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5 Ways To Get More Done With WordPress

SuccessPowerful, and limitless. Two words that best describe WordPress in my opinion.  WordPress gives me the ability to create, update, and innovate. It simply lets the user get more done.  Here are five ways to get more done with WordPress.

  1. Plugins. If you need your WordPress site to function in way that isn’t initially offered right out of the box, just hop over to the plugin directory and start searching.  You will find what you need.
  2. Widgets. Drag and drop at its finest. Change an offer on the homepage. Feature a new page. Add a contact form. If something isn’t working out as planned, change it.  You dont have to know code to add a new look to your site.
  3. Internal Linking. Awesome feature that simplifies creating internal links. Give your viewers new pathways to read more about your blog or business.
  4. Full Screen Editor. Great new feature in WordPress 3.2 that will eliminate that countless distractions and result in getting more done. I started using this feature immediately.
  5. Custom Frameworks. Having a solid foundation to built on is extremely important if you want to focus on getting more done on your blog or with your business. Frameworks alleviate the stress of coding and add the assistance of a solid community.
What did I miss? I know there a more things about WordPress that help you get more done. Lets hear them.
Filed Under: 31DBC, Business, Digital Presence, Genesis, Innovation, Journey, WordPress Design Tagged With: , , , , ,

Creating a Theme Round 2

Here is my second attempt at creating a theme. Tungsten v2. Now off the the fun part, coding. (Made easy with Genesis by StudioPress) If all goes well, I will be offering the theme as a free download.

Filed Under: Genesis, Innovation, Studiopress, WordPress Design

Advantages of a Premium WordPress Theme

Retro gas pumpWith the plethora of free themes, you probably are asking yourself whats the point of paying for a premium theme?  It is a good question.  My first experience with WordPress was searching through the large catalog of free themes.  Downloaded a bunch from various developers because I really had a tough time deciding. Then activating each theme was an another adventure, clicking back and forth through my tabs, trying to find the perfect fit.

Time to modify the theme. This is when I was presented with the problem. No standard. I’m not talking about web standards, I’m talking about how the theme was created.  This is when I hopped on the the premium theme train.

Now I want to go over the advantages of using the premium themes. I am going to use the themes offered by StudioPress and built around the Genesis Framework (affiliate link) as my base.

Theme Customization:

  • Widget Ready. Easiest way to modify the look of your site without diving into too much code.
  • 6 different layout options that can be changed within pages and posts.
  • Genesis Custom Widgets including featured page and featured post.  Both are extremely useful for setting up your homepage.

SEO:

  • Built in SEO functionality.  No need to download an extra plug-in.  SEO options can be found on the page and post downloads.

Consistency:

  • All themes are built with the same standards.  Clean CSS style sheets and well documented functionality.

Child Themes:

  • Child themes give the Genesis Framework an identity.  You can choose from the growing library of themes at StudioPress or have a custom one built to your exact form and function.  If you want to change the look of your website over time, all you need to do is activate a new child theme, make some small tweaks to your settings and your website has a new look.

What do you prefer?

Could you improve your website by switching to a premium theme and framework?

 

Filed Under: Genesis, Innovation, Studiopress, WordPress Design Tagged With: , , , ,

Your Website Needs The Human Factor

Every website needs an identity that your visitors can relate to you and interact with. Social networks may put your face and thoughts everywhere, but does it give your website the “human factor”.  Some might ask, what is the human factor and why is this important?  The digital world has left the world of static websites in the dust.  Dynamic platforms, like WordPress, have created a new way to interact with your visitors.

What is the human factor?

Your website has the ability to passively and proactively interact with the visitor.

  • Passive: Information that explains your purpose and digital presence.
  • Proactive: Dynamic content that creates and nurtures thought. (The blog)

Why is it important?

A dynamic, interactive experience helps create repeat visitors.  Investing time into thoughtful content produces a fertile environment for comments and questions.

WordPress gives you the tools needed for a “human” website.  Take advantage of the blog and constantly look for new tools that allow you to proactively interact with your viewers.

I am currently investing more time in understanding BuddyPress in combination with GenesisConnect (affiliate link).  Instead of relying solely on others to create a social platform you can embed one into your website.

 

Filed Under: Business, Business Model Innovation, Genesis, Innovation, Journey, WordPress Design Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

The Cage Match Battle for Visitors

Bounce U Birthday PartyBefore beginning the ultimate cage match for visitors you must plan your strategy.  How are you going to utilize your website?  Need to make some changes before? Luckily you are using the Genesis/WordPress power combo and can take advantage of all it modular components. Now lets break down the game plan.

Have you identified your target audience?

Who are your target visitors? You want to convert, sell and get your name out there.  If you don’t know who they are you will lose the battle.  All the information on the homepage must lock them in and make them want more.  Test different content to see what creates the most page views.

How are you going to keep them?

The customer experience expands beyond your widget or service.  Its is important that they can interact beyond the “submit payment”.  Using a blog will help make you a trusted source for information and give you the opportunity to interact with your visitors.  Knowing who they are and what their needs are gives you an important edge over the competition.  Collaboration goes miles.  Another over looked tool is to create a social network WITHIN your website.  You can do this with WordPress, Genesis and GenesisConnect for BuddyPress (affiliate link).  Contact me if you want to learn more.

Now you have a solid group of visitors, but it doesn’t hurt to have a few more.

Promote yourself as a knowledge leader in your market.  Blog, and share what you know.  Humbly promote what you or your widget can do.  Bragging isn’t the answer. Solid reviews and interaction of your posts will go well beyond bragging.

It is also important your website as been optimized for search engines.  Everyone talks about “SEO”.  Yes it is probably an over used catch phrase, but it is extremely important if you want to be seen.  Genesis gives you the all the options and makes it easy to enter your meta descriptions, and keywords.  You can easily take advantage of the blog importance in search engines.

Now that we have laid out your game plan its time to take action and step in the ring.

What else do you do to get ready for the battle?

Filed Under: Business, Genesis, Innovation, WordPress Design Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Genesis Child Theme Preview

The beginning of my first Genesis Child Theme for WordPress.  Long ways to go…

tungsten Preview

Filed Under: Genesis, Innovation, WordPress Design Tagged With: , , , ,