I am a large proponent of using web services to build your internet presence. You may be amazed at how some of the most important things that you do online can be done using a free web service. Not every service is free but there are a lot of services out there that do a lot for free but they can do a whole lot more by simply paying a small fee. I’ve compiled a list of what I feel are some of the best web services out there. These are services that I use every day which means that you should at least take a look at them.

(Image Credit: Graham Kingsley)

Google Keyword Tool

To kick of this list of the best web services we are going to take a look at the Google keyword tool. It is great for doing basic website keyword research. This kind of research will help you to find topics to write about on your website and is one of the first steps that you should take when looking at improving your onsite SEO (search engine optimization). The tool is designed for people looking to do Adwords campaigns but it can be very valuable when doing research.

Serpfox

One of the best web services that I can fine for rank tracking is Serpfox. After you have used the Google keyword tool to target a certain keyword or phrase, you can use Serpfox to keep track of your rankings.

Rank tracking is when you monitor the search position of your website to see how it is doing in the search results. Let’s say that you are Acme Co. and you make Acme Widgets. Well, you would want to know where in the search results you will apear when someone types in the search term “Acme Widgets”. This is rank tracking.

Now, I know you’re probably thinking, “Why can’t I just do the Google search myself?” The problem these days is that Google customizes search results for you based on a number of different variables. As an example, if I am logged into my Google account and I do a search for “Acme Widgets” and I was just on Acme’s competitor’s site yesterday, then there is a stronger chance that their site will show up in my search results than if I had never been to that site before. Additionally, if I am in Canada and I want to see how my keywords are ranking in the US, then I need to use additional tools to see those results. With Serpfox, you are able to specify which geographical area you are targeting.

After you input your URL and your keywords into Serpfox, they take care of all of the rank tracking. This is a lot easier than manually doing all the searches every day anyways.

Google Analytics

Google Analytics is one of those tools that is hard to believe is free. This online service is provided by Google so that you can learn more information about where your traffic is coming from and what it is doing on your site.

Through the use of Google Analytics, you are able to see:

• which terms people are using to find your web pages
• what pages are the most popular
• what do people do after they come to your website
• how long they spend on your site
• and much more…

Google Apps

I have long given up on the likes of Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel. In fact, I detest them. I was so tired of how poorly they performed on my Mac and how expensive this software was (when I only used a few basic features) that I went looking for better options.

Google Apps is a replacement for a lot of the office applications like word processors, spreadsheets and email clients, among others. I use the free version of Google Apps for Business (previously Google Apps for Your Domain) which means that I can use it with my own domain so that I can have @matthewhooper.com email addresses.

With Google Apps you are able to share documents online. You can also work within documents simultaneously with others without having conflicts. You can actually see what the other person is typing as they type it. Pretty slick!

Google Reader + Google Alerts + Reeder

I decided to group these web services together since I use them together. I am a big fan of RSS to read blogs or news sites. Since RSS is basically a delivery technology, you’ll need an RSS reader of some type to read the RSS feeds. I use Google Reader on my Mac to subscribe to the RSS feeds and I use the Reeder app on my iPhone or iPad. (I know that Reeder is an app but it relies on a web service.)

Google Alerts lets you create custom RSS feeds based on certain search criteria. This means that if you are a brand, you can create a custom RSS feed that will send you news whenever a blog mentions your brandname. You can also use Google Alerts to create a custom RSS feed for terms that are specific to your industry. You can have these alerts emailed to you. I find it much more convenient to have this information in Google Reader rather than filling up my email inbox.

Instapaper

Instapaper is a quick way to save articles to read later. Instapaper works in your web browser but there are also apps for various devices like tablets, phones and even Kindles. There are competing services but I find Instapaper to have the best user experience.

The way it works is that when you find a long article on the web that you want to read later, you click a custom bookmarklet in your bookmarks bar and Instapaper saves it to your reading list for later. When you read these articles in Instapaper, all of the “fluff” is removed. This means no sidebars, ads or annoying popups to distract you from what you were reading. You can also use the above mentioned Google Reader or Reeder app to send articles to Instapaper for reading later.

Skype

I use Skype nearly every day so I am always surprised to learn that there are people that still have not even heard of Skype.

Skype is basically a web service that can replace your telephone. I know there are other similar services out there but Skype is probably one of the best web services of it’s kind, if not the best. There are apps for almost every device you can think of which means it’s very accessible.

I use it to make phone calls but I also use it when working with clients when I need to see their screens. Skype has built in screen sharing which means that I can see the screens of the people that I am working with. This is very useful when I am trying to walk them through a problem. I can also share my screen with them.

Dropbox

This is another one of those tools that I use every day that I almost fall off my chair when I find someone not using it or completely unaware of it. This is probably one of the best web services that you’ll find on the web today. Simple, yet so useful. I find new uses for it everyday.

Dropbox is a simple application that creates a folder on your computer that syncs online. Again, there are apps that are on tonnes of devices which means that anything in your Dropbox folder can be accessed from almost anywhere. The great thing is that there are third party applications that integrate with Dropbox that make it even more powerful.

You can also share a folder within your Dropbox folder and work with others. This means that you can have file open, edit it, save it and then someone can open it on their computer and see the changes right away. No more emailing files or shuffling them around on flash drives.

I use Dropbox to store WordPress backups, keep notes in sync, share and collaborate with others, plus a lot more.

Honourable Mention… Evernote

Evernote is a service that lets you manage notes, images and various other files online. Like some of the other services I already mentioned, Evernote has apps that work on a plethora of devices but all of the data syncs back to an online web service.

The killer feature of Evernote is it’s ability to find text in an image. This means that if you take a photograph of something (like a business card) you will be able to find it again by searching for text on the card. I mostly use this to “remember” product labels I’ve photographed or any other photographic image that I may need to find again based on a text search.

The only reason that I mention Evernote as a honourable mention is that I don’t use it much anymore. These days, I mostly use it as a replacement to a file cabinet since I prefer to keep my notes in plain text format and my files in Dropbox.

Are these the best web services for you?

Well, what do you think? Do you use any of the services above or are there some other web services that I didn’t mention that you like to use? Tell us about them in the comments.

Have you got something to add? Leave a comment on Best Web Services to Build Your Internet Presence at MatthewHooper.com!

This is a guest post by Mark Swedberg.

Productivity is often confused with effort. Getting tired? Just pump yourself up with a double espresso. Feeling restless? Soldier on and fight the good fight. This is the motto and creed of 9-5 reality, but does it actually work?

I’d like to introduce a different approach to productivity. Rather than assuming the amount of energy invested will create an equal output, I propose that it’s the clarity of mind that determines the quality of your work.

By utilizing the quirks in your organic machinery, you’ll be better equipped to produce massive results during natural periods of focus and more prepared to recharge during down times. So how does it all work?

(Image Credit: Paul Malon)

The Biological Clock

Your body is a complex network of biochemical interactions. Energy ebbs and flows throughout the day based on simple factors such as your sleep schedule, nutrition, and emotional state of mind.

Here’s a brief guide to the features of your energy cycle:

• Approximately three hours after waking (assuming you’re on a consistent sleep schedule), you’ll experience a high point in focus and energy, lasting about two hours.
• Immediately after lunch, your body will shift its energy resources to digesting food. You’ll become tired, sluggish, dare I say lethargic. Focus will wane and even simple tasks like email or basic math will take heroic effort to overcome.
• During the afternoon, your body will become restless and seek a physical outlet for its energy reserves. This is the period of time where you’re most likely to fidget restlessly, searching for a physical outlet to release pent up energy.
• A couple hours after dinner you’ll experience a sharp rise in creative thinking. This correlates to increased body temperature and blood pressure.
• Around sundown your body will begin secreting melatonin, a hormone responsible for regulating sleep. As your melatonin levels increase, you’ll experience a general decline in focus and within a couple hours it’s time for bed.

It’s important to realize that these cycles are not based on sun, thanks in no small part to artificial light. Instead, they follow your sleep schedule and can work regardless of when you rise and fall.

This biological rhythm can work for or against you. If you expect productivity from each hour and spread your tasks equally throughout the day, chances are you’ll encounter a lot of internal resistance. Facebook and water breaks will hijack your focus and leach away your resolve. A better way to work is to group tasks around your different periods of energy.

(Image Credit: Wikipedia)

The Art of Focus

Realize that productivity isn’t about being busy. Instead, it’s about completing a few critically important tasks and letting the details slide.

For instance, as a blogger, I’ve come to realize that tweaking my site design, editing posts, and updating Facebook are relatively meaningless in the grand scheme of things. The real value comes from publishing articles, both on my own site and on related blogs.

Regardless of what type of work you do, chances are you can boil down your to-do list to a couple essential tasks. If you complete these projects, the day has been a success and you can tinker with the remaining small jobs as you please. Anything short of that is an industrious form of procrastination, a total failure to produce something meaningful.

Take a moment to revise your project list. Cut away all the extraneous busy work and focus on 1-2 tasks that will actually make an impact and leave you feeling satisfied. These are often the biggest and scariest jobs, the ones you normally leave for last.

Batch Like a Pro

Instead of treating the workday as an eight hour stretch to complete your tasks, view it as distinct periods of productivity.

During the early morning you might ignore work altogether and focus on email, Facebook, or other distractions that might interfere with your focus later on.

When you hit the window of mental energy, be ready to tackle your most important projects. I can often write 2,000-3,000 words in a n hour or two, with no editing necessary required (this would normally take me twice as long if done at any other time of day). This is your high point of focus and the period of time where your work quality is best, so use it to complete the high value tasks.

After lunch, feel free to tinker with brain-dead tasks or even take a nap. You’re pretty much worthless for an hour or two, so don’t worry about being productive. This should be a time of rest as you recharge your mental energy and regain focus.

If you get jittery in the afternoon, take a water break. Walk around. If possible, hit the gym. Rather than fighting your body, decide to go with the flow and use each time period to maximum advantage. Physical exertion will release endorphins into your system and leave you with a feeling of wellbeing and contentment. More importantly, it will release the restless tension as you come up to the period of nighttime creativity and improve the quality of your sleep, making tomorrow an even more productive day.

A couple hours after dinner you should start feeling creative. Use this energy to plan out the next day. Identify the most important tasks you want to accomplish and break them down into manageable steps. Organize the next day’s period of productivity so you can hit the ground running without having to pause and figure out the next step.

Finally, as bedtime draws near, you can turn off the work brain and transition to total relaxation. Watch a movie. Spend time with family and friends. Have a snack and laugh. This is “you time”, a chance to relax and enjoy life.

Tips & Tricks

Cleaning up your diet can make a world of difference in the focus department. Start by eating a good breakfast within one hour of rising (ideally 30g of protein and some carbs like fruit, veggies, or beans). This will ensure you have adequate fuel to power through a day’s worth of work in that brief window.

Use a notebook or computer to identify high value tasks and break them down into component parts during your creative period. Feel free to draw diagrams, take photos, or send yourself voice notes. However you do it, make sure that you’re prepared to power through a project from beginning to end when the next period of focus comes along.

Create a nighttime ritual. Take a bath, eat familiar food, or perform the same activity each night (reading a book or watching a TV show). By doing so, you can actually condition yourself to relax, enjoy the evening, and fall asleep on cue.

In Closing

Technology is a wonderful thing. We have more tools and systems than ever before. What once took days of manpower now requires the simple tap of a button. It’s easy to get lost in the excitement and busywork of modern life, and easier still to forget the point of living.

It’s important not to confuse productivity with busywork. Don’t allow deadlines and distractions dictate the course of your life. Refuse to let your job interfere with life itself. Work smart, play hard, and enjoy every moment of life in the most fulfilling way.

How do you work best? In the comments section, share some of your own productivity secrets, whether it be timed doses of nootropics for that extra boost or an army of outsourced labor to help you overcome those moments of restlessness.

Mark Swedberg is one of those crazy lifestyle experimenters . . . you know, the kind of guy who runs split tests on his dinner date or randomly finds himself in the middle of a Federal sting operation. Keep track of his latest adventures A Journey’s Tale or catch his experiments in real time on Facebook.

Have you got something to add? Leave a comment on Jedi Mindhacks: Use the Force . . . or Biorhythms at MatthewHooper.com!

I’ve been writing a lot about WordPress lately and I think it’s time that I change things up a bit. Otherwise you’re going to think this site is only about WordPress. I wanted to describe my writing workflow since having a well thought out workflow can help increase productivity.

I, like most people, don’t start my posts in WordPress. They simply end up there when I’m finished and it’s time to publish them.

A long time ago I wrote about how I take notes but my writing workflow has changed a lot since then. I’ve discovered some better tools and I’ve also changed the way I work. Therefore, I thought it was about time I revisit the topic.

My workflow came about because of a few of my own personal (and somewhat nerdy) requirements.

(Image Credit: MipsyRetro)

Text Files

If there is one thing that works on all devices (phones, laptops, desktops, etc) across all platforms (iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, Linux), it’s plain old text files. I have a few hundred of them. They would all fit on a floppy disk (if you remember what those were). This is why I have made text files a key element of my writing workflow.

These text files contain half finished ideas for blog posts, to-do lists, grocery lists, books I want to read and many other types of notes. I keep all of these notes in a folder that lives in my Dropbox account.

Given the fact that they are in Dropbox, I know that they will be backed up and accessible from anything with an internet connection. Seeing that there are very few places that I find myself in these days that don’t have an internet connection, this works for me.

NValt

Since text files are ubiquitous, it’s mostly up to you to decide which tools you want to use to edit them. On the Mac there is a built-in text editor aptly called TextEdit and on Windows there is Notepad. Both of these are free and come preinstalled. Meaning that you can literally turn on nearly any modern computer in the world and edit a text file.

Both of those work but are rudimentary at best and I want something a little better for my writing workflow. On my Mac I prefer to use a great little app called NValt. NValt is collaborative project based on Notational Velocity. Both of these apps are great but NValt has a few extra features like I like.

NValt is where I do most of my writing or note taking. All of the notes are stored as individual text files and all of those files are kept within my Dropbox folder. NValt is clean and simple. It has a search box, a list of all text files and a place to write notes. There isn’t much else you can do with it except write or keep notes.

PlainText

It’s all fine and dandy to be able to work on a computer at home but this is just part of an effective writing workflow. The real benefits come from being able to go mobile. I use an app called PlainText that works on both the iPad and the iPhone. There are similar apps out there for Android and other mobile devices.

The key here is to make sure that whatever you are using will allow you to store notes as text files on Dropbox. I have also used Simplenote in the past but my preference is for PlainText.

PlainText and NValt both save their files in a Dropbox folder so I can work from the same plain text files. This gives me the ability to write or make notes with whatever is at the end of my arm – be it iPad, iPhone or Mac. With my writing workflow I can start writing in one place, make changes to it in another place and again from a third. All synced and all up-to-date.

Formating Text Files

The most common problem that a lot of people have with text files is that you can’t add any kind of formatting. This is where something called Markdown has changed my life and my writing workflow. Markdown is what is called a markup language but when compared to HTML, it is a lot easier to write, a lot easier to learn and a lot easier to read.

Note: Below is a quick introduction to Markdown. If this is a little to technical than you’d like, feel free to click here to skip it or scroll down to Pros and Cons.

You can create headers in your files by using the # symbol. For example, 1 x # is the same as a an <h1> tag, 2 x # is the same as an <h2> tag. You can make text italic by wrapping it in a single * and bold with double *. For example, *italic* gives you italic and **bold** gives you bold.

To create links you just wrap the anchor text in [ ] then give it an id also wrapped in [ ] which you can define later. For example, to produce this:

A sentence with a link in it.

In HTML you need to write:

A sentence with a <a title="A Link" href="http://www.MatthewHooper.com">link</a> in it.

In Markdown I only write:

A sentence with a [link][1] in it.

Then at the end of my document I can define all of my links like this:

[1]: http://www.MatthewHooper.com "A Link"

To create an unordered list, add an * and a space before each item and for numbered lists you just add 1. numbers followed by a period.

It isn’t hard to learn the syntax for Markdown and when you do, it is much easier to include formatting in a text document.

After you have finished writing, you can use the preview in NValt to show you what your finished piece of writing will look like. Instead of copying all the text from the preview, you can click the “view source” button at the bottom of NValt’s preview pane which will give you all the HTML code. From there you simply cut and paste it into the HTML tab of your WordPress editor.

I’ve become so accustomed to writing in Markdown that I do it a lot in other notes that I write. Especially for headers and lists.

Pros and Cons of My Writing Workflow

My writing workflow isn’t without it’s faults. Since Markdown is designed to be a quick way to write while including some basic HTML in your writing, it has a few limitations. I like to have links open in a new tab when I link to an external site. There isn’t a way to define that in Markdown so I have to make this change after I paste into the WordPress editor. There are ways to include images in Markdown but I prefer to add images after I have moved into WordPress. Basically, Markdown will get you to about 90% but you’ll still have to clean it up a bit for WordPress.

The best thing about this system is that regardless of whether or not I am using NValt on my Mac or PlainText on my iPhone or iPad, I can create or add future posts or even notes from anywhere. I also have access to these notes from anywhere.

So there we have it, a writing workflow that is portable, syncs, non-proprietary and light weight. Best of all, a basic Dropbox account is free, NValt is free and PlainText is free ($1.99 to remove ads).

Do you have anything to add? What is your writing workflow like?

Have you got something to add? Leave a comment on Writing Workflow for Bloggers, Website Owners and Content Creators at MatthewHooper.com!

So you finally got WordPress installed, setup and ready to go. But now you don’t like the generic looking default theme and you are not impressed with any of the free themes. Now what? It’s time to find the best premium WordPress theme source for your website.

Most people are more inclined to hire a developer to create a custom design. Before you run out and drop a pile of cash on getting a custom WordPress theme designed for you, you’re better off taking a look at some of the premium themes out there. Be warned, just like with free themes, there are a pile of premium themes to choose from.

So, what is a premium theme? A premium theme has:

Support is a big feature. This means that when WordPress is updated, the theme is usually updated as well to reflect any changes to WordPress. This isn’t something that you often get with free themes. Some premium theme suppliers don’t offer support either so make sure that you only go with the best premium WordPress theme suppliers. Just like anything else, there are pros and cons with all premium themes so take your time and make sure that you are choosing a theme that is right for your needs.

Before I start recommending premium WordPress themes, remember that it is never a bad idea to play around with some of the free themes that are available in the WordPress theme repository. This will give you a feel for what is out there. You’ll get a better idea of what you can do with themes and then choose your final theme accordingly.

Over the years I have used and tested more themes than I care to remember. Plus, a lot of people often ask what the absolute best premium WordPress theme options are. So, without further ado, below are five sources for premium themes that I have used and feel comfortable recommending.

Beginner Themes

Beginner themes are premium themes that I consider to be ready to go out of the box. This means that you can purchase the theme, upload it, activate it and be ready to go. Of course you’ll have to setup sidebar widgets and add content. There isn’t a lot of fiddling around to get the themes to appear correctly.

WooThemes - If you have been around WordPress for any amount of time you have probably come across WooThemes. When I have used WooThemes in the past I have never had any issues with them and they are very easy to setup.

ElegantThemes - These themes are very similar to the themes that WooThemes offers. They look and operate differently but overall they are just as easy to use and to get started with.

All you need to do is configure some basic settings, add your content and you’re set with either WooThemes or ElegantThemes.

Somewhere in the Middle Themes

These themes are great for an advanced beginner but require a little more setup time on the user’s part. Again, there isn’t any messing around with code (if at all) but you will need to dedicate some extra time to get things just right.

OptimizePress - This theme is designed to work more with product sites or membership sites. There are a lot of preset layouts for sales letters or signup forms. This is a theme that serves a very narrow market but if you want to setup a landing page for individual products or if you want to start a membership site, this is the theme for you.

ThemeForest - ThemeForest is a market place for themes so it is a bit harder to classify it as beginner or advanced. The good thing is that there are many different theme creators all selling their themes there. Meaning that there could be a great theme designer selling wonderful themes but I’ve also got some that were pure garbage. So it is very much of a buyer beware situation. The good themes will be more like WooThemes or ElegantThemes as far as setup is concerned.

When buying from ThemeForest make sure to read all of the comments and ratings. Be weary of themes that get poor reviews or haven’t been updated for more recent versions of WordPress.

Advanced Themes

An advanced theme is one that requires a lot more time and effort to setup. These are often not even visually complete themes but are simply frame works. A frame work is a theme that is a blank slate. The layouts and colours all need to be defined by the user. With that said, the code powering these frameworks is solid. These themes are great since they give you the highest amount of flexibility but it also means that you need to be a bit more advanced in your abilities.

HeadwayThemes - Over the years I’ve tested different framework options but I have never been blown away by them. That was until I used Headway. I wrote all about the benefits of HeadwayThemes before so I won’t drone on about it again. Yes, I am aware that there are other frameworks out there. However, HeadwayThemes is the one that I feel the most comfortable recommending. I’ve seen absolute beginners build really nice looking sites with Headway but it does take more time so be prepared to invest more of your time if you go with Headway.

The Best Premium WordPress Theme

So what is the best premium WordPress theme? There isn’t one. Like I said at the beginning, there are countless themes out there and any one of them will work. The key is to do a bit of research, like you did when you were choosing a web host, then find a theme that meets your needs and go with it. You might decided a year down the road that you want to go with a different theme. That’s fine. WordPress is built in such a way that you won’t loose all of your content if you change themes.

What sources do you like? Who do you think the best premium WordPress theme provider is?

Have you got something to add? Leave a comment on Best Premium WordPress Theme Sources to Build Your Internet Presence at MatthewHooper.com!

If you are reading this then that means my wife has given birth to our first child! That’s right, I’m a father! …and we are officially taking donations to the college fund!

My wonderful wife gave birth to our baby boy, Jakob David Hooper in Taipei, Taiwan on Sunday March 4th. (It may still be March 3rd if you’re in the west.)

What does this mean to you? Probably not much unless you’re my parents (which means your now grandparents, congratulations!) or my sister (congrats aunty!) or some other member of my family or my wife’s family.

This does mean that I’ll probably be a lot slower at getting back to any emails that I am sent over the next few days but I promise I will respond. Most likely between changing diapers, cleaning up baby puke and going insane from lack of sleep! This is what I’ve been told to expect.

All joking aside, we are super exited to finally meet this new addition to our family!

Have you got something to add? Leave a comment on It’s a Boy! at MatthewHooper.com!

Did you know that most people browsing the internet only give a new site a few seconds to catch their eye before they bounce onto another site? Would you like these new visitors to your site to stick around? Don’t you think it would be horrible to loose those visitors before your website even has the chance to load? Time for you to speed up WordPress!

The reality is that if your site takes longer than a few seconds to load then your visitors may have already left. They’re gone before they have even seen what you have to offer. Do you want this to happen to you?

In order to grab the attention of your visitors you need to make sure that your site loads fast. It won’t matter how well your website’s content is optimized for conversions if nobody is there to see it.

On top of capturing new visitors, web site speed is also a known factor that search engines use to rank your website. We all know how important it is to keep the search engines happy too!

(Image Credit: Paul Malon)

Testing Tools

Before you start tweaking your website in order to speed up WordPress, you really need to benchmark it to see if there is even a problem in the first place.

I have two go-to tools for such a task. The first tool that I like to use is the Full Page Test from Pingdom. This tool runs a scan of your website and gives you an itemized list of everything that loads in order to render your site in a web browser.

The second tool I use is the performance test at GTmetrix. This test runs Google’s Page Speed test and Yahoo’s YSlow test. These two tests are similar but it’s valuable to see how different search engines may look at your site’s performance.

After you’ve run these scans you will be able to see if you have a problem. Now, before you start worrying about your scores, you need to be realistic. Sites like Google, Facebook and Twitter will load in 1–2 seconds but they also have a few dollars to spend on dedicated hardware and a team of experts.

When you put a site like MatthewHooper.com to the test, you will come up with some more realistic numbers. You’ll see that MatthewHooper.com renders out in around 3 +/- seconds depending on the time of day you run the tests. It’s interesting to note that even though MatthewHooper.com doesn’t do too well on the YSlow test, it still loads pretty fast. Don’t get too hung up on trying to be perfect on all accounts. However, it doesn’t hurt to make improvements where you can.

The theme that I use on MatthewHooper.com is a bit older and the code isn’t as optimized as I would like. When I’m not working on other things I am slowly rebuild this theme using Headway which will eventually bring up the Yahoo Yslow and even the Google Page Speed results. Until then, I’m still pretty happy with this sites load times.

The takeaway so far is that if your website is in the sub 4 second range, then you are doing ok. If you’re not, then you’ve got some work to do in order to speed up WordPress.

Backup First

Before you proceed with any of the items below, make sure that you backup WordPress. You shouldn’t have any problems with the techniques below but it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Check Your Code

If there is one thing that will slow down your site faster than anything else, it is the code that is powering it. If you want to speed up WordPress then there are a few areas to look at that all play a pivotal role in how fast your pages are going to render:

• The theme you are using.
• The widgets in your side bar.
• The plugins you have active.

The advantage to the Pingdom and GTmetrix speed tests mentioned above is that they will show you which elements are loading at a snails pace.

If your plugins or widgets are slowing you down then you really need to weigh the pros and cons of those elements. Are they worth keeping if they are slowing down your site? In some cases the answer might be “yes”. In other cases you might be able to find an alternative that will perform a similar role.

Unfortunately, one of the biggest offenders is very often the theme on your site. It may look great but if it takes 20 seconds to load, nobody is waiting around. If you’ve gone with a free theme or an older theme, it might be time to ditch that theme and go with a premium theme. There are lots of them out there but they are not all created equal. Just because you find a really expensive and flashy looking theme, doesn’t mean the code has been optimized. Trust me, I’ve experienced slow themes that look great. When looking for a new theme, you can also take a look at some of the existing theme frameworks out there that you can build upon.

Smush Those Images

Images take a long time to load. I’m sure that it’s not the first time you’ve heard this. A site that is one-hundred percent text is going to load faster than a site with images. However, it won’t be as interesting to look at.

In order to make your images load faster and speed up WordPress load times, you need to smush those images! Fortunately, Yahoo gives us a tool to use for free that does this. It’s called Smush.it. You can go to the Smush.it site and optimize individual images or you can use the Smush.it plugin for WordPress.

After you’ve installed the plugin, all of the images that you upload to WordPress will automatically get Smushed. Additionally, you can go back and Smush images that are already on your site. The Smushing process removes all unnecessary data from images to make the files smaller which means they load faster. It does so without noticeably reducing the quality of the images.

Cache Your Site

WordPress is great/horrible because it dynamically generates the way content is displayed on your website. Simply put, all of the content of your posts and pages are stored in a database and then generated for visitors as they ask for them. It’s good because this means that you don’t need to hand code a page every time you want to add a page or post to your website. However, it can also slow your website down when it has to keep generating this content. Website caching is when static versions of the dynamically created content on your website is stored so that it doesn’t have to continually be generated. This results in pages loading faster and content being displayed quicker.

Arguably one of the best tools for doing this in WordPress is a plugin called W3 Total Cache. There are a lot of boxes to tick and buttons to push with this plugin but one of the easiest to follow explanations for how to setup W3 Total Cache can be found back at the GTmetrix website.

One word of caution when using W3 Total Cache is that you can cause loading errors by enabling this plugin. If you have a lot of JavaScript (JS) or poorly written CSS then enabling the minify settings can cause the page to render with unintended results. This is usually a problem with fancy sliders or similar JavaScript intensive themes. I have this problem with with MatthewHooper.com so I can’t cache as much as I would like.

Enable the minify settings and view your site in a few different browsers. Make sure that it renders correctly with your new settings. If you do run into issues, just disable the minify settings or look into a new theme.

The Power of The Cloud

CloudFlare is a service that works well with W3 Total Cache. CloudFlare is a content delivery network (CDN) that caches your website’s files on servers around the world. This caching makes your files load faster no matter where your visitors are accessing your website from.

CloudFlare is a great service that provides optimization, security and analytics tools along with their CDN. Unbelievably, the basic package is free and it is adequate enough for most website owners looking to speed up WordPress. Watch their video below for an overview.

The whole description of what CloudFlare does can get pretty technical. If this is something that you are interested in, then I suggest you check out their site for more details.

Get a New Host

In the end, if you can’t improve the performance of your site and speed up WordPress, there might not be anything else you can do. This could be due to the limitations of your web host and you may need to move to a new host.

Most people start out with shared hosting, which is fine in most cases. However, there are good shared hosts and there are bad shared hosts. Some shared hosts will crumble under just a small amount of traffic so make sure that you choose a web host carefully.

Then again, there are times when you will out grow your shared hosting package and you will want to look at moving to a virtual private server (VPS) or even your own dedicated server.

Before you start looking at a VPS or a dedicated server, you should really investigate other shared hosting packages. VPS solutions or dedicated servers can get costly.  There are countless hosts out there and everyone will tell you a different answer. Not all shared hosting packages are created equal so make sure that you read the small print before choosing or moving hosts. As a general rule of thumb; the cheaper it is, the worse off you will be.

Start Tweaking and Speed Up WordPress!

Most of the techniques described above are absolutely free. Outside of getting a new web host or opting for a premium theme you won’t need to spend a cent. Therefore, you really have no reason to not give some of them a try.

What are have done to increase the speed of your site? Share your suggestions in the comments!

Have you got something to add? Leave a comment on Speed Up WordPress Load Times and Grab More Visitors at MatthewHooper.com!

Planning to put a website online in the near future? Trying to figure out how to choose a web host?

There is a virtual tonne of web hosts around every corner but how do you know if you are deciding on the right one? Is there even a “right one”?

Before I give you my suggestion for shared web hosting, let’s look at everything you should take into consideration before making your final decision.

(Image Credit: coconv)

What is a Web Host?

It’s important to know what a web host is prior to investigating different web hosts. A web host is a company that rents out space on their servers for you to use. You will need to rent space on a server so that you have a place to put the files that make up your website.

A server is usually housed inside of a larger data center which is made up of many different servers. A server is basically just a regular computer that contains hardware that is optimized for serving files on the internet.

Hosting Resellers

Some smaller web hosts rent servers from larger web hosts or data centres. This means that they are actually resellers or middle-men. There isn’t a problem with this type of setup but it is more likely that when you have a problem with your web host, they aren’t going to be able to respond as quickly.

The reseller approach is common when you have a website that is completely designed and managed by someone else. It is best avoided when you want to manage your own hosting and when you want to choose a web host of your own.

Types of Web Hosts

There are essentially three different types of web hosts:

When you are just starting out, a shared host is going to work out just fine for you. A shared host is usually a lot more cost effective and there are a lot more processes in place to guide you along.

Shared Hosting

A shared host is when a group of users are on a common server. This means that each user’s files reside in their own part of the server but they share common resources. The downside to this is that if you happen to be on a shared host with someone who is using a lot of the server’s processing power or memory, your site can also slow down.

The analogy that I use quite often for this is comparing it to roommates. When you are sharing an apartment with one or more people, you often have to share a kitchen, bathroom, etc. This can lead to problems when all of you want to use the bathroom at the same time.

Most shared hosts have fail-safes in place to prevent one user from hogging all of the resources. If you or one of your server-mates starts using too many resources, the web hosting company often “encourages” you to upgrade to a VPS.

Another thing to be cautious of when you choose a web host is the promise of unlimited hosting. You’ll see claims of unlimited bandwidth or unlimited disk space. All of which are true unlimited’s but it won’t be bandwidth or disk space that will cause you to upgrade to a VPS, it will be memory (RAM) or processor (CPU) power and allocation.

You can use all of the disk space and bandwidth you want but if your server doesn’t have the RAM or CPU to serve the files to you visitors then they will still receive server errors in their browsers.

With all the limitations of shared hosting, it is still the best option for most people starting new websites or blogs. The limitations of shared hosting is often not felt until your website starts getting LOTS of traffic. Unless you know (not just hope) you are going to be getting massive amounts of traffic, shared hosting is what you need. When you are fortunate enough to have piles of traffic, it is a simple process to move to a VPS.

Virtual Private Server

You will probably want to move to a VPS after you have outgrown shared hosting. A VPS is still on a shared computer but the server is virtualized. This means that you can restart your server if you need to. Each virtual server is independent of the other virtual servers so that you always have the resources you need. I will be going into more depth on VPS’s in a future article but I felt it necessary to at least give a brief overview. Don’t worry about VPS options when you choose a web host since the best host for shared hosting isn’t always the same host that you would choose for a VPS.

Dedicated Server

At some time in the future when your traffic has reached the level of overwhelming proportions, it will be time to move to a dedicated server. A dedicated server is one that you have complete control over. All the RAM, CPU and disk space is yours to abuse. Dedicated servers are usually expensive and unnecessary for the average person with a simple website or blog.

How to Choose a Web Host?

So back to our original question of how to choose a web host. First, we need to look at what we are going to be using it for. Since you are here, I will hazard the guess that you want to start a WordPress website. So let’s look at what to consider:

Bandwidth and Disk Space

Bandwidth is the amount of data that can be transferred to and from your host. Disk space is the amount of data you can store on your web host. The industry standard these days is unlimited or nearing unlimited. It’s like having 24-hour gym access when in reality you really only need one or two hours a day but it’s nice to have just in case you want to hit the gym at 3:00am. When you choose a web host, this should just be a given.

Also, as I mentioned above, your RAM and CPU will run out long before your disk space and bandwidth do.

PHP and MySQL

There are two different technologies that WordPress relies on to do it’s job. Both of which you should be aware of when you choose a web host. The first one is PHP and the second one is MySQL for databases. It isn’t that important to know exactly what these two technologies are but it is important to make sure your host is capable.

As of writing, the latest version of WordPress is 3.2 and it requires PHP version 5.2.4 or greater and MySQL version 5.0 or greater. If you’re not sure, ask your host. To be honest, most hosts will be up-to-date but if they aren’t, then you really should run the other way.

One-Click Installs

There are many different hosts out there, so there are many names for this type of service. Essentially a one-click install is a feature in the web host’s control panel that makes it easy for you to install WordPress or other similar scripts.

Some hosting companies have their own custom control panels and others use a commercially available one. You’ll hear arguments for and against each. Nevertheless, once you get used to either, you’ll be fine.

Some hosts don’t have a control panel which means that you will only be able to access the host via a command line. Unless you are a UNIX wizard, you should avoid these types of hosts. Some hosts don’t have one-click installs which means you have to manually setup your WordPress database and configure WordPress. Everything will still run fine in the end but it is just more complicated.

To simplify the whole process, make sure you choose a web host with some form of one-click install.

Support and Own Data Centers

It is very important to make sure that you have access to a support team. It is also important that your host owns or leases their own data centers. This will benefit you when it comes to support.

Since resellers don’t have their own data centers, they need to contact the support at their parent hosting company to find out what’s going on with their servers. This adds a middle man to the whole process and can slow down response times.

Most web hosts will have support that will help you with one-click installs and general questions. I wouldn’t touch one that didn’t with a ten-foot pole.

Multiple Hosted Domains

In the beginning you will probably only need a single domain for your website. However, you may decide to start a second site in the future. In this case you will need to add an additional domain name.

Make sure that your host doesn’t limit the number of domains that you can host with them. Some hosts do and it really is just an artificial limitation so that they can up-sell you to a higher cost plan in the future.

Many larger hosts will give you the ability to also register your domain with them. It is fine to do so but if you are concerned about putting all of your eggs in one basket, you may wish to register your domain at a separate domain registrar. I use Hover to register my domains. You don’t need to use the same registrar that I use but if you do decide to go with Hover, use the coupon code honest and save an extra 10% off all registrations. Hover will also do private registrations for free which is something that a lot of domain registrars charge for.

Which Web Host Do I Use?

In my opinion, Dreamhost is one of the best shared hosting options available. They meet or exceed the requirements I have above. They are not perfect but you won’t find a shared web host that doesn’t have the odd hiccup once in a while. I’ve been with them since 2006 and overall my experience has been good.

I do encourage you to shop around and find the best solution for you and your needs. However, if you do decide to use Dreamhost, use the coupon code MHHosting (note the two H’s) and get an extra discount when you signup.

I do receive a bit of cash if you use either of the two coupon codes above but I only recommend what I use and I only use what works.

Do you have any questions or comments about hosting or domain registrars? Leave a note in the comments.

Have you got something to add? Leave a comment on How to Choose a Web Host: The Ultimate Guide To Finding the Right Web Host at MatthewHooper.com!

So, why do you? Is it because someone told you that you SHOULD have one? Is your website basically a glorified brochure? More importantly, what do your visitors do after they get to your website? What are your website goals?

If I had a dollar for every time someone couldn’t answer the questions above I’d be a pretty rich man.

(Image Credit: James Vaughan)

Don’t Be Presumptuous

When you’ve decided to put out the cash to either have a website built for you or to learn how to build a website from scratch yourself, shouldn’t it have a way of recovering those costs? This is where website goals become critical.

Most of the traffic that is coming to your site is very often “cold traffic”. Meaning that they probably have never heard of you. They still have not built up enough trust in you to pay you for your products or services.

A “Buy Now” button is probably not the thing people want to see when they first visit your site. That’s kind of like heading for third base within the first five minutes of your blind date. Rarely does it work and when it does, you usually regret it in the morning.

Be Approachable

Dan Andrews over at The Lifestyle Business Podcast says there is no better way to build trust with your potential customers than putting your phone number on your site (paraphrased). I’ve got mine on my contact page.

However, a lot of the people that reach out to me do so through my contact page via my email address that is listed there. With that said, I get contacted the most through my contact form. Why? Most likely because it is the path of least resistance. Do what works for you.

Give Before You Get

What if your visitors aren’t ready to even head to second base? Perhaps you need to buy them dinner first? Perhaps you need to give them something for free. They’ll give you their email address and then they can learn more about what you’re about.

Often this is referred to as a lead magnet. This can be a free ebook, a sample audio track or even a video. You’ll see an example of that here. I offer a free downloadable guide book with 10 essentials that you should know about building an internet presence.

You’ll see opt-in forms in various places on my site so that new visitors have plenty of opportunity to get my free guide. Derek Halpern at Social Triggers has done some impressive site analysis videos of some pretty popular sites. In theses videos he discusses how to optimize your site for these types of interactions.

One of the best improvements you can make to your site is adding a chance for your visitors to opt-in after each of your articles. Hopefully they liked the article they have just read and you’ll leave them wanting more.

This was the reason that I had the After Post Content Box plugin for WordPress created. The plugin makes it easy for you to add a sign up form to your single post pages.

After the visitors to your site start receiving your articles on a regular basis you will start building trust. They’ll be able to see what you’re all about which may lead them to want to buy your products or hire you for your services. They may refer their friends to you. You’ll also have a chance to let them know of your new products.

Define Your Website Goals

I’m not going to claim to be a conversion expert. It doesn’t take a conversion expert to understand that you need to have clearly defined website goals. Otherwise you’re just wasting your time, money or both.

Every website is slightly different and different websites require different strategies. Recently, Peep Laja (who happens to be a conversion expert) of ConversionXL completed a multi-part review of several websites. He looked at numerous sites and analyzed what worked and what didn’t.

Ultimately you want to make sure it’s easy for someone to give you their money. You do have a product or service to sell someone, don’t you?

I’ve been on sites where I had my credit card out and I was ready to pay but I clicked away because the whole process was frustrating or complicated. There’s always a competitor that makes it easier. Do it right in the beginning or be the competitor.

In the end, you want to have a clear path for your site’s visitors. There is no reason to have a website because you SHOULD have one. You website also needs to be more than a glorified brochure. When was the last time you gave a pretty picture money? Set some website goals and make sure your website is capable of living up to them.

What do you think are your most important website goals?

Have you got something to add? Leave a comment on Why Do You Even Have A Website? at MatthewHooper.com!

Christmas is approaching quickly! I thought that it would be fitting to come up with a list some great Christmas gift ideas that you could give the internet presence builder in your life. You could also give them to yourself with some of that Christmas cash you will find in your Christmas stocking on the 25th. The items on this list are all items that I use very often in doing what I do. These are all items that I have personal experience with and I would have been very happy to receive as gifts at Christmas or any other time of the year.

(Image Credit: James Vaughan)

MacBook Air

Christmas gifts like this will win you huge points. The problem is that it’s a little pricey so you should make sure the receiver is worthy! I know. You’re probably thinking what kind of list starts off with such an expensive item. Usually on these types of gift lists the most expensive item is listed last. However, for me, I have found that my MacBook Air is the best purchase I made all year. It’s thin, it’s light and most of all, it’s fast. I went with the 13″ version but the 11″ model is even smaller, thinner and lighter! Since this is my new daily driver, I decided to go with a bigger screen. I am pretty sure that anybody won’t be disappointed to get a MacBook Air under the tree this year!

iPhone

Here we are at the second item on the list and it’s not much cheaper than the first. Trust me, they get cheaper but this is another item that I use constantly. I can’t even remember what life was like before I had an iPhone! I’m still using an iPhone 3Gs because we have been moving around a lot and I don’t want to get into a contract but it’s getting a little long-in-the-tooth. I bought my iPhone while living in Taiwan and fortunately it’s unlocked. It can get a little costly to buy an iPhone unlocked but it is great to be able to swap out SIM cards while in different countries. You can’t go wrong with an iPhone.

LaCie Network Space 2

Residing inside of a MacBook Air is a limited amount of storage space because Airs use a solid state drive (SSD). SSDs have no moving parts and this makes them faster and lighter but large SSD drives are very expensive. This is why I wanted a larger network attached storage (NAS) drive. The version of the LaCie Network Space 2 drive that I have is 2TB. This drive can be plugged into an open port on a wireless router. This means that it doesn’t need to be plugged into a computer but it can be accessed over a wifi network. Additionally, I already had a 1.5TB Western Digital USB drive. It’s plugged into the extra USB port on the front of the LaCie drive. The LaCie drive can then backup to the WesternDigital drive. The extra USB port can also be used to plug a printer into so that you could print wirelessly from networked computers. On top of all of that, the drive has a built in bittorrent client. The downloads will continue even if all of the computers in the house are shut off. The LaCie Network Space 2 is an inexpensive solution for someone looking to detach themselves from their external drives.

Dropbox

It is important to access data on the go and online data storage is fantastic. Dropbox is like the NAS above but the drive doesn’t reside in your possession. The data is actually stored in the “cloud”. Meaning that you have access to the data from any place on the planet that has internet access. I use Dropbox to sync data between my Mac, iPhone and iPad. I also use it to share data with clients, family or friends regardless of if they are on a Mac or Windows computer. I also use Dropbox as part of the website backup system for a lot of my sites. You start off with 2GB of storage and if you need more then you can pay for additional space. Check out this Dropbox video to learn more.

Logitech Headset

Small, low quality microphones built into computers usually sound terrible. When I work with people online I use tools like Skype, GoToMeeting or GoToAssist. These tools are great but audio quality becomes very important. Most computers have built in microphones but the way to get clear audio is by using a headset microphone. These headsets will help your gift recipient to have better audio when creating these recordings or taking part in Skype calls. I prefer Logitech Headsets since they have always worked the best for me. I also recommend getting one with a USB connection since all that needs to be done is plug the headset in and it works. I use the Logitech USB Headset H530.

ScreenFlow

Technology has got to the point where creating great looking screencasts is actually easy to do. One of the best tools out there for doing this is ScreenFlow. This application gives you, or the receiver of your gift, the ability to record their screens. There are some basic editing tools built in and the ability to add some simple callouts. I also find it useful to record the screens of the people I work with so that they have something to refer back to after our sessions are finished. Sometimes I even use ScreenFlow to do simple editing of video files that are not even screen recordings. There are other similar tools out there but Screenflow is the one that I prefer.

Dreamhost

Most online presences are built on top of a website. In order to build a website you need to have a place to store your files. If you take a minute to look around these days, you are going to see countless web hosting companies online. The question is which one of these web hosts should you choose for yourself or as a gift for someone else. I have been using Dreamhost since 2006, after going through a few others. Dreamhost offers a bunch of extra tools, like one-click installs of WordPress, which are useful for building an internet presence. Take a look into Dreamhost.

Headway Themes

A WordPress website isn’t truly ready for primetime until it has received a new coat of paint. Headway Themes is one of the most flexible themes out there today. It incorporates a very easy to use visual editor that makes it easy for people that do not have programming experience. If the person that you’re buying a Christmas gift for has already started to build their internet presence and they have been using WordPress, a theme like Headway will be greatly appreciated.

Moo Cards

Something that most people exchange all the time are business cards. Even if business cards are becoming less and less necessary in the online world, a nice looking business card says a lot about the person handing it over. I really like the quality of Moo Cards and the Moo MiniCards are a bit more unique than the piles of generic business cards that are handed out every day. Moo has a bunch of different styles of cards, stickers and cases to hold them and Moo Cards are well worth looking into.

Merry Christmas!

So, why 9? I’ll give you one clue. C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S! Enjoy the holiday season!

How has your Christmas preparations been going? If your not celebrating Christmas this season what are you doing instead?

Have you got something to add? Leave a comment on 9 Great Christmas Gift Ideas for Building an Internet Presence at MatthewHooper.com!

When a lot of small businesses or organizations start out looking for a website, very often they end up with a custom coded static website. The limitations of a static website soon present themselves and then small businesses or organizations look for other options.

One of the limitations of a static website is that when you, as the website owner, want to make any changes to the website, you have to go out and hire a programmer to do just that. Meaning that if your phone number changes, you’re looking at a fee to make those minor changes on your website. If you haven’t already got a WordPress website, you might be wondering how to move from a static HTML website to WordPress.

Before we begin, note that the process below applies to websites that are static HTML sites and not for those moving from a different CMS (like Blogger, TypePad, Drupal, Joomla, etc.) to WordPress. If your site is a collection of .html or .htm documents, then the following will apply to you.

(Image Credit: Alden Jewell)

A Static Site to WordPress Overview

There are a few stages of this process. Before you get stated, below is a complete overview of the entire process. As you can see, the process isn’t really that complicated and it should be something that someone with basic technology skills could do on their own. That said, don’t be scared to look for help

Just remember to take your time and work through everything systematically.

WordPress Compatibility

Most web hosts (that are worth using) will have some type of automatic WordPress installation process. Later when you go to install WordPress, this should only take you a few minutes to complete.

By some chance your web host does not have an auto installer for you, you should choose a web host that is more user friendly. From what I have seen, if your web host does not have an auto installer then that is a good indication that they are not capable of running WordPress.

WordPress requires certain server technologies in order to run. If your web host doesn’t have those capabilities then you won’t even be able to install WordPress on your own.

Some web hosts are capable of running WordPress but they won’t install it for you. This means that you will be able to install it on your own but it is a more involved process. If you’re doing this for the first them then you are better off with a host that will install WordPress for you.

You Need a Map, GPS Won’t Work

The first thing that you are going to need to do is create site map of your existing website. Make notes and take screenshots of every page on your site and how they are linked together.

You want to make sure that all of the original web addresses are recorded exactly like they are on your existing website. This is so that you can reconstruct your entire website within WordPress when you are ready to do so. Note the entire URL string, for example, http://www.YourDomain.com/PageName/SubPageName. The URL structure is important to ensure that all of the current links coming into your site stay active. Any changes or deletions that you make probably will effect your traffic and your search rankings.

Take notes on the sidebars (if you have any) and any of the content in them. Do you have social sharing buttons, email opt-in forms, product descriptions or links, etc.? All of this should be noted. Again, screenshots are probably the most effective way of doing this.

Calling in a Sub

Create a temporary subdomain so that you can have a temporary location for your website so that it won’t be completely offline during your WordPress migration. A subdomain is basically a domain within a domain. This could be something like http://SubDomain.YourDomain.com/.

This can usually be done from within your web host control panel. Take a look through your control panel and if you can’t figure out how to do it on your own, contact your web host’s support staff and they will probably be able to help you add the subdomain.

For example, create a new subdomain called “old” that you will delete after your move to WordPress is over. This will give you a domain like this http://old.YourDomain.com/. It’s a little ugly but it’s only temporary.

Moving Day

You are going to have to move your existing site to a temporary location if you want to keep it in working order until the new site is up and running. One thing that is good about older style HTML sites is that they can easily be moved. However, make sure that you create a complete backup of your existing site before you begin.

Backing up a static HTML site is simple. Launch your favourite FTP application and download all of the files from your site to your computer. If something goes wrong, you have a copy to fall back on.

After you have backed up your site, use an FTP program to copy (not move) your existing website to the new subdomain. This means that there will be two copies of your site. One that you will find by going to http://www.YourDomain.com/ and one that you will find at http://old.YourDomain.com/. There is actually a third that you have backed up. You backed up, right?

The only problem that you may have when moving an existing site is interlinking between the existing pages. If your existing site is setup to link to existing pages using absolute paths then your are going to have to change your links. If they are using relative paths, you should be good.

A relative path means that a developer isn’t linking to existing pages using the full URL structure, so the link often looks like /page1.html/ instead of http://www.YourDomain.com/page1.html/. The latter URL structure is an absolute path.

If you understand HTML code, you should be able to open up your website’s pages in an HTML editor and look at the links. (You might need some help with this part if you don’t know your way around HTML code.) If they show the full URL then you are going to have to change those. Change these to a relative structure. This means that you should be able to delete the http://www.YourDomain.com/ part of the URL from all of your links.

After you have made all of the required changes, carefully go through all of your interlinked pages and ensure that all of your links have been changed. Be sure they are linking to the pages in your subdomain and not the pages in their original location. Pay attention to the address bar when clicking links.

Install WordPress

Before you install WordPress, go through your original website’s root directory and delete everything. Don’t worry, you still have a backup of your original site and a copy in the subdomain.

Note that after you delete your original website, your visitors will not know where to go until after WordPress has been installed. So do that immediately after you have deleted your original site.

Quickly log into your web host and install WordPress. This should only take a few minutes to complete. Do the initial setup and install a WordPress plugin called Maintenance Mode by Michael Wöhrer

After you have installed and activated the WordPress Maintenance Mode plugin, you will need to also activate it in the plugin’s settings. The Maintenance Mode plugin will create a landing page on your website that all your visitors will see. You will also be able to include a countdown to the launch of your new site if you wish.

All incoming links will be redirected to the landing page so they will not receive the dreaded 404 error. You will also be able to customize your landing pages with your own text. This gives you the opportunity to add a link to the temporary site location and a message explaining that you will soon be launching a new and improved site.

You can use something like:

Welcome to Acme Widgets! We are currently in the process of building a brand new site for you to enjoy. However, it is going to take a bit of time to complete. In the mean time, you can still use our old site. Click here to view it.

As a logged in administrator, you will see the site as it will be seen by your visitors. This gives you the chance to work on the site without all of your visitors seeing the site in an unfinished state.

Go through and complete the setup of WordPress like you would for any other purpose. If this is the first time that you have setup WordPress, you might want to look into my online WordPress course.

You Can Rebuild It. You Have the Technology.

Now that you have setup and installed WordPress, it’s time to rebuild your original site. You might be able to find a WordPress theme that closely resembles your original site. There is also the option to hire a developer to build a theme that looks like your original site. I’d recommend using the new Headway 3.0 theme since you should be able to recreate your existing theme with the revamped visual editor. I love the Headway theme, it’s slick!

Take a look at those screenshots and your notes. Go into the widget manager and create your sidebars to look similar to what you had before. This is also your opportunity to add or remove any information that you have be dying to change in your sidebars.

Take your list of pages and go into the pages section of WordPress. Create a new page for every page that existed on your website previously. Give your pages nice descriptive titles and don’t worry about what the pages were called or what their URLs were before. Rebuild the content on every page as it was on the original site.

You will be able to go back-and-forth between your original site at your subdomain and copy-and-paste the text into the new pages. Upload images into WordPress using the WordPress media manager. Don’t link to the images in your subdomain since we are going to remove the subdomain later on.

Traffic Control

When you created your new pages, WordPress created new URLs for these pages. WordPress calls these permalinks. If you are happy with the WordPress URLs then leave them alone. If you want to modify them then go ahead and do that now. Don’t worry what your old URLs were on your original site.

Between the title input field and the content input filed in the page editor of WordPress you will see the permalink of the page. You can click the “edit” button next to the permalink if you need to change the URL to something more suitable. Make a note of all the URLs of the new pages.

With Simple 301 Redirects by Scott Nellé you can create a search engine friendly redirect called a 301 redirect. This means that all incoming links will be redirected to the new location and all the previous search engine weight will also be directed to the new location. Follow the example in the plugin’s settings and input your old URLs in the first input field and the new URLs in the second input field.

After you have gone through and added in all of your old page URLs to redirect to your new page URLs, you’re all set.

Bloggity Blog

Since your original website was a static website, you probably didn’t have a blog. Now is the opportunity to add one. This is a built in feature of WordPress so all you need to do is start adding your posts and you should be all set.

You’ll also need to add a link to your blog if you don’t want to have your blog on the home page of your site. Create a new page with the title “blog” without any other content on it. Publish that page and link to it in your navigation. Depending on your theme, most of the time it will create a page with your blog posts on it.

In the reading settings for WordPress, be sure to change the “Front page displays” options. Set the page that you want as your home page in the “Front page” drop down and set the blog page under “Posts page”.

It’s up to you whether or not you want to add a blog. I still find it odd how many people tell me that they don’t want a blog on their website when we first start working together. However, after they have learned about the benefits of content marketing, they decided that regularly publishing articles to their websites is a good strategy.

Break Out the Brooms

Your website should be well on its way to completion at this point. Turn off the maintenance mode plugin and log out of your WordPress dashboard. You should now be seeing your site as a non-logged in visitor.

Click through the whole site and make sure all of the links work and that the website is behaving as it should. Manually type in the old URLs from your original website into the address bar of your browser. Make sure that they all redirect to the new pages on your WordPress website. If not, go back and double check the settings for the Simple 301 Redirect plugin.

After you have decided that your website is in working order, you can delete your old temporary site. You can use an FTP program to delete all of the files in the subdomain first but deleting the subdomain from your web host control panel should also delete every trace of the subdomain.

Finito!

That’s it! You’re new WordPress website should be up and running now. The old site has been removed and all of the old URLs should redirect to the new URLs. The content from your old website should all be on your new website. You can start adding new content to your website and modifying existing content whenever your feel the need. Congratulations!

Have you ever had to move a static site to WordPress? How did it turn out?

Have you got something to add? Leave a comment on The Definitive Guide to Moving a Static Site to WordPress at MatthewHooper.com!