Tutorial Blog » WordPress

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 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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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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WordPress: Using the Featured Post Plugin

Spencer Spellman — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 18:00:56 +0000

If you’ve created an online magazine with WordPress or simply want to grow your blog, then you’ll want to add a way to feature specific posts at the top of your home page. Most online magazines and many high profile blogs have a featured post section that either showcases one primary post or rotates through several posts.

There are a variety of plugins to allow you to feature posts on your home page. One such plugin is the Random Featured Post Plugin. The easiest and most popular plugin is a plugin called the Featured Post Plugin. (...)
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Turn Your WordPress Blog into a Business Website

Spencer Spellman — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:00:32 +0000

It’s no mystery that WordPress in many respects has taken over the blogosphere. The popularity of the Wordpress software has driven many people to use it as not just a blog, but for business sites as well.

Did you know that you can turn your WordPress blog into a full-service website for your business or company? Maybe you’re a technology blogger and now want to expand your blog to offer web design services and software. Typically business sites include more pages than posts, so it’s simply a matter of how you organize and present content.

This Wordpress tutorial will walk you through turning your blog into a website. With a few simple steps you can create a dynamic website that is easy to maintain and update, yet still keep that “static” look user have come to expect from traditional html-drive business sites. (...)
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5 Plugins for Making Your WordPress Blog SEO Friendly

Spencer Spellman — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 18:00:29 +0000

In my last SEO for Wordpress article, I started with 5 tips for making your WordPress blog SEO friendly. We discussed things you could do on an ongoing basis to give your blog value to people and search engines — optimized content, proper keyword research, optimizing photos, building links and using navigation techniques to optimize for search engines.

This time, I want to talk about five WordPress plugins that will add SEO value to your blog. Remember, plugins are packages of code that add functionality to your wordpress installation. With each version of Wordpress, plugins have gotten easier to install and maintain. So, there is no excuse for not using the proper tools to promote your site and make it more search-engine friendly.

Without further ado, here are 5 Wordpress Plugins for Search Engine Optimization. (...)
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Create an Online Magazine With WordPress

Spencer Spellman — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:00:43 +0000

Many of us have dreamed of writing for a magazine or even being a magazine editor. However, now with WordPress you can be the writer, editor and owner of your very own magazine. With a few steps you can have the magazine designed, laid out and have writers who are writing articles for your own online publication. Below I’m going to go through the steps of starting your own Magazine with WordPress.

The first thing you’ll have to do is find the right them.(...)
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13 Places to Download Awesome Premium WordPress Themes

Joel Reyes — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:00:33 +0000

The search for Wordpress themes is never-ending. Should you find a free theme? Or shell out the bucks for a premium theme?

While exceptional content doesn’t need to be pretty to communicate, we can’t help wanting a little style with our substance.

If you’re like us, you want an eye-catching Wordpress layout that looks sharp, creative and has as much style as your writing. Something unique and beautifully coded to render across all browsers, and maybe add a little SEO juice too.

The best Wordpress themes offer all of that. And, often come with a pretty good support forum too. Some of these Worpress themes are free, but don’t be afraid to pay for something exceptional. Let’s visit 13 amazing places you can go to get awesome premium Wordpress themes.

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5 Tips for Making Your WordPress Blog SEO Friendly

Spencer Spellman — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 18:00:00 +0000

Everyone’s vying for that number one spot on search results. Over the last couple years, it’s been Google who has stood head and shoulders over the rest, although the release of Microsoft’s new search engine, Bing, has raised eyebrows. So what does this mean for WordPress users?

Well it means that if you want your WordPress blog to be found, you better take advantage of search. I’ve listed below 5 tips for making your WordPress blog SEO friendly. (...)
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