Getting your site to appear on the first page of a Google Search Results Page ("SERP") is not easy. "Search Engine Optimizing" needs to be just right for your website and takes a lot of custom tweaking. If first-page visibility is critical it may be time to start using the fee-based Google AdWords. … [Read more...]
September 15th, Web Design SIG/Workshop
Every website has navigation links to access all the content and information presented within a site. What is the best way to plan a menu structure to be most efficient? Let's take a look at ways to organize and design navigation priorities. WordPress offers easy navigation tools, and the theme will … [Read more...]
August 18th, Web Design SIG/Workshop
WordPress has the ability to sort posts and page content into Categories and Tags. What are they, how do they work and why are they important? It takes a little planning to set them up correctly so we'll look at the best methods to fully take advantage of these features, and how they can help with … [Read more...]
July 21st – Web Design Workshop/SIG
Security is a big deal these days. Because WordPress allows interaction with authorized users in a browser, it can also attract those pesky un-authorized spammers brute-force attacks and other nefarious bots. At this meeting I'd like to discuss a WordPress security plugin that offers a comprehensive … [Read more...]
May 19, Web Design Workshop/SIG
How does one "design" a website? Regarding the front-end graphical interface - what comes first, a unique design pulled from one's imagination, or a search for a "canned" design created by someone else, and then customized to our own liking? Nowadays the 2nd option is faster, but finding the right … [Read more...]
April 21st: Web Design Workshop
Recent Web Design meetings have focused a lot on WordPress, but this time we'll change direction and take a look at a new Drupal website (CMS platform) built by Andy Woodruff. It's quite successful from the get-go, but there are always things that can be tweaked. We'll discuss the overall design, … [Read more...]
March 17: Web Design Workshop
Disaster strikes and your WordPress website goes down. You try to fix it, but after a moment of panic your remember you have backups. (You do have backups...?) You may have backups, but do you know how to actually restore a WordPress site from a backup? It's a 'process' and during a crisis would be … [Read more...]
Upcoming Web Design SIG – Responsive?
Google favors responsive websites... And since ever-increasing people are viewing websites on their smart phones or tablets, it’s becoming more urgent to upgrade static sites to responsive sites. If you have an existing static site, what would be the best way to convert it? Let’s explore the options … [Read more...]
Upcoming Website Design SIG – Dec. 16th
At this meeting I'd like to discuss the trend towards implementing HTTPS security on websites. Google is starting to take this into consideration in their SERP's, even for smaller sites without sensitive information or payment processing. If you don't sell anything, how important and desirable is … [Read more...]
Web Design SIG – Workshop, Oct. 21, WordPress Q & A
We've covered several WordPress functions in recent months, and at this session I'd like to give members the opportunity to discuss their own WordPress websites, and/or voice any questions they may have. Every WordPress installation starts the same, but very quickly becomes unique - depending on the … [Read more...]