Friday, June 15, 2012

The Different Ways of Acquiring Twitter Followers-get more twitter followers, increase twitter followers, buy twitter followers, internet

The Different Ways of Acquiring Twitter Followers


by Tedd Brunck


The increase in popularity of Twitter is swiftly increasing and this is recognized by a lot of internet marketers. Increasing Twitter followers is therefore an objective if you intend to achieve victory in this social media site. Because Twitter is a popular social site and hundreds of millions of enthusiastic users promise of many of your probable clients being in this social site is very high, and using will be a good strategy.

There are a number of means to obtain followers, but it can be difficult. Unless you are a topnotch celeb or a very well known aim to get followers on this social site will be a hard thing to do.By applying the Twitter search and typing the keywords you are pursuing you will find all Twitter users tweeting these terms.

This method is the really aimed one because you are employing the keywords. Although this is not an effortless method to get more Twitter followers but being with no expenditures made, this may be a worthy approach, after all. Another choice will be to buy Twitter followers, although significance can also be an concern in this approach. When you effect this as your Twitter stratagem just guarantee that you are acquiring the relevant followers or you will be just exhausting your investments.

If you don't have the luxury to look for followers on Twitter there are means that can assist you in this approach. These are software programs that will not only get more Twitter followers for your objective in this very trendy social site but can be your method to leverage this social site for your marketing programs. These will be the means and software that will fully automate the means of acquiring followers to your Twitter account. However, you have to be attentive that to buy Twitter followers through procedures such as these, significance is a big factor and you have to sort this as a standard as to what to apply. There are software tools nonetheless that can assist you find the targeted followers that will be of much help for your aims in this well-liked social site.

There are software devices that you can take advantage free of charge but the followers you obtain may not be precisely the appropriate ones that you desire. These are tools and services that will make automatic your route to get Twitter followers but since significance is a matter, it may be better to get those with a slight price but give you promises of the significance of the variety of followers they will allocate you. Looking for methods to get a good following on Twitter can be done by these methods, whether you are applying the free software programs or those who price a minor fee. However, you have to be watchful for those that will bestow you the significant followers, those with good potentials to convert.




About the Author:





You are receiving this because you signed up for it on 2012-06-06 from IP 222.254.146.95


To fine-tune your selection of which articles to receive, just login here
using your username:


To unsubscribe please use the following link:

Unsubscribe



Success In Internet Marketing Begins With These Strategies And Techniques For Web Design-web design,internet marketing,web,design,graphic,marketing,internet

Success In Internet Marketing Begins With These Strategies And Techniques For Web Design


by Judit Benson


To do Internet marketing, you need a website. Most people understand why. Selling products or services on the Internet requires each person to have a website to do this with. To offer things for sale online, this type of home base is necessary. This home base needs to be properly designed, representing you and your products in a professional way. The truth is that most people are unable to mastered the subtle art of web design, the skill that takes many years to develop. It is a great idea to hire a professional to help you. Using the tips and tricks we're going to share with you now is a better idea.

Keep your layout clean and simple. You need to have navigation bars that are easy to use. Not a lot of blinking or changing elements. To sell more from your website, you must adhere to the aforementioned strategies. The site should never distract the visitor, unless of course you are using the distraction to sell your online services. Utilizing whitespace is very advantageous. It gives the visitor breathing room while looking things over. You never want your visitor trying to "find" your offer - it should be in plain sight, easy to see, allowing them to take action on your offer the moment that they see it. By having your website simple and clean, you will benefit every time.

You should not take too much time dwelling on things that are the craze. You need to figure what may be hot at the moment, will fade soon. You should spend your energy on what will promote your product. You will not have the ability to contend with some of the larger websites that have more money to expend than you. Thankfully, at least right now, you don't need to compete with them. Make your presentation concise and interesting in order to attract and keep user attention.

Function will always trump fashion. There is no other way to look at it.

Bells and whistles are a thing of the past. It is okay to use widgets. Using apps is okay. These things are easy to use and fun to play with. It's easy to get carried away and try to widget-ize every single part of your website. The urge must be resisted! If you have too many things on your webpage distracting your visitors, they may miss the call to action which is how you can profit while they are there. Always use a widget if it is going to help you make money. If it just seems like a cool toy, however, leave it on the shelf. Regardless of what you want to accomplish, they should always be simple to use.

Web design is usually very low key. The need for being gaudy or flamboyant is not necessary. It's about getting into the subconscious of the site viewer and getting them to do what you want them to do. If you think about it, you have probably been on a site that you enjoyed simply because everything was laid out nicely. Remember the times you looked into a few sites and immediately tuned out because of the complexity of the route. Use these hints to help you make sure that your Internet Marketing web design is a good one.




About the Author:





You are receiving this because you signed up for it on 2012-06-06 from IP 222.254.146.95


To fine-tune your selection of which articles to receive, just login here
using your username:


To unsubscribe please use the following link:

Unsubscribe



Website Design Detail Everybody Wants To Know-Designers,Web Design and Development,Internet Marketing,Marketing and Advertising,Internet

Website Design Detail Everybody Wants To Know


by Anshu Manocha


Many people believe that designing a website is difficult, but that in only true if you do not take the time to learn how to build one. Like pretty much everything done on the web today, there are many software programs available which can make web design really simple.

Organize your links and avoid putting too many links in one area of your site. Doing this can confuse visitors and make them leave your site. If you do have many low- to mid-importance links, emulate the "blog rolls" seen in many blogs and tuck them away in a column on the right side of the page.

Go right ahead and take some time to brainstorm different ideas that you have and let them sit for a couple of days. Then come back and see if you like these ideas later on and if you want to discuss them with other people so that you have an idea of whether or not your ideas are in the right direction or not.

When hiring a web design company you should do a simple search for their company name over the Internet. If there are any negative reviews for the company, you should be able to easily find them and you will then know to avoid doing business with the company. This can save you a lot of hassle in the long run.

You need to hire a web design company that has good communication skills. If you try to contact the company and they do not get back to you for a few days you may want to avoid doing business with them. If they do not have time to talk to you before you hire them they may not have time to talk to you after you hire them.

Put some human personality in your site design. Find ways to incorporate things like company images, client testimonials, and media quotes. These touches give some personality to your site. As well, they can build up your brand's expertise in the eyes of the visitor, which is very important in helping you build a loyal customer base.

Working with a professional web design company will help you to get a website that really gets the traffic you need. Many of the do-it-yourself web design software products are easy to follow but do not do the same job that a professional will be able to do for you.

If you are not well-versed in the area of web design, consider having an expert design your website for you. Your website is extremely important, as it is the online face of your company. As such, it is imperative that it makes the right impression on visitors, is easy to navigate and is search engine optimized. If you do not know how to do these things, delegate this task to those who know what they are doing.

Try including real customer testimonials. Very few want to be the first to try a product or service, so let customers know that others have tried your wares and that they were pleased with them. Try asking some clients that have done projects with you to create a short paragraph about their experience with your company, to put on your site.

As was previously discussed in the above article, a lot of people build websites, but because they use a hard to read font size, it becomes impossible to see the information presented on the site. Take the tips from this article so you can design a website that your viewers will be able to read.




About the Author:





You are receiving this because you signed up for it on 2012-06-06 from IP 222.254.146.95


To fine-tune your selection of which articles to receive, just login here
using your username:


To unsubscribe please use the following link:

Unsubscribe



Attraction Marketing Method that Functions-Attraction Marketing,Internet marketing

Attraction Marketing Method that Functions


by Bobby Snow


Attraction marketing is not a brand new concept, it's an old method of selling applied to a brand new media - the net. Exactly where at 1 prior point sales folks had to attend trade shows and meetings, feasible call, or possibly the old approach of door to door selling was all based mainly on attraction marketing. Fundamentally your character sold the item, folk liked you, so they bought.

On the internet these days there is rebirth in attraction marketing and 1 of the most effective and most well-liked approaches of carrying out this really is by way of the media of video. YouTube gets millions of guests every day. If somebody is curious about a item, they'll search for it and watch the video. When you created a video about that certain item, they may perhaps click by means of and obtain it from you. You took the time to check the item and had been rewarded. Should you need to have to become a effective marketeer on line at this time, there is not any less difficult way than video.

Attraction Marketing Program - Selling Oneself

Attraction marketing is just about selling your self - branding YOU as a leading figure on a specific item. It does not how you do this, whether or not you write evaluations, or have a Squidoo lens, a stand alone site or advertise your item applying YouTube , it's essential to show your personality.

Folks will then start to relate to you and if they like who they see they may well trust you and be additional inclined to get one thing from you, due to the fact they like you.

1 of the errors that folks make at this time may be the way in which they write articles. Quite a few internet marketers in fact have other folks write their articles for them, plus a couple of of these writers do not write English naturally, it is actually their 2nd language. I must congratulate them for their entrepreneurialism, but pretty usually what they write is unintelligible and full of spelling and grammar errors, turning the reader off immediately after some seconds.

When you have selected various items which you are genuinely positive about, that could instantly be mirrored within your post writing, which should really be conversational instead of academic. Your visitor might be in a position to really feel by your writing which you are enthused concerning the merchandise you are advertising. They'll appreciate which you have put a lot of time and effort into your writing and have researched items conscientiously, so developing trust.

Use Multi Media for Attraction Marketing

Writing great articles is just 1 side of attraction marketing. Video is considerably improved - you can not possibly employ somebody within the Philippines to complete that for you! By generating a video you might be branding oneself straight away. Prosperous promoting is dependent on attraction marketing and you will see that essentially the most noteworthy advertising pros use video as a most lucrative platform for promoting their companies.

The web could be the location exactly where everybody goes today once they would like to analysis a item they've an interest in buying. These analysts, soon after they've lastly created up their minds to buy are warm buyers, pre-sold on a item. If your internet site is among the last ones he sees and is effective, informative and amicable with truthful item critiques, he is extra probably to buy from you.

Attraction Marketing Technique Systems Disclosed

Picture operating much less than an hour per day to draw in 10-20 new leads per day... Or much more. Picture personally sponsoring 10-15 new team builders a month with out ever hectoring your folks or chums or generating an outwards bound cold call to tire-kicker, unmotivated universal home business proposition searcher leads. Envision ultimately welcoming a confirmed attraction marketing program literally particular to create a result when you've it set up.

Sound too fantastic to become accurate? It isn't. You just require the proper team, coaching and step by step attraction marketing program that functions.




About the Author:





You are receiving this because you signed up for it on 2012-06-06 from IP 222.254.146.95


To fine-tune your selection of which articles to receive, just login here
using your username:


To unsubscribe please use the following link:

Unsubscribe



Tips about Enchantments in World of Warcraft-World of Warcraft gold,Wow gold,gold Wow,buy Wow gold,Wow gold buy,Cheap Wow gold,Wow gold cheap

Tips about Enchantments in World of Warcraft


by Trey Berlacher


WotLK is an expansion of World of Warcraft. Dalaran is a floating neutral city in it. Patch 4. 2 makes it possible for characters of all levels to learn the flight path to Dalaran from the Northrend starting zone, Borean Tundra, with just 2 gold. If you have a character in Booty Bay and want to go to Dalaran, you can go by taking select flight paths and riding either the Alliance ships or Horde zeppelins.

Horde First of all, you must click the "Tracking" button in the upper-left corner in the mini map and choose "Flight Master". All flight masters will appear as a yellow blip on your mini map. Locate the Horde flight master in Booty Bay, just outside the top level in the Inn. Right click the flight master and select "Grom'Gol" as your destination. Take the flight to Grom'Gol.

After that, you just climb the zeppelin tower and ride the zeppelin about the south part in the tower to Orgrimmar. Exit the main gate of Orgrimmar and visit the left. Locate the zeppelin port just outside the city. Ride the zeppelin to the Borean Tundra in Northrend. Next, locate the Borean Tundra flight master by using your mini map to guide you. The airline flight master is located at the top in the camp. Speak to the flight master and buy the flight route from Borean Tundra to Dalaran from the flight master for just two World of Warcraft Gold. Speak to the flight master once more and select "Dalaran" as your location point to fly there.

Alliance Similar to Horde, you should firstly click the "Tracking" button in the upper-left corner of the mini map and select "Flight Master". All flight masters appear as a yellow blip on your mini map. Locate the Alliance flight master just outside among the huts for the top quantity of the city. Right click the flight master and select "Stormwind" as your destination. Take the flight to Stormwind.

The upcoming step is to travel towards the northwest corner of Stormwind in which the harbor is located. Ride the ship in the northernmost harbor towards the Borean Tundra in Northrend. Locate the Borean Tundra flight master by utilizing your mini map to guide you. The flight master is located at the top of the camp. Then, speak towards the flight master and purchase the flight trail from Borean Tundra to Dalaran from the flight master with 2 Gold. Speak towards the flight master again and select "Dalaran" as your destination stage to fly there.




About the Author:





You are receiving this because you signed up for it on 2012-06-06 from IP 222.254.146.95


To fine-tune your selection of which articles to receive, just login here
using your username:


To unsubscribe please use the following link:

Unsubscribe



PCM: An Innovative Computer Module That Controls Multiple Engine Functions-PCM,Dodge PCM,Cars,automobiles

PCM: An Innovative Computer Module That Controls Multiple Engine Functions


by Dillinger Capulette


Due to advancements of car technology, automobiles these days are equipped with innovative computer modules such as PCM, ECU and ECM. These computer modules are primarily utilized for numerous engine features, controls and functions. Without these computer modules, modern vehicles cannot run as their optimal form and function. These electronic devices were primarily designed to make automobiles safer to drive and fuel efficient. In addition, it can make engines perform better and faster.

Though auto computer modules are taken into consideration as computer systems, they do not have the same dimensions and also noticeable features of standard desktop computers. Car computer components are just as a small as a netbook's computer hardware. However, it is a lot more useful and also powerful than your computer's disk drive. Since it functions like a central processing unit, your automobile's computer component is typically referred as the brain of your motor and car.

An automobile computer component supervises a variety of engine operations. The most typical features of the computer component are to regulate the auto's velocity, inject gas to the cylinders as well as ignite spark plugs. In addition, it can easily detect various issues in the engine and also car. Once an issue is detected by the computer component, it will notify the driver with the lights discovered in the automobile's dash panel.

One of the most common car computer modules available in the market is the Power Control Module or PCM computer. This automobile computer system monitors and controls a number of engine applications such as controlling engine speed, regulation of timing ignition, emission control, air condition compression and charging system. Along with the other modules, the Power Control Module makes sure that your engine will perform at its optimal peak.

The Strength Computer Component studies information and also information from various modules and also sensors built in the auto's electrical system. Sensors that send details and also data to the dodge PCM are the MAF or MAO sensing unit, camshaft sensor, coolant climate, crankshaft climate and also oxygen temp. After browsing through all the data broadcast by these sensors, the Strength Control will make the important modifications to make the motor as well as other auto components work far better.

Aside from monitoring engine applications and functions, the dodge PCM was also designed to protect drivers and pedestrians. These computer modules have safety feature systems such as anti-brake system and stability controls. These computer systems were specifically designed to promote safety. Due to the emergence of these computer modules, roads as well as highways have become safer for both vehicles and human beings.

PCM has a remarkably significant part in the vehicle's fuel needle. This computer component basically diminishes the overall consumption of gas in your car. The Strength Control Module may set the right amounts of fuel to be pushed within the auto's various cylinders. Without these computer modules, autos these days will certainly eat great deals of gas every day.

Because PCM computers check out information from several sensors, they can be employed by repairmen to identify motor troubles. Technicians or experts will certainly get all the vital info pertaining to the car's standing using this computer component. If a vehicle does not have a computer module, the technician may have dilemmas in mending the automobile.




About the Author:





You are receiving this because you signed up for it on 2012-06-06 from IP 222.254.146.95


To fine-tune your selection of which articles to receive, just login here
using your username:


To unsubscribe please use the following link:

Unsubscribe



Thursday, June 14, 2012

Free Twitter Badges

Free Twitter Badges


Free Twitter Badges

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 04:34 AM PDT

A list of sites where you can find free Twitter badges to publish on your blog or website and encourage people to follow you on Twitter.

Blogging with Wordpress

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 04:34 AM PDT

Learn how to use Wordpress to start, enhance and extend your blog.

Tutorial Windows Live Writer

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 04:34 AM PDT

Windows Live Writer is an excellent offline blog editor created by Microsoft. This tutorial provides step-by-step instructions showing bloggers how to get started with Windows Live Writer.

BlogDesk Review

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 04:34 AM PDT

Review of BlogDesk as an offline blog editor - what does it offer bloggers, the pros and cons, and more - to help bloggers determine if BlogDesk is the right blogging tool for them.

Blog Design Mistakes

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 04:34 AM PDT

Avoid these blog design mistakes at all costs!

Wordpress Plugins for Comments

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 04:34 AM PDT

Use these 6 Wordpress plugins to increase comments on your blog posts.

New Themes: Blog Simple and Skylark

New Themes: Blog Simple and Skylark


New Themes: Blog Simple and Skylark

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 09:10 AM PDT

In the mood to simply showcase your words or your work? The two newest themes in our collection allow you to do just that!

Blog Simple

First, let’s say hello to Blog Simple, an inventive premium theme for bloggers designed by Mike Kus. Its vibrant, two-tone color scheme and bold typography will definitely set your blog apart from the crowd. When you outfit your blog with this theme, your words will shine, front and center.

Learn more about how you can simply make a statement with Blog Simple on the Theme Showcase.

Skylark

Next, let’s welcome Skylark, a free portfolio theme originally designed by Blank Themes. Bright, clean, and sophisticated, Skylark is a great starting point for individuals and businesses with work to share. Whether you want to show off your latest photography, web designs, videos, or simply establish an online presence for your business, Skylark helps you accomplish it in style.

Skylark is loaded with features. Read more about how you can use them to create your own professional website on the Theme Showcase.


WordPress To Change ‘Posts’ to ‘Blog’ in Next Version?

WordPress To Change ‘Posts’ to ‘Blog’ in Next Version?


WordPress To Change ‘Posts’ to ‘Blog’ in Next Version?

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 08:12 AM PDT

We’ve preached about the need to simplify the WordPress dashboard before, and just a few minutes ago one such change was proposed in the WordPress Trac.

This change is simple:

1. Change the ‘Posts‘ menu item to ‘Blog

2. Move the ‘Pages‘ and ‘Comments‘ menus up above ‘Media

The idea is that the difference between posts and pages is often confusing for new users and this should help make it more clear.

We are a bit torn on if this really is a good move, so thought it might be worth asking you here.

For the record, healthy debate about the usability of WordPress is always welcome, and continuous improvement is a worthy goal. We’re excited to see some serious thought being put into menu placements and user experience.

Related posts:

  1. Daily Tip: Bulk Edit of the Status Field for all Posts in WordPress Database If you need to change the access and privacy of...
  2. Introducing: WPMU DEV Custom Admin Text Change Lite….. Grab it for Free Want to change text across your network all from the...
  3. WordPress for BlackBerry App Version 1.6 is Out with New Features This version sees a new dashboard, action bar, quick photo...

The WordPress 3.4 Killer Feature

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 07:37 AM PDT

WordPress 3.4 is out and if this is the first you're hearing about it you should seriously reconsider your news sources and reading lists.

You know what, WordPress 3.4 is great. I've been doing that thing you're not supposed to with it for quite some time, which is to say I've been enjoying nightly releases. And yes, I really tried to make that sentence sexual but it just didn't work out, OK? OK.

Back to WordPress; 3.4 is a solid release. I still think the admin interface needs work (sorry, no update on my progress, been way too busy) but it does the job all right. There are several cool things under the hood for developers, and the beta and RC periods have been without major problems as far as I can tell. You'll be happy with 3.4, at least until the first point release ships.

But you know what? 3.4 has a killer feature, a sign of the awesomeness that is yet to come, I'd venture to say.

The live theme customizer.

Yes, I know, this isn't exactly a unique feature, and most of the things it does has been possible for quite some time.

But it is sexy.

It is easy to use.

It gives you instant gratification.

My clients (and friends) will love this particular feature, way more than just about everything else WordPress have been getting lately. The only thing that could threaten this particular feature's sexiness would be a brand new media manager.

Let's make that happen in 3.5, OK?

PS. If you haven't upgraded to 3.4 yet you're stupid a moron foolish missing out. Just sayin'.

Photo by Peter Andersson (CC)

No related posts.

WordPress 3.4 Green Released with Tons of New Customization Options

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 07:00 AM PDT

The big news this week is that WordPress 3.4 has dropped, and we’re excited about all of the fancy new goodies. The release is called “Green”, named after jazz guitarist and composer Grant Green.

Let’s take a look at a few of the highlights:

Theme Customization

The theme customizer is the biggest change that you’ll find in the dashboard. It allows you to try on new themes in real time, make changes to the site tagline, customize colors, and change header text. The live preview feature makes it easy to see what your site is going to look like before you push it live.

You can now choose your own image dimensions for greater flexibility when customizing your headers. Header images can easily be selected from the media library.

Twitter Embeds

Add the URL of a tweet on a line of its own and it will now automatically be embedded in a clickable way for easy replies, retweets, favorites and following.

HTML Image Captions

WordPress 3.4 allows you to include basic HTML in image captions, so you can give credit for the image or link to relevant information.

HTML Image captions in WordPress 3.4

You can expect WordPress 3.4 to be faster than ever, as it’s received dozens of performance and API improvements. Users who have upgraded already have been reporting no problems with their installations.

Don’t all the new features and improvements make you want to upgrade your sites to 3.4 right away?!

If you’re a WPMU DEV member, you’ll be glad to know that all of our plugins and themes are compatible with WordPress 3.4, so your sites can keep on ticking and take the upgrades as fast as they come out. Enjoy the new release and don’t stress about the upgrade. This one should be smooth sailing.

Related posts:

  1. BuddyPress 1.5 Released: What You Need to Know Before You Upgrade Everything you need to know about upgrading to BuddyPress 1.5....
  2. bbPress 2.0 Plugin Released Today The final bbPress 2.0 plugin release is here, coinciding with...
  3. MarketPress 2.5 Released with 18 Exciting New Features We're excited to announce the next major release of MarketPress....

WordPress Plugins: My Top 5

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 07:00 AM PDT

WordPress Plugins: My Top 5You may have noticed that yesterday I published a list of the 24 plugins I currently use on my blog. It was a big old list, and 24 plugins is a lot by anyone’s standards. I do preach that you should only use plugins when absolutely necessary, and rely on code snippets and so on when it is feasible, so I should probably take my own advice on board!

With that in mind, today I want to focus on my 5 favorite plugins – a pick of what I consider to be completely indispensable. I will be trying to cut down on my 24 (although whether or not I am able to remains to be seen), but I am confident that the following 5 will always remain.

There’s just one slightly counterintuitive rule to this top 5 list – I am not going to include the really obvious candidates (Akismet, WordPress SEO by Yoast, and W3 Total Cache). Almost all of you already know all about them, so there wouldn’t be much worth in their inclusion.

5. Comment Reply Notification

I’ve featured this plugin on WPMU before, and with good reason. Comment Reply Notification gives your blog’s commenters the opportunity to sign up to notifications on comments that they make.

Comment Reply Notification

You may consider it a bit naughty that I send emails to commenters by default (when only I have responded), but I think it is completely acceptable. If someone has taken to the time to comment on my blog post, I presume that they would like to know if I have responded to them. That’s my rationale, anyway!

This plugin offers a great way of keeping your readers engaged in the conversation. After all, what’s the point in responded to a comment if it’s never going to be read?

In my opinion, Comment Reply Notification definitely belongs in the “functionality that should come as standard in WordPress” category.

4. Redirection

Granted, this isn’t a particularly exciting plugin, but its functionality is indispensable (for me, at least).

As the name suggests, Redirection allows you to set up redirects from one URL to another.

Redirection

This function is useful in a variety of circumstances – I primarily use it to “protect” my affiliate links. That is its basic function, but there is an awful lot more to the plugin than meets the eye, including 404 error monitoring.

Although there are plenty of redirect plugins out there (many of which I have tried), I have always come back to Redirection as my top pick.

3. Performance Plugin Profiler

I’m all about site speed (even though I have recently discovered that my own site apparently has a woefully slow load time – something I need to work on!). With that in mind, I consider Performance Plugin Profiler to be yet another indispensable plugin.

It was developed by the folks over at GoDaddy, and allows you to gauge the effect each of your plugins has on load time, through a series of spiffy reports. Here’s a copy of a report I just ran on my site:

Plugin Performance Profiler

As you can see, Performance Plugin Profiler allows you to make informed decisions about the worth of any particular plugin when compared to the effect it is having on your site’s load time. Very handy.

2. ManageWP – Worker

I have quite a few different sites, and keeping track of them all used to be quite a hassle. But once I found ManageWP, I never looked back.

Having read that sentence, it sounds like the script to a bad informercial, but I actually mean what I say. For those of you who don’t know, ManageWP allows you to manage all of your WordPress sites from one central dashboard:

ManageWP

With features like one-click updates and backup scheduling, it is something I would really struggle to do without.

1. Digg Digg

I love Digg Digg for so many reasons. Because it has a cool name. Because it is owned by the awesome guys at Buffer. And because it is, in my humble opinion, by far the best social sharing tool available for WordPress.

Digg Digg

Digg Digg offers up two options – a floating displays that always remains onscreen (seen above), and a static placement (to be placed wherever you like). It is easy to implement and looks really slick. And since development has been taken over by the Buffer boys, the support system is fantastic. I couldn’t do without it.

Creative Commons image by Sean MacEntee

Related posts:

  1. WordPress Plugins: The 24 I Use On My Blog I launched my blog nearly a year ago, and have...
  2. 5 Popular Plugins to Pimp Your Posts Give your WordPress blog posts a little bling with these...
  3. 5 Free Essential Plugins For Your First WordPress Blog Discover the 5 essential WordPress plugins that you should have...

Premium WordPress Themes: Are They Worth The Money?

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 05:00 AM PDT

WordPress originally began life as a blogging platform but has grown to be a Content Management System (CMS) and is now so popular, that it is now used by thousands of companies and corporations.

Many thousands of free themes of differing purposes and quality have been released to the public, but yet during the last few years more and more developers have popped up selling premium WordPress themes, but are they worth the money?

Personal Users vs Business Users

Free

vs

Paid

Whether or not premium themes are worth the money will depend largely on your usage of WordPress. If you are using it as a personal blog paying $40 for a theme may seem crazy, however if you are not a coder you may find it difficult to customize free themes.

Not all free themes come with documentation nor is there any guarantee the developer will provide technical support, but the documentation WordPress provides should be sufficient as a guideline if you are technically savvy.

If you are using WordPress as a company to develop your site, and you can afford the cost, then it may be worth investing money on a premium theme as there are some benefits over using free themes.

Below are some benefits worth noting when deciding whether to take out your wallet, or credit card in this case, or not:

Customization

Premium themes usually come with a control panel, although some free themes do as well but not always and often are not as thorough or advanced as ones provided by premium themes, which can be used to easily customize the appearance of the site. You won't have to dig into the code to change the logo, colours, column width or other matters relating to the appearance of the website.

Documentation and Technical Support

Technical Support Agent

Premium themes and frameworks, such as Thesis, are usually designed and developed by professional designers and coders and will include documentation and professional technical support, however the support will depend on how professional the theme provider is.

Inbuilt Features

Some themes, depending on the type of site the themes was built for, come preloaded with plugins and scripts, such as image carousels, shopping carts and featured posts, that add professionalism and extend functionality of your site.

Browser Tested

Paid themes are browser-tested

Since premium themes are designed by professional designers, you should also expect the themes to look the same on all major versions of browsers. If you're a designer or developer, you'll appreciate the headaches this will save you.

Time Saving

Since premium themes are basically finished products it would not require your coder a large amount of time to customize it to suit your needs; free themes may require more work and maintenance.

Case Studies

Two WordPress users have given us their insight and have provided us with opposing views on premium themes.

Gerard Cunningham (@faduda), a journalist, writer and researcher, says that premium themes are not worth it and that he has yet to find a premium theme that does something he "can't find/hack for free."

Neil (@Nerin_), also a writer, says that he is first and foremost a writer, so premium themes "removed a lot of the hassle." He says that some people "just want to get customisation out of the way and onto content." He would recommend paying for premium themes, however he has had bad experiences with premium theme providers who have been unwilling to resolve issues and questions, and even deleted negative reviews and requests for help on their site and Facebook page.

Beware of Poor Customer Service

This brings us to an interesting point. As with all service providers, customer service is hugely important and good customer service may just make that $80 price tag seem more worthwhile. With all things regarding money, it's important to research the company you're buying the theme from in terms of technical support and complaints and/or praises the company has received. Even for free themes it is also worth checking whether the developer will provide any technical support.

Conclusion

Whether or not premium themes are worth the money will depend entirely on your circumstances and what you're using WordPress for. Free themes may suffice for personal blogs and sites that reach a small audience. If you're running a business, premium themes may be worth the money if you want to build your website quickly and professionally.

Let us know your thoughts on premium themes vs free themes? If you have used a premium theme provider, have you had bad experiences them regarding technical support?

WordPress logo image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons and Creative Commons

Related posts:

  1. WordPress.com Finally Catches Up With Edublogs: Premium Themes About to Arrive! We’re really pleased to see premium themes come to WordPress.com....
  2. Daily Tip: ThemeSorter Helps You Sort and Search Premium WordPress Themes and Coupons If you’re in the market for a commercial WordPress theme,...
  3. Want Premium WordPress Themes and Plugins For Free? It’s Easy! Just send us a WordPress question, and you could win...

Daily Tip: Free Online Magazine and News Theme for WordPress

Posted: 13 Jun 2012 05:03 PM PDT

Today, gazpo.com released a nice new, clean and highly customizable news theme, silverOrchid. This free theme is available from the WordPress theme directory. If you are trying to fit a lot of content into your site’s real estate, you may want to give this theme a download. It makes space for lots of images and headlines, and provides plentiful widgets and socially interactive features.

The SilverOrchid theme is for use with WordPress 3.3+. Its most notable features include:

  • Custom Menu support
  • Featured Image Support
  • Extensive Theme Options – Custom logo, favicon and banner upload, custom CSS code, tracking code
  • jQuery Goodies – Dropdown Menu, Featured Slider, Carousel
  • Custom widgets – Social counter widget, Facebook likebox widget, Twitter widget, 125×125 Ad widget

View the live demo to see the silverOrchid theme in action. Hop over to the theme’s homepage today and check it out.

Related posts:

  1. Daily Tip: Download Widely – A Free Minimalist WordPress Theme Need a free theme to get your business online or...
  2. Daily Tip: Free Responsive Sundance Video Theme for WordPress Check out this beautiful new minimalist theme that is perfect...
  3. Grab a Gorgeous Free HTML5 WordPress Theme with Responsive Layout from Smashing Magazine Smashing Magazine have been up to their tricks again, yesterday...

What Advice Would You Give to a CSS Beginner?

What Advice Would You Give to a CSS Beginner?


What Advice Would You Give to a CSS Beginner?

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 03:00 AM PDT

ChalkboardRecently, a friend who used to do some web design years ago approached me with some questions about getting back into front-end coding. She doesn’t have a programming background and, from what I understand, her experience in coding is limited to old-style HTML using tables and very little CSS.

She says she finds all the stuff associated with front-end development to be quite overwhelming. Well, she’s not the only one. I think we all feel frustrated at the amount of reading and research that’s needed to keep up with things in the industry.

Well, I tried to give her some advice on what to do and what to learn now, so I thought I would summarize my own personal suggestions here for any beginners looking to learn CSS from scratch. I was going to send this to her directly, but I thought it would make for a nice blog post that I could point beginners to in the future.

These aren’t necessarily in order of importance, but I tried to put the easiest and more important stuff near the top.

  • Read SitePoint’s CSS3 Anthology by Rachel Andrew; very good learning curve and easy for beginners
  • If you need HTML basics too, Jon Duckett’s book seems to be a popular and beautiful choice
  • Go through CSS-Tricks’ archives, in reverse chronological order
  • Go through Smashing Magazine’s CSS articles; if you start with the oldest ones, start here
  • Try and learn the concepts (the “whys”), not just the quick-and-dirty code (the “hows”); e.g. learn block vs. inline and other CSS basics
  • Just build stuff, even if it’s just simple things; form an idea and then carry it out, just for fun
  • While reading a beginner’s book, don’t download the code or copy and paste it; type it all out by hand and if it doesn’t work, figure out why
  • Go through Thierry Koblentz’s CSS 101
  • If you have a basic background in HTML4 or XHTML, learn the new HTML5 stuff; the first half of my book might be a good starting point
  • Go through an HTML5 template like HTML5 Reset or my Easy HTML5 Template and try to learn some things from the source (HTML5 Boilerplate might be too much for a beginner)
  • Understand how to deal with cross-browser issues and adapt a workflow that minimizes problems
  • Use a CSS reset, and understand what it does; I recommend Normalize.css
  • Learn OOCSS techniques thus relying heavily on classes and avoiding IDs as styling hooks
  • Learn basic debugging techniques (e.g. using Developer tools; making elements visible with temporary backgrounds and/or borders; learn to isolate your problems)
  • Google is your best friend; if you have a problem, just type it into Google, in question form — it’s extremely unlikely that there isn’t someone that has had the same problem
  • Do your best to use and learn Responsive Web Design techniques as early as possible, and try to avoid using fixed-width- layouts
  • Learn to use a preprocessor
  • Learn to program, and in particular JavaScript; take a course if you can afford it

Finally: Don’t Be Overwhelmed

There’s a lot to take in and to catch up on. But there’s no reason to be overwhelmed. We’re all working on keeping our skills up to date, and learning new things. I have a laundry list of things to learn that I’ve barely scratched the surface of.

I think one of the best approaches is to just focus on small steps, one thing at a time, and even if you don’t feel like you’re going to remember everything you read, it’s not a big deal. We all use code references and Google regularly.

In fact, I would argue that it’s not important to know everything, but rather it’s important that you know how to find anything when you need it.

What Do You Suggest?

I’m sure there are things I’ve left out and maybe some things that people disagree with (*cough* OOCSS *cough*). If you have any suggestions for beginners looking to get into CSS and other aspects of front-end code, I’d love to hear them.

Credit: Chalkboard photo by Oliver Gruener

Related posts:

  1. Give Your CSS Some Room to Breathe
  2. What Do You Want to Learn Next in This Crazy Industry?
  3. Skills for Front-End Developers


Search This Blog

Top WordPress Seller