Video About the Founder of WordPress
Matt Mullenweg, founder of the free software WordPress, is interviewed in this informative video. The WP open source philosophy is insured by his refusal of an offer to sell it for $200,000,000.
Read MoreOrganic Search Engine Optimization
WordPress is here, offering you an easy way to beat your competitors for that lucrative first page on Google. All you have to do is use relevant text in your website and write blog posts on a regular basis on topics that relate to your business or service. If you write with authority about something you know well, then you become the expert. How many other [insert your line of work here] do you know that write with competency about what you do and know well?
Writing can be chore or even frightening to some business owners. All it takes is a little practice and perhaps reading a book on how to write well. I recommend you buy and read E.B. White’s Elements of Style. It is a small book that packs a lot of valuable information. The Seventeenth Rule states “Omit Needless Words”. You must be concise. Take out everything that is not useful. It is especially important in writing for the web.
Read MoreFunctionality is the Point
There are so many topics to write about when it comes to WordPress, that sometimes, my head spins. But, today, after receiving the latest email from Woo Themes, I decided it was time to discuss Functionality.
Woo Themes just introduced Sensei, which is a new plugin that will allow you to teach and sell online courses from within WordPress. Imagine being able to create courses, write lessons and add quizzes. Set lesson and course pre-requisites, allow user registration and even charge for your course content using WooCommerce if you want. In their words: “Sensei aims to capture the core features of a learning management plugin, while not bloating it with features other existing plugins can handle. Sensei integrates perfectly with any well coded theme, as well as WooCommerce allowing you to charge for your courses!” Watch the Sensei overview video to find out more.
Read MoreFeed Your Blog
When business owners plan a website to promote their company, sell products or just reinforce their brand, they disregard the most important benefit of WordPress. Yes, you can update it yourself by adding new photos, a slide show or edit text, maybe even update an event calendar. But, the single most beneficial piece is The Blog. Which means you will need to write something about your company or product at least once a month. Why? Because, not only does it reinforce your brand, but it places you as the expert on the subject that is your company. Also, each post that goes out is picked up by Google, the number one search engine. If you want your website to work for you and be the marketing powerhouse it can be, than you have to Feed It!
Create a WordPress Website for your Family
Several of my customers have used WordPress for their club or hobby websites. One is the Framingham Garden Club. This group lists their seasonal activities and garden photos. They even have some instructional pages and a members only area. Another is a woman who loves to travel and go to restaurants with her husband searching for fine food and wine. “2 At the Bar” discovers small restaurants where the food is a delight to this adventurous pair. There is nothing they won’t try, it seems. Check it out.
Years ago, I created an html website for my Italian family, which mostly included recipes that we could all share. My grandmother was an excellent cook from the Tuscany region of Italy. I grew up loving her delicious food. I recall her kitchen smelled of marjoram and garlic. So, My cousins and sister sent me the recipes they had, and I coded them for the pages. The job was tedious.
Read MoreSearch Engine Optimization is not a mystery
Internet companies that specialize in raising a site’s placement on Google have been charging a pretty penny for their services. They claim that without their expensive services, your site won’t get in the organic area of search engines—the first page. Alternatively, you can pay Google Ad Words to get in the top area for paid advertisers. Sounds prohibitive.
But, WordPress is here, offering you an easy way to beat your competitors for that lucrative first page on Google. All you have to do is use Relative text in your website and write blog posts on a regular basis on topics that relate to your business or service. If you write with authority about something you know well, then you become the expert. How many other carpenters do you know that write with competency about woodworking and house renovation?
Read MoreHow to design a logo
Logos are probably the most difficult of all graphic design projects. Fortunately, there is a right way to go about designing one. Years ago, I took some independent graphic design classes with Dietmar Winkler at Southeastern Massachusetts University. I was living in Charlestown and commuted down to Rhode Island to study with him.
He was an influential graphic designer who followed the International Typographic Style of sans-serif fonts and a grid layout formula. As a member of the graphic-design office at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the late 60s, he produced beautiful posters using letter forms and manipulated words as vehicles to express content. This innovation is still used today in modern graphic design.
Read MoreOnline based marketing software is here
I get a lot of calls from salespeople trying to sell me what I already know is going to be overly expensive and not worth my time. So the conversation stops before it starts. But recently, for some reason, I agreed to make an appointment to talk to a representative of a company that is a leading provider of cloud-based marketing and PR software. “It helps businesses reach and influence buyers across social networks, online and through the media” You “are provided with an integrated suite that combines social marketing, search marketing, email marketing and publicity into a comprehensive solution to help your businesses attract, engage and retain customers…. Over 120,000 organizations worldwide use this company’s software.” So. I thought, this might be an attractive site for some of my clients who have little time to spend on Facebook and Twitter trying to attract new followers.
Read MoreThe importance of a good portrait
I finally succeeded in having my husband take some decent photographs of me. I had several that I had been using: one for the website, one for Facebook and another for Twitter and Linked In. But they were mediocre at best. I’d been noticing great shots of my twitter and facebook friends. They had a persona.
My husband is not a professional photographer (which I highly recommend if at all possible), but he does have an artistic flair, and knows something about photography. I figured between his eye and my editing we could come up with something appropriate. We chose natural lighting and places where the light would cast some shadow. Out of less than 20 shots, I liked three. All I had to do then was crop and change each to grayscale (black and white), tinker with the contrast and brightness in Adobe Photoshop and size them for the web. One is a perfect author shot, one kind of sassy and one very business like.
Read MoreBeing strategic in a competitive environment
When business owners plan out their marketing strategy (and it inevitably includes redesigning their website), they are not sure where to turn. There are many options available to them in the huge marketplace of the internet. When they try Yahoo or Go Daddy website plans, they become confused and often hit a roadblock. Some of these options may charge a low fee initially, but then charge a monthly fee for as long as you run the site.
Business owners in Massachusetts might know a little about the internet and have some coding experience, and even have heard of the popular CMS of WordPress. But, they don’t know enough to start themselves, know the language, don’t have the time to spend learning the software, or don’t have enough design experience to see what will give their business the right look to be competitive. Believe me, with thousands of new websites launching every day around the world, you need to be highly visible to stand out and capture your share of the market.
Read MoreIt’s Time to Update WordPress
Now that you are adding posts to your website on a regular basis, it’s important to take notice of your plugins. On the side bar on the dashboard you will see the word Plugins and possibly a little black dot with a number inside. This tells you you have something to update on your plugins page. Open it up and update anything that requires it. More importantly, WordPress just came out with a security update. Be sure to notice if there is a notification in the banner of the dashboard. Not doing this will result in being vulnerable to viruses and malware! Sign up on the side bar to receive other important notices from me which I will post here on the blog regularly.
Share Read MoreTwo new sites to celebrate!
Fredia Woolf can celebrate today. She deserves it. She and I worked very hard to get her site just right. We used the same “Dotted” theme that I also used for DBM Catalyst, but in this case we added quite a few options in the design of the pages. The site is www.woolfconsulting.com. Quality time was spent in the careful wording and organization of the pages. Fredia is a native of South Africa and is a executive coach and consultant, with clients such as Fidelity Investments and Partners Healthcare.
Fredia and I lived in the same Newton neighborhood. I designed her old, now abandoned html site quite a few years ago. It was looking very tired. With new colors, vibrant, exciting photographs, Woolf Consulting truly represents the sophistication of its owner.
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Testimonials
“I designed a complex website for a feature film but didn't know how to put it all together. Deb saved the day! She is a true pleasure to work with, very knowledgeable, patient, and professional --a wonderful collaborator. She did a great job and exceeded my expectations with her attention to detail and showing me how to update the content myself. I can't recommend her more highly to others, in fact, I already have! ”
Gabriel Polonsky Animation
“Deb has been fantastic. She was able to meet our website needs on extremely short notice, and tirelessly worked with us to achieve stunning results. She gave us an abundance of guidance and advice, and the results have completely exceeded our expectations.Thanks again, ”
Inner Source Healing, Malvern, Pennsylvania
“I enjoyed working with Deb, and her design flair and good eye have earned me many compliments for my website. I have also appreciated her after-launch service, when she patiently helps me learn how to manage my own website. Working with WordPress is actually quite fun, and I have Deb to thank for her enthusiasm..”
Owner, Woolf Consulting, Newton, MA
“I am delighted to refer Deb Perugi of Perugi Design for website production, graphic design and creation. She is great to work with and did a wonderful job developing the MetroWest Tourism and Visitors Bureau website. Working on a very tight schedule, Perugi Design completed the work in the time frame requested and in a professional manner. I highly recommend Deb for website design.”
President, MetroWest Chamber of Commerce, Framingham, MA
“Deb Perugi worked well with so many personalities trying to come to a single decision over the logo for our program. She provided creative and appropriate design, prompt service and was helpful throughout the process with her professionalism.”
Director National Ocean Economics Program, Monterey, CA
“I think it’s a real strength to be flexible and willing to modify original ideas. The ability to continue to “play” is to me one of real hallmarks of a creative person and a creative mind. Deb Perugi is both skilled and talented. She is extremely creative, flexible and organized. She is a problem solver. She is a wonderful collaborator. Together we created a site that is highly effective and that we are both very proud of.”
Laura Harrington Playwright, Gloucester, MA
“I am happy to recommend Deb, above others, as I have worked with her for over twenty years. She has been and continues to be a consistently solid, creative and up-to-date designer. We go directly to Deb because she brings sophisticated web design, informational clarity and technological 'where with all' to the table.”
Fox Turnbull Architects, Newton, MA
“I wanted to pull together clips, photos, and family scrapbook material for someone whose father had been a first-rate athlete. Deb took my research, all the materials, and my loose concept and pulled it together into a book that is a real keepsake. Her creativity, discerning eye for color, clever design motifs, and a real perfectionist attitude all contributed to something that this family and their friends will enjoy for generations.“
Tom Palmer Communication, Newton, MA
“I have relied on Deb for more than four years to help produce our online web publication HMI World. Throughout this time Deb has been a valued collaborator, not only because of the technical know-how she possesses, Deb is conscientious and pleasant to work with, and diligent when it comes to helping us meet our objectives.”
Director of Communications at Partners Harvard Medical International, Boston, MA