Basic Site Development

Site Development

Code and Crawlability

One of the core ideas behind SEO considers the code used to create and render the site. The main requirement of site code is that it renders the pages and functions correctly, and that the search engine spiders can crawl through it without issue.

In an optimised site, the code is clean, fast-loading and follows established guidelines and accepted search engine protocols.

There are many different coding languages that could work for a given situation. HTML, asp, .NET, php, Java, and more…the options are many.

The decision on which code to use is often up to the site owner, but there are a few externalities to consider. Not all code is equal in all situations.

Some options might work more efficiently than others for a specific function, some might not offer a solution that is cross-browser friendly, some might be cheaper in development costs, some may be easier to maintain without assistance and some code languages might not be feasible in the server environment being used.

A quick coordination between intended hosting and site developing options is a smart move. If you are building it yourself, make sure that your hosting solution allows the code you are going to be using. If you are having someone build the site for you, make sure they coordinate with the hosting provider and ensure that their code will work.

It generally comes down to resources – the more you spend, the more individualized, detailed and proprietary your site code can become. The closer to free you get, the more likely you’ll be using open source code and shared solutions. There are benefits found in either approach or blending them both, depending on your online needs.

The best news is that a lack of coding knowledge does not necessarily limit what you can do online.

Is it safe? Does it surf?

In coding a website, two very basic questions should guide your efforts: Is it safe, and does it surf?

Safety on the web refers to the safety of your site visitors’ data as well as the safety of your own data and server. You do not want to have site code that makes hacking easier. While you will never be impervious from attacks on the web, you can take steps to make it more difficult for hackers to get in.

• Use Long Passwords. Seems simple, but using complex passwords that encompass capital letters, numbers, and unique characters will decrease the chances that your accounts will be accessed or compromised
• Schedule Back-ups. Backing-up files and databases is a great practice for all new webmasters to get used to as part of a weekly (or sometimes daily) routine
• Update software versions. The older the software versions used, the higher the likelihood that it is at risk for hacker attacks – this is particularly true in using blogging software like Wordpress
• Maintain server updates. Server technology changes often, so if you are hosting it yourself (not using a third-party host) ensure you are maintaining your server and security updates
• Use Secure Payment Methods. If you are offering or receiving any form of payments, ensure that you take all necessary steps to provide secure and safe transactions using trusted and proven providers

Making it surf means having code that works for you, and works for web users.

By working for you, it refers to having a framework that allows you to present the content you have in the manner you choose. You’ll want code that is not alien to you – code that makes work easier, not more challenging.

For the users, you need to make sure they can see your pages and content. You need to make sure that the targeted audience will be able to interact with the site, and that it is cross-platform compatible. This currently means you want the site to look the same if the user is viewing it in Explorer, Firefox, or using a Macintosh.

Another part of making it surf refers to the idea that the code you use needs to work well in the search engines. Not all code works the same way, and sometimes, coding decisions will directly affect what works better for you in the search engines.

Thankfully, if you are not technically inclined, you can still be very successful online.

The tools available to help today’s webmasters and entrepreneurs have made it easy for non-technical people to become comfortably active online. Blogging software and open source solutions have made it so that many things you’ll want to accomplish with your site can be affordable (or free) and relatively easy. Complex solutions are often just a click-or-two away.

Even with all of the simplicity and “push-button” installs, acquiring a basic knowledge of html helps any webmaster. Learning more about the specific code used to build the pages, framework and functions of your site makes an even better practice.

Understanding the basic code simply means more control. It means fewer times you’ll have to outsource work on the site. Understanding the code increases your knowledge about what you can and can’t do with your site.

Those interested in learning more about coding should find it easy to retrieve additional information as they progress. http://www.w3schools.com offers some easy-to-follow basic resources to get started. And remember, there is no better teacher than first-hand experience, so get started now!

Maintenance and Updates

Before you make the final determination on which type of code or software you will use to build a site, important things to consider are the ongoing maintenance and updates you will face.

A successful website is not usually static and unchanging. Instead, a successful site stays successful by continually having new information that appeals to the users. Before you make the decision on which type of code you want to use, it is smart to consider how you will be updating and maintaining the site content in the future.

Security updates and server maintenance are typically handled by the hosting company you select. If you are hosting the site yourself, these are your responsibility. But in regards to the site content:

• If you are adding images, video or other media to the site, do you know how to change or remove them?
• If you want to add a page or product, are you comfortable in how to do it?
• If you want to change some text on an existing page, are you confident you can do so?
• If you want to delete a page or adjust a page layout, do you know what to do?

As we’ve covered, some sites will require knowledge of the code to perform updates. Some sites have a user interface (UI) that makes it easy to do without much coding knowledge. The decision is the site owner’s.

Before you launch your site, you need to answer the questions of who will maintain and update the site and how they will do it. This may have a direct effect on the solution you choose, and whether one option is better for you than another.

Quick Review of Common Coding Platforms

There are many code options made available to current webmasters, and many are free. It is also possible to start with a free coded framework, and hire professionals to modify and customize it to your specifications.

The following list is by no means complete to all the choices out there. It is a brief overview of some of the more popular coding platform options being used by today’s webmasters. It may inspire you!

For Non-Developers – Blogging platforms: Blogs can make perfectly functional websites. In recent years, the rise and popularity of blogs has grown astronomically. There are good reasons for this: blogs are simple to install and maintain, it is easy to have multiple authors and contributors with varying permissions in a single blog, static pages can be used side-by-side with dynamic content, there are great support communities for beginners, and more.

Many people today use the simplicity and ease of blogging platforms as a CMS (content management system). A true CMS is typically a little more robust in nature, but the blogging platforms do allow for a simple approach to site management and offer the functionality that serves many people well.

(In fact, this very site was built and is managed on a blog framework!)

While there might be a variety of different proprietary blogging software packages to choose from, the most common providers are WordPress (http://wordpress.org/download/), Typepad (http://www.typepad.com/), Movabletype (http://www.movabletype.org/), Gawker (http://gawker.sourceforge.net/Download.html), and Blogger (https://www.blogger.com/).

These blogging platforms are typically very easy to install and maintain, and allow non-technically-minded people to become active and participating online in a very short time.

If you are brand new to the web, a blog can make a great way for you to get comfortable communicating online. If you are experienced on the web, a blog can help you keep fresh, relative content in front of your audience with very little extra maintenance needed.

For Developers – Content Management Systems (CMS): If you are either a developer or working with an experienced developer, there are CMS options available that are much more robust than simple blogging software. Many will tie-in a range of features and options that are fully customizable (such as email alerts, forums, carts, etc.). A solid CMS system integrates different aspects of marketing which allows your online presence to become much more detailed, unique and successful.

Because of the complicated nature of these software packages, a CMS of this nature is not usually recommended for the beginner.

However, if you have coding experience or are working with someone comfortable to work with the code, these solutions can offer you a great starting point. Many very successful sites run on frameworks customized from open source or proprietary CMS software solutions.

Two of the most common open source CMS solutions are Drupal (http://drupal.org/project/drupal) and Joomla (http://www.joomla.org/download.html).

It is also important to know that there are developers and experts you can hire that specialize in working with the code of specific CMS or blogging platforms. Some designers now specialize in customizing specific blog frameworks or CMS platforms as well. This is all great news for the small site owner, because you can end up with something strong, stable and unique without requiring a huge investment.

At this point, we’ve covered the basics in how to register a domain, set up hosting, and select the coding framework of your site. The next step in building a new site is to think about the information architecture and how you will group together and organize your content to make the site more successful.

Information Architecture

Put very simply, information architecture refers to the way you organize the information of your website. It follows some basic guidelines and uses a lot of common sense. It is meant to ensure that you create a usable resource while also meeting personal goals.

Information architecture could be considered the logic behind how you organize the content, links and navigation of your website to help the users. In turn, the users will help you to achieve your online business goals.

Why do it? A business’ website can offer an amazing opportunity. The possibility for exponential growth depends almost completely on the content you offer and the way you present it. If you carefully plan and execute your site’s information architecture, you will consider:

• The purpose of the website
• How to measure success
• Immediate and long-term goals
• The content you need to launch the website
• The content you will need after launching

You can break down the basics of information architecture to just four simple steps to follow.

Step 1: Clearly Define Your Goals

There might be many things you want to do with your site, but it makes sense to define one goal above all others. It might be to make a sale, capture a lead, or engage a discussion. Whatever this goal is, it will drive the basic architecture of the site.

Ideally, you’ll want to make it possible for a user to take this action in a scroll and a click from wherever they are. Keep that in mind: a scroll and a click to convert, no matter where you are on the site.

Once you have the main goal of the site defined, it often helps to create a subset of related goals. For example, your main goal might be to capture lead information and a smaller goal would be to inform people about your products. Another smaller goal might be to offer resources to help users better understand your niche, engage users in meaningful blog discussions, promote your affiliations, or whatever you feel is important to you, your business and your website.

To build a workable set of smaller goals, think of immediate goals and also think long-term. This allows an action plan to develop with lots of milestones, and keeps you focused on driving to the top.

By clearly defining a main goal and articulating a series of smaller goals for the site you create direction. From direction comes inspiration, action and execution. Once you articulate the goals of your site it is no longer an ambiguous thing – it is a defined challenge for which you can develop a logical game plan, measure your results, and seek ways to refine and improve your direction.

Step 2: Identify Your Potential Site Visitors

Consider who might visit your site, and what they would be seeking in doing so. How would they find you? What are they seeking?

You need to have a pretty solid understanding of your audience before you can begin to connect. The deeper you understand them, the stronger your connection can be.

The point of doing it at this stage is so you know better how to serve-up your content intuitively. You want to make it easy for everybody to find what they want, even when they come in wanting totally different things from your site.

It might help you to list the users out, and then identify what they would be seeking from a visit. There are some basic things to remember about most users:

• Very limited attention span – get to the point, or they will bounce to a site that does.
• Keep your voice consistent. Choose a tone for your messaging and stick with it. Be natural, and display what makes your voice trustworthy, approachable and unique. This way a user can identify a connection to your site more wholly. While you may alienate some users, those that do trust your voice will be the ones you want: evangelists for your brand.
• Limit the options – For most sites, limiting the amount of navigational links (in the main nav or the subnav) helps to focus and drive the users. If you have many navigational choices, you might consider a different way to frame the content to limit the number of links. Too many options, and many users tend to not choose any of them—they become an intimidating blur. Don’t think of using fewer options as limiting the user, you are focusing them.
• Your site is for the users, so cater to them. If it becomes a decision between what you want and what is best for the users, you should opt for them 99% of the time. Refer to analytics and tracking so you can rely on data and avoid guesswork. Research. See what works, and filter-out what doesn’t. Make sure you have an objective outlook, and trust the numbers. This is often going to require a business decision, no matter how personal it feels.

Step 3: Consider Your Content Groupings

Once you understand more about your potential users, you have a better understanding of what content they would want to see. List out the big bucket types of content you will have (who we are, FAQs, etc.) and this will tend to become your main navigation. It will also give you insight into how to best arrange, or group together your different types of content.

For example, if you have some case studies and testimonials, these types of content tend to go hand-in-hand. Make it easy to get from one to the other, or perhaps look at how they can both be rolled up into a larger content bucket, like “Success Stories.”

Or, you might have 6 pages with details regarding your business, so it might make sense to have one “About Us” link that has fly-out sub-navigation options. This would make the site look cleaner while still keeping related content close together and logically grouped.

Ultimately, this aspect can be guided almost completely by common sense, at least in the earlier stages of development.

If you are struggling with this step, you can start with these pages as a minimum: About Us, Products/Services, FAQs, Contact Us, Get Started. This is what is commonly referred to as a “brochure” site meaning that it is like an online brochure of your company. If you add a form to the Get Started page, it becomes an interactive brochure that has the potential to reach (and convert) a much larger audience than the best printed collateral ever could.

Step 4: Consider Usability

You should now have a good idea of your site’s goal, your potential users, and your larger intentions for the content you’d like to offer to encourage conversions. If you haven’t yet, now is a good time to think specifically about the usability of a site.

From an information architecture standpoint, usability refers to how your pages layout (content and images), your navigational options, and any other method the user employs to find each piece of content (e.g., in-text links, sub-navigation, pop-up windows, attachments, etc.).

How do your pieces of content fit into your goal of a user conversion? Do the links and content take them closer to the goal or pull them further from it?

In essence, this step is a culmination of the previous 3 – by understanding your users’ needs and intentions and filtering them through your own goals, you can look at the shortest and cleanest possible route to bring them together.

Remember always, that your users’ needs come first – because if you fail here, the site typically fails.

However, if you answer a targeted user’s need with a usable, logical presentation of relevant content, your site will almost surely find success.

Now that we’ve covered how to set up a site and conceptualize the contents, next, we’ll look at how to approach writing the content to fill the site.