You're going ahead with One-On-One Training. Lucky you! You'll get training and lots done with your website too. It's good to prepare before you come so you can make the most of your scheduled time. Here's what you need to do.
Come Prepared
LAPTOP. Sessions are held either in person or on skype. For this you need a laptop. Make sure you're happy that you can use it. If you're having any problems at all with it, you'll likely have problems during our training session. So take care of this before we meet.
DOMAIN NAME. Most people want a custom domain. Make sure to purchase the domain before you arrive if you want this setup during our session. There are many places you can get this. I recommend Blacknight just because I like them and they have good support. I get no kickbacks for saying this. They are just my preferred domain supplier. You can use anyone you like. Remember, however, that if you buy from a site in the US, you live in Europe and you have problems. it will be more difficult to get support. Just keep this in mind.
Make sure to also give some consideration to the domain name if you haven't selected one yet. You want it easy to remember and, ideally, not too long.
QUESTIONNAIRE. I have a questionnaire that I ask everyone to complete. This will help you think about it before you come. You can complete this here.
PAYMENT SYSTEMS. If you plan to do eCommerce or use a payment system on your site, you should make sure you have an account setup before you arrive. Think also about pricing, how you will do this and remember that payment systems have fees which you need to consider as well. Some of the payment systems you might use are:
SOCIAL MEDIA. If you want social media connected or linked, make sure to have your login details.
CONTENT. This is one of the most important parts of your website. Pull together the content of what you want in your site. The questionnaire (above) will get you started. Write the text or at least write general ideas so you can finish it later.
What's your message? Who are you writing to (your target)? What would you like visitors to do when they get there? Group your content into sections as you might lay it out on a website.
SITE COLOURS. Have an idea of what colours you want for the site. Different colours convey different ideas. Think of the mood you want to generate. If you have an image, we can pull colours from there. You can get some inspiration at Colour Palettes here.
RESEARCH. Have a look at other sites before you come. See what you like and what you think might be suitable for your site. When you have a better idea of what you want, you will be in a good position to get what you want for your site.
What to Expect
There are two sessions and each is 90 minutes in length. We'll take a few minutes to review where you're at, what you want to do, and how best to do this. I like to visually draw out the site on paper and will discuss possible layouts with you. Then we work towards putting together a skeleton site which you go home with and work on. This gives you an opportunity to work on your site and put into practice what you learn from the day.
I train and build (or modify) your site at the same time. I explain as I go, check for comprehension, and ask questions if needed for clarity on the site.
By the second session, if you've done your work on the skeleton, we should be just pulling things together, connecting the domain (if needed) and making sure it's doing what you want. There is only so much that can get done in a session so if it's a big site, obviously, it could take longer to complete. If this is the case, you can go off and do as much as you can on your own then come back when you're ready to finish it. Or you can continue to work with me one-on-one and we'll finish it together. The choice is yours.
Good to Know
HOSTING. If you want a custom domain (i.e., www.yourdomainname.com or www.yourdomainname.ie), and you probably do, then you will need a PRO license. Because Strikingly is a Software As A Service website building tool, it does all the software upgrades, maintenance, performance management, backups, etc., etc., plus it has amazing support. The only way it can do this is if you host on their platform. So hosting with them is a requirement if you need a custom domain. More information and prices on hosting from me (I am a Strikingly agent) is available here.
EMAIL/OTHER SERVICES. If you have other services which you want setup (Email, Google Analytics, or whatever) I'm happy to help if there is time. This is your time so we can use it anyway you like. Just make sure to come prepared with login details so we can get done what you want in the time allotted.
ARTWORK/BROCHURE. If you have artwork from other professional material (like a brochure) bring it along. We can incorporate this into your site and start building your brand!
QUESTIONS? If you've any questions, drop me an email at teri@terimorris.com.
If you're reading this but haven't scheduled your training yet, do that here.