Intro

Randy discusses what he believes to be the best way to get your product or service up and running over the internet.

Announcements

• Relating to this episode, I have launched my own products and services on my own.

• The Video stream portion of the podcast, as you may have noticed, is not every week. Think of it as more of a treat - where you don't see my face every moment! I don't want to see my face that much.

It starts with WordPress - Sort of.

• First really just need your domain name and webhosting (and of course an eMail host such as Microsoft 365 that I've now mentioned on quite a few episodes of the Manly Hanley Podcast).

○ I recommend to go with a host such as GoDaddy, Bluehost or HostGator

○ All of these hosts will offer some sort of C Panel that makes it super simple to install WordPress on your webserver.

§ The reason I mention creating your own domain with your WordPress install is because it gives you more control

□ For instance, you could sign up directly through WordPress.com, and have them host it for you. But if you decide later that you don't like WordPress, it's not going to be as easy to switch to another platform since you're hosting by them

® The beauty of the WordPress platform is that they allow you to install it on your own web server

They describe it in detail on their site, but I've copied and pasted into my notes here so I can just read it for you. However, the link is in the show notes. - https://wordpress.org/about/ - They call it their "WordPress Bill of Rights". I love it.

Totally optional Step! - Setup a Ticketing System

• Why use a ticketing system when I can just use my email? Because email sucks for efficiency in my opinion. Think of a ticketing system as a great way to centralize the your solutions to peoples' issues that you're hired to solve. Sure, you can search your email box and pull up the email thread, but it's way slower and less-efficient than a ticketing system that's designed to support users, report their issues/metrics, and automate common problems. A ticketing system offers a transparent view of what's happening (like a big picture) for your company, to see where the ball is being dropped, and what you can do as that company to improve things.

• I've used numerous ticketing systems and I find Freshdesk to be the best one, as far as customization and reporting.

Start Adding (needed) Plugins to Your WordPress Site

• Now that you've figured out how you're going to support your users, you can plug those components into your WordPress setup.

○ WordPress is so popular, that it's very-likely that plugin exists for the software that you're wanting to use to support your customers.

○ For instance, I mentioned Freshdesk official widget that you can find in the plugins section of your WordPress site. The plugin is so easy to configure, it'll probably just take you a couple of minutes.

Link: https://wordpress.org/plugins/freshdesk-support/

§ Once I had the plugin installed and filled out the info, a floating widget appeared on my website, that will all me to provide instant support to a user that requests it.

WooCommerce is probably the easiest way to build a customizable payment system (on your own site) that I've ever seen. WooCommerce brands itself as "an eCommerce toolkit that helps you sell anything. Beautifully.". Their description makes them sound a little Apple like. I can make any product and call it beautiful. The way I played that drum beat before the chorus, it was beautifully-executed. This iPhone is a beautiful rectangle. No. .. Flowers are beautiful, don't push it.

I'd like to thank you for putting time aside to listen to the podcast.