It’s very frustrating to spend hours refining a writing piece only to check your analytics after it’s been published and see that visitors are merely giving it a quick glance before leaving. “I poured my heart into this! There is a piece of me on that page and you should pay more attention to it!” is what your inner monologue might sound like at these moments. (Or is that just me?) While taking things personally is always a very productive strategy (I don’t care what my therapist says), as a website owner or online marketer there might be better ways to […]
How to declutter WordPress in 12 steps
Be honest: Is your WordPress backend a clean and appealing working environment? Does it make you feel relaxed and focused, and taking care of your website a pleasant activity? Or is it a mess of update messages, unanswered comments, and other distractions? Where you have to scroll over dozens of unused plugins until you get to the one your are looking for? You know, kind of like this browser window: If so, it’s time to set aside time for a “declutter WordPress weekend,” and do some serious housecleaning. With spring around the corner, what better time to make a fresh […]
21 productivity tips and hacks for WordPress bloggers
Running a website, or blog, or online business is not always a cakewalk. There is always something to do: Content creation, marketing, maintenance, not to mention updates and website changes. You could easily work 24/7 — in fact, many of us attempt to do so. Even though WordPress makes maintaining an online presence quite comfortable, there are only so many hours in the day you can actually be productive (without seriously impairing your health and social life that is). Therefore, it is important to find ways of making the most of the time you have. Luckily, there are steps you can […]
10 simple content hacks for more engagement, shares, and traffic
Is it just me or does talking about content marketing sometimes feel like discussing royal families? With so many people throwing around phrases like “Content is King!” and “Distribution is Queen!” I can’t always tell whether I am reading up on marketing or stumbled onto a Game of Thrones forum. However, apart from being an overused phrase, nobody will argue the importance of high-quality content in today’s online world. Unless you have been living under a rock for the past ten years, you are probably aware that producing great content on a regular basis is key to being successful on […]
How to build a portfolio website in WordPress
When we think of people who should build a portfolio website for themselves, we will often automatically think of creatives. Photographers, designers, web designers, and such folk are obvious choices to display their work online. However, the benefit of having an online portfolio is not merely limited to this group. In fact, maybe everyone should have one. Why? Well, think of portfolios like a resume, only better. They let you showcase the entirety of your professional life and work. Why are online portfolios better than resumes? Well, can your resume play videos, dynamically display photos, and be mobile optimized? No? […]
Mastering WordPress: 48 resources to go from newbie to pro
Mastery is a fascinating topic. Anyone taking pride in what they do are constantly striving to improve. To improve their skill set just a little more — to get a little better, faster, or more precise. Yet, mastery of any discipline comes down to one thing: practice. Whether you play the violin or are just trying to get really good at FlappyBird, you will need to put in the time it takes to get there. Mastering WordPress is no different. Increasing your skill set to an exceptional level is hard work. However, there are good reasons to do so: WordPress has […]
All About That Database: How To Use phpMyAdmin For WordPress
If you’ve ever installed WordPress, you know that every WordPress website consists of two parts: The core files and a MySQL database. Of the two, the database is the much more important component. Should your core files go kaput or be corrupted, you can easily replace them and wouldn’t lose too much. However, if your database vanishes and you don’t have a backup — best find a good therapist now. Therefore, it is important to know how to properly take care of this crucial part of your website. One of the most common tools used for doing so is phpMyAdmin […]
Measuring key marketing metrics for your WordPress site
We are living in a world where almost anything can be put into numbers. We have people measure their sleep quality, fitness level, even their happiness. Death by data overkill? No problem. However, no matter where you stand concerning the quantified self movement, there are areas where this kind of vigilance is important, even essential. Running a website is such an example, where measuring key marketing metrics is of utmost importance. At the same time, it is also an area in which you can track pretty much everything and create an almost infinite set of data points. How do you […]
How to create a custom 404 error page for WordPress
Why on earth would you want to build a customized 404 error page for WordPress? Isn’t that wasted time and effort? Shouldn’t you rather invest in making your site airtight so that nobody will ever be confronted with it in the first place? Fair point. On the Internet, 404 is probably among the most hated numbers in existence. Visitors curse it, webmasters try to eradicate it and overall nobody has good things to say about it. (On the other hand, one of the most desired digits online is Matt Mullenweg’s phone number. Just kidding, that link doesn’t go anywhere.) The […]
42 must-have blogging tools for WordPress bloggers
WordPress is an amazing blogging tool. The platform makes creating and maintaining content-centered websites very comfortable and easy. However, the work doesn’t end there. Running a blog is a lot more work than many people think. Putting together amazingly helpful and shareable content alone is a tall order. Getting it into the hands of an audience is even harder. As a consequence, in order to ease the load on the shoulders of bloggers and content marketers, here is a list of essential tools that will make your life a little easier. Tools for content idea generation Content is the meat […]
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