Category: Blogging

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Moving from Blogger to WordPress

I am working with long a long standing client at the moment to convert her website to be powered by the WordPress platform. Her current site is constructed of static HTML pages and a blogger powered blog but the conversion will put everything under one roof and give her much more control of not only her blog posts but the rest of her site  too.

Pros of using WordPress?

  • CMS: WordPress is a powerful content management system and gives you complete control  to update the content your website yourself instead of relying on your web designer.
  • Design: The design options in WordPress are limitless. There are plenty of free templates around but with some technical knowledge a completely custom look can be created and you are not limited to using an identical template across every page on your site
  • Pages: With a self hosted WordPress installation there is no limit to the number of pages you can have on your site, pages can be easily ordered, sorted into menus and even hidden.  The look and feel of pages can also be changed by apply a different template to the page.
  • SEO: Compared to blogger WordPress offers much better SEO ( search engine optimization) functionality. Using a plugin like ” All in one SEO”, enables each blog post to be given a search engine friendly title, description and set of keywords.  The same functionality can also be applied to pages
  • Users: You can set up administrator, editor, author and contributor accounts, which allow different users different levels of access to the site.

Cons of Using WordPress?

  • The main con of using WordPress, for a client, is the learning curve associated with the administrative dashboard. It is definitely  more complex than Blogger but we offer comprehensive training on posting, editing and uploading images/files etc.

Ready to move?

Do you have a static web site or blog that could benefit from power of the WordPress platform? We can make the transition as seamless as possible. Contact us today for a free evaluation of your site or blog/

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7 ways to increase the visibility of your small business website

Here is a list of 7 things you, as a small business owner, can do TODAY, to increase the visibility of your web site. The better visibility, the better rankings in the search engines . End result more site visitors.

website visibility

  1. Start a Blog
    Google’s blogger or WordPress.com are both good candidates for the novice blogger. They are easy to setup and require no technical knowledge .  Ideally your blog should be integrated into your web site and given the same look/ feel for a seamless branded image (we can definitely help you with this).  However having a standalone blog gives you a great platform to test the blogging waters and  find your voice.  Write regular blog posts relevant to your business expertise or product offering and make sure to create linksto your web site. Here are some articles on blogging which will help you get the most out of your blog.

  2. Comment on blog posts
    Commenting on blog posts is a great way to increase the visibility of your site.  A fitting comment and a relevant  link to your site where applicable can lead to considerable traffic. Tread carefully though and do not spam.
  3. Open a Twitter account
    Twitter is a micro blogging tool, each Tweet, or post can have a maximum of 140 characters.  Spend a little time setting up your profile which can include a picture, an all important link to your web site and a short bio.  Next find some people to follow using the tools offered on the Twitter web site, then tweet away.  The more you interact the more you will get of Twitter.
  4. Create a Facebook Fan Page for your business
    To get started with Facebook you first need to create a personal account. Then visit this page https://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php
    Select a good name and populate the info section of the profile with your business information.  You are now free to start sharing your thoughts, ideas, products, links, video and anything else you think is relevant to your business via the Facebook status window. You will need to build up your fan base so include a Facebook “like button” wherever you can e.g In your email signature, on your blog, on your web site.
  5. Get listed on YELP
    Yelp is a local directory allowing users to search for all sorts of  services, everything from hair dressers to website designers.  Once you are a member (free) you can post reviews on any listing.
    See our listing on Yelp
  6. Upload a video to YouTube
    YouTube is the world’s 2nd most popular search engine ( Google is the 1st) so it stands to reason a presence there is worth the time and effort.  Creating your free account is easy and uploading a video a breeze.
    See our videos on YouTube How to select a great Domain Name and How to add video to your Internet Marketing Mix
  7. Pin something on Pinterest
    If you have visually appealing images on your website particularly if they relate to your products or services e.g You are a landscaper and have a portfolio of completed landscape projects, Pinterest is a great place to share them. Pinterest is one of the newest and fastest growing social media platforms. It is a virtual pin board allowing you to organize and share all the fabulous images you find on the web.  Boards and images can be  shared and repined .
    Check out our profile on Pinterest
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Growing your blog audience

So back in March I casually announced I had started a new blog “Creative in Chicago” which follows my decorating adventures as I turn my ever so brown 1970’s Chicago house, into a light airy home. While this blog has nothing what so ever to do with my web design business  it’s very rewarding to see the practices  I preach to all my blogging clients actually working.

how to grow your blog readers

So what is it I preach?

Post Regularly
For a new blog I recommend posting everyday if possible and a minimum of 3 times a week.

Have meaningful well thought out keyword rich post titles
Search engines will like this

Offer different ways to subscribe to your blog
Everyone likes to read blogs in a different way so the more ways you can provide your content  the better. Signing up with a web feed management like Feedburner offers your readers great options and can also be configured to offer email subscriptions.

Allow comments
Comments can be configured so they are moderated and given the thumbs up before being published to your site. Write blog posts which  encourage dialogue between you and your readers and be sure to answer any questions they pose. It can also be useful to visit your commenter’s blogs and leave a message thanking them for visiting.

Write Comments
Commenting on other relevant blogs is a great way to promote your blog but be careful that your comments do not come across as spam.

Take part in other bloggers “parties”
Link parties are very popular with certain blogger groups, particularly those who write about something that can be photographed, think home decorator,  crafter’s, artists,  gardeners, cooks.

The host of a link party will offer the opportunity to promote a post from your site , quite often for nothing in return. The parties run for a predetermined time and generally result in a very high quality selection of projects as the host has complete control over what appears and any spam is weeded out.

Link parties really deserve a complete blog post and I will write that another day!

Promote
Take every opportunity to promote and link to your  blog. Include it in your social media profiles, participate in forums, tweet about it, start a Facebook fan page.

All of this takes time and effort but really does pay off. My Creative in Chicago blog has gone from zero to nearly 7000 visits per month in just four short months.

blog stats

©:2011 Chicago web designer

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WordPress training for new web site clients

Many of the websites we have created in the last year of so have been built on the WordPress platform. WordPress is more than a great blogging platform it is also a very powerful content management system (CMS) and for those clients who wish to maintain their site themselves it is a good option.

Once we complete a WordPress site we don’t just turn it over to the client and let then figure stuff out for themselves, we provide an interactive training session. Here is what we generally cover.

  • How to login
  • The anatomy of the WordPress dashboard
  • Writing a new blog post
  • Adding and assigning blog categories
  • SEO techniques for blog posts
  • Dealing with comments, approving, editing and trashing
  • Adding links
  • Uploading photos
  • Uploading documents
  • Viewing and editing website pages
  • Adding new pages

While this is not a comprehensive list of the all the things capable from WordPress,  it is the perfect collection of  “need to know how’s”  for clients who want to edit and update the content of their sites.

©: 2011 Chicago Web Designer

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Blogger in Draft has a new dashboard

WordPress may be the preferred blogging platform for many but Google Blogger is still hugely popular.
Over the years the administrative dashboard has changed very little but yesterday a much needed and completely new design to the dashboard for Blogger Draft was implemented .

I use Blogger in Draft for a personal blog I write “Creative in Chicago”

The overall appearance is a very clean and sleek design with a lot of the clunkiness of the old dashboard gone. A top navigation has been replaced by a left hand side drop down tool with intuitive little icons and a simple color palette is easy on the eye.

Here a a few screenshots

Dashboard Home

Blogger in draft new dashboardPost Page

New blogger in draft dashboard

New Post page
Blogger in draft new

Post Page

new blogger in draft

Layout Page

new blogger in draft

As with any new release it will take a bit of getting used to, especially as I have been using the old interface for over six years. From what I have seen so far I like the direction Google has taken in this redesign.

© 2011 Chicago Web Designer

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Syndication: Extending the reach of your blog.

You write to be read … correct? Here are a few simple tips to reach as many readers as possible.

extend the reach of your blog

Your Feed

Make it easy for readers to subscribe to your blog feed (RSS). This will ensure they see new posts promptly and don’t have to visit your blog to read them. Offer your visitors subscription options, e.g. via a reader or by email.

blog feed subscription

Automate Twitter

Set up your feed so  that your Twitter account automatically tweets a link to your new blog post. This is easily done using Google’s Feedburner .  To optimize the effectiveness of this make sure this is not the only use of your Twitter profile!

Automate Facebook

Configure your Facebook Fan page so your blog posts are automatically posted there.  There are various ways to do this either using the Facebook Notes function or an app like Social RSS or networked Blogs.  It is amazing how many additional readers you will get via this approach.

Automate LinkedIn

LinkedIn is another great social network which can be automatically setup to display your blog posts. Log in to your account and select > edit profile,  scroll down to applications and click > add an application.  You will be presented with various apps,  if you have a WordPress blog select the WordPress, all other blog select Blog Link.

Syndicate your RSS where ever you can

There are many sites which allow you to syndicate your blog content e.g Technorati, Blog Catalog and even Amazon has opened it’s door for you to syndicate your blog to the Kindle.

©: 2011 Chicago Web Designer

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Where are you reading this blog post?

Are you making the most of your blog posts?

Did you know that it is really easy to extend the reach of each post you write, by importing your blog feed into your social network profiles like Facebook or LinkedIn. By doing so your new  posts get automatically published.

So today we have a little poll.


This dandy  poll was whipped up in 30 seconds at polldaddy.com. If you are not reading this via our site and can’t see it click here.

© 2011 Chicago web designer

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Social Media in your Marketing Mix

After my last post Is your small business on board the social media wagon? I’d thought I’d share with you today some of my clients who are well on board the social media wagon.

Here is a shout out to my clients embracing social media.

We definitely practice what we preach when it come to social media. You can connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube or subscribe to our blog

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000784996623

©: 2011 Chicago Web Designer