We were fortunate to have Lindsey Engelhardt present a webinar about, Consultants’ Essentials: Websites 101 on January 12, 2017. Many of the participants had questions that we were unable to ask the presenter. She was kind enough to answer them and they are posted below. Here is a link to the recording: Consultants’ Essentials: Websites
Click here to: Download the PowerPoint Slides
Handouts: Craft a Website Blueprint
Basic Graphic Knowledge
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Q.1. What program do you need to make jpeg files?
A.1. Most software programs that include the ability to save a file have the option to save your file as a jpeg. There are two common ways to do this:
- One is to select “Save As” from the “File” tab. Typically you have the option in the “Save As” window to change what file type you want to save the document as. Select jpeg.
- The second way is to choose “Export” from the “File” tab. If you don’t see jpeg as an option in the “Save As” window, go back to the “File” tab and look for “Export” in the menu. Within the “Export” window, select jpeg.
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Q.2. I’ve heard that it can be really problematic to try to change your domain host, for example from GoDaddy to something else. Do you have suggestions for choosing and any experience with switching?
A.2. I do have experience switching from one to the other. For one client project, it was a walk in the park. The client had chosen a very user-friendly host who helped migrate the site from hard code to a WordPress site. They did all the “geeky” backend work for us, which includes providing access to the current php files and setting up a development URL. We haven’t moved the development site to the live URL yet, but I’m confident it will be a breeze thanks to the support of the client’s host company. While we’re on the topic, if you already have a site and are wanting to move it, it’s important that you create a development site with the new hosting company. Build your website there and work out any kinks before you migrate it to its more permanent URL. Following this best practice allows you to tinker with your site without affecting your current website traffic.
For another client project, the migration was more complicated. This was partially because I was a newbie to the backend of websites. “php” and “servers” and “FTP” were a foreign language to me. So, my advice would be that if you don’t know what you’re doing with migration, find someone who does. It didn’t help that the client had chosen a host that hadn’t kept up with web technologies and capabilities. Why did the client chose this host? The host offered extremely cheap service for non-profits. I can’t stress this enough: When it comes to web tools and software, you get what you pay for.
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Q.3. I have newsletters that I have written monthly for the Early childhood field with links to resources. What is the difference from newsletters and blogs if I want to upload them to my website?
A.3. This is a great question! First of all, you’re one step ahead of the game. One of the biggest struggles people have after creating their website is creating content to keep it current online. Because of Google, it’s extremely important that you consistently have content to add to your website. Google tracks how “old” websites are. The older sites–ones that haven’t been updated regularly–will be ranked lower for SEO (Search Engine Optimization). This means the less you update your site, the harder it will be for people to find you online.The key for you, though, is to know that you can’t just upload a pdf of your newsletter and expect Google to be able to read it for SEO keywords. Uploading a pdf or an image to your website doesn’t add any text to your site, and that’s what Google sorts through. You need to copy and paste the text out of the newsletter and publish it to your site as a blog post.
In essence, you already have a process in place for creating content. That’s a hard first step! Now you need to change your process of how you share that content. Rather than putting the text into Word (or whatever program you’re using to make the newsletter) you need to put the text into a “post” in your website. The other part of your process you’ll need to change is how you distribute this content. Instead of attaching your newsletter to an e-mail, you’ll now want to write a teaser paragraph in the body of your e-mail and hyperlink a few words of that text to your new blog post, where readers can find the whole story. This is a process I use at my full-time job for the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership at National Louis University. Here’s a link to a past e-mail we sent out so you can see what a digital newsletter looks like, complete with an example of the hyperlinking I mentioned above.
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Q.4. Is it hard to transfer what I did on Weebly to another platform?
A.4. My hunch is, yes, to an extent. After a quick Google search, I found a good, thorough article on migrating from Weebly to WordPress. Note that the process this article describes is very similar to the process that would be required for migrating from any of the other “easy website builder” sites such as Wix and SquareSpace.
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Q.5. I have a MAC. What are some of these programs?
A.5. The tools I described in the webinar are all web-based tools, meaning you can access them on any device that has an internet connection. No need to worry about whether they are compatible with PC, Mac, or any other device! They work with them all because you’re accessing the tools through the internet. You do not need to install any software on your computer or device to use these tools. (The sole exception is I briefly mentioned Adobe Creative Cloud as a suite of tools professional graphic designers use to create photos and graphics. Adobe Creative Cloud does require some installation on a computer, but it is compatible with Macs and PCs.)
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Q.6. What “features” (theme, security, number of pages, etc.j) are paid for at the start and what is included in the annual fee? Does this vary by company?
A.6. Your hunch is right; the pricing structure varies by company. There are some generalizations I can provide, though:
- For WordPress:
- Themes and plug-ins are typically each a one time purchase
- URLs and hosting are typically each an annual fee
- Services such as maintenance, additional security, design, and marketing are all vary but (this is a big generalization) typically, these are provided by companies, consultants, and freelancers on an hourly basis. You could also set up a monthly agreement called a retainer, where the company/consultant/freelancers agree to provide you with a standard number of hours per month. There are pros and cons to this set up for both parties.
- For Wix or SquareSpace or Weebly
- Check their respective sites for current pricing information. Their price charts will tell you what’s included. They typically offer monthly payment plans or a lump annual fee, the latter of which ends up being cheaper over 12 months.
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Q.7. What about Adobe Captive? How if created using it, what does end user have to have see it without changing it?
A.7. Thanks for introducing me to a new tool! I haven’t heard of or used Adobe Captive. Google will likely be able to help you with this question. Search for phrases like: Integrating Adobe Captive into my WordPress website. My hunch is there’s probably a plug-in for that for WordPress. I’m less optimistic about whether you’d be able to incorporate Adobe Captive into “easy website builders” like Weebly, Wix, or SquareSpace.
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Q.8. How do you anchor the photo so that you can not capture your photo in any way? No Screen capture option? No snipping tool option? Right click on image and it not being able to get it?
A.8. This is still a problem with websites, which has been amplified by social media photo sharing like Facebook and Instagram. Here’s a thorough article on what you can do to protect your photos online. Note, though, where there’s a will, there’s a way. It’s currently impossible to completely protect your photos–unless you don’t post it online to begin with.Something else to consider is that you can limit who has access to your photo in the first place by requiring a password to access it. My daughter’s child care center does this. They have a password protected blog. Only parents can access the blog, and they are limited to seeing only posts from the whole school or from their child’s specific classroom.
