WordPress is our preferred tool for building dynamic websites. We find the power and simplicity to be unmatched. We are often asked how to make a website with WordPress and decided to use a recent project of ours as a case study and demonstration. The project was a simple one-page website called Cheaper Domains that we could use as a landing page for targeted traffic. What follows is the step by step process we went through to complete it.

The Two Essential Parts of a Website

To build a website, you need two things, a Domain Name and a Hosting Plan.

For this project, we wanted to build a very focused website with a name that was descriptive, easy to remember, and easy to type. As you know, it is getting harder and harder to find the right .COM name that meets that criteria. Fortunately over the last year, hundreds of new industry specific domain extensions have become available. Now you’re not limited to the familiar .COM, .ORG, or .NET that have been around forever. Today, you can get extensions like .PLUMBER, .CAMERA, or .MEDIA.

We chose the new top level domain extension .DOMAINS because it matched the keyword we wanted to target. After doing some research and considering our unique selling proposition, we registered Cheaper.Domains, which is extremely accurate and easy to remember.

There are hundreds of new keyword-rich domain extensions to choose from and many more on their way. If you are just getting started or haven’t thought about your domain name options in a while, this is a great time to look for one that is unique, fits your business, and makes it easy for your customers to find you.

Once the domain name was selected, we chose to create the website with WordPress and needed hosting to support our self-hosted WordPress site. Managed WordPress hosting is a great choice for this because it makes setup, security, and maintenance of your WordPress site easy so you can focus on your content.

How Do You Make Your WordPress Site Look Just Right?

We wanted a modern style for our WordPress site so we chose Divi 2.0 from Elegant Themes to create the look of http://cheaper.domains. This wasn’t a hard decision on our part because we already own the theme, have used it successfully on other projects, and have an affiliate relationship with them. Even if that were not the case, we would like Divi because it is mobile responsive, and comes with a huge assortment of visual effects that can be added and arranged with a unique drag and drop page builder.

Divi Theme Options

To achieve the look we wanted, we uploaded and activated the Divi Theme on our WordPress site (This is a premium theme, if you want to use it for your site you will need to purchase it from Elegant Themes.) After it is activated, setup is required in the Divi ePanel. You can get here by clicking Appearance > Divi Theme Options. Here’s what we did:

• Divi requires a graphic logo to be uploaded or else it will display the default theme logo. (We think this is one of the few weaknesses of the Divi theme and would prefer to have the ability to show the website name in text if a logo is not uploaded. We’ve requested this feature in their forum and hope they consider it.) We uploaded our NetFlint logo.
• Upload a favicon if you have one. This isn’t essential, but its fun and can help with branding so we did.
• Configure your social media profiles. These will appear in the footer.
• Now click the Navigation tab. Divi tries to build the header menu automatically by adding pages and categories as menu items. If you like this, leave it. We wanted to create our own menu so we disabled this.
• Click the SEO tab. Divi has some basic SEO settings on this page. We added a homepage title and homepage meta keywords here.
• Click Save. (You may need to scroll down to see this button.)

Divi Page Builder

One of the highlights of Divi is the Page Builder feature and the many unique functional and graphic modules it includes. There are very detailed and helpful videos on the Elegant Themes website that explain each and every module, so we won’t go into that level of detail. We will just talk about the modules we used.

• We started with a new page.
• Add a full-width section and add a full-width slider module. We created one slide for our slider with the “Cheaper Domain Names” header, some text, and our domain search form. We added a photo with geometric shapes as the background and selected “Enable Parallax Effect” to anchor the image in place as you scroll.
• Add a new section and add a 4 column arrangement to the row. In each column, add a Blurb module. Configure each Blurb by selecting one of the included icons, adding a heading and some text. We chose to position the icons on top and selected animation that faded the icons into view.
• Add a new full-width section and add a full-width header. We uploaded an image of money and enabled the parallax effect for the background. We then added the title, “Why Pay More?” to the module. We thought this was a nice effect and broke up the page nicely.
• Add a new section and add a 1 column arrangement to the row.
  • Add a text module and the text and headline “We Can Handle All Your Website Needs”
  • Add a Pricing Table Module, then add three products, their cost, term, and features. Be sure to select the product that should be highlighted.
• Add a new section and add a background photo with parallax enabled. Add a one-column arrangement to the row and add a Call To Action module. Configure the Call to Action module with the headline and text. In our case we added our domain search form.
• Publish the page

Make It Your Homepage

After you’ve published your page, go to Settings > Reading in the left sidebar of the WordPress dashboard. Configure “Front Page Displays” to show “A static page” and select your new page from the drop down list next to “Front page”. Save your changes, then go to your web page to view your handiwork.

What Do You Think?

Do you have any questions or comments about this case study? Was it the right level of detail? Do you want to see more of them? Let us know in the comments below.

The post Cheaper Domains – A WordPress Website Case Study appeared first on NetFlint Website Services.

WordPress is the Answer

WordPress is an open source web-based content management system. That’s a fancy way of saying that WordPress lets you easily update your website or blog using only a web browser like Safari, Internet Explorer, Chrome, or Firefox.

We’re big fans of WordPress and we’re not alone, 75 million websites, including this one, run on WordPress. In 2013, it was estimated that 23% of all websites ran on WordPress. The reason is simple, WordPress is powerful, flexible, stable, and secure. Once you have it set up, it is easy to use. But that has always been the problem… setup takes knowledge and ongoing maintenance takes time and effort.

We Make WordPress Setup and Maintenance Easy

We’ve solved these problems. Our new Managed WordPress offering includes automatic setup, automatic configuration based on a simple questionnaire, and ongoing core maintenance so you you don’t have to worry.

But that is not all, security is baked in and maintained; nightly automatic backups and free restores are included; and the whole platform was built from the ground up for WordPress performance, load balancing, and availability. Your site will stay live through hacking attempts, hardware problems, and the spikes of popularity that are bound to happen with the astounding content you’ve been waiting to produce.

Try Managed WordPress Now

Don’t take our word for it, try it now. We’ve made it easy to begin by offering a starter package for $8.99 a month. That’s the everyday price, not a limited time offer. Compare that to other managed WordPress offerings that start at $50 or $100 a month. You can’t go wrong.

Get all this with our Managed WordPress Hosting

• 1000s of themes and plugins availble from the WordPress repository
• One-click migration tool
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• Automatic WordPress Core Updates
• Temporary website address
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• Localized in 37 countries and 17 languages
• Premium WordPress Hosting Platform
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• USD $50 Facebook® Ad Credit—Restrictions apply
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The post Managed WordPress – Starting at $8.99 appeared first on NetFlint Website Services.

Photo by kris krüg

Every single day, multiple times a day, bad guys are attacking your website. One attack vector I see frequently is the brute force attack on the admin account. A brute force attack is the automated use of many different passwords until one works. If hackers get access to your admin account, they own your site. There are several things you can do to protect this account and your site.

• Use a unique login name for your admin account. Do not use admin, administrator, the domain name, or your email address.
• Do not use your login name as your display name.
• Do not use your admin account to create content
• Follow password best practices
• Use two-factor authentication
• Use security plugins

Use a Unique Login Name

Photo by DaveBleasdale

When you install WordPress for the first time you have the opportunity to choose a name for the administrator account. The default name is “admin”. Do not accept the default. Use a different name for the admin account because that is the first and most frequent account name the bad guys will try to brute force attack. It happens on a daily basis.

There are three other logins that are frequently targeted. First is “administrator”. Do not think that typing out the full name for admin will protect you. Also don’t use the domain name with our without the “.com”. For instance, if you site is called WandasFishOil.com, you may be tempted to use WandasFishOil as the name of the admin account, especially if you own multiple WordPress sites. Don’t do it. The automated hacking bots are programmed to try that account too. Lastly, don’t use your email address as your administrator login. Hackers can get your email address from any number of sources including your WhoIs information, your contact form, your content, your registration at other sites or forums, correspondence you may have had, or social engineering. The brute force bots frequently use the name portion of discovered and guessed email addresses as logins for their brute force attacks.

The login name is the first piece of information a hacker needs to access your site. Don’t make it easy for them, choose something unique.

Changing the Admin Login Name in WordPress

If you already installed WordPress with the default admin name or one of the login names described above, you should change that name to something unique. You’ll notice that you cannot do this using the Profile page on the Users menu in the WordPress admin dashboard. You have two choices for making the change.

1. If you have access to the database, you can change the admin login name using PHPAdmin. You’ll have to go to the correct database, table, and record and find the login field to make the change.
2. If you are not comfortable with PHP Admin or don’t have access to the database, you can create a new admin account with an appropriate name and then demote, delete, or disable the old admin account

Do Not Display Your Login Name

WordPress users have multiple names associated with their profile including login, first name, last name, nickname, and display name. The display name is the login by default. The display name is the name that appears in the byline or post meta of most themes posts and pages. You do not want to show your unique login to the world, use the drop down menu on the user profile page to select a different name for the display name. Popular choices for the display name are “First name Last name”, “Last Name First Name”, or “Nick Name” if you ensure it is different than the login name.

Do Not Use the Admin Account to Create Content

Your WordPress site requires an admin account, but you should only use it to administer the site. Create and use a separate author or editor account to add content like posts and pages to WordPress. By using a separate reduced-privilege account for frequent content creation and daily tasks, you can ensure that your more powerful account remains safe in the event that a hacker gets hold of your content account through leaked display name, accident, malware, or social engineering.

Follow Password Best Practices

• Choose a long password of at least 8 characters, preferably more
• Use a mix of uppercase, lowercase, numbers, spaces, punctuation, and special symbols when possible in your password
• Use a different password for each account
• Change your passwords several times a year
• Don’t use dictionary words by themselves
• Don’t use repeating characters or keyboard sequences
• Don’t reveal your password to anyone

Consider Using 2-Factor Authentication

A password is one-factor authentication. A password is something you know. To improve security, consider two-factor authentication. One popular form of two-factor authentication for WordPress is something you know and something you have, like your password and an ever-changing code that appears only on your smartphone, or a text message code that goes only to your phone. There are several plugins in the WordPress Codex that allow authenticator codes and text message codes as a second authentication factor in WordPress. Biometrics like finger prints, voice print, and retina scans are also sometimes used as a second factor of authentication. There is at least one WordPress plugin that claims to allow biometric security. Look for a future article with a roundup of these two-factor and alternative authentication plugins.

Other Security Plugins for WordPress

There are a number of WordPress security plugins in the Codex that can be used to make your WordPress installation more secure. WordFence and Securi are two that come to mind. These plugins can block attacks by vector like brute force attacks or cross site scripting. They can block attackers by IP address or even country of origin. A round-up of WordPress security plugins will be posted in the near future.

What Do You Think?

Do you have any other best practices or security tips for the WordPress admin account or WordPress security in general. Do you have any questions, comments, or concerns? Speak your mind in the comments section below.

The post WordPress Admin Account Best Practices appeared first on NetFlint Website Services.

Check out some of the show-stopping options available at the time this article was published:

• Special.Events
• Corporate.Productions
• Tasteful.Catering
• Remarkable.Events
• Occasion.Photography
• MidAtlantic.Lighting
• Big.Productions
• Valley.Catering
• PacificEvent.Rentals
• Arrive.Limo
• PerfectParty.Supplies
• CenterStage.Lighting

The best ones go fast, so get your new domain name now. As an added bonus for acting quickly, all of these domains are on sale for a limited time.

The post New Domains for Special Event Companies appeared first on NetFlint Website Services.

The unique possibilities are endless. Check out some of the options available at the time this article was published.

• JanSmith.Photography
• Surfboard.Graphics
• Mountain.Camera
• ToledoWedding.Photography
• Office.Photos
• GardenArt.Gallery
• ModernStock.Photos
• Excellent.Ink
• Promise.Photos

The best ones go fast, so get your new domain name now. As an added bonus for acting quickly, all of these domains are on sale for a limited time.

The post New Domains for Artists and Photographers appeared first on NetFlint Website Services.

Do you provide plumbing services in Maryland?
Then get Maryland.Plumbing.

Are you selling amusing T-shirts or fur chaps?
Then get Cheeky.Boutique.

Are you a specialized caterer?
Then get Southern.Catering.

The possibilities are endless and since these new generic Top Level Domains (gTLD) were just released, there are plenty of great names still available. But act quickly! Just like the .COMs and .NETs of yesteryear, the best of the new names will go quickly. Check out the extensions below and see if your favorite name is available.

.ACADEMY
.AGENCY
.BARGAINS
.BID
.BIKE
.BIZ
.BOUTIQUE
.BUILDERS
.BUZZ
.CAB
.CAMERA
.CAMP
.CARDS
.CAREERS
.CATERING
.CENTER
.CHEAP
.CLEANING
.CLOTHING
.CLUB
.CODES
.COFFEE
.COMMUNITY
.COMPANY
.COMPUTER
.CONDOS
.CONSTRUCTION
.CONTRACTORS
.COOL
.CRUISES
.DANCE
.DATING
.DEMOCRAT
.DIAMONDS
.DIRECTORY
.DOMAINS
.EDUCATION
.EMAIL
.ENTERPRISES,
.EQUIPMENT
.ESTATE
.EVENTS
.EXPERT
.EXPOSED
.FARM
.FLIGHTS
.FLORIST
.FOUNDATION
.FUTBOL
.GALLERY
.GLASS
.GRAPHICS
.GURU
.HOLDINGS
.HOLIDAY
.HOUSE
.IMMOBILIEN
.INDUSTRIES
.INFO
.INK
.INSTITUTE
.INTERNATIONAL
.JOBS
.KITCHEN
.LAND
.LIGHTING
.LIMO
.MAISON
.MANAGEMENT
.MARKETING
.ME
.MOBI
.NINJA
.PARTNERS
.PARTS
.PHOTOGRAPHY
.PHOTOS
.PLUMBING
.PRODUCTIONS
.PROPERTIES
.RECIPES
.RENTALS
.REPAIR
.REVIEWS
.SHOES
.SINGLES
.SOCIAL
.SOLAR
.SOLUTIONS
.SUPPLIES
.SUPPLY
.SUPPORT
.SYSTEMS
.TECHNOLOGY
.TIENDA
.TIPS
.TODAY
.TOOLS
.TRADE
.TRAINING
.UNO
.VACATIONS
.VENTURES
.VIAJES
.VILLAS
.VOYAGE
.WATCH
.WEBCAM
.WIKI
.WORKS
.XYZ
.ZONE

This is your chance to get a great name before its taken. Don’t wait.

The post Check Out These Hot New Domains appeared first on NetFlint Website Services.

A domain name is made up of a top level domain on the right and the second level domain to the left of it separated by a dot. People and organizations register domain names for periods of a year or more by paying a small annual fee.

The registered user of a domain name can have any number of sub domains under that domain. These sub domains are located to the left of the secondary domain and separated by a dot. For example, the registered owner of the domain netflint.com can point www.netflint.com to a web page, ftp.netflint.com to a file server, and mail.netflint.com to an email server.

Examples of Sub Domains
SubDomain.SecondLevelDomain.TopLevelDomain
shop.NetFlint.com
www.google.com
news.yahoo.com

The post What Are Sub Domains? appeared first on NetFlint Website Services.

Basic Domain Name Tips

• Make it unique, memorable, and brandable.
• Make sure your choice is easy to spell, type, and say.
• Shorter is better, but not at the expense of being easy to spell, type, and say.
• Keywords help, but avoid being generic if you are interested in branding.
• Avoid numbers and do not use dashes. They make it hard to spell, type, and say.
• Do not infringe on others trademarks or copyrights. You don’t want a legal challenge or confusion.
• Watch out for unfortunate word combinations. For example TeachersExchange.org also spells TeacherSexChange.org

Choose the right Top Level Domain (TLD)

.COM has persistently been the domain with the edge, especially for commercial interests. It is the default in everyone’s minds. Check for good .COM options first.

If you are a non-profit or non-commercial entity, choose .ORG.

If you’re not an organization and no acceptable .COMs are available, you are not out of luck. Over the next few years, hundreds of new TLDs will become available. The marketing efforts behind this new tsunami of TLDs will train internet users to understand that .COM is not the only domain out there.

These are the most common TLDs listed with their expected meanings. Keep in mind that the meanings are guidelines and there are actually no restrictions on registering them.

• .com : company or commercial
• .org : non-commercial organizations and non-profits
• .net : network, technical, Internet infrastructure sites
• .biz : business or commercial use, like ecommerce sites
• .info : informational sites

The following are actually country TLDs but have taken on generic meaning and are treated as such.

• .me : blogs, resumes or personal sites (country code for Montenegro)
• .co : an abbreviation for company, commerce, and community (country code for Columbia)
• .tv : for use in television or video-related sites (country code for Tuvalu)

There are more TLDs than this and many more coming online soon.

Don’t let picking a domain name stress you out

Don’t let choosing a domain name overwhelm you. Brainstorm a bunch of ideas. Then take all of your options and see if they follow the guidelines in this list. Enter whatever’s left into our bulk domain checking tool to see what is available. If you use your imagination, you will definitely find something that works.

Two more points…

1. Even if your favorite domain name is already registered, it doesn’t mean you can’t get it. Some people are willing to sell domains they have registered but are not using. This will cost more, but your business idea may make it worth it.
2. No mistakes are irreversible. While it is not ideal, it is better to get a less than perfect domain name and build your perfect website now, rather than wait for your preferred domain to become available. At the end of the day, it’s your content that gives your website life.

The post How do I pick a good domain name? appeared first on NetFlint Website Services.

Domain names are designed to bring order to Internet and make it easy for people to find the things they need.

Domain names are organized as a hierarchy with each level of that hierarchy separated by a “.” (dot). Each domain name has a Top Level Domain (TLD) which is the broadest level of the hierarchy. The TLD is listed on the far right. Examples are .COM, .ORG, or .NET. Individuals cannot own the top level domain.

The next level of the heirarchy is Second Level Domain (SLD). It is placed to the left of the TLD and separated by a dot. Anyone can register an SLD and use it exclusively as long as they continue to pay their annual registration fee. Examples of SLDs include Google, Yahoo, and NetFlint. When you put the Second Level Domain and the Top Level Domain together separated by a dot, you get a Domain Name.

Examples of Domain Names
SecondLevelDomain.TopLevelDomain
NetFlint.com
Google.com
Yahoo.com

There are many top level domains available today. Each TLD is meant for a certain type of website company, or use. For example, common TLDs include .COM to denote commercial enterprises, .ORG for organizations, or .NET for internet or network related websites.

For these and many TLDs, the stated purposes are mostly guidelines and not enforced. However, there are some TLDs that are strict in allowing only appropriate organizations to register them. These include .GOV for government and .EDU for education. Some country specific TLDs like Canada’s .CA require the registrant of a domain name to be a citizen or be doing business in the country to to be allowed to register the name.

The post What are Top Level Domains (TLD)? appeared first on NetFlint Website Services.

Why do you need a professional email account?

• Who’s going to get the job interview?
  Jake@JakeDecker.net or PartyDude18@hotmail.com
  Don’t reveal anything to an employer that may get your resume tossed.
• What’s easier to type and remember?
  Susan@SusanCMiller.com or Susan.Miller.1970@yahoo.com
  Don’t be another number or reveal your age.
• Who’s going to be viewed as established and successful?
  Joe@HellerPlumbing.com or HellerPlumbingJoe@gmail.com
  Don’t be mistaken for a fly-by-night operation.

Give Yourself an Advantage with Professional, Secure, Ad-Free Email

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Benefits of a Professional Email Account

• Reinforce your business or personal brand with every email you send
• Access your email from any computer or mobile device
• Peace of mind with guaranteed up-time and reliability
• Help when you need it with expert phone support 24/7
• World-class data security, privacy, and spam filtering
• No Ads Ever. Keep your email content private.

Choose an Email Plan – It’s Simple

Just pick the plan with the number of mailboxes you need. If you need more later, it’s easy to upgrade at any time.

• Personal Email with 1 Address: $1/month On Sale Now! $0.84/month
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Do You Need a Domain Name for Your Email?

Register the perfect domain name now for as low as $1.99 with your email purchase.

The post Is Your Email Address Sending the Wrong Message? appeared first on NetFlint Website Services.