Ever wish you could get an alert when your WordPress website goes down? I'll show you two free ways to do that. In a perfect world, your website would never go down. But, we don't live in a perfect world, and even the best hosts sometimes have outages. In those cases, wouldn't you rather know […]
In Information Technology, the Principle of Least Privilege means that people should have only the level of access and capability that they truly need. When people can access more info than they need, or have abilities that they don't need, there's a greater potential that they'll cause damage (accidentally or deliberately). Also, never underestimate the […]
When setting up a new website, it can be tempting to sign up for multiple services through one provider in order to save money and for the convenience of having everything in one place. While in theory, this is a logical idea, we’ll explain why it may not be the wisest decision to bundle your […]
Are you making mistakes with your small business website? Business websites exist to sell, directly or indirectly. Small businesses often lose sight of that, and make mistakes with the content, design, marketing, and technical aspects of their sites. Learn how to fix these mistakes so your site delivers business results. I gave this presentation, Website […]
Here's the latest round of my favorite WordPress podcasts, listed in order of preference. I prefer those that contain actionable advice over those that are mostly news. These days, I personally focus more on strategy, business development, and project management than development or design (which my teammates handle), and my taste in podcasts reflects that. […]
I gave this presentation, Website Mistakes Small Businesses Make, and How to Fix Them, at WordCamp Grand Rapids 2014. I’ve seen many small businesses make website mistakes that hurt their results. My presentation was about how to fix these mistakes so your site delivers business results. Below are the video, slides, and detailed notes. Not optimizing to sell How […]
These are the best WordPress podcasts I've found. They have content for WordPress site owners, designers, and developers. My favorites are those that are focused on education rather than news. I listed them in order of preference. If you like these, you should read my other posts about podcasts. I’m always looking for more, so please […]
"What website mistakes do small businesses make?" This was one of the many questions asked at the Small Business Tech Panel at the Warehaüs, a coworking space in Holland, Michigan in March 2014. Here's an expanded version of the answer I gave. The items (in no particular order) are as follows: Not optimized for sales Business websites exist to […]
SiteGround is an excellent WordPress-optimized shared host. They're fast, secure, and reliable, yet inexpensive. They're the host I most frequently recommend to small business and nonprofit clients. From firsthand experience, I've found their plans to be superior to similar hosting plans from GoDaddy, Bluehost, DreamHost, Hostmonster, HostGator, iPage, and small local hosting companies. For clients with larger and/or […]
"What does a small business website need?" This was one of the many questions asked at the Small Business Tech Panel at the Warehaüs, a coworking space in Holland, Michigan in March 2014. Here's an expanded version of the answer I gave. The items (in no particular order) are as follows: Effective content (text, images, video) Too […]
WordPress Web Design for Dummies by Lisa Sabin-Wilson My rating: 4 of 5 stars An updated version of the worthwhile 1st edition on designing and building WordPress-based sites. It covers installation, administration, basic theme development, and plugin use. It features colorful code snippets and screenshots. Most examples use the Twenty Thirteen theme. I liked Chapter […]
The Complete Idiot's Guide to WordPress by Susan Gunelius My rating: 3 of 5 stars An easily understood, very basic WordPress guide for beginning users. It's focused on blogging rather than building traditional websites. The first half covers WordPress.com, and the rest covers WordPress.org. The Attracting an Audience section has valuable chapters on SEO, feeds, […]
