The hype is finally over. Genesis 2.0, HTML5 and Scheme are here to rock your website.
I personally waited more than 3 months for this and I know many who waited way longer for this. When I saw Brian Gardner’s post on G+ yesterday hinting on the possible Genesis 2.0 release, I was basically glued to the download page.
Yes this is the one of the advantages of being a Genesis Pro user. I have unlimited access to all their child themes and updates.
In this article, I am going to cover a few things such as:
Why you should use Genesis framework and the advantages?
Why you should update to Genesis 2.0 right now (for those current users)?
How you can convert Genesis child themes to HTML5 correctly?
I know your heart is pounding like the drums of Amazon and therefore , without any further delay, let’s dive in!
The Advantages using Genesis Framework
See why over 86,000 website owners trust StudIoPress themes
Here are three very obvious advantages for using Genesis framework. With so many website owners using it, I bet you can’t go any wrong with it!
1. Search optimized
State of the art code and smart design architecture mean search engines clearly see your content. And with automatic updates, you never have to think about it again.
Genesis framework and all the child themes are SEO ready out of the box.
Genesis framework is also working together with Yoast SEO to ensure that all the themes are having great SEO features. If you want to rank well on search engines, you need Genesis framework.
2. Turn-key designs
The Genesis turn-key designs give you an array of beautiful frames for your content. The design settings give you unprecedented control of the framework.
Imagine you are a website developer and you want to customize the website. Genesis framework empowers you to do so … without hassle!
Basically, this feature offers you a huge range of beautiful designs that you can work with.
Imagine this: Each child theme works as a ‘general body’ for your customized theme. Choosing the right theme and customizing the detailed to fit your requirement is so easy and can be done without needing a developer.
3. Unlimited everything
Unlimited support. Unlimited updates. Unlimited websites. There’s no “Developer Option” here. One low price entitles you to support, updates, and domains.
StudioPress’s business isn’t charging you for every upgrade. Instead, you’ll just need to pay only once and that entitles you for a lifetime update.
Upgrading to Genesis 2.0 offers you more mobility that you can ever imagine
Not yet upgrade to Genesis 2.0 … or maybe still deciding on whether to get Genesis? Let this three reasons be the ONLY reasons you need to get it right now!
1. HTML5 ready
Being HTML5-ready out of the box means your site will be fast, flexible, and future-compatible without hassles or headaches.
There are many advantages using HTML5 for your website such as:
It makes your website future compatible.
It improves cross-browser compatibility.
It makes your site truly mobile-friendly.
It allows for extensible design and supports video and audio like no other markup language.
It is cleaner and more efficient in terms of storage, API interaction, and other ways impact user experience.
2. Mobile responsive
Now every visitor to your site will get a layout optimized for the device they are viewing from, without you spending big $$$ on a separate mobile site.
We are living in the 21st century and technology is over our heads. Gone were the days where you surf website on your laptops or PC.
Mobile responsive ready out of the box? Bring it on!
3. Microdata
Don’t make search engines guess about the most important elements on your page. Support for schema.org markup lets you do just that.
No idea what microdata or scheme are? Don’t worry! Here’s are what the pros think about it:
Google doesn’t use markup for ranking purposes at this time ‘” but rich snippets can make your web pages appear more prominently in search results, so you may see an increase in traffic. – Google Inc.
Let me start with explaining why you should be bothered with schema.org if you weren’t convinced yet. Not just Google uses schema.org, all 4 major search engines, Google, Yahoo!, Bing and Yandex use it for several different purposes ‘¦ but it’s not just them. Recently, Pinterest joined the party by announcing support for Product, Recipe and Movie schema’s through their Rich Pins effort. So, in my opinion, schema.org markup is a must for everyone serious about their websites optimization. – Joost de Valk’s (Yoast SEO)
Still want to read more about Schema? Then I highly recommend you to check on Ana Hoffman’s article on Schema Markup.
Converting Genesis child themes to HTML5
Converting to HTML5 is easy with the guidance
One thing you have to understand is HTML5 is NOT automatically enabled on your current theme unless it is recently released.
Being said that, you would need to get your hands dirty a little bit to get it working. At this point of writing, all child themes will be able to convert to HTML5 easily.
Important disclaimer: Backup your functions.php and style.css before doing any changes.
1. Adding Genesis HTML5 markups
Open your style.css and replace the old codes (left side) with the new ones (right side). You need to use programs such as Note++ to do the conversion.
Example below:
All you need to do is to change the codes on the left with the ones on the right
You can find the full list provided by Brian Gardner here.
2. Update the new Genesis HTML5 loop hooks
Now, open your functions.php and do the appropriate changes or updates. Again, credit to Brian’s for the codes which you can find it here.
Do not panic if some of the codes are not in your file. These are just very general codes and you just need to replace them if they are available 🙂
3. Enabling HTML5 markup features to your Genesis
As I said above, Genesis is not able to automatically enable HTML5 markup for you. Instead, you need do it yourself.
Before you go wandering around for the solution, all you need to do is to place the code below in your functions.php.
The reason for this is when using HTML5, we (StudioPress) cannot default to </div> for the closing tag since it could be opened with <article> instead – Credit to Nick_TheGeek for explaining this to me.
Did I miss out anything?
Tell me … have you converted to Genesis 2.0 and enabled HTML5 on your website? If yes, how was the process like? Tell me using the comment form below.
A few years back, applying for guest posting is rather easy and you could easily land yourself with one without much effort. Nowadays, you definitely need to step up the game if you want to earn a spot in the guest posting segment.
The requirements for publishing guest post has increased dramatically and do you know what it takes to stand out from the crowd?
Are you ready for guest posting?
Getting started for guest posting … the absolute basic
Guest posting 101: Knowing your targeted website is important
Choosing the right website is important for every guest post opportunity. There are hundreds and probably thousands of websites that you can apply for guest posting position.
Bloggers tend to signup for any type of topics with some crazy hopes … literally.
Do you think this is a waste of time?
Absolutely! Why don’t you just spend some time finding 5 or 10 niches that you really want to target instead?
Deciding on the niche you are going to get your hands dirty with will actually opens more doors when it comes to guest posting.
Let’s see it this way. There are many websites which offers general information but at the same time, there are also many who offers specific information.
Now, which do you think will benefit you more?
I would go for websites offering specific information as I am sure 75% of the traffic heading towards there are looking for that same type of information. This gives you a better chance to grow your authority.
Does this make any sense to you?
Fact: Choosing the right niche and website will give you the most benefits when it comes to guest posting.
2. Please give me a chance – Try before you buy
Do you feel better and safer when you are able to try out a dress before you buy? I bet it does and the same concept applies to guest posts.
If you want others to give you a chance, you need to offer them something back in return. It can varies from making them feeling safe, helping them to accomplish certain tasks or 100 more ideas you can think of.
The 70 words above might sound super easy but honestly, life doesn’t go that way. Nowadays, most editors are more picky and choosy when it comes to guest posting.
Hey, they are not wrong! After all, guest posting is all about quality right?
Here’s my confession: If you want to be given a chance for guest posting, then start building authority and make your presence counts. This means that spending time to build a certain level of ‘existence’ in that particular topic especially on social media.
This would take time and probably months. I personally took a month plus to build my presence on 3 specific niche and at the end, I was offered several chance of guest post.
Once that happens, the rest are rather … easy and straightforward from there on.
My guest posting checklists
Guest posting checklist is important to ensure that you are inline with the requirements
If you want to be successful in guest posting industry, you need to have a strategy … a damn good one.
I call it, “My guest posting checklists”. This checklist doesn’t only serve the purpose to write a good guest post but at the same time, making the whole process as smooth as possible.
Here are some of my personal guidelines:
Rules of engagement
Quality control
Mentally and physically prepared
All in all, keeping in mind that guest posting is all about a win-win situation between both bloggers and editors.
1. The rules of engagement
You should only start thinking about guest posting topic after knowing where you are going to publish the article.
Why is this important?
Each website has their own rules and regulations. You wouldn’t want to your articles to rejected just because you might have overlooked on a certain rule.
You are definitely facing a series of rejections if you are not applying on the right websites. For example, you might be writing about fashion niche and what will happen if you decide to write for CopyBlogger?
Does this make any sense to you?
The trick here is to write for websites that require your expertise or in line with your niche.
I make it a habit to discuss on the guest posting rules and regulations over email with the respective party. Ask them 101 questions if you got to.
It is never wrong to ask … but please, do ask logical questions only.
The best questions you can probably ask are:
Topics that the editor has in mind
The length of the article
Number links (DoFollow and NoFollow) in a blog post
Size and number of images allowed
Time frame for submitting the guest posting
2. Quality above everything in guest posting
If you are putting 100% in your blog post, then you should put 120% or more in guest posting.
Remember this: You are putting not only your brand and name on the line but as well as that editor’s one as well.
Even though guest posting is apart of creating backlink, this doesn’t mean that you should do link stuffing into the article. Instead, provide useful links to support your writing and not just links from your website.
Note: If your main goal for guest posting is to get backlink, then you are wrong. The correct goal is to provide relevant information, tips and tricks to boost not only your authority and credibility but as well as that particular website’s ranking.
3. Sending in your first draft
Waiting for the editor to reply could be the most nerve-wracking and nail-biting experience I ever had.
This is probably the moment of truth. Usually, the editor will take about 24 to 72 hours to get back to you and trust me, it felt like forever.
You got to be mentally prepared as there is a high chance of failure especially when it comes to submitting the first draft.
Once you received the review, do the appropriate amendments if needed and make sure you follow the guidelines given by the editor.
You could take a week or so to redo the draft but don’t take forever!
Go ahead and tell me. Did I miss out anything?
I hope you enjoyed reading this article as much as I do. Remember to hit the Reply button and tell me if I overlooked anything.
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Are you always looking for the right list building techniques that really work? If the answer is yes, then welcome to the club which consists more than 50 million bloggers around the world.
List building is a technique used by bloggers (like you and me) to build more followers and subscribers.
If you think that finding the right opt-in form for a website is hard, think again.
Previous, I had shared on my email list building technique from scratch. If you have yet to read it, I suggest that you take a quick peek at it here.
Briefly, I wrote which opt-in form works the best and how to go around it. As for the record, about 35% of my signups come from the featured opt-in form like this one below:
If you finding for list building techniques or ways to extend your mailing list, I suggest you to do that (the above) NOW!
But here’s the thing; featured call to action (CTA) could easily backfire you especially when you are trying to get ‘involved’ with the big boys.
I was lucky to be able to have a quick discussion with BizSugar support team on using the right list building techniques. More juicy parts below!
*Important disclaimer: Kudos to the team over at BizSugar who took my inquiry seriously and they were more than just patience in answering them. I know I am a tough customer but thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Link building catastrophe
I am always a website speed junkie and really passionate about link building. Recently I was building my authority with BizSugar and I came to something so catastrophe. Here’s the snippet of the email:
I was stunned and speechless. The featured CTA which had been serving me well with 35% of total signup, got to be either removed or I’ll lose my backlinks from BizSugar.
The concept here is having a featured opt-in form is rather distracting. Agree to disagree?
I wasn’t happy about it and decided to discuss over the matter with BizSugar. And finally, the last reply which connects the dots together.
This was huge!
I doesn’t blame BizSugar for their terms and conditions but this incident really thought me something about list building.
Over using your featured opt-in form is a bad, bad move. And yes, I have a featured CTA on every page!
Immediate action plan: Change all my featured opt-in CTA!
Now this got me thinking. Will there be more established websites that sees this as an issue? Of course, this wouldn’t be good right?
Research that could change my list building techniques forever
I decided to check if BizSugar is the only one who enforces that rule. I don’t want to have all my articles or backlinks being deleted just because I was crazy about building an email list for myself!
Out of 10 websites that I checked (and read their terms and conditions), 8 of them does not allow advertisements to be placed right above or below the title. Of course, we can debate that opt-in box and ads banner are two different things but do you really want to go down that road?
I was chatting with Corina and she basically ‘confirmed’ that as well.
If you have no idea who is Corina, she is the woman behind Work From Home Concepts. Getting her insight on the matter was a great boost and proof for me.
Enough said!
Did BizSugar taught me anything about list building?
List building lessons:
1. Do not over use featured opt-in forms
2. Using featured opt-in forms are accepted if they are right in size
Yes it does and it is a great advise indeed!
Even thought building an email list with featured opt-in forms could be a good move, but some readers don’t really like it. Honestly speaking, having an oversize and featured CTA could be very distracting instead.
Big sites such as BizSugar doesn’t really have the time to ‘check out’ each post. Therefore, this is probably the best way to control the quality of the posts submitted.
Now, what should I do since I have to live without my lovely, featured opt-in form? I wasn’t ready to kiss good bye my list building plans and thus, here are some counter measures I did:
Enable floating opt-in form on sidebar for all posts
‘Overhaul’ all my opt-in forms with the hopes of increasing the sign up rate
Sadly, I can only judge the performance of this method after a month or so but I have prepare myself mentally to see a drop of my signup rate … mentally 🙂
I am sure this obstacles will not deter my link building plans but certainly, there is something call side effect right?
And if you STILL not building an email list right now, you REALLY need to see these slides.
Back to you
I hope this article is able to ‘tickle’ your thoughts a little especially when it comes to list building.
Tell me if you are using a featured opt-in form for your website and how is works out for you.
Yes, do it right NOW using the comment form below and please hit the red button (below) to share it with your friends.
Web hosting is important when it comes to starting a website. For me, web hosting service more than just plain important as it is my partner who I will work along for a long time and this is also one of the factors that will determine my website success rate.
A web hosting service is a type of Internet hosting service that allows individuals and organizations to make their website accessible via the World Wide Web. Web hosts are companies that provide space on a server owned or leased for use by clients, as well as providing Internet connectivity, typically in a data center.
Source: Wikipedia
Everyone has different opinion when it comes to the term ‘best web hosting’. In my books, the best web hosting company consists of:
Customer service and support
The truth behind server uptime
Control panels with very low learning curve
Affordable price or hosting plans
Security features provided
Before we proceed, what does it takes to be the best web hosting plan for you?
What attributes make a web hosting great?
Which web hosting do you think PSY uses?
#1 Down right customer service and support
A great web hosting company consist of service and support. I am no developer and I have very limited knowledge in those IT related stuffs. Therefore, my web hosting company works as a support team who will provide me with essential information and ways to solve an issue.
I don’t expect them to solve all the problems for me but at least, they need to point me to the right direction to get support or to solve the problem. I really don’t mind getting my hands dirty if I have the required information.
Give the hosting company two thumbs up if they offers support via telephone, email or live chat. This is extremely important especially when you have a website that is down as you know that support is just one click away (or phone call in that sense).
#2 Secretive cover up of the server uptime
Nearly all web hosting companies around the world claim to have 99.9% uptime and guess what? Most web hosting companies doesn’t even live close to that. Seriously.
You: My website is down! OMG!
Support: Thank you for calling or emaling us. We are checking on the matter.
30 minutes later …
Support: Thank you for waiting. It seems like one of our partners is being hit by DDoS (or maybe, our servers are experiencing sudden increase of payload which resulted in the website downtime). We are in the midst of …
Two questions that might pop up in your mind right now; “What the hell is DDoS” or “So how long do I need to wait?”
The above sounds more than just familiar to me and this happens to a few web hosting companies I worked with, literally. Whenever we try to ask where is the 99.9% uptime as promised, they would probably say ‘this’ only happens once awhile, or maybe they have another 100 more reasons to tell you.
So, what am I trying to prove here? This —–> don’t be fooled by the ‘so-called’ uptime.
#3 Control panels for the less geeky
How many of you actually know how to navigate around using the control panel of your web hosting?
I bet 7 out of 10 would only know how to install WordPress and nothing more.
A good web hosting (or maybe the best web hosting) company should provide at least easy to navigate control panels and the most basic functions required for website maintenance.
Have you image using a web hosting company that takes 24 to 48 hours just to install WordPress into your brand new and shiny domain? Happened to me and it probably will happen to you as well. Trust me, that is really annoying!
#4 Go easy on your wallet – web hosting pricing
When it comes to choosing the best web hosting plans, price is definitely an issue. The best web hosting plans (for a single website) would easily cost you below $30 monthly and if you think it is bad, you are probably wrong.
Remember that you are not only paying to secure your website but also, subscribing to a better customer support plus services.
If you are looking for a long term partnership, you can even opt to get a longer hosting plan duration. Usually, the longer you subscribe to the plan, the more discount you would get.
Important tip: Please avoid going for the cheapest web hosting company or plan you can ever find. Cheap web hosting companies could be a huge security factor for your website.
#5 Web hosting that offers SSL features and eCommerce functions
These are two core features that must be provided by your web hosting company if you are running an online site. I believe this is rather self explanatory when it comes to website security.
You definitely wouldn’t want to expose your potential customers to the thousands of online security threats just by using a cheap web hosting that doesn’t support SSL.
So, what if you don’t run an eCommerce website?
SSL feature could still important for non commerce website. Well, it might not be that useful but it is definitely going to beef up the security matters for your site.
Finding the best web hosting company
With the above methods, I hope that you would have an easier time trying to figure out which hosting plan to go with. In order to find the right web hosting company that suits you, all you need to do are:
Do your research on various web hosting providers
Check for user reviews
Subscribe for a web hosting plan that fits your requirements
Avoid rushing to get a web hosting plan if you are not prepared
I have a question for you. Do you need some guidance on choosing the best web hosting provider?
Recently, I also reviewed HostGator web hosting plans and you can have a look at it here; HostGator Review – Possibly The Best Low Budget Web Hosting?
If you are looking for a web hosting plan that allows you to host multiple domains at a very cheap rate, BlueHost could be your best bet.
I certainly hope you enjoy reading this article as much as I do. If you like this article, feel free to share with your friends and signup for my newsletter using the link below!
HostGator serves more than just a friendly alligator. HostGator is one of the leading web hosting companies around the world.
Personally, I had been been with HostGator since 2009 and the experience is great. In this article, I am going to review HostGator web hosting on several categories such as the features, quality, support and value.
Let’s hope this will be a great review to help you decide on your ultimate web hosting service!
What is HostGator offering?
Unlimited web hosting
Unlimited disk space
Unlimited bandwidth
Using the world reknown control panel
1-click script installs
99.9% uptime guarantee
24/7/365 technical support
45 days money back guarantee
4,500 free website templates
$100 Google Adwords offer
Wow! The long is long isn’t it?
Want more? Have a look at this short video on HostGator Web Hosting services below.
HostGator offers close to ‘unlimited’ everything. With a small fee monthly, you are able to host multiple websites on just one web hosting account. Yes, there is no limit for this.
HostGator web hosting services – Quality check
HostGator has been in this website hosting business for years now and I got to give them thumbs up for their service standards.
Nearly every hosting companies in the United States offers 99.9% uptime but can HostGator actually live up to it?
My answer is yes. No doubt, there will be downtimes and that can’t be avoided most of the time. However, if you would like to know a number, I would say less than 5 down times (each of about 5 to 10 minutes) in a month. Roughly, we are talking about 7% downtime maximum per month on the worst days of 5 times and 10 minutes each. Of course, when it comes to reviewing, I got to see the worst case scenario.
In my books, this is very acceptable as I know there are other web hosting companies which have absolutely more downtimes than HostGator and more than you can ever image.
When it comes to website load speed, you can rest assured your sites are running pretty fast with HostGator servers. With the right website speed optimization techniques, my websites are able to hit as fast as 1.2 seconds loading time.
Pretty impressive for a shared hosting I would say!
HostGator support crew
When it comes to customer support, HostGator’s customers can contact the support team via phone, email and even live chat. Trust me that for a person who have very limited knowledge in IT and servers, having a live chat feature really puts your worries at ease.
HostGator support team are always willing to assist with your request as long as those requests are legit and do not exceed their job descriptions.
Recently I experienced something which was very good. I was in the midst of chatting with HostGator support team via the live chat and I was already running late for a meeting. They were kind enough to suggest that I could continue to communicate with them via email instead. A ticket was quickly created and thus, allowing me to explain my issue through email.The issue was then rectified within hours.
This is a very good customer service experience and I couldn’t thank them for more.
Value for money
HostGator offers multiple web hosting plans such as shared web hosting, VPS hosting, reseller hosting and even dedicated servers. The packages offered are very well fit for both low budget and corporate users a like.
For example, you can easily get a web hosting plan for as low as $3.96 per month and with the right promo code, you can even start with just 1 penny. Are you already tempted with it?
If you need a high end web hosting package for corporate ue, there are many VPS and dedicated servers which you can opt for as well.
Personally, HostGator web hosting is great especially when it comes value for money plus the excellent service provided.
Anything bad about HostGator?
Just like any one else, I had my bad days with HostGator web hosting and that’s the truth.
All of these issues or problems are very acceptable in my opinion except for one. When I am with HostGator, I had only one major concern … which is the backup schedule.
When you have a web hosting service with HostGator, there will only be an automatic backup for your websites once a week and that will only start if your websites have been hosted with them for more than 7 days. This means that you would have 7 days of worries to go with until they start doing backup for your website.
When it comes to website security, once a week backup doesn’t make the cut for me. I wanted daily but sadly, they are not able to offer that on a shared package.
However, HostGator will still does a backup for you (for free) if you would submit a request to them. This is an ad-hoc basis which means that it is not recurring and it is best if you could perform your own backup.
Other than that, you are basically stuck with the once-a-week backup plan offered by HostGator. This is only for shared web hosting plans. Bigger web hosting plans come with more rich backup features.
My personal review of HostGator (plus discount coupon)
For a normal web hosting, I believe HostGator does very well especially when it comes to low budget hosting. They offer a lot of flexibility for their customers regardless if they are novice or professionals.
It is definitely worth trying HostGator web hosting and with the 45 days money back guarantee, it is a great deal to start with!
Also, if you starting up with HostGator, remember to ask for your free website and domain transfer. For every new account (web hosting account), they will provide one free transfer and setting up completely for you. This saves you lots of time and you can be ‘easier’ with your wallet.
All you need to do is click on the link above and key in either one of these codes below on the checkout page (discount code column) to entitle for bigger discount:
HostGator Code for 25% discount on total bill: Reginald25
HostGator code for $9.94 discount on total bill: Reginald994
Starting a website – Everything you should know about!
So you decided to start a website and you want to start it right now. But something is holding you back … you are fearful about the uncertainty in the whole website creation thingy and you have no idea where to start.
NO WORRIES! I am here to help … or at least, let me share some info with you!
Important disclaimer: This article contains more than 3,000 words and 28 tips about starting a website. I know it is extremely long to read this and thus, feel free to bookmark this page and come back for more.
Starting a website may sound easy but why do we often hear many bloggers complain that they are not doing well in blogging?
In this article, we (yes … you and me) are going to discuss on the ultimate do’s and don’ts in blogging. And of course, important facts about which will affect your website building process.
1. Why do you start a website?
You want to start a website … I got it! But have you ever wonder why you want to start one? You see, if you want to start a website, you got to know why you want to start it.
Let’s assume that you have a plan. Sounds good right? Carry on asking yourself what’s the next step, say in the next 3 months or so. Can you answer that?
If you want to be successful, you got to plan. Yes, you read and hear other blogger talk about planning but how many of them actually practise that? Personally, I am facing the same difficulties to get along with my blogging schedule as well!
2. I blog for money. So now what?
Can you really monetize your website?
This term is extremely common among bloggers; make money blogging. You probably heard about others bloggers like Reginald Chan making tons of money from blogging. And … you are tempted like a hungry lion.
Wait … hold on a second.
I am Reginald Chan and I am not making tons of money from blogging. Does this mean that you can’t make money through blogging?
Well, I do make some money from my blog but not that much. You can make money through blogging and that is possible. Now, how much you can earn is another thing. Most bloggers earn few cents a day through Google Adsense and that doesn’t really make the cut isn’t it?
Fact: You can make money through website but don’t expect a windfall in just a short period of time.
You can start making money from your website but it would take time to grow. And of course, there are much more things to do then just “how to make money blogging”.
And if you think that you want to start a website to make money (solely), you are definitely on the wrong track!
3. The relationship between topic, keyword and niche in website creation
Now let’s assume you had done your work with #2 and #3. The next step is the most crucial part when it comes to starting a website.
You need to know what you are going to write. Yes! Now is the time to figure out what genre you are going to write, the keywords and niche for your lovely website.
The trick here is very easy. Let’s say you are starting a website on blogging tips. Here’s a little draft I did as an example:
Main topic – Blogging
Keywords – Choose 10 different keywords (maximum) <– Each keyword contain just one word
Specific keyword – For each keyword, choose 5 different variance of words (example, the word blogging could have specific keywords like make money blogging, blogging tips, creating a blog, blogger and starting a blog.
Once you have the above info, starting a website should be a brief! Yes, now you know how and what to write. Whenever you write, keep in mind these keywords and use them on your blog post. Just make sure you don’t over stuff them up!
This step helps you to figure out what niche and probably the name of your domain name associated to the keyword. Does this ring any bells?
4. Finding the right domain name for your website
Domain name is your website brand and you need to have more than just a good name. Could this be the reason why so many bloggers are puzzled about their domain names when it comes to starting a website?
It is best to choose a domain name which is closely related to your writing topic as it will offer a better chance to rank better on search engines. That’s why #3 (above) is important!
So, how about sites which are self-named like this one? In short term basis, domains with keywords would get ranked faster and better but when it comes to long term, it doesn’t make a different due to SEO and other optimization factors.
Therefore, choose one and stick to it!
For those wondering if you should get a .com or a .net, there’s no difference in it. Google still index them like normal. However, when it comes to human behavior, we are so used to key in .com instead of .net.
For me, a hosting provider is more than just a client – customer thing. It is my partner in crime for Christ’s sake! Hosting providers are the only one who is going to determine the speed of your website and as well as the uptime.
Avoid cheap hosting provider as they are dangerous (in terms of website security) and also reliability. I know many cheap hosting providers who claim to have a good uptime but in fact, your site will go down at least once a day!
This is why I only recommend BlueHost or HostGator for shared hosting. If you are looking for a secure and premium WordPress hosting, you must definitely give WP Engine a try.
There is pointless to have a website which is always down and not accessible right?
6. Choosing the right WordPress theme
Rule number 1: Don’t use free WordPress themes
Rule number 2: Don’t forget rule #1
Website theme is the heart and soul of a website. It portraits to your readers what your website is all about and there’s no other reason why you shouldn’t be worried about it.
A good WordPress theme offers complete customization, no hidden backlink or malicious codes and most importantly, website security. These are why you need to consider using the right theme even before starting a website!
There are many premium themes you can choose from such as Elegant Themes and My Theme Shop. If you are looking for a more customizable WordPress theme (plus easy to use), you can also try StudioPress (Genesis framework and child themes) and Thesis Theme as well. You won’t go wrong with any of these.
7. Planning the website layout properly
This part is extremely crucial. You must make sure your readers are not ‘lost in the Amazon’. Placing the right information on the sidebar will help reduce bounce rate and don’t forget that Google crawl sidebars as well.
Footer area is also a great place to add in more information such as contact details and latest blog posts. Bloggers such as Jane from ProBlogging Success said that her sign up rate increases when she place an opt-in form at the footer area.
8. The importance of permalink structure
Search engines such as Google and Bing love to index websites with clean URL structure. Being said that, it is always best to use /%postname%/.
One of the SEO best practices is when you use www[dot]yourdomain[dot]com/%postname%
The logic behind this is easy. Let’s take the image below for example:
Search term: Scribe Content
Now see the above. For instance, if I am searching for scribe content, a clean permalink structure will provide confidence level to the readers to click it.
Also, a good permalink structure is usually short and a clear example is as above. You can basically see everything in one line. This is excellent for search engine to index your site and a possibility of higher website ranking.
It is very important to start this in the early stages of starting a website as changing of permalink at a later time would means a complete ‘overhaul’ of all the site links. This will also affect all the link building you have made in the past!
9. Choosing the right plugin for your website
Plugins are essential when you are starting a website. WordPress is filled with tons of useful plugins. You got to choose and decide which are the plugins that you will install and use. Avoid keeping unwanted plugins in your database as they might pose security threats to your website.
Plugins will affect the site one way or another especially when it comes to website load time. It is always advisable practise minimizing the number of plugins used. There are many free website plugins are coded badly and therefore, always remember that keeping the number of plugins installed to the lowest number is the best practice when it comes to maintaining a website.
Also, uninstalling unused plugin can easily improve website security and at the same time, improve the site speed.
10. Categories make navigation easier
Readers dislike websites with no clear navigation
If you want to reduce the bounce rate or even increase the time a reader is on your website, you need to focus on creating categories. Imagine you have 100 posts of different topics and you definitely do not want to cluster everything into one.
Separate them into several topics with specific names. This makes finding an article or post much easier. Don’t forget that many people doesn’t use the search bar even though it is extremely visible!
11. The ‘about me’ and ‘contact me’ pages
These are two of the most vital things on Earth when it comes to starting a website. You want to make sure your readers are able to contact you if they need to or maybe, read more about you. You need to make it plain simple for this.
Place these links on the top bar or side bar. Make sure it is visible at all time and this is definitely a plus one for reader’s engagement.
12. Determine the writing styles when you are starting a website
When you blog, it is always a good practice to keep thing simple. The tone of your writing should be either coaching or guiding a friend instead of military style.
C’mon mate! How sure are you that your method will definitely work for them?
Portray yourself as a mentor or tutor and you here are here to help. When you write as a low profile blogger, you sounds ‘nicer’ and this increases the possibility of the readers come back for more.
Readers love to visit websites which are able to solve their problems, not about the author to talks great about himself.
I totally understand this. How many of us can write really good English? My country has three main languages and even though I studied in an English school, my English isn’t be perfect either.
The point?
Regardless of the reasons, you must always avoid making any errors especially with language. Keep in mind that anyone can visit your website regardless of location and therefore, proper English is vital.
A great blogging tip is to always check your blog post for any spelling errors. We are all humans and at times, we could easily overlook on such ‘innocent’ mistake. A simple spell check can help you in a long, long way.
14. Blogging is nothing when there’s no fun involved
Blogging … most of the time, consists of a wall of text. Yup that’s reality and this is where you need to make your reader’s entertained.
Remember that when a person reads, it is not the same with television where there are advertisement breaks etc. Blogging is probably blasting out 1,000 words with the hope that 20% of your readers will read until the end.
Therefore, bring the fun in now and you will grow your website audience.
15. It pays to be honest
If you want to be popular, stop lying right now. You need to tell your readers that they are reading the truth and nothing but the whole truth.
For example, if you don’t have 10,000 readers, why say so? Lying won’t make you famous but telling the truth will.
Don’t be afraid to tell the truth even if that is going to spark a controversial. Well, I am not saying it is right to do so but it is not wrong either.
If you dare to say that, then prove it with facts. Anyone of us can deny anything we want but when there’s fact, we won’t drift that far away … if you get what I mean.
16. How long should a blog post be?
Forget about the myth. What do you think of this?
You have seen successful bloggers who published many long posts (more than 1,500 words) and some who post less than 800 words. Which will you follow … or should I rephrase … which will be the best way to build a successful website?
Forget about what people say but this is the fact. The length of your blog post is nothing if you have no content. Write a long post if you have enough content to fit in. If not, anything above 500 would be enough.
Guys, there’s no recipe for this and therefore, stop finding for one!
17. Titles and subtitles mean everything for website visitors
If I would give it a guess, I would say 85% of the readers in the world are just skimmers.
Skimmers are people who actually browse through the site looking for keywords that might interest them. And they do not read the whole article if there is nothing attractive. So to say!
Opps, the secret is out. So, what you can do about it?
Headlines are important. You can easily play with H2 to H4 (heading sizes) to attract attention. Here’s some tricks you can start with:
H2 – Main title
H3 – Sub titles
Bold / Italic / Underline – Stressing a fact or keyword
The goal here is to ensure that skimmers stay as long as possible on a page. This is to ensure that the readers are occupied as long as possible at your site.
18. Build an email list the same time you start a website
Start building a mailing list right after you start your website is the best thing you can do
Some call this too early but look around. You need a mailing list and you need one right now. Building a mailing list is an important step for when it comes to website marketing. It doesn’t matter if you start with MailChimp or AWeber. You just got to do it right now!
A mailing list is vital especially when you want to promote a new post, product or even getting your readers back! Remember that with a good mailing list, you can connect with your readers and get to know them better.
19. Recipe to make readers sign up for your website newsletters
So, you decided with build a mailing list. Good for you mate!
But what’s next?
If you think setting up a mailing list is hard, getting readers to subscribe is even harder! Here’s a few tips you can start with:
Clear reasons why they should sign up for your mailing list
What you are offering to them
What the readers will get in return
Place not one but a few sign up forms on the website with a few Call-To-Actions
Make it as clear as possible (on the advantages of your newsletter) and you will hit the jackpot (literally). Need an example?
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20. Involving in the world of search engine optimization (SEO)
Search engine optimization is techniques or best practices which will affect the website ranking. If you want to be on page 1 on Google, you got to know SEO.
Good SEO techniques are not mainly techniques! Instead, they are focused to understanding and SEO practices which makes websites and articles rank better on search engine result pages (SERPs). The more you understand about SEO, the better you will perform.
Link building is one of the techniques for optimization. You need to start building links (some call it backlinks) immediately after starting a website. A good quality backlink is worth more than 100 bad quality backlinks.
Authority is important in the blogging industry and when you are starting a website, you need to think about it. So, the secret to grow your authority? Write good great content.
Readers like you and me love to read articles which are jam packed with facts. So, start building authority with the right content and on top of everything, focus on your quality. You need to be known for sharing quality content and not just sub-pars one.
Wondering why you need to have authority? With authority, people are going to trust you and yes, trust your every word. You may say, talk or blog nonsense but if you have authority, your readers are going to trust you with that. Seriously!
23. Reader’s engagement is extremely important
Readers will come back if they are appreciated. You got to make sure that replying to every comment you received. This is one of the important steps when it comes to starting a website. Sometimes, a simple “thank you for your comment” can go a long way for readers.
I am using CommentLuv plugin which allows me to send automatic emails to readers who leave their comments here. In the short email, I will thank them for their time and offer to connect to them on social media.
For me, I would be very delighted when the admin of the site drop me an email (automatic is fine) to thank me for dropping a reply. How about you?
24. The holy grail of DoFollow and NoFollow
When you are starting a website, you want to make sure that Google and other search engines are not labeling the site as a link juice … you know, a site which link out too much.
This is where the DoFollow and NoFollow comes into play. You can get this done easily by adding rel=”nofollow” to the URL code and crawlers will not link that site.
NoFollow is great when you want to avoid abusers trying to get the best out of your website in terms of backlink.
On the other hand, DoFollow is an excellent ‘tool’ when you are thinking of building links between articles or other sites.
25. Submitting sitemap to Google and Bing
One of the key virtue of starting a website is getting the website indexed. In order to do so, you need to ‘tell’ Google and Bing that the website is ready. You can do so by submitting a sitemap of the website to these webmasters.
Indexing is a process where indexed posts will start showing up on SERP’s. This is where people start clicking and visiting your site.
Just signup for both of them is fairly easy and you just need to submit your sitemap. A sitemap is a directory where it tells crawlers what the website has and it’s breakdown.
Two tools to help you build sitemap are Yoast SEO or Google Sitemap Generator. Once the sitemap is created, submit the URL to Google Webmaster Tool and Bing Webmaster Tool.
*Note: Yoast SEO is a WordPress SEO plugin that have the option for automatic sitemap creation. It is extremely useful as it will auto generate sitemap every time you publish a new article.
26. Enabling Google authorship
Have you activated Google Authorship on your website?
Google authorship is more than just a pretty face beside the website link. It shows authority and on top of that, it provides a great deal of trust as well.
In order to get Google authorship, you need to:
Have a Google account
Link Google account with the website
Linking Google account to the website is easy and here are a few steps:
Verify your email on Google+
Link Google+ profile to your website or content
Link your content to the Google+ account
Once these are done, it would take a few days for Google to start indexing it. After that, you will get this:
Google Authorship plays a great role in terms of SEO
Do you see the image beside the post? That’s Google Authorship. You should start linking Google authorship immediately after you start your website.
27. Starting a website and monetizing it?
Starting a website is easy but monetizing it is hard. This is why you need to make sure that you monetize the website the right way. For starters, you should start by doing the ‘slow-mo’ strategy.
This means that in order to monetize the website, you need to do it slowly and with the right method. For starters, you can start by doing small advertising with Google Adsense.
When traffic picks up, you should (or consider) shifting some of your website monetization to affiliate programs. Selling an affiliate product can earn you more than $20 and at times, more than $100.
If you are looking for a good affiliate program, you can sign up for this program which has a very good track record.
28. Maintaining the website after starting it
Starting a website? Anyone can do that! Ask yourself this; How many of you actually maintain their websites?
Maintaining a website is a must if you are planning to start one. Website maintenance varies from:
Updating website core features and plugins
Checking, amending and updating the information on old posts to ensure the information stated are up to date
Removing broken links (and bad ones too)
Ensuring good load time and speed of website
With the proper maintenance, I’m sure the website will remain its value and at the same time, making sure all your blog posts are in an ‘ever green’ state.
Does the above 28 tips help you in starting a website?
Phew!
I know the article could probably be the longest post in my website but I hope you learn much from it. After reading, do you think that starting a website is more than just ‘that’?
Tell me what you think using the comment form below and if you like it, I would be grateful if you could share it by clicking on the red button.
