We produced this tutorial to help people get started using WordPress blog software. The tutorial demonstrates how you can easily add and edit posts using WordPress software.
Make sure to have your speakers turned on.
You may also want to view this in full screen (click on the Full Screen button at the bottom of the video player below). 
= Full Screen button. Press Esc on the keyboard to exit full screen mode.
Introduction
WordPress is the most popular blog software in use today. I think of WordPress primarily as a user-friendly content management system (CMS), with blogging as only its most obvious application. WordPress is online software that enables website owners to easily write and post articles to their website. Website developers and designers can customize WordPress to have any desired look, feel, and functionality available on the web today.
The flexibility of WordPress makes it a great tool for a variety of scenarios. Our company has customized WordPress to provide content management for several projects. In some cases, someone simply wants a basic blog website to post articles. We create a simple customized design and the blog website is ready to go. Sometimes we use WordPress as a content management system in which the public website does not appear to be a blog, but the site owner can update the content of the site using the WordPress editing tools. We also integrate WordPress into existing websites so that a website can have a separate blog page that is consistent with the design of the whole website.
Getting Started
WordPress is free. You have a choice of using the WordPress hosting server (go to www.wordpress.com for more information) or installing and using WordPress on your own hosting server (go to www.wordpress.org for more information). We strongly recommend that you have WordPress installed on your server because this enables you (and/or your web developer) to have maximum flexibility to customize WordPress for your needs. If blogging is just a hobby and you want to post a few articles, using the WordPress server is fine. However, if you want more options and flexibility, work with a web developer/designer who will set up WordPress on your server and work with you to customize it.
Once WordPress is set up, you simply login to the WordPress administration page using your login name and password. Once you login, you have access to the WordPress tools.
Update Content Easily
At the heart of WordPress is a set of tools that enable you (the website owner) to add/edit/delete posts (articles). You may also add/edit/delete separate web pages. The tools include a basic online word processor in which you can easily type in and edit text. You can do basic formatting and even insert hyper-links and images. You do not need to know anything about programming or HTML. If you do know some HTML basics, you can do even more.
If your website has multiple authors, WordPress allows you to have a separate login for each author, and the author’s name can appear with the article.
You can assign “categories” and/or “tags” to each post to help organize your blog or website content. WordPress also automatically organizes your posts by date so that you can easily display an “Archive” listing on your website.
WordPress also enables you to select whether or not you want to allow website visitors to post comments. If you allow comments, you can easily edit or delete comments as you see fit.
Extending WordPress using Plug-ins
Many free third-party “plug-ins” are available. These plug-ins are little tools that easily install and integrate with WordPress.
On this blog page you can see two examples: ShareThis and Tweet-this. These plug-ins enable site visitors to easily share information about articles on this site.
Other plug-ins we have used for client projects include: a newsletter tool, opinion polls, tag clouds, Amazon.com Affiliate Program. Many other plug-ins are available and we hope to continue to find useful ones.
Sometimes we find that it’s just as easy to program a function ourselves. For example, it’s easy to include Google Ads in a WordPress site (or any website). Other examples are: Pay Pal e-commerce, Google maps, and Google calendars.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Friendly
WordPress pages generally perform quite well in search engines. Pages with links to categories, tags, archives, plug-ins, and RSS feeds are rich in keyword links and phrases. Having a site that is updated frequently also improves search rankings. Enabling site visitors to post comments makes a website more interactive, interesting, and popular.
On the Technical Side (for programmers)
WordPress is a set of open-source PHP files combined with a mySQL database. Generally, you do not need to modify the basic software, although occasionally I have made little tweaks. WordPress enables you to select a “theme” and/or create and customize your own theme. The theme includes several PHP files and a CSS file. You can add PHP and CSS files as needed. With some practice and experience, customizing WordPress becomes easier and faster. You can even develop your own plug-ins to provide custom administrative tools for the website owner.
Conclusion
This article is a broad overview about WordPress as a platform for content management and blogging. Many online resources are available that provide in-depth instructions for both WordPress authors and developers. WordPress has become a key tool for our business and development work. We are interested in doing more WordPress projects, so please contact us if you want to start a blog website or incorporate a blog and/or content management into your website.
Colors inspire feelings. Human beings instinctively respond to different colors in specific ways. There are some basic color rules that everyone who runs a businss should be aware of.
ROYGBIV is the classic rundown of the rainbow – Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet.
These are the most notable colors in the visible light spectrum. In other words, these are the most clearly defined colors for us that are found in nature. Many of these colors are also commonly used in feng shui, a styling system commonly used to bring balance and life to indoor spaces.
These are all accent colors. What that means is, to have an “all (any color)” site would be visually exhausting and unattractive. The accent colors listed below are all meant to be used together with more neutral colors to give a pop” of color. Neutral colors are: black, white, all grays, and all browns. On a backdrop of neutrals, accent colors will give a site energy, personality, and life.
Red – for more energy and stimulation, choose red. It shows confidence, courage, and fearlessness. Too much can seem overly “salesy”, aggressive, or agitating. In feng shui firey red stands for fame, reputation, and ego. A little goes a long way so it is best used in websites as an accent color. Target, Overstock.com, news organizations, political groups, and sports teams have sites that use red very effectively to pound out their message.
Orange – for more creativity and friendliness use orange. It shows expressiveness, an open mind, and a fun youthful attitude. It’s a happy party color appropriate for sites that celebrate youth and creativity. Maybe not such a good choice for institutions dealing with “more serious” issues like banking or law. In feng shui, orange is used with pink to encourage strong and loving relationships. Oprah, Blogger.com, Home Depot, sites for kids merchandise, and some relationship-building sites use a lot of orange.
Yellow – increase focus and expand mental clarity with yellow. Maybe it’s related to the aromatherapy studies that show lemon oil increasing productivity, but even just the color seems to cleanse and refresh. This would be a wonderful accent color choice for many organizations. Sites that use yellow as a main color seem to use more of a gold version of the color. In feng shui, earthy yellow stands in the center for health.
Green – to inspire trust, heal, and increase prosperity… try green. It is traditionally the most common color in nature. We are comforted, soothed, and renewed by the natural world so it is no surprise that green has abundant applications online. In feng shui, green is the color of family and foundations. Numerous financial, environmental, and health-related businesses center around green.
Blue – for a calming sense of peace, relaxation, and consistency… blue is a natural choice. It is associated with logical reasoning and excellence. The colors of sky and water inspire solidarity with the everlasting things in our world. In feng shui, blue represents skills, knowledge, and wisdom. Light blue seems to help take the sting out of hot issues or aggitated feelings. Microsoft and many legal, political, and educational institutions utilize blue.
Indigo – cut through the visual clutter with indigo. Many people consider navy a neutral, but in my opinion, they really mean indigo… who doesn’t love deep blue denim and think of it as an essential part of modern style? Indigo has a deep energy of it’s own and encourages efficiency because it helps you focus on the big picture. This is a good color for meditation and the resulting action that comes from good meditation. Indigo or navy is not just the color of the essential suit for all white-collar professionals and many of our most trusted emergency responders. Open Office, artists and spiritual healers tend to use this color a lot too.
Violet – to help connect with a higher plane, touch your inner humanity, and inspire compassion… violet is your color. In nature it is relatively very rare and of course, anything rare usually becomes precious and regal. In feng shui, purple is the richest color of prosperity and abundance. In some studies, children were consistently drawn to violet more than any other color. Violet is romantic, unique, and spiritual. It is drama without aggression, it implies compassion that takes peaceful action, it reminds us to improve humanity while not losing our own.
We use a gentle mix of several colors but because our main focus for the website is inspiring trust in our skills… our main color is blue. Let us know what you think, we would love to hear from you.
SEO is a popular acronym which stands for “search engine optimization”. If you want people to find your website in popular search tools like Google, Yahoo, and Bing, then it is important to apply the right techniques to achieve that goal.
Google remains the most popular search tool. Recently, Microsoft launched Bing in an attempt to compete with Google. There are many others, and doing well in any search service is helpful. Each search engine has its own method for finding and ranking websites, and these methods change periodically.
Design your website using all of the following tips:
Relevant information
Include text using key words and phrases that your ideal customer will use to look for you online. Make your web page text informative about your key phrases. Detailed information about a key phrase makes the page more relevant to your site visitors and to searchbots.
Note: Searchbots ignore text inside graphics. This includes all graphics, even all the text inside a flash-based website. For your graphics, include an HTML “alt” tag to contain keywords.
Update your website frequently
Searchbots analyze how often you update your website. Websites with frequently updated information improve their ranking in search engines. Having an integrated blog on your website can be especially helpful.
Key words as headings
Have primary key phrases as headings in your web page. Searchbots rank larger text higher than smaller text.
Internal links
Design your website to have multiple pages. On each page include a menu of links to your other web pages. Easy site navigation enables search spiders to crawl to each page of your site. Internal links to relevant information containing keywords helps your website’s ranking.
Incoming links
Get your website listed and linked on other relevant and valuable websites. One reason why website services like Twitter, Digg, Facebook, etc. are popular is because they are external web pages you can use to promote your main website.
Meta Tags
Include a “keywords” tag of a list (about 50) of your most desirable keywords and search phrases. Also, include a “description” tag of a short description (about 250 characters) that fully describes your website. Be sure to include your most important key word phrases in the description. Information about your target customer can be included in the description.
Title Tags
The text you use for each page’s “title” tag can significantly impact the website’s ranking, so be sure to include keywords.
Frames are bad
Websites that use html frames generally experience difficulties with search engines. If you want a frame-based website to do better in searches, you need to restructure the website to not use frames.
Sitemaps are good
It your website has many pages, then include a separate page to be a sitemap for your visitors. The sitemap is a page devoted to displaying links to each of the website’s other pages. Also, include a “sitemap.xml”, which is an XML file in your website’s root directory specifically for the purpose of assisting searchbots to correctly index your website. This website – http://www.xml-sitemaps.com/ – is an excellent resource for easily creating an effective sitemal.xml file.
Considerations about programming well for SEO
Flash: Websites designed in Flash rarely rank highly in search engines. It is fine to include Flash objects in a traditional HTML web page or have your Flash appear in separate windows.
If your site uses coding languages (e.g. javascript, Java, ASP, CGI, etc.) or Flash, be aware of the impact your code has on searchbots. In some cases we may need to program specifically with SEO in mind.
Database programming: Searchbots do not necessarily analyze web page HTML code generated from a database. You can work around this by saving the generated code in a separate file when database updates occur. Use a “server-side include” statement to incorporate the latest saved file into your web page.
Introduction
Database system software consists of three main components or layers: the database, the user interface, and the process layer. Many tools are available to develop these components. One of many common basic architectures uses these technologies: SQL Server (database), VB.Net (user interface), VB.Net + SQL Server stored procedures (process layer).
Software engineers refer to this basic architecture as a 3-tier system or n-tier system (“n” is a variable number, typically 3 or more layers). Generally the 3-layer design applies to all database software. Often one or more of the three layers integrates multiple (“n”) technologies and/or steps. Desktop software and online website database applications use 3-tier systems.
Microsoft Access is probably the most widely used database system software. Any MS Access system that includes a form or report (user inteface – UI) linked to a (database) table is a basic 2-tier system. Sometimes you do not need the middle tier – the process or application layer, but usually systems have some level of processing. For example, you want to validate incoming data before saving it into the database table.
Database Layer
The database layer is perhaps the easiest to understand: it is simply where the data is stored. Again, MS Access is the most widely-used database storage system. Many other database products exist: Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, mySQL, postgreSQL, DB2, and more. These database products are often used for both desktop and online database systems. Older desktop software often used DBase, Paradox, or FoxPro.
The most basic storage is a text file. A CSV (comma separated values) file has a separate row of text for each record. Each row is separated by a “delimiter” (often a comma), to designate where each data field begins and ends inside the row. A basic Excel spreadsheet/worksheet is essentially another way to view a CSV file. An XML file is a text file with tags to delineate data records, fields, elements, relationships, and attributes.
Typically, software systems use true database products rather than text files (or spreadsheets). Database products enable data to be stored in various tables. Tables usually have “identity keys” that enable a table to relate to other tables. This is called a relational database system (RDBS). One-to-many relationships are essential to database systems. A common example is that one sales order may include many products ordered. Database administrators use rules of normalization to organize data logically and avoid unnecesary redundacies.
User-Interface (UI) Layer
The user interface (UI) is how people interact with the database. The most basic and important example is a form, which includes data fields and one or more buttons to perform actions, especially the action of saving updates to the database. Usually software contains several forms, which users access easily via menus, toolbars, or button switchboards. These all comprise a visual design that users see on the screen, and this is called the graphic user interface (GUI). We interact with the software using the keyboard and/or mouse (or touchpad, trackball, touchscreen, etc).
Developers need to design forms to be logical and easy to use, i.e., user-friendly and intuitive. Forms often contain various components to efficiently present data, facilitate data retrieval, and enable quick navigation from one data set to another.
The concept of list/detail is essential. Usually database software displays a summarized list of data records with an ability to click on one record to show (and edit) its detailed information. Email software is an example everyone uses. We see a list of our emails in the inbox, and then can click on one of them to get to the detail. Developers display lists using components such as a datagrid, listbox, listview, treeview, and other methods.
The detail form often uses special components for various needs. Developers need to use the best component (or tool or control) for each data field. The text box is the most common, but others include drop-down lists, radio buttons, checkboxes, calendar controls, image boxes, and others.
To have powerful, well-organizing forms, developers also use tools/components such as tabs, panes, nested lists, menus, toolbars, and others. These tools enable software to show relationships and provide quick and easy access to information and functionality. Older software tended to use many pop-up forms and sometimes a pop-up form is the best choice. However, the integratation of many features, functions, lists, and details into each form generally produces the best graphic user interface.
Historically, more tools have been available for desktop software development than online database applications. Recent technology and techniques have enabled web-based solutions to increasingly have the power of desktop solutions. Various development products are available for creating a user-interface. Microsoft’s Visual Studio is especially popular, especially because many of its tools and coding techniques apply well to both desktop and online software systems.
In addition to forms, other methods are available for the user to interact with data and systems. The most common example is a printed report. A much more interesting example is that software products are increasingly using voice recognition and sound as tools for users. Sound interaction has been available for quite a long time but still has not been incorporated widely in business applications.
Process or Application Layer
The “process layer” is often also called the “application layer”. This is the layer between the stored data and the user interface. Programmers implement business rules in this layer.
A common approach is to first validate any attempts to update data. Trying to put an invalid date in a date field will likely cause a database storage error. At the very least, the system will have erroneous data in the database. Programmers need to make sure that all data meet the correct business rules to guarantee the most accurate and acceptable data possible. Programming languages such as C# and Visual Basic are popular for this task. Many website forms use Javascript to validate form data. Often the data validation step is incorporated into the user-interface. For example, a drop-down list of acceptable values guarantees that only good data is passed to the next step.
Once the data is validated, then programming code may instruct the system to send the data to the database. The “best practice” is to call a stored procedure to handle the incoming data update request. Many database products enable developers to write stored procedures (using t-SQL language) which process incoming data. The stored procedure may update multiple tables and perform various data transactions.
After the stored procedure updates the database tables, programming code may execute additional functions, such as sending out an email or printing out a report.
The process layer must also handle errors. A multitude of reasons may cause an error somewhere in the process. Without proper error handling, the software encounters a glitch and may cease to function properly. This can be extremely confusing to the user and open the door for more problems. The code must trap errors and execute a method for resolving each error. This often includes presenting clear messages and instructions to the user. This approach guarantees stable software and a positive user experience.
Implications of N-Tier Architecture
All database systems use some form of 3-tier architecture, however, many approaches exist. Carefully choosing the right technology for each component of software is a “best practice” that produces the best software in terms of performance and scalability. For example, some developers may rely too heavily on VB code or t-SQL, when the best approach is use the best tool for the job.
Developers can “mix and match” technologies. ODBC (open database connectivity) allows many user-interface tools and process layer languages to connect to many database products. This also facilitates prototyping. For example, a developer may set up a SQL Server database but use MS Access for the front-end to quickly put together the user-interface as a demonstration version. Once the requirements are more clearly established, the developer may use Visual Studio to produce a more “heavy duty” version of the software.
Some software offers both website and desktop versions. Carefully designed architeture enables developers to more easily produce versions of the software for both platforms. Ideally the database and process layers apply to both versions, so the bulk of new work is focused on the user-interface.
The separation of software design into these tiers provides maximum flexibility, scalability, and high performance. This also enables developers to work as a team more effectively, with each team member focused on specific tasks inside the larger framework.
What do you really need in order to set up a website for your business? Here are the basic building blocks as well as some important guidelines for what those blocks should and should not contain. They are broken up into four different checklists for clarity: Website building blocks, Blocks of what?, Play nice with others, and Golden rules. These checklists are a great starting place for the small business owner who wants to put their business online effectively and sustainably.
Note: Of course, these lists do not cover €œall there is€ on this topic and things do change over time. If you have a website, or if you are considering one, take a look at our blog for current tips, trends, and techniques that may improve the outcome of your site. The details and real-world execution of these lists can get a bit confusing and detailed so we will address these topics and more in later posts.
Our main business goal at CFA is to help our friends, like you, get online and keep current so you can compete more effectively than ever before. All the best!
Think about the basic framework and sustainability of your site. There are a limited number of essential parts to a good website. Each part has an important role to play.
Checklist 1 €“ Website building blocks
These are your basic building blocks for the framework and sustainability of your site.
So what needs to go in each of those basic building blocks?
Checklist 2 – Blocks of what?
Most business and organizations should follow these essential rules that are based on the guidelines given by Google: http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=35769
In addition to recommendations by Google at the above link, we recommend:
1. Great content
2. Attractive and classic design, not distracting or busy
3. Current but durable
That was really hard work… is there more? Just a few more things…
Checklist 3 €“ Play nice with others
Security and maintenance are extremely important. Remember:
1. If it sounds too good to be true, it is.
2. Know the your online playing field.
3. Look into online marketing.
4. Check our CFA blog often for updates on tips and techniques for marketing your business online and more.
And finally…
Checklist 4€“ Golden rules
Concepts to keep in mind during the whole process of building and maintaining your website:
I knew the economy was bad when one of our clients called us about one year ago to say that his business was closing. This was sad news and a personal harbinger of the looming economic recession. I encouraged him to keep his website going and he did. Hopefully he can revive his business eventually.
We decided to ride out this recession and use any available time to improve our business. We set several realistic goals that we could implement relatively quickly:
At the same time we always prioritize producing high-quality and timely results for our current client projects. We needed to work very hard to meet our project demands while allocating time to also restructure our business to be more competitive moving forward.
We have successfully completed our goals. Of course, we always engage in continuous quality improvement, but these were specific benchmarks for us to attain. Now comes the fun part: leveraging these achievements to bring in more clients through new marketing efforts.
Most businesses are facing major challenges as they try to survive the current economic downturn. High costs combined with lower revenue produce a downward spiral for individual businesses and the economy as a whole.
For a business to survive in this environment, it must lower costs and position itself to better compete moving forward. We are likely facing a deflationary period in which prices drop, and many businesses will be forced to lower prices simply to stay competitive.
Try to find silver linings amidst the dark economic clouds. Do what you can to make your business a lean, mean, fighting machine. This means cutting costs while improving your products and marketing efforts.
Understandably, many businesses are reluctant to increase any costs at this time, but some spending may be necessary to position your business to survive and compete in a downward economy. Just as the U.S. federal government plans to spend to stimulate this economy, your business may need to spend wisely to stimulate sales.
One-time expenses to improve your technology infrastructure will likely result in improved efficiency for your business. Use any downtime to build database systems to replace your antiquated spreadsheets and paperwork. This will enable you and your staff to soon focus on sales, marketing, and customer services – and to do it better and more nimbly moving forward. If you do not have quick access to all of your business information and sales contacts, you need systems in place to increase your effeciency.
What is your web presence? How can you improve it? The web is only going to continue to increase in importance. If your business does not have a website now, you most likely need to get on the web as soon as possible. If your website is outdated or missing the depth of your competitors’ websites, you need to upgrade. Your website must be an integral part of your sales, marketing, and customer service. If your website is not assisting in all of these areas, you must address this or your business may not survive.
Database and website solutions do not need to be highly expensive or overly time-consuming. These are necessary business expenses that position your business to compete during difficult times. Once the economy turns around (and the good news is that it will eventually), your business will have the right infrastracture to grow.
Use the web to market your business and promote your website. Many online networking tools have enabled businesses to reach a wider audience. Send out email newsletters to your clients, customers, and prospects. Start a blog for your business so you can post new information quickly and often. Providing free useful information helps people find you.
