Week 5 MKT250

 

While researching, discussing, and creating my site.  I realized there are a few things that are the most important to me.  You could call these “Best Practices.”  Some best practices may be as follows. Paying attention to color scheme so there is not any clashing that your eyes will catch.  Something smooth and consistent.  layout considerations for flow.  Making sure the eye roves to important details and doesn't gloss over clutter.  Font considerations.  this is similar to flow but really needs special attention.  Overall user experience.  Prototyping or a dry run to confirm that the site is running smoothly before it is released. 

A few things that others may not have any issue with, but I may need to consider.  How or who to have in charge of managing the paypal account.  For me, I may not be able to spend the time in learning a new software.  That being said, what’s more important in a business than making money?  Maybe this is my main focus and other aspects of the company are delegated.  Another issue is the look of paypal.  I don't want ugly yellow buttons on my pages.  Turns out you can edit it.  Good to know about how many people actually complete their transactions vs other options.  That is something I missed in my research.  I am glad to hear you can customize the button.  That default look does not go with everything.  As for the button not working.  Maybe planning in advance on what support number you would call just in case this issue comes up.  Maybe even do a dry run and test the call out.

Week 4 MKT250

 

This week in my class we learned about tools to build sites and web hosting.

The site builder I will be using will be Weebly. This is because of its ease of use and pricing. I do have some experience in using this site builder and feel the most comfortable with it. the ability to select a temple then drag and drop to build your site is really idiot proof. For the purposes of this class, I need to be able to just put up an easy site to get the experience. That being said I will be researching the other content management systems. They seemed like good options for me to use in the future.

Weebly is also good for business because it easily accepts payments and provides pertained analytics. This is the entire point of opening a business, to make money. I will be also be able to make decisions based on the analytics provided.

The combination of ease of use, cost, visually appealing templates, and this time crutch of a semester, I think Weebly will be the best choice.

If I had to choose a hosting company right now, I would choose HostGater because it scored the best on my quantify and compare chart. I placed importance in price, ranking/reviews, and amount of domain names hosted. HostGater came out number one. It costs $2.75 a month. There are pricing options for other features. To get this price you are locked into a 36-month long contract. The contract comes with a free domain name. I was unable to find any info on a google ads credit, so I am going to assume there is none. They have a round the clock service to aide me whenever I am in need of help. HostGater will also support my site builder.

How it all started out.

In 2011 my life changed.  I was diagnosed with cancer, Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.  I was struck with how in the world I was going to support my family if I pulled through this.  At the time I had a wife and a daughter who was less than a year old.    

While riding this tsunami size wave of change in my life I discovered 3D Printing.  It was that moment that I realized what I was going to do after cancer.  I was going to ride out this wave all the way to the end and not let it crash on top of me.  It was early 2012 and I was searching YouTube videos about engineering and manufacturing, and there is was.  There was a video showcasing a 3d printer and its many uses around the house and its use for making toys.  All in all you could create anything and were only limited by your imagination.  I was hooked.  I began to research anything and everything on 3d printing at that moment.

3D printers were and still are expensive.  So I diligently searched the internet for a contest that offered a 3d printer as its prize.  As a result I set up a Google Alert to email me anytime the phrase “win a 3d printer” showed up anywhere on the internet.  MAKE magazine and Schick razors teamed up and announced Project Remake.  I designed a bicycle fender out of a two liter container and submitted it.  I followed the progress of the contest and worried about every single entry that I was going up against.  After the contest was closed I was chosen as one of the finalists and won my Makerbot Replicator.  I was elated and ready to try and print things that I had already designed with the expectation and hope of winning.  While this was all going on I was declared cancer free.  I had truly found my passion was now going to live to see it through.  

We now have two daughters and I am striving to provide for my family with 3d Printing.