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The Beginner’s Guide to Growing Your Website With Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising

Megan Hendrickson — Fri, 10 Nov 2017 08:00:00 -0700

In just one second — about the time it took you to read that first phrase — there were nearly 70,000 searches happening on the internet.

In real time, the numbers are staggering.

With so many clicks occurring every second, it’s virtual rush hour on the interwebs. And you website owners out there should be making the most of the digital crowds. You want clicks on your site and customers engaging with your brand.

So how can you get in front of customers’ searches? Pay-per-click advertising (PPC).

What Is PPC and How Does It Work?

Before we delve in, let’s start with the most basic of basics: a simple search. Say you want to buy some office supplies. Here’s what Google would come up with.

As you can see, there are a few results above the fold (the part of the page you can see without scrolling) and results below the fold. The first few results (and the result to the right) are designated as “Ad” or “Sponsored.” The distinctions on the results show us which are paid results and which are organic.

As you probably know, organic search results are the sites that come up because they are pertinent based on their keywords, SEO strategy, fresh content, and responsive design. Trust us, Google’s algorithm is as wide and expansive as Ariana Grande’s vocal range — four octaves, people!

Paid search — as the name suggests — involves paying $$$ to have your website appear in the sponsored sections of search engine results and corresponding partner sites.

Both organic and paid searches appear in search results, just in different locations. PPC allows you to have your website appear in the sponsored/ad results, but the best part?

You only pay for it when someone clicks on your ad! Genius, right?

So how do you get started? And why should you? Good questions. Let’s dig in.

Start With Google AdWords

Oh, Google AdWords, how we love thee. Let us count the ways. Or at least, let’s talk about why it’s a good place to start your paid search advertising journey:

First of all, Google is Google so you know you’re dealing with a reputable search engine. Plus, Google provides you with helpful tools (like its Keyword Planner, a help center, best practices literature, resources, and even another advertising option: Adwords Express — if you’re looking for a more managed paid search experience).
AdWords is scalable to your budget (more on that later). No need to stress about overblowing your expenses on pricey advertising packages. Plus, you only pay when you get clicks, and you can start small.
With AdWords, you can easily keep track of your stats and results; your progress is transparent and measurable. With accessible monitoring, you can continually improve your campaign performance and see better traffic (we’ll talk success metrics later).
With PPC, you can hyper-target specific audiences with a variety of match types, increasing your chances of converting relevant customers. AdWords also provides you with many engaging campaign formats — like graphic display ads, YouTube video ads, text-based ads and more — that are easy to manage and track day-to-day.
PPC with Google AdWords can get you clicks and impressions — fast. For example, say Black Friday is approaching and you need more traffic to your site, like, *yesterday*. With AdWords, you can start getting that traffic and building brand awareness right now without having to wait for the results of traditional SEO drivers. Think of PPC like a shot of adrenaline. It’s a fast fix, but you’ll also need to complement it with a long-term search engine optimization strategy.
Unlike pop-up ads or annoying clickbait, PPC through AdWords is an unobtrusive advertising method, occurring during an internet user’s routine web browsing and searching.
If we haven’t convinced you to get started with AdWords, maybe your competitors will: 72 percent of AdWords marketers plan to increase their PPC budgets. If you’re not on board, you’re getting left behind — and losing out on prime internet real estate.

As more space is awarded to ads above the fold than organic results, you have an opportunity to have highly clickable content reach your specific audiences. Now, let’s get to work!

Create Your AdWords Account and Build a Strategy

Getting started with Google AdWords is pretty simple. Visit the Google AdWords homepage and click “Start Now.” You’ll begin by logging in with an email address and your site URL. If you’ve got questions, check out Google’s in-depth guide. And remember, if you mess up while creating your account, Google AdWords has specialists on call!

Now that you’re set up with an account, you should think strategy before you begin developing your campaigns. A good place to start is by determining your PPC campaign goals. Ask yourself these questions:

Who (specifically) are you targeting?
What outcome do you want?
What do you want your target audience to do?
How will your campaign be a success?

Answering questions like these can help you guide your campaign choices and plan a kick-butt advertising gameplan.

Setting an AdWords Budget

In terms of $$$, AdWords offers a great amount of flexibility based on your budget. An auction-style bidding method sets prices for keywords (all that time you spent playing Masterpiece is *finally* coming in handy!) so you get to decide how much you’re willing to pay for each click by bidding for your chosen keywords.

AdWords then uses an algorithm called Ad Rank to determine where your ads will be shown on a page (or if they’ll even be shown at all).

From Google: “Ad Rank is calculated using your bid amount, the components of Quality Score — expected clickthrough rate, ad relevance, and landing page experience — and the expected impact of extensions and other ad formats.”

That means that if you want to improve the position of your ad on the page (i.e. move that puppy above the fold), you’re going to have to do the following:

Increase your bid.
Improve the quality of your ads.
Improve the quality of your computer and mobile landing pages.

We’ll cover those last two points a little later. For now, let’s talk a bit more about maximizing your bidding budget.

AdWords is a very manageable start-where-you’re-at marketing strategy — bootstrappers, rejoice! It works with your budget.

Instead of forking over a wad of cash every time you get a click or blowing your ad budget in one go, you can set up your account to work within a daily budget, dictating how much money Google can spend on your ad placements each day. You can also request to have your budget spread across the entire day to capitalize on clicks at different times.

To learn more, check out Google’s guide on setting up your first AdWords bid.

Remember: if you’re just starting out with paid advertising or your budget is tight (or both), Google offers you the ability to start slow, measure your success, and work within reasonable financial means while you learn how to best optimize your campaign.

The Fundamentals of Google AdWords

The three fundamental elements of Google AdWords are keywords, ads, and landing pages.

1. Keywords

America runs on Dunkin, and Google AdWords runs on keywords. The keywords you choose to bid on tell Google which search result pages your ad should appear on.

And that’s where it gets tricky.

Selecting the right keywords for your campaign takes research. First, you’ve got to find out what keywords are directing traffic to your site from organic search results and use these to instruct your choice of paid search keywords.

You can use Google’s Keyword Planner to conduct research on choice keywords (you might even discover new ones).

When you have your list of keywords, you can choose from different match types that dictate when your ad is displayed: exact match, phrase match, and broad match. Each type has its advantages and drawbacks, and your choice should be tailored to meet the needs of your campaign and your goals.

Exact match displays an ad when the search matches the exact term or close variations of that term. This is a good choice for marketers looking to target a very specific audience. It can also limit your traffic if you’ve very narrowly defined your reach.

Phrase match will display your ad if the search query contains the same order of words (it can also have additional words).

Broad match will display your ad when the search term contains any or some combination of the words in your keyword, in any order. Your ad could also show for other variations of the words, such as singular or plural forms, synonyms, etc. This opens the way for much more traffic, but the kind of traffic you’re getting could vary, because searchers may not find exactly what they’re looking for, making it less likely that conversions happen. So you’ll want to take caution with such a broad reach; you don’t want to waste your money on irrelevant searches.

You can also set keywords to a negative match, which allows you to keep your ad from being displayed when a given term is searched (set up with a minus sign, like -old, or -used). Using negative keyword matches can help better control relevance (by determining who not to target) without eliminating the potential traffic of broader match types. As with other matches, it may take time to refine, so continue to keep tweaking.

Whatever your match type, you’ll want to keep tabs on your Search Terms Report so you can evaluate the kind of search queries coming through, and adjust your search types to refine your keyword strategy. A good beginners option: start with phrase or broad match to drive traffic, then evaluate your results for converting keywords and adjust those to be set to exact match type. When all else fails, test! Your campaign will continue to need optimizing over time, so add and delete or change match types as best fit your needs.

2. Ads

How you craft your copy is critical to the success of your PPC campaign; your ads must be relevant enough to users’ searches to attract clicks. You’ll need to meet Google’s editorial standards, guidelines that dictate proper spelling, punctuation, image quality, and more. In addition to following the character limits for your ads (see below), you’ll want to deploy a few copy-crafting best practices — courtesy of Google itself:

Take advantage of your limited number of characters. After all, you’re paying for the click. Make it an effective call to action (invite your customer to do something: buy, click, shop).

Write for a mobile audience. Those customers tapping away on smartphone screens are an increasingly important group for you to appeal to. Craft ad copy with them in mind.

Set yourself apart by delineating in your ad what makes you different and unique. One-of-a-kind inventory? Bonus incentive? Free shipping? Whatever it is, emphasize your competitive edge.

Connect your elements. Increase relevancy (and your quality score — more on that later) by including at least one keyword in your ad and matching your ad to your landing page.

TEST! As with most things on your website — and especially your marketing efforts — you’ll want to test your PPC ads. Google even allows you to test different versions of your ad; they’ll rotate through your ads to figure out which ones perform best.

How to Create an Ad

1. Log in to the Google AdWord’s site.

2. Select the type of campaign you want to run and then give it a name.

3. Choose a goal — sales, leads, or website traffic (and more!) — and set other campaign details, like locations, bid strategy, and daily budget.4. Create your ad (there are different kinds, like display, video, search, or app ads), following the character-limit template:

Headline 1: 30 characters
Headline 2: 30 characters
Description: 80 characters
Path (2): 15 characters each

5. Select your keywords.

6. Set your cost per click.

7. Review details, and confirm billing information.

3. Landing Pages

When users click on your ads, they reach landing pages, which are a destination URL leading to a page on your site. Landing pages are intended to convert — to have users respond to your call to action by buying, engaging, subscribing, etc.

These landing pages should be targeted — whether they are product-specific or customized — so that you’re taking advantage of the opportunity of each click. Don’t make your visitors work for the information you promised (i.e. don’t send them to your site’s home page) or frustrate them with incomplete information. You want to do all you can to help them complete their purchases (hint: Google can help you test landing pages as well).

Don’t Forget Mobile

I know, I know. We talk about mobile all the time. But the stats don’t lie: 70 percent of mobile searches result in action being taken within an hour. As the use of mobile devices increase, it has become increasingly more important to optimize your campaigns for mobile searchers — and shoppers. This includes building responsive landing pages and writing tight, mobile-friendly ad copy.

Google’s Accelerate Mobile Pages technology is designed to make sites lightning fast. Learn how to use AMP on your WordPress website.

Understanding Quality Score

Next, you’ll need to understand how quality score influences your AdWords experience, especially as it has to do with relevancy between your landing pages, your ad copy, and your keywords. While your bid plays a major role in determining whether or not you received ad space for a keyword, Google also scans your content and utilizes an algorithm to determine your “Quality Score,” a score of relevancy between ads, your keyword, and your landing page content.

It can also help you to optimize keywords by determining which ones are cost-effective to use.

For example, if you find out that you have a low-quality score (it’s a 1 to 10 rating with 10 being the highest) when using a particular keyword, it means that the content on your site is not tightly related enough to your keywords, ad copy, and landing pages and, therefore, not relevant enough for Google in that space. With a high-quality score, Google will place your ad in a top position for a cost-effective price.

Ultimately, the quality score helps Google provide a better user experience. As it scans your content for relevancy, it ensures that you’re not buying keywords just to direct users to irrelevant pages.

Because, honestly, nobody wants to be directed to shiny pleather loafers (shudder) when what they were searching for was Air Jordans.

Measuring Your Success

As another thumbs up for Google AdWords: measuring your progress is simple. With easy-to-use tracking features, you can utilize the site’s metrics to optimize your campaigns. It’s like a one-stop shop for paid search. Here are the four main metrics you need to watch:

Clicks: When users click on your ads.

Conversions: When users respond to your call to action and engage. A tracking code can help you keep track of this number.

Impressions: Instances of your ad being displayed when someone searches the keyword associated with your bid (roughly the number of people who look at your ad/the number of viewers the ad reaches).

Spend: The amount of money you’ve spent on a campaign.

Also, be aware of these numbers, which involve the fundamental four metrics:

Click Through Rate (CTR): The percentage of clicks that become conversions (the higher the number, the more effective your campaign). Determine this number by doing a little math: Clicks ÷ Impressions.

Conversation Rate: The percentage of conversions per click. A successful campaign keeps this number low. Find the conversion rate with another simple formula: Conversions ÷ Clicks.

Cost Per Click (CPC): The price you pay for each click is calculated by Spend ÷ Clicks. Your goal: decrease this number.

Cost Per Acquisition (CPA): The amount of money you’re spending for each conversion. Spend ÷ Conversions. Again, try to keep this number low.

Once you start a PPC campaign, you’ll want to review these metrics regularly to look for ways to improve and optimize your campaign. By monitoring these metrics, you can make adjustments to keep performance high and costs low.

Last Clicks

With Google AdWords, savvy website owners like you can affordably get a PPC campaign up and running — whether you’re prepping for the holiday shopping rush or building a long-term marketing strategy for your business. The easy-to-use system helps you build an effective paid search advertising campaign to help grow your business.

Tell us: how has paid search helped your website grow? What are your best AdWords tips and tricks? Let us know in the comments!

— Reporting by Kasee Bailey

Edit Your Website Photos Like a Pro with These 8 Tips

ellice — Thu, 09 Nov 2017 08:00:00 -0700

First impressions are made in as little as seven seconds. But on your website, it’s even quicker.

Like, six seconds quicker.

So what makes for a good first impression in the blink of an eye? Compelling, professional-looking images. The presence and quality of your website’s photos determine, in large part, who engages with your brand and puts cash behind their clicks.

In fact, if you clean up your images, you could see increased growth. Content with compelling images averages 94 percent more total views than blah, text-only competitors!

And best of all? You don’t have to be a professional photog or a Photoshop whiz to make your site’s images look polished and attractive. With these eight DIY, beginner-friendly photo editing tips — and a great website builder — you can put your best (virtual) foot forward.

1. Prioritize Quality

Even if you ignore the science — that 65 percent of the population consists of visual learners, that 90 percent of information transmitted to the brain is visual, and that attention spans have now shortened to fleeting glances — you have to accept the reality that high-quality photos will make or break your site. In fact, 67 percent of people say that a site’s image quality was “very important” to selecting and buying products.

Cadillac’s site showcases high-quality photos that boast the professional feel of the brand.

This may not seem like a “photo editing” tip per se, but take it from us: images that complement your site’s content contribute to a positive and persuasive user experience. Plus, they boost SEO. Google rewards your site’s rankings based on the relevancy and quality of your images, so don’t underestimate the power of winning photos.

If your budget doesn’t allow for your business to hire a professional photographer, take your own or invest in quality stock images (some, like picjumbo, Pixabay, and Pexels are free).

And DreamHost users, you have a leg up!

Remixer, our website builder, has a new photo editing tool. With in-screen access to Pixabay, you can add and edit appealing stock photos (royalty free!) directly to your Remixer website. Easy peasy!

You can access the gallery of stock images directly within Remixer.

Learn how to use all of the features that Remixerʼs Image Editor has to offer.

2. Follow the Rule of Thirds

It’s okay if you don’t have an extensive photography background (spoiler: I don’t either). Let’s learn together, starting with the fundamentals of a good photo. A photo’s composition refers to the way elements in a photo are arranged within the frame. Composition helps guide viewers’ eyes through the photo and increases the impact of an image.

An example of this is the Rule of Thirds: the key parts of your photos (the interesting stuff) should be at the intersections of the lines dividing your photo into thirds.

See how the women in this photo — who inexplicably chose a dry, weedy field for a game of telephone — are roughly lined up with the intersections of the lines? This is the essence of the Rule of Thirds.

You can even do it with a single object in a photo.

If your photos aren’t following the Rule of Thirds, you can choose a new photo (or frame yours better — some cameras even have settings for that), or you can edit your current photos to better adhere to the Rule of Thirds. Utilize the cropping tool (see No. 5 below) to realign the photo’s elements.

Like turning this:

Into this:

See? The guy still looks like a Bond villain, but the image has a better composition.

Nike aces the Rule of Thirds in its product images.

While there is always an occasion to rule break in photography, complying with the Rule of Thirds is a simple way to edit your photos for increased appeal and composition.

3. Focus on the Details

Believe it or not, there are a lot of less flashy elements to photos (pun intended) that matter for your website. Paying attention to these little details makes for quick, easy fixes that will enhance your site and boost your SEO.

First, let’s cover a few of the must-dos.

Know the Right File Type to Use

Public Service Announcement: PNG and JPG photo files are not the same.

Knowing how each work works can help you make wise web choices with your photos — and increase your site speed (Google agrees!). The goal is maintaining a reasonable file size while not compromising the image quality.

Let’s start with PNG files. PNG files generally work better with crisp images with a limited number of colors because when compressed, this type of file still contains more of the information than a JPG. PNG files produce higher-quality images and, therefore, come at a higher cost — a bigger image size. They’re also the choice of designers who plan to do more fancy editing footwork, like effects with transparency.

The verdict? Use sparingly for the elements that absolutely require the highest resolution so you don’t put the brakes on your site speed.

Next, let’s talk about JPGs. JPGs are typically the choice for web images with lots of colors, because their smaller file size allows for road-runner load times (DYK? Photos take up a huge chunk of a site’s weight). However, with compression, some information is lost, meaning that photo quality is decreased — but you can still usually get a good balance between the two.

Exporting your photo allows you to change the image file type.

While identifying which file type works best for your site images is a balance, it’s worth the effort to ensure that your site is optimized for speed and provides an engaging visual experience for your users.

Name Your Image File Correctly

I get it. With all of the day-to-day minutiae of running your website, you don’t need another to-do list task. Time is $$$, right?

While it may be tempting, in haste, to name your photos “akjfdakd.jpeg” or “photo1.png,” it’s important to give your photos a file name that relates to the image’s content. We’re not just being nitpicky — proper file names (like, hint: with your keywords) help Google know what your photo is about.

Use Captions and Alternative Text

Going the extra mile — even with seemingly-tedious tasks — aids in getting your site get found, and improves your images and user experience. One of those must-dos is providing alt text for your images — the descriptive copy that details what the image is showing if, for some reason, it cannot be displayed.

Rolling over the images on West Elm’s blog brings up alt text — a useful descriptor provided in case photos are not displayed.

Next up: captions. Good web images have accompanying captions (look, Ma, we did it too!) that help optimize your images for search engines.

Yet another important reason to caption your photos? Captions are crucial for engagement. Captions are read about 300 percent more on average than the body copy of an article, so if you don’t have them, you’re losing out on readers. Web users are busy people. Give them snackable bites of text (like your captions) to grab their attention.

Food 52’s got it down. Photo captions aid SEO and user experience.

4. Flaunt an Authentic Style

Step back and consider all the images on your site. Together, do they match the unique je ne sais quoi of your site? Do they all align with your brand identity?

Consider the feel of your site. Is it clean and minimal? Artsy and boho? Whatever product or service your company brings to the table, ensure that the visual content you offer is true to your one-of-a-kind style and matches your brand.

Here are a few photo editing hacks to help you achieve that noteworthy look.

Utilize Filters

Filters aren’t just for Snapchat or Insta Stories. While they must be used with discretion (no teeny-bopper overlays, please), filters can help enhance photos by furnishing them with a specific feel. Used consistently across your site, filtered photos help you develop a brand style your users will recognize.

In addition to being high impact, this image’s filter gives it a distinct character.

If you’re a Remixer user, you’ll be excited about this: we also added filters to the Image Editor! That means you can apply filters — think smoky hues, golden tints, rainbow vibes, and much more — directly to the photos you are editing for your website.

That’s right. Creating beautiful website images is now as easy as sharing a snap on Instagram.

Play with Temperatures

You can also lean into the tone, mood, and aesthetic of your site by tweaking your image’s thermostat, so to speak. Allow me to jog your memory back to your elementary school art class: warm colors (red, yellow, and orange) are stimulating and vibrant, while cool colors (purple, blue, and green) are said to invoke calmness and serenity.

Whatever you’re going for on your site, adjust colors to match your style. Different emotions can be communicated by playing with color balance, hue, or saturation settings in your photo editor.

The warmer colors of this photo give it a hint of adventure.

You can almost feel the chill thanks to the image’s cool tone.

5. Crop It Like It’s Hot

Never underestimate the power of a good crop. No, we’re not talking denim here, but rather trimming your images.

Whether you’re resizing an image to fit specific dimensions or cutting out extraneous image details, cropping helps you eliminate clutter and better frame your images for clarity, appeal, and impact.

And no, you don’t need expensive software to get croppin’. There are many web apps that allow you to crop (and do a myriad of other editing tasks). You can sometimes even crop directly from your site’s CMS.

6. Sharpen

Think of sharpening your images like upgrading your contact lenses Rx. When you do, things are just clearer. The same goes for your web photos. You want those images to be as crisp a fresh Gala apple.

Sharpening photos can be done easily using Photoshop, Pixlr, or PicMonkey. However, a word of warning. Don’t go too overboard with your sharpen tool. You don’t want the dreaded image “noise” (AKA: graininess).

Hint: it helps to sharpen your image first as a PNG file and then convert it to JPG.

6. Embrace White Space

Any Full House fans here? Well, as Uncle Joey would say: Cut. It. Out. But really, when it comes to your photos, white space can make for visually appealing images.

In other words: don’t fear the blank space. It’s a powerful design element that can provide visual relief for the eyes and draw big attention.

Take Apple, for example. They are literally known for their clean, appealing, and visually strong image design.

Apple is the king of cut-out product photos.

Cut-out images take a little editing know-how, but with practice, you can get the hang of it. Again, Photoshop is a good tool, as is Pixlr, Clipping Magic, and BeFunky.

7. Correct Your Colors

Whether your photo’s colors are a little off, or you just want to adjust them to achieve a different vibe, altering colors isn’t beyond a beginner’s editing reach.

Most photo editing programs do the heavy lifting for you with color-adjusting presets, but it doesn’t hurt to know a thing or two about what options are available. Experiment with levels (adjust how light and dark your image is), contrast, and saturation to determine which alterations help you best produce powerful images.

Adjust the colors and exposure to turn this:

Into this:

Need a mobile tool? The Adobe Photoshop Express app (it’s free!) can help you make one-touch color adjustments and corrections on the go. Gimp is another great free tool.

8. Banish Blemishes

Even beautiful photography has hiccups sometimes (or, at least the occasional photobomber). But don’t fret, a dark spot does not an image ruin.

Fotor can help you remove unwanted objects with its easy-to-use clone tools (and a blemish remover!). Photoshop, of course, is the master software for cleaning up photos (consider it a virtual facial) with its healing and cloning tools.

Want to see it in action?

Want to soften freckles or erase blemishes?

Use Fotor’s easy clone tool to make changes.

Camera Ready

It’s true: sites with images get more views, build better brand awareness, boost SEO, and have more engagement. Want to reap those impressive benefits? Outfit your site with quality photos and see growth — no photography degree needed. Implement these DIY photo editing tips and see results.

Edit your photos in a flash with Remixer — DreamHost’s in-house website builder.

Then, tell us: how have photos improved your site? Have these tips helped you upgrade your images for a better user experience? Let’s talk visuals in the comments below.

Reporting by Kasee Bailey

How to Brand Your WordPress Theme: Tips for Making a Template Work for You

ellice — Mon, 06 Nov 2017 08:00:00 -0700

WordPress is a great foundation for building your website, but there are so many options that it can be overwhelming to get started with the platform.

First, you’ve got to decide whether to use WordPress.org or WordPress.com?

Then it’s time to tackle themes. Which one is right for your brand? And more importantly, which theme will help you stand out from the thousands — even millions — of business owners using WordPress to build their sites?

If you’re stuck on one these questions, we’ve come up with this straightforward guide to help you not only choose which theme is best for you but also how to brand it to make it work for your needs.

The Basics of WordPress Themes

First, a little vocab lesson. A WordPress theme is a grouping of templates and style sheets that make up the display of a WordPress site. Each theme includes a distinct design and layout, as well as included features.

Within each theme, a template represents the preloaded feature found in your theme. For example, a theme may contain a template for the header, sidebar navigation, and columns of text.

Style sheets (often referred to as CSS — “cascading style sheets”) refer to the visual formatting and appearance of the HTML for a WordPress site. This is the coding that occurs in the backend of your WordPress site.

When you first install WordPress, you’ll be provided with a basic, free theme for your site. While you can stay with this option exactly as is, it may not be exactly what you need for your website.

Instead of just going with the first option provided by WordPress, I recommend thoughtfully choosing a theme and customizing it to create a website that is more personalized to your brand and what your clients are looking for.

How to Choose Your Theme

Before you do anything — and I mean anything — step away from your screen and get analog.

Take out a piece of paper and your lucky pen, and sketch out what you want your website to look like. It may seem silly, but taking this approach is an important step before you even get into looking at all of the available themes.

Knowing which elements you want to include will help you cancel out themes that may look appealing, but otherwise, won’t suit your needs. For example, you may be drawn to the look of some photography-specific themes. But if you’re a small PR firm, a photography theme probably isn’t what you’re looking for — or what your clients need.

For now, ignore everything about style (fonts, colors, images). It’ll be much easier to add these stylistic details after you choose a theme that has the elements you need.

Think of it the HGTV way: If you are designing a kitchen, you need to think about the specific elements you require first — you need cabinets that correctly fit the space, appliances, a sink, etc. Choosing cabinet hardware, backsplash for the walls, and overhead lighting before designing the layout of your kitchen just doesn’t make sense. Those details are easy to swap in and out quickly, but changing your cabinet peninsula to a standalone kitchen island is a much bigger deal.

Need a checklist? Here are 7 easy-to-follow guidelines for choosing a WordPress theme.

Focus on Elements

When you picture your future website, what do you envision? Start by thinking about potential layouts with these questions.

Do you want a header? Is it going to contain your brand’s logo? Is the header going to be a feature item — i.e. large and in charge — or more subtle?

Do you want your clients to use a top nav, sidebar, or both? What side do you envision your sidebar on the page?

Are you running advertisements on your website? If so, where will they go?

How much content do you need on your homepage? Consider if you want multiple columns or just one. How wide does it go on the page?

Any other must-have elements? Add them to your sketch.

Think About the Competition

As a business owner, you know that your brand does not exist in a vacuum. When coming up with a business plan or thinking about your products, you probably scoped out the competition.

Perhaps you used another brand as an example for you when you started — what did you like about that brand? What didn’t you like? This type of research, even in its most simple form, also applies to your preliminary work with building your web presence.

Open that laptop back up (finally!) and take a look at some of your competitors’ websites. Take down some notes about what you like about these sites as well as what you don’t like. If you love a competitor’s color scheme but think their navigation is clunky, write that down. If you observe that a lot of competitors using WordPress tend to use the same unmodified theme, you’ll know that’s one to avoid so you can set yourself apart from the pack.

All of these notes will help you when you’re looking through themes.

This research can extend outside of your specific industry too. Visit websites you like and take note of what you like about them. Some of the elements may not apply to your brand, but there might be some aspirational pieces you can pull into your project.

Now that you’ve viewed a bunch of other sites, revisit your sketch, and be sure to add any other elements that you may have missed on your first pass.

View the Available Themes

When you go to the WordPress Theme Directory, you’ll notice that there are a lot of options — like thousands of them. Now, you could look at every single available theme, or you could take a few shortcuts to help narrow it down.

Resist your impulse to browse through the themes visually since that would take forever and a day. Instead, select the “Feature Filter” option. This will allow you select some of those must-have features you came up with during your research phase and apply them as filters to your search.

Say you knew you wanted a left sidebar and e-commerce functionality. You can apply those two filters, and then your search results will just include themes with those options. Applying filters will take you down from a couple thousand to a couple hundred — or less!

You can also use the search bar to help give you a more curated sample of themes to choose from. If you need more options, check out the “Popular” tab, which showcases a couple thousand themes that are sorted by their download frequency.

But before you select a popular theme, be sure that it has what you need — clicking into any theme will give you a summary of what it includes as well as its ratings. You may see a theme with excellent reviews, but it might be designed for authors and not e-commerce retailers. Similarly, you may find a theme that checks a lot of your element boxes but could have poor reviews. Choose a theme thoughtfully to ensure a successful experience.

Customize, Customize, Customize

Once you have a theme that has all of the elements you need, it’s time to dress it up with customization. This will help you stay on brand and separate you from the competition. Now is the time to think about all of the style voices you silenced in our earlier exercises.

Add Your Brand Assets

When a customer or client visits your website, you want them to know right away that they’re visiting your website, and not somebody else’s. That means it is critical to include your brand assets, including your custom URL, logo design, and trademark. If you don’t already have a custom logo, make this important step in your branding process. A well-designed logo — much like a well-designed website — will set you apart from the competition.

Once you have your custom logo design, think about where it belongs on your website. Do you envision your logo on the top header? Is it sized large and bold, or is it more subtle? Does the logo stand alone or overlay a background image in the middle of your page? These are questions you’ll need to ask yourself as you begin to brand your WordPress theme.

Branding-wise, it’s a good idea to have your logo appear on every page of your site. That’s not to say it has to be the center of attention on every page, though. Consider emphasizing your logo on your homepage by increasing its size, placing it more toward the center or even bringing it to life with an animation. This way, visitors connect with your brand from the second they land on your homepage.

Then, to avoid redundancy, choose a smaller, well-situated place for your logo to appear on the rest of your site pages. If you have two versions of your logo — say a text-based wordmark and an image-based combination mark — switch it up by displaying the more visual version on your homepage and the wordmark throughout the rest of your site.

Customize Your Colors

Each WordPress theme comes with preloaded colors, which may make it easy to get started, but they definitely won’t be unique to your brand. Like adding brand assets to your site, you should customize your page’s colors to be consistent with your brand palette.

If you don’t already have a brand palette, consider color psychology when you’re selecting your colors.

People respond and react to colors differently — just think about how you feel when you see a red stop sign. Now imagine if that stop sign was pink; it instantly feels different, doesn’t it?

When it comes to your business, choosing colors can help (or hinder) your communication with potential clients and customers. Here are some quick meanings associated with colors when it comes to emotional psychology:

Red demands attention. It also signifies passion and importance.

Orange inspires playfulness. It signifies friendliness and energy.

Yellow signals happiness and optimism, but can also offer a warning sign.

Green calls to nature/natural elements and also represents stability and prosperity.

Light Blue makes people feel relaxed. It inspires trust and openness.

Dark Blue corresponds with professionalism and security. It is a formal color.

Purple was originally the color of royalty and still signifies luxury. It also says creativity.

Pink is the color of femininity and also calls to youth and innocence.

Brown is both rugged and earthy, as well as old-fashioned.

White is a clean color and suggests healthfulness. It is a virtuous tone.

Gray is a neutral and subdued color. It can also make people think of gloom.

Black means power and sophistication. But it’s also an edgy color.

Color theory can be applied to your logo design, and it can also be used on your website. The idea is that color choice will influence behaviors, reactions, and feelings. Put simply, using the right website colors will get your audience to interact with your brand the way you want them to.

Source: 99designs.com

Take a moment to think about major financial institutions — Chase, Visa, Capital One, Barclays, CitiBank, Paypal, Prudential, Bank of America, and American Express. In addition to sharing the same industry, all of these companies have another thing in common — the color blue. Most (or in some cases, all) of their logos and website palettes are comprised of the color blue. Blue, as we know from color theory, inspires trust and makes people feel secure. These brands clearly thought about color psychology when designing their logos and digital platforms.

Consult the principles of color psychology when choosing colors and tones for each section of your website. You may want to display serious information, such as your privacy policy or brand mission, in trustworthy, calming tones like blue or green. Meanwhile, when it comes to conversions, it’s a wise decision to make your CTAs bright and bold; red has been proven to convert the best.

However, the colors that will be most effective for your website ultimately depend on your brand and your customers. Think about it; the colors and language that resonate with shoppers of ultimate sports apparel, for example, are probably vastly different from customers shopping for life insurance.

Know Your Fonts

Like colors, fonts are a simple yet effective way to brand your WordPress website. Knowing about the different styles of fonts and how to use them together will help make you communicate your message effectively. There are four kinds of fonts, and within those fonts, there are thousands of typefaces. Here are some quick notes on the four font types:

1. Serif Fonts

Serif fonts are the term-paper standard — think Times New Roman and Cambria. These fonts are distinguished by their serifs, the little feet at the end of letters. Serif fonts are generally serious and traditional.

Source: 99designs.com

2. Sans Serif Fonts

Sans serif fonts are fonts without, wait for it, serifs. Helvetica and Arial are commonly used sans serif fonts. These fonts are often considered more modern and streamlined than their serif predecessors.

Source: 99designs.com

3. Script Fonts

Script fonts are cursive or handwriting-style fonts. These can range from very traditional and ornate to playful and even messy. The different styles of script fonts mean they can be used to invoke a variety of feelings.

Source: 99designs.com

4. Display Fonts

As the name suggests, display fonts are very decorative. They are also referred to as novelty fonts and can often be found on book covers or signage. Like script fonts, there is a range of styles for this type of font.

Source: 99designs.com

When selecting fonts and typefaces for your website, the key is to have variation. Using different font families keeps readers from becoming bored and helps them navigate the page more easily. Just make sure to avoid fonts that clash with each other.

If you’re going to use a display font on your header, pair that with a neutral font elsewhere on the page. If you choose to use a singular font, use different weights and sizes to delineate between main header, sub-headers, body text, and other content on the page. Either way, make sure your font choices are consistent across your entire website.

And like your brand color palette, you want to be sure that the typefaces you use on your website align with your company mission. For instance, an innovative, fast shopping platform with a zippy social presence would steer clear of antiquated script styles or Courier New.

If mixing typefaces seems daunting, use online resources to help guide you. You’ll probably have a gut reaction as to whether things look good or bad together, but if you’re second-guessing your gut, check out our guide on font selection to get you on track.

Select Your Images Carefully

If you’ve ever visited a website that is nearly all text, you probably winced.

When looking at screens, it’s important to give our eyes a break from a lot of text, which is why it’s a good idea to include images on your website. WordPress themes come preloaded with stock photography, and it may be tempting to just keep those images as is — they often look really nice! But using your own images on your website will not only make your website feel more customized but will also help you stay on brand.

Another word on stock photography? More people respond to user-generated content (UGC). Stock photography is meant to be universal so that it is useful to a wide range of people, but that also makes it generic!

Recent tests show that when people see a real person or an item being used in the real world, it gets more clicks than the stock image. Whenever possible, use UGC or custom images for your website. This, along with your brand assets, color, and typography selections, will help make your website feel completely distinct to your brand.

If you’re looking for authentic imagery to brand your shiny new website, consider running a UGC contest with your customers. Ask customers to send in photos of themselves enjoying your product — the more Instagram-worthy, the better! Offer incentive like a special promo code or discount in exchange for letting you feature their photos on your website.

Once you have a stockpile of great photos, use them to your advantage by sprinkling them throughout your site. Similar to what we mentioned about fonts, variation is key. Alternate large and small images based on the content they are placed next to. For example, product photos should be large and in-charge so you can show (rather than tell) what you’re all about, whereas employee headshots on your About page may not need to be so obtrusive.

Large hero images are trending in web design right now and are a great way to draw in site visitors. Overlay the hero image with non-obtrusive text to create a strong visual experience for your readers that doesn’t feel salesy.

Making It All Work

Think of your WordPress theme as the skeleton to build the perfect website off of. Once you have your foundation, have fun dressing it up in your brand style; add fonts, colors, authentic images and useful content to let site visitors know what your brand is all about.

Adding thoughtful customization will help you create a website that is personalized for your brand and will help you stand out from your competition and other WordPress-powered websites.

Build your WordPress site with DreamHost today!

When Should You Upgrade Your Hosting Plan?

Megan Hendrickson — Fri, 03 Nov 2017 08:00:00 -0600

It’s fair to say most first-time website owners opt for a shared hosting plan. These plans are low-cost and beginner-friendly, and if your site stays small, they can be a perfect fit.

But if your site starts bulking up — with more traffic and more content — there will probably come a time when that shared hosting plan starts pulling at the seams like a teeny, tiny T-shirt crammed on a bodybuilder.

Not to worry, my muscle-bound friends!

There are a bunch of other hosting plans out there to help you size up. Many provide additional features to keep your growing site performing smoothly.

So let’s talk this through. First, I’ll explain why you might want to upgrade and when you should. Then we’ll walk through some of the most common types of hosting plans before showing you how to start the upgrade process.

Let’s start with the heavy lifting.

Why You Might Need to Upgrade Your Hosting Plan

Shared hosting is a smart choice if you’re new to running a website and need a budget-friendly option.

Simply put, most first-time website owners don’t know a lot about hosting. They opt for the cheapest plan they can find and go back to focusing on designing their site and creating content.

Truth bomb: there’s nothing wrong with this approach! Basic hosting can serve you well during your site’s early stages.

If this sounds like you, chances are you signed up for a shared hosting plan when you originally built your site. Shared hosting is a convenient, low-cost, and beginner-friendly option. It involves renting space on a server, which is shared between lots of other users. This type of hosting is a great way to get started and requires little maintenance (as long as you choose a reputable provider).

For some sites, shared hosting is, ultimately, the best option. If your site is small, doesn’t see a ton of traffic, and doesn’t require a lot of resources, you may never need to upgrade your plan. Websites fitting this definition often include online portfolios and personal blogs.

However, it’s important to realize that shared hosting comes with certain limitations.

As the name suggests, you and other shared hosting customers share the resources of the server. This means that if another website on the same server is receiving a large amount of traffic and using a lot of CPU resources, it’s possible that your site may run slower as a result. Plus, shared hosting doesn’t come with some of the benefits other plans include, such as advanced security features.

Once your site has been up and running for a while, you should consider whether it’s time for a hosting change. Fortunately, there are some clear signs that will tell you when an upgrade is worth your while.

When You Should Consider Upgrading Your Hosting Plan

At this point, you may be wondering if it’s time to consider upgrading your plan. Based on the pros and cons we explained in the previous section, you may already be leaning one way or the other. Let’s make the decision even easier. Here are some of the signs to look out for:

Your site’s performance is suffering. Speed and performance are vital for any website. These factors play a huge role in search result rankings and user experience, and a site that is sluggish can drive visitors away. Most people expect any site they visit to load in two seconds or less, so if yours is slower than that, you may need a hosting plan with more resources. You can test your site’s performance easily with Pingdom, GTmetrix, or WebPagetest. You’ll also want to make sure your website is optimized for speed.

Your site is experiencing too much downtime. The importance of uptime is clear — if people can’t visit your site, there’s a good chance they’ll never try again. Believe it or not, it’s reasonable to expect about 99 percent uptime on your site (DreamHost even offers an uptime guarantee). If that’s not the case for you, it’s possible you are getting more traffic or using more resources than your current hosting plan can handle.

You’re concerned about security. Shared hosting is fairly secure as long as you’re using a quality hosting company. Of course, no platform can be 100 percent secure, and regardless of the plan you’re on, you should always take steps to secure your site against baddies with malicious intent. That said, as your site grows, you may find the advanced security features offered by non-shared hosting plans can help you sleep a little bit easier at night.

Your current plan doesn’t provide enough space or resources. As you add more pages and files, attract more traffic (including concurrent visitors), and generate more user activity, your site will take up additional space and require more server resources to run smoothly. To get started, test your site’s ability to handle concurrent visitors with a tool like LoadImpact. If the results aren’t to your liking, you might need a heftier hosting plan.

If even one of the above applies to you, it’s worth looking into other hosting options. A simple upgrade to a larger, more comprehensive plan might be all you need to eliminate these problems and secure the best possible experience for your users.

What Your Hosting Upgrade Options Are (And How They Work)

Once you’ve decided that it might be time to opt for a non-shared hosting plan, your next question will likely be: What type of plan should I get? So let’s discuss the three options we offer at DreamHost that are the natural next steps from a shared hosting plan.

Important note: even though I’m going to run you through the upgrade options available from DreamHost — because, true story, I think they’re pretty great — this info will still be helpful to you no matter which provider you decide to go with.

Now, to the hosting upgrades!

VPS Hosting

VPS hosting offers more space and features than shared hosting at a price point that’s only slightly higher.

First, let’s consider Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting. With a VPS plan, you get access to a virtually-partitioned server. This means your site will be located on the same physical server as other users’ sites but is kept separate in an allocated space that is dedicated just to you.

VPS hosting comes with some super-sized benefits. You get your own set of resources that no one else can use and are able to customize your setup to meet your site’s unique needs. VPS hosting provides you with more resources than shared hosting and with more reliable performance. It’s also very scalable, meaning that as your site grows, you can simply upgrade the size of your virtual server to match the resources and RAM you need.

Even better? DreamHost’s VPS plans are fully managed, meaning we’ll take care of all the nitty-gritty technical stuff for you.

Of course, VPS hosting doesn’t actually provide you with a physical server so there’s not as much storage as you’d get with a dedicated hosting plan (we’ll get to that in a minute). However, it’s a solid step-up from shared hosting at a middle-of-the-road price. If your site isn’t traffic-heavy enough to need a dedicated server yet, a managed VPS setup is a great choice.

We get it. Virtual servers can be confusing — that’s why we created the VPS beginner’s guide!

DreamPress

Hosting that is specific to your website’s platform — such as DreamPress — is a smart choice.

Now let’s look at DreamPress, our managed WordPress hosting solution. Like we discussed above, a managed hosting plan is one where your web host manages your server for you. This takes most of the responsibility for keeping your site running smoothly off your hands so you can focus on what really matters: growing your website!

And that’s exactly what DreamPress does for WordPress users. We’ve specifically built this technology to optimize your site’s performance on the world’s most popular CMS — delivering lightning-fast load times, upgraded security features, and access to our in-house WordPress experts. Plus, with DreamPress, your site gets its own allocated resources just like it would on a VPS plan.

Of course, the features you get with a managed WordPress hosting plan will vary depending on the company you choose to work with. One thing that’s certain: advanced features usually come at a higher price point than a shared plan. However, the increase usually pays off in the long run, since you’ll save a lot of time by delegating all those hosting-related tasks to your provider.

If you don’t have the time or technical knowledge to run your own server or just want to ensure that your hosting is in the hands of experts, a managed WordPress plan can be a lifesaver.

Dedicated Hosting

The most expensive upgrade option, dedicated hosting gives you full control over your server resources.

Lastly, we have dedicated hosting. This is where you rent an entire physical server from your hosting provider. This server is only used to run your website and isn’t shared with any other users. This gives you access to a lot more resources than you’ll see with shared hosting.

Since nobody else’s website can pull resources away from your site, it’s easy to ensure high performance and consistent uptime with dedicated hosting. Plus, you get full control over your server and can customize it to suit your exact needs. Security is also enhanced, as no other users can access your server.

Of course, all of these benefits come at an increased cost. Dedicated hosting is usually quite a bit more expensive than shared hosting. And most of the time, it lends itself to more advanced users, who know enough about hosting and optimization to personalize their own servers. However, at DreamHost, we offer managed dedicated hosting, meaning you can focus on running your big-time website while we handle the technical to-do list.

How to Start the Upgrade Process

Once you’ve settled on the type of hosting you want, you’ll need to find a suitable plan. If you’re happy with your current web host, this is a simple prospect. You can contact your provider directly to find out if they offer the type of service you’re looking for and to ask how to start the upgrade process.

However, if you aren’t 100 percent satisfied with your current host — or if it doesn’t offer the type of plan you want — this is the perfect time to shop around for a better option!

You’ll want to look for a quality host with a reputation for excellent performance and security, and check out reviews from current customers. It’s also important to look closely at the specific plan you’re interested in to ensure that it has all the features you need. Don’t forget to make sure that the plan’s price is a good fit for your budget as well!

Of course, you don’t have to look far to find a provider that meets all those criteria [waves sheepishly]. Here at DreamHost, we offer just about any type of hosting plan you might need with lots of useful features and competitive prices!

As we’ve already discussed, we’ve got amazing managed VPS hosting and dedicated hosting plans that are perfect for upgrading your site and which provide plenty of space, features, and customization options. And DreamPress gives WordPress users a managed hosting option that’s designed specifically for the platform.

Finding the Right Fit

It’s not uncommon to opt for the cheapest hosting plan you can find when you’re first building your new website. Just remember that after a while, your plan might begin to show its limits.

The good news? It isn’t hard to upgrade to a new hosting plan with more choices, resources, and features.

Do you have any questions about how to know when it’s time to upgrade your hosting plan (or how to get the process started)? Don’t hesitate to ask!

Let us help you determine what type of hosting is right for your site!

Wrapping Up the Reach Out & Touch You Tour: ’90s Edition

ellice — Thu, 02 Nov 2017 08:39:37 -0600

The 2017 Reach Out & Touch You tour is officially over.

*deep sigh*

For the past several years, our Reach Out & Touch You events have been our way of showing gratitude to the thousands of customers who keep DreamHost thriving every single day. This year was no different . . . except for the fact that we turned 20!

And like any 20-something, we’ll take just about any excuse to throw ourselves a raging party . . . or three. Yep, we threw ourselves three birthday parties this year. Why? Because we’re worth it. And so are you. #TreatYoself

via GIPHY

Join us as we look back on our most enjoyable tour thus far. But first, let’s rewind the VHS tape on DreamHost’s history for a little background.

“Now This Is a Story All About How…”

Since DreamHost’s inception in 1997, we’ve made it our mission to help people carve out a place for themselves on the internet (and have some fun at the same time). In doing so, we’ve also found our success. Whether contributing to the Open Web, fighting for the rights of internet users, working to offer more advanced hosting services, or creating a powerful new website builder, we’ve stayed true to our passion for using the ever-changing internet to change the world.

But all of that wouldn’t have been possible without you — the people who’ve chosen to host their websites with us over the last two decades. So we decided to show our appreciation through a series of parties for our customers.

Luckily, throwing parties happens to be one of our favorite things to do.

“Here We Go, Yo!”

Starting in September (our official birthday month), we toured the West Coast, starting with our home state of California before traveling north to Portland and, finally, Seattle. Each location welcomed us with beautiful weather, rich culture, and an environment that felt like a home away from home, thanks to the amazing people who came to our events.

We decided to go with a ’90s theme for the tour — we were born in 1997 after all! From the advent of Google to the decline of AOL Instant Messenger (R.I.P, buddy), we’ve seen a lot in our time. And despite the natural inclination to cringe, we actually really enjoyed the ’90s.

With flashback music filling the room, each venue on the tour was littered with remnants of the past, like VHS tapes and throwback candy. At any given point, you’d find someone munching on Airheads, slamming a pile of Pogs, or even playing a Star Wars edition of Battleship circa 1998. Seriously.

“I had it easy as far as themes go since we were celebrating the anniversary of DreamHost! I wanted to involve more than just late ‘90s aesthetics, though. The beginning of the decade had a happier feel with elements still bleeding in from the late ‘80s. I wanted to take our customers back in time and surround them with familiar toys, games, and even candy. The Pogs were a huge hit!” — Marissa Hanson, Event Marketing Manager

The DreamHost team made its presence known by wearing branded badges with not only their names on them but also their favorite thing[s] about the ’90s — Balki Bartokomous, the Macarena, and bleached tips [cringing], just to name a few.

As guests started to trickle into each venue at 6 o’clock on the dot, they were greeted by the mouthwatering scent of savory appetizers and sweets, a fully-stocked open bar, and customized ’90s catchphrase nametags.

DreamHost employees circulated the room as the night began, offering customers the opportunity to learn a little more about their favorite web host on a more personal basis. Once the event was underway, Brett Dunst (VP of Corporate Communications and everyone’s favorite newsletter writer) loosened up the crowd with an anecdotal history of DreamHost before introducing Jonathan LaCour (SVP, Product and Technology). Jonathan explained how DreamHost’s noble cause guides every decision we make as a company.

During past tours, after the introductions were done, guests would be free to keep mingling and noshing for the rest of the night. This year, we changed things up a bit. In addition to the usual casual conversations, we set up informal table talks explicitly designed to help attendees get the most out of their DreamHost account.

Led by some stellar DreamHosters, the table talks ranged from advice on WordPress plugins to lessons on web design and user experience. Not only that, DreamHost’s VP of Tech Support, Andrea Silas, was on hand to answer questions, along with a group of tech support reps.

Each night ended with a raffle. Guests had the chance to win limited edition DreamHost swag and a variety of gift cards.

Once last call was announced, the rooms at each venue on our tour started to clear out. As the night drew to a close, business cards were exchanged, smiling faces continued conversations, and laughter accompanied those walking out the door to head home for the night.

“Catch You Later!”

We’d like to thank everyone who made it out to each stop on this year’s Reach Out & Touch You tour. It’s customers like you who have kept us going for 20 years, and we wouldn’t have wanted to celebrate our anniversary any other way. Thank you for keeping us in business since 1997.

Here’s to the next 20 years!

For a complete look at the 2017 Reach Out & Touch You tour, please visit our Flickr page!

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — Sept. 6

Location: Estate on Second

Check out all of the OC photos here!

PORTLAND, OR — Sept. 14

Location: Union/Pine

Check out all of the Portland photos here!

SEATTLE, WA — Oct. 5

Location: Sole Repair

Check out all of the Seattle photos here!

Special thanks to our awesome partners!

Catering:

Jays Catering

Boke Dokie / Boke Bowl

Photographers:

Fun Decor:

Everything You Need to Know About WordCamps

Megan Hendrickson — Mon, 30 Oct 2017 08:00:56 -0600

Photo via Visualhunt

If you’ve spent any time reading about WordPress online, you’ll see people talking about WordCamps.

Held in far-flung locales around the globe, these gatherings bring together WordPress enthusiasts (count DreamHost in!) and newbies alike. The goal is simple: to share knowledge, grow the platform’s capabilities, and make personal and professional connections. If that sounds fun, well, it is!

Plus, if Hollywood taught me anything, it’s that there’s always the chance that you’ll be reunited with your long-lost relatives at camp. Hey, it could happen.

via GIPHY

Even if your relatives are all accounted for, there are so many reasons to add a WordCamp to your calendar. In this article, I’ll explain all the basics — what WordCamps are, how they work, who they’re for, and so on. Plus, I’ll give you some advice on how to find and attend your first WordCamp — and even how to contribute to future events.

And if you’re still not convinced, our in-house WordPress guru Mika Epstein will seal the deal. She’s attended 39 WordCamps since 2011. Thirty-nine! Throughout this post, she’ll be sharing her first-hand experiences too.

Okay, would-be campers, let’s hit the trail!

What Are WordCamps?

If you have any interest or investment in WordPress, a WordCamp can be a valuable experience.

In a nutshell, a WordCamp is a conference devoted to all things WordPress. It’s an event organized by volunteers and designed to bring people in a certain area together to discuss and learn about WordPress, network, collaborate on projects, and much more.

The very first WordCamp was held in 2006 in San Francisco and was organized by Matt Mullenweg himself (one of the original WordPress developers, of course). It was a one-day conference attended by around 500 people and included a variety of presentations by WordPress developers and users. The event was a big success, and the idea spread and flourished over time.

“A WordCamp is where a bunch of people who really dig WordPress go to teach each other about cool things we know how to do or have learned and want to share. We spend one or two days sitting in lectures, asking each other questions, teaching, learning, and helping.” — Mika

Today, WordCamps are held throughout the year, all across America and in many other countries around the world. Their format, structure, and content will vary based on the location and organizers, as does the length and number of attendees.

However, most WordCamps do have a lot of common features. They feature speakers and panels discussing key WordPress issues, hold sessions on how to use WordPress and develop for the platform, and provide lots of opportunities for community members to meet, talk, and collaborate.

Since WordPress is an open-source, free platform, these events are put together by local volunteers, and there is even a handbook dedicated to the process. Every year, more WordCamps are held in new locations, thanks to the efforts of these community members.

Who Are WordCamps For?

The best thing about WordCamps is how they bring diverse members of the community together.

The short answer to this question is everyone! Anyone with an interest in WordPress is welcome to attend a WordCamp and should be able to find something at the event to pique their interests. You don’t need to be a WordPress expert to have a great WordPress experience.

Here are just some of the types of people who should consider attending a WordCamp:

WordPress newbies. If you’re new to WordPress, what better way to learn about the platform than to immerse yourself in its community? You’ll be able to learn from experienced developers and users and start understanding the many possibilities offered by the platform.

Long-time WordPress users. Even if you’ve been using WordPress to power your website for years, there are likely plenty of things you still don’t know about it. This is especially true if you haven’t had much contact with other WordPress users. At a WordCamp, you can extend your knowledge of the platform, make connections, and learn about new tools, tricks, and tips.

WordPress developers and designers. For anyone who creates WordPress themes, plugins, or other platform-specific tools (or who otherwise builds websites for a living), WordCamps are invaluable. Not only will you get insight into the latest developments and techniques, you’ll also be able to make connections with potential collaborators and clients. Plus, you can share your knowledge and expertise with other members of the community.

“I’ve met teenagers who code way better than I do and who taught me how to sanitize my input better. I’ve met users from every nation and found out they have a totally different workflow than I ever will.” — Mika

WordCamps are designed to be friendly and open to newcomers so there’s no reason not to give one a try. The more you don’t know, the more you’ll have to learn from the experience. There’s no better way to understand the platform as a whole and to connect with people in the community who you might not otherwise have met.

How Can You Find a WordCamp Near You?

Although they started in the U.S., WordCamps are now held all over the world.

As we mentioned earlier, the first WordCamp was held in San Francisco. However, you can now find WordCamps all over the world. If you’re interested in attending one of these events, there’s a good chance you’ll be able to locate one that isn’t too far away.

At the time of writing, there are now 760 different WordCamps, held in 69 cities in 65 countries and across 6 continents. That’s a lot of options. It’s also worth noting that the majority of these conferences are held in North America and Europe, so if you live outside those two continents, it might be a little bit harder to find an event near you.

“There’s nearly a WordCamp a week somewhere around the world. I’ve attended 34, and they’ve ranged from the enormous gatherings at WordCamp USA and WordCamp Tokyo to the intimate WordCamp Ventura. I’ve sat in hotels and schools and office buildings and an open-air artist community.” — Mika

To see if there’s a WordCamp near you, check out the interactive map on the WordCamp Central website. You can also keep an eye on the WordPress Events and News widget on your dashboard, which will inform you of upcoming events. New WordCamps are being started up all the time! So if there isn’t one close enough for you to attend right now, there may be soon.

What Can You Get Out of Attending a WordCamp?

What you get from your WordCamp experience depends largely on your personal goals.

By now, it should be clear you can get plenty out of your WordCamp experience — no matter how much you know about the platform or what you use it for. What you take away from the event will depend largely on your own personal goals and reasons for attending.

“A WordCamp today is a chance to see some old friends, make some new ones, teach and learn, and, best of all, share. That’s really the heart of open-source in so many ways.” — Mika

Let’s summarize a few of the ways you can benefit from going to a WordCamp. You can:

Learn from more experienced users. You’ll be surrounded by people who have been using the platform for a decade or more, whether to run their own websites, build sites for others, or develop themes and plugins. If there’s something you want to learn about WordPress, chances are you can get some advice, whether through an official speaker or a simple conversation.

Teach less experienced users. Since the WordPress community is built around a free, open-source platform, it thrives on collaboration. WordCamps are your chance to share your expertise and knowledge with others to help the platform grow and develop. Of course, just because you’re experienced doesn’t mean you can’t still learn something too!

Discover new facets of the community. Even if you’ve been using WordPress for a while, it’s likely there are niches and specialties you don’t know much about. Perhaps you’re an experienced designer but know little about development and coding. Or maybe you know the platform inside and out, but have little knowledge of the projects that are always running to improve its user interface, accessibility, and more. At a WordCamp, you can learn about parts of the community you didn’t even know existed and maybe even find one you’re interested in contributing to.

Make personal and professional connections. Arguably the best thing about WordCamps is the way they bring community members together in one physical location. This means you have the chance to meet people from all walks of life and from all parts of the WordPress community. You can find people to collaborate with, meet potential clients, establish mentor-mentee relationships, and simply make new friends.

“I’ve come to realize there’s always someone who can learn from me, and there’s always someone I can learn from. And I can take all that and become a better user, a better developer, and a better helper because of it.” — Mika

It’s helpful to go into a WordCamp knowing what you’d like to achieve. This means you’ll be prepared to get the most out of the experience, whether that’s focusing on meeting new people or just trying to learn and absorb as much as you can. Of course, it‘s also important to be open to new experiences and unexpected opportunities!

What Can You Expect from Your First WordCamp (And What Should You Bring Along)?

New experiences can be intimidating, so you’ll want to know what your first WordCamp will look like.

Since WordCamps are developed by teams of volunteers and take place in varied locations, no two are exactly the same. Therefore, it’s impossible to know exactly what to expect from your first WordCamp. However, most events have quite a few things in common.

In general, here’s what you can expect when you arrive at a WordCamp:

The event will be dedicated to WordPress, although there may be some sessions and presentations focused on related topics (such as blogging or social media).

Most are one or two days long. They are kept low-key and casual, to encourage people to feel comfortable and to keep prices reasonable. A typical entry fee is less than $40 for two days.

Most events at a WordCamp will be presentations and sessions focused on a particular topic or niche — such as plugin development, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), or monetization.

The speakers will be volunteers, who participate out of their enthusiasm for the platform. Frequently these speakers are local community members, although there may sometimes be sessions featuring prominent WordPress developers or personalities. The sessions themselves can be in a wide variety of formats, such as lectures, demos, Q&As, panels, or workshops.

You’re likely to notice a key focus on collaboration and socialization. There is often a ‘Happiness Bar’ staffed by volunteers who can answer your questions and a job board where anyone can post opportunities, leave their business cards, and so on.

Finally, there are likely to be some associated social events, such as musical performances and parties held after the conference itself.

If all that sounds intriguing, and you’re thinking of attending your first WordCamp, you might also want to know what you should bring along. Fortunately, you won’t need much in order to get the most out of the conference. A few things you’ll want to have with you include:

Paper and a pen. You’ll be learning a lot so you’ll need a way to take notes. Plus, paper is handy for jotting down names and contact information when you meet people you’d like to connect with further.

Your laptop, smartphone, or tablet. This is also a great way to take notes. Plus, you’ll be easily able to show your website to others in order to get help, collaborate, or pass along useful knowledge.

Business cards. While you don’t want to attend a WordCamp for the express purpose of marketing yourself or promoting your business, this kind of event is perfect for networking. A ready supply of business cards lets you take advantage of any opportunities that arise.

In addition to these physical items, you’ll also want to bring along a positive attitude and an open mind. The more ready you are to listen and absorb everything others have to teach you, the more you’ll get out of your first WordCamp (and each one thereafter).

Why Does DreamHost Participate in WordCamps?

We’ve participated in our share of WordCamps, and it’s always a great experience.

Here at DreamHost, we love to participate in WordCamps! As a provider of WordPress-specific hosting services, we want to stay involved in the community and make sure we’re up-to-date on all the latest developments. As a company, we put a high priority on attending WordCamps to:

Share our knowledge about the platform. Our WordPress experts have a lot they can pass along, and it benefits everyone to keep information flowing.

Learn everything we can. No matter how much you already know about WordPress, there’s still more you can learn. When we’re at a WordCamp, we can benefit from the knowledge of everyone there — from attendees to speakers. Plus, we can stay current on the latest changes and hot topics.

“The one thing common to all these WordCamps is that at every single one I’ve met new people . . . . I ask them what they hate and try to see what I can do to help fix not just WordPress but DreamHost.” — Mika

Meet new people. It should be clear by now that WordCamps are a perfect vehicle for networking and for making personal and professional connections. We love meeting new people who are as passionate about WordPress as we are. Not to mention, we love interacting with our customers in person!

Give back to the community. WordPress (and its stellar community) has done a lot for us as a company and as individuals. Participating in WordCamps, sharing our knowledge, and answering questions is our way of giving back and helping to keep the platform going strong.

If you want, you can read more about our past experiences with WordCamps and how we’ve participated. We hope to run into you at a future event!

How Can You Contribute to Future WordCamps?

There’s always a need for volunteers to help organize WordCamps and participate at the events.

Attending WordCamps is great — but you can go a step further and actually get involved in the process. It’s best to start out by attending a few events just to get a feel for how they work and what they include. Once you’ve got a few WordCamp notches in the old belt, you’ll be ready to start contributing to future conferences.

Why would you want to get involved? Easy! You’ll be able to give back to the community, make stronger connections, share your expertise, and so on. Plus, if you’re an organizer at heart or love working in outreach, you can have a lot of fun with the process.

“I speak at about half the WordCamps I attend, ranging in topics from Multisite (and why you shouldn’t use it) to how you can get involved in WordPress — even if you don’t code. If I don’t speak, I generally volunteer to help out because WordCamps run on volunteers.” — Mika

To get started, you’ll want to visit the Make WordPress Communities website — home of the team that oversees events such as WordCamps, mentorship programs, and other outreach initiatives. Read through the WordCamp Organizer Handbook on the same web page to learn about the process and what will be expected of you. It’s also a good idea to peruse the WordCamp Central website thoroughly, to learn as much about ongoing events as you can.

Then, fill out the WordCamp Organizer Application or jump into the community Slack channel and introduce yourself. Don’t be shy — volunteers are always needed to help keep WordCamps awesome!

Join Us at WordCamp!

WordCamps are the perfect way to meet, learn from, and collaborate with other WordPress users and developers. They bring together all parts of the community to help people from different niches and with various specializations connect to one another. Best of all, they’re designed as friendly events that are more than open to newcomers.

The first thing you’ll want to do is find out if there’s a WordCamp near you. If so, you can read up on what to expect and what you should bring along to the event. While you’re there, focus on learning as much as you can, making connections, and sharing your own expertise. Don’t forget to have fun and come visit us over at the DreamHost table too!

Do you have any questions about WordCamps in general or how to get involved in them? Feel free to ask us in the comments section below!

While you’re planning your next WordCamp, give your site the ultimate WordPress experience with DreamPress!

Image credits: kristarella, Sean O’Shaughnessy, and Wikimedia Commons.

Easily Set Up an Online Course on Your WordPress Website in 3 Steps

Megan Hendrickson — Fri, 27 Oct 2017 08:00:00 -0600

Once you’re at the top of your game, it can be difficult to muster up the same enthusiasm for your job you once did. Every day is a case of the Mondays.

via GIPHY

If this sounds like you, you may need to make a decision. You can buy a convertible to shake things up — or you can try to pass on your knowledge to others.

One great way to do this is to create online courses. Not only will this enable you to flex those little gray cells, but a well-designed e-course can be the cherry on top of your already impressive portfolio. And if you have your own WordPress website up and running, your course can be used as part of your promotional efforts.

In this article, I’ll go over the many legit reasons why creating an online course can help your website or small business. Then I’ll show you how to set one up using WordPress, along with how to promote it.

Time to hit the books!

Why Creating an Online Course Can Help Your Income and Lead Generation

Your online course can tackle any topic you want – just make sure there’s an audience for it!

Online courses are a great option if you’re a professional looking for an online-based secondary income. If you’re a website owner or developer, you have an edge since it’s possible to set up courses without expensive third-party platforms.

Either way, online courses involve a lot of work initially, but they can be worth the effort if you’re sure you can deliver information that people need and will pay for.

Let’s take a minute to walk through some benefits of creating an online course:

It can earn you passive income. Once your course is ready, you’ll probably need to carry out some course maintenance tasks from time to time. However, aside from that, an online course is a solid source of ‘passive’ income.

You can cement your reputation as an expert. If your online course rocks (which it probably will!) lots of people will look up to you as an expert. In some cases, they may even send additional business your way.

You can target students for future offers. If your students are happy with their classes, chances are they’ll be open to hearing from you again in the future if you have any new or exciting offers.

Plus, if your lessons are exceptional (and you know how to promote your course well) there’s a chance you can grow it into something more than a secondary business. It could become a primary source of income and enable you to branch into new projects.

Before we get ahead of ourselves, though, let’s talk about how you can set one up using WordPress.

WordPress.com and WordPress.org are very different. Brush up on the details before you create your e-course.

How to Create and Sell an Online Course Using WordPress

There are several ways to go about creating an online course. For example, you can use an all-in-one platform such as Kajabi, which includes hosting and tools to help you set lessons up. It even enables you to handle payments directly. However, it’ll cost you. For example, Kajabi’s basic plan starts at $103.

Other options include using e-commerce platforms such as BigCommerce to sell your course as digital files. While this alternative is cheaper than other options, it’s not as smooth as using a dedicated platform.

Step 1: Set Up WordPress and Install CoursePress Pro

Personally, I’m a big fan of using a self-hosted Content Management System (CMS) such as WordPress. WordPress powers more than 25 percent of all websites and will enable you to set up an online course with very little overhead.

How much does running a WordPress website actually cost? The answer might surprise you.

To get started, you’ll need three things:

An excellent WordPress hosting plan. We recommend DreamPress — it’s a fully managed hosting solution that’s designed for optimal WordPress performance. Easy peasy.
A domain name for your website. DreamHost offers more than 400 TLDs for you to choose from.
A WordPress installation so you can jump right into your teaching journey. Note: if you’re using DreamPress, WordPress comes pre-installed out of the box. We told you it was easy!

When your WordPress install is ready, you’ll want to set up the CoursePress Pro plugin.

This tool is a Learning Management System (LMS) that enables you to create courses, manage students, and handle payments. It’s a premium plugin requiring a WPMU DEV subscription (priced at $49 per month), but it’s the best LMS tool available for WordPress in our opinion.

Of course, you can try out some different LMS plugins too, in order to find one suitable for your needs and budget. For this piece, we’ll be using CoursePress Pro, as there’s a 30-day free trial.

Once you’re signed up, you’ll be prompted to link your WordPress website to your WPMU DEV account, which you can do by entering your login information. WordPress is a secure platform, so you’re in good hands. When your account is linked, you’ll see a screen like the one below.

Then the page will help you set up CoursePress Pro on your website automatically. When finished, you can close the WPMU DEV window and go to your WordPress dashboard.

Inside, you’ll find two new tabs — WPMU DEV and CoursePress Pro. The former provides you with an overview of your WPMU DEV tools, which you can ignore for now.

Step 2: Configure CoursePress Pro

If you click on the CoursePress Pro tab, you’ll come to a screen where you can start adding new courses right away. You’ll also see a prompt to install the MarketPress plugin, which enables you to sell any courses you create.

Click on the Install MarketPress prompt now, and look for the Install button on the next screen.

You’ll now see a list of WPMU DEV plugins. Look for MarketPress eCommerce and click on the Install button once more.

Click on Activate when prompted, and the plugin will be almost ready to go. All that’s left is to configure which payment methods you’ll accept. The plugin will prompt you to do this with a notification at the top of your dashboard, for which you’ll need to click the blue Run Setup Wizard button.

First off, set your base country, region, and postal code. You can ignore the Target Countries field since you won’t be shipping any physical goods.

Next, skip to the Payment Gateway tab and click on the Other gateways option. You can choose from among 14 gateways here so pick the ones you want and fill out any information the plugin needs.

Now save your changes. You’re finally ready to create your first course, which you’ll do in the next section.

Step 3: Create Your First Online Course

To do that, go to CoursePress Pro > Courses and click on the New Course button.

In the next screen, you’re going to configure all the major settings for your first course. We’ll start with its title, description, and featured image.

Click Next when you’re ready to move onto the next step. In the Course Details section, you can add a featured video and a full description.

If you scroll a bit further down, you’ll find a section called View Mode. Here you can choose how each of your course’s ‘units’ will display. These are the actual lessons in your courses. The default setting enables students to view entire lessons at once, which is ideal:

Further on, you’ll find the Course Structure section, which enables you to display course overviews for your students and time estimates. We recommend enabling both features to increase your course’s functionality. Then click on the Next button:

The Instructors and Facilitators step enables you to choose up to three instructors for your course from among your site’s users.

You can also add facilitators from your user-base or invite them via email if they aren’t signed up yet. Facilitators are basically virtual teacher’s assistants that can help you take care of your student’s needs.

Next, you can set start, end, and enrollment dates for your course. Think about these dates carefully, then move on!

Next, you can set a student limit for your course as well as enable discussions and workbooks (where students can check their progress). You can even make it so that students can see their grades. Personally, I think these settings make for better online courses so you should enable them all.

In the penultimate section, you’ll be able to set enrollment restrictions.

And you’ll be able to indicate if your course requires payment. If it does, you can set the price here and enable sales at a later date by editing the Sale Price field.

Finally, you’ll be able to configure success and failure messages for students in your course. CoursePress Pro provides you with multiple templates, but you can tweak them as you want as well as set any passing grade you wish. When you’re ready, click on the Finish button.

Now is where the fun actually begins! In the next screen, you’ll be able to add units to your course using the WordPress editor.

The editor itself works as you’d expect, but if you scroll down to the end of the page, you’ll find a plethora of classroom-related modules.

These include multiple-choice questions, quizzes, and more. Clicking on any of them will add a new unit to your course, and you can rearrange them using the drag-and-drop functionality. When your units are ready, scroll down to the bottom of the screen and save your changes. You can also preview how your course will look from the front end and, of course, make it live.

Ideally, you should beta test your course before it goes live just to make sure everything works. Afterward, you can let it run on autopilot and focus on interacting with students. Congratulations, you just created your first online course!

4 Stellar Ways to Promote Your New Online Course

Once your course is ready, you’ll have to find students by effectively promoting it. Here are four ways you can do that.

1. Use Social Media Outreach Tools

Social media enables you to market your courses on a budget.

Social media is one of the most effective ways to engage with audiences. If you already have a website, chances are you’ve set up social media accounts for it. However, you’ll need to grow them before you can promote your course efficiently.

Here’s why it pays to focus on social media:

It enables you to interact with users directly. Social media is more personal than other marketing channels, and it can give you the opportunity to convert more users.
You can target people depending on their interests. With Twitter, for example, you can zero in on hashtags related to your course’s topic and use those to start a discussion.

Regardless of the platform you choose, the key is to grow your audience first, and that’s where automated outreach tools can help you. They take the work of finding more followers off your hands so you can focus on marketing.

Here are the easiest social media tricks for your hard-working small business.

2. Implement an Email Marketing Strategy

Email marketing is one of the most powerful tools at your disposal to generate conversions.

There’s a reason why most websites are so eager to collect your email address. Simply put, it’s one of the most successful channels when it comes to creating conversions. Let’s break it down:

It costs almost nothing to send emails. With the right email marketing tool, you should be paying a flat fee that enables you to send thousands of emails per month, any time you want.

It’s a numbers game. If you have hundreds or thousands of subscribers, chances are at least some of them will convert each time you send them an email.

You can remind users about your website and services. Periodic emails are a great way to remind your subscribers about you and your online course. That way, you’ll be fresh on their minds, and you may convince them to sign up down the road.

If you want to dive headfirst into email marketing, you’ll need the right tool for the job. We’re big fans of MailChimp and AWeber in particular. They both enable you to sign users up to your mailing list, create campaigns, automate them, and even analyze their performance.

You’ll also need to bone up on how to actually market via your email list. We’ve previously discussed how to do this, both for website owners in general and specifically for WordPress users.

3. ‘Pre-Suade’ Your Potential Students

One of the most effective ways to convince people to convert is to prime them before you pounce. You need to ‘pre-suade’ visitors so that when the Call To Action (CTA) to join your course comes along, they’ll be raring to click on it.

Pre-suasion sounds like a gimmick, but it works. In your case, you’d want to paint your course in a good light before making an offer. Here are some ways to do that, using a landing page as an example:

Talk about what your course can help visitors achieve instead of highlighting your own success.
Use images that relate to your course’s topics to get users in the right mindset.
Include testimonials from past course takers that focus on their positive experiences.

Pre-suasion is all about approaching salesmanship with a gentle touch. Instead of beating visitors over the head with offers to join your course, you get them ready so your chances are high when you finally introduce the CTA.

4. Use Your Own Content as a Marketing Device

Simple blog posts can be a low-cost marketing vehicle for your online course.

If you already have a website, it makes sense to use it as a way to drive people towards your online course. After all, it won’t cost you a cent if you write your own articles. Plus, this way you can create content that’s tailor-made to promote your course.

For example, if your online course deals with beating writer’s block, you could create a series of articles with tips on how to deal with that problem. Then you can use those posts to link towards your classes as a more thorough solution.

With that in mind, let’s go over some tips on how to get content marketing right:

Don’t shoehorn links to your course in posts where they’re not relevant.
Try to include mentions of your course organically instead of promoting it outright.
Position your course as a tool that can help people solve specific problems.

If you stick to these three simple rules, your visitors shouldn’t hold your marketing attempts against you. Who knows? Some of them might even join your course and tell their friends about it!

From misspellings to missed monetization opportunities, don’t make these 10 blogging blunders.

Saved By the Bell

If you’re a professional at the top of your game, you probably have a wealth of knowledge to share with others. Chances are there are tons of people who would love to learn from you — and even pay for it. Fortunately, setting up an online course isn’t complicated.

Do you have any questions about how to create profitable online courses? Let’s talk business in the comments section below!

10 Kick‐Ass Women in WordPress to Follow on Twitter

ellice — Thu, 26 Oct 2017 08:00:00 -0600

We could all use a little more girl power, and that’s especially true in the tech industry.

Be honest. Can you count all the women in the tech sector who you can name on one hand? There’s a good chance you answered yes. But just because the ladies aren’t getting as much attention, that doesn’t mean they aren’t making huge waves in the WordPress community.

That’s why you should be following these 10 women in WordPress on Twitter. They all have a lot to say in 140 characters.

1. Mika Epstein

Twitter: @Ipstenu

Website: halfelf.org

As DreamHost’s official WordPress guru, Epstein troubleshoots any issue that comes up, offers top-notch support, and plays a key role in building and maintaining DreamPress, our managed WordPress hosting solution. She’s also a master on Multisite and .htaccess.

When she’s not working as a WordPress developer, she’s racking up stamps in her passport to speak at WordCamps about coding and open source technology. But you don’t need a passport to read her musings on Twitter about WordPress — and sports, LGBT issues, and so much more.

2. Naomi C. Bush

Twitter: @naomicbush

Website: naomicbush.com

Bush and WordPress go way back. Currently the head Gravity Forms wrangler, Bush has been working with WordPress since 2005 as a professional site developer, plugin developer, and college educator. Now she’s modernizing WordPress even more by developing a way to accept payments through your site via processors like Stripe.

The WordCamp regular shares her musings about WordPress and all things tech on Twitter on the regular. Follow her and you just might learn a thing or two.

3. Tammie Lister

Twitter: karmatosed

Website: tam.blog

Tammie Lister knows so much about building community websites using BuddyPress that she could write a book about it. So she literally did: BuddyPress Theme Development. That impressive skillset has served her well in her current job as an experience designer at Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com.

Based in the UK, she has spoken all over the world at WorkCamps, waxing poetic on topics like knowing your users and creating human connections online. Then there’s Twitter, where she shares insights and advice on the WordPress world — no lecture fee necessary.

4. Helen Hou-Sandí

Twitter: @helenhousandi

Website: helen.blog

Any WordPress user should look up to Helen Hou-Sandí. As the director of platform experience at 10up, her agency designs and develops WordPress tools. So what have they done to enhance the user experience?

Think game changers like a notification plugin that allows content creators to alert their subscribers to new posts in real time, and a drag-and-drop ordering system for WordPress posts.

As a WordPress Lead Developer, Hou-Sandí works on constantly growing the platform. She makes it easy to get a glimpse into her world on her Twitter. The self-described “Sometimes collaborative pianist” and “Bossed up bad Asian mom” expounds on everything from IKEA trips to Mike Pence rants to favorite snacks. You should follow her Tweets; she’s always unfiltered — and always entertaining.

5. Sara Rosso

Twitter: @rosso

Website: sararosso.com

The ultimate Renaissance woman, Sara Rosso’s resume is an impressive read. She lived in Italy from 2003 to 2016 and blogged about it at Ms. Adventures in Italy, where she now covers food and travel.

That’s not her only foodie credential: She’s the founder of World Nutella Day and co-hosted the event until she turned the reins over to Ferrero in 2015. She launched a podcast, Eye on Italy, all about — you guessed it — Italy, before everyone else had one.

Rosso also writes about tech and building a business at the aptly-named When I Have Time. An avid photographer, she sells some of her photos to Getty Images. Finally, there’s her actual day job: overseeing the marketing department at Automattic. All that and more is on display on her Twitter feed.

6. Eileen Lonergan

Twitter: @eileenlonergan

Website: Eileenlonergan.com

If you’re in the middle of building a website for your business, you might want to call Lonergan. Her tactic isn’t just about creating a good looking site — it’s also about getting your biz listed with the major search engines.

As a digital marketing specialist, she knows all the tricks, from best SEO practices to pay per click campaigns to email marketing. She can also build the Facebook page, Twitter, and YouTube channel for your brand.

She learned the ropes of getting your message out in previous jobs as a media buyer and planner at advertising agencies. As if that wasn’t enough to keep her busy, Lonergan is the founder and community manager of the Divi Theme User Group on Facebook, a partner in Elegant Marketplace, a web store for web designers and developers. But you don’t have to hire her to get her words of wisdom — she regularly shares them on Twitter.

“You’re really cute for an engineer.” Gag me. Here are 6 things women in tech are sick of hearing.

7. Stephanie Leary

Twitter: @sleary

Website: stephanieleary.com

When you’re ready to learn more about WordPress, pick up Leary’s book, WordPress for Web Developers. She breaks down building WordPress themes and plugins, as well as server-related issues. As someone who has developed several plugins herself, she would know the drill.

And her Twitter account is just as informative and straightforward, with Leary dishing on parenting, politics, and everything in between.

8. Tammy Grant

Twitter: @yourblogplace

Website: sunflowercreatives.com

Grant has been an entrepreneur since college, when she founded a dorm cleaning service and then a clothing line for sororities. Fast forward to when she started a family in the ’90s, and decided to learn web development. Smart move.

Now her business, Sunflower Designs, focuses on building Divi websites and child themes. In addition, she’s developed training software for the Royal Canadian Air Force. She doles out both smart business and web development advice on her business’ Twitter account.

9. Lisa Sabin-Wilson

Twitter: @LisaSabinWilson

Website: isasabin-wilson.com

If you’re in need of a brush-up on WordPress basics, Sabin-Wilson is your girl. Currently a partner at WebDevStudios, she’s the author of WordPress for Dummies, BuddyPress For Dummies, WordPress All In One For Dummies, and WordPress Web Design For Dummies. That’s proof that she knows exactly how to deliver easy-to-digest information for users of all levels.

Sabin-Wilson is just as good at giving presentations, as her WorldCamp talks prove. Her Twitter account is equally dynamic.

Want more great ideas? Check out our list of 10 must-reads for women working in tech.

10. Rachel Cherry

Twitter: @bamadesigner

Website: bamadesigner.com

As a senior software engineer for Disney Interactive, Cherry still builds with WordPress. With over a decade of experience in back- and front-end web development and digital design, she spent years as a web designer and developer for The University of Alabama.

As the director of WPCampus, she leads the community-centered organization on how to use WordPress in the academic world, which feeds off her passion for collaborating. She tweets about just that, along with being a fitness addict and traveler.

Who Else?

Do you know someone who would be a great addition to this list? Let us know in the comments below!

Get in on the action — start your own WordPress website with DreamPress!

The 14 Types of Emails You Need to Send to Grow Your Website

Megan Hendrickson — Tue, 24 Oct 2017 08:00:00 -0600

Half of the world’s population. A staggering 3 billion people.

That’s how many are predicted to use email by 2020. If that’s not shocking enough, consider this: among average workers, 6.3 hours per day are spent checking their email. That’s a fourth of our 24-hour allowance spent checking inboxes.

As one of the most effective money-making tools, email marketing acts as a primary means for lead generation and serves up an impressive ROI: a return of $38 for every $1 spent. Plus, email is an action-oriented medium and the preferred source of communication with businesses for 72 percent of consumers. Even better? Sixty-one percent of consumers enjoy receiving promotional emails weekly.

Did you catch that, small biz and website owners? Email is big business.

Not convinced? Check out our Website Owner’s Guide to Email Marketing.

Whatever you peddle — whether it be physical goods or web-based services — email marketing gives you an impressive opportunity to engage with and convert customers and grow your site.

So now that you’ve already learned how to build an email list with your WordPress website, it’s on to the next challenge: what kind of messages should you send? Which subject lines will earn you eyeball time with potential customers? And which ones will lead to the spam folder?

No need to check your inbox. We’ve got the answers right here.

14 Types of Emails You Need to Send to Grow Your Website

1. Newsletter

Newsletters are perhaps the most common type of emails sent out by businesses. That’s because even in the age of 140-character missives, email newsletters still remain an effective way to engage with your subscribers.

Newsletters can showcase your brand personality, provide valuable content for your followers, and help you contribute positively to your industry.

Email newsletters come in a variety of types you’ve probably seen, like roundups of recent posts, curated guides, information about upcoming events, or useful bonus content. Some key takeaways of crafting a winning newsletter:

Be Reliable and Consistent

You website and blog owners already know this: consistency is king. As often as you can offer valuable information (whether that be every week or every month), stick with a schedule — a handy editorial calendar aids with this — and help your subscribers know when to expect content from you.

Don’t Be Pushy

Don’t make your email subscribers feel like they’re dealing with an overly-aggressive salesperson. You want to provide something of value to them, while still giving them a focused call-to-action prompt that leads them back to a part of your site.

Travel site Viator offers a curation of highly-rated destination activities that might interest subscribers during future travels.

Unless you have a specific announcement about your product or business (see #8), then don’t be excessively pushing sales in your newsletters. Try for a 90/10 balance: 90 percent education, 10 percent soft-sell promotions. Overall, strive to inform and provide value.

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Prioritize Quality

Part of building your authority as a brand — and trust with customers — is sending high-quality communications. In the most basic sense, this means: proofread. Make sure your newsletter copy is error-free, uncluttered, and easy to read (think: easily-scannable bites of copy).

As an opportunity to build engagement and increase sales, you should take your newsletter seriously.

Additionally, you should strive to have a common thread or topic in your newsletters, rather than simply mashing together a hodgepodge of ideas or links. And it doesn’t have to be boring! Be creative. Your newsletter can — and should — set you apart.

Be Personal

Much of the internet is now automated. It sounds simple, but it’s true: be a human, not a robot, to your subscribers. As you craft your newsletters, write like you talk and be personable. Stand out by cultivating a unique brand voice that your readers will recognize — and trust. Avoid jargon or industry-specific terms or words that are too sales-y; this is a spam trigger.

We interviewed the web’s top content creators to get their best tips for 2017. Learn how you can create better content!

You’ve built (NOT bought) your email list from the ground up and now have an intimate and direct way to communicate with your subscribers. A big part of inviting readers to engage with your brand and, ultimately, purchase your products or services is creating a relationship with them through your unique voice and personality.

Cookbook store Book Larder’s monthly newsletter combines a personal letter-from-the-owner message with an upcoming calendar of author visits and cooking classes.

Make It Useful

Real talk: there’s a lot of content in the internet’s digital highways, and a lot of that content is trying to influence people to make purchases. How do you cut through the noisy digital terrain to grab the attention of your readers?

Good email communications are the place to start.

In fact, emails that are relevant to the recipient prompt 18 times more revenue than general broadcast emails. So make your newsletter relevant and valuable to your audience. Strive to create and share content that can apply in their lives and answer questions (see next tip). By offering content that is genuinely valuable, you’re cutting through the overly-inundated inboxes of the already digitally-cluttered users.

Also, consider incentivizing what you send — offer content that is different than what’s on your blog or website (like, interviews with insiders or how-to guides) to reward those who have chosen to engage with you. Highlight the newsletter’s usefulness in your subject line.

Ebay’s email newsletter offers a look at what items are popular on the site for the week.

Make an Effort to Listen

It’s helpful to solicit the feedback of your subscribers. That way, you can give more of what they want, which, in turn, will make them even more engaged. Ask them what questions they have and offer polls or surveys as a part of your emails so that you can better tailor your communications to meet their needs and continue to provide them valuable content.

2. Receipt Emails

It’s now common — second-nature, even — for customers to receive confirmation receipts after purchases. These typically include tracking details and contact information, as well as a confirmation of payment: “You purchased X product for Y price.” They can be simple but should include the necessary information so as to serve as a proper record of expense.

Gap’s confirmation emails follow up purchases and provide tracking and contact information.

3. Winback Emails

Breaking up (with your customers) is hard to do. It’s a sad reality, but losing a few purchasers is simply a part of the website-owning game, so don’t take it too personally.

Of course, you can still break out the Ben & Jerry’s if you want to.

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Some subscribers who have purchased in the past may have simply lost interest over time, or maybe they were just purchasing a one-time gift.

Whatever the reason, winback emails give you the opportunity to usher lost customers back into the fold.

Michaels encourages wayward customers to come back and purchase with an enticing discount.

Incentivize the lapsed customers to return and engage by offering personal discounts or additional bonuses and, then, after the initial “Miss You” missive, follow up. Encourage them to update their email preferences or add you to their contact list.

Pottery Barn Kids offers customers a discount code as a way to encourage return purchases.

4. Renewal Emails

You and your customers have a good thing going. So encourage them to keep returning by renewing their subscription, membership, or product/service package. Alert them that’s time to renew (they’ll appreciate the reminder!)

Because the information is time sensitive, keep the email simple, straightforward, and clear. Give your customers a reason to renew and a front-and-center call to action.

McAfee’s subscription renewal emails give customers a reason to continue purchasing their products, and an easy way to do so.

5. Upgrade Invites

As customers’ subscriptions or free trials end, invite them to upgrade by enticing them with additional features offered on a premium plan.

Make it personal to each customer by indicating how much time is left on their particular subscription and point out which new features might specifically benefit them. Explain what they’ll gain by upgrading — and what they’ll miss out on if they don’t. Include details on pricing and a clear call to action; you’ve always got to make it obvious what you want users to do.

Map My Run invites customers to upgrade their services and experience premium features.

6. Abandoned Cart Emails

There are a lot of reasons that customers might not complete a purchase: time constraints, price, complicated checkout processes, and myriad other reasons. In fact, the average rate of cart abandonment is 69 percent for online shopping. Uh-oh.

Luckily, you don’t have to wave goodbye to those sales forever; sending abandoned cart emails is an effective means of bringing customers back and earning their sales — email notifications about abandoned carts have a 40.5 percent open rate. Additionally, online shoppers who received more than one abandoned shopping cart email are 2.4 times more likely to complete their purchase than those who receive only one follow-up email. Good news for you.

Target excels at the abandoned cart email game — cleverly inviting almost-shoppers back to the site to complete purchases.

Some tips for a killer abandoned cart email? Here are a few:

Embrace sentiment — If customers feel like they are missing out on something, they’re more likely to act.

Personalize — Make customers feel special.

Specify — Remind customers what items they’ve left in their carts.

Incentivize — Consider offering a discount upon completing the purchase or tempt them with other related items.

Keep it fresh — Time your emails within a few hours of the customer’s exit from your site so that near-purchase is still top of mind.

Clothing company Piper & Scoot uses a fun voice and prominent call to action to entice readers back.

7. Sale Notices

Of course, sale emails are going to attract your subscribers — in a big way. Turns out, it’s a major way that shoppers find deals. And whether it be a flash sale, a holiday-fueled promotion, or a just-because discount, a well-crafted sales email can draw big attention (and big sales).

Edoughble’s Fourth of July email features a promo code that encourages customers to shop their holiday sale.

Sale emails should be straightforward, clearly identifying what you’re offering (and early on). Keep it short and simple. Incorporate appealing graphics and create a sense of urgency with the language you use.

Old Navy makes sales emails fun by adding a sense of mystery.

8. Announcement Emails

Big news: your company has it and email is a great way to spread the word.

Buzz about a new product or service, updated inventory, or upcoming events helps encourage continued engagement with your brand. Provide a call to action that helps subscribers return to your site or interact in some way.

Promptly Journals offers a great example of an announcement email: simple, clear, and with an explicit call to action.

9. Re-Engagement Emails

Sometimes all people need is a gentle, well-designed reminder — a virtual nudge, if you will — that they should re-engage with your brand. With re-engagement emails, you are targeting subscribers who are still customers but haven’t opened or clicked an email in a certain amount of time (this depends on your industry). The goal? Get them back in the loop.

Collage reminds its customers to re-engage with a simple “miss you” message.

IKEA’s re-engagement emails feature store discounts.

10. Welcome Emails

When your site visitors commit and subscribe to your email list, you’ll want to nurture that relationship immediately. Welcome messages are the first communication they’ll receive from you (remember: first impressions) and are a way to capitalize quickly — and warmly — on your new readership and stand out as a brand. Make them count!

Blurb’s welcome message includes their mission statement and what they can offer customers.

Always remember to include company expectations (i.e. what will you offer them?), accessible contact information, a powerful and clear call to action, and as added extras: discounts or incentives (like free ebooks or exclusive content).

Tubby Todd Bath Co. gives a simple mission statement with a clear call to action, inviting readers to further engage with the company.

11. Birthday Emails

As a business or website owner, you want to nurture (and possibly improve) relationships with your customers and subscribers by making them feel recognized. You also want to increase your sales numbers. Birthday emails do both. Plus, they crazy effective — 481 percent higher transaction rate than promotional emails, 342 percent higher revenue, and 179 percent higher unique click rates. Pass the party hat, please!

Artist Merrilee Liddiard invites site visitors to join her Birthday Club for special discounts.

Sure, you can’t hand-deliver a birthday cake or bouquet of flowers to each customer, but you can connect with them by sending personalized celebration messages. Use a simple opt-in form on your site to collect subscribers’ birthdays. Then, each year, send a unique message that invites them to shop and interact with your brand in honor of their big day. It pays to segment, so start utilizing the customer information you have to create such lists.

Ulta solicits birthdays through email as way to collect more useful customer data.

How to set your birthday messages apart?

Send It Early — Chances are, your subscribers are getting a lot of promotional emails on their birthday, so get a head start and help them celebrate the whole week (or the whole month!) They notice and appreciate your eagerness to celebrate them.

DSW’s graphically-exciting birthday email features a prominent discount code encouraging subscribers to shop (it’s their birthday, after all).

Send a Reminder — After you send a birthday email, follow it up with a reminder message to utilize their discount codes or promotions before time runs out. A prompt, plus a sense of urgency, will encourage them to interact with you.

Include First-Name Personalization — It’s true: knowing a first name matters. Email subject lines that use the subscriber’s first name earn 17 percent higher unique open rates than those without.

Best Buy celebrates customers’ birthdays with a month-long discount.

12. Anniversary Emails

In addition to birthdays, there’s another reason to celebrate your customers: their anniversary with you. Celebrating the numbers of years they’ve been your customer — whether that be two or 22 — is a way to build and strengthen relationships with them.

Plus, commemorating these milestones is an opportunity to send targeted emails that don’t require much legwork; you simply need the email signup date. With your celebratory message, offer incentives that rewards your customers for their loyalty.

13. Hygiene Emails

Over time, things may change for your subscribers, like email addresses, interests, or even budgets. Now and again, you’ll want to prune your list in response to these changes, so that you can increase the success of your email campaigns — and the amount of engagement you’re receiving from your customers. Tidy up with hygiene emails (emails designed to get readers to add you to their contact list) to develop a clean subscriber list.

In a creative way, Chatbooks invites readers to “stay in the loop” by adding the company to their email contact list.

Redfin sifts their email list by having subscribers verify their email addresses after expressing interest on their site.

14. Shipping Confirmation

As with receipt emails, shipping emails supply essential information relating to customers’ purchases. In this case, that means a notification that purchases are on their way to the customer. These virtual updates should be simple to convey the information clearly. Provide a tracking number so users can follow their goods in real time.

You’ve Got Mail

To generate more leads, increase your conversions, establish your brand, and create sales, you need to jump on board with email marketing. At 33 percent less cost than other lead-generating methods, emails result in 50 percent more sales — 50 percent! Time to hit “send!”

What types of emails have you had success with in your marketing campaigns? How do you use your email communications to engage with your customers and increase sales? Share your thoughts with us below.

— Reporting by Kasee Bailey

The Top 15 Best Tech Horror Movies to Watch This Halloween

DreamHost — Fri, 20 Oct 2017 08:00:00 -0600

It’s that magical time of year again when spooks and spirits abound. And what better way to celebrate the season than watching some scary movies with friends and family — or alone in the dark. Mwahahaha!

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Evil laughter aside, horror films have a storied history, beginning in the silent era with stars like Lon Chaney and Max Schreck up until present-day hits like Get Out. Audiences can’t get enough scary cinema. And a common theme running throughout the genre?

Technology.

Think about it: high tech and horror go together like tricks and treats. History’s horror catalog is filled with countless mad scientists, killer robots, and imaginative technologies that come with unintended — not to mention terrifying — consequences.

So armed with a bucket of popcorn and a fair bit of hubris, we decided to combine our love for technology (we’re a web hosting company, after all) and horror films to find out which ones deliver the biggest tech scares.

Fair warning: this isn’t a list of family-friendly flicks. Many of these are down-and-out, shock-and-awe, blood-and-gore horror films so use discretion if you’re screening around young ghosts and goblins, okay?

Now turn off the lights, grab a flashlight, and back up your website — it’s going to be a spooky ride.

Science Gone Mad

Our first category features films that revolve around a single scientist or scientific goal. These films definitively prove why clinical trials are a *very* good idea.

Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

Dir. James Whale — 1h 15m

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In the sequel to Whale’s own 1931 classic, Frankenstein, a new mad scientist, Dr. Pretorius (Ernest Thesiger), shows up to continue Dr. Frankenstein’s work, who now wants nothing to do with his disastrous experiments. Pretorius finds The Monster (Boris Karloff) and promises him a mate.

What unfolds is an amalgam of creepy imagery, religious symbolism, and psychological games, as you realize, despite his brutality, The Monster is a deeply sympathetic character. Pretorius eventually does create a mate for The Monster — The Bride of Frankenstein (Elsa Lanchester) — and you guessed it: it doesn’t end well.

Fiend Without a Face (1958)

Dir. Arthur Crabtree — 1h 14m

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The constant outpouring of nuclear power from a U.S. Air Force test facility causes one of the neighboring town’s retired scientists, R. E. Walgate (Kynaston Reeves), to covertly reroute some of the power to his own lab, where he’s secretly conducting telekinesis experiments.

Through these experiments, Walgate ends up inadvertently creating a race of invisible “thought” monsters that attack the townspeople and suck out their brains in order to multiply. These creatures are completely invisible for much of the film until they finally appear as slimy brains that slither around via their attached spinal cords. Suspenseful with an incredibly high “ick” factor, this film is a fantastic watch.

Altered States (1980)

Dir. Ken Russell — 1h 42m

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Professor Edward Jessup (William Hurt) is an abnormal psychologist who experiments with hallucinogens in a sensory deprivation tank. By doing so repeatedly, he begins tapping into a previously undiscovered part of the human mind.

His wife, Emily Jessup (Blair Brown), desperately tries to calm him down from his infatuation with this alternate reality, but Edward insists that he’s about to find the next big breakthrough in the field of evolutionary science. The results of his obsession are very unexpected and truly horrifying.

Complete with disturbing hallucinogenic sequences and a mind-altering musical score, this film is one heck of a ride.

Re-Animator (1985)

Dir. Stuart Gordon — 1h 26m

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Herbert West (Jeffrey Combs) is a medical student who attempts to reanimate the dead using a special serum. During his experiments on both animals and people, he uses especially high doses that result in the subjects behaving insanely violent.

As West starts to become obsessively self-consumed, more bodies are reanimated and wreak havoc, and the film becomes an all-out gore fest.

Honestly, this has some of the most unique — and utterly disgusting — makeup effects in film history. It’s gross, irreverent, and funny.

From Beyond (1986)

Dir. Stuart Gordon — 1h 26m

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Dr. Edward Pretorius (Ted Sorel) — yep, another Pretorius — and his assistant, Dr. Crawford Tillinghast (Jeffrey Combs), develop a device called the Resonator, which emits a frequency that enlarges the brain’s pineal gland allowing those within range to see a reality beyond normal human perception.

Pretorius becomes obsessed with the machine’s power and crosses over into a parallel dimension, leaving his lifeless physical body behind. Tillinghast and a new scientist, Dr. Katherine McMichaels (Barbara Crampton), conduct further research on the Resonator to discover what happened. What unfolds is a series of grotesque sequences and haunting visuals that scream 1986.

Tech Gone Awry

Each of the films in this category focus on a single type of technology. Someone should have QA’d this ish.

Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)

Dir. Tommy Lee Wallace — 1h 38m

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Conal Cochran (Dan O’Herlihy), the owner of a Halloween mask manufacturer, is gearing up for his biggest sale of the year. Meanwhile, Dr. Daniel Challis (Tom Atkins) is investigating a mysterious death that seems to be connected to the masks.

Unfortunately, detailing the technological aspects of the plot would spoil it for you, so you’ll just have to watch it. I promise it’ll surprise you.

Though audiences disliked this film when it was released (mainly due to the fact that it didn’t have anything to do with the series’ iconic antagonist, Michael Myers), it’s a uniquely interesting take on Halloween lore.

The Fly (1986)

Dir. David Cronenberg — 1h 36m

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This remake of the 1958 classic film is centered around Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum), an eccentric scientist who is in the process of building a set of telepods capable of instantaneous teleportation. Veronica Quaife (Geena Davis), a science journalist, is invited to Brundle’s lab to document his process.

After several attempts with inanimate objects and animals, Brundle is convinced the telepods are ready for human trial and uses himself as the guinea pig, not realizing that a housefly snuck into the pod prior to the experiment. Brundle’s human DNA and the fly’s DNA become intertwined, and we witness his methodical and eventual transition into a human-fly hybrid.

Combining impressive effects with humorous and compelling performances, this film is a modern sci-fi horror classic and an absolute must-watch.

eXistenZ (1999)

Dir. David Cronenberg — 1h 37m

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Allegra Geller (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is a world-renowned video game developer, famous for her virtual reality games played on biotechnological VR gaming consoles that connect directly into human spinal cords. Geller demonstrates her newest game, “eXistenZ,” to a focus group where she is shot by a member of a counter-VR group called the Realists. Ted Pikul (Jude Law), a marketing trainee, rushes to her aid, and the two of them embark on a harrowing journey through what may or may not be part of the “eXistenZ” game narrative.

You’re never quite sure what is real or what is virtual reality, and that’s one of the reasons why this film is so darn compelling. It’s also inherently eerie and will leave you scratching your head — in a good way.

Pulse (2001)

Dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa — 1h 58m

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Several people in Tokyo discover ghosts entering the living world — and consuming lives — via the internet. Well, that’s the simple explanation. Kurosawa weaves a complex narrative with a lot of plot points happening beyond what we see on the screen.

The themes of death, suicide, depression, love, isolation, despair, and hope are all present in the film. Let’s put it this way: this film will sit with you for a while. It’s easily one of the creepiest and most compelling horror films made in the last 20 years.

The Den (2013)

Dir. Zachary Donohue — 1h 21m

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Elizabeth Benton (Melanie Papalia) is a grad student who is conducting sociological research on a video chat service called The Den. She ends up video chatting with a number of people from all over the world until she witnesses a live murder. After looking into the murder, the killer’s focus turns on her and her friends, resulting in a grizzly and unexpected series of events.

The entire film is made up of spliced together computer and phone footage, but this isn’t just another stale, by-the-numbers found-footage gambit. The suspense is palpable, and it results in a twist that is both surprising and terrifying. It’s an underrated horror gem.

Robots Gone Bad

Last but certainly not least, when it comes to thrills, these films focus on the dark side of advances in modern robotics and artificial intelligence.

The Stepford Wives (1975)

Dir. Bryan Forbes — 1h 55m

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Joanna Eberhart (Katharine Ross) is a freelance photographer who moves from New York City to Stepford, Connecticut, with her husband Walter Eberhart (Peter Masterson), only to find that all of the women in the small town are vapid, seemingly contented housewives. Joanna befriends a fellow newcomer, Bobbie Markowe (Paula Prentiss), with whom she begins to unravel the sinister plot.

Joanna eventually realizes that the self-obsessed husbands of Stepford are replacing their wives with androids, programmed only to keep house and support their husbands implicitly. Though this social satire is soaked in transparency, it’s an entertaining and suspenseful viewing experience. Plus, the ending is a masterfully executed exercise in psychological chills.

Demon Seed (1977)

Dir. Donald Cammell — 1h 34m

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Dr. Alex Harris (Fritz Weaver) is the creator of Proteus IV, a particularly advanced AI software that was built to solve the world’s biggest problems — think disease and famine. His wife, Susan Harris (Julie Christie), feels estranged from Alex, and the situation is made worse by Alex leaving her to focus more on his research.

Proteus IV becomes self-aware and motivated to procreate. Susan gets unintentionally caught up in the AI’s plan, and what follows is an experimental science fiction film that tests the boundaries of what is morally right and wrong. It’s a fascinating watch.

Alien (1979)

Dir. Ridley Scott — 1h 57m

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Though this timeless sci-fi horror film primarily deals with the eponymous “alien,” one of the most chilling and unexpected parts of this film is the reveal of the AI character. For those of you who still haven’t seen it, we won’t give away exactly who it is. But trust me, it’s a solid twist.

After a commercial resource-gathering mission, Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) and the crew of the spaceship Nostromo are returning to Earth when they intercept a distress call from the planetoid, LV-426. And that’s when the excrement starts hitting the fan at a methodical and spine-shivering pace.

The film does an immaculate job of familiarizing the audience with the social environment of the Nostromo crew, so when the android character is made known, it’s a very effective reveal. If you haven’t seen it already, do it. It’s a classic for a reason.

Chopping Mall (1986)

Dir. Jim Wynorski — 1h 17m

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The Park Plaza Mall has recently installed a brand new team of high-tech security robots to patrol the complex at night and make sure there are no intruders. Unfortunately, a group of teenage mall employees is planning an after-hours party in the mattress store — if you know what I mean.

Of course, the security robots malfunction and go on a killing spree. This film is pure 1980s schlock at its finest. The acting is terrible, the action is laughable, but the entertainment value is 100. It’s a genuinely great piece of trash cinema.

Hardware (1990)

Dir. Richard Stanley — 1h 34m

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Moses Baxter (Dylan McDermott) is a scavenger in a futuristic urban wasteland. He buys an old robot head off a mysterious trader and gives to his on-again, off-again lover, Jill (Stacey Travis). Jill installs the robot head to an android body that she’s already been working on — as one does. But soon, the robot develops a tenacious bloodlust and starts terrorizing everyone in its path.

Auteur director Richard Stanley is a controversial figure, admired by some and panned by others. The world he creates in this film is engrossing and admirably executed, but you’ll have to be the judge of whether or not this is cinema gold. For our money, it’s worth a watch.

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No, You’re Scared

Well, there you have it: 15 fun tech horror movies to watch this Halloween. Sink your claws into as many of these films as you like, and let us know in the comments if we’ve missed one of your favorites.

Here’s wishing you all a safe and happy Halloween! Just remember: technology can be a real killer.

— Reporting by Lou Beaudreau