Learn these 3 things free online to boost your business website

This is day 23 of 30-day blog challenge. Read day 22: “Are you a morning person or a night person?”

Everyone wants and needs an online presence in business, and no one has more than the 24 hours in a day, but here are some things I learned early that really helped me build my business. All three of these things are things I continue to study because as with most education, first you learn it, then you practice. I then go back and read, read, read so I can stay in step with changes.

1. At least learn basic HTML, then more coding

You should have a basic understanding of how to write HTML code. Minor font customizations like font size can be hand-coded on the “text” side of creating a WordPress post (or Blogger or just about any content management system). I used and recommend http://www.w3schools.com/

I earned my certification in CSS/XHTML from Kennesaw State University continuing education, but I’ve found that with coding, you really have to use it regularly not to lose it. So, learn what you can and revisit W3Schools until you have a need for more in-depth education and certification (through W3Schools does offer a certification as well).

2. Understand how to set up a blog

You can read the detailed information on blog sites like Blogger or WordPress. I wrote about starting a blog for free and my recommendation is to host your own URL. So many resources exist for learning how to build a blog and starting from a mission is key. Knowing what you want to do with your blog and how often you will update it is the key to success. After that, you need to learn more in-depth things like how to conduct keyword research, how to write for search engine optimization and how to create cornerstone content.

3. Learn Google Analytics

Again, free information and in-depth lessons are provided online from Google. You can learn how to monitor your website’s load speed, traffic sources and bounce rate to better understand your business.  You can go the extra mile and get certified in for Google Analytics. I intend to finish the classes and pay the $50 for certification as soon as possible (all the lessons are free; the certification costs $50).

Visit http://www.google.com/analytics/learn/