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Learn how to create a website for your business

Donncha provides group training on WordPress for Galway LEO to assist participants to create a promotional website for their business. 

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The Problem with Websites

Difficult to know where to start with website

There is a learning curve with WordPress and other Content Managenent Systems used to create websites. It is important to know how to get started so that you can enjoy the learning process. .

Unclear how to rank with Google

There are steps that can be taken so that your website will rank in Google search resulting in leads for your business - your website can be your best marketing tool

Web design can be costly

Web Designers are brlliant. They have studied and learned their craft over time and gained experience with projects. But for a small business internal expertise and know how can save you money and also time in keeping the site up to date.

The solution

WordPress Group Training

My standard WordPress group training is a 3 day intensive Build a Business Website - 22 steps from start to finish - to include content and design. Advance work includes securing a domain name and hosting. READ MORE

WordPress Tutor One to One

Have specific things that you want to learn about to enhance your website. Learn how to leverage WordPress with one to one support - how to optimise your website content, SEO, Calls to Action and Social Media to meet your business goals in 2021.

SEO & Social Media for WordPress

The one Day Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) workshop addresses the latest in SEO to include Keyword Research, Long Tail and Local Search and both On and Off page techniques to rank on Google. READ MORE

Donncha Hughes

Business Advisor

Trainer Profile

Donncha Hughes, Business Advisor & Mentor is an expert in business plans, startups and marketing. He is self taught on WordPress. On this website you can read all his blogposts about Website creation. You can also find out the next dates for Group training or enquire about a One 2 One by contacting me via email.

The 3 day programme

The 3 day equivalent in person group training course is aimed at owner-managers and marketeers who want to master WordPress in order to create a website to promote their business - shows you step by step how to buy a URL and hosting; and every element of the website creation process from menus, pages, images and adding videos. Book via Galway LEO.

Online WordPress Training

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Coming soon

On demand online training programme

Step by Step Instructions

A video based programme with step by step instructions on how to create a website for a local business (restaurant in this case)

Recommended Page Builder, Theme & Plugins

Using the Astra theme with the Elementor Page builder and select plugins to create a mobile responsive website

Show how to build an example site

Integrate Google Maps, YouTube, Social Media along with Menus, Pages and a Blog (plus a Coming Soon Page)

Peer Learning

Join other small business owners for 3 full days as we all learn how to create a website using WordPress to promote your business.

Start/Finish

Each workshop runs from 9.30 am to 4.30 PM in City Hall, Galway on College Road.

Wi-Fi

Bring your own laptop to each of the 3 days so that you can build your website. Alternatively, laptops can be provided. Free Wifi provided.

READ THE BLOG

WEBSITE PORTFOLIO

Donncha Hughes, Business Advisor & Trainer has created a number of example websites to complement the training progamme and showcase WordPress functionality.

Galway Web Designer Website

THEME: VANTAGE

PAGE BUILDER: SITE ORIGINS

BLOG: YES

ABOUT: The Galway Web Designer is a website for a ficticious business

HOW: I wrote a blogpost called ‘Vantage Theme with Site Origins Page Builder – An example Site with Instructions” which explains how the site was created. It is not fully finished but there are lots of pages to include Contact Us using Contact Form 7, and a bespoke home page created using the Site Origins page builder.

THEME: PHLOX

PAGE BUILDER: ELEMENTOR

BLOG: YES

ABOUT: The Jack Percy Fitness is a website for a ficticious business

NEXT STEPS: Phlox is a great theme – I have written several posts on Phlox to include video instructions on creating a Menu. I currently have maintenance mode activated on this Jack Percy Site. If you click the login button you can see the backend of WordPress and then click to visit the site in the Dashboard – login details are on the site. When you log in you will see that the home page has a large Call to Action (CTA) which is a button that sits on a Video background (looks cool)

 

Jack Percy Coming Soon page
Jack Percy Coming Example Website
Previous image
Next image

THEME: ASTRA

PAGE BUILDER: ELEMENTOR

BLOG: YES

ABOUT: The TLC Dog Care website is another ficticious business. It is one that i have written a business plan for, and created financial projections to acompany my online training programmes on both those topics.

NEXT STEPS: Astra is a great theme. I currently have maintenance mode activated on this site – it is a nicer Coming Soon page as the menu doesnt activate as the site is built. If you click the login button you can see the backend of WordPress and then click to visit site in the Dashboard – login details are on the site. When you login you will see that the home page has used a lot of the Elementor features to create a visually appealing and easy to follow website.

 

THEME: NEVE

PAGE BUILDER: ELEMENTOR

BLOG: YES

ABOUT: This website

NEED TO KNOW: I did change the Theme in December 2020. This is a big task but the homepage was looking dated. One of the advantages was the opportunity to deactivate and delete some plugins as Elementor has widgets to do the same job. All the content was retained but you just have to check every page to make everything still looks ok. The featured image of all the blogposts need to be resized. Most of the blogposts need to be updated in light of the introduction of the BLOCK EDITOR. The logic of how to do things within WordPress has not changed but the screenshots are now different. Good to have a to do list!

 
Startuphughes com screenshot Dec 20

THEME: BLACKBIRD (A pro theme)

PAGE BUILDER: NO – Theme Front Page and Customise Menu [Site Origins installed for some pages]

ABOUT: This is my primary website. Active for over 10 years. Huge amount of content and SEO.

NEED TO KNOW: This is an old style WordPress site created with a theme that was created prior to Page Builders. The majority of pages were created with the original WordPress visual editor and I have the ‘Classic Editor’ plugin installed for use when needed. It is a fairly big (but manageable) job to change a theme so i haven’t taken the plunge yet. It is more about the conent than the technology.

 

6 online courses by Donncha Hughes

NOT WORDPRESS

ABOUT: When i wanted to publish online training i decided to use the Thinkific Platform. It has a separate URL /web domain. I created a simple custom link from the Menu on my main site to the Thinkific Site.

NEED TO KNOW: Using WordPress you could build a full system for online training. There are excellent themes and premium plugins available to make sure that you have all the features. But there is a learning curve to setting these up and i found Thinkific to be very user friendly. I also liked that Thinkific looks after all the Account Management (user login and passwords) and there is no chance of it going down as this is their business. Payment is also seamless with both Paypal and Stripe.

BTW, I also have a Google site which is a handy way to replicate a membership site that you use to share content to specific groups of people (if not charging for it).

 
COPY of my THINKIFIC website

2021.startupwebtraining.com

ABOUT: This is a very close copy of my Thinkific Website

THEME: ASTRA THEME

PAGE BUILDER: WordPress Block Editor + Gutentor Blocks

WHY: The WP Block Editor is evolving and with Gutentor Blocks and others such as Genesis, I wanted to show that you can effectively design a website that is modern and professional without using a Page builder like Site Origins or Elementor. I tried to replicate my existing Thinkific website as a great way to learn all the features of the Gutentor blocks – i am very happy with the result.

 

What our happy training participants say