Technorati Explains Link Count Criteria: Expiration Date 180 Days

Many of us are still trying to figure out how Google’s Page Rank works, but at least we have a better clue now on how Technorati ranking works through a good explanation by Brian Pinkerton in “Making Sense of Technorati Link Counts”. We display four count-related numbers in just this little part of the page. […]

Blog Exercises: Ingredients of a Well-Designed Site

I was asked by a student in my WordPress class recently what defined a “professional blog,” one that met all the criteria for a well-designed, well-formed site that met web standards. What a marvelous question! We brainstormed all the elements that make up a web standard site, and mixed in personal preferences of the students […]

WordPress School: WordPress Resources

We’ve just started Lorelle’s WordPress School free online course and you are welcome to join at any time. It is a slow-moving, at-you-own-pace course to learn WordPress from the inside out. As you go through the course, you will need to find more help and resources on WordPress, and this is your starting list. Below […]

WordPress Publishing Checklist

The following is a brief summary of the workflow to publishing content in WordPress. Print this out to remind yourself of each step in the process. Consider this your checklist to review before publishing every post until you become accustomed to the process. This is your guide to the WordPress publishing process. This guideline is […]

Blog Exercises: Ingredients of a Professional Site

Two questions on the same day triggered this blog exercise. I was asked by a student in my WordPress class recently what defined a “professional blog.” I told him it was one that met all the criteria for a well-designed, well-formed site that met web standards. This is a good definition, but lacked specifics. A […]

Blog Exercises: Start Here Guides

Training for educators using online learning management systems for high schools and college recommend creating a “Start Here” page to guide the student through the process. If the process is complicated, this makes sense. The question I wanted to know from trainers is why don’t they provide training upon entrance to the school so each […]

What You Most Need to Know About WordPress

At the recent WordCamp Portland 2012, I was asked by several attendees to cover the basics of WordPress and we came up with What You Most Need to Know About WordPress. Here are the “notes” from that unconference presentation. The Difference Between Categories and Tags I hear this question at WordCamps, from readers, students, and […]

WordPress 3.4 Green is Good to Go

WordPress 3.4 is out, named “Green” in honor of jazz guitarist and composer Grant Green. Green is a great nickname for this hot release of WordPress, bringing with it some excellent new features and improvements. As with all WordPress upgrades, it is recommended you backup your full WordPress site, database and all files, before upgrading. […]

Prove It: What Makes You Trust a Website?

What makes you trust this site? What makes you trust me? What makes you trust any website you visit? What is it about the site that earns your trust? I’ve asked this question at most of the conferences and keynotes I’ve given over the past seven years: What makes you not trust a website? The […]

The Art of the Fan-Based Blog

By DB Ferguson of the No Fact Zone DB Ferguson is the webmaster of No Fact Zone, a Stephen Colbert-centric news blog and fan site. DB and her husband live in a tragically hip loft in downtown Dallas, Texas, with their 2 cats and 11 tarantulas. By day, DB works as a purchasing agent in […]

Reader Appreciation Project: Putting Readers First

Ronald Huereca writes for the Reader Appreciation Project blog and recently caught my attention with My Thoughts on Being Paid to Post. When one starts blogging for money, there are new considerations. Who am I really writing for? Am I writing for my new boss that will pay me per post? Am I writing for […]

Why Blog?

By Abhijit Nadgouda Lorelle asked me if I would guest-blog here. It was an opportunity to contribute to something built by someone you respect and admire. It feels great, even if it is a one-off chance. It is like associating yourself with something that Woz has engineered or getting to play with Zakir Hussain! How […]

Bringing Personal Blogging To Light

By Edrei Zahari Personal blogging is one of the most underrated and overlooked forms of blogging there is. Despite the fact that weblogs originally started off as a form of personal blogging, it has today evolved to a point where it borders on journalism or even a source of business marketing and advertising. Yet given […]

Tips for Writing WordPress Tips

For those who want to share WordPress tips on their blog, or with me to recommend to my readers and WordPress fans, I’ve written Tips For Writing Good WordPress Tips on the Blog Herald that will help. I outline the specific criteria that goes through my head as I evaluate which posts on WordPress tips, […]

The Taboo Topics You Need to Know When Choosing A Web Host

A while ago I asked for recommendations on web hosting features (not web hosts), and while most people recommended their favorite web hosts or complained about them, the list of criteria to look for in a good web host was skimpy. I was thrilled to run across Web Hosting Show’s Secret Taboo Topics in the […]