Last week I wrote about the problem I was experiencing with Bluehost throttling my blog.

I did a bit of digging around to see if I could find any more information on the problem. I looked into my stats package and confirmed that many of the heavy use files were linked to the Headway theme. Much as I love it I knew that it would have to go so I decided so I decided to try another theme that I had been looking at for some time – the Frugal theme.

Created by Eric Hamm, this is yet another theme framework with a clean, white design (remind you of anything?) Since several sites I love run the theme and I got a tip from my web designer friend James at Men with Pens, I went for it and plunked down my $85. I wanted to play it safe and set up the theme before releasing it live so I used Theme Test Drive, but that caused too many fatal errors so I uninstalled it again. (That was my own fault, as I was warned that it hadn’t been tested with the latest version of WordPress).

Mindblowing Options

When you first look at the Frugal admin area, it’s likely to blow your mind as there are so many options to fill in. Before I made the switch, I copied all my Headway customizations and had them ready in a handy file.  Then I was ready.

Frugal has its own admin submenu with six sections. The first Settings/Uploads allows you to upload images to the image folder in Frugal and to save your settings.

Main Options contains a wealth of sub options for content, page display, SEO, navigation, comment and footer. As with similar themes you can input your Google Analytics or other tracking code, your meta description and keywords from this panel. You can also exclude pages and categories from the navigation (Frugal generates a list of all the numbers so you don’t have to go hunting for them, which is a killer feature in my book.)

Feature Options is also feature packed, pardon the repetition. You can choose from several home page layouts, with the optional addition of  a feature box and widgetized areas. You can also add custom functions or add up to four custom widgets and place these manually. I chose to have a static home page with a feature box, plus three ‘feature bottom’ widgets and three ‘home bottom’ boxes.  For some boxes you can set what they display in the admin panel, otherwise you have to go to the extensive widget area. (I’d like to see a way to turn off the widgets you aren’t using so the widget area doesn’t get too cluttered.)

Header Design is where you input the name of your logo and its size, as well as set various design options. You do the same for content in the Content Design section, where there is a very useful Universal Design box at the top for main settings. Finally there is Feature Design, with even more design options.

Frugal comes with a manual, which you will need to get started and make sense of the options. I don’t think it’s been updated as often as the theme, though, as it referred to a couple of things I couldn’t find.

A Smooth Changeover

Despite the initial complexity, the changeover was smooth and relatively quick. Initial setup was done within half an hour and I’d done practically all the tweaking within three hours. In an effort to cut CPU load I went for a simple colored background instead of my custom image. My site looks even better than it did before and I now have different home page and interior page layouts.

Solving My Problem?

Did installing the new theme solve the throttling problem? Not quite. There’s no longer a call for the heavy use files and the amount of throttling has been cut from nearly 4 hours in 24 to just over 1, though this is still not acceptable. And there are longer gaps in between throttling periods. However, I am still looking for a full solution – and possibly a new host. In the meantime, I’ll be sticking with Frugal.

Did The Frugal Theme Solve My Throttling Problem?


A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/

All major browsers, save Internet Explorer 8, have inline spell checking as a feature out of the box and even IE can be trivially updated to do so. This has been a boon for bloggers who do much of their writing in the browser and having the spell checker built into their browser has probably prevented millions of typos from seeing the light of day.

However, when Automattic purchased After the Deadline (AtD) last year, I knew it was important. This was reaffirmed when Matt Mullenweg said, when referring to the plugin, “When I first tried After the Deadline I was blown away; it was so much better than other checkers I’d used.”

Though AtD is already standard for all WordPress.com blogs, many self-hosted WordPress users (.org users) are unaware of it or its free plugin and aren’t using it.

With that in mind, here is a quick overview of AtD and why it should be in almost every bloggers must-have plugin list.

What it Does

The idea behind AtD is a relatively simple one, rather that merely checking for spelling errors, AtD looks at grammar and style errors that bloggers often make.

Once you install AtD a “Proofread” button is added to your “Add New Post” page in the formatting bar. It appears in both the HTML and the Visual editor. Once you’ve finished typing your post, you simply click the link the AtD goes to work, analyzing your post for any potential mistakes.

Those errors are broken down into three kinds:

1. Spelling Errors: Highlighted in red, these mistakes are the same ones your default browser spell checker is designed to find.
2. Grammar Errors: Highlighted in green, these are errors in grammar such as punctuation mistakes, subject/verb agreement and so forth.
3. Style Errors: Highlighted in blue, these are not necessarily mistakes but are passages that AtD believes can be written better, either simplified, clarified or tightened. Includes unnecessary phrases or and overly complex expressions.

The goal of AtD is that, if you use it, not only will your writing be more correct, but actually better and easier to read. By working to improve your spelling, style and grammar, it helps you write a more clear and concise post.

How Well it Works

AtD is an amazing plugin but its far from perfect. All it does is offer suggestions, you still have to provide a human analysis of those recommendations and, at times, ignore ones that are off-base.

For example, when I use it on Plagiarism Today, AtD often guesses wrong when dealing with discussions about the law as the terminology often times throws AtD for a loop. Despite that, If ind myself agreeing with about 75% of the recommendations of AtD, including style ones.

The biggest drawback to AtD is that, unlike inline spell checkers, it does not run automatically as you type. Though you can set it up to automatically check posts and pages upon submission, it requires activation on your side to run. This causes many to forget about it or rush through it.

However, that is a limitation of the plugin caused by the fact it isn’t native to your browser and there isn’t much that can be done about it.

The plugin also isn’t always the fastest. Since it sends your text to the AtD server for checking, it often has to wait a time before it provides suggestions. With shorter articles it is barely noticeable, with larger ones it can seem like a drag.

But despite these rather small limitations, AtD is an invaluable tool and I can say comfortably that it has greatly improved my blog writing and should, if possible, be a plugin every WordPress user has at their disposal.

Bottom Line

Editing your own work, even for the best writers, is almost impossible. Though you can reread a work multiple times and even use tricks such as reading your work aloud, it doesn’t always help and mistakes seep through. AtD may not catch all of those errors, but it certainly will reduce them.

If you bear in mind that AtD is not a substitute for human judgement, as no spelling/grammar checker should ever be, but it can be used effectively with it.

If you are smart about how you use AtD, I can almost guarantee it will make you a better writer, or at least help you create better writing.

Considering that the plugin is completely free and there’s no risk in trying it, there’s no reason to not set it up and give it a shot. The worst that can happen is you learn you are a grammar genius with no need for outside help.

That’s certainly not something that will ruin your day…

After The Deadline: Much More than Spell Checking


A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/

Anything that can make writing easier is a blessing, but many writers often approach it by the seat of their pants. There’s nothing wrong with that. Adding some structure to the writing process can make the work move along more smoothly though.

Many writers, who use structure, follow certain steps when planning or preparing to write:

1. Determine your audience or purpose.

2. Research: Gather facts and information.

3. Organize the information.

4. Write the first draft.

5. Revise and edit.

The first step; determining your audience and/or purpose can be difficult. The purpose for the material you want to write may be clearly defined but how you present this material or your arguments could be a bit trickier; especially if your message is intended to persuade instead of to inform.

To help define your purpose, ask yourself several questions:

Do you intend to analyze something or break it down into parts?

Do you intend to define something and give it a clearer understanding?

Do you intend to evaluate or explain something?

Do you want to focus on comparisons or contrasts?

Knowing the answers to these questions and others like them will help you when it comes time to research.

Research can lead to a bombardment of information. Knowing what you need to search for can prevent you from feeling overwhelmed and make research easier by looking for specific details and information.

Whenever possible, always verify your information with more than one source.

After you’ve gathered the information you want to present, it’s time to organize it. A simple outline will suffice.

Once you’ve created the outline it’s time to get down to the business of writing. Don’t get too caught up in the details at this point; this is merely a first draft. You can correct errors in punctuation, spelling, etc. when you revise and edit the material.

At this point, if you’re not on a tight deadline, it’s good to let the first draft sit for a day or two. When you come back to it for revisions and edits you’ll have a fresh start and catch more mistakes than if you write and revise the same day.

This is the simple version of using a writing process. Like I said, there’s nothing wrong with writing by the seat of your pants, but using a process and being organized in your writing will help you accomplish more.

Image courtesy: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3287/3118534761_e4e46d12bc.jpg

The Writing Process


A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/

WordPress continues to be one of the most popular content management systems (CMS) on the Internet and for good reason. It’s incredible versatile and, better still, it’s completely free to download to use. However, you may want to spend some money to customize your WordPress blog or website.

One of the better marketplaces on the web for premium WordPress templates is ThemeForest. Looking at the current top ten best sellers, you can get a good sense of current design trends. For instance, it seems that magazine themes are rising in popularity, as are “portfolio” style themes that prominently feature one large image above the fold.

1. Twicet 5-in-1

The current number one best seller on ThemeForest is Twicet. This theme is best suited for business applications and comes with five different skins to best complement your style. There are three content columns, jQuery dropdown menus, and a news ticker. Twicet is $37.

2. Display 3-in-1

Also catering mostly to business and portfolio sites is Display. This is a 3-in-1 theme that comes with a custom backend for added versatility. There are eight additional admin pages from within the WordPress dashboard. Another very notable feature is the 3D image slideshow. Display is $42.

3. BigFeature Theme

Designed to be clean and flexible, BigFeature uses very large article images and is highly customizable. There are five custom widgets, the ability to preview images, a content slider, and a color picker to change the color for the site name, headings, links, and other areas. There are three free child themes included in the $27 price.

4. Cubit 6-in-1

Offering six different color schemes, Cubit is a versatile theme that largely caters for use by artists for their portfolios or by companies for their businesses. There is a multi-level dropdown menu, breadcrumb navigation, and a Javascript-based image transition on the main screen. Cubit is $27.

5. inFocus Theme

Offering a very classic and classy look is inFocus. This “powerful professional WordPress theme features three staging effects, unlimited portfolios in two views, 10 color variations, video support, and 27 custom shortcodes. inFocus is listed at $37.

6. Photo Nexus 2-in-1

Clearing catering to the shutterbugs in the audience, Photo Nexus comes in two main color variations: bright and dark. The design is modern yet minimalistic that keeps your portfolio as the primary point of interest. The admin area is enhanced with additional theme options too. Photo Nexus is $27.

7. Convergence Theme

Designed to promote community interaction, Convergence offers many features that encourage interaction via social bookmarking, Feedburner subscription, Gravatar profile pictures, and more. There are two column tables, author highlights, a Flickr showcase, and optimized ad placements. Convergence is $27.

8. Bluelight Theme

Offering a design that will work both for portfolios and for blogs, Bluelight has a theme options page for easy personalization. Key features include the multiple color options, jQuery graphic slider, a featured project area, Twitter widget, and easy site navigation. Bluelight is $27.

9. Levitation 4-in-1

One of the more versatile themes offered on ThemeForest is Levitation. It comes with five different skins, two variations of the front page, and two different portfolio sliders. Several templates are included for error pages, blog pages, contact pages, and so on. Levitation is $37.

10. London Creative +

Rounding out the top ten themes is London Creative +. This is very much a portfolio-minded WordPress design, but there is a section dedicated for use as a blog as well. There are three color options (yellow, red, or blue), an image slider, infinity dropdown menu, a validating contact form, and a pre-installed TimThumb PHP script for dynamic image resizing. London Creative + is listed at $32.

Top Ten Best Selling WordPress Themes on ThemeForest


A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/

I get a ton of e-mail from many different people. Keeping everyone straight can be difficult and those are just the people I know personally. I have a contact form on my blog and occasionally get people contacting me and asking me to try things, blog about things and for help. I don’t know these folks most of the time. However, I’ve discovered a great tool to help me identify people who are contacting me. The tool is called Rapportive.

When you install Rapportive (available for Chrome and Firefox) you gain some cool insight into the people that e-mail your Gmail account. When Rapportive installs it does a few great things right off the bat. It removes the ads that are on the sidebar of Gmail and replaces them with information about the sender of the e-mail. This is very useful in identifying exactly who you are interacting with.

I looked even closer at this and saw how it can really work well for you as you build up your blog and your personal brand. I installed Rapportive to see what sort of social information has been collected on me and where the information was coming from. Rapportive gets the information from Rapleaf.com and what Rapleaf calls the Online Footprint. Rapleaf looks at your e-mail and then pulls in the information associated with that e-mail address.

So I installed Rapportive and looked at my profile. I simply mouse over my e-mail address and up pops the profile in the right sidebar. Major information that gets pulled is from Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, LinkedIn, Hi5 and Flickr among others. This immediately gives you links to those profiles. There is also a personal note section where you can write notes to help you remember important things about each person. These notes are personal and private and just for you. It is sort of like writing info on the back of business cards to help you remember details about people that you have met.

If you want to make sure that your contacts are seeing the best information about you then sign up with Rapleaf and update your Online Footprint and link your multiple e-mail addresses to each other. By doing this you make sure that all of your social media info gets to the right people.

I did notice that when I updated the info it didn’t completely take. Each time I set my sex it went back to blank. I also tried changing a few other basic bits of info and they didn’t take either. So, I think that Rapleaf has some more work to do but Rapportive is still pretty decent. It is free and it removes the ads from your sidebar and replaces it with relevant information. That is very useful.

Build Rapport with Rapportive


A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/

I don’t know if you’re anything like me, but I don’t take advice usually until I’ve gone through all the painful lessons the advice was meant to save me from. Here’s a case in point.

When I first started freelancing on the Internet I wanted to learn all I could so I decided to read a few articles I found about my new chosen profession. One in particular told me that although there were many benefits to freelancing like setting your own hours and being your own boss, one of the big downfalls was having to be constantly looking for work because contracts and clients change frequently.

So far, I’m glad that I’ve never really run into trouble even though I ignored that kind of advice at first and had a few big contracts tank over the years through no fault of my own. Still, I’ve been able to get some experience from even those periods when I’ve had to look for work quickly and some of the lessons that I learned include,

• The fact that some clients don’t fully understand search engine optimization.  I’ve run into a few people over the years that think seo is a magic bullet that works as quickly as you can switch on your computer but that’s not the case. A good campaign that involves both blogs and articles will take a few months to get rolling. It’s much the same as any print campaign but some companies still think they can force the issue with the search engines somehow. It’s good to let clients know what to expect right away.
• The fact that as a writer you need to shift gears. When you’re copywriting for a client on the Internet it’s important to remember that even though the content is what will hold the reader and convert them into a sale, it’s the seo that gets them to the site. As a content writer, I’m  always trying keep in mind that it’s important to juggle those two balls.

So the advice I was given by the article I read those years ago said that part of the freelancer’s life is constantly making sure you have enough work. There have been several times I ignored that important piece of advice and when I had enough for the moment I neglected to keep my feelers out there.

The result was a few situations where I had to scramble early on and that taught me a few things about promoting myself. One of the first things I learned was the art of Internet networking. The links are always the Holy Grail and when you can get them in the right places like niche forms and on the websites of colleagues you’ll always have some momentum even when you’re not looking for work.

It only takes a few minutes a day to update a Twitter or Facebook account as well and there are quite often groups that you can join there that pertain to your field. By the way, a great way to keep expanding is to always be on the look out for new business opportunities as well. I’ve just started an enterprise with Terry McElligott,  a Toronto based web designer called Bluestripe.ca

Looking For Work Should Be Ongoing


A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/

Not many know about the Fledgling Initiative by Twitter, the micro-blogging site that everybody loves. The Fledgling Initiative is a Twitter project that makes wine for the benefit of a non-profit organization named ‘Room-to-Read‘ that extends educational opportunities for deprived children worldwide. According to the description on the website: “These wines are being made using some of the best vineyards in California by the acclaimed winemaking team at Crushpad”

A single bottle, “a suave rendition of Pinot Noir produced from top-flight California vineyards,” will cost you 20 $ while a case (12 bottles) costs 240 $ (you also have the option to donate more). This Twitter initiative was announced in October 2009. You can read about an event related to it on the Twitter blog.

“Every case sold will provide approximately 60 local language children’s books and promote education in the world’s poorest regions,” says the Fledgling Initiative website. So go ahead and buy a bottle/case of the finest wine and help the education of poor children in some of the most deprived regions of the world.

You can also follow the Fledgling Initiative on Twitter; it has about 0.3 million followers and appears in about 760 lists. Who bought the bottle of the said wine and when? It was a guy from Brooklyn on 15 October 2009.

The following image is of Twitter staff Maggie Mutgoff at a Room to Read site in India.

Twitter Sells Wine to Promote Literacy


A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/

Yesterday I talked about ReBuzzThis, a button that you can add to your blog for others to share your posts on Google Buzz. Well what about those blogs that don’t have a button or that cool site you come across while browsing and want to share? Luckily, there seems to be an increasing amount of Buzz sharing tools popping up, including the five listed below. From desktop apps to browser plugins to Facebook apps, you’re sure to find a method you like for sharing items on Google Buzz.

Submit to Google Buzz

This is an extension for Google Chrome that lets you share the current page you’re viewing on Google Buzz. Just install it and you’re good to go. To use just click on the button in your browser and you’ll get a popup that will allow you to add a note and share.

Other similar Google Chrome extensions include Google Buzz Pad, Buzz Mobilizer Extension and BuzzIt.

Buzz It!

Speaking of BuzzIt (mentioned above in the Chrome extensions), there’s also a Buzz It for Firefox, SeaMonkey, Flock and Mozilla Suites. This button will automatically create a Buzz update with the link and title of the current page you’re viewing. All links are also automatically shortened with Bit.ly. The unique thing is that it does this all through an email message via Gmail.

Google Buzz Desktop

This is a simple app built on Adobe AIR. It’s updated every 2 minutes. There’s not much to it but it does the job.

HomePuzz

This is a web application that lets you post to Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Google Buzz from one single page. You can share text, photos and videos with ease. You can also share what others have posted on Facebook, Twitter or Google Buzz.

BuzzTweep

This is a Facebook application that will let you update your status on Facebook and Google Buzz at the same time. There are simple instructions on how to set it up. In short, after authorizing the application you’ll need to create a filter in Gmail that will forward the update to Buzz.

Buzz2Twitter

As an added bonus, if you want to use Google Buzz as a Twitter client, you might consider Buzz2Twitter. It lets you sync your Google Buzz to Twitter so that whenever you post on Buzz it will automatically post on your Twitter account. Buzz Can Tweet is also a similar service. If you’re someone that is now using Buzz more than Twitter, these will definitely come in handy.

Let’s not forget about posting via the Gmail tab and the ability to view other user’s Buzz updates from their Google Profile; you cannot post to Buzz from here but you can leave comments on updates. Also, you can link your other social profiles to Buzz and have those updates automatically posted – although that can become a bit “noisy” depending on how often you update those other services.

Well, I don’t know about you but now I’m all buzzed out! What’s your favorite method for sharing items on Buzz?

5 Ways to Share on Google Buzz


A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/

I recently covered improving non-fiction writing through the use of studying fiction structure. Today, I’d like to continue with another writing style; writing instructions.

Your website may not be a how-to website, but writing out instructions can help you hone your writing skills in general.

Writing instructions includes giving step-by-step details of how to do something, procedures to follow, operating machinery, or a computer, etc. These are written as commands using an active voice.

Before you write instructions you need to understand what it is you’re giving directions on, so choose something that you’re extremely familiar with.

Second, focus on the audience, just as if you were writing a blog post; the audience is always the reason behind most of the writing you do.

Instructions are generally written in a specific style–like an outline. Practicing this will help you pinpoint key components in your writing and cut out the wordiness that some writers tend to use–I’m guilty of this one.

Instructions are written as commands and not in story or narrative form. They should be clear and concise with each direction or step having its own line.

Example:

1. Research material.

2. Take notes on important aspects.

3. Consider your audience.

4. Use commands.

5. Use steps.

6. Be concise.

7. Define difficult words.

8. Include cautionary items or statements.

9. Follow chronological order.

10. Use visuals when available or necessary.

The above examples are actual guidelines you can use to practice writing instructions. If it were written in story or narrative style it would not be as clear or concise and could lead to misunderstandings. It would also be too wordy.

Example:

You begin by researching the material you want to cover and taking notes. Once you’ve gathered your notes you should consider who your audience will be. Write your instructions in command form and break it down into steps so it’s easier to understand…

You get the idea.

Using structured writing can seem boring at first, and I admit it may not be the most exciting thing in the world. But it does have purpose and will help you learn to be precise in your writing.

One way to work on this is to find an instruction manual and rewrite the instructions. This is an excellent way to practice new writing skills or styles.

Image courtesy: http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4001/4192580635_07b983b69f.jpg

Writing Instructions to Improve Your Writing Skills


A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/

Are you a huge fan of Google Buzz? I’m not, but many people are and use it on a daily basis. It is great for sharing but also can be very noisy. For those that are, you will probably love RebuzzThis; it’s a Tweetmeme style site except for Google Buzz instead of Twitter. Having a retweet button on your blog posts now is pretty much standard, but now it’s also great to have a Buzz button.

Getting a button from RebuzzThis is very easy and will take you about 5 seconds. Click on “Get a Button“, choose your button style and then select where you’d like to put the button. There are currently 9 different styles to choose from.

As far as where your button can go, it can be placed on Blogger, WordPress or any website (by inserting the URL). If you choose Blogger, you’ll be given instructions on how to add it to your blog. You’ll need to add a few lines of code to the HTML file. If you choose WordPress, you’ll be prompted to install the RebuzzThis plugin. If you want to install it on another type of website (or just want the code), use this option. It’s a JavaScript so make sure the site you’re trying to add it to supports that.

As for the rest of the site, you can see what other items have been rebuzzed recently, in the past 24 hours, in the past 7 days, in the past 30 days and in the past 365 days. If you see something you like, you can rebuzz it right from the site or open the item in a new tab.

If you’re not looking for a button but instead want a bookmarklet that will let you rebuzz any page while you’re browsing, they have that too.

This site is very basis but they do offer a lot of Buzz tools that are sure to come in handy. So, have you added a button to your blog yet?

Complement Your Blog with a RebuzzThis Button


A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/

When I needed to create a site for my new consulting firm, I immediately turned to WordPress as my CMS of choice. Not only is it the CMS I am most familiar with, but because it is flexible enough to get the job done with a minimal amount of keyboard-pounding.

Though WordPress is known as being a blog platform, as the Squeeze Theme shows, it can be used for much, much more. However, that doesn’t mean that all of the pieces fit neatly together out of the box and you might not have to make some adjustments.

However, most of the adjustments have more to do with how you think about WordPress than the program itself. With that in mind, here are my five best tips for using WordPress on a site that is decided non-blog like.

1. Pick a Good Non-Blog Theme

This one might seem obvious, but you don’t want to create a non-blog site using a theme designed for a blog. WordPress has a growing selection of magazine-style themes that can work well for a business site or even just a non-traditional blog. There are many themes designed to work with static home pages and, in some cases, themes designed to work without any posts at all.

If you choose a theme that looks like the type of site you’re trying to create, you’ll have a head start. Even if it isn’t perfect, if it’s close and serves as a good “jumping off” point, you’ll have made a lot of progress very quickly.

2. Ignore the Posts/Pages Paradigm

Thinking of posts and pages as posts and pages is only useful if you’re running a blog and you need a clear distinction between static content (about, contact, etc.) and your actual news items. The truth is that posts and pages are both pages and both can be used for static content.

The only significant difference between the two is how themes treat them. Since posts can be placed into categories and pages can be children of one another, themes put them in specific places. However, that doesn’t mean you have to use them as designed.

For example, on CopyByte, the individual areas of business are actually separate categories, each with one post. If I posted a new item in the category, it would bump the previous one off the page. However, since I’m not adding content to those categories, the posts remain statically fixed to the front page, exactly as if they were pages. On CopyByte, the pages are actually across the top, representing the about page, contact page and so forth.

Though it isn’t how posts and pages were meant to be used, it certainly works well for the purpose.

3. Alter Your Permalinks

If you’re not using WordPress to power a blog, you’re most likely going to have only a very small number of pages/posts. As such, you can afford to be much more tight with your permalinks.

Under Settings/Permalinks, use the custom permalinks option to change your URL structure to this:

/%postname%/

What that will do is make it so that your URL is just your domain followed by the title of the post.

However, we’re not done there. You then need to go into your individual posts and pages and further whittle down the URL, especially if you are using long titles.

Looking below the title on your edit page, you can convert the permalink to whatever you want. For example “contact-us” can become just “contact” and so forth. This makes the URLs easier to remember and makes the site look much more clean and professional.

4. Use Widgets

Widgets are already a powerful tool in WordPress design and development but they become even more useful when building a non-blog site.

The reason is that widgets are an easy way for creating custom navigation elements that can’t be easily replicated using traditional theme design. For example, if you need to create a custom list of your services or product areas, it might be difficult, especially if you had to mix posts and pages, do this the traditional way. However, you can do it easily with widgets and a few minutes of patience.

It’s also worth noting that widgets don’t have to live in your sidebar, they can also be in other parts of your site including your footer (as with CopyByte) and even your header. Any part of your theme can be widgetized if needed.

This is much easier than trying to hard code custom link lists or other into your theme as there is less code to mess around with (and screw up) and you can trivially move the elements around as needed.

5. Use Category Feeds

Though the primary function of your site is not a blog, that doesn’t mean you won’t want to have some blog-like elements, such as a news section. However, if you’ve used some of your blog categories as static pages, as per item 2, you probably won’t get much good use out of your RSS feed as it will also have unrelated and non-blog content.

The way around that is to use category feeds. Simply add the following code after the ? in your feed URL and replace the “#” with the actual category number for your news category.

cat=#&

Once you do that, you should have a new URL that only displays content in that one feed. You can provide this URL to FeedBurner or just put it as is into your HTML. You can even place it in the header of your site by replacing the following code (or anything similar) with your full feed URL.

< ?php bloginfo('rss2_url') ?>

This will set it up so that browsers and RSS readers will default to this category feed rather than the site’s main feed, which includes all categories.

Bottom Line

WordPress is designed for blogs. However, it is flexible enough for just about any kind of site to get some benefit out using it. I’ve seen WordPress on everything from personal blogs to sites for large nuclear engineering firms. From someone’s first home page to a major newspaper using it for a significant portion of their site.

The biggest problem with using WordPress for non-blog sites is that the terminology and structure that WordPress uses is designed primarily for blog sites. This makes sense as it is the most common use for the platform. However, that does mean that using it for a non-blog site requires putting things into a different context.

But, with just a little bit of rethinking and retooling, you can trivially use WordPress to manage just about any kind of site (within reason) and, if you’re already familiar with it, there is little reason to learn another CMS for the purpose.

In short, it is much easier to tweak what you know about your existing CMS than to try and learn a whole new one. It’s that simple.

5 Tips for Using WordPress for Non-Blog Sites


A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/

If your blog is experiencing a slowdown, it could be because your host has throttled it. Here’s my story.

I’d noticed that it was taking a little bit longer to access my blog. I had also noticed that my weekly WebCEO report showed that my site was woefully slow. I had a look in my Wordpress dashboard and decided I needed more help, so I opened a support ticket with my host – Bluehost.

My host then said: “I see that your website is using too much in CPU resources for our shared hosting environment.” I was shocked. My site is hardly Problogger or Mashable. It’s just a writing blog with a decent, though not exorbitant, amount of traffic. So what had changed? The Bluehost tech support guys talked me through some of the options.

Reducing CPU Load

1. The first suggestions was to reduce running processes which I should have been able to find in Cpanel via a button under the CPU throttling section. I opened it and found nothing running. Zero. Zilch.

2. The next suggestion was to disable plug-ins in WordPress. I’d already done that some time back and had pared down to the essentials, but I logged into my dashboard and checked that I didn’t have anything particularly intensive enabled. I disabled a couple I had recently installed just in case. Everything was up to date, too, which removed another possible flag.

3. The next step was to check for slow mySQL queries. Here are the instructions Bluehost provided:

Log into your cpanel.

# Click on phpMyAdmin.

# On the left will be a list of your databases. Select the one you want to repair/optimize.

# This will load all of the tables in your database into the right side. At the bottom of this list, there is a link called “Check All”. Click that.

# Just to the right of the check all link there is a drop down menu that says “With Selected.” Click on that, and choose “repair”.

# You should get a page that will list all the tables, with “OK” listed next to them. When this is done, look up to the top of the page, and click on the “Structure” tab.

# This will take you back to the page you saw on step 4.

# Click “Check All” again, and then choose “Optimize” in the drop down menu.

I completed that and checked back next day to see what difference it had made. It had reduced the amount of throttling but my site was still being slowed down for nearly 3 hours in every 24 – not good enough.

Other Options

As it turned out, I’d exhausted the tech support options and Bluehost suggested that either I get professional help or get a VPS or dedicated hosting from another host. With more than a year to run on my current hosting contract, I’m not ready to do that yet, so I did some more digging around and found that someone else had experienced the same problem.

Finding Help

CravingTech’s post on his problems told me that I needed to look and see if my theme could be the problem. Perhaps — the thumbnail script and JQuery as well certain images are responsible for many of the excessive hits. I also read the follow-up post where he talked about his move to HostGator and the one about reducing Wordpress CPU usage, which provide some useful starting points for cutting CPU load.

Where does that leave me? Since I’m not going to change hosting just yet, I need to see if the problem lies within the theme – or somewhere else. In the meantime, my site is still being throttled. Have you experienced a similar problem with shared hosting? How did you solve it?

(Photo: San Diego Shooter)

Is Your Web Host Throttling Your Blog?


A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/

There are many writers out there who write fiction and non-fiction alike. In the fiction world we follow a basic story structure. I’m no authority on that. If you’re interested in learning about it in depth, please visit Larry Brooks at Storyfix.com. He is a wealth of information on the topic.

Learning other how-to methods when it comes to writing can only help you hone your craft. Fiction writers should study non-fiction writing. The same goes for those who write non-fiction; study fiction writing. You will gain numerous tips by stepping out of your comfort zone and learning the tricks of other writing styles.

This is just a brief introduction into how fiction and following story structure can help you with writing non-fiction.

In fiction, as well as in non-fiction, you need a beginning, middle, and an end. If you’re writing fiction, the beginning will introduce the main characters and set the story up. In non-fiction it will introduce the arguments you want to make or the material you want review.

In fiction, between the beginning and middle of the story a writer will throw in clues and plot twists to keep the reader reading. Non-fiction can be handled the same way. You can throw in clues about your opinion or other important information that will be covered.

In the middle of the story things really start to happen. In fiction this is the point that your character should decide to fight back and take action. In non-fiction this is where your key material or arguments would be covered–a turning point, so to speak, to sway the reader.

Between the middle and end of a fiction story writers are allowed to throw in a few more clues before the story is wrapped up with a conclusion. In non-fiction writing you probably don’t want to bring in new information at this point, but you can use it to stress or prove your key points before the conclusion; reiterate the high points you’ve already covered.

Of course, that leaves us with the ending–this is where everything is wrapped up in a neat little package; the fiction story concludes, the hero wins and gets the girl. In non-fiction you would bring conclusion to your arguments and objective.

Which ever you write, the reader should feel a sense of closure.

Take the time to look into fiction, non-fiction, journalism, poetry and even song lyrics. By doing so, you will only improve your writing skills and your understanding of structure–whether it’s for fiction or non-fiction.

Image courtesy: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/158/366393127_ae569532a7.jpg

Using Fiction Writing to Improve Your Non-Fiction Writing


A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/

WordPress is most widely known as a popular blogging platform, but it is actually a full-featured content management system. This means that you can use it to power a wide range of different websites. For marketing purposes, you may want to use it for a so-called “squeeze page.”

Approaching this specific application is the appropriately named Squeeze Theme. This is a WordPress template that was designed specifically to build your lists by “squeezing the email addresses out of your visitors.” Coming from the fine folks at Unique Blog Designs, Squeeze Theme has quite the pedigree to uphold.

What is a Squeeze Page?

Since Squeeze Theme is marketed as the “squeeze page creation tool for WordPress,” the first thing you may want to know is the definition of a squeeze page.

In short, it is a web page that was designed with one very specific purpose in mind: to get the email address of a visitor. This email address can be used for any number of different marketing purposes.

A Theme with Versatile Layouts

While some other WordPress themes are designed to give you only one style of layout, Squeeze Theme can be configured to provide many different kinds of templates. It can be adjusted to suit your specific needs.

Going through the control panel, you can use the built-in color picker, embed sales videos, include e-book cover images, pick different fonts, and more.

To see some of the different possibilities, check out the test drive page on the Squeeze Theme website. The first image in this post is perhaps one of the more robust designs, whereas this second image is much simpler in scope.

Interestingly, the entire Squeeze Theme site itself was built using Squeeze Theme. This shows that while the theme caters to gathering email addresses, it can be altered to suit different needs as well.

A Revamped WordPress Dashboard

The theme goes beyond the pages that your website visitors will see. Squeeze Theme actually provides its own main options panel that can be accessed through the regular WordPress dashboard.

This is supposed to make for an easier user experience, but the control panel can still be overwhelming for novices. The main options tab has no fewer than five sub-tabs, not to mention the multiple options for appearance, form settings, tracking codes, header settings, and so on.

Beyond that, there are three other tabs for advertising options, SMO options, and SEO options, further adding to the robustness of the main options panel. This can be daunting, to say the least, but it does speak to the power that Squeeze Theme can offer.

How Much Does It Cost?

The regular retail price for Squeeze Theme is $147, which includes the multi-use license.

Strangely, the $247 bundle price for Squeeze Theme with Sales Page Theme doesn’t add up, since Sales Page Theme sells for $97 on its own. You can save $3 by buying them separately. You could opt for the biggest bundle ($377), though, which includes Sales Page Theme, Squeeze Theme, and Affiliate Theme.

Build Your List with Squeeze Theme


A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/

In my (9-5 job) industry, Medical Software, there is a huge focus on the concept of Interoperability. Interoperability is the ability to have diverse systems talk to each other and work together. The main reason why interoperability is being talked about like crazy is that the government has approved a stimulus package for the health care system. Hospitals need to get on board with an electronic health record in order to get the money that is available. The problem is that each hospital across the country has a different software system and those systems don’t talk to each other without interfaces to make the disparate systems inter operate.

Being in this industry I can see where the problems occurred. Medical software is so specialized and very competitive. For years these software companies have not worked together in any way. The platforms have all been built independently with no common ground. Also, because the software is specialized it is really expensive and it is hard for hospitals to make changes to their systems. Basically the health care industry has some major trouble ahead until the disparate systems work together. Even Windows and Mac can work together pretty well while still selling their systems. Sure there is competition but being able to work together only makes these systems stronger and we as consumers benefit. Maybe the medical software community will take a lesson here and work together to actually benefit the consumer.

What’s the point?

Okay, so that was a really long opening to talk to about what interoperability might mean for your blog. When I think of interoperability for blogging I go straight to what Chris Brogan has termed “Giving Your Ideas ‘Handles’“. Collaboration with other people is a great way for you as a blogger to grow. You might think that you need to keep all your best work on your own blog, but if no one is reading your blog then they won’t see and read that great work of yours. Finding ways to give your ideas away can help draw a larger audience to those ideas.

Are your blogs open to the prospect of working together with other bloggers?

In my years of blogging I have worked with so many other bloggers I can’t even count the number. I’m very open to working with other bloggers all the time. I look for ways to collaborate, either with guest posts, interviews or appearing on podcasts. The one thing that I don’t have right now on my blog is a “Collaborate with me” page on my blog. That is something I could set up with links to where I’ve done guest posts, guest appearances on podcasts and other collaborative ventures. I will correct that very soon.

Do you have a system in place to let others submit guest blog posts?

Building on the ‘collaborate with me’ page; a section all about Guest Posting would also be very useful. My friend Jim Kukral asked one time for guest bloggers. He got a pretty good response and some fantastic posts, content and connections from that asking. The one thing I would suggest is that if you are hosting guest bloggers it would be beneficial to both parties to give them additional value in exchange for the post. Have an easy way for the guest bloggers to submit a photo of themselves and add a couple of links to the blogger’s blog like this site does. So, when you are thinking of opening the floodgates to guest posting make sure you work in how can you make guest posting for you more beneficial to the guest blogger.

Do you have a page up that shows that you are available to do guest posts for other blogs?

When you are looking to do guest posts on other blogs remember a few key things.

• Learn about the host blogger’s audience
• Write your best stuff, hold nothing back
• Link to other bloggers who have relevant content and also ones that you’d like to guest post for as well.
• Do not link back to your own blog except for the links that the host will provide, you are not there to sell your own stuff.

When you set up your page about being open to guest blogging make sure that you link out to those guest posts that you have already written. If you haven’t written any guest posts yet make sure that you write up a page about yourself that highlights your strengths and what you can bring to the hosts blog. Link to examples of your best posts as examples, too.

How do you define giving your ideas ‘handles’?

For the most part I think that interoperability and “give your ideas ‘handles’” are mostly buzzwords until you actually put them into practice. So, can you tell me how you can find ways to create interoperability for your blog and give your own ideas ‘handles’?

Interoperability – Can it Work for your Blog?


A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/