Learn how to build a professional, profitable website in two months, via web conference and telephone, for as little as $120.
Attend the live webinar, view the recording later, or do both. All you need is a computer with a high-speed connection, and a telephone.
The next course begins the week of February 9, 2010. There will a Tuesday evening (EST) session and a parallel Thursday afternoon session (come to either one or both).
Sign-up below by providing your name and email, and I will send you a download to the Course Syllabus, Tutorial and Reference guide as soon as it’s available. You can also view the Session 1 recording here (free registration required).
Why create your own website?
Do you want a website such as the ones shown on the right? Or maybe you have a website already, but it doesn’t properly represent you, or it’s not getting any traffic and making you any money?
Up until quite recently, you had a couple of choices for creating a website:
- You could have tried to create it yourself using a commercial website building application (or CMS for “Content Management System”) — but maybe found it very difficult or impossible to get it looking professional.
- You could have hired a web designer, paid them some good money, and gone back-and-forth with them for a month or more. The site would probably look nice but you could not maintain it yourself. Anytime you wanted a change, you would have had to go back to your web designer.
- Or, you could have taken your design and used a programmer to then code it into a CMS by hand, but this would have cost even more.
But those days are over. CMS technology has shifted dramatically in just the last few years.
Watch this short (2 min) video by Marc on the benefits of the WordPress platform for creating a small business website.
What is the course about?
(and: “What technical skills do you need?”)
The core curriculum of WordPress 101 is taught in 4 core sessions and 4 optional sessions. In the first 4 sessions you gain the skills to design an attractive site, and in the next 4 sessions you optimize your site for search-engine visibility, visitor follow-up and sales.
The webinar will guide you through all stages –
- Installing and configuring a WordPress site
- Theme selection and customization
- Creating content
- Outsourcing your graphic design (if desired)
- Performing a keyword analysis /search-engine optimization
- Newsletter management systems (Constant Contact etc)
- Social media (Facebook, Twitter)
- Online video (YouTube etc.)
… and more. The course distills hundreds of hours of research on best practices for website development and for marketing products and services online. View the full WordPress 101 Curriculum.
“WordPress 101 is a very comprehensive intermediate-level course in Web 2.0 technology and Internet Marketing. Even if you ultimately decide to outsource 100% of your web design, every business person or self-employed professional should have this information.”
With the power and simplicity of WordPress, and its huge adoption which guarantees thousands of free themes and plugins, most computer-literate people can do between 75% and 100% of the work themselves of designing their own site. With the right guidance and information, almost anyone now can master the foundations of this excellent CMS in a few hours. In case you do need a little additional design assistance (and many people do in order to get their site “just right”), you have a choice between our very affordable upgrade packages or using someone in our outsourcing network at at extremely reasonable rates.
How does it work?
Sessions take place over the phone and via web conference. You will be able to watch my screen, hear my instructions, ask questions, and (if you want) share your desktop with the class. There are always two weekly sessions, a weekday evening and weekday daytime session, covering the same lesson — come to one or both, and/or watch the video afterwards on your own time and at your own pace.
Each session begins with about an hour lecture / demonstration. During this time I will show you, step-by-step, everything you need to know to create a professional website with WordPress. After this, we stay on the call as long as necessary to get all your questions answered.
But the course does not limit itself to WordPress and web design topics. After all, even an attractive website won’t be much use to you if you don’t understand the basics of internet marketing, search-engine optimization, mailing lists, online payment systems and social media. So in the last half of the course (last 4 sessions) we explore all of these topics at considerable depth. I don’t just talk to you, however — I show you how it’s done, in real time, using the actual websites of class participants.
The first session is always free. To attend the first session, you just need to give your name and email below. You will be sent further instructions before the course and the course syllabus as soon as it’s available.
You can also watch the Session 1 video recording now (free registration required).
How much will it all cost?
Here is a typical breakdown of costs for creating a professional and profitable website using our techniques.
- Training – $99 for the videos, $299 for the webinar
- Domain and Hosting – $10/mth or 84 per year
- Outsourced graphic design (optional) – $50 to $100
- Professional WordPress theme framework (optional) – $40-$100
- Constant Contact or Aweber (newsletter system, optional)- $15/mth
Startup costs are therefore in the range of $120-$500, including hosting and domain name for a year.
Sign-up by providing your name and email in the box below.
“WordPress 101″ is a lifetime investment in your personal and business development. Once you have taken the course, you not only will be able to create as many attractive websites as you want for all your businesses and personal sites (and your friends!); you will also receive an in-depth education on web-based marketing, likely to get you a steady stream of new clients for life — and then keep them. Other companies charge $1500 for a course very similar to his –join us today and get all this for 20% of the normal cost.
Who am I?
I am a trainer, software developer, internet entrepreneur, website developer, and internet marketer. I ran a successful web design business for 3 years prior to starting WordPress Academy, and I was Chief Technology Officer of an internet startup before that. For my full professional profile see Web Technology Guru.
My philosophy is to give people just the right amount of information they need to be successful – nothing more and nothing less. By taking my course, you will save yourself many hours of “wandering in the desert” trying to figure out how to make yourself an effective internet presence and make money online.
What students are saying about the course
| Note: many of the sites below still in development as the course just finished – please be patient! | |
| “Excellent course to get started with building a website and web presence. The course was well paced, full of great information, and easy to follow. Marc has a knack for hitting the key points necessary to get a quick start across the wide spectrum of relevant topics.” – Virginia T., www.shalommountain.com |  |
 “Marc is such a delight to work with. With his expertise and instruction, I now have a beautiful and adaptable website for my business “In The Garden, Design, Care & Workshops.” Quite amazing – workable pages up within 2 weeks; looking good in 6 weeks! After many years of procrastination….I’m enjoying learning “how to” and so excited to finally say “YES, I have a website – www.inthegardendesign.us.”" — Charlotte Kidd
|
 |
 “I started Marc’s training program with little knowledge of Wordpress and within a few weeks had a functional, clean site up and running. Anyone with an average knowledge of tech and the willingness to put in a few hours will find the rich underbelly of Wordpress much more accessible. Mark tells you all you need to know to avoid the big mistakes saving hours of time, and pre-screens all the “ingredients” you need for a successful Wordpress site, such as Themes, Plug-ins, and the like, so you don’t have to”. – James Moche, www.premiumeldercare.com |
|
 “Marc’s enthusiasm for and understanding of Wordpress is infectious, and helped navigate my own confusion, fears and frustrations. I’m so proud of my new website, and it’s comforting and empowering to know that I now have the skills and confidence to design, build, and maintain as many websites as my little heart desires… look out world!” — Amy Childs, www.unschoolingsupport.com,www.whateveramen.com, and www.amychilds.com “(not yet a WordPress site… but it’s ONLY a matter of time…)” |
 |
 “This course is amazing. It’s gotten me started in all the topics I’ve always wanted to know more about –creating web sites using WordPress (including themes, plugins, widgets, sidebars, pages, and posts), RSS feeds (and FeedBurner and FeedBlitz), newsletters and contact management programs like Constant Contact, auto-responders, shopping carts, keyword research and SEO, creating video content and YouTube, social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. We covered so much material. Marc has the knowledge and experience to make any and all of these technologies make sense.I had thought about improving my small business’s web site for years, but this course actually had me do it. Marc is patient and able to explain complex subjects in ways that are easy to understand. With Marc’s help, I see how each tool can benefit me and my site. I recommend this course to anyone who wants to create their own web site but has been afraid to attempt it, or to anyone who simply wants to gain a better appreciation of what’s out there so they can tell a web site developer what they want.” – David Horowitz, www.soundsidesoftware.com |
|
 “Marc’s extensive knowledge of web development and marketing helped me to see that there is really no need to spend thousands of dollars on a fantastic website. Hiring a web developer to design a single site would have cost much more than the class and now I have the knowledge to do it myself. I highly recommend this class for anyone who wants to have a web presence” — Geoff Young, www.goorganics.com |
|
| “Until I retired seven years ago, I was developing websites professionally. I’ve been “out of the loop” for many years now, and Marc has brought me up-to-date in a short time on the latest methods and strategies. Marc has done his homework. His course is thorough, well-rounded, and full of helpful tips. And Marc is a great teacher! Highly recommended.” –- Stephen S. | |
| “I’m very happy with my website so far, and I really appreciate the time Marc spent working on it. It’s just what I need and wanted. I learned sooo much from his class! I was kind of a ludite about things like hosting accounts, using templates, and choosing and installing the various necessary software. I dragged my feet a little at first, but as I watched Marc build classmates’ websites from week to week, I gradually felt inspired to learn. My website isn’t finished yet, but his class gave me the information and inspiration I need to continue building a fabulous website for my freelance editing business!” –- Linda Huff-Paul |
Questions?
Please write with any questions or comments. We love questions.
I look forward to being with you on the first call — let the learning begin!
“Man’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.” ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes