Selecting A WordPress Theme for your Website

Posted on February 2, 2012 by

The selection of over 1400 WordPress themes can leave you wondering which is best for your website or blog. How do you decide? Some themes are free. Others are available for a charge (often for under $100). Price may be a deciding factor, but there are other considerations as well.

Your site’s appearance (“look and feel”) is determined by your theme. A good theme will make the difference between a professional-looking site and an ordinary one. Themes impact how your content is presented (i.e., two or three-column layouts, screen width, etc.), too.

A Word about WordPress.org vs. WordPress.com

WordPress.com is a hosting platform and it uses software/themes from WordPress.org. If you use the themes from WordPress.org without using WordPress.com as your host, you must install WordPress on your own server or use a 3rd party hosting provider.

Factors in Considering a WordPress Theme

What should you look for in deciding which theme is best for your website?

It’s better to choose a theme with the functionality and the look that you want right at the beginning. Select themes from WordPress frameworks, such as Woo themes, Elegant Themes, Thesis, iThemes, ThemeForest, and Studio Press Themes. You can change themes later, however, you may lose much of the work that you have put into customizing your theme.

Some considerations for a WordPress theme selection are:

  • Blog or Website?

Is the website going to be used strictly as a blog, or as a website, or both? Some themes lend themselves to one format or another. Specifically, they highlight some of your latest blogs on the first page, with sidebar widgets for blog categories, including archives.

  • Organization/Layout

How is your information going to be laid out and organized?  Do you intend to have multiple columns or perhaps an embedded video on the first page? Though you can always add this functionality later, if you select a theme with it, it’s easier.

Keep in mind that Google searching text, not graphics (however, you can always add some alternative text to the graphic).

  • Color Scheme

Green and blue are the most popular color schemes, and based on research, tend to be attractive to most people. You can always customize color schemes, but it’s less work to select a theme with a color scheme that interests you.

  • Headers

Are you going to customize your own header and upload it? Some themes have limited space for a custom header, which should be considered if you plan to add your own header. Within the header region is the traditional menu bar. Consider the number of pages you’ll want for your website before you begin. Are there enough pages to warrant both top and bottom header menus? If so, select a theme that allows for two header menus.

  • Sliders or Videos

Both sliders (animated slides) and videos are popular. Consider whether you’d like to include one on the first page or in a sidebar. Some themes feature first page videos, making it easy to upload them.

  • Widgets – Sidebars

You’ll find that some themes only allow one sidebar. If you know that you want one on each side, and maybe one on the bottom, you can select an appropriate theme. Some themes allow wider sidebars on one side, too.

  • Banner Ads

Are you planning to use Pay Per Click (PPC) ads? Some themes easily allow for embedded banner ads.

  • Ecommerce

If you’re planning an ecommerce site, some themes come with ecommerce features such as shipping and tax, products and inventory, customers and orders, payment options, and marketing and promotion. Other allow for the ability to showcase certain sale items. You’ll want to consider whether to have digital downloads or tangible products, too.

  • SEO

The goal of most websites is to draw traffic, and to be ranked in searches. Some themes include SEO features embedded in them, though you can always add an SEO widget, too.

If you’re just getting started, help is available online, through YouTube videos and online forums. Or, you can take online WordPress classes to assist you.Good luck.

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Finding Your Google+ page ID

Posted on January 21, 2012 by

If you’re confused about how to find your Google+ ID, which you’ll need to paste into social icons, follow the steps below:

  1. Log into your Google+ account.
  2. Go to the Stream of the page that you’d like the ID for.
  3. Look at the address bar at the top of the page.

Your page ID is in the form of a 21-digit string in the following format:

 https://plus.google.com / [yourpageID]

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Interaction between Google+ profiles and Google+ pages

Posted on January 20, 2012 by

If you’re curious about differences between Google+ pages and Google+ profiles, you’ll find that there are some distinctions.

Google+ pages interact with users much the same as Google+ profiles. Google+ owners of pages can:

  • If someone has already added or mentioned you, you can mention people in comments and posts
  • Ignore and block people and pages
  • Add people (who have previously added you) to circles
  • Add pages to circles
  • Reshare, comment on, and +1 people’s posts
  • Join and share hangouts

Pages cannot interact with a Google+ profile unless the profile has added it to the circle or previously mentioned it.

You can remove a page from your circles, block the page or ignore the page. The page can also be reported as being abusive.

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Google+ Page and How it Differs from a Profile

Posted on January 2, 2012 by

What is a Google+ Page?

Google+ pages are social networks set up primarily for businesses to interact with customers and other businesses. You can set up a Google+ page for any of the following categories:

  • Local businesses
  • Companies, institutions or organizations
  • Products or brands
  • Entertainment, arts, sports
  • Other

Differences Between a Google+ Page and a Profile

The difference between a Google+ page and a Google+ profile are:

  • Profiles are set up for people: pages are set up for the categories listed above
  • The default privacy setting for a page profile is “Public”
  • Pages for Local Businesses have fields to help locate your physical location
  • Pages can have more than one administrator
  • Pages can have a +1 button; profiles can’t
  • People must add a page to their circle before the page can add them (sort of like “Opting In”)
  • Profiles can click the +1 button on pages, but pages cannot so as to avoid intentionally stacking the numbers
  • Pages cannot share with circles once removed (i.e., extended circles); but profiles have that option
  • Pages cannot play games or hangout on mobile devices
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Why Your Small Business Needs a Website

Posted on December 30, 2011 by

If you’re a small business owner, you may not see the value of a website. Do any of the following describe you?

  • You’re successful enough without a website
  • They cost money
  • They’re too much work to maintain
  • You’re already pressed for time and don’t have time to learn about them
  • You already have an Internet presence through the online Yellow Pages or similar entity and that’s sufficient

If any of the above describes you, you’re a perfect candidate for your own website.

Why should you have your own website? The upside of a website is that it expands your marketing efforts, passively. This is especially true if your business doesn’t have a storefront. You can post your hours, your phone number and other contact information, so people won’t need to take your valuable time to find this information. If you include testimonials, potential customers can see the positive experiences that others have had with your services. You can control your website and update the content as often as you like. Or, just leave it as it is. And, it’s cheaper than maintaining a website through another entity, like the Yellow Pages.

Approximately 78% of Americans use the Internet. A May 2011 Pew Internet Project survey found that 92% of online adults use search engines to find information on the Web, and 71% of Internet users buy a product online.

People use the Internet to do research. With your own website, potential customers can find out more about you. Or, you can allow customers to set up appointments. Or, you can announce specials on your website.

Websites are digital brochures. With the Internet, you can expand your customer base, and compete not just with local companies, but with larger companies to grow your business.

You can also create a sense of community with a blog, games, and contests.

Maybe you already know that you need a website. So, what are you waiting for? Start the process of growing your business by creating a new website, or updating an existing one with new content and graphics. Begin with a complete package deal that includes development of a logo and stationary.

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Is Your Website Making the Grade?

Posted on August 23, 2011 by

How can you tell if your website is making the grade?  If the number of visitors to your site is increasing, and they’re buying your product or service, no need to worry. But, if visitors are quickly clicking through to another site, you may need to update your site.

Websites, like clothes in a closet, can grow stale, if they are not updated regularly. How can you revive your site?

Content. Compelling, original, up-to-date content attracts both visitors and search engines, and often raises your site’s ranking. Experts suggest that visitors more frequently read content written in short, crisp sentences (it’s easier to skim).

Social Media. If you haven’t explored all avenues of exposure, now might be the time to do so. For example, social media offers visibility to a wider audience. For the more privacy-minded, LinkedIn.com, the professional networking site, now offers the opportunity to build a company page for your business, without disclosing details of your personal life. When you join LinkedIn and other social media groups and contribute to group discussions, it increases your chances of being noticed.

Google Places. If you’re a local business or entity, registering it with Google Places, a free service, puts your business on the map, which is shown first in a local search using relevant keywords.

Interactive. Interactive websites attract visitors and often build a sense of community. You may want to add a blog to your website. Or, you can engage visitors through an online survey, or encourage feedback via a “Comments” section of your website.

Increasing a website’s letter grade isn’t hard, but it takes time. Seeing results is the best incentive to beginning the process sooner rather than later.

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How SEO & Search Engine Rankings Have Changed

Posted on March 25, 2011 by

How SEO & Search Engines Have Changed Over Time- bowlMany years ago (1999, to be exact), I took a class called “Marketing in Cyberspace.” The inner workings of the Web fascinated me, and I was hooked. I wondered how information moved from server to server. And, I was curious as to how you could make online buying secure. Remember, this was close to the dark ages of online purchasing. People often used the Web to research a product or service, but often stopped short of using a credit card or PayPal over security concerns.

Back then, search engines had a different way of ranking websites. You could trick them into getting a high ranking by repeating hundreds (if not thousands) of tiny black text with, for example, your website’s name, against a black background, so the text couldn’t be detected by the average person looking at your website, but it was definitely picked up by the search engines. Search engines ranked websites by the number of times a word was mentioned, so this would do the trick. Then, along came Google, which created a different algorithm for searching and changed all of that. Now, Google’s search engine algorithm ranks original content, keywords, title tags, descriptions, headers, etc. Although we don’t know all of the approximately 200 factors that Google uses to rank sites, we can improve a site’s ranking through search engine optimization, a methodology that is more sophisticated than the old way of ranking based on the number of repetitions of the word.

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Getting Started in Business

Posted on March 1, 2011 by

Growing your BusinessMany startups find that their toughest job is getting noticed. This is especially true for Internet businesses and those with no real physical location. While the Internet levels the playing field for startups (especially if you’re creative), compared to bigger companies with larger ad budgets, you still need to get noticed. So, how do visitors find you?

1) It’s all about the story. People might not remember what you do or how you do it, but they do remember stories. It’s useful to be able to tell one or more stories about how you helped someone solve their problem, or how you got started.
2) If you want to get noticed in a specific industry, begin by following the blogs (web logs) or articles written by people who are well-known in the industry. You’ll increase your knowledge, and become more aware of industry trends. If you begin to comment on what is being said, you’ll increase your own credibility and become a subject matter expert.
3) Have a key message, such as, this is the problem and here’s how we can resolve it. If you focus on your target audience and listen to their problems, you can better understand their concerns, and work to find solutions. And, you can create brand awareness for your product/service.
4) Do a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis to more easily identify how your product or service is unique among your competitors. This will help prepare you to address any potential customer concerns. For example, if you’re a sole proprietor, one of your weaknesses may be that you’re small. But, you may be able to turn this into a strength by saying that you’re also closer to your customers and can more quickly respond to their concerns.

In the long run, getting noticed is about developing and maintaining relationships. Add networking to the above steps and see if your visibility increases.

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3 Elements Your Blog Needs to Convert Readers into Customers

Posted on February 11, 2011 by

A blog can be a great marketing tool for a small business if it’s used correctly. The key is to convert website lurkers into paying customers. Experts recommend including a call to action in every post, using the space to offer exclusive deals and keeping your landing page simple.

•    Include calls to action in every blog post. A specific call to action related to the content is a great way to engage a consumer. CTAs should always end every blog post.
•    Create great offers that customers can’t resist. A call to action should link to an offer that people can’t get anywhere else. Remember, this is your chance to win over a customer.
•    Optimize your landing page to guarantee a conversion. A landing page should be simple with a short, easy-to-complete form. Confusing navigation or complicated questions will instantly turn a customer off.

Read the entire article here: SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Social Media

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