Tag Archives | Open Source Content Management

Best WordPress Plugins

Best WordPress Plugins

Before getting into the best WordPress plugins out there, let’s cover a couple of definitions for the uninitiated among us.

WordPress is the world’s most widely-used open source Content Management System (CMS). While it is often employed as a blog, WordPress is strong enough to run entire websites. So it isn’t just a blogging platform. WordPress is powered by PHP and MySQL, and has exciting features such as templates and plugins that make building fantastic websites relatively effortless. WordPress is used by 13% of the 1,000,000 biggest websites in the world, no small feat considering the breadth of options available.

Plugins are simply applications that augment the capabilities of WordPress and make it better to work with. Most plugins are free.

Here are the best WordPress plugins out there. My opinions are highly subjective, but these are plugins I want you to know about.

#1: All-in-One SEO Pack

The All-in-One SEO Pack makes on-page search engine optimization simple. For this reason, it’s my top pick. With this plugin, adding Meta tags such as title tags, meta descriptions, and keywords has never been easier. This is a good thing, as too many websites are missing these crucial elements (and missing out on online lead generation and/or online sales as a result).

#2: Askimet

Askimet allows you to quit moderating comments. It automatically checks comments left on your website against the Askimet web service to see if they look like spam or not. If it’s spam, they toss the comment out. To keep the service honest, you can analyze the spam it catches to make sure the plugin is doing its job accurately. There are two things that make using this plugin vital. One, your readers will never have to type in a CAPTCHA again. Two, your readers will never have to wait for their comment to be moderated again (this drives me nuts when we visit other blogs).

#3: Google XML Sitemaps

Google XML Sitemaps will produce a special XML sitemap which will allow search engines to index your blog. If that sentence makes your head hurt, just know this: it makes it easier for Google to read your website. That’s a good thing. If Google can’t or doesn’t read your website, that’s bad. You want them to read it so they can share your website with people that use the Internet. Consider this a crucial WordPress plugin if you enjoy trading your labor and/or skills for money.

#4 Subscribe to Comments Reloaded

Consider this one a cherry on the top of your delicious WordPress sundae. Subscribe to Comments Reloaded will change the way people use your blog. Without it, people just stop in, leave a comment, and never return. With this plugin, your readers can click a box saying they wish to be notified of follow-up comments via email. This email notification will (in some cases) cause the reader to return and leave a comment. This will give you more Web traffic, more comments, and it will make your blog more conversational.

#5: TweetMeme

Guy Kawasaki once called this the most important button on the Internet. It probably isn’t at that level today, but it is certainly still highly useful when it comes to getting your message to the masses. Twitter has proven to be a highly beneficial viral marketing tool. If you have something important or interesting to say, odds are Twitter will go a long way in getting your voice heard. Within the Twitter-sphere, there is nothing more valuable than a ReTweet. A ReTweet occurs when someone that reads your content re-broadcasts it to all of their followers. When this happens, viral marketing magic happens. TweetMeme makes it convenient for your blogs’ readers to ReTweet your content, which will bring you more traffic, more comments, and (hopefully) more business.

So there you have it. Those are, in my estimation, the five best WordPress plugins out there.

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How to Install and Activate a Premium WordPress Theme

How to Install and Activate a Premium WordPress Theme

The greatest thing about WordPress, the open-source Content Management System and blogging platform, is the sheer number of options it affords users when it comes to designing a website or blog. The user of a WordPress blog can upload any number of custom widgets that could display the user’s latest tweets or even a simple contact form, they can get granular control over various technical aspects of their site design including modifying permalinks and URL structures and, most importantly, they can easily alter the appearance of their website by installing a few WordPress themes. The power of WordPress exists in its ability to make significant changes to the appearance of a website in just a few simple clicks – users can add and delete entire designs in the click of a button.

The easiest way to add a new theme to your WordPress site is just to upload it using the in-built WordPress theme uploader. Before doing this however, you will need to actually download a theme and this can be done quickly and easily by typing “”WordPress Themes”” into Google and selecting from the many paid or free options available. You do not need to extract the contents of the zip folder once it has been downloaded, merely leave it as it is and then go to the appearance menu in WordPress and select add new theme. Click the upload button and then browse to the zip file and click upload, once this is done just click the activate button and you theme will now be live on your website.

Another popular way to install a theme is to upload it directly to the WordPress themes folder situated on your web server. The easiest way to do this is to install an FTP client such as FileZilla, and configure so that you have FTP access to your website. Once this is done, go to the “”wp-content”” folder, then click on the themes “”folder””. To upload a theme you will need to unzip it first – once you have done this just drag and drop the theme folder that is on your hard drive into the WordPress themes folder on your server. The theme will now be available to activate under the WordPress themes menu in your WordPress control panel.

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How to Install and Activate a Premium WordPress Theme1

How to Install and Activate a Premium WordPress Theme

The greatest thing about WordPress, the open-source Content Management System and blogging platform, is the sheer number of options it affords users when it comes to designing a website or blog. The user of a WordPress blog can upload any number of custom widgets that could display the user’s latest tweets or even a simple contact form, they can get granular control over various technical aspects of their site design including modifying permalinks and URL structures and, most importantly, they can easily alter the appearance of their website by installing a few WordPress themes. The power of WordPress exists in its ability to make significant changes to the appearance of a website in just a few simple clicks – users can add and delete entire designs in the click of a button.

The easiest way to add a new theme to your WordPress site is just to upload it using the in-built WordPress theme uploader. Before doing this however, you will need to actually download a theme and this can be done quickly and easily by typing “”WordPress Themes”” into Google and selecting from the many paid or free options available. You do not need to extract the contents of the zip folder once it has been downloaded, merely leave it as it is and then go to the appearance menu in WordPress and select add new theme. Click the upload button and then browse to the zip file and click upload, once this is done just click the activate button and you theme will now be live on your website.

Another popular way to install a theme is to upload it directly to the WordPress themes folder situated on your web server. The easiest way to do this is to install an FTP client such as FileZilla, and configure so that you have FTP access to your website. Once this is done, go to the “”wp-content”” folder, then click on the themes “”folder””. To upload a theme you will need to unzip it first – once you have done this just drag and drop the theme folder that is on your hard drive into the WordPress themes folder on your server. The theme will now be available to activate under the WordPress themes menu in your WordPress control panel.

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lynda.com: Drupal Essential Training

movielibrary.lynda.com In this lynda.com video podcast, learn to customize page themes in Drupal. Drupal is a free, open-source content management system (CMS) for a variety of platforms. It has a robust user community and easy-to-use administration features. Drupal Essential Training covers all the important aspects of installing, configuring, customizing, and maintaining a Drupal-powered website. Learn more at lynda.com.

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