WordPress Archives - Shannon Parish, Creative Coach

The Basics of Branding and Managing Expectations

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Are you considering creating a WordPress website and you need a little bit more information about what to focus on?

In this podcast with Judith Briles on the Your Guide to BOOK PUBLISHING we discuss the basics of what you need to know in building your WordPress site and how to identify your branding and manage expectations of visitors.

Do you know what branding really is? (it’s not your logo) How do you get visitors to linger on your website? What is the number one thing you need to know to avoid confusing your visitors?

Listen in …

How to Update Your WordPress Site and Plugins

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You’ll notice that updates are pretty much an every day event. In the case of massive amounts of updates, it’s always a good idea to make sure that your site is backed up before you update these items. Here’s how to update them.

Where Are My Settings?

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WordPress has basic settings that you need to become familiar with. Here’s a quick tutorial on where you can find them and what to do when you are editing them.

FREE Themes for WordPress

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When you are first starting out with WordPress its easy to get something that is beautiful as well as functional for your website appearance. So many talented people create themes on a daily basis and still, others will try them and then report back to the developers, any bugs that usage of the theme may reveal.

The synergy of many people creating and utilizing themes through WordPress makes the possibilities endless. Whether you are writing a personal blog, selling books or opening an online store, WordPress is for you. Even big corporate companies are implementing blogging as a viable means to communicate and build relationships with their customers – and WordPress is there to make that happen.

Just because a theme is free, doesn’t mean that it is without value. Thanks to the massive amount of plugins, any theme can be tweaked to take on a life of its own. The question arises that if someone labors to build something free, such as a WordPress theme or a plugin, and others profit from it, what is in it for the developers of these tools?

Just as an artist such as myself will provide free artwork, it helps to spread the word in a viral manner, what the author, artist or developer is capable of creating. Once a customer finds the theme that they like, they have a tendency to then become an advocate and a loyal customer because trust is built with consistent usage.

Not only can you access free themes from within the Dashboard of your WordPress installation, but you can also search Google to find free themes and those who develop and review them such as these sites:

There are thousands more and new ones every day. If you have a favorite theme please share with me which one it is, include the link to it and why you like it so much. Others will want to know – and the developer deserves the kudos for his or her efforts.

Planning Your Website

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Planning your website is much like creating your business plan.

Make sure that they both match the business that you desire to have and LIVE.

There’s a temptation to feel pressured into creating a website AND a business that reflects what other people think you are supposed to have, and not what resonates with you.

So much information is available to you at the drop of a hat, or a Google search that it’s extremely easy to become overwhelmed with information overload. Here’s what I recommend when you find those massive treasures of information …

Create a special folder in your Bookmarks just for Internet Marketing, or Branding and save those treasure-troves for later reference
As you watch a few of them, certain things will”pop out” at you that resonate with what you need to do next and which will support your future growth.
Make mental notes of what you are weak in understanding or implementing – and hire someone else to do it. “If it’s not your genius, it’s not your job!”
Look for a good clipart/photo site so that you can buy credits for low-resolution files, suitable for the Internet. Your site will need graphics!
Take an inventory of all the articles, photos, graphics, etc. that you have on hand right now that will tell the story of who you are and what you do. If you don’t have anything – have a friend help with photos and feedback.

Remember that there are many things that you can do on your site, within your site, in regards to product development and Internet marketing, social networking, and on and on. BUT you can’t do it all at once. Take the time to do it right – not fast.

Even though we access information in cyberspace at the blink of an eye – it didn’t get there overnight. Your website is and will be and should be an ever-changing expression of your growing business and who you are. If it doesn’t resonate with you – toss it. Even if someone says you can make millions by doing it – don’t even go there. Those rabbit trails sometimes lead to treasure, and sometimes they lead to your demise.

One bite at a time! Start gathering your thoughts, your materials, and SET YOUR INTENTIONS!

Why WordPress?

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Quickly passing are the days of tedious website creation and upkeep. The frustration that so many of my new clients experienced from poor web design when they came to me, or missing webmasters is now a thing of the pass with the creation of web building systems such as WordPress.

The beauty of WordPress is that not only is it easier and more effective for search engines to find you, it puts control of your website back in your own hands.

YouTube has tons of tutorials on WordPress in general and on specific themes, as well as all the bells and whistles that you can get to make your site amazing. Here is a great video that I think you will enjoy …

If you don’t have time to watch all of the tutorials and you need a WordPress site, call me so that we can get you up and running in short time. I’ll be more than happy to share with you the best tutorials I’ve found on YouTube that are helpful for your continuing education if you so desire.

You can blog easily. You can update your own pages. You can change the look in very short order without having to rebuild from scratch … or you can do nothing and let your site be your online brochure for your business, book, and/or services and products.