How To Customize Options in WordPress

Mar 1,2018 / By Ben Armstrong / No Comment

Customize Options in WordPress

For Web Wednesdays, we have been showing you how to take a website from simply an idea to a fully functional website. After installing WordPress & setting your theme. It is time to begin looking at the customize options in WordPress. You can do this by hovering over “Appearance” in the WordPress Dashboard on the left side of the screen. From here, you can click on Customize and you will be sent to the Customization menu for your theme. All themes have different options, but on the WordPress Twenty Seventeen theme, there are only a few customization settings.

The things we will look at in our Customize Options in WordPress video are Site Information, Colors, Header Media, & Homepage Settings. The other items on the Customize menu can be (and will be) tweaked directly through the dashboard.

Site Information will be where you set the SEO name of your website along with the tagline. You also have the option to decline displaying your site information here. You may be wondering why someone would want to do that. The reason is very simple. If you have a custom header with a logo and a tagline already in the image, then you may decline using this option. However, I do not suggest that approach.

You can certainly put your logo in an image, but then you would still want the Site Information displayed in the corner. If your business/site name is only in the graphic image and not overlain as text within the Site Information setting, then Google will not be able to pick up the name of your website and your tagline. Taglines are also good for SEO purposes. When it comes to getting picked up by Google, you need all the free help you can get.

Making Images for Your Site

If you haven’t done so already, I heavily suggest getting Adobe Creative Cloud so you can use Photoshop for making your images. Under Site Information, you are going to have the option to set a Site Image. This image will serve two functions: it will be the icon displayed on a browser tab & it will also be the icon if someone were to save your website to their homepage on the phone. The size of this image is 512 pixels by 512 pixels. It’s very easy to create a simple text favicon in Photoshop by making one letter in a cool font matching your color scheme.

You will also have to create a header media image for your site. This will be the image that people will think of when they remember your website. This means you need for this image (and any text on it) to really pop & stand out. Many people have a very difficult time trying to make text blend in well with a header image. Header images are rarely solid colors because that is boring. People will either use a stock photo or an abstract background with different colors. To create a header image that solves this problem, check out our Customize Options in WordPress tutorial video.

customize options in wordpress

Thanks for reading!

Website Building

Setting Up Your WordPress Theme

Feb 22,2018 / By Ben Armstrong / No Comment

Setting Up Your WordPress Theme

Today we are continuing our series, Web Wednesdays. In today’s video we are going to be focusing on setting up your WordPress Theme. So this begs the question, what is a WordPress theme?

If this is your first time setting up WordPress, then it is important to understand what a theme is and what it does. The best way to think about it is an anatomical reference. Your blog is the “skin” to your website. It’s what people are going to see the moment they visit your page. Your functionality and content could be incredible, but without the right theme, people will quickly be turned off by your website… and most likely they will leave before they ever get the chance to look under the hood.

While your visitors will see your theme, the theme does also affect the functionality. Each theme comes with settings and/or customization options for things such as your header, sliders, menus, footer, widgets, & more. It is absolutely pivotal that you get to know all of the settings within your header. When I add a new theme to a website I’m working on, the first thing I do is go look at the settings. If the theme does not have settings I like then I will change the theme. There is nothing worse than working with a theme that does not have a lot of customization.

For instance, some themes only allow you to have a text based logo. Just imagine how frustrating it would be to make a beautiful website only to find that it won’t allow you to put your beautifully designed logo at the top of your page. Sure, you could add it within the content… but that is not the best way to brand your business.

Choosing Your WordPress Theme

There are so many different ways to find a WordPress theme. The first question you have to ask yourself is whether or not you would like to spend money on a theme. If you are comfortable paying for a theme, then I suggest strolling over to the Envato Market and searching their Themeforest themes. Most of the themes there run anywhere from $29 to $59. They are fairly priced and these are full themes that will also come with support. Personally, I love Themeforest themes.

If you are looking for a free theme, then you will be able to search within the WordPress platform. It’s easy to search within WordPress for a great theme. The issue with the free themes, is that most likely the themes you find are going to be “Lite” versions of premium themes. The goal of the Lite themes is to give you an idea of what the full version or premium version can offer you above and beyond what you get with the Lite theme. It’s basically a way for these themes to advertise their full version… which of course will come with a cost. Some of the free WordPress themes will offer everything you need, but more times than not you will end up frustrated.

Thanks for reading & don’t forget to check out our tutorial video, “Setting Up Your WordPress Theme.”

Website Building

Getting Started With WordPress Dashboard

Feb 14,2018 / By Ben Armstrong / No Comment

Getting Started With WordPress Dashboard

This week, we are continuing with our web series about how to build a website from start to finish. We have already purchased a domain name, set up our hosting, installed WordPress, and now we are getting started with WordPress Dashboard. The first thing you must do before investigating the dashboard, is to login to your site. To do this, type /wp-admin after your domain name. It would look like this: http://www.YourDomainName.com/wp-admin. One quirky aspect of the WordPress admin URL is that the “wp-admin” must be typed in lower case letter only. If you were to type “WP-Admin” then you will not be able to get to your admin. To my knowledge, this is literally the only URL address I have ever encountered where the case of the letter matters.

Once you have pulled up your admin login screen, type in your username and password. My email address never seems to work for any sites I have created with WordPress (between 75-100). You will need to use your username here. If you forget your username or password, click Lost Password. You will be prompted to type in the email address associated with your username and WordPress will email you a reset link. Be careful about this though, because my Password Reset link usually gets sent to my spam instead of my main email inbox. Once you have logged into your account, you can now explore the dashboard.

Making Sense of WordPress

If you have never created a website before, WordPress can be quite intimidating at first. However, the platform is very easy to use with a little practice. One of the most frustrating things that WordPress does in my opinion, is allowing spam on their dashboard. Let me explain. If you go through any hosting service to install your WordPress, the hosting company has agreements in place with companies that integrate themes, widgets, & plugins. These agreements allow them to automatically install plugins & widgets onto your WordPress page.

To an experienced designer, this is not a huge problem because a good designer knows that these plugins are unnecessary. To the novice website builder, these extra plugins make the dashboard confusing. Two of the most common companies I’ve seen are JetPack and MojoMarketplace. To me personally, I have never found any use for either of these.

Plugins can create problems for your website. Certain plugins may cause certain parts of your theme to malfunction. Above all, having several plugins on your website will kill the speed of it. My philosophy is the less plugins, the better. Now of course, plugins are not the devil (even though Bobby Boucher’s mom may disagree!). Plugins are a necessary part of website building. They offer functionality that you will find solve a lot of problems. However, you only need to add plugins that you actually need. For this reason, my preference is to deactivate and delete every single plugin that comes preloaded within my WordPress site. When you delete all of those plugins, you will be amazed at just how much that simple action cleans up and simplifies your WordPress Dashboard.

Our tutorial video “Getting Started with WordPress Dashboard” shows you much more about the WordPress Dashboard.

Social Media Tips

How to Build Reddit Karma Quickly

Feb 12,2018 / By Ben Armstrong / No Comment

How to Build Reddit Karma Quickly

If you are over 30, there is a chance you don’t even know what Reddit is. If you are under 30, then there is a good chance you have used it extensively. Either way, it is a great idea to get to know it better and learn how to build Reddit Karma quickly. Reddit is an awesome platform to be able to get the word out about your business, product, service, channel, or any other cause you would like to advertise. Reddit is build in such a way that it protects its users from spam. If you are looking to spam your way to the top, then Reddit is not the place for you. If you are looking to promote your business with quality content, then Reddit is one of the best places to do so.

Website Building

How to Install WordPress – Full Tutorial

Feb 7,2018 / By Ben Armstrong / No Comment

How to Install WordPress

During our Web Wednesday series, we have been showing you how to create a website from start to finish. We have walked you through choosing a domain name, choosing a hosting package, & setting your nameservers. Now it is time to move on to the next step and we are going to show you how to install WordPress to your website.

Social Media Tips

How to Set Up Facebook Page Cover Photo

Feb 6,2018 / By Ben Armstrong / No Comment

How to Set Up Facebook Page Cover Photo

If you have been looking for a how to set up Facebook page cover photo tutorial, then you have come to the right place. Feel free to watch our video, but also let’s look at why it is important to set up your page correctly. Facebook, as a corporation, feels like it is time to once again change their working algorithm for businesses. Seemingly just like every other business in the world, Facebook wants to appeal to their users and make it more difficult for businesses to advertise to those users. This is good for users but bad for businesses.

Website Building

How to Pick a Domain Name For Your Website

Jan 18,2018 / By Ben Armstrong / No Comment

Picking a Domain Name on GoDaddy

Picking a domain name is the first step in your journey toward starting a website or blog of any type. The domain is the concrete that holds your entire project together. If your foundation is not good, then the rest of your brand will suffer. It is extremely important to take your time and get the process right. I always purchase all of my domains on GoDaddy.com. In my opinion, GoDaddy is the best domain registrar on the internet.

Blog

How To Start A Successful Blog Today

Jun 10,2016 / By Dusty Porter / 1 Comment

How To Start A Successful Blog Today

The blogging space is full of what I call “Noise.” This just means there are a lot of blogs out there, and very few are valuable. I’m not trying to be harsh it’s just the truth. If you want your blog to be successful, you are going to have to work extremely hard and have patience. If you have GREAT content and a consistent posting schedule you will be fine.

There are a few things you can do the “right way” when you are starting your blog that will help you get a head start on your competition. Below is a list of things that you can do as a new blogger, that will get you on the right path.

1. A Domain Name That Looks Professional

If you haven’t started your blog yet, I highly suggest you get a domain and hosting package from a web hosting service such as Bluehost. It is simple to build your blog with their built-in one-click WordPress install tool. In as little as 5 minutes you can have a FREE professional looking domain name and a hosting service.