1. Websites
Designing, writing, programming, and
integrating them into a marketing plan.
Ashland University – October 18, 2011
© 2011 Gong Gong Communications. All rights reserved.

2. Websites as a Marketing Tool
▪Websites should be an integrated
marketing plan – not a standalone
entity
▪They should act as a marketing,
communications, and information hub
Ashland University – October 18, 2011
© 2011 Gong Gong Communications. All rights reserved.

3. It All Works Together
E-mail
Website Blog
Ashland University – October 18, 2011
© 2011 Gong Gong Communications. All rights reserved.

4. What Should a Site Contain
▪ It completely varies!
▪ Usually, a site includes:
– Home page
– About the person/organization
– Services/products/benefits
– Become a client/join the organization
– Resources/blog
– Contact us/location
Ashland University – October 18, 2011
© 2011 Gong Gong Communications. All rights reserved.

5. Elements of good website design
▪ Design is inline with your organization’s brand
▪ The colors aren’t too bright or dull
▪ Text colors and sizes are easily readable
▪ Use web-safe fonts
▪ The site fits most-used screen sizes
▪ Appropriate use of photos and graphics
▪ Pages aren’t too long
Ashland University – October 18, 2011
© 2011 Gong Gong Communications. All rights reserved.

6. Elements of good website copy
▪ Short, concise, and to the point!
▪ Immediately provides the information the user
wants/needs (WIIFM)
▪ Focuses on benefits, not features
▪ Utilize smaller paragraphs and bulleted/numbered
lists
▪ Use keywords in your copy (but don’t stuff!)
Ashland University – October 18, 2011
© 2011 Gong Gong Communications. All rights reserved.

7. Elements of good website programming
▪ Always use text instead of images for the design
▪ Ensure your site is W3C validated (if possible)
▪ Make sure your site is compatible on all major
search engines
▪ Don’t use antiquated code
Ashland University – October 18, 2011
© 2011 Gong Gong Communications. All rights reserved.

8. Search Engine Optimization
▪ Create a site map and submit it to search
engines
▪ Use keywords in your website copy
▪ List your URL on as many other websites as
possible (back links)
▪ Use keyword-based text links as much as
possible
▪ Constantly change and update your website’s
content
Ashland University – October 18, 2011
© 2011 Gong Gong Communications. All rights reserved.

9. Accessibility & Usability Matter!
▪ Easy to use navigation is key
▪ Information should never be more than 2-3 clicks
away from the homepage
▪ Simple, multi-tiered navigation ensures user won’t
get lost as easily
▪ Enable your website to be easily accessed by
those with disabilities
▪ Users can access it from mobile devices
Ashland University – October 18, 2011
© 2011 Gong Gong Communications. All rights reserved.

10. Glossary
▪ FTP: The system that transfers files from one
host (computer) to another
▪ URL: A webpage’s address
▪ Domain Name: A website’s address and also the
extension at the end (.com, .net, etc.)
▪ Domain Registrar: The company who reserves
and manages a website’s domain
▪ Hosting: The server (usually a 3rd party
company) who holds the website’s files
Ashland University – October 18, 2011
© 2011 Gong Gong Communications. All rights reserved.

11. Coding Languages
▪ HTML: Creates the structure of the website
▪ CSS: Assigns the styles, design, and layout of the
website
▪ PHP: The code that gets stuff done on
websites
▪ Java: Used to fuel web apps
▪ Flash: A multimedia platform that can be used
to create videos and websites
Ashland University – October 18, 2011
© 2011 Gong Gong Communications. All rights reserved.

12. What is the big deal with pictures?
JPEG
▪ Pros: Best for photos
▪ Cons: Files can be very large; no transparency; can create
grainy images
GIF:
▪ Pros: Good for graphics; universally supported
▪ Cons: Poor transparency support; can be of poor quality
PNG
▪ Pros: Best for graphics; flawless transparency
▪ Cons: Files can be large; transparency not supported on
older browsers
Ashland University – October 18, 2011
© 2011 Gong Gong Communications. All rights reserved.

13. JPG GIF PNG
Ashland University – October 18, 2011
© 2011 Gong Gong Communications. All rights reserved.

14. JPG GIF PNG
Ashland University – October 18, 2011
© 2011 Gong Gong Communications. All rights reserved.

15. Color Matters!
▪ Hexadecimal: for web
▪ RGB: for screen
▪ CMYK: for print
Example
▪ Hexadecimal: #f5b10d
▪ RGB: 245, 177, 13
▪ CMYK: 3, 33, 100, 0
Ashland University – October 18, 2011
© 2011 Gong Gong Communications. All rights reserved.

16. How to Create a Website
▪ From scratch
– Y are responsible for every bit of code
ou
– Starts with HTML and likely CSS, can go on to include
PHP, Java, and more
– Site is edited through the code or a WYSIWYG editor
▪ Using a content management system (CMS)
– Y or someone else creates a template, then content is
ou
added through the CMS backend
– Examples include: Joomla, Drupal, Wordpress, third party
template sites
Ashland University – October 18, 2011
© 2011 Gong Gong Communications. All rights reserved.

17. Ashland University – October 18, 2011
© 2011 Gong Gong Communications. All rights reserved.

18. Gong Gong Communications
We provide holistic marketing and creative
services to small businesses on a monthly and per-
project basis
We offer a full range of services including graphic
& web design, copy writing, marketing
planning, and social media engagement.
www.gonggongcommunications.com
Ashland University – October 18, 2011
© 2011 Gong Gong Communications. All rights reserved.

19. Now that you’ve forgotten everything we just covered…
http://www.gonggongcommunications.c
om/speaking/ashland-2011.html
-or-
http://ow.ly/71jJk
-or-
Ashland University – October 18, 2011
© 2011 Gong Gong Communications. All rights reserved.