Innovate New Albany is proud to offer a new TechTrain, Learning for Life program.
Thursdays, 6-8 pm: 9/24, 10/1, 10/8, 10/15
In-person at Innovate New Albany, 7775 Walton Pkwy, Suite 100, New Albany, OH 43054
This course is intended for anyone who wants to learn the fundamentals of designing, building, and launching their own website.
No prior experience with website design, coding, or any specific platform is expected or required.
Who Should Participate?
- Small business owners and entrepreneurs who want to launch or improve a website without relying on an agency for every update.
- Nonprofit leaders and staff who need a site that communicates their mission and connects visitors to donation, volunteer, and event tools.
- Marketing managers who want a professional, search-friendly site that connects cleanly to the tools their team already uses.
- Anyone curious about how to build, launch, and maintain their own website with confidence.
Learning Outcomes
- Plan the site map, page layouts, and ‘calls-to-action’ to lead your users to the most important actions on your site, like signing up, submitting an inquiry, donating, or making a purchase.
- Learn to navigate modern website platforms and understand its building blocks: pages, layouts, and design elements.
- Apply design choices like color and typography for consistent branding
- Set up integrations like donation tools, forms, newsletters, and event calendars.
- Understand domains and hosting, mobile responsiveness, and accessibility, so your site looks and works great on any device.
- Test, monitor, and refine your site using tools like Google Analytics and accessibility checkers. Build confidence to keep improving your site without fear.
Instructor Bio
Our instructor, Brad Griffith, is the President and CEO of Buckeye Innovation, a web design and development company based in New Albany, OH. He has led Buckeye Innovation for 17 years, growing it into a team that has built and maintains hundreds of websites for businesses and nonprofits in Central Ohio and across the United States.
He teaches Buckeye Innovation’s Website Acceleration Workshop through the Accelerate Columbus program, as well as its Nonprofit Web Design Cohort with the Columbus Metropolitan Library. Through these programs, Brad has guided dozens of small business owners, nonprofit leaders, and entrepreneurs through building and launching their own websites.
Why Build Your Own Website?
Hiring an agency for every update can get expensive fast. Relying only on a template-based builder can leave your site looking like everyone else’s. Learning to build and manage your own website gives you:
- True Ownership: Update your own copy, photos, and pages whenever you need to, without waiting on or paying for someone else’s schedule.
- Professional, Scalable Tools: Learn the same platforms and design principles professional web developers use. Your site can grow from a simple one-pager to a full site with donations, e-commerce, or booking built in.
- Smart Use of AI: Use AI tools to help draft content, plan your site structure, and keep it updated. You stay in control while the tool speeds up your work.
- Seamless Integrations: Confidently connect the tools you already rely on, like donation platforms, forms, email newsletters, and event calendars, directly into your site.
Like all Innovate New Albany programs, this one is FREE!
Class size is limited to 20 people.
Course Schedule – Four consecutive Thursdays, 6-8 pm: 9/24, 10/1, 10/8, 10/15
