Custom WordPress Design and Themes | SEO Analytics - Consulting | One On One Coach - Teacher and Trainer

Link Building Checklist

Rick Cano — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 15:48:18 +0000

No Fluff Link Building Checklist

In Google, one of the primary ranking factors is link popularity. The number of links pointing to a page, along with quality and anchor text, are the most powerful way to rank a page for targeted search terms. Before anyone begins building links, it is important to know what makes for a good link building campaign. Below is a link building checklist to help guide your efforts and ensure that you receive a positive return on your time and effort.

Evaluate The Targeted Page

Occasionally, another webmaster will discover your site, or a page on it, and decide to link to it. More often than not, it is up to you to build links by reaching out to other webmasters. More importantly, it is important to reach out to the right webmasters. Here are some things to think about:

Evaluate the page’s link popularity
The quality of those links
and the information contained on that page

Anchor text that is closely related to keywords is important, but a shift is happening that appears to be rewarding the relevancy of the page more than the anchor text itself. If a page is relevant to your page, and has valuable links pointing to it – not spam links – then the link is valuable. An irrelevant page, or one that is the target of many spam type links is less likely to pass value, and may even hurt rankings in some cases(the Penguin effect). Links with good and valuable links pointing to them are likely to have high Page Rank and Page Authority, as measured by SEOmoz, which should raise the Page Rank and authority of your page as well.

Link Diversity

Some types of links have been devalued over time. A link building checklist should have categories for different types of links, as well as locations. When you start building links, create a long list of sites that are as diverse as possible, such as:

Niche relevant directories
Blogs
Vendor websites
Content aggregation sites
and even niche relevant forums should all be included

Attempt to get a link from as many different sites as possible. This helps to ensure IP diversity, and will usually result in better anchor text distribution while insulating your site from future Google algorithmic updates.

Link Velocity

The link building mistake most often made, apart from over optimization and spam, is poor link velocity. There are times when a page goes viral and receives a rush of links, but more often than not, the growth is fairly slow, and rarely is it consistent from day to day. While the goal is to get as many links as possible, those links should be spread out as much as possible. This has two advantages:

First, it allows you to track rankings and pinpoint links that may be helping the most, or hurting.
Second, it allows you to spend time on other projects, as well as to start getting links to other pages, which helps to raise the overall authority of your site.

Always keep this in mind, “SEO link building is of little use if you cannot track and measure results.”

Go And Rank

If you follow the link building checklist and advice here, you will stand a great chance to rank well. SEO link building is about diversity, creativity and consistency. link popularity

Link Building Checklist originally appeared on Custom WordPress Design and Themes | SEO Analytics - Consulting | One On One Coach - Teacher and Trainer on April 25, 2013.

Custom WordPress Self Help Theme

Rick Cano — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 23:53:13 +0000

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WordPress Self Help Theme

WordPress Basic Features :

Compatible with the latest WordPress version.
Very lightweight and fast loading theme.
WP 3.0 custom menu system, 4 level dropdown
Custom background panel.
Post thumbnail function.
Advanced theme options panel.
Attractive front page slideshow managed from the theme panel.
Integrated blog pagination.
Widget ready right sidebar and 2 bottom bars.
CSS & XHTML valid.
Cross-browser compatible.
Additional full width page template.

Custom WordPress Self Help Theme Design for Mia Doucet

Custom WordPress Design Features:

Homepage four column shortcode with image and excerpts.
Modified footer for “Call To Action” area.
Contact form with Captcha code.
Optin Sidebar Form.
Blog excerpt versus standard full blog article listing.
Two Video Gallery pages with unlimited video library capability.
Short-code integration and set up.

Testimonial

Rick Cano has custom designed three WordPress websites for me and I am absolutely thrilled with the results. Rick is creative, works quickly and is entirely focused on exceeding client expectations. His response time is excellent. He focuses on bringing your vision to life . . . whatever it takes. You can count not just on his ingenuity but his integrity . . . he carries out his promises.

I cannot recommend Rick highly enough. If you still have questions after viewing my sites, you can contact me directly through the contact pages of my websites:www.crackthesalescode.com or www.fasterEFTpractitioner.com .

Mia Doucet, Owner/Operator, CrackTheSalesCode & FasterEFTPractioner

Custom WordPress Self Help Theme originally appeared on Custom WordPress Design and Themes | SEO Analytics - Consulting | One On One Coach - Teacher and Trainer on March 25, 2013.

Web Design Trends For 2013

Rick Cano — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 00:11:26 +0000

In 2013 the Web Design industry will flourish with a lot more new and exclusive Trends and taking the lead is responsive or mobile first platform designs. These main changes are caused by two things. One of them is the rapid growth of mobile and tablet users. Last year saw more than 40% of purchases made online using a mobile device. The other fact is the increasing need to build websites more precise and low weight for these mobile users.

Responsive/Mobile Design Trends

The upgraded and technologically laden Trends have made the ability to design and/or customize a website with extreme ease and it has also made it very easy for a novice to create their ideal web design which allows the multitudes of mobile and tablet users a level of satisfaction and convenience to surf the web, as well as shop and purchase.

The mobile based design has also enabled users to experience a level of speed and convenience, never imagined in the past. Users can now check the daily news while traveling, control the temperature in their home and maybe even read a popular book.

You might say that both the mobile/tablet user is leading the way by demanding web designers to change to a more mobile and responsive design and layout.

Web Design Tools & Trends

We’re also seeing new web designing tools that have emerged as a result of this new trend in every facet of the Web Design industry. Some of the old tools like HTML, CSS have also evolved with this new focus. These advancements have made the job of a web designer/developer a lot less complex.

Another important web design trend we’re beginning to notice is a lot more attention to typography and tools needed to get the ideal look and feel of fonts and font sizes. More and more designers and developers are spending a lot more time paying attention to such things as what types of fonts and font sizes to use, line height and horizontal spacing.

Skeuomorphism Trends

I know what your thinking, what the heck is skeuomorphism? Wikipedia tells us. . .

“A skeuomorph is a physical ornament or design on an object copied from a form of the object when made from another material or by other techniques.”.

In more human terms skeuomorphic designs tend to look realistic (to make the connection with the original object clear), and realistic designs tend to be skeuomorphic (otherwise the realism would look out of place). Here’s the comparison:

A flat design where a web page is simply a flat look and feel vs
a skeuomorphic design which gives you a more realistic look and feel.

Or,

A homepage with page tabs, text in the content and sidebar vs
a skeuomorphic designed homepage with an image of a table and page tabs are actual books on the table.

It’s a very smart concept and fairly easy to integrate into a website. The end effect you get on your website is a more realistic look and feel. I could go on and on with examples but I think you get the idea.

What Does All This Mean?

I think what you’re going to find out, whether your a Web Designer or you’re a user on the other side of the spectrum is some pretty cool and fascinating trends that will make our lives much less complex:

Decrease the need to refresh the page.
Reduction of text to say something in one page, by utilizing typography more effectively.
Better image usage to express your message…especially very large images on landing pages.
Long winded articles will be a thing of the past.
More important things will update a specific data without reloading the whole page.
Simplicity in Web Designing where complex elements will become basic.
Users will understand the content more easily.
My personal favorite – a LOT less clutter.

In Closing and The Take Away Message:

Try building a BMW at www.bmwusa.com and you’ll see how they take this concept to a totally different level, the only difference is that you are adding the effect as you build your new BMW vehicle and not a new website. But you’ll see that essential idea. Try it out!!

WordPress Responsive Designs

Skeuomorph Designs

Web Design Trends For 2013 originally appeared on Custom WordPress Design and Themes | SEO Analytics - Consulting | One On One Coach - Teacher and Trainer on March 8, 2013.

Lock Your Navigation Bar to the Top of the Screen

Rick Cano — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 23:33:37 +0000

Lock Your Navigation Bar to the Top of the Screen

I had a client who absolutely loved how I fix the navigation menu on my PageLines site to the top of the screen, so it was always visible to site visitors as they scrolled down the page.

The process I’ve described here to lock your navigation bar to the top of the screen is applied to the PlatformPro PageLines theme platform on WordPress, but it can with a few modifications be applied to just about any WordPress theme.

If you’re familiar with PageLines you’ll see my instructions include just about all the variations you’ll need to use to lock your navigation bar to the top of the screen. I’ve also included a quick and simple HTML variation at the end as well as a few notes on how to apply this to a Thesis theme.

You’ll find a lot of articles explaining how to do this simple little fix but they all seem to make the instructions more difficult than it really is and I much prefer a more simpler way of customizing and to fix the navigation bar to the top of the screen.

In my search for the solution, I’d been using the CSS position: fixed value for the header_area div. While that did fix the header area (which, on the site in question, contained the navigation menu) to the top of the page, the content area moved up behind it so that the top few paragraphs of the page were obscured when the page first loaded. This is because using the position: fixed value removes the element it’s applied to from the normal flow of the page. You could think of it like lifting the header area up from the page so it’s still visible, but everything slides up behind it into the space it’s left behind.

When you Lock Your Navigation Bar to the Top of the Screen using a CSS position value of fixed, you’ll see that the navigation menu bar will move either to the left or right or I’ve seen it even move to the bottom.

In other words…the minute you “fix” this value you’re essentially modifying the header area div along with its CSS and then the new Div value has no corresponding CSS to control its placement.

So, if you’re using PageLines…here are the steps to modify your header area to lock your navigation bar to the top of the screen. In this example I’m using the full width layout and the brandnav section in the top.

Click on the + to expand each Step:

STEP #1

In your brandnav.css file, modify these lines:

From this:

#brandnav {padding: 13px 0px 11px;margin-bottom: .7em;}

To this:

#brandnav {background-color: #020070;box-shadow: 0 9px 6px #888888;margin-bottom: 0.7em;margin-top: -5px;padding: 13px 0 11px; position: fixed;width: 100%;}

(If you already have other values specified for this area div, simply add the position values as seen above and then tweak the margin and padding).

STEP #2:

In your pro.css file, modify these lines:

From this:

#banners .content-pad { padding: 15px 0;height:0;margin-top:-20px; }
.banner_container .banner-area {margin-left: -45px;padding: 30px 0;}
.banner-content { font-size: 1.2em;line-height: 1.6em;margin-bottom: -35px;margin-top:-40px;}

To This:

#banners .content-pad {height: 0;margin-top: -2px;padding: 15px 0;}
.banner_container .banner-area {margin-left: -45px;padding: 1px 0;}
.banner-content {font-size: 1.2em;line-height: 1.6em;margin-bottom: -35px;margin-top: 45px;}

Note: Under normal circumstances at this point I would add a new function to create a buffer area and then add a buffer area css value however because Pagelines platform is designed with “Sections” and each section comes with its own margin and padding values…Hence no need to add a “buffer” area like you would for a Thesis Theme.

STEP #3

Next, you may have to tweak or modify the “header section” and/or the Content area section a little more until you’ve got the navigation menu bar situated where you want and locked to the top so that when you scroll up or down the navigation menu is fixed to the top.

In my live demonstration I used this code to tweak the content: #maincontent .content-pad {padding-top:60px;}

Hopefully with these simple steps you’ll lock your navigation bar tot he top of the screen and when you scroll up or down you’ll see the the navigation bar is fixed to the top.

Click here to see a live demonstration: Process In Action

Static Website?

If you’re working with a static HTML site, you can follow the same steps above to lock your navigation bar to the top of the screen except:

In your style sheet, add the position: fixed; declaration to the attributes of the div in which your menu (navigation) bar is sitting – it will probably be named something like top_nav or navbar.

Also in your style sheet, add the new ‘buffer’ div selector and give it an initial height.

Add the buffer div into the HTML for the page immediately after the div in which your navigation bar is sitting and before the following div. This is the div that will replace your navigation bar div and prevent the following div’s from moving up behind it (see the more detailed explanation above)

Thesis – Click here to see a Live Demonstration using Thesis

Famous Last Words -

A word of caution – I would suggest “not” to actually modify the CSS in either the Pro.css or the brandnav.css, edit and modify the code in the Custom.Css that comes standard in all PageLines themes. I would never suggest you actually modify the css….I use the illustration above merely to guide and instruct you on what the code looks like in the style sheet.

Secondly, some browsers handle the position selector differently, so you may get some odd looking results in different browsers. Be sure to check how your site looks, at least in the most common browsers. What I have found is older Internet Explorer browsers may give you the most odd looking results and you may find some very small differences in spacing between FireFox and Google Chrome.

I hope this quick and simple step by step process will help you customize your WordPress website and if you have any questions or would like to learn more….feel free to contact us. Navigation Menus

Lock Your Navigation Bar to the Top of the Screen originally appeared on Custom WordPress Design and Themes | SEO Analytics - Consulting | One On One Coach - Teacher and Trainer on February 2, 2013.

Tribute To Fallen Soldiers 2013 Schedule

Rick Cano — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 00:03:02 +0000

Every year we design custom WordPress websites for several non-profits or charity organizations that give back to the community. We not only provide full custom WordPress designs but we also provide graphic design as well as “free” monthly maintenance whereby we maintain the websites for free at no cost to the charity or non-profit organization.

Tribute to Fallen Soldiers is one such organization. We custom designed this WordPress website back in 2009 and we have been maintaining the website every month since we completed the original custom design.

Here’s a quick look at the Tribute To Fallen Soldiers 2013 Schedule:

1st Annual Tribute to Fallen Soldiers Memorial
Torch Motorcycle Ride
July 23rd – July 31st

The 1st Annual Tribute to Fallen Soldiers Memorial Torch Motorcycle Ride is an eight day fully escorted motorcycle ride through the western States of Washington, Oregon, California and Nevada

to honor and pay tribute to our fallen soldiers and their families.

Join us as we light the “Torch of Life” July 23rd in Seattle, Washington in an official
torch lighting ceremony for all participating riders, VIP’s and special guests.

On July 24th, join hundreds of Tribute to Fallen Soldiers motorcycle riders as the “Torch of Life” sets out on its 1,000 mile journey through four States, dozens of counties and

hundreds of communities to bring awareness to America’s fallen heroes.

The memorial “Torch of Life” will end its incredible and inaugural journey in

Reno, Nevada on July 31st ending with an acceptance ceremony from special guests and
Gold Star families.

Don’t miss the opportunity to participate in this inaugural

Tribute to Fallen Soldiers Memorial Torch
Motorcycle Ride.

RIDE FEES; $35 Single Rider / $40 Rider + Passenger
* Ride one day or all eight days – The ride fee is the same

At specific rest stops along the ride route, meals and beverages will be provided.
Housing at our overnight locations is the responsibility of the riders, however
hotel partners with reduced special rates will be available

To sign up, call ( 541 ) 466-3533

4th Annual Oregon

Tribute to Fallen Soldiers
Motorcycle Ride

August 9, 10 & 11, 2013

The 4th Annual ( Oregon ) Tribute to Fallen Soldiers Motorcycle Ride
is scheduled for August 9th, 10th & 11th, 2013.

This years tribute ride will begin in Pendleton, Oregon and be hosted by
the Wildhorse Resort & Casino.

Join us as we set out to honor and pay tribute to

fallen soldiers and their families from Eastern Oregon.
This years escorted tribute ride will visit the homes of eight families
and provide each with a “Plaque of Distinguished Service”
in memory of their fallen hero.

Sign up today and receive your exclusive ride reservation number
which provides a ride space closer to the front of the escorted ride procession.

To sign up, click on our Oregon Reservation page
or call ( 541 ) 466-3533

Feel free to visit their website and learning more about this cause and I’m sure they’d love your support for our Fallen Soldiers: Tribute To Fallen Soldiers

Tribute To Fallen Soldiers 2013 Schedule originally appeared on Custom WordPress Design and Themes | SEO Analytics - Consulting | One On One Coach - Teacher and Trainer on January 28, 2013.

Sabine Hyland – Mankind: The Story of All of Us Contributor

Rick Cano — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 17:17:50 +0000

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Sabine Hyland – Mankind: The Story of All of Us Contributor

WordPress Basic Features:

Compatible with the latest WordPress version.
Post thumbnail features.
Admin Dashboard for site-wide Content Management System control.
Theme options panel.
Front page slider, include pages or posts via custom fields.
Two widget ready locations.
Threaded comments.
Easily switch from image to text logo.
Integrated blog pagination.
W3C Compliant website and Compatible with all major browsers.

Sabine Hyland – Mankind: The Story of All of Us Contributor

Custom WordPress Design Features:

Custom menu system.
Custom background panel
Custom background Machu Picchu graphic image.
Custom shortcodes.
Social networking embeds for Facebook Fan Page and Email option.
Design layout with fonts and colors as per clients exact specifications.
Two gallery platforms for traveling images as well as Book Covers.
Video platform to make use of an easier way to embed videos within website.
Navigation bar with custom green graphic with grooves and hover color.
Gallery platform to showcase clients magazine stories and articles.
Image Gallery for social events and celebrity focus with a clean pop up viewer for easier viewing and slideshow.
Built-in SEO options which boost SEO.

Testimonial:

My new website was designed by Cano Consulting, and they did a fantastic job! If you need a professional website, I would highly recommend Cano Consulting. Rick Cano is creative, talented and innovative — he takes the time to understand each client and then designs a website to respond to the client’s unique needs.

Dr. Sabine Hyland, University of St. Andrews – Scotland
Author , Reader & Professor

Note: Dr. Sabine Hyland was recently featured in History Channels most recent blockbuster series “Mankind: The Story of All of Us in Episodes 4,5 and 7 where she discussed Easter Island, The rise and fall of the Incas and the Aztecs. In addition National Geographic created a documentary about her research titled: “Decoding The Incas.” For Live Website

Sabine Hyland – Mankind: The Story of All of Us Contributor originally appeared on Custom WordPress Design and Themes | SEO Analytics - Consulting | One On One Coach - Teacher and Trainer on December 14, 2012.

Larry Broughton – Keynote Speaker & Best Selling Author – Custom WordPress Design

Rick Cano — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 23:30:47 +0000

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Larry Broughton – Keynote Speaker & Best Selling Author

WordPress Basic Features:

Cross-Browser compatible all web browsers such as Firefox, Safari, Chrome and IE.
Built-in SEO options which boost SEO.
Admin Dashboard for site-wide Content Management System control.
Two sidebar containers for two widget areas and 5 footer areas.
Auto-sizing thumbnails and Localized for translations.
W3C Compliant website.

Larry Broughton – Keynote Speaker & Best Selling Author

Custom WordPress Design Features:

Header with separate links for each text link. (six)
Social networking embeds for RSS feed, Facebook, Twitters, Linkedin and mail option.
Design layout with fonts and colors as per clients exact specifications.
Created an additional page template for a left sidebar to go with the default right sidebar.
Contact form customized to look and feel like a “meeting scheduler” system with meeting dates, location, meeting time, type of audience, and budget.
Video platform to make use of an easier way to embed videos within website.
Navigation bar with custom green graphic with grooves and hover color.
Gallery platform to showcase clients magazine stories and articles.
Image Gallery for social events and celebrity focus with a clean pop up viewer for easier viewing and slideshow.

Testimonial:

Rick Cano exceeds all expectations! His level of professionalism, communication, training and proactive customer service is top notch. Rick removed all anxiety from an intimidating project (for a neophyte like me). . . read full testimonial

Larry Broughton, Entrepreneur, Author , Speaker
Founder & CEO, Broughton Hospitality Group

Larry Broughton – Keynote Speaker & Best Selling Author – Custom WordPress Design originally appeared on Custom WordPress Design and Themes | SEO Analytics - Consulting | One On One Coach - Teacher and Trainer on December 3, 2012.

Line Dance Shopping Cart

Rick Cano — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 19:19:59 +0000

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Line Dance Shopping Cart – OpenCart Design

Basic Features:

Cross-Browser compatible for web browsers such as Firefox, Safari, Chrome and IE.
Built-in SEO options which is search engine friendly.
Admin Dashboard for site-wide Content Management System control.
Two sidebar containers for two widget areas.
Unlimited categories, products and manufacturers.
Multi Currency and Languages
Product Reviews and Ratings.
20+ Payment Gateways and 8+ shipping methods.
Automatic image resize.

Line Dance Shopping Cart – OpenCart Design

Custom Features:

Design layout with fonts and colors as per clients exact specifications.
Banner header Image with Logo is an original creation.
Configured and setup PayPal within the website and within their PayPal business account.
Newsletter subscription coded,embedded and configured.
Special Offers coded in header and sidebar.
Information box expanded from the basic three to seven entries.
Navigation bar with custom rust colored graphics.

Testimonial:

Rick, thank you so much for all your help…. Your Web Design skills are awesome… You took my generic unappealing website and turned into a site that is very eye catching and attractive. The colors are so pleasing to look at I’m sure my customers will enjoy their visits.

Lois Roberts, Owner – Yee Ha Line Dance Duds (read rest of testimonial here)

Line Dance Shopping Cart originally appeared on Custom WordPress Design and Themes | SEO Analytics - Consulting | One On One Coach - Teacher and Trainer on November 15, 2012.

Non Profit GOPIO-Atlanta Custom WordPress Design

Rick Cano — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 21:54:24 +0000

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Non Profit GOPIO-Atlanta – WordPress Design

Basic Features:

Cross-Browser compatible all web browsers such as Firefox, Safari, Chrome and IE.
Three separate page template styles with unique options for styling the background color and images.
Built-in SEO options which boost SEO.
Admin Dashboard for site-wide Content Management System control.
Two sidebar containers for two widget areas and 4 footer areas.
Auto-sizing thumbnails and Localized for translations.
Twenty-Ten basic template.

Non Profit GOPIO-Atlanta – WordPress Design

Custom Features:

Home page image slider embedded within template files.
Image slider embedded within the sidebar widget area for 3 template pages.
Design layout with fonts and colors as per clients exact specifications.
Created two additional page templates to go with the basic three within the Twenty-Ten template, along with custom sidebars for three types of page templates.
Contact form with multiple drop down selectors for news and media questions as well.
Custom Shopping cart to work in conjunction with the contact form so that the clients information is auto populated.
Shopping cart page to showcase ten membership type products with interactive hidden checkout in sidebar.
Navigation bar with custom green graphic with grooves and hover color.

Testimonial:

Rick Cano is a true pro and came through on our complicated project converting and redesigning our Dreamweaver website into a custom WordPress website. We also hired him for tutorial instruction as well.

Miheer, Consultant – The Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) welcomes you to our international network of people of Indian origin (PIO)- Atlanta Chapter. GOPIO

Non Profit GOPIO-Atlanta Custom WordPress Design originally appeared on Custom WordPress Design and Themes | SEO Analytics - Consulting | One On One Coach - Teacher and Trainer on October 31, 2012.

Electrical Products Custom WordPress Design

Rick Cano — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 18:05:35 +0000

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Electrical Products WordPress Design

Basic Features:

Cross-Browser compatible which ensures that all web browsers like Firefox, Safari, Chrome and IE is compliant.
Four separate page template styles with unique options for styling the background color and images.
Built-in SEO options which boost SEO.
Admin Dashboard for site-wide Content Management System control.
Multiple sidebar containers for six widget areas and 5 footer areas.
Auto-sizing thumbnails and Localized for translations.

Electrical Products WordPress Design

Custom Features:

Vimeo video page as well as a video gallery.
Design layout with fonts and colors as per clients exact specifications.
Created multiple page templates along with custom sidebars for different pages.
Contact form with multiple drop down selectors for news and media questions as well.
Products page to showcase three separate products.
Created two custom forms to be printed for Disclaimer and Terms of Service.
Calendar of Events and News items for media outlets as well as clients.

Testimonial:

Rick’s communication, work ethic and input made our site better than we ever thought. We have enjoyed working with him and plan to have him maintain our Electrical Products site from this point forward.

Wayne Morris, MADI, LLC, Owner

Electrical Products Custom WordPress Design originally appeared on Custom WordPress Design and Themes | SEO Analytics - Consulting | One On One Coach - Teacher and Trainer on October 15, 2012.