Resources:
1. What is a Blog:
http://codex.wordpress.org/Introduction_to_Blogging

2. WordPress First Steps:
http://codex.wordpress.org/First_Steps_With_WordPress

3. WordPress Lessons:
http://codex.wordpress.org/WordPress_Lessons

4. WordPress TV – How To:
http://wordpress.tv/category/how-to/

5. WordPress For Dummies book (great for complete Newbies):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0470402962?ie=UTF8&tag=wein-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeAS IN=0470402962

6. CSS Tutorial:
http://www.w3schools.com/Css/default.asp

7. Additional Video Resources
Easy to Follow Video Tutorials.

The post WordPress For Beginners appeared first on WordPress Consultant.

This particular video is about allowing the public to enter information via a form (Gravity Forms) that automatically creates a WordPress post in draft form. The site administrator then reviews the form entry and simply changes the post status from draft to publish to go live. Not only is a post auto created but a pin on the Google maps is also created. Thus adding the new location, entered by the form, to be automatically added to the locations in the database.

Watch the video below to see the magic happen.

The post Crazy Cool Code – Auto Post Form to Google Map appeared first on WordPress Consultant.

Otherwise fill out the form below and I’ll get back to you within 12 hours.
 
 

StudioPress Genesis Customization

• Logo Upload – Send me your logo any size / file format and I’ll upload it to your site for $50.00.
• Favicon – Customize the small icon in the address bar $50.00.
• Lite Customization – Upload your logo and make color changes to any StudioPress/Genesis child theme for $150.00.
• AgentPress Setup – Upload your logo and make color changes to any StudioPress/Genesis child theme. Add your five search criteria & add your six main service areas $500.00.
• AgentPress Setup + Lite Customization – Setup and color matching the site to your corporate colors $650.00.

Training

Many times when I do custom work the follow up question I receive is do I offer training? The answer is YES! Training is offered in two different sessions basic and advanced. Training is done over Skype screenshare. This allows me to show you my computer screen while I’m talking to you (over Skype or phone). Training is $100.00 per hour. I will also do on location training in the Chicagoland area for $150.00/hr.

• Basic Training – Learn the WordPress basics that allow you to add and modify content.
• Advanced SEO Training – You have a great website. Now learn how to drive traffic to it. Advanced Training is all about search engine optimization.

Here’s some more information on the training sessions I offer.

Request Service

The post StudioPress Genesis Services appeared first on WordPress Consultant.

In order to accomplish this, you will need to:

1. Register a new sidebar in your child theme functions.php
2. Create a new sidebar file for your child theme
3. Add a function to your child theme functions.php

Step 1 – Register a new sidebar in your child theme functions.php

In this example, we want to replace the Primary Sidebar with a new Primary Sidebar on the home page. Since these pages are home page related, we will name our new sidebar widget area, “Home Sidebar”.

[cc]// Register a new sidebar
genesis_register_sidebar( array(
‘id’ => ‘home-sidebar’,
‘name’ => ‘Home Sidebar’,
‘description’ => ‘This is the home sidebar widget area.’
) );[/cc]

Make sure that you name your sidebar something appropriate to where your new sidebar will be located.

Step 2 – Create a new file inside your child theme directory called sidebar-home.php

Paste the following code into that file, making sure the name of the sidebar is the same as the one you registered in Step 1.

[cc]

[/cc]

Step 3 – Add a function to your child theme functions.php

[cc]add_action( ‘get_header’, ‘child_sidebar_logic’ );
/**
* Add Home Sidebar
*
* @author Brian Lis
* @link http://dev.studiopress.com/add-unique-sidebar-to-home-page.htm
*/
function child_sidebar_logic() {
if ( is_home() ) {
remove_action( ‘genesis_after_content’, ‘genesis_get_sidebar’ );
add_action( ‘genesis_after_content’, ‘child_get_home_sidebar’ );
}
}

/**
* Retrieve our unique home page sidebar.
*/
function child_get_home_sidebar() {
get_sidebar( ‘home-sidebar’ );
}[/cc]

The post Add A Unique Sidebar to the Genesis Home Page appeared first on WordPress Consultant.

Only tricky part is change “your_custom_post_type” in the code below to match the name of your custom post type.

[cc]/**
* add Genesis layout options to custom posts types
*
* @author Brian Lis
* @link http://dev.studiopress.com/genesis-layout-options-for-custom-post-types.htm
*/

add_post_type_support( ‘your_custom_post_type’, ‘genesis-layouts’ );
[/cc]

*** Tip, if your unsure what you called your custom post type you can find it by clicking it in the WP admin menu. You’ll go to a link similar to this, http://domain-name.com/wp-admin/edit.php?post_type=my-cpt. In this example “my-cpt” would be what I’d use for “your_custom_post_type”.

The post Genesis Layout Options for Custom Post Types appeared first on WordPress Consultant.

Cluttered Home Page – I’ve seen my share of websites that feel like Encyclopedia Britannica threw up on them. These days seconds make the difference between success and failure of your home page. Does the end user get directed quickly to where they want to go? Or are they frustrated they can’t find what their looking for quickly? Frustrated experience leads to a higher bounce rate, percentage of visitors who enter the site and “bounce” (leave the site) rather than continue viewing other pages within the same site.

Awkward Navigation – People need to be able to easily find what they are looking for before they bail out of your website. I’m surprised by the number of companies that are not able to clearly communicate their 3-6 main products or services.

Aggressive Animation – Say away from flash. Yes its cool but its awful for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) because all a spider sees is the file name of the flash file. Also flash takes a longer time to load. Overall make sure your animation doesn’t over shadow your content.

Dead Links – A recent survey says 60% of users who click on a deal link won’t use the back button. Instead they’ll leave the site completely. Also dead links count against your SEO score! No Beuno.

Long Scrolling Pages – If your potential customer can’t see it, it’s not there. Long pages can actually be helpful for SEO at times. However, if your ultimate goal is convert visitors into sales. That happens with the kiss (keep it simple stupid) principal. Unless your in a research field its a good chance long pages are a turn off. Besides if you have a product or service that needs that much space to convince someone to invest in your company, its probably better the customer contact a live sales person for information.

Long Load Times – Optimize all your graphics to load as quickly as possible. Stay away from Flash. Keep your home page clean and elegant. Don’t believe less is more? Ok lets look at Apple’s home page. Apple just reported the most successful quarter of business of any company any where! They have 6 images and less then 100 words on their home page. I’m pretty sure Apple has more services and products then your company.

The post Six Basic Website Mistakes appeared first on WordPress Consultant.

The next few days, get it all for a one-time fee of $299.95.

Oh, I almost forgot … if you use the code TEN at checkout, you’ll get 10% off the already crazy price. That’s saving you close to another $30.
 
 

Questions About StudioPress?

If you’ve not yet heard, StudioPress makes the industry standard design framework for WordPress and currently has 44 striking turnkey child themes to easily skin your site.

Here’s a glance at what you get “out of the box” when you hook yourself up with the Pro Plus All-Theme Package:

• All the SEO, security, and support that come with the Genesis Framework.
• 44 current child themes, and all future child theme releases.
• Multiple page layout options for each theme
• Quickly change color schemes without touching a line of code
• Logical navigation & category layout helps readers get what they want, fast
• Unlimited updates, domains you can use the theme on, and support (you’re not on your own)

A Price That Will Never be this Low Again

So, if you were to buy each part of this bundle of digital hotness separately, you’d see the price come in at a whopping $1,187.75. Worth every penny, too.

Until January 31, 2012, however, you can get sterling search engine optimization, rock-solid security, tons of turn-key designs, and unlimited sites, domains, and support … all for the insane price of $299.95.

And don’t forget … use the code TEN at checkout, and keep another $30 in your pocket.

Click here for all the details on the Genesis Framework Pro-Plus package.

Find out why it’s the smartest (and sanest) way to build as many fantastic WordPress sites as your heart desires.

The post 45+ Professional WordPress Themes, One Crazy Low Price (For a Limited Time) appeared first on WordPress Consultant.

In most cases you’ll just receive a cease and desist letter. However, depending on the copyright of the image you might get a fine and taken to small claims court. Apparently there’s a large photo brokerage who enjoys small claims court so much it seems they have become predatory in nature.

The right way is to purchase an image from an image company like istockphoto.com. Most images needed for a website are x-small or small and only cost 1-5 bucks. Another consideration is royalty free images. Here’s some links to choose from.

• stock.xchng Probably the best solution. This is where I usually go first. Some images are of excellent quality and large enough to print. Log in necessary.
• PhotoBucket Nice size selection. Small web images only. No login necessary.
• ImageAfter I like what’s available, some larger images as well. It will be nice when they and more quantity. No login necessary
• morgueFile I’ve used morgueFile only a few times. No login necessary.
• FreeDigitalPhotos Smaller web images only. No login necessary.

There’s a right way and wrong way to obtaining images

At the end of the day its your responsibility to know where your images came from on your website. You should save receipts and download history (which can be hard to do) and file it away. Always check the copyright to make sure your image complies with the intended use.

The post Images and Your Website appeared first on WordPress Consultant.

Backup Buddy – Premium plugin that makes a number of tedious jobs easier. Tasks such as backing up and moving website from one server to another are a snap now. Totally worth the price.
Digg Digg – Display counts for popular social butons like Digg, LinkedIn, Google +1, Facebook, Twitter, and more.
Event Espresso – This premium plugin for WordPress allows you to turn your existing blog or website into a fully featured event management website.
HelpDen Free Live Support Chat HelpDen is a simple and scalable Live Support system that can be added to your website in minutes.
MCE Table Buttons – Adds table editing buttons to a new, third row in the WordPress WYSIWYG editor.
Premise – Makes building landing pages a snap!
SimpleMap Store Locator SimpleMap is an easy-to-use international store locator plugin that uses Google Maps to display information directly on your WordPress site.
Staff Directory – Staff Directory is deigned to keep track of your list of staff members for easy display on your site.
WP-Download Manager – Adds a simple download manager to your WordPress blog. This is a great tool to track the number of times your .pdf’s are downloaded.
WP-Print – Displays a printable version of your WordPress blog’s post/page.

The post Top WordPress Plugins of 2011 appeared first on WordPress Consultant.

ITW Illinois Tool Works Inc. is a Fortune 200 company that produces engineered fasteners and components, equipment and consumable systems, and specialty products. Today, it employs nearly 60,000 people in 825 business units across 52 countries. We originally produced a website for ITW Linx which lead to ITW Envopak which was just launched.

We produced a really cool site for St.John’s Catholic Church out of Indianapolis. This site includes a number of bells and whistles including light box multimedia. When the Arch Diocese saw St. Johns we were contacted about making a site for them. This is site is launching by the end of October. You can see a sneak peak on the thumbnail to the right.

J.A. Air Center occupies more than 85,000-square-feet of hangar; 10,000-square-feet of office space; and employs close to 100 people. J.A. is now one of the Midwest’s most-complete avionics, maintenance and modification centers. J.A. Air retained Brian & his team for a brand new project launching by the end of the year.

The post Happy Clients appeared first on WordPress Consultant.