WordPress – Page 4 – Dennis J. Smith

WordPress How-To Video Tutorial : Installing WordPress

January 26, 2012

Have you thought about starting your own self-hosted blog or a website for your small business? Surprisingly it is simple and more affordable then you think, so lets get started. In this WordPress video tutorial I’ll show you the process after you have your domain name and hosting set up. Visit GreenHostUSA.com to search for a domain name and pick out your hosting plan. WordPress hosting starts out at just $2.95 for those wanting a personal WordPress blog. Businesses pay a little more for their hosting but at affordable rates. The process of installing WordPress takes less than 5 minutes. Then the fun gets started and you can start creating the perfect website. The cPanel is where you will install WordPress from and have access to others areas of your hosting account. The QuickInstall button under Software/Services will take you to the screen below. The QuickInstall screen(see below) shows you a list of all the software available for installation to your website. Select “WordPress” under the Blog Software choices and you will see information on the version, install file size and the WordPress website. Click the “Continue” button to start the install process. This is where you choose how you want WordPress installed. Do you plan on having a separate website along with a blog? Do you want to use WordPress for your primary website? If you plan on using something different to create your website and just using WordPress as a blog you probably want to install it off the root directory. If you are using WordPress as your primary website or just to blog then do nothing and it will install to the root directory. Enter in your main e-mail address as the Admin email, a title for your blog (you can change this later), then your first and last name. Click the “Install Now!”button and WordPress should install within a few minutes or less. Write down your user name and password and keep it in a safe place. The same information should be e-mailed by your hosting provider to the Admin email you entered. Now that WordPress is installed all you have to do is take your user name and password. Follow the link provided by your hosting provider and login to the WordPress Dashboard and get started. Stay tuned for more WordPress Tutorial videos from GreenHostUSA. Dennis J. Smith is the author of “Promote Your Business or Cause Using Social Media – The Beginner’s Handbook” and owner of GreenHostUSA.

How-To Stop Those Bouncing Website Visitors

August 2, 2011

How do you track visits to your website or blog? If you are are using Google Analytics you might be familiar with the term Bounce Rate. But what is Bounce Rate? The Bounce Rate is the percentage of visitors that hit a single-page and then bounce from your site. If you have 1000 visitors on your site and 200 visit other pages on your site besides the home page, your Bounce Rate would be 80 percent. That’s because 800 of those visitors hit just your home page and then bounced. The lower the bounce rate the better you are doing at keeping visitors on your website. Which should help improve other site stats and keep readers coming back. So how does one lower a sites bounce rate? That’s something I’ve been trying to master myself with some success. Below are some tips and tricks that I’ve learned over the years. Eye-Catching Headlines Write catchy headlines that will draw in your readers and get them to click and then read your post. You want to get them off your home page and reading the meat of your site. Don’t Give Away The Farm The home page shouldn’t have full articles or you risk the reader bouncing. Just give enough information to entice them to clicking on a post so they go further into your site. There are tons of WordPress themes set-up to display part of the article and then display a link to read more. Find Reliable Hosting Don’t give your visitors an excuse to leave by having a slow site. Look for reliable hosting and keep your site running at top speeds. Related Post Plug-ins are a great tool to help keep your site bounce rate down. Related Posts will find and display a list of similar post. Think of it as walking your readers through your website. Great SEO Bring the right kind of people to your website with optimized pages. If you page is optimized for your subject matter the less chances a new visitor will bounce. Check out the All-In-One SEO Pack plugin and optimize your site. Remember to fine tune as you go since search engine rankings are always changing. Please feel free to comment below or leave any suggestions you have.

WordPress Themes – The Ultimate List

July 18, 2011

The beauty of WordPress is the availability of hundreds if not thousands of themes to get that look and feel regardless of the industry you are in. You can find beautiful and functional themes that are both free (use caution when looking for free themes+) and for a nominal cost. Here are some links to many great WordPress themes in no certain order. If you find others please let us know by leaving a comment or let us know which WordPress themes you think are the best. Find out outdated link? Please let us know in the comments. Theme List: 50 Beautiful Ecommerce WordPress Themes 60+ Best WordPress eCommerce Themes Free WordPress Portfolio Themes: 30 Free WordPress Gallery Themes 100 Excellent WordPress Themes Free WordPress Themes Theme Sites: Arcane Palette Museum Themes Catalyst Theme Premium WordPress More Free WordPress Themes New WordPress Themes Storefront Themes Theme Jam Press75 StudioPress Templatic DIY Themes Legend Themes Clover Themes ColorLabs Site5 WordPress Themes Web2Feel iThemes TemplateSOLD ThemeFuse The Theme Foundry Rocket Theme WordPress Free Theme Directory WP Themes Elegant Themes ThemeForest Graph Paper Press Headway Themes Photocrati Theme Trust Themes Zen Theme Wars Mojo Themes Woo Themes ThemeShift Organized Themes Organic Themes RichWP SoloStream Themes by bavotasan.com PageLines WPZoom WPyuzu WordPress Themes Viva Themes *Please note: I have linked to affiliate marketing programs on some sites listed above to help pay for this site. Please be cautious of free WordPress themes to make sure they come from a reliable source.

Jigoshop Is The Free WordPress E-Commerce Solution

July 8, 2011

Looking for a simple solution to sell product online? Look no further than Jigoshop! You need to have WordPress installed for Jigoshop to work. This free e-commerce plugin for WordPress takes less than 15 minutes to setup. You can download the plugin from the developers site or search for “Jigoshop” from your WordPress Dashboard Plugin menu. Once installed an entire dashboard to control your store is available. It can be used for both physical and downloadable products. Your customers can access your store from several different devices like smartphones and tablets. Right now it only supports PayPal, Skrill/Moneybookers and Cheque for payment gateways. I would imagine that will change in the future as the plugin evolves. Check out the links to the tour for more information on features. Jigoshop backend demo 3 from James Koster on Vimeo. If you are looking for a simple solution that is packed with features this might be the plugin for you. If you need help setting up a WordPress e-commerce solution using Jigoshop feel free to contact me at [email protected] for more information and pricing. Resources: Check out the Tour here ““ Jigoshop Tour GreenHostUSA Hosting Plans – WordPress Hosting Article by Dennis J. Smith Promote Your Business or Cause Using Social Media ““ A Beginner’s Handbook

Find Your Perfect WordPress Dream Theme

June 7, 2011

The feature I like the most about WordPress is its ability to let you change the look and feel of your site. It can be done on the fly without any web development background. You can accomplish this by finding the perfect themes and plugins to suit your needs. WordPress has thousands of self-installs which means there are hundreds of options for free themes and a huge array of themes for sell. I always suggest to my clients that they find a theme that matches the subject matter of their WordPress blog. Here’s an example of a friends blog Tandem Revolution, which covers her and her husbands biking adventures. I like the use of the image across the top showing the spokes of a bike. It is a simple yet effective use of a theme that matches the topic of her blog. Free themes tend to have some limitations and affiliate links. Whereas paid for themes give you more flexibility with customization. I suggest starting out with something free if you are on a limited budget. But if it is in your budget I would take your time and find something that fits your needs. If your traffic grows you can change your theme at anytime. The theme I use for this site was free and fits in well with the look and feel of my book. Here are five sites to locate your perfect WordPress dream theme. #1| ThemeForest Themes for any budget and any industry ThemeForest has a wide variety of WordPress themes for the average blogger and those looking to sell product using WordPress. Themes are affordably priced for those on a budget or those looking for something unique. I have included a screenshot of the e-commerce theme WpShop below to show the power of WordPress. It is not just for blogging and can be used to sell a myriad of product, list homes and rentals, promote a restaurant or business. Theme Forest on Facebook #2 | Elegant Themes Offers lots of themes at a great price Elegant Themes has lots of great themes to pick from and at only $39 a year gives you access to 61 designs. Plus ET says they release 2-3 new themes each month so you are sure to find something. You also get 30-days to decide if it is worth it with their money-back guarantee. I like how they target themes towards specific industries such as restaurants, retail and a host of other themes to match your needs. Since I love food I included the MyCuisine theme as the screenshot below. #3 | Woo Themes Lots of free themes and a wide variety for any industry Woo Themes is another big player when it comes to WordPress themes. Woo offers any array of themes that are build for SEO and functionality. I have heard through the grapevine that Woo offers great support from tutorials, video tutorials and user support forum. The thing that I like most about the Woo Themes is you can sort themes on their website to find the perfect match. How about at least a dozen free themes to boot? There is bound to be something for everyone with Woo Themes. Woo Themes on Facebook #4 | StudioPress WordPress themes built on the Genesis Framework These themes are built with search engine optimization in mind. Wondering what the Genesis Framework is? Here’s more information on that and why you should go with StudioPress. I have to admit that these are some of the best WordPress themes I have seen. The layouts are nice, clean, modern and eye-catching designs that stand out. Plus you can get all themes for one great price and you get future themes at no extra charge. #5 | Legend Themes New player in the theme market offering clean designs Legend Themes is located right here in Boise and has just a few themes to pick from along with the free Emphasis Theme. The Snapshot theme is perfect for those who enjoy the art of photography. All themes have a nice clean look to them and offer various customization. The price on this theme and others are $70 which includes technical support. More Resources: 80+ Clean and Simple WordPress Themes 380 Premium WordPress Themes Free “Leather” Theme from Legend Themes MagPress Free WordPress Themes Article by Dennis J. Smith ““ Promote Your Business Or Cause Using Social Media ““ A Beginners Handbook

WordPress WordCamp attended by over 300 in Seattle

April 18, 2011

I attended my first WordPress WordCamp in Seattle, WA yesterday(Saturday), after driving up from Boise on Thursday. I learned a lot even though I slept a few hours the night before the event. I went with a friend I meet on Facebook after attending a social media class with her sister last fall in Seattle. If you haven’t had a chance to attend WordCamp I would recommend you look for one in a city near you. I got some cool swag and scored a few t-shirts from WPCandy and ThemeForest along with a few WordPress and VaultPress buttons. After checking in my friend and I grabbed a pastry along with some coffee. I needed it to wake me from the dead! The first speaker of the morning was Scott Berkun who was actually pretty entertaining. I found out when I got back to my hotel room that Scott is a published author and has several bestsellers, including “Confessions of a Public Speaker“. After the keynote speech WordCamp Seattle broke out into sessions for Bloggers(myself), those who build themes and a development track for those who create WordPress plugins. We moved to the other side of the room and took our seats to listen to Heather Gold talk about “Tools for Tummeling“, which I had never heard of. Her point of view is about the need to create websites that create a sense of community. Developing a site that creates interaction amongst its users so it is more dynamic than linear. There was some interaction with the audience however it was hard to hear at times. I’m not sure that passing a microphone back and forth works well. I wish the speaker had wore a mic and had one just for the audience members as she spoke with them. The speech I was interested in started after a break and was Aaron Hockley from Portland, OR. Another favorite city of mine because of the natural and tech environment. Aaron spoke about various ways on how you can monetize your blog with product sales (e-books), affiliate marketing, advertising and membership programs. But he failed to mention one of my favorites which is Clickbank, because they are located in Boise, ID. Read my previous post on how to fatten your wallet by selling digital products on Clickbank. Aaron has a photography business and was kind enough to take photos of those attending the event. After a nice lunch with with lots of choices (salads, sandwiches, brownies and cookies) we took our seats again for the next speaker who was Bob Dunn. Bob is a WordPress coach who is located in the Seattle area and teaches others the benefits of WordPress. He spoke about how to bring more readers to your blog through a user-friendly WordPress site. I got some good information and it reminded me that I need to make a few adjustments on my blog. Like gathering e-mail addresses so I can stay in touch with my readers. I haven’t had time to browse his blog yet, but looks like lots of good information. If you are interested you can also find him on Facebook and “Like” has fan page Savvy WordPress. Another quick break and we were listening to Justin Briggs talking about an important subject for bloggers. Justin is an SEO consultant who explained how things like speed of your website can effect your search engine rank. He went over plugins that help with the optimization of your WordPress blog and other items you should consider. My favorite plugin for SEO is one called All In One SEO Pack WordPress Plugin which is free. Find out more here in a post I wrote about “3 Social Media Tools To Grow Your Business“. You will find information on the three tools I think help grow a business online with WordPress. The main part of the day finished up with an interview with Alex King (conducted by Nick Ohrn) who has been around WordPress since its beginning. He is originally from Seattle but now makes his home in Denver. He was asked questions about his involvement and about some of his past and current projects. If you want to learn more about Alex there’s lots of information about him, his project and companies on his website. We wrapped up with Ignite WordCamp Seattle which features about 6 different speakers. It was my first time seeing the Ignite speaking format which is 5 minutes of speaking about a topic while showing slides. If I get up the nerves I might try doing my own Ignite speech at a future Ignite event. But for now I’m happy with watching others get up in front of a room filled with techies and bloggers. I certainly would recommend a WordCamp event to anyone who uses WordPress, interested in blogging or those who develop themes, plugins or anything that revolves around WordPress. You will learn lots and have the chance to connect with many like minded people. Look for an event in a city near you or even plan your own WordCamp in your city or country. List of Speakers at WordCamp Seattle WordCamp Seattle Blog WPCandy WordCamp Seattle 2011 Liveblog Please not that some of the links on this page are referral links to other companies. DJ Smith Promote Your Business Or Cause Using Social Media Post Sponsored By: GreenHostUSA : WordPress Hosting

Google AdSense Plugins

December 4, 2010

Google AdSense Plugins What is Google AdSense? Google AdSense is a program from Google that pays website and blog owners to display specific ads on their sites. It is free and you can track your earnings with online reports. The ads are usually targeted to match the relevant content on your site. How do I get started? Visit http://www.adsense.com and Newbie Central for new users to get started and for more information about AdSense. If you have an account with Google you are just a few steps away from Google AdSense. If not you just have to enter a little information to get started with creating ads. I highly recommend that you watch the videos provided by Google. There are several books available to learn more about AdSense and there is lots of information online. AdSense Ad Create Your AdSense Code Once you have an account set-up you can start creating the code that will generate your ad or ads. There are different sizes of ads you can generate and it is important think about ad placement in your blog. Placement of your ads is essential in the amount of revenue they generate. Review Newbie Central for more information on the placement of your ads. AdSense Plugins Several plugins are available to choose from when it comes to displaying ads on your WordPress blog. Search for “AdSense” from the Plugin menu of your WordPress dashboard to generate a list of available AdSense plugins. Click on “Details” for more details on each individual plugin and “Install Now” to install the plugin of your choice. There are also several WordPress themes that have settings to display AdSense ads along with other types of ads. Do a search on Google for “AdSense Ready WordPress Themes” for a list of themes ready for AdSense. I suggest you install a few plugins and see what works best for you. Take your code you created above and copy and paste it into your plugin. Each plugin will be different so read the instruction for the plugin you choose. List of some of the many plugins available for AdSense Things to keep in Mind AdSense policy allows for no more than three AdSense ads displaying per page. Encouraging others to click on ads is a violation of AdSense policies. Don’t risk losing what might be a lucrative stream of revenue. Read Newbie Central so you are aware of policies, best practices and have the knowledge of what works best. Have a favorite AdSense plugin you are using? Please feel free to comment below and share your AdSense experience. Need a WordPress Blog? Contact IgniteHost website and WordPress blog hosting and get started for less than $5 a month. More resources: Google AdSense ““ AdSense Website AdSense Official Channel on YouTube ““ AdSense Videos WordPress Themes ““ AdSense Ready WordPress Themes Newbie Central ““ Information for AdSense Newbies AdSense Blog ““ Inside AdSense Blog Content Provided By Dennis J. Smith

Track Social Media With POSTLING

November 28, 2010

Like many out there you might be finding it tough to manage your Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, blogs and various other social media networks. I’ve had the same problem myself and have finally found a solution that I like. Postling was created to simply the process of managing your social media networks. I no longer have to check each one of my Facebook Fan Pages for comments. Postling lets me know when someone comments on one of my several post. That way I stay on top of interacting with my followers and build engaging relationships. Publish From One Location With Postling you can post right to your Facebook Fan Pages, WordPress Blogs, Blogger accounts, Twitter, Linked in and more. There is no need to go to each one of those locations to post something new or update your status. Do it all from Postling and save time! You can also schedule the date and time you would like your post published at. I know from experience what a great time saver this is when managing your social media networks. Dashboard The Postling Dashboard gives you easy access to all your social media networks. Update your status, respond to comments, track keywords and more. Try Postling There is a free version of Postling with full features you can can try for 14-days. The premium version lets you monitor social media sites like Twitter for keywords. This can be beneficial for those looking to target a certain type of customer. It can also be set-up to look for chatter about your business in case you receive negative feedback or even kudos. You don’t have to login to all your social media sites because Postling will e-mail you a recap of comments, reviews and keyword tracking results. Just click on reply in the e-mail and respond back to any comments right away. What a great time saver and an easy way to stay on top of the game. Head on over to http://www.postling.com and get your free account today or upgrade to premium and enjoy all the benefits. Do you use something different to manage your social media? Feel free to leave a comment below and thanks for reading! Postling on Facebook ““ Postling Fan Page

Promote Your Business Or Cause Using Social Media Now Available On Amazon Kindle

November 26, 2010

Promote Your Business Or Cause Using Social Media is finally available for sell in Amazon Kindle format. The Kindle version is priced at just $2.99 and you can download it within minutes. If you don’t have a Kindle that’s not a problem because it is available for PC, iPad, iPhone, Android and more by downloading the appropriate free software. See the links below. If you want the latest Kindle you’ll find them on Amazon.com and I’ve heard the older version is going to be on sale Black Friday morning. Learn how social media can help you promote your business or cause on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, WordPress and other social media venues. Join the Facebook Fan Page to stay up-to-date on the latest social media news. Please feel free to leave reviews or comments below and share this with others. Buy a Kindle Reader ““ Amazon.com Kindle for PC ““ Download Kindle for Android ““ Download Kindle for iPad ““ Download Kindle for iPhone ““ Download Promote Your Business Or Cause Using Social Media – Download the Kindle Version Stay tuned for the iPad and Barnes and Noble Nook version of “Promote Your Business Or Cause Using Social Media” coming soon. Dennis J. Smith Promote Your Business Or Cause Using Social Media ““ A Beginner’s Handbook

Book Trailer–“Promote Your Business Or Cause Using Social Media

October 29, 2010

Promote your Business or Cause using Social Media is a handbook for beginner’s interested in using social media to grow a small business or take any cause to the internet. Learn how to create a blog, start a blog radio show, upload videos to YouTube, Tweet on Twitter and build a fan page on Facebook with social apps and even eCommerce. Purchase your copy today for just $7.95 through CreateSpace or Amazon.com: CreateSpace ““ Order Now Online Amazon ““ Order Now Online -Available in Paperback and Kindle – Learn how to add a shopping cart to your Facebook fan page and sell product right from your fan page. – Learn how to get your own personal Facebook URL. – How to get started with WordPress and your own blog. – Twitter Tips! About the author: Dennis has been creating websites and browsing the web since the days of Netscape 1.0 while living in Seattle, Washington. His technology background goes back to the days of the Commodore Vic 20 and 64, Pong and Pac-Man. He later turned his passion for technology and web design into a love for Internet Marketing, blogging and now Social Media. He is the owner of IgniteHost and GreenHostUSA website hosting, search engine optimization and social media consulting located in Boise, Idaho and writes the tech blog GigaDroid.com for the popular Android phones. During his free time he enjoys road trips back to Seattle, exploring Idaho, microbrews, great coffee, sharing his knowledge with friends and Facebook acquaintances.

Category: WordPress