Tag: WordPress

Digital Marketer, AI Consultant, Published Author, ClickFunnels and Kit Specialist

7 Solid Plugins For Creating Custom Forms With WordPress

A forms plugin with an easy-to-use interface can make the creation of custom forms virtually painless. Whereas form creation used to require HTML coding experience, now just about anybody can set up even the most complex, multi-part forms. The forms we’ve selected here are some of the major players that support powerful custom form builders within the WordPress dashboard. Gravity Forms You can’t talk about WordPress form building plugins without mentioning Gravity Forms. An all-time favorite plugin of WordPress professionals, Gravity Forms goes far beyond your simple contact form. The plugin has tons of free and commercial add-ons that make nearly anything possible, including the ability to create subscriptions, directories, polls, invoices with Freshbooks, integrations with MailChimp, aWeber, Constant Contact and much more. Ninja Forms The lite version of Ninja Forms is available in the WordPress plugin repository and includes an easy-to-use form builder, customized field options, entry management and tons of hooks for developers. Users who upgrade to Pro will be able to implement file uploads, front-end posts submissions, multi-part forms and the ability to save users’ progress. Subscribers receive excellent support with all requests answered within 12 hours or less. Formidable Forms Formidable Forms is another plugin that comes in both a lite and a pro version. Users can easily create forms with a simple drag-and-drop interface. It includes advanced capabilities for users to create posts, pages, and custom posts types with your forms, as well as the ability to manage and edit them from the front-end of your site. Formidable also integrates with reCAPTCHA and Akismet for Spam control. Breezing Forms Breezing Forms is a newer plugin that is unique in that there is no lite version. It boasts a surprising number of robust features for free, including multipage forms, powerful conditional fields without need for Javascript, AJAX file uploads with progress bars, and lots more. Breezing Forms has many of the features that you might normally expect from an enterprise-class forms building plugin. Use it to create simple contact forms, feedback forms, surveys, payment forms, calculations or complex forms. Form Maker Form Maker is available in a free version from the wordpress.org repository and also a commercial version. This plugin allows you to customize the colors, fonts, submit buttons and the size of the form elements. It also allows for custom CSS and Javascript. The form creator is integrated with the standard WordPress editor. The commercial version allows for unlimited fields and offers integration with Google Maps API. Contact Form Manager The Contact Form Manager has a broad appeal and has been downloaded more than 55,000 times with mostly 5 star ratings. It allows you to create multiple custom forms and place them on your site using shortcodes. The plugin includes the ability to send an auto-reply as well as redirect the user upon form submission. It supports all of the most common form elements, has built-in spam protection and essentially includes everything you might want in a simple webform. Visual Form Builder Visual Form Builder is a plugin designed to make the form creation process quick and easy so that the user has no need to edit any PHP, CSS, or HTML. You can add form fields with one click and reorder them via drag and drop. It includes a logic-based anti-SPAM system, confirmations messages that you can customize, the ability to manage form entries in the WordPress dashboard and multiple field layout options. One cool feature of the Visual Form Builder is the ability to duplicate forms with one click. You can also embed multiple forms on posts and pages. The plugin also has quite an extensive FAQ section for troubleshooting and customizing. Check it out and download it for free on WordPress.org. Source: WPMU

Learn WordPress 101 – Webinar Class

Have you ever wanted to create your website but didn’t have the time? Thought it would be difficult to maintain? Cost a fortune? With WordPress you can create your own website and not break the bank.  Find out how easy it is to create your own website and maintain it yourself. No need to pay an expensive designer and you are in control! This online class is an Introduction to WordPress for just $30. Here’s some of what you’ll learn… What is WordPress? How-to install WordPress The WordPress Dashboard Basic WordPress Settings Picking a WordPress Theme Installing Plugins and Widgets Updating WordPress WordPress Menu System Posting to WordPress Add/Modify/Delete Pages Adding Images and Video SEO and more! More information on this webinar class and to sign-up please visit: https://dennisjsmith.com/offers/2/learn-wordpress-101-webinar/ About the instructor: Dennis J. Smith has been using WordPress to build website for over 3 years now. He has been building websites and surfing the internet since the early 90’s. Dennis is a social media and WordPress consultant located near Boise, ID and the author of “Promote Your Business or Cause Using Social Media – A Beginner’s Handbook”.

How The WordPress Theme Renders Pages – [INFOGRAPHIC]

I love it when I find great information I can share with my readers. Have you ever wondered how your WordPress blog works? The cheat sheet infographic below shows how all the elements come together to create great looking blogs and websites. Source: Yoast

WordPress Plugins 101– [INFOGRAPHIC]

  Plugins add extended functionality to your WordPress blog or website. There are thousands of them available and many are free. Below are some of the more popular plugins when getting started with WordPress or you can visit the Plugin Directory and search accordingly. What are some of your favorites? Leave a comment below and let others know which WordPress plugins you think are best or worst.

WordPress How-To Video Tutorial : Installing WordPress

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.

Vintage WordPress Theme

WordPress Themes – The Ultimate List

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

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 dennis@dennisjsmith.com 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

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

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

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