Archive for October, 2009

30
Oct
2009

How do you use WordPress to run a website?

1 Comment

WordPress is a blogging package right? Well if you think that you’re absolutely right but only partially. WordPress, which is most likely the worlds most popular blogging package is also a great piece of software to power small business websites. In fact, I’ve used WordPress to power websites such as:

In all of these cases as well as many, many others WordPress was used to create and manage complex websites which skyrocketed to the top of Google’s Search Engine Results Pages because they used WordPress as a powerful content management tool, making the website much easier to manage and therefore a better tool for busy marketing staff.

How do you use WordPress to run a website?

Actually, that’s the best part of WordPress. Once you’ve signed up for a great hosting package such as Bluehost’s $6.95 per month solution, you can install WordPress by simply clicking their one step installation process and voila! You’re website is setup with the world’s most powerful blogging package instantly.

So then, how do you use WordPress to run a website? Once you’ve installed WordPress you’ll need to make changes to a few key files, called template files. These template files are what control how your website looks to visitors. Here’s what you need to know:

  • The header.php file is what appears on all pages at the top of your page
  • The footer.php file is what appears on all pages at the bottom of your website
  • functions.php is where you store common PHP code to call if from all pages, most often you can ignore this
  • index.php is the heart and soul of your website, technically you can remove all the other .php files and format just this page to make every page on your website look the same.
  • pages.php is used to format content edited in the Pages tab of the WordPress control panel
  • single.php is used to format content edited in the Posts tab, by seperating these two you can format pages (such as About Us or Contact Us) to look different than content pages (such as a press release or CEO blog)
  • categories.php is used to format pages which list posts, archives.php is similar but for tags
  • search.php is used to format the results of a search

Once you’ve changed the look and feel of your website, you can use the built in WordPress editor to allow different members of your team to post content to the website, add marketing or press releases and even adjust prices!

You can get started with your company website today but signing up for a great hosting account, just $6.95 per month with BlueHost.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Questions and Answers

read more
29
Oct
2009

How do you setup a blog?

No Comments

One of the most common questions I get asked here on the site is a relatively simple one, how do you setup a blog?

First, let’s establish what a blog is and what it isn’t.

A blog is a running editorial, while it has a start date (the day you put it online) there is no end date. It’s not like sending a flyer to a printer, it’s more like a newsletter where you continuously update the content and newer posts (usually) appear at the top.

A blog gives you the ability to allow users to comment on your posts, but it is not a forum which allows general users to start conversations. Generally a blog is written from the perspective of a group of authors on a specific subject and read/responded to by the general public.

Excellent examples of blog usage would be for couples getting married who want to share their details with family and friends, travelers who are posting updates as they find accessible computers or companies who are sharing information about their events. More formal uses of blogs can be found in daily newspapers, online magazines and even support websites which post commonly asked questions and receive comments from users.

Blogging removes the need for complex software solutions and rarely requires more than a basic knowledge of computer use. Unlike publishing a website, blogs almost always feature a rich content editor similar to Word or other popular desktop publish packages.

To operate a blog of your own, you’ll need to setup some fairly basic web technology.

  1. You’ll need a domain name (this is your address on the web)
  2. You’ll need a web host (this is where your files are stored on the web)
  3. You’ll need to install a blogging package (this is what allows you to run a blog)

Luckily, to accomplish all these tasks there’s a wonderful, simple solution called BlueHost which offers a turn key blogging solutions for new businesses. Their introductory package offers free domain name registration as well as one year hosting and free installation of WordPress, the world’s most popular blogging package for just $6.95 per month.

When you’re ready, get started with your blog today!

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Business Advice

read more
14
Oct
2009

How to get a great PageRank, or a Free Nano

6 Comments

Before I begin writing this article,  I have to brag just a little. My website here at thisismyurl.com has a Google PageRank of 5, as does my website at getawaygraphics.com but Chris’s website (which I reviewed yestaurday) has a Google PageRank of 6 … that completely destroyed my ego. He’s killing me, it’s like that scene where Annie totally destroys Obi Wan, it simple shouldn’t have happened. So why did it?

Simple, his kungfu was better than mine.

Actually it’s a lot more complicated than that but not by much. First, to truly understand why bavotasan.com is a higher ranking, we should first understand some of the mechanics. Google PageRank (as we’ve talked about before) is just one measure of a web site’s success but it’s a critical one. It measures how much Google believes your website is worth and in the process, how much value they give to it. A high PR value means a better placement in the results, so getting a high PR is the first step to getting a great SEO value.

Getting a PR of 0 is easy, everybody starts with one. Getting a one is still fairly simple, a two is what most should aim for, a three means Google has faith in you, four means you’re pretty impressive, five … you’re on fire and six? Now six is something you should envy. It means that you’re heads and tails above the rest, so how do you get a PageRank of six?

Step one … have a website people care to read. I’m always impressed with how great the content on Chris’s website is. It’s not just good, it’s great. He takes the time to research his posts, he puts a lot of effort into it and in the end he works hard. That’s the first step, make sure the content you write is worth writing.

Step two … get people to link to you. On this step, Chris is a master. My website has ~216 people linking to it (you can always see it here) but bavotasan.com …. 5,370 people link to his website! That’s right … Chris has over 5,000 more people linking to his website than I do, so it’s no wonder that he’s kicking my butt with a PageRank of 6 vs. my PageRank of 5.

So, the secret to successful online marketing?

1) Write things people want to read

2) Get people to link to your great content

3) … there’s got to be more right?

Well … as for #3, I want to hear from you so here’s my idea …

nano purple How to get a great PageRank, or a Free Nano imageWin a Free iPod

Chris’s website (http://www.bavotasan.com) is one that I truly love, it’s a great site with a lot of useful information but that’s not why he’s kicking my butt so here’s my challenge to all of you.

Write a post on your blog and tell me why Chris’s website is kicking my PageRank ass and I’ll enter your name to win an iPod, it doesn’t even have to be purple. I’ll order a brand new iPod Nano from Apple’s website and ship it anywhere in the US or Canada for one lucky winner.

Include a link to this article as well as at least one article on Chris’s website and leave me a comment below with a link to your submission. Posts must be submitted prior to October 31st and will be tallied between the 1st and 15th of November, you can enter multiple times from different domains but there’s only one iPod to give away. If you’d prefer to email me your link, feel free.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Blogging, Web Site Advice

read more
13
Oct
2009

Montreal WordPress Designer, Chris Bavota

2 Comments

As I often do, I was looking at my friend Chris Bavota’s website this morning for inspiration to write a post about WordPress and it occured to me, why not share with all of you some of the things that I love about Chris’s WordPress website and do a little “review” of it so that others who might wish to create a blog can see some of the great things Chris has done with BavotaSan.

First off, Chris is an independent website developer and creative type in Montreal Canada, his website is all about how to build and design WordPress websites for small business owners and online marketing types, basically the same audience as mine but with a much more technical and WordPress focus.

His website, BavotaSan.com is packed full of amazing goodies such as his free themes for WordPress and a series of premium themes such as the Stationery Premium WordPress Theme , Illustrious Premium WordPress Theme and a great paid WordPress plugin called Delete Duplicate Posts Pro which surprisingly … does just that. It’s great for auto blogging website in that it scans for duplicate posts and ensures you’re not falling victim to Google’s duplicate post penalties but Chris’s website isn’t just a great resource, it’s a work of interface art. Let’s take a look at some of the features of this great website.

The Footer

I always start with the footer when I review a website, it’s often the last place a design thinks to look but the first place somebody looks when they’re lost … so it’s important. Actually, it’s a little like Walmart I think in that most people never think about customer service until they’re standing in line and really upset. Walmart is one of the few national chains that I can think of who put great thought into this fact, when a customer is trying to return or complain about something … make it easy for them, make it pleasant.

The footer on Chris’ website does just that. Finding things easily is a pleasant experience.

the footer Montreal WordPress Designer, Chris Bavota image

You can easily see the links he wants to promote in his footer, as well as a clearly defined link for Twitter.  His downloads and tutorials are organized to be effective and you’ll see this subtle use of a “Back to Top” option with an icon, a small detail often over looked by web designers in a rush. Ironically, Chris isn’t a web designer, he’s a web developer so his attention to detail is refreshing.

The Header

At the top of Chris’ website he promotes his internal links very well using a process we call deep linking but it’s done subtly and doesn’t interfere with users ability to navigate his website. In fact his menu is designed to accomplish two functions. First, he accommodates the users need to quickly reach content and two gives search engines the ability to easily feature content from his site.

the header Montreal WordPress Designer, Chris Bavota image

Two things that I absolutely love about Chris’ website? First, his use of the Get image from post code (he uses the code as a part of his theme rather than as a plugin, which is very effective) and the great link to his RSS feed on the right.

Everybody should take a few minutes to visit Montreal Web Designer, Chris Bavota .

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in What I'm Reading

read more
03
Oct
2009

IntegraScan Scam Prevention Tool

1 Comment

This has got to fall under one of the coolest things I’ve seen in the Internet in at least a week, maybe two. The IntegraScan Scam Prevention Tool let’s you do a criminal record check on anybody … as long as you know their SSN.

I think this is a pretty cool idea, albeit a little creepy if you’re on the receiving end of an unwanted scan. What it could be used for is a quick check on new employees or sub contractors, especially in today’s market when a lot of people are down on their luck.

Here’s what the IntegraScan SSN Verify will give you:

  • Verification of an individual’s SSN
  • Any alias names they may have
  • Verification of the individual’s age
  • Verification of their current and previous addresses

What do you think?

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Questions and Answers

read more
02
Oct
2009

Photoshop tutorials

6 Comments

One of my dirty little secrets is that I’m a photo junkie. I absolutely love reading magazines like Layers (which btw, you can win a copy of here) which are jammed packed with Photoshop tutorials that make it so even the untrained can learn to be a master of Photoshop.  There are even some great Photoshop video tutorial sites out there, so instead of just reading about the methods you can actually watch people put them together.

2176767604 509c68680f Photoshop tutorials image

One of my favorite techniques at the moment is called HDR (How to add impact with HDR) or high dynamic range imaging. This is a process in which images dynamic lighting is adjusted to make blacks appear much darker while also pushing the lights to an extreme. We see it often in movies such as 300, but more commonly in magazine ads these days.

Now the question really is, how do you do it? That’s what I love about the Internet. If you go to Google and ask how to do HDR in Photoshop, it’ll tell you … which means that any young photographer out there (or Photoshop junkie) is able to do just about anything as long as they have access to Google and Photoshop!

I’d love to see some examples of your own HDR work, so if you’ve got any links please feel free to share.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Design

read more