Wordpress 3.0 video

It is here and live. The brand new Wordpress 3.o is available now. Take a look at this video overview from wordpress.tv.  It covers the basics of the new design and functionality.

Wordpress MU integration

If you are not familiar. A few years ago some good folks at Wordpress.com decided to make their version of wordpress multi-site available to the wider community. This provided a chance for the rest of us to develop multiple sites/blogs  under one installation. Now this functunality was truely amazing.

But now all of this functionality has been integrated with the wordpress.org installs. With a minor tweek to the install you can have all this functionality with every installation. Why would you use this….? Well, it may be that you just simply want a couple of different content areas for your websites. You may want a different layout and look for your blog verses your corporate website or your .tv video tutorial pages. There are a thousand reasons to do it….take a look and let your imagination go.

Should you be concerned that your website designer is looking to use a Theme for your website design build? Are they not charging you over-the-odds for something that is already done? Are they all just cowboys? This post was inspired by a Boards.ie thread that I was reading today. What it comes down to is the difficulties clients have in understanding just what web designers are doing.

Websites are now built typically more and more on CMS (Content Management Systems). These systems allow for content to be subdivided in particular ways that enable a client and website designer to change and manipulate the content with more flexibility. The CMS system is a framework that the information sits on and passes through to the user (viewer of the website). Because these CMS frameworks are highly flexible we are able to use them for all sorts of different types of websites. Examples of these are Wordpress, Joomla, Drupal, Simple CMS, etc. The benefits of using these frameworks is immense …so y0u can read more about that somewhere else.

CMS systems allow for you to create and upload different Templates. These templates can be purchased, created, or any combination of the two. Thus, what you get is dependent on what you agree with your website designer. If you get a purchased template should you be upset? Not necessarily. The point of using existing design templates is to save time and money not re-inventing the wheel. This can enable you the ability to get up and running fast.

Can you pay a lot and still get a Purchased Template? Yes, the template is only one part of the overall website build. The money you paid could have gone into other elements that are specific for your needs. Remember that the Template has nothing to do with the content. It is – itself a Framework of sorts. For example your template might simply be the header and background of your website and not have anything to do with the content on individual pages. Thus, each page content might be customised by your web designer. Depending on what is needed this could be very costly and time consuming.

It is important to realise that the cost of design is in the cost of man hours. Therefore it doesn’t matter if you have a purchased template, one that has been purchased then customised, or one that has been purpose built – The costs are completely dependent on Man Hours it takes to complete the build.

So how can you tell? Well the simple fact is that you might not be able to. What it comes down to is – did you get what you are looking for in a design and was the cost within expectation. What the designer has to do to get the job done is important but most of the time the client does not understand the technology. Template design is about a look and feel of a site and as long as it doesn’t prevent good SEO then you should not be worried about whether it is a Purchased Template, Custom, or Otherwise.

Here at Freeman Contingent we do all of the above. We have used custom templates, purchased templates, and even free templates. The reality is that no matter what we use, we always have to customise it for our needs. So there is always design costs involved. But if a purchased template has almost everything a client needs and the client likes the design – why not use it? This way we can keep our cost the same and add customisation we normally would have had to charge for. So web designers only use other peoples templates and then customise them for their clients needs.

I would say that the most important thing is simply to ask your designer what they are going to do and why. You may even ask them to use a template to try and keep costs to a minimum. But if you do this remember that you may not get everything that you want…as the template might not be that flexible. Thus, it comes down to having a designer that you can talk with openly and honestly. Ask them questions and expect a straightforward answer. At the end of the day it is all about a trusted relationship with your designer. And last but not least – you get what you pay for…so if you go cheap – don’t expect to get the moon

Ok, If your website guy, friend, brother, cousin, or who ever else you might know is still talking about Meta tags as important SEO (search engine optimisation) Then give them a slap on the head for me….and tell them to start paying attention.

Matt Cutts says it in plain english…

What does Google Want?

Answer: Good Content !

Stop buying into these bogus SEO con men and just put your time and energy into good content on your website and  good coding. If you use Wordpress, Joomla, or Drupal….you shouldn’t need to worry too much about this last one. Just sit down at your computer and put some time into giving your audience entertaining and informative content on your subject of choice.

May 28, 2010

Are clients are of all levels of financial means. Some are just starting out with a business card style website and others are on the other end with fully managed websites and e commerce solutions. The costs vary considerably but one question that always arises in my conversations is “Do I really need a managed website service?”

Managed website services with Freeman Contingent normally range in the 350 – 1000 euro (per year) range depending on how many websites and what it takes to manage the site(s). Most of the time people thing – but I can get a hosting package for 60 euro a year – why would I pay 300 euro or more? Well, here are a few reasons why…..

1. Got Hacked Lately? – We see people regularly getting hacked – some are clients and some are not. The real question you have to ask yourself is – how bad does this reflect on your business and how quickly can I get this resolved.

• a. The answer to this depends on whether you have been backing up your website, is the backup clean or infected, and do I know/ have the time to solve this problem. The most critical question then comes – how do I prevent it happening again?

2. Upgrades: For your website to work optimally with newer versions of browsers and to prevent hacking you need to be diligent in upgrading your systems. If you are not proactive – and monitor your website plugins/core development updates you will be putting yourself at risk. Take a look at one of the updates we got recently…

• b. Answer: These are the types of things that we are doing behind the scenes – when you are rightfully paying attention to growing your business. We are constantly monitoring your websites contents, backing-up your site, and focusing on removing any potential for harm.

3. Backups and Support: We are always there at the end of the phone working with you on your content. When you need to get something added quickly or need help posting content yourself. We make you a priority – This is just the kind of peace of mind that you need to run your business.

• c. Answer: enables you to sit back and enjoy your website…. worrying about your business is stressful enough without having to worry about your business presence on online.

The best Part of Managed Website Service

If anything goes wrong, you get everything backup and running at no cost to you! It is like having insurance for your website and thus your business reputation. Realistically, 350 euro (per year) is a steal for this kind of security – If you want, think of it like this….it is only 29 euro per month to keep your website in pristine order.

And now the Truth – with no bull…

Can you do all of these things yourself? Yes, definitely and..You can change your own oil – but most of us just don’t want to…

We have clients who do…and do it successfully. So don’t worry if this package is out of your price range. We still  support all of our DIY website guys in every way we can. Don’t believe me…well just check out the last blog entry I wrote - Upgrading your Wordpress Website. It will take a bit of hard work and a bit of time and energy but you can do this yourself. The managed website services are for those people who believe that their time is better spent running their own business and not worrying about their website.

Upgrading your wordpress website is probably one of the most important things to do as a website owner. If you read our blog and see how many times I talk about security and updating your website, you will know this off the top of your head. At our last Working Together Day – we talked a lot about DIY websites and DIY website design. One of the difficult things to know when your are a DIY designer is just how to do certain things properly. One of those things to know – inside and out – is how to backup your website. So here we go…..

This is for any Users of Wordpress 2.7 or higher

Step by step guide to upgrading your website

Step 1: Make sure that you have the right tools

You will need the following tools…..

A. FileZilla download this and use it as your FTP client. Make sure to choose the button on the right called “Download Filezilla Client”
- make sure to expand the folder and install the software.
- Open the software and add your FTP details as a new account
-  Make sure to use the IP address (e.g. 192.169.1.2) that was given to you
-  Use the port number 21
-  Remember usernames and passwords are case-sensitive

B. Look for all your usernames and passwords!

if you already tried to do step 1 – then you probably already realised this….You will need all of the following (your website guy should have given these to you already – if not GET THEM!)
- ftp IP address
- ftp username and password
- database address
- database username and password
- wordpress username, password, and login address (e.g. youdomain.com/wp-admin)

Step 2: Look to see if you have an upgrade folder/directory

The best way to upgrade is to use the internal automated functions. This is done through the wordpress admin – you have to login to the back of your website to access it.

Open Filezilla and connect to your domain. Once you see the folders navigate down until you see the folder named (yourdomain.com or .ie). Once you find this open it and open WP-Content folder. Once you are inside you should see a folder/directory called upgrade. If you see it jump to the next step – Otherwise, right click and click on “create directory”. Name the new directory uploads.

Step 3: The right folder/Directory permissions

Make sure that your upgrade folder has the right permissions. You can check what it has by right clicking on the directory and going to permissions. It should be 755 or 777 – if it is something different then change it. Next check both the WP-Content folder and the Plugins folder – both of their file permissions should be the same.

Try making all three of these directories 755 permissions first – if you have problems uploading change them to 777 permissions and then change them back after the installation/upgrade.

Step 4: Add a backup plugin

This is a bit of a personal choice but I would suggest the following plugin wp-db-backup. This one will do the trick but make sure that you read and follow the instructions to the letter. Read everything first.

- When you go to upload it – do this by going to the backend of your website and clicking on the plugins link on the left navigation bar. Then click on the “Add New” – then you can search for the plugin and install it by using your FTP username and password details.

Remember if you are getting errors when trying to install the plugin try changing the wp-content, plugins, and upgrade folders to 777 permissions as we discussed above.

Technically – before you install this plugin you should probably ask your website designer to backup the site for you – just in case.

Step 5: Activate the plugin and backup your website

This should be pretty straight forward so I wont say more here.

Step 6: Backup your Files

Go back to Filezilla and connect to your website files. Go to the root folder (the folder called yourdomain.com) and select all the files and copy them down to your computer/hard drive.

- This might take 5 min or more depending on how big your website is.

Step 7: Now it’s time to upgrade.

First things first – If you are sure that everything was backup successfully then go now to the back end of your website and click on the “Plugins” button. Make sure to deactivate all your plugins.

Then click the “Tools” button and select “Upgrade”. You will need your username and password for the ftp. Go ahead and click upgrade.

Remember if you are getting errors when trying to do the upgrade try changing the wp-content, plugins, and upgrade folders to 777 permissions as we discussed above.

Step 8: Upgrade you plugins

Once the upgrade has been successful now go the the plugins area and upgrade each of the plugins one-by-one. Make sure to check that the website is functioning properly after each plugin is upgraded and activated. If you notice a problem then immediately deactivate the problem and investigate what the issues might be either with your website  designer or the plugins authors.

Step 9: Change all your folders back to 755 permissions

That is It – Congratulations ! You have successfully upgraded your wordpress website.

Upgrading Wordpress Video

Freakin Awesome!!

This post comes directly from our Working Together Day on May 8th. It was a great success and so we are going to have a few posts to keep up the good feedback.

We use a few systems to backup our files – from Mozy.com, to Dropbox.com, to external hard drives, to other cloud services. But all of this is not necessarily useful to an average small business. So here are a few we would recommend and why. Now the reality is that we can’t tell you all the reasons why these are great…too long of a posts…so here are the highlight and favourite.

File Sharing for Small Business

DropBox.com

DropBox is a file sharing utility that you can download onto your computer and use just like a My Docs folder. For free you can get 2G of space to share with as many other people as you want.

How DropBox Works

Once downloaded DropBox will ask you where it should save the folder. I would suggest inside your My Documents folder – especially if this is where you normally keep your files. What happens next is it drops this folder into your My Docs and onto the bottom right of your desktop (see the picture right).

This way you can access your shared folder either way using either of the two folder links.

Anything that you put into this folder will be synced with your online account and be accessible to anyone you share them with.

As a Backup:

Because the files are saved on your computer and online you have access to these file even without an internet connection. The benefit of this is that once you get an internet connection back the files automatically sync. So if your computer falls in the toilet and gets fried (this can happen), no worries. You simple get your new computer download DropBox client and your files will automatically be downloaded to your new computer.

Downsides of DropBox?

Well, the downsides are that only 2 Gigs are free and thus if you want to use this for pics and large file types it might not be for you. But I do have to say that it is worth paying for. But for must of us our business files are excel or word docs. For these people DropBox is probably much more than you will need.

Prices: 2Gigs – Free, 50Gigs – €10 per month per user….and then up from there.

As you may have seen recently we have been on a kick regarding the use of Google Maps and being conscious of local search result. And just to re-enforce the concept I am including a video by Matt Cutts Google’s main man for explaining Search Engine Optimisation to the rest of us.

If you don’t already realise – Google returns local search results based on where they see you and any information that they can get from you. The most popular way of doing this is to look at you IP address. This will tell Google what country and many times what city you are in. Google will then take this information and uses it as a basis for the search results that it returns. And don’t forget – they do this on Mobiles as well.

Google will return these results without you needing to be signed-in. If you happen to be signed in then Google will have all sorts of information on your search patterns, time you spend on sites, what your preferred websites might be, and a whole host of other info. They will then be able to use all of this information to determine what the most relevant search results are for you.

There is no question that the more information that you give Google during your search (be this IP address, 3-4 word search terms, cookies, database of user search history) they better your search results will be. So it is very important to take these into account when you are reviewing your websites Google listing.

Local Search Results affect SEO results.

This means that if you are trying to analyse your search results be sure to realise that Google is going to return results based on where you are. What do I mean by this? Well lets take an example. If I wanted to see how my website was being ranked by Google. The first thing I would do is Search my own website. I would use a variety of different search criteria to determine where I was being ranked.

Pretty straight forward right? Well yes – as long as I realise that to get an accurate view of what my results really are I need to realise where I am sitting. If I am sitting in London Airport doing SEO analysis on my Dublin based business – well I don’t need to tell you that we are going to see some problems. But also take into account that where in the city you are, can also affect the listings. I have personally found much more accurate local listings when using my mobile phone then when doing regular searches from my computer.

Grant you this is not always going to be the case for everyone – I use GPS tracking on my phone and use Google latitude regularly. So these will undoubtedly cause my experience to be a little different from yours. But the important point is to know what is going on when you are trying to analyse your results.

Local Results Means Google Maps Matters

Here it is again – Get on Google Maps ! I won’t stop bothering you guys about this. You do not need a Brick and Mortar building to be on Google Maps. Google is using this more and more in their search results and it shows relevance. This is important so listen up! We have clients that see their clients arrive with Google Map print outs in their cars. And you better believe that most people now days are using Google Maps on their phone. So Get on there!

Local Results Mean Hosting Matters

If you are a client of ours then you don’t need to keep reading because we do this without even telling you. For all the rest of you looking for cheap hosting in the USA or China – Remember that Google cares where your website is. If Google sees that your website is sitting in Baltimore USA – it is going to assume that you are based in USA and thus your customers are in the US.

This is equally true for if you are hosted in Baltimore Cork. Google will see that you are in Ireland and say – “Well I better consider returning this website to people that are in Ireland”. So If you are worried about SEO results think Local and make your changes accordingly.

Join us on Facebook and the first 25 people will get a Free Business Listing on Google Maps. We’ve linked our new Facebook page to our Blog and twitter accounts. And now we want you to join us there. So if you Click our “Like” Button and you are one of the first then you will get a free Google Business Listing.

Click the “Like” Button on our Facebook Page

Freeman Contingent is on Facebook

Google Maps Listing

Not Sure what Google Maps is all about….Well check it out - this is a must for all businesses. Did you know that Google is including these listings in its Google Search Results? So if you care about your Google listing make sure to get on to Google Maps.

Saturday May 8th 2010

All are welcome to come along or join us online for our first “Working Together Day”. To give you a little background on where this all came from I will give you a quick history lesson. When we first started we got a lot of feed back from Clients regarding different subjects. This meant that we needed to fill in the knowledge gaps. So we created our Blog and tried to supply good information in it….and more is coming, don’t worry. But some things are just not easily said or explained in writing. Then it hit us – Why not have a regular event that people can join when it suits them.

What is it?

We will cover a range of topic and nothing will be off limits. You can meet us online - Facebook Discussion - or in person with you laptop. You can ask questions in advance or just show up. There is no cost and no agenda. If you want you can just show up and work on adding a few things to your site. It might be helpful just to have another person there to ask questions as you go. You might want to finally add that plugin you where thinking about for the last 6 months. Feel free to bring a friend. This is an informal meeting. I will not be wearing a tie

Details of this Event

Agenda: Open Topic

When: May 8, 2010
Time: 10am-12pm
RSVP: Only if you want
Cost: €0.00 (cheap enough for ya?)
Where: Carlton Hotel Bar/Lobby

Can’t Make it?

No problem, you can join us on our Facebook Discussion Board. Simply go to Facebook.com/freemanwebsites and you can join us under the Discussions section. You can ask a question and get answers during or after the meeting.

Next Meeting – 2nd Saturday of June

Get Emails on your iPhone Guide

So you just bought a cool iphone and now you want your email on your phone. No problem, Here is a step-by-step video on how to setup your iphone to get your Google apps email on your phone. Make sure to take your time and do everything it asks….and presto! Emails, Yes.

Step 1 – Allow SMTP for your domain

You might have this setting already configured but check just in case.

1. Go to http://www.google.com/a/YourDomain.com
2. Go to “Server Settings” and then “Email” on the navigation bar
3. Scroll down to the “SMTP” section
4. Tick the box to allow SMTP for this domain.

Login to your email inbox

1. Go your inbox: usually this is done by going to – mail.YourDomain.com
2. Then click on “Settings”
3. Select “Forwarding/pop and imap”
4. Then scroll to the bottom and make sure “imap” is enabled
5. Save settings

Click on Configuration instructions

1. You should now see the the “Configure your Email” link above the “Save” button
2. Click on this and you will be directed to the list of links – choose “iPhone”
3. Now here is the hard part – Follow the step-by-step instructions.

Important Notes: If it is not working check the following settings.

1. Check that the Port number is 993
2. Check that you used your full email address in all the username areas – YourName@YourDomain.com
3. Leave the password areas blank or with the default info.

If you are still having trouble, drop us a line and we will try to help.