Quick Tip: How to Set Up a Blogroll in WordPress

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Earlier this week I had a visitor who searched for instructions on setting up a blogroll in WordPress. Looking back, I remember being a little confused by the process when I used WordPress for the first time, so I thought it might be beneficial to write a post. Setting up a blogroll in WordPress is actually pretty easy, but it takes some time to get used to it, especially if you're coming from a different platform like Blogger. You have the option to display the blogroll in your sidebar (easiest) or on a page. Update: Since the release of WordPress 3.5, the Links section of the dashboard is no longer included by default. You'll need to install the Link Manager plugin, then follow the steps below to set up your blogroll. Adding Links ... Continue Reading

How Much Should You Invest in Your Freelance Business?

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Lately it has occurred to me that I'm shelling out a lot of money toward business-related products and services. According to Outright, the free service I use to keep track of my business accounting, I've spent about 35% of my 2012 income on deductible expenses like WordPress themes, domains, and graphics software. Considering the fact that roughly 20% of my income goes toward quarterly self-employment taxes, that means I'm living on less than half of what I make. The budget-conscious among you might be going, "Hey, that's great! You're living within your means!" And while that's true, I also look at my total income for the year so far and wonder how much I'm actually living. Entertainment costs? Axed so I could attend a blogging ... Continue Reading

How to Customize the Weaver Theme

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Most of my readers know that I tout the Weaver II theme (especially Weaver II Pro) as the easiest way to get started with WordPress. If you want a highly customizable site without coding, it simply doesn't get any better than the Weaver theme. However, I also get a lot of questions from readers about what to do with the Weaver theme once they get it installed - there are so many options that it can seem overwhelming at first! With a little practice, you can use the Weaver theme to achieve pretty much any look you want for your WordPress site. Just to give you an idea of the flexibility of Weaver II Pro, here are some of the blogs I've designed that use it: When Life Gives You Lemons Prairie Eco Thrifter Makeup Wishes TeacHer ... Continue Reading

What to Do When a Theme Update Breaks Your WordPress Site

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If you've visited the site in the last week or so, you might have noticed that the pagination was broken. The homepage showed up just fine, but clicking "Older Posts" at the bottom resulted in a 404 error. And since I've been slacking on posting, I didn't notice until two days ago. Yesterday as I worked with my theme's support staff to try to fix it, the homepage showed a 404 error as well. As a blogger, this can be one of the most panic-inducing moments you'll ever experience - when something is broken and nothing you do fixes the problem. In my case, it was especially upsetting since this blog is part of my business website. Nothing says "professional" like a 404 error! Theme Updates: Preventing Disasters Obviously the best way to ... Continue Reading

Content Marketing Editorial Calendar For WordPress

How to Choose a WordPress Theme

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A reader emailed me last week and asked for some tips on selecting a theme for self-hosted WordPress. Rather than just respond to the email, I thought it would be much more fun to do a post in case it helps someone else make a decision. There are literally thousands of WordPress themes to choose from. And like anything else in life, some themes are better than others. But how do you choose when there are so many possibilities? How do you even begin to evaluate the worth of one WordPress theme over another? There are several elements to consider when choosing a theme for your website or blog. Here they are, in order of importance: 1. Security The most important thing you can do for your WordPress site is keep it secure. And that ... Continue Reading

The Best WordPress Security Plugins

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I wrote a post awhile back about ways to protect your WordPress site from being hacked. Since then, I've worked with several clients whose sites had already been compromised to help them rid their blogs of infected files and malware warnings. Here are a few reminders for keeping your WordPress site secure: 1. Don't rely on your host. Some hosts will help you clean up your website after an infection, while others will simply point you to a list of the infected files and tell you to clean them up. Never assume that your host will take care of everything if your site is hacked. (And consider a new host if they don't!) 2. BACKUPS, people. I have said this a million times but it's worth saying again. I have backups scheduled to run on my ... Continue Reading

Why You Shouldn’t Register Domains With Your Web Host

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There are a ton of options when it comes to domain registrars, resellers, and brokers. Trying to decide which one to use can be overwhelming, and it may seem natural to use your web host to keep everything in one place. However, registering domain with your host can be a horrible idea, for reasons I'll outline below. Domains and Hosting - A Few Basics Owning a blog or website involves two separate pieces, your domain and your host. It's important to understand these elements for the most effective management of your site(s). The domain is the address people use to get to your site. For example, Nuts and Bolts Media's domain is nutsandboltsmedia.com. You can register a domain with any number of registrars or providers - basically you ... Continue Reading