What happens when 4 passionate women talk about WordPress and Education?

We end up having a lot of fun and a great conversation!

In April 2019, I was invited to talk about teaching WP on the Women in WordPress Podcast.

The day we recorded was the first time I met two of the show's co-hosts Amy Masson, and Tracy Apps. Fortunately, I knew their 3rd host well. I've had the honor of working and teaching alongside Angela Bowman for over a decade.

This show was created as an opportunity to focus on the amazing achievements women are making in the WP community.

Unlike most of the tech world, WordPress has always felt more inclusive. The podcast highlights female leaders (from developers, designers, marketers, content specialists, teachers and more) in an effort to encourage more women to find careers in tech.

Though I've been involved in the WordPress community since 2005, this was my first podcast.

It's funny how I have no problem speaking live, but when it comes to something being recorded, it kind of freaks me out. Something about the permanence of it all.

Do you ever feel that way?

Yet, other then a slight case of butterflies in my tummy, I think it went well. OK, maybe there were a few spots where the Internet freezes on my end (technology, it's great when it works…).

The conversation ranged from getting started in WordPress to becoming an educator.

What do you think of my 1st appearance on a podcast? Watch it and let me know…

Even if you aren't a WordPress enthusiast, like these ladies and me, you may enjoy listening to it to learn:

• How to get started with WP (hint: I learned how to Google, but nowadays, you can easily join our regional community of meetups, classes, and WordCamps)
• How meeting Angela and considering her a collaborator instead of a competitor (back in 2007-2008) help build a whole community of people building within WordPress here in Boulder, CO.
• Why I enjoy teaching low-tech folks (business owners running their own website/blogs) and what their biggest questions are

If you have questions about WordPress, themes, plugins, hosting or marketing, I'd love to chat with you about them, and more.

Feel free to connect for a free consultation or leave a comment below.

The post My First Podcasting Experience appeared first on UniqueThink.

Why Create Content for Someone Who Scans It?

People are in a hurry, they are looking for something to draw them in. If you simply have a large block of text, they will likely move on. If you can break it up, and draw their eyes down the page, they may get engaged, if not with the first section, then maybe with the next!

Keep in mind, not every post has to have every idea posted below. I took it to the extreme, because I wanted to give you actual examples.

So how do you make your text scannable?

Create Strong Headlines

• Tell them why they should read on
• Help them understand what the post/page is about in easily understandable words
• Guide them to read on

Use Subheadings/Bullets/Bold

• These encourage people (who scan) to keep heading on down the page
• It takes them to important insights… in small, digestible bits
• Not as many people will read heavy, long paragraphs of text, so see if you can find appropriate places to break things up
  • Smaller chunks – shorter sentences – make for easier reads
  • If you have a sentence with a series of examples, for instance, maybe they can be broken into bullet points (like this section)

Include Images

Why do you think we use images on websites? Well, lots of reasons, but here are two: 1.) to convey what the story is about and 2.) to draw the reader's eye down the page.

Assume your visitor is being distracted by lots of other things around them, and give them some (relevant) images to grab their attention.

Oh, and people like pictures that have people in them.

Tell Them WHY They Should Care

• Make sure you share insights that are appropriate to your audience (answering their why – why are they reading what you wrote)
  • For instance instead of saying ‘we have these services/ product’ tell them this is how it solves their issues/addresses their concerns
  • Share how your products/services helped others in ways they hadn't considered, as well as what they expected
  • Intersperse testimonials to share experiences in your clients' words (since you are trying to attract more folks like them!)

Ask Yourself This (Be Honest):

• Is it easy (perfectly clear) for someone new to understand?
• Would your ideal client be inspired to learn more
• Why should they care? Tell them, but make sure it is something they would care about!

Go through your copy and see if there’s any way to make your statements clearer. Don’t just list features, share how folks have successfully used your products/services.

State enticing reasons why people use your company/services/products. Share how they solve problems for the clients/customers.

Address the site visitors’ concerns:

1. Make a list of all possible questions, doubts and objections that prospects might have in the buying process. Remove their doubts!
2. Remove anything that is not absolutely necessary (fluff, industry jargon they don't understand, anyway)!
3. Show Numbers (not like this numbered list, but numbered lists work, too, for scannability). I mean: How many folks are using your products/
   services (if possible & appropriate, of course)
4. Use Testimonials as proof and/or link to Reviews/Articles on other sites to reflect satisfaction
5.  Provide important information about buying process:
   • How to Get Started
   • What happens after they buy
   • What can they expect
   • What’s the timeline
   • Add risk reversal (if possible and appropriate):
     • What kind of guarantees are in place?
     • What happens if they don’t like it, or it’s not what they thought…?
   • Make the buying process/next step as easy as possible:
     • Tell them how to work with you
     • Share how working with you is helpful
     • Give them an action to take
       • Contact you, buy or review another part of the site (to move them to the next level)

IDEAS specifically for the Products/Services Page(s):

1. Name of the product/service
2. Describe:
   • What types of service/product and what does it do to help them?
   • What’s the end-benefit of this product and who is it for?
   • Highlight features and benefits – also list important options and or add ons, if any
3. What’s the pain that it solves? Description of the problem.
4. Technical information: parameters, what specs (if appropriate) and how does it work?
5. Make a list of all possible fears, uncertainties, doubts – and address them
6. Remember testimonials – how it helped others/how easy it was for them
7. Expectation setting: what happens after they buy – what guarantees, warranties?
8. Call to Action: buy now, contact us

Insights for this were taken from a great article found on Smashing Magazine.

Every page should have a Next Step

Whether you call them Action Steps, Calls to Action or CTA, don't forget to include one. Because when they get to the bottom of the page, they want you to tell them what to do next.

On a product page, you might tell them to buy now. On a services page, it might be to connect with you.

On a blog post, it might be to leave a comment.

For instance, this is the end of this post, but I'd love to know if it helped to answer some of your questions.

If so, let me know which tip helped the most, by commenting below.

If not, please tell me what you are struggling with, so I can address that for you!

See how I did that? Now it's your turn!

Remember, just because I filled this post with Subheadings, Bolded Text, Numbered & Bulleted Lists, and CTAs it doesn't mean every article has to have ALL these elements. But every article should conclude with a Next Step. What will yours be?

Focusing on the possibilities…

The post How To Structure A Blog Post And/OR Web Pages appeared first on UniqueThink.

Updated April, 2019: This was originally written in Oct, 2010. So we spruced it up.

Here is a Quick Email Tip: Set up a signature line to appear at the bottom of every email you send out (whether in an email newsletter or everyday correspondence).

Include (among other info):

• Your Name
• Company Name
• Phone #
• URL (include http:// (or preferably you are at https://) to make it a live link they can click on)
• Email Address

Yes, even though you are sending out the email – you want to include your email address. Why? Well, sometimes people cut and paste your contact info to refer you to others, and doing this just makes it easier for everyone.

Other things to consider:

• Links to your social media profiles
• A call to action such as a special offer or: “Contact Me for a Free Consultation“
• Your title – if that is important for you to share
• Where you are located – again, depends on what you do, whether that is important to include

Here is an example of what I use:

UniqueThink: Online Marketing & WordPress Websites
https://uniquethink.com • 720.771.3271 • Contact me via Email
Find me on:
LinkedIn • Facebook • Pinterest •  Twitter

As I mentioned, you should have this on every email you send out.  Email applications make it easy to set up an automated signature line. 

The reason to include it on every email, even if you are responding to folks, is to make it easier for them, if they do need to call you.

Years ago, I used to only include my phone number on the first email I sent to folks. 

One day, a client was trying to call me.  She couldn't find my business card, which she usually used to contact me.  So, she went into her saved emails and had to scroll through a bunch of them, until she found my phone #.

You get to benefit from my hard learned lesson! Let's make it easy for folks to contact us.  So, just have it automatically added to every email, if that is easiest for you.

BONUS TIP NOTE: In the above example, I've taken out my email address and linked to the contact form on my site. In the actual email signature line, I do list my email address.

So, why not on the example in this post?

To avoid spam robots (scripts created by spammers) coming to my site and grabbing my email address I never list email addresses anywhere online – instead, I link to a contact form. Do this and you'll cut down on spam.

Do you have any tips for what to include in a signature line?  If so, comment below to share it with all of us.

The post Quick Email Marketing Tip: Include a Signature Line appeared first on UniqueThink.

Updated April, 2019: This article was originally written in Nov., 2011. We thought it was just as important today, so spruced it up with some current examples.

How is a pickpocketer like an online hacker?

Offline it may happen like this: Someone accidentally bumps into you and, the next thing you know, your wallet is missing.

Online you may not even know it is happening, but if someone does find out your password (for your website, your email account, your Facebook account or worse…), they can cause lots of damage:

• They could steal your money or personal, private information
• They could pull down your website, put up bad code (that collects your visitor's info), or send your visitors to an inappropriate site
• They could email annoying spam to all your contacts (friends, family, business associates) disguised as your email address

Whatever they do, the result is similar to being mugged or pickpocketed: You may be left scared, waiting for them to come back and wondering, “Why me?“

Typically, hackers (like muggers and pickpocketers) aren't after you personally, though try telling that to someone who has just encountered one.  It probably has nothing to do with you…other than you were the easiest target around them at that moment.

Are you making yourself an easy target? Are you doing any of the following:

• Using the same password everywhere
• Using a common word, like your dog's name, for your password

You probably thought it was just easier to use the same password everywhere. Nowadays, we have to remember so many passwords. It just makes sense to make it easy on ourselves, right? Well, not with cyber pickpocketers (better known as Hackers) around.

Let's look at what is known about how some of these Hackers work (there are a lot of other ways, but these are two of the more common types):

1. The Repeat Offender: Let's say you use that same password everywhere. A hacker figures it out in one place, do you think he/she is going to stop there? It doesn't matter how obscure the word is, if you use that password everywhere and someone figures it out in one place, they have then figured it out for all your accounts. And think about it this way:

• If they have access to your email account, they probably have access to more info about you than they need
• Just getting into your Facebook account could eventually lead them to where you bank, and they are banking on you using that same password everywhere
• Do yourself a favor, if you do nothing else right now, make your bank password really secure… now!
• AND AS A BUSINESS OWNER: Do your customers/clients’ a favor – make sure their info is safe, by creating unique, secure passwords for your site and email address (wherever they share info with you!)

2. The Dictionary Thief: These guys aren't stealing dictionaries, but they are making an educated guess you are using a common name or a word found in the dictionary. These guys/gals have done their research, they also know the most common words people use as passwords. Here are a few (not in any particular order) of The Worst Passwords Of 2018 according to Forbes.

• 123456
• password
• 123456789
• 12345678
• monkey
• sunshine
• princess
• iloveyou

If you are using any of these most commonly used passwords, PLEASE change them immediately.

Those dictionary thieves create computer programs to run a script that goes through every common word and name. The computer script does the work for them, they just let the program run – any time of day or night – until it finds the password that gets them logged in!

Again, in most cases, they aren't going after you personally, they are just looking for an easy password to gain access. So, with a little work you can save yourself a lot of trouble!

These are just two of many examples! I'm not trying to make you feel helpless, it's the opposite, I want you to take control. Maybe I am trying to scare you a little…though just enough to make you take action!

So, what actions can make you more secure right now?

I'll make suggestions in a moment, but first want to state that a quick and easy thing to do is get 1Password and start using this powerful tool immediately!  I highly recommend it to create and manage all your passwords.  I have been using it myself since April of 2010 and can't believe I ever existed without it. 

I love their video, because it shows you how easy it is to use:

There are a ton of reasons I use it, but the top ones are:

• You create 1 Master Password to log into this password management tool (don't get confused, this is the password to unlock 1Password).  Think of it like an apartment manager being able to unlock any door, even though all the individual doors have their own keys. This means you only have to remember your Master Password to get access to all your other really long, secure passwords
• It has a password generator tool built-in, so you can easily make a strong password that automatically gets saved in this software
• It is encrypted, so it keeps everything secure
• It has a browser add-on: If you are online and need to log in to any online site (Facebook, Gmail, your bank, anything…) you just click the 1P icon and it fills in the password for you!

What are the best practices for creating user names and passwords?

Below are a few of the top ones I like to share with my clients, but there are always more things you can do:

• Create unique user names and passwords for each account (DO NOT use the same user name and password on everything from your email account to your bank account! This is critical and can't be stressed enough!)
• Keep passwords in a secure place, like a tool specifically encrypted for password storage.
  • This helps you to not have to remember multiple passwords, because it remembers them for you, then protects the various ones you have created.
• Either use a password generating tool (included in 1Password) or make sure the password contains a mixture of upper and lower case letters, numbers and special characters. Do not use a common word that is in the dictionary and then throw in a # or two at the end. Break up the letters with characters and #, the longer the better.
  Here is an example of a secure password: 992t2S#92M9!C7yb4nb9D7h4&dRm7^zEjs8Ws3QQ
  (I know, you are thinking, “Who can remember that!?” Don't worry, 1Password will make it so you don't have to remember this password, just one master one!)
• Do not provide your passwords to others – even your staff.  If you have to give someone a password, create separate ones for each staff member or intern who might be helping you out. That way, should they leave, you can delete that password and create a new one for the person who is taking over.  And, did I mention, you can manage them all within 1Password.

OK, I'm not saying this is the only password tool out there.  I used to use a free one, but it didn't have as many features.  I'd rather you use one of those than have you keep using the same common word as your password for everything!  However, the reason I fell in love with 1Password was because it is so simple to use.  It can also sync across multiple devices, which are all encrypted with the same level of security as financial institutions use.

So, now you have no excuse not to have a secure password. 

Please do take this seriously and change your passwords to something more secure now, before the cyber pickpocketer happens upon your website (with access to your confidential info and or your clients' personal data), email account, Facebook account or worse (anywhere with your credit card info)!

Keep it secure!  And, if any of your accounts should get hacked, change the password immediately, along with any other accounts that share it!

The post Cyber Pickpocketers want your Passwords appeared first on UniqueThink.

Join us during this special, Saturday session, of the Boulder WP Meetup to talk about:

Best Practices for Working with Copyright Law

Location:
Boulder Digital Arts
1600 Range Street, Suite 100
Boulder, CO  80301

Date/Time:
Saturday, January 19, 2019
10:30 AM to 12:30 PM

RSVP IS REQUIRED
(either using the form below or through the groups meetup pages)

We have two great speakers, who will also do a Q&A. So bring your questions!

Denver-based attorney Jon Tandler will give a talk called: Fair Use and Best Practices for Third Party Copyright Permissions

Jon Tandler is a Member of Sherman & Howard L.L.C., Denver, Colorado, and practices intellectual property, publishing, information technology and business law. He serves as legal counsel to entrepreneurs, and established companies and institutions on matters for managing and monetizing intellectual property and technology assets. Jon’s publishing practice emphasizes copyright and literary law in the book and magazine industries, and rights, contract, transactional and regulatory matters. He represents publishers, authors, agencies, publishing trade associations and others working in fiction and non-fiction publishing genres. Jon teaches regularly about his fields of practice for professional and academic organizations. Jon’s email is jtandler@shermanhoward.com.

==============================================================
Betty Taylor will give a talk called: Can I Use that Picture? How to Find and Use Images (without Violating Copyright Law) by Betty Taylor

Betty will talk about some of the details of copyright that designers and developers need to know, including:

• How to find images that are ok to use for print design or websites

• A bit about stock images, Creative Commons licenses, reverse image searches, and more!

• How (and why) to protect yourself when the client supplies the content (images and text)

Betty Taylor a detail-obsessed graphic designer, has been putting together pictures and words to communicate messages for more than 20 years. Her company, Ladder Creative LLC, offers everything from food packaging design to long-document layout, as well as website design and development, and just about everything else related to graphic design. You can reach Betty at: https://laddercreative.com/

We prefer you sign up through the meetup groups:

Boulder WordPress Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/BoulderWP/events/257600074/

Boulder Designers Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/Boulder-Designers-Group-for-Women/events/257748314/

Please keep in mind seating is limited, first come first served (though a waitlist will be provided).

For more info, please review our Privacy Policy

We look forward to seeing you at the event.

The post Special Co-Meetup: Best Practices for Working with Copyright Law appeared first on UniqueThink.

I'm delighted to say that I will once again be speaking at Denver's WordCamp (at 9am on Saturday Nov 5th, 2016).

At past events, I've focused my talks on the non-techie WordPress newbie – a group of people I hold near and dear to my heart. Most of my clients fall into this category when I first meet with them.  And I will continue to proudly serve this audience.

However, this year for WordCamp Denver 2016 (happening on Nov 5 & 6th, 2016), I've decided to do a talk to the people within the industry who are struggling to successfully get clients. I find the biggest problem with their approach is they don't ask enough of the important questions – which not only hurts them, it impacts their client's project, as well.

So, with that in mind, my talk this year is entitled:

7 Questions You Forgot to Ask Your Web Client

To Non-Industry Folks: The nice thing about this talk, is you can learn, too, even if you happen to be on the client side (not development side). This talk will explain why your developer should be asking you these questions, why these questions are important, and how discovering the answers can help you launch a stronger site!

I hope to see you there! If you do know you are attending, please reach out to me or stop by the stage and say hello!

I'm speaking at 9am in the Events Lab.

And, yes, I will be sharing the slides after the event – so come back and look for them here!

The post I’m Speaking at WordCamp Denver 2016 appeared first on UniqueThink.

This article – which originally appeared in 2013 – has been updated for current insights on WordPress' safe!

Yes, WordPress is still safe, but:

The two best things you can always do to protect your site are:

• Be Proactive – Make sure EVERYTHING on your site is secure, backed up and UPDATED – continuously!!!
• Be Creative – Create super strong, crazy long login access: meaning your username and password!

If you were reading the news back in April 2015, you probably read there is an ongoing ‘orchestrated attack by ISIL‘ on WordPress sites.

Back in April and May of 2015, WordPress released 3 new releases (4.2, 4.2.1, and 4.2.2) of their software to defeat attacks by ISIL and other known vulnerabilities.

There was a cross-script vulnerability (meaning themes and plugins that were talking to WordPress were also left vulnerable and ALL needed to be updated!).

As of this update to this post, 10/5/15, WordPress is now up to version 4.3.1 (if you are not up to date, make sure you backup your site – including your theme – and update immediately).  Don't just update WordPress, but also update all your themes and plugins and remove anything you aren't using.

At the time, I had received a lot of emails from clients asking about this issue, what it means and what they can do. I've posted on social media, and I've come back and updated this post, when possible.

Back in 2013, several people pointed me to this Forbes piece outlining “the most important things you can do to keep your WordPress website or blog safe”.

We will go over what you need to do (use strong login info and keep the site up to date), but first:

You are probably thinking this means WordPress is insecure, right?

Well, actually, NO!

This is the biggest misconception.  The CURRENT WordPress software seems to be stable – meaning there are No Known Vulnerabilities causing a security risk to the current version of WordPress (if you aren't on a current version, then you could be vulnerable and at risk – so should upgrade now – after you have done a fresh backup!).

If there were a known issue, WordPress would work to fix it and get a new security release out as soon as possible (like they always have).

Since there were issues earlier this year, if you are on an older version, or using older plugins or themes (or just have them installed but inactive) you are still making your site vulnerable!!!

So update immediately, but also consider having your site professionally scanned, because sometimes sites are hacked and the site owner does NOT even know it!  Angela Bowman of AskWPGirl offers a site security scan review you can request on her site: http://askwpgirl.com/wordpress-online-consulting/ or you can use a service like Sucuri – who specializes in Website Security.

Sucuri.net has a monitoring system to also keep your site secure.  And, if you do get malware, they can remove it for you – it costs $299.99 a year (think of it like an insurance policy).  https://uniquethink.com/go/security

And I have some suggestions below of Hosting Options that not only monitor your site, but also clean it, if it gets hacked (see below under Get Better WordPress Hosting).

What EASY things can you do to stay secure?

1. Change your UserName and your Password – make them super secure!  Angela Bowman of AskWPGirl has written out instructions on how to change your username.

2. Scan your site, to make sure it is clean and free of known malware

I tend to use this free tool: https://sitecheck.sucuri.net/ – but we did notice it wasn't picking up every hack out there, back in April & May of 2015.  Of course, it was hard to keep up with everything at that time.

3. Set up a Backup and Upgrade process

There are several ways to backup – I recommend both of these:

 VaultPress is a great solution by the for-profit end of WordPress. There are different pricing options: https://vaultpress.com/

BackupBuddy: A premium plugin that allows you to backup your full site, not just your database.  You can also use this tool to MIGRATE your site to another server https://uniquethink.com/movewp

4. Get Rid of Plugins and Themes you aren't using – they could have a vulnerability you aren't aware of – so if you aren't using it, remove it!

5. If you don't have some reputable security plugins installed already, there are a few plugins I rely on:

UniqueThink recommends Simple Firewall by iControlWP – we used to use others, including WordFence. Right now, this one plugin is doing the job of many.

ANOTHER GREAT OPTION:

Get better WordPress hosting:

In reports and studies we have read, hosting can also make a big difference. Some hosts aren't keeping up with WordPress' recommendations for security. If your host isn't using the most current recommendations, your site is more vulnerable.

There are also newer breeds of WordPress-ccentric Hosting Solutions.  I used to recommend regular hosting companies, but the WP-ccentric hosting providers have won me over! They only allow WordPress sites on their servers, they keep on top of what is happening in the WordPress world, they take quick action to resolve issues, they offer more frequent backups, and they also clean your site, if it does get hacked!

I talk about them more on my Tools and Resources page, but here are my current recommendations as of 10/5/15: https://uniquethink.com/bethanys-recommended-toolsservices/

Current #1 Suggestion is GetFlyWheel: http://share.getf.ly/e26w3g

• Free 30 days to set up your site!
  
• Managed speed and caching – it helps to have a fast site – which helps you get found better on Google and helps the person visiting the site
• Automatic backups and simple restores –  makes sure your important content is backed up and easy to restore
• WordPress core updates –  updating of WordPress is critical (but don’t forget you still need to update themes/plugins)
• Malware scanning and cleanup – they monitor the site and if something goes wrong, and your site gets hacked, they clean it for you
• More…

#2 is WPEngine: https://uniquethink.com/wpengine

WPEngine has a similar offering to GetFlyWheel.  But since GetFlywheel has a Tiny plan that is for smaller sites, I mention it as my #1 option. Both are reputable, good options, but according to this study which checks stats each month, GetFlyWheel also has faster servers (which means people see your sites quicker).

The following info (updated from the original post from 2013) talks about Usernames & Password Security:

To address concerns about security, Matt Mullenweg – the founder of WordPress – put out a release in 2013 noticing the issues back then were related to people using bad usernames and passwords.

“Right now there’s a botnet going around all of the WordPresses it can find trying to login with the “admin” username and a bunch of common passwords…” Mullenweg wrote on his own WordPress blog.

WordPress has done many things over the years, to make your site more secure. This includes allowing you to choose your own username, instead of using the default of ADMIN (which the hackers are hoping you are using). So make sure you make good choices with your login credentials.

You are as secure (from this type of hack) as your user name and password.

Then, why this ‘orchestrated attack' specifically on WordPress?

This is still being investigated (but there is a larger scale threat to the Internet itself).

The hackers' end goal, once they get enough hacked sites, is to take down the whole Internet.

No really, the hackers are trying to take down the web. We just hope they don't get that far.

And since WordPress runs more than a Quarter of the Internet, yes, they are a big target.

WordPress is used by 58.6% of all the websites whose content management system we know. This is 24.6% of all websites.

– stats provided by http://w3techs.com/technologies/details/cm-wordpress/all/all

For now, let's talk about your site.

So many times I hear people say, why do the hackers care about me?

The answer: They don't.

They just are using the most vulnerable, the low hanging fruit, as a way to get to their bigger goal.

You might ask: Is my password really that bad?

Let me ask you this, is it the same one you use everywhere? If so, it is bad.

• Is it the name of your favorite pet, your child or your significant other? If so, it is bad.
• Is it a word in the dictionary with 123 after it? If so, it is bad.

Huffington post talked about the worst passwords to use – in an article from 10/25/12:

The top three passwords of 2012 — “password,” “123456,” and “12345678”

New entries to 2013's top 25 include “jesus,” “ninja” and the highly imaginative “password1.”

Anyone who knows me, knows I have been trying to get you to use strong ‘crazy' passwords for years – and have not used the username of Admin since 2008.

Anyone who has worked with me in the more recent past, knows I am also creating super ‘annoying' but also very strong Usernames, as well as passwords.

I also strongly encourage (not request) you to create a different unique and crazy password for everything: your email address, your hosting company, your FTP site…(and especially your bank account and anywhere else where money is involved – like Amazon, or wherever you've stored credit card info online).

To understand more and to learn how to create a crazy strong password, you can read my blog post entitled: Cyber Pickpockets Want Your Passwords– or revisit UniqueThink's terms agreement (which also discusses password and security issues).

I know, now you are saying: BUT, I can't remember all those long passwords!

And, I am hear to say, you don't have to remember them all.  There is software to do that for you!. To help you retain all those crazy upper case, lower case, symbols and numbers in your usernames and password, I recommend a password management tool. My favorite tool for remembering my passwords is 1Password.

So will a new password really keep your site safe?

Please keep in mind: Usernames and Passwords aren't the only way hackers enter your site.  However, this bot hack appears to be about trying to get in by trying ‘every key on the ring.‘

These guys use robot scripts to go thru the most common words, hoping you used one for your username and password – this is what they call brute force.

Let's break it down.

Keep your software up to date and your login unique and strong.

Matt Mullenweg says “Do this and you’ll be ahead of 99% of sites out there and probably never have a problem.”

So, what did we discover?

1. WordPress (the most current version of the software) is currently secure (best option is to update it when a new version is released) – BUT remember some themes and plugins may not be. – so always update everything to the current version (and always have a backup, before you update!)
2. The UserName Admin is NOT secure!
3. A weak password makes you vulnerable

Yes, WordPress sites, just like any other kind of site, always has risks of getting hacked – Just like your office, home, car, even gym locker, is at risk of getting broken into. But as we discussed above, there are some simple steps that make you that much more secure.  Take action on them now!

If you use a plugin called the Social Media Widget Plugin or have a theme with TimThumb, please also read this post called: WordPress ‘Addons’ With Known Problems

If you have additional questions, get in touch and we'll figure out the best solution for your unique situation.

The post Is WordPress Still Safe? appeared first on UniqueThink.

I'm excited to be speaking at WordCamp Denver 2015.

This year, they have invited me to do a presentation called Where to Begin with WordPress. It's a conversation I have all the time and enjoy the topic:

People who take my workshops and those who hire me to develop their sites all want to know how they can get started – and how they can learn from my mistakes, as well as my successes.

To make it a fun & informative session, I've interviewed people from all different backgrounds:

• people who use WordPress to run their company websites/blogs
• people who make a living from creating sites for clients
• theme and plugin developers
• some folks from the East Coast, some from the West Coast
• some from right here in Boulder, Colorado

I'm including highlights of their stories about how they first got started and what they wish they had known, before they began!

What is WordCamp?

It's a gathering of people within the WordPress community coming together to talk All Things WordPress.

When does it happen (in Denver, Colorado):

Saturday & Sunday – June 13-14, 2015

SpringHill Suites Denver Downtown
1190 Auraria Pkwy Denver, CO 80204

Check out the Denver Schedule of Times/Speakers Here: https://denver.wordcamp.org/2015/schedule/

FYI: There are WordCamps that happen across the globe – in June of 2015, alone, there are 9 including Germany, Canada, Brazil and Missouri. Check the global schedule at: https://central.wordcamp.org/schedule/

Who Attends?

WordCamp is known to bring together everyone from:

• Someone who heard they should build their site in WordPress
• Casual bloggers
• Internationally known bloggers
• Small business owners managing their own sites
• Graphic Designers looking to start building sites for their clients
• Web Developers
• Plugin Developers
• Theme Developers
• Hosting Service Providers
• World renown WordPress experts
• Local folks doing amazing things

Come join us!  There are only a hand full of tickets left, so act quick!

Looking forward to seeing you there.  If you plan to attend, please let me know in the comments below or by connecting with me through Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest or say hi at the events.

The post WordCamp Denver 2015 appeared first on UniqueThink.

Google is releasing a new way to rank your site – the Mobile Algorithm will begin on April 21st, 2015 and effect whether you come up high in search results for mobile viewers.

We talked about the repercussions of this and how to see if it will impact your search rankings in our last post: “How Hard is it to Find You? It depends on Google's mobile algorithm”

Now we will focus on what you can do to make your WordPress website mobile-friendly. Many of these tips can help if your site is on another CMS, too (Drupal, Joomla, SquareSpace, Weebly, Wix).

1.  Change to a Responsive Design Theme

What is Responsive Design?

It is the flexibility of using one platform that scales appropriately for just about any device.  You don't need a separate mobile site.

Whether you're on a smartphone, tablet, desktop or larger monitor, your website will be clued in (by its width) to which device type and automatically adjust to fit the screen.

It's not magic, but even magicians Penn and Teller use responsive design for their site! (And, yes, they run their site on WordPress – and no, we didn't build it, it just fit in nicely here.)

Yeah, but what's it gonna cost to change themes?

How does free sound? If you are using WordPress and have absolutely no money, try the Twenty Twelve theme.

It doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles, but it will get you on a responsive design theme that is quick and easy to use. You can change the background color and add a branded header.

If you need a new header, this theme uses a 960(width) x 350(height) – but then it scales to the appropriate device. You can create headers quickly and easily over at Pic Monkey.

Premium Themes give you more than just Responsive Design

If you do have some money to invest, but not the budget to have UniqueThink's team customize a WordPress website for you, you may want to look at one of the following:

• Akita  – this WordPress theme is by ThemeBlvd
  • In addition to being responsive, themes like Akita have lots of functionality (sliders, columns, easy ways to add Google Fonts and FontAwesome icons, and more!
• StudioPress – this is a development house with a series of themes
  • Make sure you choose one of their Mobile Friendly themes (not all of them are)
  • They are nice out of the box, have a lot of functionality, but I think Akita is more flexible

I also hear good things about:

Avada theme WordPress by ThemeFusion and the Make theme from the ThemeFoundry

If you are a developer, you may want to check out the framework UniqueThink builds custom websites on, it's called ThemeBlvd’s Jumpstart.  Just a heads up, the newest version is in Beta right now, but we’ve been building sites successfully on it for the last couple of months. And we love it!  Here is a link to the theme's demo site: http://demoblvd.com/themes/jumpstart-2/demo-1/

2. Other Options: Mobile app/plugin?

What?  You don't want to change your whole look right now, but you want to make sure you are mobile-friendly by the 21st?  If you are on WordPress, you can try the JetPack Mobile Theme.  But it seems to be a bit finicky, especially if you are using a caching plugin/tool.

If you do use it, remove ANY caching tools.  I put it on one site and came back the next day and found it wasn't working.  I tracked it to the WordFence Falcon Engine (a performance feature that caches the site).

I am also tried iTheme's Mobile Plugin. It has some additional customization options, but it also had one that broke the blog page, it was called Starter.  I also saw the caching issue happening with this plugin, as well.

You might have to choose between turning off the caching plugin or putting up a responsive theme earlier than you had hoped.

After I wrote this post originally, Angela Bowman of AskWPgirl suggested WPTouch: https://wordpress.org/plugins/wptouch/

I installed the WPTouch and was able to get it to work on several sites.  They have a whole guide about using caching: https://www.wptouch.com/support/knowledgebase/optimizing-caching-plugins-for-mobile-use/

In the long run, I highly suggest a responsive theme, but these plugins are a quick (yet not ideal) fix.

Oh, Courtney at Saffron Design – another Boulder Developer – mentioned this 3rd party tool that I believe works with any platform – we have no experience with it, but she really liked it.  Their free version has ads, but you can pay to remove them and get more features: https://www.dudamobile.com/

By the way, the duda works by creating an m. (mdot) url.

If you have a different tool to suggest to our community, please let us know by sharing it in the comments below.

3. Not on WordPress? Start by testing how mobile-friendly your site is with Google's Mobile-Friendly Testing Tool

In our last article, we talked about how to test your site to make sure it is mobile-friendly.

If you haven't already, check out their mobile-friendly testing tool for your own domain.

It provides insights on what Google thinks needs to be adjusted on your site and shares how to make the fixes!

4. Additional and Helpful Tools: Get Google Analytics and Webmaster tools installed

Google Webmaster Tools – to the rescue!

Whether you are currently mobile-friendly or not, you should set up Google Webmaster tools to monitor your site and learn what problems Google has found – as well as helping them to index your site better.  Oh, and don't forget – you must add your sitemap to the webmaster tools!

We also suggest using Google Analytics – it gives you a sense of how many mobile visitors you get each month (among all the other stats it provides).

These are free tools that actually offer a lot of help and guidance. So take advantage of the info you'll learn from them.

Note to Current UniqueThink clients:

If we built the site for you in the last few years (maybe even as early as 2010-11), it is most likely mobile friendly. We've been building responsive websites for some time, but were still doing an occasional non-responsive site earlier on, so check with us (or the tools mentioned above), if you're not sure.

We most likely set up Google Analytics and Google Webmaster tools, but don’t take it for granted if it was a starter site.  If in doubt, send me a quick email and I can let you know.

Meanwhile, there is a lot more to discuss, so I hope to write another post on this subject soon. And, if you haven't already, go back and read our other post “How Hard is it to Find You? It depends on Google's mobile algorithm”.

Let me know what questions you have, so I can be sure to answer them here for everyone. Just post a comment below or email us directly!

By the way, this page has a few affiliate links, but we only recommend things we believe are worth looking into (notice all the ones we haven't mentioned!). If you have a theme/tool in mind, feel free to check with us and we'll let you know what we've discovered about it.

The post How to become Mobile-Friendly appeared first on UniqueThink.

Don't play hide and seek with your business.

If you have a website, it's critical that you show up well in a Google search, so new people can find your company/services/products.

Unfortunately, Google is changing how they rank websites in their mobile search results.

What does that mean?

If your site isn't considered mobile-friendly after April 21st of 2015, Google will place mobile optimized sites above yours.

Which means your competitor might raise in the rankings, while you fall.

So let's take a few steps now to stay visible for mobile search traffic!

If you're wondering”Is this REALLY important for MY site?” – the answer is: Yes!

And, before you ask, “Are people really looking for MY kind of business on a cell phone?” the answer is Yes!

Learn How Mobile Impacts My Own Business: UniqueThink caters to B2B, non-tech, small business owners looking to create their presence online.

This is not the audience you'd expect to do research on a mobile phone.  You'd think they'd want to use a desktop computer to see samples of web and marketing projects.

Yet, on average about 13.39% of my traffic comes from mobile devices (6.44% more from tablets).

What does this matter to you?

If your average mobile traffic is close to mine, you'd be throwing away the chance to talk to over 133 potential mobile leads for every 1000 desktop visitors!

And that number is just going to continue to grow.  If you are B2C or a brick and mortar location, the number is even higher. One of my clients is seeing over 42.81% mobile traffic.

1. What do you need to know?

Short Answer: Google Mobile Algorithm will negatively or positively effect every website.

Longer Answer: Beginning April 21st, 2015, if Google finds your site does not display well on a mobile device, you will see your rankings drop in Google’s Mobile Search Results.

If your site is built with Responsive Design, you could see a positive impact.

Responsive design makes your site scale appropriately for any device, so you could end up ranking better than someone who has an older site that isn't taking into account how it responds for mobile visitors.

Good News: If your site is either built with responsive design or uses a mobile-friendly plugin/tool, you might see better mobile search rankings.

2. How can you tell if mobile visitors can find your site?

Short Answer: Do a mobile-based search and look for the words Mobile-Friendly under your site address (url).

Longer Answer: Below are instructions and screenshots to show how to tell your site's standing with Google:

•  Grab your cellphone – or someone else’s – and do a search to see if you come up with the Mobile-Friendly tag next to your domain name.

You must do this from a smartphone. If you do it from the desktop or a tablet, you won’t see this specific mobile-friendly tag that Google has been adding to search results.

Got the phone?

No?

OK, how about if I provide a screenshot of what I'm talking about?  Let's try a Google search for Pizza Boulder.

What we are looking for is on the line under their url, next to each individual site's search result – it’s call the Mobile-friendly tag

Notice that the results for the #1 (Cosmo’s), #2 (Abo’s) and even the #4 position (Beau Jo’s) all have the words Mobile-friendly next to them in gray, but the #3 result for LocaleBoulder.com (Pizzeria Locale) does not. That’s because LocaleBoulder.com (not to pick on them) does not have their site optimized for viewing on a mobile device.

You may be thinking: “But I can see their site fine on my iPhone!”

If you are looking at this prior to the 21st of April you will still see this website listed high in the search results (and hopefully, they won't fall off too low later on).

And even if they never show up in a Google search, but you know their domain name, you can go directly to their site.  It remains viewable on a mobile device.

In fact, to their credit, their site is prettier than the others mentioned. The problem is Google feels your ‘viewing experience' is negatively impacted, because they didn't design it with new best practices (like Responsive Design or at least with a mobile plugin/app).

3. So, what is it exactly Google is looking for – what makes a site Mobile-friendly?

Are you providing thumb-friendly buttons or, at least, spreading links far enough apart (so people don't accidentally click the wrong one)?

If it isn't easy to click on a link, it makes the site difficult to use.

You've been there, tried to click a link, but got the link next to it, because your thumb was too big for the space.  Frustrating, right?  That's what Google is trying to avoid.

What else?

How easy is it to read the site, specially for folks with tired ol' eyes? Is the text large enough, or are you just assuming people will pinch the screen to zoom in?

If you make it difficult to read your site, Google's gonna make it difficult for folks to find it.

4. How can you see what Google thinks of your site?

From a desktop computer, try this:

• Test Your site on the new Google Mobile-Friendly Testing Tool: https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/
• Let's continue to use the pizza site as an example: localeboulder.com

You can do it with your own site, I'm just using this one to show you what to expect.

Good News: Google has provided this tool to tell us what it perceives as Mobile-Friendly.  It gives results & fixes to sites that they find are not easy for mobile viewers to use.

Here are the results for this pizza shop's site as of the posting of this article:

• Page appears not mobile-friendly
• Text too small to read
• Links too close together
• Mobile viewport not set

Note: I have seen a few false readings on the new Google tool, so don't just rely on it.

Google's actually doing something unique and helpful.  Not only are they showing you what is wrong, but the upcoming Google Mobile Algorithm works in real-time. This means if you make the changes, then let Google know, they will come back around and re-index your site.

So, if you read this post later on, you may find that LocaleBoulder.com has actually already made the necessary changes to their site. And, they may be ranking well again.

Does that mean they will show up in the same spot on the search for Pizza Boulder? To be clear, Google search results are always changing (and are also adjusted by sites you've looked at in the past – they seem to take your preference into account). But chances are if the site owner/developer makes the changes now – before the 21st of April, 2015, they can retain their good rankings!

Want to learn more about How to become Mobile Friendly – including a list of Responsive Design themes for WordPress?  We've written an additional post all about it: https://uniquethink.com/how-to-become-mobile-friendly

What about you?  Is your site mobile-friendly?  Share what you've found in the comment section below.  Or let me know what additional questions you might have.

The post How Hard is it to Find You? It depends on Google’s mobile algorithm appeared first on UniqueThink.