an inbox. These problems can be avoided with filters.
Filters allow email users to easily find important emails based on the date, sender, subject, etc. I used a filter with the tag “CA 260.” The process was simple and effective. This tool pulled up emails only pertaining to my Digital Writing and Production course.
Emails were created to make communication quick, simple, and professional. An increase in spam and the quantity emails has made the organization of inboxes a time-consuming process. Using filters helps eliminate these issues and ensures that no important emails will get lost in the influx of unnecessary emails.
Being professional in emails is also important in college and professional careers. A professional email should make sure all the necessary information is presented in a clear and concise way. For example, if I was unable to attend a class, this is how I would write the email sent to the professor.
Dr. M. Delwar Hossain,
I will not be able to attend your class on Tuesday, October 8, 2018. I have come down with a stomach virus. Will we be covering anything other than what is outlined on the syllabus or doing any assignments that I will miss? Please notify me if there is anything I need to make up. Thank you for your time.
-Samuel King
Accessibility is the Answer
Accessibility is an important aspect of a website that can easily be overlooked when designing a web page. A good web page will cater to all needs that their consumers may have. These needs include disabilities such as, hearing impermeant, sight issues, cognitive problems, neurological disabilities, etc. According to the Web Accessibility Initiative, web accessibility also benefits people without disabilities. This is done through ease of use, smart devices, and catering to temporary disabilities.
I plan to incorporate web accessibility into my website in order to include all types of customers. This will start with the set up of the website. Easy to navigate links, pages, and tabs will help all users move through the web page. One thing I will also address that was not mentioned in the model, is color scheme. A clashing color scheme or faint, hard to read fonts would hurt web accessibility. Making sure pictures and text are high quality will help with the zoom in feature for those with vision problems. Also, any video shared or posted should have subtitles to meet the needs of those with hearing disabilities.
Web accessibility is a vital part of a webpage that can be the key factor between a great website and a terrible website. A good web page should not exclude any individual because of disabilities they can not control. Instead websites should find ways to make sure that all users can have access to the same information and services, no matter their disability.
Organization is Website’s Salvation
Organization of a website is one of, if not the, most important parts of creating a website. How a site is organized can be the difference in an individual having interest in the page or loosing interest in the page. There are certain guidelines that one can follow to ensure that their website is organized in a way that will maximize its purpose.
First of all, a web page should be logical in its organization. As Jordan Dick said in his article, “Organizing Wed Content,” a website should be organized “like a restaurant menu. Most menus are usually divided into categories, and subcategories.” Websites should be organized in the same manner by separating these subcategories and categories into separate pages. For example, the three most common pages found on a website are the home page, contact page, and about page. Organizing a website into different categories and pages is a key part to building a good site.
How many pages should a website have? There is no right or wrong answer to this question. However, Dick’s article did provide us with this explanation, “every service you provide needs its own landing page. Lumping all of your services on one page is a missed opportunity for your business.”
Another important aspect of designing a web page is identifying a target audience and catering to their needs. This helps in deciding what type of content needs to be published on the sight and how accessible it should be.
The organization of a website is a major part of web design that is often over looked. Success can be reached by simply organizing a web page in categories and services and then catering them to a target audience.
This is a good example of well-designed website. I plan to model aspects of my own site like this.
Easy Weebly
Weebly is a website builder that is both easy to use and flexible in its use. One of the features that makes Weebly so easy to use is the drag and drop feature. This feature makes it simple to add media such as, pictures, videos, and links. Another element that contributes to the ease of use are the icons on the sidebar. Easy navigation and editing is attainable through this feature.
Setting up a Weebly site is also very simple, straight-forward, and easy. Weebly even walks you through step by step to ensure that your website gets off to a good start. They also explain how to use and navigate through some of the key features. Creating the domain for a website is even simple. Weebly makes creating a website easy and quick. It eliminates programming language and makes all the tools and features user friendly.
I picked a simple theme for my Weebly website. The white background with black features and writing will make the photographs that I post stand out more. This theme is not my final decision yet. I may change it after I see how the website looks with the content that I share.
I am excited to use Weebly to create my website. I am also looking forward to learning more about how maintain and set up a webpage while learning more about Weebly’s features. Weebly will allow me to easily set up a web site and as their slogan says, “Start something.”
King's Corner 