Archive for WordPress
Lunarpages News – February 2012
Posted by: | CommentsCustomer Showcase – SportVision
Have you ever wondered how they get the yellow 10 yard line on the field during a football game? Or how strikes and balls show up in a little box during a baseball game, or how is it that when NASCAR races are at full speed that all the driver’s information flies around the screen with them? Wonder no more….
5 Mobile App Trends for 2012
Mobile apps are a large part of our everyday world. The most popular mobile apps for 2012 will have unique features that cater to the mobile environment rather than merely act as an extension of their online peers. Mobile applications will be a highly competitive marketplace this year and those device vendors that proactively integrate innovative apps at the platform layer will have the competitive edge.
10 Technology Trends for 2012
2011 was a year for the second generations, “the II’s”, or if we’re talking films it would be the year of the sequels. In 2012 we are expecting to see new technologies beyond just a “sequel”. Listed below are the top technology trends we hear are on the horizon for this year.
5 Open Source CMS for Websites
Open Source has been a “buzz word” for quite some time. Open Source Content Management Systems (CMS), like WordPress, has become increasingly popular because of its inherent cost structure (virtually free), ease of use, scalability, and workflow. With more people building their websites and blogs with open source CMS systems, we wanted to outline 5 of the more popular open source Content Management Systems for websites.
Google Will Change Your Web Marketing in 2012
This will be another year of change at Google and they’ve indicated the overhaul they have in store for 2012 is far greater than previous years. Two notable changes will be how website owners market themselves online and the amount of free analytics Google will provide.
Top 4 Ways to Optimize WordPress for Search Engines
Posted by: | CommentsWe like WordPress for a lot of reasons: It’s easy to use, it manages our content in a way we never could on our own, and it also presents a pretty nice front, what with all those loose themes running around. We’re also tremendous fans of its ability to optimize our sites for search engines with little to no effort on our end. However, just because a few plug-ins can handle most of the load, does not mean we’re taking the most steps possible to fully maximize our Google-spotting potential. In fact, WordPress’ functionality in terms of SEO has only been scratched, if you’re still simply relying on the All In One SEO pack. There are plenty more steps (all of which are extremely simple) you can take to ensure your WordPress-powered website is noticed by such heavyweight search engines as Google, Yahoo, Bing, and DogPile.
Our best suggestion is that you review our methods below, and then work your hardest to integrate them into your daily workflow. It’s much harder to SEO an entire mountain of content once it has been created. It’s much easier, however, to create SEO-content from the get-go. With that fair warning in mind, may we now present our top ways to optimize your WordPress site for search engine notoriety.
1. Tell WordPress to Rearrange Itself
As much as we like WordPress, we have noticed it has one or two nasty habits. The most notable we’ve come across is its tendency to put the name of the website itself in front of the title of the blog post. This is problematic for a number of reasons, but we would simply like to mention right off the bat that there is a quick fix: So, in other words, don’t panic and bring your towel. But why is this such a big deal? Well, for starters – search engines use your titles to determine what the blog post is actually about. Typically, a search engine will only crawl (that means search and record) the first 50 to 64 characters of your title, too. With that in mind, having your blog name in front of your blog post title can cause some problems. You’ll want to reverse this, that way sites like Google get an accurate picture of your newly minted content, rather than a repeat of the blog’s name. A quick way to do this is to swap the title and name sequence within the All In One SEO pack. On another note, if you don’t have this plug-in yet, you should go ahead and snag it, as we’ll be referencing it often.
2. Create Unique and Accurate Meta Tags
A case in point, we will again be using All In One SEO with this point, as well. The idea here is that the automatically created meta tags published by WordPress are typically not specific enough to warrant any interest from the larger search engines. Usually, these self-created tags are somewhat generic, and lack any kind of specificity sites like Google desire. With that in mind, the easiest way to correct the problem is to add meta tags yourself. How does one go about this? Well, the easiest method is through that handy plug-in we mentioned earlier. Using the keywords slot, you’re free to add as many meta tags as your heart desires. Just try to be specific, avoiding generic terms like “iPhone,” “Android,” or “Mac.”
3. Stick Around with Permalinks
When WordPress creates a new post, it typically does so with a URL that’s less-than desirable for search engine optimization. This is because, more often than not, WordPress attaches an incomprehensible string of numbers to each and every new piece of content, allowing URL crawlers no added access to what in the heck your post is about. However, this isn’t hard to change, and typically only requires a quick jaunt over to the WordPress admin panel.
Within this panel, look for the settings tab, and then “Permalinks.”
You’ll see a list of various URL methods, but the only one you want is called “Custom Structure.” Yes, you’re going to have to enter something here, but lucky for you, we’ve already written the appropriate string. Click this box, and then type: /%category%/%postname%
Now, every time you create a new post, it will be listed in the URL as http://sample.com/your-category/the-proper-post-name. This makes your post infinitely more readable to search engines, and can go a long way toward fully search engine optimizing your content.
4. Make Meaningful Connections
Another fantastic way to optimize your site for search engine use is to link related sites and content pieces within your article.
This means that words like “phone” should be linked to other articles about similar models, operating systems, etc. Your goal is to create a map within the blog post that directs the user—and search engines—to other content that’s closely related to your own. With that in mind, blindly adding links with no regard for what they mean will not help you at all. If you’ve written an article about how to cook a turkey, and you link it to an animal rights page, Google won’t get much out of it, and may even scrap your site in its ratings. There’s also a limit on how many links Google is willing to stand. If you attach a URL to every word in the post, most search engines will treat it like spam.
A great way to avoid this is to use a “Related Posts” plug-in. There are about a thousand in the WordPress plug-in library, so we won’t offer any specific suggestions. Just know that these create a separate box for these helpful links, alleviating the need to bugger up your viewers’ reading experience with bothersome links. Likewise, there are plenty of plug-ins out there that will automatically generate in-text links, should you decide you’d rather have plenty of those. Typically, they work quite well, but the only way to guarantee your optimization is to add these links yourself.
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WordPress Website and WordPress Hosting
Posted by: | CommentsIf we had known WordPress was going to be as popular as it is now, we would have made sure to buy some stock back in the day, assuming the company was public. That being said, nothing is hotter than the content management software right now, especially for bloggers and news-based websites.
And why shouldn’t it be? WordPress makes it incredibly simple to manage, produce, and distribute content on the Internet through your site. And at the heart of things, that’s really what the Web is all about, right? Here are some stats about what people do on wordpress:
Philosophical pander aside, though, there are a few things you’ll want to really look for in a web host when you’re shopping for WordPress compliance. In fact, if you don’t snag just the right features, you may find your CMS blog in high water before the ink is even dry on your contract. With that in mind, here are a few of the top features you want in a web host with WordPress in mind, as well as a few quality places to find WordPress hosting, beginning with:
In-House WordPress Transfers. Often times, we see webmasters start a blog on the traditional WordPress site, only to suddenly find their content inundated with fans and adoring readers. If you’re in a similar boat, and are looking to make the swap to a truly dedicated domain and website, you’ll want to be sure of a few things. First and foremost, you’ll want to be sure your new web host can directly transfer your domain from WordPress, establishing it as a proprietary DNS. From there, you’ll also want to ensure they can port most (if not all) of your content. You worked hard to create it, so why should you have to leave it behind on that old, stuffy WordPress blog? If your new web host can’t help you with your baggage, it’s time to shop more.
Speed and Performance. On a similar note, if you’re swapping your old WordPress account for a dedicated number—or even if you’re just starting from scratch—you’ll want to find a web host that offers totally comprehensive performance and top-notch hardware. WordPress is a lightweight web application, but you’re still running an additional software engine over the server’s operating system. This requires processing power, and if you go with an anemic web host, you may find your blog is no better off with a dedicated location than with your original WordPress spot. And besides, signing to a web host is like buying a new car. If you have the money, why not spring for that souped-up model that packs a real punch? Get the most bang for your dollar and look for speed in a web host.
Easy Installation. Lastly, you’ll want to be sure your web host can provide an easy WordPress installation for your site. A good web host makes this a one or two click process, max. If your web host instead wants you to do a long string of complicated terminal commands that may jeopardize the entire system, it’s time to move elsewhere and cancel the contract.
That’s by no means a survival guide for WordPress shopping where web hosts are concerned, but instead of talking about finding a web host until the cows come home, we thought we might instead offer up a few of our choice suggestions. Beginning with:
InMotion Web Hosting
Customer Ratings & Reviews
As an industry leading web hosting provider, InMotion Hosting provides all of the features we mentioned above and more. With the company your WordPress installation takes only a click, thanks to the brilliantly inventive, server-side gem Fantastico. Furthermore, InMotion also boasts secure suPHP, the latest versions of both MySQL 5 and PHP 5, as well as free domain transfer. If you’re looking to port over your old WordPress account, like we talked about earlier, InMotion also makes it a smooth process, bringing along your old content and name without any additional hassle on your part. All in all, InMotion is a brilliant (and cheap, clocking in at $5.95 a month) option for your WordPress-based site.
Visit www.inmotionhosting.com or read our Inmotion Hosting review.
HostGator
Customer Ratings & Reviews
Another industry veteran, HostGator offers even more features than InMotion, and at a lower price, to boot. Plans with the provider begin at only $3.96 a month, and come loaded with 100% WordPress compatibility, a one-click installation of the latest WordPress software, 99.9% up-time, and a full 45 day money back guarantee. Another feature unique to HostGator is its focus on unlimited features. With the provider, users can enjoy fully unlimited disc space and bandwidth, even at the lowest possible plan. And, of course, signing with the provider also earns you the latest versions of Apache, MySQL and PHP. Best of all, transferring your old WordPress site to the provider is easy-peasy using their ready made transfer service.
Visit www.hostgator.com or read our HostGator review.
WebHostingHub
Customer Ratings & Reviews
Last, though certainly not least, is WebHostingHub. The provider offers unparalleled support for the modern WordPress blogger, besting both HostGator and InMotion in our user review polls. First and foremost, those who choose to sign with the provider gain the full benefits of the latest software, including Apache, MySQL 5, and PHP5. And, of course, all of this technology comes ready loaded with a one-click WordPress installation that requires no additional effort on your part. Add to this about 1,000 unique and custom-made WordPress themes to choose from, as well as simple transfer of old WordPress materials, and you’re looking at a truly impressive offering. However, WebHostingHub is also notable for its unique dedication to hardware optimization. The provider has taken great pains to fully prepare its systems for WordPress, including a full PHP caching overhaul that maximizes available RAM, a reduction in overall I/O requests, and blazing fast base connectivity. All in all, if you’re looking for an incredible, simple, and efficient way to host your new WordPress site, there’s no better option than WebHostingHub.
Visit www.webhostinghub.com or read our WebHostingHub review.
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WordPress Vs. Blogger
Posted by: | CommentsWordPress and Blogger are both popular websites on the Internet that are used by millions of people. These two websites both share something in common; they offer a platform and tools for people to create their very own blog sites. If you are a fan of blogging, not matter what you happen to be blogging about, these two websites would both be ideal for you. However, while both of these websites have a lot in common, they are also different in many ways which leads people to wonder which is better. Some people prefer WordPress and some people prefer Blogger Below is the table with the main features and we will discuss what each website has to offer.
Main Features of Blogger and WordPress
WordPress
WordPress is a free platform that allows users to enjoy all of their blogging needs. WordPress was first introduced in 2003 and has increasingly gained popularity over the years. Aside from gaining popularity, there have also been many updates to WordPress so that it is up to date with what users want to have. The creator ensures that the features of WordPress are user friendly and very helpful with people who use the site for their blog. Some of the many features that WordPress comes with include:
- Various Themes
- 100% Free
- Tons of Accessible Plugins
With various themes, you will be able to change the look and feel of your WordPress website as much as you want. Themes are a necessity because they catch the eyes of the viewers who are visiting your website. Not to mention, you will be able to find an abundance of free themes for your WordPress website. Having access to free themes can come in handy because it is a way to spice up your page and make it unique without having to spend money. While there are free themes available, some advanced themes and special design themes may cost money but it is entirely your choice as to whether or not you want to spend any money on your WordPress theme.
It is also good that using WordPress is free. You do not have to pay to sign up or create a WordPress account. It is nice to be able to start a blog website without having to spend any money in the process. If you want your website on WordPress to be hosted, you may have to pay for web hosting but you will never have to pay to create a WordPress account or to use the website and create your very own blog.
Being able to use different plugins can come in handy for your WordPress website too. There are all tops of plugins that do different things for the website. For example, there is a plugin that, if used properly, will make your website run faster. This is important because people visiting your page will be irritated by slow loading times. Having a fast running website is very important and these plugins can do that for you. There is an extensive list of plugins that are compatible with WordPress. You can easily search for these Plugins online to find out more information about what types of plugins will help your website and its productivity.
Blogger
Blogger, like WordPress, is perfect for all of your blogging needs. Blogger was created more than five years ago and Google bought the website by 2003. As you can tell, the website has been around for quite some time and within the several years of its existence, it has changed for the better, so that the users would enjoy all of the features that come along with using Blogger for their blogging wants and needs. Some of the best features of Blogger include:
- 100% Free
- Simple Navigation System
- Free Space for Pictures
Blogger is completely free which is great for people who do not want to put out any extra money to blog on the website. Because creating a blog on Blogger is free, anyone can use it, without worrying about charges or hidden fees. The web hosting for Blogger is also free which is an additional bonus. The URL of your blog will be the domain name you choose along with blogspot.com.
The simple navigation system on Blogger makes creating a blog simple and easy for just about anyone who uses the site. Having a simple navigation system will allow you to spend less time figuring the site out and more time putting your blog together. The navigation system is easy to follow which will help you avoid the frustration of trying to figure out how to use the website.
Having free space for pictures is also important. You will not have to pay a cent to post up a certain amount of pictures on your blog. Pictures can really spice up your blog by adding a personal look and feel and also making it look more professional. You definitely need pictures on your blog and Blogger allows you to upload these pictures from Picasa for free.
Here are some stats of search volume from Google Trends:
In conclusion, both of these websites are great to use for your blogging needs and it can be hard to pick just one. They are two of the best websites for creating and developing your very own blog. If you are not sure which one of the websites you would like to use, you might want to give them both a try as a temporary solution. Some people prefer Blogger over WordPress because it is completely free, including the web hosting, which you would have to pay for if you were to use WordPress. Some people prefer to use WordPress instead because of the large amount of themes that you will have to choose from.
Ultimately, it depends on your personal preference which will help you make the decision as to which website you want to use for your blogging needs. Both of these websites continue to increase in popularity as millions of Internet users from all over the world flock to these sites to create their very own blogs.
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WordPress Plugins – Making the Most of the Your Site
Posted by: | CommentsWe recommend WebHostingHub as the best web hosting for your blog.
While we talk about the advantages of the different content management systems frequently, their strength is far more determined by how you use them. Each CMS has a world of plugins that programmers all over the world have created. Some of them are powerful enough to negate any problems inherent in your CMS of choice, and add functionality to it that you may have never considered.
This is the first in a series of articles that will go over some of the best plugins we found out there for the most popular contention management systems. We start today with the king of CMS’s, WordPress and WP Plugins. Note that we are going to be focusing on for-pay plugins in this article. Free plugins have their place, and we will cover those eventually as well. This is for the webmaster who is willing to shell out a little cash for the best.
This sleek calendar system gives the webmaster an easy-to-use interface with which they can create professional-looking calendar and event pages. Among the options available are the ability to integrate Google Maps into the event page, and using “Pretty URLs”. The calendar of events can be displayed in a number of attractive, easy-to-read formats.
2) All in One Shortcodes Plugin
Much of what you’ll want to do with your WordPress site might benefit from some simple stylistic addition. You may not want to pick up a book and spend a few hours learning the code necessary, though. This $20 plugin lets you do these easily. Buttons and text boxes of all different sizes and styles, image and text sliders (meaning content that rotates through a limited set every few seconds), embedded video, and social bookmarking are all available. It’s a veritable WordPress Swiss army knife.
3) Custom Widget Areas for WordPress
One of the most useful additions to a standard WordPress account is the ability to make customer sidebar sections, or widgets. This inexpensive package allows you to do just that. The webmaster is presented with an enormous variety of options for what to display where, and how. Widgets can be included in main body text, and all pages down to 404 error code pages can be customized.
4) uPricing – Pricing Table for WordPress
This one is a bit specialized, but the right user will really appreciate having it. This little package lets the user make a business-quality pricing table. Tables are often one of the first things a new HTML editor learns how to make. They soon learn thereafter how much worse a bad-looking table can make your web site appear.
5) Twitter Ultimate-WordPress Plugin
Finally, no article about improving your website would be complete without somehow working modern social networking into it. Of the available packages we looked at for the most popular social hangouts, Twitter Ultimate-WordPress Plugin seemed to provide the best functionality for the least cost ($8 as of this writing). It allows the user all sorts of controls over whose tweets are displayed when, and how often.
There are even more good plugins, and we’ll go into them when we later cover some of the free ones available for WordPress. For now, this should give the WordPress webmaster looking for some very nice enhancements to their site an excellent starting point.
The 13 Best Free WordPress Plugins
Posted by: admin | Comments Comments OffWe covered recently the best plugins available for the webmaster who doesn’t mind spending a few bucks. Now it’s time to look at the best ones for webmasters who do.
Free plugins shouldn’t be looked at with so much of a suspicious eye. While there is definitely something to be said for the polished professionalism that comes from purchasable products, the world is filled with programming geniuses who enjoy adding something to the electronic world. One advantage these guys have is that what they think of is often clever, and may not have made it through a marketing meeting.
So let’s look at some of the best free WordPress Plugins:
1. Snazzy Archives
Snazzy, indeed. This plugin takes your blog post history and presents it in an impressive, attractive format. Snazzy scans your posts for images and YouTube videos, and lays thumbnails of them with the post summaries. The package contains a number of options so you can alter some of the layout parameters.
2. WP Comment Remix
This full-featured plugin adds a host of new options to your WordPress blog. Options for simple commenting include several different reply types, different ordering of comments and trackbacks, and comment tags. A number of widgets also let you track user data and perform administrative functions through side bars.
3. All in One SEO Pack
The description for this package simply says “Automatically optimizes your WordPress blog for Search Engines”. That belies just how much this free package does for your SEO efforts. It provides integration for WordPress E-commerce sites, for one. It has two levels of use, so novice users can just jump right in, and advanced users can do the fine-tuning that they need to. It optimizes your page titles and generates META tags automatically. If all of this isn’t enough, there is a purchasable Pro version that they claim is the most downloaded WordPress plugin.
4. Simple Pull Quote
This is a neat one that is good for those who heavily use their WordPress site for more serious article writing. Simple Pull Quote lets you take a certain quoted text and emphasize it in the form of a separate text box located within your main text field. It also includes multiple adjustable presentation options.
5. Theme Tester
Here’s a clever one. Theme Tester allows the webmaster to test out any new themes that they install, so it is visible only to administrators. Of course you’re not going to be doing this every week, but when the time comes around that you do want to change your theme, especially if you have a lot of readers, you aren’t going to want to show off to them a few hours’ worth of trial and error filled with broken images and links.
6. Categories by Tag Table
This plugin is also for writers, but of the more prolific variety. Falling squarely into the “Why didn’t anyone think of this before” category, it displays a graph that uses for one of its axis your post categories, and as the other the post tags. The table data itself is the number of posts that fall into each intersection.
7. Hit Sniffer Live Blog Analytics
Here’s another one that we’re surprised we haven’t seen more of for just about any platform. Instead of waiting until the end of the day, Hit Sniffer allows the user to perform real-time analysis of the traffic to their web site. In other words it lets you see what users are doing as they’re doing it. The screenshots we saw showed a dazzling array of different graphs and statistical pages. Hit Sniffer also gives you the ability to put a chat request pop-up window on your site, so users are presented the option to talk with you while they’re browsing.
8. Animal Captcha
Getting irritated by the robots that are able to keep up with the Captchas? You might want to install this plugin just for the personal gratification. It asks the user to identify different types of animals. The software comes with more than 100 default images. To further confuse the bots the images are put through random micro-transformations before being displayed and the user can upload their own. Besides, as they themselves point out, instead of looking at random ugly warped text, wouldn’t you rather be clicking on a smiling beagle?
9. Newsletter Professional
Almost forgotten in the rush of other more modern features is the need to sometimes contact your users via newsletter. Newsletter Professional lets you put together a newsletter distribution quickly and according to your specifications. Users can opt in via a sidebar widget, and you can use single or double opt-in mechanisms.
10. Broken Link Checker
The longer and more established your blog is, the less you’re going to want to do this by hand. This plugin will check the links on your blog, not only in your posts, but in comments and other sections, and notify you if they contain any broken links or missing images. This isn’t frivolous: too many broken links can be held against you by search engine crawlers.
11. SM Sticky Click Star
This is a plugin that you see used a lot but may not think of. Sticky Clicky gives you the ability to designate certain posts “Sticky” so that they always appear at the top of your blog. This is a lightweight plugin that is designed to work well with other WordPress themes.
12. EmbedPlus for WordPress
There are various plugins that allow you embed YouTube videos into your web site. There aren’t many that have some of the features that this one has. Its playback options include zoom, slow motion, scene making and skipping and instant reply. It also supports third-party annotations, and real-time social reactions.
13. CSV to Webpage Pearlbells
This plugin will save the right web site owner a lot of time and headache. It allows the webmaster to upload a CSV (Comma Separated Value) file onto your web site and have it displayed as a table. The file can be set to always upload from a specified location, and the plugin contains customizable style elements.
There you are! Thirteen really useful WordPress plugins: and like the software themselves, this list didn’t cost you a penny.
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