Websites for Independent Professionals and Small Businesses

Presenter: Jamie Snell

Day of Meeting: March 10, 2008

Presenter Bio

Jamie Snell of Snell Software Consultants is a semiretired independent website designer and developer. He recently concluded 10 years of industry experience as a software usability designer and program manager. Before that, he was a computer science professor for 12 years, and before that he provided user support and documentation at university computer centers. He is also an amateur musician and audio editor and loves old movies.

Jamie presented a talk aimed at people who are thinking of creating a website but don’t know where to start, or who already have a website but wonder what more it could do for them.

Best types of websites for independent professionals and small businesses

Small and simple – a few pages, simple HTML only; little or no Javascript, no ASP, SQL, etc. [what Jamie calls a “brochure site”]

Self­-maintained – designer builds your site, you do the text changes, call on the designer for help and changes in layout, graphics, etc. (This saves you a lot of money, too.)

Making your website work for you

Appealing visual design – proper visual and info density [which is discussed in Beautiful Web Design book], clean layout (fonts, colors, white space, etc.), consistent look across pages

Proper usability design – clarity, consistency, discoverability, simple navigation to/from all pages, usability trumps beauty

Promotion – keywords, links from other sites, search engine registration, etc. (Google: website promotion)

The many features available, and sorting out which ones you really need or want

Domain name registration – about $8/yr (Google: domain registration)

Hosting (Google: website hosting)

­­­Shared server space can be free, or your own space for about $75/yr

­­­Beware of package deals with things you don’t need (site builder software, e­commerce features, etc.)

Website building/editing tools [Jamie advises to know what your designer is using for site design]

(Google: website tools reviews, FrontPage reviews, Dreamweaver reviews, etc.)

­­­The trouble with MS Word – tons of complex and unnecessary code, repeated tags, many limitations, incorrect conversion

­­­The trouble with MS FrontPage – same problems as Word, not easy to learn/use ($250 new)

­­­The trouble with “site builder” tools: limitations, recurring cost ($10 ­ $50/month)

­­­High­-end tools: Adobe Dreamweaver – avoids above problems, powerful, well designed but long learning curve, expensive ($300 new)

­­­The answer for maintaining simple sites: text editor with preview (TextPad $33 new)

How to work with a website designer: what to look for, what to ask, what to expect

What to look for in a designer

  • ­­­A listener, you-­oriented, wants to give you what you want, not selling a package

  • Must have the goal of making you self­-sufficient

  • Not trying to make money on maintenance or hosting

  • ­­­Focus on functionality before beauty (use a professional artist if you want “eye candy”)

Website development process: Start by looking at existing sites (Google some keywords you would expect your potential customers to search for)

  • ­­­Brainstorm with designer for what you want on your site – home page, your services, testimonials, samples, links, etc.

  • Sketch each page on paper – layout, images, colors, fonts, etc.

  • ­­­Draft the text for each page

  • ­­­Designer builds first draft of website and posts privately, you revise iteratively with comments and changes until ready to make public

­­­Promotion – you can do most or all of this yourself for free

­­­Learn self­-maintenance of text (see below)

Website design that allows you to take charge and make changes for yourself

You can maintain the text on a simple site yourself, no need to be an expert – just basic HTML

HTML [Jamie advises keeping it simple]

­­­Essentials – text formatting codes for size, color, font, treatment, alignment, and links

­­­Perhaps later – codes for manipulating images, setting up tables, etc.

Website maintenance process

­­­Keep your website files on your computer

­­­To make changes: edit file on your computer, save, preview, iterate as needed; open FTP window, upload (drag and drop), verify

­­­Software: for Windows, use TextPad editor, FTP is built­-in; for Mac, use Taco editor, Cyberduck for FTP

Four recommended books related to building websites

Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability (2nd edition) by Steve Krug (New Riders, 2005) [Jamie recommends this book most highly; usability should be your No. 1 concern]

Teach Yourself HTML in 10 Minutes (4th edition) by Deidre Hayes (Sams, 2006)

Increase Your Web Traffic in a Weekend (5th edition) by Jerry Lee Ford, Jr. and William R. Stanek (Thomson, 2008)

The Principles of Beautiful Web Design by Jason Beaird (Sitepoint, 2007) [Jamie advises you do not need this book unless you’re especially interested in graphic design.]

Jamie had worked with Guild member Marguerite Langlois to design her “brochure” website, so his handouts included copies of her webpages (www.MLServices.biz). They recommended checking your site on different browsers, while noting that you can’t make a site look the same on all browsers. Then Guild members Mi Ae Lipe-­Butterbrodt and Ann Gosch shared their experiences in developing their own sites: www.whatnowdesign.com and www.bygosch.com. Mi Ae’s is quite elaborate since she offers a range of services including graphics creation and design, while Ann’s is a basic site, which she created using a template available through www.register.com.


Notetaker: Ann Gosch

Location: Hugo House