If you’ve heard the buzz around the importance of “opt-in” features, but are intimidated at the idea of getting another email service or plugin, you can employ a very simple method of using MailChimp to gain the psychological benefit of an “opt-in”. In laymen’s terms, opt-ins are simply a way to entice people to sign […]
Cheats and Hacks: Trick Out Sidebar Widgets When You Don’t Know HTML Code
Problem #1: I want to add formatting to a text widget, but I don’t know the HTML for it! This is a common problem for bloggers who want to add a photo (usually left aligned) with text that is either bold or italicized, formatted with colors, and needing to go in a sidebar. How now […]
Go Mobile | How to Rock Your Online Presence for Smartphone Users
Bloggers…we like to work on our laptops and computers. As creators, it’s simpler. But we are giving our content to a world that likes to be mobile. Have you ever thought about your links, posts, blogs, and site from the perspective of a smartphone user? Common Problems Blog Sidebars Disappear On most mobile versions (whether you […]
How to Add Custom Social Follow Buttons to Your Blog Post Signature
Step by step instructions for adding social follow buttons into a signature. Includes screenshots for anyone using Weaver, Genesis, or Prophoto.
Understanding How Gravatar, WordPress.com, and Your Self-Hosted Blog Work Together
Anyone else confused by this? Sometimes the simplest things can be so complicated. Since I am asked to help with gravatars all the time, I thought I would lay it out in laymen’s terms. Let’s start with the differences between WordPress.com and WordPress.org. WordPress.com Sometimes I wish they would have named it something else. Nothing […]
How to Use Google Calendar with Your WordPress Blog or Website
A lot of small businesses come to me with a need for some sort of event calendar on their website. One of the simplest ways to accomplish this is with Google Calendars. Why use that instead of some fancy calendar plugin built for WordPress? Why not use a calendar plugin? If you can do something […]
An Introduction to WordPress Shortcodes
I’m sure if you’ve been working in WordPress for even a few months, you’ve run into (or used) shortcodes and not even known it. This article will give you an introduction to shortcodes – what they are, how they function, and a few you can use yourself. Shortcode = Shortcut A shortcode is a shortcut. Everything […]
Using Simple HTML in Your Blog Sidebar
This tutorial gives the beginner some easy tips for using HTML to align text in sidebars, using code to display images, and even how to turn those images into links. It’s a low-test introduction to code. No panicking allowed!
Everything You Need to Know About Uploading Images and Galleries in WordPress
The following post will (hopefully) give both newbies and veteran bloggers some new and helpful information about using images in WordPress. Since it will be a long article, I’ve included a table of contents here those who want to jump to the right section. TABLE OF CONTENTS How to wrestle one image into a post […]
Picking out the Best Commenting System for Your Blog
Why do we blog? If it was solely about writing, a journal (or a bathroom wall) would suffice. But we want to interact with people, spark a reaction, invite conversation. Getting your readers’ opinions are part of the fun. And that’s when it is time to look at what commenting system you use. The following article will […]
The Most Common Blogging Questions
I think in the last three months, I’ve put in at least 60-70 hours a week messing with WordPress. Between my own blogs and my clients, I eat, drink, and sleep blogging. In the last couple of months, I’ve noticed some recurring questions. True to “Fabulous Blogging” form, I am going to share them here! […]
How to Back Up Your Blog
If you are like me, you spend hours and hours carefully writing posts, putting up photos, and offering your online content to the world. But have you protected your work? WordPress blogs can go wonky for all sorts of reasons and even if your host does a complimentary backup, who wants to lose several days […]
Creating an Archive List in Blogger
After a few days, an epic well-written post gets lost in the sea of archives. Of course you can use the archive widgets, but most of them pull by date, not by title. How will your readers know that January was a good month and May wasn’t? You can solve this problem by creating an […]
Creating a Grab My Button for Your Blog
When you go to a blog you love, sometimes you’ll see a grab my button image and code. While you can have images along your sidebar that people can easily download, you are assuming that everyone knows how to upload and link up your image. That is where a GRAB my BUTTON code is extremely […]
25 Quick WordPress Tips For Beginning Freelancers
1. Do you want to create a hyperlink in your post that references an older post? Rather than having to type out the URL or look for it in another window/window, use the search for other content arrow in the link box. Choose the link you’d like and click ADD LINK. There is no reason to […]