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About This Program

Dot.com showed you how to use technology
to draw in customers from around the world.

In 2002, Prairie Public Television broadcast a series of seven weekly television programs that taught small business owners and employees, entrepreneurs, farmers, and ranchers how to construct a web site to reach new customers, solidify relationships with existing customers, and reduce the high cost of marketing.

Classes discussed on these pages are no longer available.
 

Class 1 - Content Development
Saturday, October 5, 11:30 am (CT)
An overview of the steps to building a web site that works: understanding your customers' interests and the online environment, setting realistic goals, and creating a web strategy.

Class 2 - Design Essentials
Saturday, Oct. 12, 11:30 am (CT)
Techniques for organizing your web site so that customers can find what they're looking for: building navigation that works, the 3 click rule, and avoiding the ten most common mistakes that turn away customers.

Class 3 - Creating Your Site
Saturday, Oct. 19, 11:30 am (CT)
How to develop a content plan for your site that will draw customers in: identifying the information customers want, the importance of well-written content, and affordable ways to create compelling content.
Class 4 - Graphics
Saturday,Oct. 26, 11:30 am (CT)
What your graphics say about you: creating your online image, building graphics that look good on the web, and tips and tricks for building graphics with appeal.
Class 5 - Interactivity
Saturday,Nov. 2, 11:30 am (CT)
The pros and cons of interactive features: Do they add value? Are they worth the effort? How can you build interactivity without the overhead?
Class 6 - Building Traffic
Saturday, Nov. 9, 11:30 am (CT)
If you build it, will they come? Low-cost ways to generate traffic to your site, fine-tuning your site for search engines and measuring your site's effectiveness.
Class 7- Project Management
Saturday, Nov. 16, 11:30 am (CT)
Keeping your site up to date, controlling project costs, and copyrights in the digital environment.

Supplemental Learning Online
In addition to the broadcast programs, Prairie Public has developed web-based self-paced instructional materials, online assignments and samples, and instructor interaction to provide the kind of hands-on learning experiences that business people prefer.

College Credit
The University of Mary, Fargo Center, is offering four semester hours of college credit in the College of Professional Studies to students who register for this course.

Funding for Dot.com is provided by the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development.


The University of Mary has undertaken an extensive program to serve the needs of adult learners seeking degree, certification or re-certification. These services include the Prior Learning Program, outreach programs, adult transition programs, evening and other courses offered outside the regular day, workshops, summer programs, and advising of adult students.

The College for Professional Studies
The University offers select majors through its College for Professional Studies. These majors involve courses that are offered in concentrated formats during semesters that take 5 to 7 weeks to complete. They are designed for the older-than-average students with significant work experience who already have completed many requirements for their degree. For additional information, please contact the University of Mary College for Professional Studies.

Prairie Public Broadcasting, headquartered in Fargo, North Dakota, is a non-profit organization and community licensee that provides public television services throughout North Dakota, northwestern Minnesota, southern Manitoba, and parts of Montana and South Dakota; and public radio service to North Dakota. In addition to broadcasting services, Prairie Public Broadcasting provides a wide range of educational and technological services to communities and individuals across its coverage area.