Category: blogging

Weebly Goes Mobile

I reviewed the web site creation tool Weebly in 2008. See A Look at Weebly.  Now they’ve created an app for iPhone that lets you create posts from your mobile. It’s really simple and may appeal to many people who want to do easy blogging and posting while on the go. Since I already have a history with Weebly, and because they’ve managed to survive and thrive all this time in a competitive niche, I thought a look at their app was in order.

The app is free from the App Store.  It works on iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad and requires iOS 4.3 or later. I’d head to the App Store first. If you go to the weebly site, they ask for your mobile number before they send you a link to the app. You may ultimately have to give them your mobile number to use the app, but I found it really annoying that they asked for it even before you’d had a chance to take a look.

 

6 Best Plugins For Securing Your WordPress Based Website From Hackers

Master lock, "r00t" password
Photo by Schill via Flickr

Most everyone that has a WordPress website or blog does so out of the necessity to be creative and to generally express the thoughts that are screaming to dome out of your head onto paper (or in this case the screen). That effort to be me is where I get most of my fuel to carry on even on the worst days of cyber-attacks. A favorite quote comes from henry Ward Beecher, – In himself is a man’s true state of riches and power.

As most of you know WordPress is the very popular software that allows each of us to be who we perceive ourselves to be. With its ease of use and versatile approach to fulfilling each individual’s needs WordPress opens the doors to the virtual universe.

Thesis WordPress themes are responsible for that seamless creative time that you spend when setting up your site. But users beware! As great as this software is for the majority of people who are not techies, WordPress offers a wide open opportunity for hackers.

Thesis WordPress themes are great software products and it is an absolute necessity that you spend the little extra time that it requires to secure your blog or website against invasion by the cyber scum that inhabits our planet! With its vast library of plugins users can seamlessly manage their website without the added expense of a webmaster.

My Top 6 Selections for 2012 Best WordPress Security Plugins

1.  Akismet is a program that checks comments left on your blog or website to see if they appear to be spam and then allows you to review the spam it does catch through the blog “Comments” admin screen. Akismet comes pre-installed with Thesis WordPress themes, and once you apply for and install your API key you will find the controls for it in your options panel in your Dashboard.

2.  Website Defender WordPress Security plug-in is a free and comprehensive security tool that helps you secure your Thesis WordPress themes installation and offers suggestions for strengthening your passwords, securing your database, and lots more.

3.  BackWPUp is a plugin that backs up your Thesis WordPress themes files and database and store them wherever you decide.  You can schedule automatic backups and pick out which folders and tables you want to backup.

4.  WP Security Scan raises the level of the security for your Thesis WordPress themes installation. It does this by scanning your site for security issues then suggests the methods you can use to fix them.

5.  WP Secure plug-in provides security for your Thesis WordPress themes installation by hiding your plug-in directory and WP version from hackers and others. This is important to do because the cyber scum that inhabits our virtual world use the version and the list of plugins to locate one that they have hacked before to hack their way into your blog!  Add this plug-in to protect your website or blog.

6.  WP-MalWatch is designed to alert you when hackers have invaded your blog. When hackers do get into your Thesis WordPress themes blog site, they infest your site or blog with links to their sites. When you know they have invaded you can take the necessary actions to remove them from your world.

It is very advisable that you only use the plugins that are approved by the WordPress folks. They always test each plugin prior to posting it as available on their website. This is in no way speaking ill of the third party plugins that abound on the internet. It does suggest that you must do your own investigation of third party products so that you get a feeling of trust from the vendor.

Worrying about the safety of your site is not nearly as productive as installing the proper plugins to ensure that safety. Spend the time that it takes you to install the plugins that will protect your site!  Like William Plomer once said, – The power to connect the seemingly unconnected lied within creativity.

Guest Author Bio: As a freelance writer and research hound Jason Monroe is a young (mid 20’s) single man adding content for clients from within the WordPress Dashboard.  Jason has been online since 2003 and has been a huge fan of WordPress and the StudioPress themes since their inception. When he’s not writing premium WordPress Genesis themes reviews you might find him spending quality time with nature by walking the nearby mountain trails.

10 Invaluable WordPress Tools

If you want to make using WordPress an easier process, or just want to make the most out of what WordPress has to offer, check out these ten tools.

1. Bundlelytic

Bundlelyti

The great thing about this content package is that it is more than just beneficial for WordPress bloggers. It is also a charity package, which gives 100% of their proceeds to emergency programs through UNICEF. It comes with access to nine different services: Site5 Web Hosting, The Hello Bar, Themify, Pippity WP Plugin, Mad Mimi, CodeGuard, Sendible, OrganicThemes ‘Bold Theme’ and Themes Kingdom (5 different themes). Some of these, such as the themes, are one time purchases that give you full use rights. As for the services, they are between three and six month plans. In all, this is a $630 value package for $59, and all to help UNICEF. Definitely worth getting.

2. WPBeginner

WPBeginner

When you first go onto this site you might be a little confused. The format is a fantastic clone of the WP dashboard, complete with matching side icons. In itself, it is the perfect guide for the WP beginner. It goes through every element of the website, giving you a total tutorial to use. They also have a list of useful WordPress books you can read if you want to learn even more.

3. Guest Blog Checklist

Guest Blog Checklist

As a blog owner, you are responsible for the content that is posted on your site. The biggest issue with this comes with guest bloggers. While you can easily control the genre or topics they write on, it is harder to handle format. Most writers will try to follow by the general layout used on other posts, or follow your instructions, they can often forget something. Which leads to more work for you in edit. That is why having a checklist for guest post formatting is a great idea. You can make your own, or use this one by the great Ann Smarty. Download and customize it.

4. 7 Tips For WP

7 Tips For WP

Copyblogger is a very informative site, and they aim to provide simple posts with plenty of advice for the average blog owner. In this edition, they give you seven tips on how to make WP work for you. It includes tricks for your sidebar, navigation advice and more.

5. Creating A WP Template 

Creating A WP Template (Video)

WordPress has a large selection of templates for you to use. Most of them are free, and some of them cost between $15 and $200. All of them are customizable and easily adapted for your needs. However, you might want something entirely your own. In that case, you will have to create one. Luckily, this isn’t as difficult as creating other coding, such as traditional graphic design. This video will show you how to make a template for WP, step by step.

6. Designing For WP

Designing For WP (Video)

If you want more information on design for WordPress, this series is a good place to start. They have a few videos explaining the finer points of the topic, starting from the Starkers theme rather than a default. In all, the video series runs about two hours and fifteen minutes.

7. Putting Custom Headers In WP (Video)

Sometimes you love a theme, but you hate the header that it generates. Which is fine, because it is very simple to create your own header. On this video it will break it down for you, showing exactly how to make a header that will fit your blog. You will be ready in a manner of minutes.

8. Modifying WP Themes

Modifying WP Themes (Video)

The most confusing part of customizing a blog for more WorPress users is modifying an existing theme. It doesn’t take that much to learn what you are doing. Each part is in a different area of the coding box. This video breaks it down for you and shows you how to make changes.

9. ScribeFire

ScribeFire

ScribeFire is a great plugin tool for Firefox, Chrome, Safari or Opera. It allows users to turn their browser into a full blog updater. Create new posts, edit old ones, work on SEO and more through the plugin itself. But best of all is that it allows you to work on all of your blogs in one place.

10. Broken Link Checker

Broken Link Checker

An official tool from WP, this allows you to check for any broken links in your posts. This makes it really easy to keep track of them, and to be alerted to any problems in the future.

Conclusion

If you want to make WordPress really work for you, then these ten tools can help. From getting advice on how to create a better blog to learning how to properly code your theme, they have everything you need to get things started.

Guest Author Jessy is the tech blogger for VIP Reality blog. Vip Reality is a Dallas real estate company preaching a high-quality approach to online marketing. All images courtesy Jessy.

Lifehacker helps you create a custom WordPress theme

This is really one of my useful link posts, but I think the information is so useful it’s getting a full post’s worth of attention.

Lifehacker published an article called How to Create a Custom Theme for WordPress with Minimal Coding Required. They provide a downloadable theme that’s a blank slate and walk you through customizing how it looks by editing the CSS file, and a couple of the PHP files. Most of the PHP files are left alone.

A well-done tutorial with lots of detail to get you going on your own customized WordPress theme.

The Complete Set of Social Media Plugins for WordPress

WordPress is the most popular blogging, CMS and general website platform in the world, and for good reason! WordPress offers its users absolute ease of use with its simple and intuitive yet robust and powerful interface, giving everyone from light bloggers to network admins the ability to manage their websites with ease.

While WordPress has a slew of appealing features built right into its main open source package, one of the most highly regarded aspects of this CMS is its extendability with plugins. No matter what need you are trying to fill or what result you’re wanting to achieve, it is very likely that a plugin or two exist to make it happen with only a few clicks.

The line between blogging and social media is blurring more and more each day, making it increasingly necessary to integrate one within the other. If you’re looking to give your WordPress blog a boost via social media, plugins are the way to go and we’ve got some of the very best lined up for you right here!

General Social Sharing Plugins

Sociable

A simple, yet robust, social media sharing plugin and widget for WordPress, Sociable is a long-trusted social media solution for WordPress websites. With the option to choose from more than 100 social network platforms, buttons for each with automatically generated “share” links can be added to posts, pages or both with a click of a button, showing above or below the content as you choose.

ShareThis

ShareThis WP Plugin

Similar to Sociable in its functionality, ShareThis sports two main differences. The first of those differences is the manner in which ShareThis displays social media sharing links within your blog, offering a flyout menu instead of a string of button icons; when on-screen real estate is a concern, ShareThis is the best option. The second and perhaps more intriguing difference is the inclusion of tracking reports, allowing you to see at a glance how often your content is shared, and by who.

Network-Specific Social Sharing Plugins

TweetMeme

TweetMeme WP Plugin

Used on more than 100,000 websites, including such giants as Wired.com and the official Time Magazine site, TweetMeme for WordPress has been the standard in WordPress/Twitter integration for more than four years. Including a simple “Tweet This” button in a spot of your choosing within your content, TweetMeme also offers a live count of clicks, letting both you and your visitors know just how popular your blog post is in the Twitterverse.

Google+1

Google+1 WP Plugin

Google+ may not match some of its competitors in terms of sheer size but its popular parent company and useful features have helped it to become by far the fastest growing social network leading into and through the first part of 2012. The Google+1 WordPress plugin does exactly what its title suggests, inserting a simple “+1” icon for your users to click in order to share your content with their Google+ circles.

Deep Integration Plugins

WP Social Toolbar

WP Social Toolbar

A beautiful and highly configurable complete social media solution for your WordPress website is the aptly named Social Toolbar. Placing a detailed but unobtrusive toolbar at the bottom of each page of your site, Social Toolbar for WordPress gives your users the ability to share anything, anywhere, with the click of a button. With options to configure your accounts, what you want included and every bit of color, this plugin can easily be adapted to any WordPress website with ease.

Social Metrics

Social Metrics WP Plugin

When all is said and done, improving your blog’s position with social media sites depends on knowing and understanding your current performance: enter the Social Metrics WordPress plugin. Compatible with Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon, Digg, LinkedIn and Google+, this plugin tracks and displays your site’s social media performance statistics and gives them back to you in an intuitive way to help you to understand what you’re doing right and where you can improve.

Guest Author Tom Chu is the SEO manager at PsPrint and PsPrint Blog. When he’s not sitting behind a computer, Tom likes watching sci-fi movies and Japanese cartoons, hitting the golf course and playing with his four dogs. You can connect with Tom via LinkedIn at LinkedIn.

Learning from successful marketing gurus

Gaming, friending, marketing, social media, the Internet – it’s all part of a big mashup these days. Take Lady Gaga, for instance. Recently, Mashable ran Lady Gaga First to Hit 20 Million Twitter Followers. Justin Bieber–what a slacker–only has 18 million followers on Twitter. (I just looked at my own Twitter account, where I’m edging up on 1300 followers – kaPOW, Gaga.)

Part One of the Big Mashup: Social Media and Brand Tie-ins

The article at Mashable wasn’t just about Twitter. It went on to detail everything that Lady Gaga did in marketing “Born this Way.” The list includes:

  • A Farmville-like game from Zynga called Gaga-Ville
  • A two week long scavenger hunt with Starbucks
  • Lady Gaga appeared in a Google Chrome commercial, chatting with fans
  • A one-day deal with Amazon to download the whole album for $0.99.
  • A live feed from Best Buy of Lady Gaga staying up all night in a NYC store signing autographs
  • An interview with Google executive Marissa Mayer
  • A Facebook contest involving about how money should be divided up among 5 charities
  • Lady Gaga teamed up with Gilt Groupe to sell clothing – some for charity
  • An HBO concert special
  • Rdio had a contest related to the album release with the winner getting free music for life
  • Lady Gaga posts frequently on Facebook
  • Exclusive premiers on Vevo
  • iTunes offered bonus songs with preorders of the album
  • Previews and teasers in YouTube videos
  • TwitPic photos and Twitter activity
  • QR Codes for “Born this Way” ringtones scattered about the Internet
  • Apps
  • Permission for Weird Al Yankovic to include a parody of “Born This Way” called “Perform This Way” on his own album
  • and even more minor kinds of things

Are you stunned by that list? I am. I’m also thinking it’s a free tutorial from the geniuses who market Lady Gaga in how to do marketing.

Okay, so maybe you aren’t going to get Starbucks to team up with your little blog, or Marissa Mayer to interview you for an hour and then broadcast the interview, but you can do some of what you see in that list. You can use it to start your own thinking.

Rachel Andrew, writing at The Pastry Box Project, speaks directly to web designers when she says,

If you are good at what you do you might like to write articles and books, speak at conferences, be included in discussions on subjects. To get started all you need to do is start publishing your ideas somewhere, or offer to speak at small events, and other offers will start to come in.

In this industry we don’t have to wait until the “powers that be” recognize our talent, we can put ourselves out there, and we have the skills and tools to do it.

Part 2 of the Big Mashup: Add Games to the Mix

Gaming Angels recently wrote about The Hunger Games Innovative Social Media Campaign. Maybe the movie The Hunger Games isn’t as huge a phenomena as Lady Gaga, but I’ll bet you are aware of the hype around it.

As GamingAngel points out,

It all starts on the Hunger Games Facebook page. When you login with your Facebook account, you will immediately, get placed into a District. How’s that for fans?

In addition to Facebook, there are Hunger Games related sites at The Capitol and Capitol Couture. Both have all sorts of activities, games, ways to particpate and links to purchase movie tickets. Add to that the normal releases of Official Trailers, ads, and entertainment blog posts.

That’s a lot of big movie hype. But you aren’t a movie. What can you do to generate some hype?

You could read a helpful book where you’d find some good ideas.

In the book Designing for Emotion by Aarron Walter, there is a chapter called “Emotional Engagement.” He cites several elements that can elicit emotion engagement from your users. These techniques can build excitement and stimulate lots of tweets and conversation.

  1. Surprise
  2. Anticipation, the velvet rope, and status (yeah, have you been invited to Pinterest yet?)
  3. Priming

I recommend this book if you are struggling with hanging on to your users and making them return visitors. You can read a more complete review of the book: Web Teacher Review of Designing for Emotion.

Back to Gamers, Please

With 68.7 million gamers running around the marketplace, according to Why 5 Big Brand Marketing Campaigns are Betting Big on Social Gaming, it’s inevitable that businesses are working out ideas for how to market products with games. I don’t mean market the game – I mean market something else with a game.

Examples of big brands and games mentioned in that article include the WeCity game from Century 21 that lets players build cities and the New York City Public Library’s game, Find the Future.

Games and gamers can be used to market more than products. They can also be used to market ideas and behavior. I’ll close with a mention of this 20 minute TED Talk by Jane McGonigal, in which she explains how we could harness gamer power to solve real-world problems. What could you do with a game? Or, could you give a TED Talk to promote some idea? There are many local TEDx events where someone with something to say can deliver a talk.

Big phenomenal ideas were discussed here – can you bring them to bear at the scale of your marketing project?

Note: This article was cross-posted at BlogHer in a slightly different form.