Tutorial Blog » Web Design

5 WordPress Comment Plugins to Engage Users and Promote Discussion

Spencer Spellman — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 21:16:05 +0000

If you’re a new user to WordPress, then you’re probably perfectly content with the comment features you already have. You may not yet realize the positive effect that adding a comment plugin (or three) can have on your site.

Better comment functions are a great way to encourage discussion and build community on your blog or website. Whether your goal is to encourage people to leave comments, reward them for doing so or even just make your comments look better, there is a WordPress plugin that will do the trick.

Try these 5 WordPress comment plugins to enhance your blog.(...)
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Choosing the Best RSS Feed Plugin for Wordpress

Barbara Holbrook — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 22:59:29 +0000

Using RSS feeds with Wordpress for fun and for profit. At one point or another most bloggers will want to display articles from another website. You may be sharing articles with a syndicated author, setting up a news ticker, or simply listing the current headlines from news sources in your niche. Whatever your reason, RSS feeds are usually the best way to pull in content from another source.

Today we’ll discuss how to import an RSS feed and display the feed items in a WordPress blog. There are plenty of methods to fetch and display the RSS feeds: plugins, third-party feed websites (such as feedzilla); and custom PHP scripts. Here are best Wordpress plugins for RSS feeds. (...)
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How to Get a Google API Key

Spencer Spellman — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 18:31:49 +0000

To fully take advantage of Google maps and to integrate it into a blog or website, you’ll have to sign up to receive a Google API Key. This allows you to insert Google maps into your own web pages on your own domains. The only requirement is that you must have a Google account, as your API key will be connected to your account.

Even though there are many plugins and scripts that require an API Key to work, developers often overlook explaining just exactly how to sign up for a Google API Key. Today we’ll walk you through that process. (...)
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How to Protect Your WordPress Blog From Spam

Spencer Spellman — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 18:00:53 +0000

If you’re new to WordPress, then you may imagine that spam is limited to just what you get in your email box, offering creams and pills to decrease your waist and increase your… um, other things. Eh-hem. Once you own a blog, spam can take on a whole new meaning and be even more of an annoyance that requires constant vigilance.

Not only do you want to protect your readers from offensive “comments” about where to find free you-know-what, but even more importantly Google considers spammy comments part of your content! And the big G will dock your page rank if it finds too much undesirable content.

After the jump, we’ll discuss moving beyond Akisment to protect your blog from spam. (...)
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Top 5 SEO Plugins for Joomla

Spencer Spellman — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 18:00:54 +0000

Anyone who runs a successful website knows the value of search engine optimization. A good SEO tool kit can turn a good website into a profitable website by attracting the right kind of targeted traffic.

But, how do you SEO a CMS site such as Joomla? With Joomla Extensions! Extensions is term used to refer to any number of Joomla components, modules and plugins.

If you have a Joomla website, you’re going to want to make sure that you’ve properly optimized it for search engines and have the appropriate SEO tools in place.

Below I’ve listed the top five SEO extensions for Joomla. (...)
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5 Free Ways to Market Your Blog

Spencer Spellman — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:00:46 +0000

It’s no secret that the ailing economy has hit everyone, even us bloggers who depend so heavily on Google Adsense and page impressions. It’s become increasingly harder to grow and maintain those high page views, while also competing with other bloggers in your niche.

As a blogger you don’t want to pay a high rate to advertise your blog and risk not getting a return on your investment; nor do you want to do an adwords campaign. You want quick, easy and free ideas for marketing your blog. (...)
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5 More Places to Buy Joomla Templates

Barbara Holbrook — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 18:00:38 +0000

Last week we posted an article about where to find joomla templates. After being roundly smacked about by our readers for leaving out some of the larger (and popular) Joomla template design websites, we’ve decided to try and redeem ourselves with yet another article about finding quality Joomla Templates.

Like we said earlier, a well-made template is the foundation for a good website. If the template doesn’t include the right code for proper SEO, then it’s going to make life difficult later. This is as true for Joomla as it is for Wordpress, or Drupal. That is why we recommend sourcing out premium template companies that you can rely on. (...)
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How To Create a Custom Myspace 2.0 Page

Spencer Spellman — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 18:00:46 +0000

Last time I discussed how to make a professional looking Myspace page — 1.0. Customizing social media pages is an important for skill for designers, musicians and others. The ability to create custom backgrounds and designs for myspace, twitter, etc. can become a lucrative business model for savvy designers.

Compared to many other social networking sites, Myspace offers the most flexibility in the layout and design of a profile page.

Last time I discussed how to create a professional-looking page with the older Myspace. Today I’m going to discuss how to customize a Myspace profile with the new Myspace 2.0. (...)
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5 Cool Places to Find Joomla Themes

Spencer Spellman — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 17:00:05 +0000

One of the most important things about building a website or blog is the significance of having an attractive design. It’s imperative to have a theme that not only looks good, but is fully functional and formats properly on the majority of popular web browsers. For most users, finding or designing a template is the first thing they set out to do.

If you’re a new user or want to give your site some pop to it, you might need to consider using a premium template, — which usually means that you’ll have to pay for it. The benefit of buying a template is that it usually requires less work to get started. However, some free templates are still worth it, if you’ve got the skills to fix it up yourself or are willing to hire a designer to do the work for you.

Below I’ve listed the 5 coolest places to find Joomla templates. (...)
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What’s New in WordPress 2.8

Spencer Spellman — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 18:00:54 +0000

The last few weeks have been a buzz on the Internet with the release of WordPress 2.8.3. If you have a WordPress blog or site, you’ve probably seen a notification at the top if you haven’t already upgraded. If you’re not the site administrator of your blog, you can click the top of the blog to notify them.

The upgrade to WordPress 2.8 has brought many needed changes, although it has already brought with it some bugs, as in a few short weeks, there’s already been a couple security updates. So if you haven’t done so, make sure you have WordPress 2.8.3.

You’ll notice some of the upgrades in 2.8 as soon as you login. One of the best features is some of the new functionality on the dashboard. (...)
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