The Little Theme Store That Grew Up Late in 2011 Chris Cree (you might know him from his rock star support in our forum) suggested we launch a theme store. Being the overly opinionated and bullheaded woman that I am, I quickly dismissed his idea. After all, inside my head I kept thinking “we build custom WordPress themes - we do not sell stock themes.” Chris, knowing me like he does, just waited and brought up the idea again at another time. When I ignored him a second time, he retreated but ... Read More
WordPress
PressNomics: People Are the True WordPress Core
Last week Chris held down the Web Savvy fort, while Debbie and I headed off to Arizona for a WordPress conference called PressNomics. Since this was the first conference of it’s kind, we had no idea what to expect. We just knew we wanted to be part of this new WordPress event. We were not disappointed. The conference was announced months ago and I bought a ticket within an hour or so of the event launch. No speakers or agenda had been posted and I had no idea who from our community would be ... Read More
Michigan State University Picks Open Source & WordPress
In July we went launched a new WordPress website for Michigan State University. The website was designed for one of MSU’s long-term research projects, the Kellogg Biological Station Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Site, which is part of the LTER Network established by the National Science Foundation. My team and I were thrilled at the opportunity to work with a big ten university. We were also extremely excited to be able spread our love of WordPress and open source technology. The ... Read More
Three Steps to Keep the Cobwebs Out of WordPress
A lot of our web design clients ask about ongoing WordPress maintenance in the proposal stage of our project. They’ve heard WordPress is easy to use and they want to make sure it will be just as easy to maintain. They also what to make sure their website will be safe, secure, and free of malware or hacking attacks. I’m very open with people in these discussions. And I can be, because I’ve personally had few issues with WordPress maintenance and security. In the years I’ve worked with ... Read More
Five Amazing Website Makeovers
When I founded our company three years ago I was highly focused on SEO. I quickly learned that for most companies, effective SEO meant rebuilding their websites from the ground up. While this wasn’t my initial plan, it was where we ended up. What I didn’t realize is that I was going to love website design. Without question, I fell head over heels in love with WordPress and the world of website design. I love to watch Google Analytics shift from good old fashion SEO, but I also love to ... Read More
Three Great Responsive WordPress Themes for Women
Up until last year, the WordPress community has been a fairly male dominated population. Or at least, as a woman, that is my opinion. The growth of the mommy blogger has forced the community to begin viewing women and themes for women in a new light. Theme developers are beginning to realize that female buyers want WordPress themes that were developed specifically for women and not just a pink color option thrown onto a masculine WordPress theme. I think it is a natural progression, as mommy ... Read More
Introducing Hans: A WordPress Real Estate Theme
Earlier this month we launched a new premium WordPress theme designed for individual realtors, real estate companies, and home builders. The new real estate theme is a Genesis child theme and has functionality similar to the AgentPress theme from StudioPress. An Example of a Real Estate Firm Website Launch A few days before we officially released the theme I received a call from the president of a real estate firm in California. He needed a custom Genesis theme that was capable of integrating ... Read More
Our New Child Has Finally Arrived: A Genesis Theme Store
Our WordPress web design just got a whole lot better. We’re expanding our website design offering to include premium WordPress themes based on the Genesis Framework. Didn’t we always offer Genesis child themes? We sure did, but our websites were only designed for specific clients and their unique requirements. We’re still married to StudioPress and we still do a lot of custom Genesis theme design, but we’re expanding who can take advantage of our Genesis child themes. Building a custom ... Read More
WordPress Multisite: What it is and Why Should You Care
What is WordPress Multisite? Originally dubbed WordPress MU, WordPress multisite is simply a way of networking a collection of websites under the same WordPress installation. The individual websites in the network are like children websites of the main installation. All share the same hosting account, WordPress themes, and plugin options. They can have unique URLs or have different subdomain addresses based on the main URL. Why does any of this matter and why should you care? WordPress ... Read More
The Girlfriend’s Guide to Blogging
This week I received an email from a longtime girlfriend who is interested in launching a blog. I was actually surprised by this, because Mary (name has been changed to protect the innocent) has a full-time job already and it is not marketing related. She had an idea for a blog and wanted advice on how to get a blog started. My girlfriend is not alone. I receive dozens of emails each week from people wanting blogs and websites created for their “idea” and I can tell at least 75% have no ... Read More
Good Times at WordCamp Detroit 2011
Another year, another WordCamp here in Detroit. I was excited for it to arrive and I'm definitely sad to see it go. I love WordCamp almost as much as I love WordPress. It brings together my favorite things: WordPress and my fellow like-minded geeks. This year I was able to bring along my possy, which included my assistant Jen (and long time BFF), my fellow internet marketer Rachel, and our collective friend Megan who is completely new to WordPress. Good times. This year's WordCamp was ... Read More
Stand Back! The Geeks Are Coming
Last night I met with a business partner named Scott. Scott is an engineer and his engineering brain loves SEO. I’ve been teaching SEO 101 while we build Scott’s website. Last night as we moved from SEO 101 to SEO 201, Scott couldn’t understand why I didn’t do this with every client. The truth be told, 99% of my clients don’t care. They pay me to make sure their website and SEO are taken care of and they don’t want to worry about it. We All Make Mistakes Very few clients have Scott’s ... Read More
Why DIY Websites Are Many Times a Horrible Mistake
So you’ve finally made the decision – you need a new website. If that’s the case, you’re probably trying to figure out if you should hire a professional or try to go it alone. If you’re a small business or a tech savvy marketer, you’ve considered doing it yourself or maybe even decided to take the DIY website route. For some, this can be a great decision. For others – aka most – this can be a disaster. The DIY Website Designer Lately I’ve received a lot of emails and calls from people who ... Read More
We’re Sponsoring WordCamp Detroit 2011
WordCamp Detroit is coming! As summer winds down, vacations wrap up, and kids return to school, the geeks begin to circle and prepare for WordCamp Detroit. Since we love everything WordPress and we are also geeks, we’ve decide to help sponsor this year’s event at the RenCen in downtown Detroit. Why Should You Attend a WordCamp? If you love WordPress or want to get involved with WordPress, it’s a great opportunity to learn more about WordPress and interact with the local WordPress community. ... Read More
Should You Ditch Your Website & Developer?
When I first started my business, I thought projects would be clearly defined as web design or SEO. Oh was I wrong. Projects, like clients, come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. What may start out as a simple SEO project may lead into a full-blown website development. And this migration isn’t because I’m pushing web design on clients, it’s because the client has significant limitations with their existing website. Since I run into this often, I'm sure the average website owner does ... Read More
The Case of the Hacked WordPress Website
A few months ago I was out of town visiting a client. On my route home my faithful iPhone popped up an email from another client. The client said “something strange” was appearing on their website. Peculiar I thought, because I’m the only one with admin access and I haven’t changed anything. I thought an investigation was in order, but didn’t go much past that initial thought. Following the Clues When I could get my hands on my Mac, I checked out the website. Sure enough, there was bizarre ... Read More
The Magic Formula of Great SEO
This weekend I looked back at SEO related statistics for a B2B website I launched in November of 2009. A full year has passed and I wanted to see the progress this company made over a twelve-month period. After launching the new WordPress website, the client retained me to work on their internet marketing efforts. It helped free up time for the client, it gave their internet marketing a cohesiveness it would not have had otherwise, and it gave me time to nurture my new baby. I believe it was ... Read More
Migrating a Website Owner Through the Five Stages of Grief
In college I was a Psychology major until I realized I’d have to reach a PhD level education to obtain a job with any real earning potential. That meant staying in college and thousands more in student loans. With much sadness I switched career paths and moved into a world of technology. Flash forward twenty years and I now claim to be an Internet marketer who spends many hours as a WordPress designer and an SEO expert. I love what I do, yet still miss my first love of Psychology. Recently my ... Read More
Fifteen Questions to Ask Your Future Website Designer
Recently my sister decided to launch a website and blog. With my encouragement she selected WordPress as her platform of choice and then set out to locate a WordPress consultant. Why didn’t she come to me you ask? Well honestly, I didn’t want to work with family and I could not begin to meet her list of needs. Sisterhood aside, we both knew we were not an ideal fit for each other. She wanted a cute blog with minimal website functionality and that isn’t my strength. I’m a B2B or B2C girl who ... Read More
Twenty Tips for Creating the Perfect Blog Post
When I said I blogged five years ago, people looked at me as if I was crazy. Well I was, but blogging didn't drive me to insanity. Today it is a bit more mainstream and bloggers are everywhere. I actually like blogging. I enjoy it and it has been a huge help to me professionally. Last weekend I attended WordCamp Detroit and I was surrounded by bloggers. I wasn't prepared for that one, as I use WordPress for website design and I guess I assume everyone in the room would too. Was I wrong. ... Read More
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