; Build Your Own Business Website Answers
Who are these classes for?
These classes are designed for small business owners or their employees who want to build and maintain their own business web presence.
What skills do I need to have before I can take the class?
You need to be comfortable with a computer. You need to know how to do the very basics of opening, saving, selecting, copying, pasting, typing and so on. In addition you should be comfortable with the basics of Microsoft Word or Microsoft Publisher or other similar office productivity software.
Should I know some HTML or CSS before taking the class?
That’s not necessary. The goal of the class is to be able to develop and manage a website without knowing HTML or CSS. Obviously knowing something about them can help you as well but it isn’t used in the class.
How can you set up a website without knowing HTML & CSS?
We will install and configure an open source web application called WordPress and a premium theme called Thesis. Properly configured WordPress and Thesis can handle all of the technical code for you. What you’ll need to learn is how to configure the settings, how to add text and graphics and how to install plugins & widgets. None of that requires either HTML or CSS or any other technical language.
Do I need a computer in order to do this?
Yes. You’ll need to bring a laptop to class that has a modern operating system, and an Ethernet connection for connecting to the Internet. The class is hands on and you’ll actually follow along each step of the way setting up your business website. If you don’t have a laptop available we can loan you one, but you’ll need to transfer some to the work from the loner laptop to your work desktop.
What does it cost to take the class?
We charge $300 for the class. In addition to this you will spend around $180.00 on hosting and purchasing the Thesis theme. For this you will also receive a year subscription to the website which has video tutorials of the entire class.
I already have a website that I want to update. Will this class teach me to do that?
Yes, as long as you are willing to reconfigure your existing site so that it will use WordPress you can learn that here. However, the class is based on using a single ISP host. You would need to setup an account during class with BlueHost .
I already have an account with “XYZ hosting”. Can I learn to use WordPress in your class with my existing host?
Unfortunately no. The problem is that every hosting provider has different method of installing scripts like WordPress. Unfortunately they use different directory structures, different permissions, different databases and even different terminology for the same thing. In a class room setting it would be impossible to teach folks how to install and configure it with different hosts.
Your choices here are:
- Take the class and signup with BlueHost during the class or
- Hire me or someone like me to install and configure WordPress on your existing hosting account and then sleep through the first 25% of the class.