How To Keep Wordpress Current

First and foremost is Plugin Central. This was shown to me by Ed Keay-Smith of Ozdomainer.com. It keeps track of all of the other plugins installed on a site and automatically lets you know when new versions are available.

How To Migrate A Site To Wordpress

Once of the sites I built using XSitePro, had around 40 pages and some pretty complicated navigation. It’s a key site of mine and attracts a lot of visitors, so I was reluctant to change anything.

However, because of it’s size, it became a bit cumbersome to update and of course, I had to be at a certain computer in order to make any amendments.

The problem though, was migrating the site to Wordpress would mean that all of my page names would change, since Wordpress doesn’t use the .htm or .html extension by default. ((Though there is a plugin for that).

I didn’t want to change everything and lose valuable search engine placement. I knew that I’d need to either amend my .htaccess file and include 40+ error 303 references, or look for another solution.

Not being too technical, I decided on the latter course of action and found a wonderful plugin called Redirection. This plugin is really easy to use. All I had to do was enter the old site’s page URLs and select from a drop down list, then new location for the information. The plugin automatically creates the 303 redirect and also handles the error 404 page not found issues too.

But that’s not all it does. Once it’s working, it logs each time an error 303 is triggered and captures the user-agent information and the link information, so you can see where old search engine or out of date site links are.

How To SEO A Wordpress Site

The next is All In One SEO Pack – popular with other WordPress users, it offers easy on-page search engine optimisation, by providing just about all you need in terms of title, description, keywords, etc. I use the PRO version – it’s well worth the few dollars it costs, but the free version is great too.

How To Create Contact Forms In Wordpress

If you don’t like publishing email addresses on your sites, then it’s likely that you’re going to need a form. The plugin I use for my forms is called Contact Form 7 which I use in conjunction with Really Simple CAPTCHA from the same developer – to help prevent Spam bots auto-completing forms.

Adding contact forms to web sites can be tricky, but Contact Form 7 has made life very easy for me and I use it all the time.

How To Create A Google Sitemap With Wordpress

Google XML Sitemaps is another plugin that I consider essential to any site, since it notifies Google, Yahoo, Bing & Ask of any changes made to your site and puts it all in a nice XML compliant file that search engines like. It’s been around since 2005 and is constantly updated.

How To Create An Image Gallery With Wordpress

For image galleries, I use NextGEN gallery, which makes super professional-looking galleries in an instant, complete with slide viewer. If you have photographs on your site, this really is a nice tool to display them with.

How To Hide Pages From Navigation In Wordpress

One of the difficulties with Wordpress (compared to XSitePro for example) is trying to remove pages from the general navigation. Every page you publish automatically gets included in the navigation area, but sometimes, you might not want that.

For example, who wants their privacy policy page sitting there on a tab of it’s own, or their email confirmation pages being visible to all?

The plugin I have found invaluable in this area is called Page Link Manager. This plugin allows you to decide which pages should and shouldn’t appear in your navigation

How To Add Adsense & Affiliate Program Links To Wordpress

The main advantage to me, for using XsitePro, was it’s ability to include affiliate and Adsense links, which if course, Wordpress doesn’t do as standard.

Although I don’t really do much in the way of affiliate marketing or ppc, I do occasionally add the odd Adsense ad into a site. For this I am currently using WP Simple Adsense Insertion. I’ll probably investigate other options, but I certainly like this plugin developer’s other ideas. You’ll find them here.

How To Create A Mobile Version Of Your Wordpress Site

Another nice function of XsitePro was the ability to create a mobile version of your site on the fly, so that people using mobile devices can view the site without having to download all of the images and other files and code that slows down mobile browsers.

My search for a suitable plugin led me to WPtouch, which was designed to work specifically with iPhones, iPod Touch, Android and Blackberry Storm.

This plugin automatically detects one of these devices and serves it’s own theme to those visitosr only. You can add other user agents from the admin panel, but so far I haven’t bothered – there’s too many of them!

Using this plugin was a real eye-opener for me, because previously, although I could see entire web sites using my iPhone, the text was small and it was almost impossible to navigate on such a small screen.

WPtouch makes the user experience much better – which after all is said and done, that’s what web sites are about.

How To Build A Membership Web Site

Membership Sites are something that a lot of people would like to be able to create and as this an area that is of great interest to me, I went off in search of something suitable.

In the past, I’ve had to have special php sites built, which always come with their own set of problems, not least because I don’t understand a single line of php code!

With XsitePro, I could never manage to do anything membership related, so was always at the mercy of developers, which is ok when the money is flooding in, but not so great when it’s all flowing out into the pockets of the developer.

My research led me to a product called Wishlist Member and I have to say that it is hands-down the best off the shelf membership system I have ever seen.

It is now possible to add a comprehensive, multi-level membership system to a Wordpress site in just a few clicks, complete with payment integration from popular payment processors including Paypal, 2CO, Clickbank and others.

Unlike some plugins, Wishlist Member is paid software that costs $97 for a single site licence and $297 for a multi-site licence. Needless to say, I got myself the multi-site version, because I can recoup the entire cost on a single client membership site.

To think, when I ran a membership site previously, I used to spend hundreds of dollars every month on having new and different functionality built. It really is a bargain at the price and I have seen nothing to compare it with, not only in terms of functionality, but also support and video training – it really is first class.

I have found that development using Wordpress to be far more flexible than other software I’ve used. There are plugins for just about everything and whenever I am asked if it’s possible to do something in particular with a site, I always check for a suitable plugin before going in search of specialist software solutions.

So far, I have managed to achieve everything I’ve wanted in terms of site development. I hope that you do too, but if you don’t have the technical inclination, I might just be persuaded to do it for you. See Hollywood Internet if that’s of interest.

The program is a domainer’s dream and could have been made specifically with domainers in mind. It was certainly built with the affiliate marketer in mind and that’s it’s real strength.

Using the in-built templates, it takes just a few minutes to get the skeleton of a web site up and running with XSitePro and adding content isn’t that difficult if you can use the copy and paste function on your keyboard.

The real attraction for me though, was the ease of adding affiliate links and Adsense to any site or any page on a site with the click of a button, Xsitepro storing affiliate links and banners with ease, for re-use again and again.

But times are moving on and although the team behind XsitePro are doing their best to keep up, I think there are now better options for the domainer, whose main job these days is to keep content fresh and appealing.

For that reason, I started developing my new sites with Wordpress around last summer.

At first, I thought it was a bit daunting and also mistakenly believed that Wordpress sites had to be blogs.

The biggest thing to put me off was that it looked incredibly difficult to get a Wordpress site to look anything like what I thought it should look like. That’s when I discovered a program called Artisteer, which offers virtually limitless possibilities design-wise and is so easy to use.

Best of all, you can also use Artisteer to create templates for other content management systems and blogs like Drupal, Blogger and normal HTML sites.

Now I can get a site up and running using Wordpress as I can using XsitePro.

The main advantage in using Wordpress is that it allows me to add, edit or delete content from a web browser, meaning tat I don’t have to be sat at my own computer.

The number of plugins that extend the basic Wordpress functionality is incredible and I already have a strong list of favourites that I include on every installation.

It was only recently that I discovered Wordpress MU, which allows multiple Wordpress sites, each with their own theme or layout, to be run from a single Wordpress installation. I haven’t tried it yet, because I wasn’t sure about the SEO implications of doing so, but I’m pretty sure that it’s only the database and the physical server that have to be common, the IP addresses can be unique, at least I think that’s right!

In any event, Wordpress has now taken over as my favoured development tool. The published result just looks sleeker and more professional than those I made using XSitePro.

As far as adding affiliate links and Adsense code, that’s easy too – there are plugins that enable you to do all of that.

The other difference between Wordpress and XSitePro is that Wordpress is free and so are many of the plugins.

Personally, I like to make a contribution for the plugins I like and use a lot because it keeps the whole development process going.

So all said and done, which is the better development tool for a domainer?

It’s an easy choice for me. I like XSitePro, but Wordpress wins hands-down for its overall flexibility. It’s a little more difficult to get to understand initially, but there are plenty of places to get support, including the excellent forums.

Along with some of his work colleagues, he has started to supplement his income by drawing building plans for people he gets introduced to, as well as for as some of his university friends, who don’t yet understand how to use programs like CAD.

We were both chatting with his colleagues this week about the level of outside business they all get. Occasionally, they are having to turn work down or delay it, because so many people want plans drawing cheaply.

It seems that they always have a couple of drawing jobs on the go and they charge pretty good money for the work, which is still a lot cheaper than architect or surveyor rates.

Unfortunately, this type of work can only be done after normal working hours, which means that they all often stay behind each evening and sometimes have to work weekends in order to meet their outside obligations. But, they’re all young and keen.

I was impressed by their enthusiasm as throughout my working life, I’ve usually held down more than one position.

So, I introduced them to the world of off-shoring.

The same work that they’re sweating over can be done quicker by sending it to India, with all of their on-site notes and sketches being scanned beforehand.

The cost savings are incredible and the turnaround on the work is far quicker than doing it themselves.

We currently have two companies working on an already completed project, so that we can compare the quality and accuracy of the work, but rather than having to work away (as some of them do at present), they can increase the workload considerably and concentrate on their real jobs again!

Of course, as a domainer and web developer, I’m quite used to the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing work abroad, but when the work is technical and repetitive like CAD drawing, there’s little reason not to do it.

It was certainly interesting watching the reactions of my son and his colleagues when I suggested the idea. Suddenly they get the idea of capitalism and the power of the Internet in particular, that’s is now a lot more than just Facebook!

My son went off looking for domain names immediately. Seems he spotted an opportunity.

One of the things that I’ve probably overlooked in the past, is the user experience and engaging them in the site.

This time, things are different.

My weekend has been spent putting together instruction videos for my advertisers and incorporating them into auto-responder emails that will be going out once everything is up and running properly.

Here’s an example – I can’t claim that it’s perfect, but it’s still better than any other of the competitor sites at the moment.

The site offers free advertising, so I wanted to create something that wasn’t available on similar sites that charge for advertising, so that users feel that they are being supported.

Each element of the site will have its own instruction video eventually, plus I intend to add more that are to do with promoting advertisers’ own sites, providing them with information that they won’t find elsewhere.

My hope is that it will create a loyalty to the site and add considerable value to their own businesses, which in turn, I hope, will bring more clients to me wanting complex (or simple) web sites building.

I’ve done the same thing with my corporate site (Hollywood Internet Ltd) and have begun loading video tutorials to a private client area, which will give people a better understanding of Wordpress, search engines and other relevant subjects – the things I don’t have time to teach them one on one.

It happens a lot in my world and it’s entirely my own fault, because I love demonstrating what can be done with a web site, especially in terms of business task automation.

Since developing my new business model for the commercial property site and the one that’s upcoming for the tribute act site, I’ve had something of an epiphany.

Part of my new model is to get some web site clients on board and make them some pretty nice sites using Wordpress, or have sites custom-made using the developers I’ve been involved with lately.

I’ve always had difficulty pricing web sites, since they generally don’t take me long and I quite like making them. That’s the problem. Friends and family don’t think I work!

So, I changed how I approach those who ask me for their favours and it’s starting to work.

I now tell them that it takes me several hours to get a Wordpress site up and running, with a unique design (theme) and that this is time I could be using to earn money elsewhere, so it has to be paid for.

I then explain that Wordpress and associated plugins are updated constantly, so there’s time involved each month in maintaining the site and making sure that everything works properly.

Then of course, there’s the hosting etc.

But, my favours extends to doing the build and setting everything up, like email addresses, templates etc., for “mates rates” starting at £99 + VAT (17.5%) and then the maintenance, hosting and updating the software is costed from £19.99 + VAT per month payable on a credit card via a recurring payment, with a minimum term of 18 months, because as they know, you can’t really get a custom made web site for £99.

I’ll change my prices according to the complexity of the site of course, but the model is one I am carrying through to Hollywood Internet, my limited company which isn’t really a company, as there’s only me. But who’s to know that?

The upside for them is that they become a client and get their site supported.

They get to learn how to add, edit and remove content from their sites too, because the client area of my own site has instruction videos that I make myself – and they only explain what I want them to know.

The upside for me is that £19.99 minimum monthly recurring fee across dozens, if not hundreds of sites.

Online, nothing beats monthly recurring revenue.

I’m not a charity and I’ve stopped being an idiot, even for family.

A few years planning, 9 months development and many thousands of Pounds later and I now have a commercial property portal loaded on my server with some dummy data for final testing.

This is the free advertising model I have wanted to implement for so long, it’s now in my blood.

This is where the real works starts though.

I’m offering free advertising to UK commercial property estate agents, that makes the sales job harder, not easier.

People are suspicious of free. They think they’ll have to pay commissions, or that the free advertising is simply a trial offer and then they’ll get sucked into a monthly payment routine.

It needs explaining. The two most frequently asked questions are, “where do you make your money”?  and “What’s the catch”? It’s to be expected and the answer is gloriously simple – I promote my surveying and Internet services on the site.

But that’s only one part of the promotion. The site still needs to generate visitors to the free property listings.

That’s what I’m working on now. Exciting times.

To me it’s a tool that keeps me motivated. By publishing something on this blog, I’m announcing it to the world (well, ok, not the world, but perhaps both of my readers) and that kind of helps me commit.

When I was talking about the skill site this weekend, I knew that the idea was good. I knew it was something I could follow up on quickly.

Just like new year resolutions, it’s all too easy in this business to have ideas and then forget about them, moving on the next great thing.

Skill.co.uk could be a distraction from my other projects.

I’ve spent a day making a Wordpress based site for it and have installed membership software and an autoresponder for handling email communication.

Some people would remain in the planning stage for a few months.

I don’t think I have time for that. I need to do it now, for the sake of my sanity, my ego and my satisfaction.

The thing is, I do have a lot of time on my hands and doing these sites keeps me interested in the technology and ensures that my knowledge grows continually.

It’s interesting to see how long “developers” take when building a site and comparing it to how long it takes me. Perhaps they have more attention to detail than I do – but it’s taken me only a day and a bit to put the site infrastructure in place for skill.co.uk and to do the design bits.

My commercial property site on the other hand, has taken a team of developers since May last year and I’ve still not launched it!

My tribute act  site was due for completion in December, but apart from the design, I haven’t seen a line of code yet.

So who’s distracted? I can’t do anything whilst my development is in the hands of others, so I might as well just get on with something else.

In 2010 my goals changed. I decided to aim a lot higher. Instead of being content with the scraps that fall from table, I’m going to build and own the table.

That’s some distraction!

It’s a great generic name and I envisaged that it would appeal to a training organisation, a recruitment operation or perhaps a skills gaming company.

The price tag was £100,000 firm and I consider that to be cheap, knowing what I know about all three of the industries I was targeting.

As regular visitors to my blog already know, I am presently focused on developing two large sites in niche markets and each one of those sites will bring in further opportunities.

This focus is my reason for reducing my domain holdings.

Today though, after having a discussion with my sister about her own business (which is very successful, but very hard work), I came up with the idea of her teaching others online, with a series of courses that can be delivered weekly or bi-weekly in easy to digest installments on a pay-monthly basis.

That would enable her to slow down and achieve some of her personal goals, but would give her the enthusiasm to keep working, albeit somewhat differently to the way she does presently.

I couldn’t think of a suitable domain name for once though. To be honest, I didn’t want to get involved in anything new, but if you’ve been domaining or working online for any period of time, then you know how enthusiasm can sometimes get the better of you and you can’t help being carried along.

Anyway, it occurred to me that I could use skill.co.uk to sell and deliver the courses, which would all be video based and would teach an extremely valuable and profitable skill.

My sister is living proof – she sells her products into all of the major supermarkets, all from a business that she originally started from home after taking an evening class twenty years ago.

I explained to her that she shouldn’t think small and that I already have all of the technical abilities and tools at hand right now, to create and deliver the courses.

It still came back to a domain name though and I was thinking, “I can’t use skill.co.uk, as the subject matter is too niche”.

That’s when I had my Eureka moment.

If my sister can create a course, then so can anyone else with specific skills and a bit of guidance (from me).

I have a great domain name that can be sub-domained into a complete skills directory – each sub-domain containing it’s own learning opportunities, using experts who are keen to make a residual income online.

Couple that with an affiliate program that pays recurring commissions and you have everything you need to make not £100,000 as a one off domain sale, but the potential for that amount every year, month or even week.

Talk about thinking big!

The content will come from the appointed experts. They’ll have no outlay to make. They won’t have to worry about the web stuff. They’ll have an enormous earning opportunity without any of the financial risk and I’ll simply enter into a revenue share with them.

The spin-off possibilities are endless – I’m thinking products, advertising opportunities and more.

Now I have three projects and I get to keep my jewel in the crown!

That price is too low for this particular name, but if someone is selling at that, then that’s the way it is. Except it isn’t.

Contact by Sedo and myself failed. A Whois search identified the seller and so I called him. He has some kind of answering service, but never returns calls.

Through Sedo, I upped my bid to what I think the name is worth – it was the kind of offer that would get my interest if I were the seller and certainly not what I’d consider a “wholesale” price.

It should have got the guy’s interest, but so far it hasn’t.

Any kind of reply would have been good, but this guy is just plain ignorant.Or stupid.

It’s a pity that Sedo (and other such sites) give up so easily when they can’t contact a seller. It’s more of a pity that they won’t just delete the listing in such cases.

A domain auction or listing site is only as good as it’s listings and users don’t expect or want to get the run around each time they make an enquiry.

The question was, “If you were to go back in time and meet your self. How would you steer him?”

I took all of 10 seconds to think about the answer and here it is:

Hello Chris,

Easy answer to that one.

I’d have told him to listen to the really great domainers of the day – I
knew them then, but thought I knew better!

That alone would have saved me a fortune on hyphenated names and would have
made me a fortune in parking.

Then I’d have said “Have the balls to take a favourite name and spend the
money on developing it to its potential”.

Several years have gone by since I started out and I don’t feel any more successful than I did back then, in terms of raw domaining.

I never did make a pile of money from parking. I have very few one-word generics. I ignored type-in domains – never thought I would be able to afford them if I’m honest about it.

In fact, for years online, I mixed in circles where we’d collectively grumble about people and companies who didn’t “get it”, when in fact, personally, I probably hadn’t got it myself!

Looking back is a horrible thing, especially when you realise that all the help you wanted was there all along and you completely missed it!

Saying that, there are still people on domain forums and reading blogs like this, who still don’t have the first idea. They’re still spinning their wheels and hoping for the Eureka moment.

That moment comes in many different forms.

For me it has always been about development. I never really bought domains that I didn’t think I could develop someday. Maybe that’s been my mistake. Repeated, then repeated over and over again.

But, along the way, I have somehow managed to turn my domaining disaster (for that’s what it is when compared to not only some, but many in the domain game), into a success of sorts.

I hope you’ve been as lucky!