Checklist for Launching a WordPress Blog

Posted on August 12, 2015August 15, 2015 by sitemanager

Thinking about launching a blog using WordPress? While this content management system (CMS) can be used to create all types of websites, it's particularly effective at developing blogs. WordPress supports multiple authors, visitor comments, tags/categories, and you can schedule postings, all of which are helpful tools when blogging. Define Your Niche The very step in launching a WordPress is to define your blog. In other words, what do you want your blog to be about? Going broad with a generalized topic rarely works, simply because there's too much competition for broad keywords. A smarter a...

5 Trust Signals to Make Your Blog More Trustworthy

Posted on August 11, 2015August 15, 2015 by sitemanager

Lack of trust is a serious problem that can cost blogs and other websites tons of sales. If visitors view your blog as being untrustworthy, they won't feel comfortable making a purchase or taking any other direct action. Trust Seals What the heck is a trust seal? It's exactly what it sounds like: a seal (kind of like a logo) that's designed to instill trust in visitors. One of the most common and well-known trust seals is the Better Business Bureau (BBB) logo, which is found on numerous websites, big and small. Surprisingly, though, BBB isn't the most effective trust seal. A study conducted ...

Top 5 Reasons to Use a Responsive Web Design for Your Blog

Posted on August 7, 2015August 16, 2015 by sitemanager

Tablet illustrating responsive web design

Does your blog have a Responsive Web Design (RWD)? If not, it should. There's been a growing trend towards the use of Responsive designs, and for good reason. It's a simple and effective way to improve your site's traffic and functionality, but this is really just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the benefits offered by RWD. To learn more about Responsive designs and why you should use it, keep reading. What is Responsive Web Design? Basically, it means designing a website or blog to function the same across all devices -- smartphones, tablets, desktops with huge monitors, and laptops...

What Is Microblogging?

Posted on July 30, 2015August 2, 2015 by sitemanager

Screenshot of social media and Twitter handles

Microblogging has become increasingly popular over the past few years, with millions of people using it for both personal and commercial purposes. But what exactly is microblogging? And does it offer any real benefits over traditional blogging? These are just a few of the many questions that we're going to tackle today. The Origins of Microblogging According to Wikipedia, political writer and blogger Jonathan Gillette (AKA why the lucky stiff) coined the term "microblogging" when describing Christian Neukirchen's Anarchaia.org online activities. Gillette said blogging had "mutated into simpl...

5 Blogging Tips I Wish I Knew as a Beginner

Posted on July 28, 2015July 31, 2015 by sitemanager

Photo of a t-shirt that reads "I'm blogging this. Are you?"

#1) Choose Your Domain Name Wisely Many beginners rush through the process of registering a domain name simply because they want to get started NOW. But the domain name is the heart and soul of your blog, which is why it's important to choose a meaningful and appropriate name. Think about what you hope to accomplish with your blog, the niche, and your target audience. Choose a domain name that's relevant to all of these elements. Ideally, it should be a brandable dot com name with no hyphens or numbers. #2) Your Content Management System Matters Yes, you can technically build a blog using N...

How to Use WordPress More Effectively

Posted on July 26, 2015July 26, 2015 by sitemanager

Do you use WordPress to blog? There's no denying the fact that WordPress is a powerful blogging platform. It features a massive directory of plugins and themes while preserving a clean and user-friendly interface. Backup Your Files Don't forget to backup your files. Many first-time WordPress users make the mistake of only downloading their core files via a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) program. But WordPress isn't static, and most of its data is stored in the form of a database. Therefore, you'll need to download both your core files, as well as the database associated with your site. If all ...

How to Create a ‘Blogger’ Blog

Posted on July 21, 2015July 23, 2015 by sitemanager

Formerly known as Blogspot, Blogger is Google's own self-blogging platform. Much like WordPress.com, it allows individuals and business owners to blog without the need for a third-party hosting service. All files and data are stored are Google's servers, eliminating the need for a domain name and web host. If you are thinking about creating a Blogger blog, however, there are a few things you should know. Getting Started In order to create a Blogger blog, you'll need a Google account. This can be the same account used to access Gmail or other Google services. If you don't have one already, vi...

How to Secure Your Blog Against Hackers

Posted on July 16, 2015July 16, 2015 by sitemanager

Are you doing enough to protect your blog against hackers? It's frustrating when you invest countless hours of hard work into building a blog, only to discover that it's been taken over by a hacker. The good news is that you can reduce your chances of being attacked by following some simple steps to secure your blog. Use a Strong Password A strong password is your blog's first line of defense against hackers. Sure, it's easier to remember "myspace123" (note: that used to be the most commonly used password), but that also means hackers can infiltrate your blog more easily. A better and more s...

Image Optimization 101: How To Optimize Your Site’s Images

Posted on July 14, 2015July 15, 2015 by sitemanager

When you're busy researching topics and writing new posts/articles, it's easy to overlook something as simple as image optimization. Besides, if an image looks okay on your website, what's the point of optimizing it? Well, just because an image loads and functions doesn't necessarily mean that it's optimized for maximum performance. Making small tweaks to it can reduce your site's load time, which subsequently improves user engagement and possibly even increase your site's search ranking. File Type There are several different image file types from which to choose, including JPG (the most pop...

How To Transfer a WordPress.com Blog to Self-Hosted

Posted on July 10, 2015July 11, 2015 by sitemanager

Being that WordPress is the largest and most popular content management system (CMS), it should come as little-to-no surprise that it's the preferred platform among seasoned bloggers. It's fast, efficient, supports the use of multiple authors, and it's search engine friendly. But many bloggers make the mistake of using the hosted version found at WordPress.com. If your blog is currently using hosted WordPress, you should consider moving it to your own server by following the steps outlined below. Why Self-Hosted WordPress is Better While there are advantages and disadvantages associated with...

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