Janice Schwarz's Blog

I’ve decided to do lots more interviews of my customers, other people in various (related) parts of my industry, and more. You may have seen the interview with Cyndi Premzon of Tempest Mystic Products, a customer we made an e-commerce site for fairly recently. Today, we’ll talk to my oldest customer, dearest to my heart: my husband. (A running joke is our house is: “get in the kitchen and make me a website, woman”.) Some people may know him from his Skippy’s List fame: The 213 things Skippy is no longer allowed to do in the U.S Army. Others know him from his company, WeaselPants Productions, LLC that made the run-away indie tabletop game, Redshirts. He’s been making games his whole life, and during our marriage, even went to college to learn to make video games and spent time in the video game industry. Currently, he’s working on a Kickstarter campaign for second and third editions of Redshirts. Here is Jonathan Schwarz, aka Skippy’s story.

Tell me about your gaming background. From childhood to professional.

Well, when I was in first grade we had this big board game about monkeys on boats. It was horrible, so I started making new rules to fix …

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I’ve decided to do lots more interviews of my customers, other people in various (related) parts of my industry, and more. You may have seen the interview with Cyndi Premzon of Tempest Mystic Products, a customer we made an e-commerce site for fairly recently. Today, we’ll talk to my oldest customer, dearest to my heart: my husband. (A running joke is our house is: “get in the kitchen and make me a website, woman”.) Some people may know him from his Skippy’s List fame: The 213 things Skippy is no longer allowed to do in the U.S Army. Others know him from his company, WeaselPants Productions, LLC that made the run-away indie tabletop game, Redshirts. He’s been making games his whole life, and during our marriage, even went to college to learn to make video games and spent time in the video game industry. Currently, he’s working on a Kickstarter campaign for second and third editions of Redshirts. Here is Jonathan Schwarz, aka Skippy’s story.

Tell me about your gaming background. From childhood to professional.

Well, when I was in first grade we had this big board game about monkeys on boats. It was horrible, so I started making new rules to fix it. As I got older I discovered D&D and console games. (Note from Janice: D&D means Dungeons and Dragons, a fantasy role-playing game that is great for the imagination,  or even learning to act.) I constantly made up my own mechanics for table-top games. This progressed gradually until I realized that one game I owned had so many house rules that I had essentially made a new game out of it.

When I was looking for colleges when I was leaving the Army, I found one that had a game art program. That’s the point that it hit me that games were something I could do for a living. Since formal video game training was very new at that point, I hopped schools a few times until I found a program that worked: the SMU Guildhall. After graduating I managed to get into the video game field for a few years. The hours and pay were bad, but on the other hand I really enjoyed the work. Eventually the company I was working for went spectacularly out of business. Since I had been working on table top games in my spare time, I was able to use some of that to scare up an investor and go into publishing.

How well do most table top games do, and how well did your first game do in comparison?

The average game sells about three to four hundred units over its lifetime. But that average includes the fact that most table top games tank. A successful game sells one to two thousand units over its lifetime.

My very first table top game was a card game called Please Don’t Wake Dagon. It was licensed off of a web comic and the publisher made a small test run, that sold out quickly. Just in time for the publisher to lose the license. So that one sold maybe a few hundred copies, if that.

My second game, Redshirts, which is the first one that I published myself has sold around 10,000 copies, and is currently being printed for the third time. So we’re doing pretty good with that one.

What project is happening right now?

Right now my company is running a Kickstarter campaign to print two expansions for Redshirts. Combined, these will nearly double the size of the game. So far we have reached our funding goal, and we are not even halfway through the campaign.

Redshirts is a rather warped game where the goal is to be the first starship captain to get your own crew killed. You do that by sending them on missions they are not trained for, take away vital equipment at the last second, and occasionally just shoot them in the back and shove them out an airlock. (Note from Janice: if you are not familiar with Star Trek, especially the original series in the 60’s, the enlisted guys in red shirts always died in episodes. It’s a running joke among sci-fi fans. This game has no relation to Star Trek, nor is it endorsed by the parent company. The game Redshirts makes jokes about all sci-fi and fantasy franchises).

What advice to you have for newbie indie tabletop game companies/individuals?

Do your homework. The Internet has opened up an entire universe of useful information in this field. Join GAMA, and go to trade shows. Join online game design communities. Test your products until you hate them, and then test some more. Don’t skimp on art or production values. Learn graphic design and technical writing.

How useful has social media been for you in the Kickstarter endeavor?

Very. Facebook is the number three source for backers to my campaign. Previous customers from Kickstarter are the number one. If I could be bothered to figure out Twitter enough to build a following, that would probably be a big source of backers as well.

Do you have any major Do’s and Don’ts for people who want to make games?

Practice. Just design constantly, and try out new games whenever you can. Remember that theme and art will make people buy your game more than mechanics, but mechanics will make them keep playing it and get their friends to buy it.

Don’t hoard your ideas. Don’t worry that somebody will “take your really cool idea and steal it”. I guarantee anyone else in the industry already has more ideas than they can use. And grow a thick skin, because some of your ideas won’t work out well, and even if it’s the best idea on the planet somebody is going to hate it.

What do you tell people when they come to you with a game idea?

“Lalalalala I can’t hear you!”

Seriously, I have gigabytes of games in various states of design, and a production backlog that could take years to clear. I am not unique in this respect. Basically: game ideas have no value. Everybody already has more than they can use. If you have an idea that you want to see made into a game, ain’t nobody gonna make that game but you. Or just wait three years. Someone else probably had the same idea and is already making the prototype.

Any last thoughts on your industry, background, or the projects in progress?

If you are reading this, please go to our Kickstarter page and give us all of your money.

Anything your fans should be looking forward to?

Well, once we ship the Redshirts expansions, we’re going to start prepping our next title. It’s called Rocky Road Warriors. It’s a game about cute and fluffy cartoon animals having a post-apocalyptic highway duel over the last ice cream truck in the wasteland. It’ll be a good family game.

Janice: Thank you Skippy. Everyone: pitch in and keep the $$ coming for Kickstarter, because that means you get MORE goodies in the expansion and it gives him that much more he needs to get Rocky Road Warriors moving!

The post Interview: WeaselPants Productions, LLC aka Skippy aka Janice’s Husband appeared first on GeekArtist Web Design & Marketing.

A contract template refers to a template used for writing a contract. There are many different types of contracts, including employment contract, construction contract, photography contract, and service contract. A legally binding agreement, a contract makes two or more parties liable to one another. The process of document creation is boring but it’s an essential part of running and growing your business. Contracts are a vital component of any business and they should be treated such.

Upvote the Contracts on Reddit

We have shared the contracts on Reddit in the web design subreddit. If you find the contracts helpful, please help to upvote our post on Reddit. Since we don’t like to buy Reddit upvotes, we rely on your support to upvote the post so that more people can benefit from the sample contracts. Designers and developers feel free to use or share this contract, however, use at your own risk. I can not guarantee how will this contract will work for your situation or location’s business laws. Also, note: this is a WORK FOR HIRE contract. We do not license our work; we transfer ownership to the client. Do also note how our billing works. We don’t do …

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A contract template refers to a template used for writing a contract. There are many different types of contracts, including employment contract, construction contract, photography contract, and service contract. A legally binding agreement, a contract makes two or more parties liable to one another. The process of document creation is boring but it’s an essential part of running and growing your business. Contracts are a vital component of any business and they should be treated such.

This is the contract typically used for most projects. Some of this can be negotiable. We have different contracts for different projects. Depending on your needs, you may need to read the contract below.

Maintenance Agreement ContractOpen



Logo & Graphic Design ContractOpen



Web Design & Development ContractOpen

WEB DESIGNERS & DEVELOPERS: Feel free to use or share this contract, however, use at your own risk. I can not guarantee how will this contract will work for your situation or location’s business laws. Also, note: this is a WORK FOR HIRE contract. We do not license our work; we transfer ownership to the client. Lastly, note how our billing works. We don’t do half up front, half on completion; we bill for the project as we go once the initial deposit is used up.

The post Sample Contract for Web Design appeared first on GeekArtist Web Design & Marketing.

So you’ve had your site for a few years, and not much has changed. Maybe you’re getting a lot of traffic. Maybe you get little to none.

Time for a website redesign.

And you ask: “Why? Why do I need to spend time and money on a website redesign, when mine is just fine. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.

Well, that’s the thing: YOU think it’s not broke. But odds are good, if it’s sat there with the same look and code for a few years, it’s broke.

1. SEO Changes Constantly

What were best practices for coding your site for SEO a year ago, or 3 or 5 years ago, no longer apply. SEO is a moving target. If you want to keep up with page rankings, a redesign is a good way to go. Additionally, if you have a WordPress site, there are new and improved plugins for SEO. My favorite, for all sites, is WordPress SEO by Yoast. This plugin developer is constantly updating his plugin to keep up with search engine algorithm changes. He also provides lots of excellent features for SEO. It’s also very easy to use.

2. Your Site Looks Dated

If your site looks like it was made 5 of 10 years ago, or even 3 years ago, it looks unprofessional. You look like you don’t keep up with trends or pay any attention to your site or online business. It also looks like you have no attention to detail and aren’t very savvy regarding web design trends. Your average customers have noticed how sites start looking different over time. Younger customer especially see the trends. Anyone that works in the tech industry definitely will look at your site and say “bleah” and hit the Back button.

3. Your Site is Not Responsive

In other words, your site was made before everyone was looking at websites on phones and tablets. A website redesign should include a responsive design, so it functions well and looks great on any device. Otherwise, you only frustrate and drive away customers.

 4. Your Site Isn’t Getting Results

Maybe it’s time for a new designer to step in. Or maybe your old designer has gained more experience, and can make your site much more user-friendly. When it comes time to redesign, you’ll first need to determine what you want to accomplish with your site (more on that in the next post, Part 2). If your site isn’t getting what you want, then it needs to be examined as to WHY you aren’t getting the results you want.

BTW, did you know we offer website design critiques? These come with a full report on what to fix to improve your ability to meet your goals. We even check things like SEO best practices and page load times. As an aside: did you know page load time figures into SEO ranking?

5. Your Branding Has Changed

So you have a new logo and color scheme. It’s on your business cards, pamphlets…everywhere except your website. This inconsistent experience leaves customers confused. If you hand them a business card, and they go to a site that in no way matches you new branding, your customer won’t be sure they’re even on the right website.

 6. Your Competitors are Redesigning Their Websites

It doesn’t look good if you’re the only one not doing it. They’re keep up with trends, make the site be the best it can be. Your’s still looks like it was made 3, 5, or 10 years ago. No bueno.

 7. To Add New Content

You may want to add more content for customers and SEO purposes. It’s a bad idea to keep slapping more info into a site, without a redesign. For new web designs and website redesigns, I always recommend my clients give me their content FIRST, and we design around that. Otherwise, you end up with a jumbled mess with hard-to-find information that will only frustrate your customers. Even doing things like adding social media icons isn’t always just a “quick fix”. There may not be enough decent real estate on your current site for those to fit on, without the site looking uglier.

But Wait…

All this said, your redesign does not have to be radical. It can be just enough change to look better, but not annoy your customers. Or, it may be time for you to go a whole new direction, especially if you have re-branded your business, non-profit, or yourself as an individual.

 Next up: HOW to go about getting a good redesign.



What to ask yourselfWhat to considerHow to do A/B testing (user testing)Making sure you do things like redirect old page names to new pages (so you don’t lose traffic)

And more!

The post Website Redesigns – Part 1: Why You Need One appeared first on GeekArtist Web Design & Marketing.

And now…

Time for a website redesign.

The site you’re seeing now is a complete redesign and rebranding, that launched December 2014.  A LOT of time and planning went into this.

With a website redesign, you don’t just sit there and start throwing out ideas, or haphazardly adding or removing content or site features. There are specific steps to take for your website redesign to truly accomplish what you desire.

Which brings me to my first point.

1. What are Your Goals for this Site?

Drive traffic to a contact form? Sales through the site (e-commerce/online sales)? Other? Think this through, and build a site strategy around that. Write it down so you always have this in mind as you work with your web designer or make the site yourself with a website builder. Create a flowchart and/or outline to help you figure out to get visitors from point A to B. And remember: not all visitors arrive via your home page.

2. What do Your Visitors Want From Your Site?

Do you know your target demographic? (Age, sex, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, shopping habits, B2B or B2C styles, goals, etc?)

Has anyone given you feedback as to what the stumbling blocks are on finding things on your site? Worst case: send out a poll via newsletter, using WordPress or other CMS poll plug-in, or use a polling service to get feedback on how well your site is working for your site visitors. Find out what your customers want to see on your site, that isn’t there.

3. Put Together Your Content FIRST

I always tell my clients: “give me your content, I will design around that”. You shouldn’t make a site, then try and slap content in there. It looks too careless and goal-less. Write down what you want to say and on what pages you want. Figure out what images, or what kind of images you want. (Yes, stock photography is OK, so long as it is in-context and not the generic smiling person with a headset on your contact page.)

You can work with your web designer on what content will be best placed on different areas on a page of your site. You may want to start with an outline, and go from there. To get an idea of what content you want to go where, try looking at some quality themes and see how they are laid out. For example, I’m a fan of Elegant Themes (full disclosure: I am an affiliate). I recommend always looking at the responsive themes, if you decide to use any theme. The main point is: look at other website layouts, and see what content goes where. This will also help you write your content for your redesign.

 4. Be Realistic on Your Time Frame for Completion

Treat this like getting a new website: it is going to take 6 to 9 months. And that is because all the content comes from you, and you’re busy! Even if your web design firm writes your content for you, you still will need time to answer their questions so it can be written. There will be lots of email and phone communication along the way, to make sure details are correct. We’ll also need your approval on any stock photography, and stock photo search is a lengthy process, especially if you’re not sure what you want (or even if you are sure…some images are hard to find or your web designer may have to make custom images and icons for your site).

 5. SEO is a Moving Target

What works 5 years ago, a year ago, or maybe a month ago won’t work now. So your web designer should be writing code and naming pages to target the keywords you want. And your content should also contain those same keywords. Make sure your web designer is up on Google’s latest SEO do’s and don’ts. Because where Google goes, so do all other search engines.

 6. Make Sure Your Site is Responsive

In other words, make sure that your new site looks good and functions well on all devices. This includes different browsers on Windows or Apple OS or Linux, tablets, and smartphones. The site doesn’t have to LOOK the same on all devices. But the look should be consistent and the menu easy to find with the site easy to navigate. Don’t leave all the testing to your web designer. When they say the site is done, test it on as many devices as you can too. Ask friends and family that have devices you don’t have, to test them. If anything looks weird, make sure you take a screenshot and send it to the web designer so they know what to fix.

7. Make Sure People Can Tell What You’re All About

Most people should be able to look at your site and know that, “oh, this is selling XYZ”. They shouldn’t have to guess. Ensuring clarity of what you do is an important factor as part of your website redesign. This means: pay attention to what is written. Avoid industry jargon, unless your target audience KNOWS that jargon.

8. Don’t Lose Your Traffic!

With updated SEO and new page names, your old page names need to be redirected to the new ones. This way, you don’t lose traffic or your visitors don’t end up on a 404 page (the page that tells them the site can’t find the page). That said, try having a helpful 404 page that has a search box or reminds them to use the navigation menu. Funny and memorable 404 pages,  like this one, are also handy for not losing customers. This should be done by your web designer.

 9. Don’t Make User’s Think!

Bear this in mind when working on your redesign. Your users should know what your site is about at first glance. They should be able to find what they want in a click or two. Keep clutter on the pages to a minimum. If you’ve never read it, a great book by an awesome author, Steve Krug, has a non-techie book called Don’t Make Me Think! Get it. Read it. You and your site will be better for it. There are both print and Kindle editions.

10. Try Some Free Google A/B Testing

An A/B test lets you test 2 different versions of the same page. Google Analyticshas this capability. They have instructions on how to do it. So if you’re of two minds on something, an A/B test is a good way to go. This will tell you which page is most effective at getting customers to take the action you want them to take (buy something, email you, and so on). This is best done after site launch though.

Also, here’s an oldie (but still relevant) post from every web designer and developer’s favorite blog, Smashing Magazine. Check this out for great tips on making a better site.

 Questions about website redesigns? Just ask!

The post Website Redesigns – Part 2: How To Make an Effective One appeared first on GeekArtist Web Design & Marketing.

This month’s Word Carnivals topic: “Every once in a while, you look around you and nothing seems to be in its place. That’s when it’s time to burn everything down and start from scratch. This month’s Word Carnival topic covers the sticky business of getting bored with your niche and what to do with yourself once that happens.”

I have plenty of advice on that. I’ll begin, by telling you the story of how I became a web designer.

My first introduction to the Internet, was an old boyfriend in the ’90s, using a computer to talk to people on BBS boards about the actor Bruce Campbell. As much as I LOVE Bruce, I didn’t get the point of talking to random strangers about him. Otherwise, I had no clue what the Internet was.

Now, I always wanted to go to college. But we didn’t have the money for it (and the government said my parents made too much money…holy crap were we broke…I bought my own stuff…so that was hilarious in a sad sort of way). We did not know that I was supposed to apply to colleges before my senior year, or if my parents were turned down for financial assistance, I could do it on my own. I had the grades; I was an honor student. But I was one of hundreds of honor students at a large high school, so no one noticed that one of them hadn’t been admitted to a college yet.

So after high school, I purposefully worked my way from fast food, to retail, to bank teller, to temp, until I was hired as a secretary (because my mother had supported the family tolerably well as a secretary most of  my childhood). Meanwhile, I went to school when I could. In fact, after high school, I went to Austin Community College for 3 semesters and bought an old Volvo with the money I’d saved up through childhood to teen.

Then, from around ’96 to ’98, I finally got a job as a secretary for several art departments at a well-known publishing company that makes school textbooks. One of the 3 art departments was the Multimedia department. They were making the early foray into educational CDs, and websites.

My boss encouraged me to sit in on all meetings and learn. Which, I would have done anyway. I’m that kind of person. I learn everything about what the people I work for do, and how to do it, and my job, and everyone else’s job, until I get bored and have nowhere to go, in which case I move on to a new job to learn new things.

At first, it was all gobbledygook. In time, it began to make sense. I read the department trade magazines. And over time, I slowly learned web design theory. In fact, since my job would help pay for college, I took the VERY FIRST Multimedia class ever offered at Austin Community College, so I could better understand the people I worked with. And: I was developing an interest in it.

In time, I felt I’d learned all I could learn, and there wasn’t anything else I could do at the company without a college degree. So I moved on to a new job as a Research Admin at another company, generating leads for a sales team, using primarily the Internet.

I went from a Mac environment (where I learned everything about Macs that I could) to my first Windows 95 environment. I dove into that computer too. In time, I became the unofficial office tech support. One day, I realized I knew more than the ACTUAL support guy.

When I had a chance to move to Kerrville, TX to be with family, I moved. (The company shot down my telecommuting proposal; there was never any need for me to be in the office but one manager liked it so much, she asked to keep it).

Once there, I eventually got a job at the local telecom, doing telephone tech support. Apparently I learned in one day what most learn in 3. I did that for a year and a half. Since it was small town, sometimes I went to people’s homes to fix their Internet problems.

I also started my own business: fixing computers. And started doing rather well. I also began teaching basic computing at the local senior center, and the Kerr County Independent School District hired me to teach adult education for computers.

After a while, again, I got bored. I realized I was not liking fixing computers. It was a pain and although I was good, didn’t really enjoy it.

So I thought about everything I had learned as a secretary about websites, bought a few books on HTML and an awesome book, Web Pages that Suck: Learn Good Design by Looking at Bad Design. The book is old, but still relevant.

Also, I learned about another User Experience and Usability expert, Jacob Neilson, and have been on his email list ever since 1999, when I decided to make my first website.

In a weekend, I had my first site. It was ugly, but it was a website.

By 2000, I had my first paying customer.

Then, I moved back to Austin, and was hired by a local business to make websites, do occasional computer troubleshooting, and teach adult education classes at The University of Texas. I subcontracted for them, and ran my own business on the side (no non-compete, we were cool). And there I was: professionally making websites, continuing to learn everything I could about doing business online and ALL elements of what makes a great site. In time, I learned other important subjects such as website security and marketing.

So that’s my story. And that’s what you do when you are bored with your current job: find a way to slide sideways into something similar. Or, go out and learn something new or even go to college.

Oh, and I finally fulfilled my promise to get my college degree before age 35. And then a few months later, I was pregnant…with twins! Which is what happens to women, the longer they wait to have kids. It’s not just fertility drugs making multiples, but so many women waiting until later in life to have kids. 35 is the starting point and the odds of multiples go up every year of a woman’s life.

Of course, that’s when we found out it ran on both sides of my family a generation or so back, I’d just never met any of them, and my husband’s side had them too.

And my parents, who by that point had been divorced for around 15 years (but on good terms) each said in a separate phone call to me: “Wow! You really DON’T do anything halfway, do you?!”.

The post What To Do When You’re Bored With Your Niche, & How I Became a Web Designer appeared first on GeekArtist Web Design & Marketing.

In the 14 years I’ve been designing websites, I’ve seen good, bad, and ugly situations when it comes to website ownership. Today, we’re going to talk about the ugly.

When I take on a new web design client, one of the first pieces of information I ask for are the logins to the client’s web host. The responses I frequently get range from “OK, here they are” to “I don’t have those, my last web designer/employee/my cousin has them and I don’t know what they are or how to reach them” to “what’s a web host?”.

Many of my clients do not have the basic information they need as a website owner. It does not matter who you hire to handle your website affairs, if you signed up for and pay for the hosting and domain, then it is still your hosting and domain. All account logins are yours and you should have a copy of them stored somewhere. If you have a website made for you, you should have your own copy of the website too. A copy stored on YOUR computer and/or a CD, DVD, or portable hard drive. You don’t want your only copy of your website to live on the web server. This is a handy backup in case there is a problem that causes you to lose your entire website. And that can and does happen on occasion.

One thing to bear in mind though is if you need a domain (your own .com), be mindful of whose name it is in when purchased. For example, if you hire someone else to get it for you, did they pay for it and put their name on it, or your name? Because if they put their name on it as account owner, they own it. Did you have them sign up for your web hosting? If so, when they signed up, did they put your name on the account or theirs? If theirs, then they own it.

It does not matter if you are paying for it regularly. The domain registrar and web host MUST assign the account to whoever’s name is on the account. If your name is not on there and your web designer disappears, it is possible you may not be able to regain access to that information.

So remember: any time you have anyone handle your website needs for you, make sure that
1. Everything is in your name
2. You have all logins for those accounts
3. You have backups of your website.

Even if you host with my business, GeekArtist Web Solutions, LLC, and have us handle everything for you, we’re still going to make sure you have this information. If you tell me you’ll never need it and don’t want it, I’m going to tell you, “I have to send this to you anyway.”

It is YOUR website. So you are entitled to all the account information and should always keep that data somewhere you can easily retrieve it.

The post It’s Still YOUR website! Or Is It? appeared first on GeekArtist Web Design & Marketing.

Long overdue, as promised: my favorite WordPress plugins! (Suddenly, I hear Julie Andrews singing My Favorite Things.) If you haven’t seen it yet, you’ll also want to read Part 1 of WordPress Plugins: Do’s and Don’ts for WordPress Plugins.

But wait, there’s more!

This is by no means all of the plugins I like and use, just some of those I use more frequently, or found when I needed something and nothing else worked as well. Also, this list is so long, I’m putting spam-related plugins in their own post, and I might do a 4th post on social networking and blog post improvement.

However…

I’m sure we have readers that are tired of reading about WordPress. So next post, we’ll take a break from WordPress and then I’ll post Part 3 after that one. We’ll rotate these out so everyone is not WordPressed Out.

I’m going to be linking to each plugin’s page in the WordPress Plugin Directory. I’ll also have links to the website creator’s site for your reference as well (plus, I want to give them all some SEO link love because frankly, they deserve it). Plugin devs, if you run across this post and want a link to a different site or want me to add another site, get in touch.

And now…

14 useful WordPress plugins!

Broken Link Checker
Does just that: checks for broken links! On both your site, and those you link to. For example, if you write something with a link to SuperAwesomeWebsiteSomewhere and it’s broken, Broken Link check will send you an email. Then, there’s a handy little area in your WordPress site that will help you fix that. The same for if you delete a page from your site (or rename it) and forget you had other pages linked to it. 

Google XML Sitemaps – Edited 12/21/14 See below: Yoast plugin now offers a sitemap feature
For those of you unfamiliar with an XML sitemap, this is different from the sitemap your website users can see and use. These are sitemaps designed just for search engines. They are created and stored on your website for search engines to find and use, and better index your site.

This particular sitemap plugin is awesome because if you have pages on your site that are not a part of your WordPress install, it has an area you can tell the sitemap to add those pages to your sitemap generated. For example, our GeekArtist business site was made before I was getting into WordPress, but I’ve slowly been migrating it over to WP. So this way, I can have ALL of my site in my sitemap, rather than just the parts using WordPress.

Simple Sitemap
This one is the sitemap made for your website visitors. Rather than manually build your own sitemap, you can have this one build it for you. 

WP Super Cache
This handy tool helps your site better manage the load on your server. In other words, if you have a bunch of people hitting your site all of a sudden, this can help your site better manage them and reduce the odds your site is going to go offline due to more traffic than your web host’s poor little server can handle. WordPress author plugin site

Widget Logic
Totally cool, it let’s you have more control over where widgets appear on your site. If you want them on some pages and posts, but not on others, this gives you that kind of control. WordPress author plugin site.

Flexi Pages
If you want more control over what pages are shown on a sidebar, this is an awesome and easy tool to use. I love using it with WordPress sites that I set up with shopping carts. Makes it very easy to organize products for site visitors.

Randomizing Stuff
I have two widgets I use for this next site need: randomizing. I use either Random Text or Random Image Widget depending on what we want to randomize.

On one client’s site, we have a different testimonial showing up on each page, so we put a bunch of testimonials in the plugin and Random Text and let it go to work. 

On another site, we have two images for advertising the same product, and we want them to show randomly, so we use Random Image Widget, which is just ridiculously easy to use. 

WordPress SEO by Yoast
I’ve used a number of SEO plugins, such as All in One SEO Pack and SEO Ultimate. These are also fine if you try Yoast and don’t just love his plugin. I find his has fewer features than some others, but most have features I have never used.
I love his plugin for a lot of reasons, but I fell in love with it the day I saw the most awesome button ever.

I love this button because when I first work on a site, I set it up to not be visible to search engines. The site isn’t ready, the world doesn’t need to see it yet. But most SEO plugins keep nagging you and trying to tell you that your site isn’t visible to search engines. Of course it’s not! It’s not ready! But Yoast let’s me tell it, “I know, don’t bug me”. Hooray!

This plugin also saves me from having to add extra plugins that do things I often need to do, such as tell search engines not to index some pages. That’s right, you don’t need every page indexed. For example, the “thank you” page your visitors land on after filling out a contact form. Can you imagine how confusing that page would be if someone found it in a search engine and that was their first introduction to your site? 

Yoast Breadcrumbs Edited 12/21/14 – the above Yoast plugin now comes with breadcrumbs feature too
Another great Yoast plugin. What is a breadcrumb? Think of the story of Hansel and Gretel leaving a trail of breadcrumbs in the woods to find their way back. Ok, bad analogy since theirs got eaten and they got lost, but these are a bit more…permenant…breadcrumbs. These are links and text that help you find your way through a website.

For example, let’s say you’re on our business site, you’ve moved past the services page, and are on a social networking page even deeper inside the site. The breadcrumb on our site would look like this:

You are here: Home » Web Services » Social Networking

These are great markers if you have a site with a lot of information in it. And rather than make those breadcrumbs manually (very time consuming and hard to keep updated), Yoast helps make them for you. 

FormBuilder
I’ve used a number of form plugins. This one is by far the easiest. Not super-fancy if you don’t know how to style it with CSS yourself. But VERY fast and super-easy to use. Requires far less knowledge than many of the form plugins out there.

WordPress Database Backup
If you are not comfortable using cPanel’s backup, PHPMyAdmin, or whatever other tools are provided to back up your WordPress installation’s database, someone made a fairly easy way to do that with a plugin. There are a ton out there, and while I’ve only tried this one once, it comes highly recommended by the developers on the Wise Women mailing list. (I’ve been there over a year, and there are male and female designers and developers there and they are brilliant.)

PHP Code Widget
This one is for the advanced users trying to add some PHP to a widget. Widgets don’t allow PHP, by default, but this allows you to have that functionality. Also helpful for the less-codehead-like DIY folks who found some PHP somewhere that they know they just need to copy and paste, but WP just wouldn’t let them do it, dang it. 

HTML Javascript Adder
Just like the PHP plugin above, it allows you to actually use JavaScript in a widget. So if you’ve found some somewhere you want to use and couldn’t before, now you can! 

We’ll take a break from WordPress for a bit and focus on other aspects of website creation and ownership. Because I bet some of you non-WordPress people and non-DIY folks may be getting bored. But after that…..

WordPress Anti-Spam and Security Plugins!

Then later….

WordPress Social Networking Plugins and blog post improvement plugins!

The post Part 2 of WordPress Plugins: 14 Awesome WordPress Plugins appeared first on GeekArtist Web Design & Marketing.

This post is for online stores, local shops, and all the small businesses out there…

First, Kabbage has an excellent page: 30 Creative Ideas to Promote Your Business for the Holiday Season. Make sure you check it out. That said, I’ve got more to add.

“Kabbage puts the power of business growth back in your hands by giving you instant access to funds. Enjoy ongoing access to your line, and take the funds you need day or night. Pay only for what you take and draw against your line as often as once a day.”

Kabbage has a variety of options to get cash for your business. I have not worked with them personally, but after some investigation, the results look good. I also called their sales office and asked questions: lots of good answers with ZERO PRESSURE sales. They are quite passionate about helping small business owners. You can find them at kabbage.com. Frankly, when I’m in a position to take out a loan, I intend to work with them. I like what I see.

Now then:

The problem for most small business owners: we’re doing almost EVERYTHING. We can’t afford to outsource or hire people, especially if we’re just starting out or in our “dry season”. Or you’re like me and you’ve hired a virtual assistant, have a few subcontractors, and that’s about it. But YOU are doing the PR, project management, ordering inventory, working on a website (or with a web designer), doing advertising, and more.

Being a small business owner is not an easy job. We don’t sleep a lot. We’re ALWAYS on call. And as Hopper said, in It’s a Bugs Life, “First rule of leadership: everything is your fault” (which, frankly, I prefer to working for someone else and dealing with their mistakes). It takes GUTS to run a business (or you just have to be my kind of crazy).

So to improve holiday sales, a few pointers:

1. Make a Calendar of Holidays

Mark when you should start preparations. Use something like Google Docs or EverNote to make a list of everything you need. Prep 3 months in advance, minimum. Especially if you are going to have to wait for:

inventoryprint jobsweb designer’s schedules

and other variables.

2. Make a List of Holidays

Most businesses do the Federal and State Holidays. But what about your local demographic? Big Muslim or Hindu neighborhood? Run sales on THEIR holidays. Throw in some for the Christians too, who are still the dominant religion in the U.S. Just don’t forget that your demographic, like mine, may be VAST. My customers, that I know of, are:

JewishMuslimHinduPaganChristian

So one thing I’ve started doing on social networks is just at least sending a shout out for their holiday. Just so they know that I recognize and respect them, and remember them. Not sure when all those holidays happen? If you use Google Calendar, there are calendars for everything on the planet that you can plug into your calendar.

3. Advertise the Sale in Advance

Don’t wait until the last day. Or even the week before. Start a month out, just a mention that it’s coming, is good. Then: two weeks out, to remind people.

Promote it on social media, if you use it. Put up signs in your store. If you have a newsletter for your business, send out a notice 1 month before, then 2 weeks before, then the week before. Then: on the day of the sale. Tell them to mark their calendar’s! Better yet, if your newsletter service has a way for customers to embed a Google Calendar reminder: go for it!

Just don’t get TOO spammy with all the newsletters. That’s why you want to space them out. When it comes to newsletters, more is NOT better. You’ll just piss off your audience and they’ll unsubscribe due to the sheer volume of email from you (that is likely all saying the same thing).

And remember: tell your customer’s what’s in it for them.

 4. How to Compete with the Big Dogs

Tell your customers WHY you are better than the big box stores. For example,

Personalized serviceFriendly, relaxed atmosphereStress-free shoppingYou get to know your customers by name

And so on. A lot of people like to shop local for these reasons, and more. So remind your customers why you ARE better than the big dogs in the marketplace. Advertising by the Big Dog’s makes it easy for your less loyal, less regular customers to remember you.

To sum up:

1. Make a Calendar of Holidays (Plan in Advance)
2. Make a List of Holidays (More: Plan in Advance)
3. Advertise the Sale in Advance (and know when and how)
4. How to Compete with the Big Dogs (tell everyone why YOU are better)

Got more questions? Get in touch! Also, check out my book for website owners: Website Wonders Made Easy: Websites Unwoven – A Guide to Creating a PROFESSIONAL Website, in Plain English. (Also available on Kindle and Nook.)

The book is NOT about how to make a website. It covers ALL the mistakes I’ve watched people make in the past 15 years. It covers law, website promotion, terminology, how to find and work with a web designer, newsletter best practices, site promotion, and more.

And as always, if you have questions, get in touch! You can also subscribe to the book email list (see right sidebar) for future Q&A sessions, whether you’ve bought the book or not. And I have communities for website owners where you can get your questions answered over on Reddit and Goodreads.

Happy ALL the holidays to you! Wishing you all a PROSPEROUS 2015!

The post How to Get Your Small Business, MORE BUSINESS, During the Holidays appeared first on GeekArtist Web Design & Marketing.