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WordPress Version 2.8.5 Released

Justin Wright — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:38:31 +0000

If you haven’t done so yet, make sure to upgrade your WordPress installation(s) to version 2.8.5. The latest version was released yesterday and has a handful of security fixes. A few worth noting from the WordPress development blog include:

A fix for the Trackback Denial-of-Service attack that is currently being seen.
Removal of areas within the code where php code in variables was evaluated.
Switched the file upload functionality to be whitelisted for all users including Admins.
Retiring of the two importers of Tag data from old plugins.

As always, it’s important to upgrade as soon as possible to give yourself the best protection against attacks and hackers. So make it a goal today to get all of your blogs/websites upgraded to the newest version!

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Need Help With WordPress?

Justin Wright — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:08:06 +0000

If you haven’t checked out our WordPress tutorials yet, you’ll notice that we’ve created a bunch of video tutorials to help you with WordPress. The topics we covered include topics like themes, monetization, and plugins. We’re currently adding as many videos as we can to our collection and hope to continue in this manner.

However, we are currently on the lookout for suggestions as to what we should cover in our videos. Are there any things that you struggle with when it comes to WordPress? Do you have a certain plugin that you can’t seem to figure out? Perhaps you’ve downloaded a theme but cannot get it to work?

Regardless of what the problem is, we want to hear from you. So please leave any suggestions or questions you have as a comment on this post. We will then try our best to create a high quality video that answers your question (or solves your problem).

We really look forward to hearing from you!

How To Add A Custom Field

Justin Wright — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 22:29:29 +0000

In this video, we’ll show you how to add a custom field to a blog post. This will come in useful if you plan on using a theme that uses features such as thumbnails.

StudioPress Overview

6 Steps To Build A Succesful Blog

Justin Wright — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 18:16:17 +0000

(Photo Credit: Jason Gulledge)

It can be very overwhelming when you start looking for information about blogging, especially when you are just getting started. Worse yet, it usually leads to information overload.

In other words, you lay in bed at night and can’t stop thinking about blog post titles, comments to leave, or widgets you should add the second you wake up the following morning.

For this reason, I’m not surprised that the most common question I get is how to (easily) build a successful blog. Unfortunately, there isn’t a blogging easy button that does it automatically.

The good news is that you’re probably already on the right track to building a successful blog. It seems that everyone knows the basics, they just don’t know how to put everything together to create a game plan that can be executed over time. It’s no secret that launching a blog takes a lot of time, sweat, and patience.

So here’s my super simple guide on how to build a successful blog. It started out as a shorter post over at Digital Point but I’ve since added to it:

1. Start A Real Blog

In other words, don’t build a blog that has Google Adsense built in to the navigation bar or tons of crazy looking ad blocks covering up the actual content of your blog. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve come across a great article that I couldn’t finish because of the fact that an ad block was literally over the top of the content (most likely a design issue).

Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of room for advertisements. I even recommend adding a few to start, that way your readers won’t freak out later on when you decide to put them everywhere. Just don’t make them the main focus, especially not in the beginning.

As far as platform goes, choose whatever works for you. I’m an avid user of WordPress but there’s plenty of options available.

2. Create Some Amazing Content

If you really want to see some great results, produce some amazing content. This is especially important for your first few posts since these will be the landing page for all of your new readers. If you can suck them in early, you’re already on the right track.

Putting out the content is like wiping the crap out of your eye in the morning. It’s just the beginning.”

- Gary Vaynerchuck

Have something your passionate about? Make it the topic of your blog. Regardless of what it is, make sure you’re actually willing to put in the time to do research and produce great content on a consistent basis. If you can’t think of more than a couple blog posts off the top of your head, you’re probably going to get the dreaded writers block sooner than later.

NOTHING can drive you more crazy than sitting at your computer with a new post started, only to sit there and watch your cursor flash. Trust me, I’ve done it a ton of times.

So my advice is to pick a few topics and then jot down as many post ideas or titles as you possibly can on a real sheet of paper (the tree kind). The more you can come up, the better off you will be.

And that my friends, is just the beginning…

3. Find Your Readers

When you first start your blog, it’s going to be a really quiet place to hang out. It might remind you of those lonely nights you spent in your parents basement back in high school. It’s okay, no one asked me to prom either.

Anyways, It took me months before I was able to get a few comments on my first blog. I couldn’t even convince my friends to leave a few just to keep my motivation up. So the key is to go out and FIND your readers. Don’t hang out on your own blog waiting for someone to come across it by accident.

Find blogs and start leaving comments. And by no means leave short non-relevant spam comments. Instead, go out and find blogs related to yours and leave mind-blowing comments. If you can manage to put together a super thoughtful, engaging, or crazy comment that not only blows the mind of the blogger but also his/her readers, you’ve done it right.

Why? Because they will be VERY curious to see who you are and where the heck you came from. They will click on your name looking for more information and end up on your blog, which is now full of amazing content.

Once you master the process of leaving awesome comments, set a goal on how many comments you want to leave each day and stick to it. If you can stick to your goal and consistently leave great comments, you’re readership will increase like you wouldn’t believe.

4. Write For Other Blogs

Remember when I told you to write some amazing content? I forgot to mention that some of it isn’t even going on your own blog. I know, it’s tough to envision but it needs to be done.

Believe it or not, one of the best ways to build your own blog is by writing for other blogs. Why? Because a lot of bloggers who accept guest posts are more than willing to let you put a short bio (with a link) in the article. That way you’re reaching out to a completely new audience that will more than likely want to read more about you. Plus it’s a great way to start building backlinks to your website.

So spend some time looking over blogs in your niche and see which ones are accepting guest posts. if you don’t see a write for us page, don’t be afraid to fill out contact forms or send direct emails. Most bloggers enjoy getting guest post requests, especially since it means less writing for them.

Just like commenting, you should make a goal to produce X amount of guest posts every week (or month). That way you can start to get your name out there and get yourself known in your niche.

5. Utilize SOCIAL MEDIA

One of the quickest ways to start sharing your content is by utilizing social media. However, the last thing you want to do is start submitting every one of your blog posts to 900 different social networks only to see mediocre results. Just like commenting, it takes some real work to actually get the results you are hoping for.

Instead of spamming your links, become an active member in a few networks and take the time to interact with people. Start building relationships and before you know it you’ll have people sharing your content for you. And don’t forget that it’s a two way game, so don’t be afraid to share other peoples content.

6. Wash, Rinse, and Repeat

Boring isn’t it? There are no secret tactics, methods, or programs that can do this stuff for you. From this point on, you just need to make it habit to repeat steps two through four. Keep producing content on a regular basis, as well as writing for other blogs. Leave tons of great comments on other blogs and stay active in a handful of social networks.

If you stick to these steps, you can build a highly successful blog without spending a dime. Best of all, you’ll be building a legitimate blog that will only grow as time moves on. You won’t have to worry about those black hat methods coming back to haunt you.

It may take some time, but you will look back in a year (or two) and be stoked at the progress you made. It’s important to remember that building the blog is the fun part. It’s no fun if you start out on top.

Have any other tips? Please share them below!

Headway WordPress Theme Tutorial

Justin Wright — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:09:43 +0000

In this video, we’ll show you the backend of the new WordPress theme called Headway (aff). It literally changed the way we think of WordPress themes.

Vigilance: A Free WordPress Theme

Justin Wright — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 20:16:53 +0000

In this tutorial, we’ll give you a detailed overview of one of our favorite free WordPress Themes. You can learn more about the theme and grab a copy of it over at the Vigilance page.

Is Your Blog Cluttered?

Justin Wright — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 16:41:57 +0000

(Photo Credit: Boltron)

When’s the last time you took a good, hard look at your blog? Was it a month ago? 6 months ago? Either way, it’s important to evaluate your blog on a regular basis.

Why?

If you don’t analyze your blog on a regular basis, it can easily become cluttered. It’s a common occurrence to constantly add new plugins, widgets, and other features as you discover them.

The problem is that you usually don’t remove other features when you add new ones. This leads to things piling up, which can cause blog clutter. This is bad, very bad. You’re readers want to read your content, not sort through your garage looking for things that might sell for 10 bucks on eBay.

The Dreaded Sidebar

A perfect example of this is on blog sidebars. One day you find an awesome new widget that shows your recent posts, the next day you find a cool badge to show off your backlinks.

Here’s just a few of the hundreds of widgets available:

Before you know it, you’re sidebar looks like your attic and it has stuff piled up everywhere. It actually distracts you’re readers more than anything. Do your blog readers really need to know your Alexa rank in the sidebar? If they want to know it, they can check themselves. Same goes for Technorati, PageRank, or how many spam comments you’ve blocked.

Do your readers (and yourself) a favor and take a long look at your sidebar. See what readers might find useful and what does nothing but distract them from your content.

The Plugin Wasteland

Another great example is the manage plugin page. When’s the last time you actually went in there and took a look at which plugins you were using and which ones your not?

I’m not going to lie and admit that I do this as well. I find a great blog post about a new plugin, install it, and play around with it for a bit. A week goes by and I decide I don’t like it anymore, so I remove it from my sidebar or theme.

Then a new plugin comes along and I do the exact same thing. Before I know it, I have a bunch of plugins that need to be deactivated (better yet removed entirely). So go in and take a good look at what you’re using and what you can do without. It actually feels good to delete stuff you don’t want anymore. You feel lighter and faster than ever before (just like when you buy new shoes).

Schedule A Blog Cleaning Time

So make it a goal to schedule a cleaning time for your blog. It could be weekly, monthly, even bi-monthly depending on how often you use your blog.

This will ensure that you keep your blog up to date and that you don’t have any unused cluttering taking up space. Remember, it’s always easier to clean a little every day than it is to clean everything at once.

3 Free WordPress Themes To Build Your Personal Brand

Justin Wright — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 14:00:18 +0000

Personal branding – the one thing everyone should be concerned about. Why? Because all it takes a quick Google search to pull up information about who you are, what you do, and why you matter.

So how can you start building your personal brand? A good place to begin is by creating a “landing page” for your personal brand. A page that lets people know who you are and links to your social media profiles, your blogs and websites, and any other information you deem important.

The best way to build your landing page is by utilizing the WordPress platform. That way you can spend less time on your website and more time building your personal brand . There’s already a few free personal branding WordPress themes available, which we’ve listed below.

Ipseity

If you want an awesome design, the Ipseity theme is perfect for you. It features a simple page layout with a slider to view your content. It’s easy to manage the content and can be customized to fit your needs.

Visiting Card

If you prefer something with more options, the Visiting Card theme allows you to link to your social profiles, as well as insert text about who you are and what you do. The design features a business card layout that makes it easy for viewers to find out who you are.

Digital Business Card

The Digital Business Card theme is similiar to Visiting Card. However, It features two pages: one that acts as a business card and one that links to all of your social media profiles. It makes it easy for people to see who you are, what you do, and where they can find you around the web.

Know of any other themes? Feel free to leave a comment below or reply to us on Twitter.

Don’t Forget To Update Your Plugins

Justin Wright — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:35:29 +0000

From time to time, we’ll log in to someones blog to help them out with various things. One of the things we often notice first is that they are running a lot of plugins that are out of date.

How Do We Know This?

By looking at the little orange notification that shows up next to the plugins section in the navigation menu (see picture).

Whenever you see the orange notification, WordPress is letting you know (in a nice way) that one or more of your plugins needs to be updated. The main reason it does this is because older plugins can cause issues, whether it’s a security issue or an actual problem with the functionality of your blog.

Popular Plugins Update Often

Another thing you’ll find is that a lot of popular plugins will be updated often. This is a sign that the plugin is well maintained and constantly being updated, fixed, and improved. If you happen to find a plugin that hasn’t been touched in a long time, it may be better to look elsewhere.

However, there are a few plugins out there that don’t require much attention in terms of upgrades. These are usually simple plugins that do things such as insert your Google Analytics code into your theme.

Make It A Habit

The best advice we can give is to make it a habit to upgrade your plugins. Make it a point to check every so often to see if anything needs attention. It might be daily or weekely, either works as long as you remember to check.

If you need help, check out our tutorial on how to Update WordPress Plugins.

How To Update WordPress Plugins

Justin Wright — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:32:30 +0000

In this tutorial, we’ll show you how to update your WordPress plugins. This is extremely important and can save you from blog problems and security issues.