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...

Is Google Planning Another Panda Update?

Posted on June 5, 2015June 6, 2015 by sitemanager

Panda. Those five little words have struck so much fear into the hearts of webmasters and bloggers. When Google launched its first Panda update back in 2011, many people saw their sites' rankings drop overnight. But now there's talk of another Panda being released, it may happen sooner rather than later. What Is Panda? In case this is your first time hearing about Google's infamous Panda update, let me explain: "Panda" is the name given to a series of search ranking algorithm updates implemented by Google. The Mountain View company uses hundreds of different factors to determine where and ho...

How To Transfer a WordPress Site to a New Domain

Posted on June 3, 2015June 3, 2015 by sitemanager

Looking to transfer an existing WordPress site to a new domain? If you are reading this, I'm assuming the answer is yes. With traditional static sites, transferring involves nothing more than downloading the files from your old site and uploading them to your new one. Because WordPress uses databases, however, the process is a bit more technical. However, it can still be done, and we're going to walk you through the steps. Download The Core Files This alone isn't going to make your WordPress site appear on the new domain, but it's still one of the steps in the process of transferring it. Usi...

5 Easy Ways To Uncover New Blog Topic Ideas

Posted on May 27, 2015May 27, 2015 by sitemanager

Still struggling to come up with new topic ideas for your blog? We all know the importance of publishing fresh content on a regular basis. It encourages search engines and visitors to return to your site, which often boosts your search ranking. Of course, this is easier said than done, especially in some of the more narrow niches. If this sounds like a familiar problem, check out some of the following ways to identify new topics. #1 – Search Forums When you are stuck and can't seem to think of any topics for your website, try searching through forums related to your niche. This is an excelle...

Create Effective Landing Pages Using WordPress

Posted on May 21, 2015May 21, 2015 by sitemanager

Wouldn't it be great if you could create effective landing pages in WordPress instead of building them from scratch? It's no secret that WordPress is used primarily for blogs, and for good reason: it supports both posts and pages, allows multiple users to log in and publish content, and offers a built-in visitor commenting feature. But WordPress can also be used to create brilliant, fully functional landing pages. What Is a Landing Page? If you asked ten different marketing experts what the definition of a landing page is, you would probably get ten different answers. Wikipedia, however, off...

How To Make Your Blog Stand Out

Posted on April 17, 2015April 19, 2015 by sitemanager

While the exact number remains unknown, it's estimated that there are more than 150 million active blogs on the Internet. This includes personal journals, political, entertainment, social, and even crossover e-commerce blogs. With so many blogs currently online -- and more being created each day -- many beginners struggle to differentiate themselves from their competitors. Why Your Blog NEEDS To Stand Out There are several reasons why you should create a unique blog rather than following in the footsteps of other bloggers. For starters, it gives visitors a reason to choose your blog over you...

How To Backup a WordPress Blog

Posted on April 16, 2015April 19, 2015 by sitemanager

As the saying goes, hope for the best but prepare for the worst, holds true when blogging. Hopefully nothing will happen to the server on which your blog is stored, but if it does you should have a copy of your data ready to get it back online. Failure to routinely backup your blog is a serious mistake that can cause you a world of trouble later down the road. Backing up traditional static websites is relatively easy. All you need to do is connect to your web host using a file transfer protocol (FTP) program and download your files. If you ever need to restore a static website, you simply ...

Is Your WordPress Site Vulnerable?

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

Powering an estimated 75 million plus websites and blogs, WordPress is the world's largest and most popular content management system (CMS). It allows people with little-to-no coding experience to create beautiful, fully functioning websites in just minutes. However, the simplicity of WordPress has also spurred a lack of training among its users. According to a recent survey conducted by the cloud-based data backup service provider CodeGuard, 54% of survey respondents said they installed the latest version of WordPress between once a week and once every four weeks. This is a troubling stati...

5 Ways To Make Your Blog More Trustworthy

Posted on February 12, 2015March 2, 2015 by sitemanager

Including the right trust signals on your blog will boost your traffic, and subsequently your conversions. Visitors often look for certain elements before purchasing a product or service online. If your blog fails to deliver these elements, the visitor may take their business elsewhere (to a competitor's site). So, how can you make your blog more trustworthy? Professional Web Design Your website's overall design plays a critical role in its trustworthiness. You can't expect visitors to trust your blog if it uses the default, untouched WordPress theme. Granted, building a custom web desig...

What You’ll Need To Start a Blog

Posted on February 9, 2015March 2, 2015 by sitemanager

Content Management System Although you can technically build a blog using nothing more than Notepad or your preferred word processor, a far easier and more efficient solution is to use a content management system (CMS). As the name suggests, a content management system is designed to manage your blog's content. You upload the core CMS files to your server and perform the installation, at which point you can log into your admin portal to publish new content or edit existing content. Powering over 82 million blogs and websites, WordPress is the most popular CMS. Its free to download and us...

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