07.06.2010
Online Marketing
Even those of us that are rather experienced in WordPress can get lazy. Sometimes we don’t keep our plugins up to date. And sometimes, PHP is upgraded on your server overnight, and you wake up to the dreaded blank-screen-of-death.
This has been my Monday.
Be deleting all the plugins for my site, I was able to get things running again. I’m currently reinstalling the plugins (and updating them). In the meantime, some of the functionality of this site will not be working.
So, remember this, boys and girls: Keep your WordPress plugins up to date!
25.02.2010
ionadas local News, Local Marketing
Having a quality website need not break your marketing budget. Learn what you should know as a business owner when creating a new website.
Details:
Monday, March 8th at 11am, Dave & Busters, Austin, Texas
This workshop will help you to:
- Determine your website’s goals and metrics of success
- Create a detailed list of steps to take to build your new website
- Know what you can do and what you should outsource
Specific examples will be shown using the WordPress platform, an open-source, industry standard Content Management System, but the strategies and ideas will be applicable to many web management system.
The workshop is free, but space is limited, so sign up today!
17.08.2009
ionadas local News
SXSW Interactive 2010 may be seven months away, but part of it is heating up already: the “Panel Picker” has just launched. This is a website that allows you to have a voice on the topics for SXSW Interactive, by voting them up or down, and commenting on them.
Brian Combs of ionadas local is in the running this year, with this topic:
(Simple + Searchable) x (WordPress Websites) = Results
This session will explore how to use the blogging application WordPress as a platform for a company website. This approach is idea for a small business, as it allows a company to have a professional web presence without spending thousands of dollars. It takes advantage of the thousands of available WordPress themes, most of which are free. Even the expensive themes are generally under $100.
Best of all, if you want to have a custom look and feel designed for you later, it can be built around the WordPress platform, so that all your content is already loaded.
If this session is going to happen, however, we need your help. Please vote for Brian’s session at the SXSW Interactive Panel Picker.
Vote early. Vote often!
14.07.2009
Local SEO
I’m a big believer in using WordPress to manage your website, even (especially?) when it’s more than just a blog. Between the ease of content management, the huge selection of graphical themes you can use, and the powerful plugins that you can add, it allows you to quickly and easily build a professional website.
The plugins are especially important, as they allow you to expand the capabilities of your site beyond what comes with WordPress. I believe all WordPress-based websites should have the following plugins installed:
Akismet
If you’re going to allow any sort of commenting on your site, such as for a blog within the website, this plugin is a must. It monitors the incoming spam to determine whether a comment is spam or not. Spam is moved to its own bucket which you can review at your leisure.
All in One SEO Pack
There are a number of SEO plugins for WordPress, and I go back and forth as to my favorite. Michael Torbert’s All in One SEO Pack is certainly one of the best, however.
Exclude Pages from Navigation
Each WordPress theme has a place where pages (as opposed to posts) are listed. You might want to not include a particular page in that list, however. This plugin adds a checkbox which allows you to do so.
Google Analyticator
No, Google Analytics doesn’t really give all the information you want, and who knows what Google is doing with all the proprietary data it gathers on your site, but the price is certainly right, and it’s a heck of a lot better than not having any analytics system. Google Analyticator allows you to easily manage the Google Analytics code on your site.
Google Sitemaps Generator
An XML Sitemap is a specially formatted list of all the pages on your site. It allows Google, Yahoo, Bing and Ask.com to more easily index your website. This plugin automatically creates a sitemap of all the pages on your site.
StatPress
In many ways even less powerful than Google Analytics, StatPress gives you insight into your visitors on a realtime basis.
WordPress Automatic Upgrade
This plugin makes upgrading to the latest version of WordPress much easier.
WordPress Database Backup
Almost as certain as death and taxes is the fact that hard drives crash. This plugin ensures that you have a backup of your entire WordPress system. When you do have a crash, this will make recovery much easier.
What are your favorite WordPress plugins?
