TechBoost: Building Effective Websites for Small Businesses (Belle River)

Generously funded by a Libro Credit Union Prosperity Grant, The TechBoost Program supports the growth and development of small businesses in Windsor-Essex by providing affordable training in information technology tools and products for business. TechBoost is an initiative of Hackforge, supported by the WindsorEssex Small Business Centre.

Skill Level: Beginner

Audience: For owners or employees of small businesses who don’t have a website but know they need one or you have a website and you’d like to improve it or be able to make changes without a developer.

Pain Points:
Do you need to create a website for your business, but not sure what platform or service to use?
Have you heard about WordPress, or even tried it and feel overwhelmed by what’s involved?
Do you have an out-of-date website and want to update it with a fresh and elegant design?

Why Take this Workshop: Every business needs an online presence, especially a website. Even if you don’t sell products online, most consumers find services or products by researching first online. A website doesn’t need to be complicated to be effective.

Goal: This workshop will help you to determine what you want a website to do for your business. It will also explore the options to build it yourself or to engage professionals.

We’ll cover:

• What considerations you should make when planning to build a website
• A overview of the main platforms available for website development
• What’s involved in hiring professional developers
• Exploring how to create a website with WordPress.com
• How to edit website templates on WordPress

Materials: Please bring a laptop computer and charger if you would like to follow along.
Participants of this workshop are also welcome to attend any of our Open TechBoost Nights at Hackforge where you can bring your laptop and try out new tools in a casual environment with other business owners.

Instructor: Nick Russell, Russtek Media

Russek Media has a strong passion for helping people and wants to see local businesses succeed. Nick has spent many years working in all industries such as IT, tool and die, retail management, brand ambassador and charity social media marketing.