Tutorial Blog » WordPress

Free WordPress Plugins and Add-ons to Promote Your Blog On Autopilot

Barbara Holbrook — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 18:56:47 +0000

There are WordPress addons available for just about any function — including automatic promotion of your blog posts! This article is specifically aimed at folks who are new to blog promotion or want to start their first website marketing campaign but aren’t sure where to begin. The great thing is, these plugins are so simple to set up, there’s absolutely no reason why you shouldn’t be using these tactics to increase your blog’s following.

Here’s a guide to some of the best WordPress plugins for automating your blog promotion tasks without spending a lot of money. (...)
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9 Stand-Out Real Estate Themes for WordPress

Barbara Holbrook — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 17:30:39 +0000

A friend of mine just earned his real estate license and now he’s in the process of setting up office online. He’s already familiar with WordPress, so he came to me and asked if I had any advice on using WordPress for a real estate website. WordPress is really the hot ticket for building real estate site right now, which is both good and bad.

On the one hand, the demand for real estate themes and plugins has encouraged innovation among developers and they’re coming up with some pretty neat tools for agents to use when managing their properties online. On the other hand, you want to make sure that your website stands out from the crowd of similarly-themed websites so that you can attract clients and impress them with your marketing skills and web savvy. For an agent, a good website shows potential clients that they have 21st century skills and can do what it takes to sell a home in this tough market.

So, in answer to his question I rounded up a list of the top WordPress themes for building a real estate website that is sure to stand out in a crowd and help you—and your listings—get noticed.(...)
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Beyond the Blog: Get on the WordPress Bandwagon

Barbara Holbrook — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 16:00:24 +0000

WordPress, long known as one of the most popular blogging platforms, has turned into so much more. With the release of WordPress 3 “Thelonious”, the platform really steps into its own as a powerful content management system for writers, designers and everyone else to create or manage stunning, cutting-edge websites.

Most people prefer WordPress because it is not only is it easy to use, it’s totally free. You can host your WordPress blog on your own servers or use free hosting with WordPress.com. Either way, using WordPress to manage your website is easy—add pages, delete pages, schedule content, add functionality with plugins and connect to the WordPress community.

The first thing most WordPress users learn to do is change their theme. There are hundreds of free WordPress themes available to download as well as many premium WordPress themes with special features such as built-in SEO. Installing and customizing WordPress themes is your ticket to creating brilliant websites that are also user-friendly. Changes to WordPress in the last year make installing new themes easier than ever. For newbies, it’s a good idea to start with a WordPress tutorial on how to install a new WordPress theme or change an existing WordPress theme.

In fact, most users will get the most out of WordPress by using and learning from the many free WordPress tutorials available online. Finding useful WordPress tutorials on the web will show you to create stunning websites with this free platform, and even add unique features to make your website stand out. (...)
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Cheap WordPress Themes: 5 Semi-Premium Designs for Business Websites

Barbara Holbrook — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 20:26:39 +0000

We’ve talked about Premium WordPress Themes ad infinitum on TutorialBlog. But, sometimes you need a cheap WordPress theme that you can get online and looking good in less than an hour. What do you when you (or your client) want it all … and your budget is under $25?

You call in reinforcements!

Take the pain out of working under an impossible budget by making it easy. Your “client” will be pleased as punch with any of these semi-premium WordPress themes and you’ll still have money left to buy a fancy coffee from your favorite java dealer.

What is a semi-premium theme you ask? These themes may not have everything as the expensive, bells-and-whistles-included brand of premium themes. That could mean fewer choices on the theme options screen or only a single page template or fewer plugins pre-built into the site. However, in most areas a good semi-premium theme has everything you need to build a quality website, quick and easy.

Elegant Themes is a WordPress theme club that specializes in semi-premium themes. (...)
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Social Networking Software: 12 Ways to Build the Next, Best Social Network

Barbara Holbrook — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 20:01:23 +0000

Do you want to be the next YouTube, Flickr, Match.com or Facebook? Then, you need to find the right social networking software. Dating sites, friend networks, video sharing portals are all built on networking platforms that give members control over their personal profile and encourage user-generated content.

If you can get it right, Social Networking is the key to the kingdom. You will never have to worry about your next blog post, because users will post and manage their own content. You will be free to focus on the important stuff like marketing, partnerships and monetization.

Of course, great social networks need great software. No one wants to play on a slow network and users won’t create profiles if they think your software isn’t secure. When choosing a social networking platform, you need to make sure the software looks professional, is stable and will be around for the long haul.

Here are the programs and platforms you’ll encounter in your search for social networking software. (...)
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Facebook Connect: Plugins to Integrate FB and WordPress

Barbara Holbrook — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 02:05:29 +0000

When I first decided it was time to add Facebook Connect to a website, I figured it would be no big deal. Facebook is a social media powerhouse, I figured, so they must have tools to simplify the process. Plus, I use WordPress! So I was fairly confident that some enterprising developer had already created a plugin that would add Facebook Connect to the blog with a few clicks.

Boy was I naive. Adding Facebook to a WordPress site is harder than it sounds. I spent days testing out plugins with varying degrees of success. Each plugin had it’s own set of quirks, Facebook features that worked or didn’t, one plugin even shut down the whole site!

Luckily, integrating Facebook was not a total FAIL. After much testing and tribulation, Facebook Connect is now humming along happily. Visitors can login and comment using their Facebook ID, post comments back to their main stream, join the fan page with a single click and a handful of other nifty Facebook features that encourage visitor loyalty and interaction.

Take the benefit of my experience, and read this article before you begin the process of adding Facebook Connect to your WordPress website. Here are 3 different WordPress plugins for installing Facebook Connect. (...)
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Awesome Customizations: 10 websites based on the Yamidoo Magazine Theme

Barbara Holbrook — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 21:18:39 +0000

Premium WordPress themes can be a designer’s best friend. But most websites worth visiting know better than to use a theme straight “out of the box.” Your site design is part of your branding and it’s the first impression visitors will have of your product. It only takes seconds for a new visitors to decide whether your site is “reputable.” And, like it or not, they will make that decision based on looks.

That’s why when you’re deciding which premium theme to buy the most important question you can ask is, “Can I make this theme look custom without reinventing the wheel?” To help you make this decision, TutorialBlog will begin showcasing a selection of sites all based on the same theme. Take a look and see for yourself some of the customized themes that started with a premium foundation.

Today, we’re taking a look at customization ideas for the Yamidoo Magazine Theme from wpzoom. (...)
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How to Use Google Maps with WordPress Blogs: 5 Plugins to Get You Started

Barbara Holbrook — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 21:06:27 +0000

It wasn’t long ago that Mapquest was the only quality mapping tool online. Then, the rise of Google Maps, possibly the best and most sophisticated mapping tool available online.

Google Maps inspired regular people to become cartographers — mapping our lives, mashing up old maps in new ways, and creating a new way to share our world. Even as the maps have become more sophisticated, the general tools have become simpler. In fact, if you’re using WordPress inserting a Google Map can be dead easy with the right plugin.

A note of caution, inserting Google maps into a WordPress website without a plugin can have unexpected results. Be sure to place the embed code in the HTML Editor, and never save your post or page while in the Visual Editor.

Better yet, forget about embedding maps with html! Use one of these handy Google Maps plugins for WordPress. You’ll thank us later. (...)
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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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