Web Teacher » blogging

Changes in WordPress free sites

vdebolt — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:27:16 +0000

I have another blog called First 50 Words. It’s one of the free WordPress blogs, with a wordpress.com URL. I use that blog to post writing prompts for writing practice. For the past few months, there has been a constant reminder on the free blog, suggesting I upgrade to pro. This would mean I’d get a “real” URL. It isn’t expensive to do. I think the last time I looked it was $17.

But I like things the way they are. WordPress hosts thousands, perhaps millions, of free blogs. I don’t blame them for wanting some money from all the moochers like me who are using their free services. I just don’t want to change my blog or my URL.

WordPress won’t leave things alone. Now they are throwing up an annoying sidebar after each post is published.

To get rid of the sidebar, you have to click. What you are left seeing after you do that is the newly published post. So WordPress arbitrarily decided that the next thing I want to do every time I publish a post is 1) see an intrusive sidebar, and 2) look at the new post. Since it’s dead easy to view your published post without any urging from the WordPress interface, I don’t really need this help.

I can only conclude that this is WordPress’ way of annoying me into going for the upgrade. It isn’t making me want to upgrade. It’s making me mad.

Dear WordPress, if you’re listening, I’ve used you here on Web Teacher and in other places for years. You are my favorite. You are my sunshine. You are my morning coffee. But you need to rethink the sidebar thing. Please.

Should You Have a Comment Policy?

vdebolt — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:07:08 +0000

Reading blog comments can be painful. For every insightful and well thought out post there are at least 10 spammers, trolls and illiterate shrieking banshees just looking to start a fight. This is hard enough when you are a visitor trying to shift through all the garbage to find the occasional diamond to respond to. But it is an impossibly frustrating task when you are the blog owner or writer, and you are forced to find those that actually offer you something decent to work with.

Worse is when a flame war breaks out, and there are always plenty of offensive, obscenity-filled, bigoted or otherwise negative comments you have to decide to either keep or delete. This isn’t a simple decision when you are trying to keep an open and yet friendly place for visitors to share their thoughts and opinions.

Image Credit: 1

Usually when I give bloggers a rule of thumb on this issue, I tell them this: If it doesn’t contribute anything to the conversation, it isn’t necessary. If you have a bunch of posts only written by spammers to share websites, they don’t add anything to the discussion. If you are reading endless posts by a troll who is insulting the reader base or blog with no specific focus or reason, they are not giving you something to think about. These comments don’t belong there.

But sometimes deleting such things can cause even more havoc as they begin to point it out. Which is why it helps to have guidelines you can direct anyone to prior to the comments being posted. These set of rules should lay out what won’t be tolerated and what you will do in the case of such violations.

Creating a Comment Policy

What Problems Are Obvious?

To start writing this section, you should take a look through your posts and see what things you find that bother you. Make a list of what you won’t allow to continue. This will give you the baselines for the rules.

What Will You Do About It?

Next, come up with a system for mild, moderate and severe violations. For instance, say you have a spammer who is posting genuine comments, but putting keywords into their names and obviously sharing links. Maybe you decide to delete the comments. But if they come back with nothing but copy/paste and irrelevant comments, you ban the IP address.

Another example is for trolls: If you have someone who is causing trouble, you can delete the comment and give a warning for a mild infraction. If they continue give them a temporary ban, and if they still persist or step over a line, ban them permanently.

How Will You Present It?

Image Credit: 2

For the actual comment policy page you have two options: professional or personable. I have seen both used to great effect. The first requires you to give a dry rundown of your general policy, just stating that you reserve the right to delete comments or bad members for certain offensive acts. The other is a lengthier page explaining why you have chosen to come up with a comment policy in the first place. I prefer the latter.

Should Comments Be Moderated?

If you want to make sure your policy is strictly enforced, you can choose to approve or deny comments prior to publication. Of course, this takes a lot of effort and time. To get around this you can apply a spam filter to aid you. Or, if you have several people working for the site, you could just have them cover the comments on their own pieces.

Conclusion

So, should you have a comment policy? Yes. People have a tendency to push social boundaries online they wouldn’t in person, due to the anonymity and the feeling of protection from behind their keyboard. Most act responsibly, but there are plenty who do not. It is best to filter them out for the sake of pleasant and productive commenting, rational feedback and criticism and lively (levelheaded) debate.

Guest Author Olivia blogs for PsPrint, an online printing company specializing in brochure and poster printing among other popular services. Follow PsPrint on Twitter and Facebook

Komen Can Kiss My Mammagram

vdebolt — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:01:26 +0000

Photo by Tim Waclawski via Flickr

As anyone who pays attention to the social blogosphere and the network news knows, the Susan G. Komen Foundation decided to stop funding Planned Parenthood’s breast cancer screening and mammogram program.

I’m a woman and a liberal. It doesn’t take much more information that that for you to know that I think politicized right wing attacks on the rights of women to receive important health care is wrong. But that’s not what I want to talk about.

I want to talk about how social media–Twitter, Facebook–and motivated individuals with connections online can change the outcome of an event. The Komen Foundation mishandled this event in social media terms. The supporters of Planned Parenthood used social media to their advantage. The consequences include damange to Komen’s reputation, lots of discussion about what Planned Parenthood really does, and many donations rerouted from The Komen Foundation to Planned Parenthood.

Instead of retelling the story of how this happened, I’ll send you to Beth’s Blog, where she’s already recounted it. Go see what social media can do to help a cause, or to slam a social media clueless organization.

Useful links: Video, Access U, WordPress widgets

vdebolt — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:07:49 +0000

Video for Everybody! “Video for Everybody is simply a chunk of HTML code that embeds a video into a website using the HTML5 element, falling back to Flash automatically without the use of JavaScript or browser-sniffing. It therefore works in RSS readers (no JavaScript), on the iPhone / iPad (don’t support Flash) and on many browsers and platforms.”

A Knowbility conference is coming up on the West Coast. It’s Access U @ CSUN, toward the end of February. Learn from accessibility experts such as Shawn Henry, Jennison Asuncion, Denis Boudreau, Molly Holzschlag, Derek Featherstone and others.

An excellent presentation from Kathy Gill on using widgets in WordPress.

If you type so damn much, why aren’t you good at it?

vdebolt — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:23:16 +0000

If you met me in person you would find me very quiet, especially in social situations. People often have a first impression of me as standoffish and unfriendly. If they stick around long enough, they find out I’m not. Unfortunately, I’m one of those people who grows on you slowly. This characteristic is my downfall as a schmoozer at conferences.

Put me in front of a keyboard and something different happens. Not counting places where I blog only sporadically, here’s what I’ve typed of late, by volume.

on Web Teacher.

on First 50 Words

on BlogHer

on Twitter

Add to that the 8 books I’ve written, the other writing I’ve done like curriculum, teacher’s editions, poetry, crappy fiction, etc., etc., you end up with a lot of typing. Well over the 10,000 hours needed to achieve expertise. So explain this: why am I such a lousy typist?

Best 5 WordPress Plugins for Managing Multiple Blogs

vdebolt — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:27:54 +0000

Running multiple web blogs of any variety takes time and attention and site owners are always on the lookout for tools to make that job easier.

While WordPress has long been the content management system of choice for multi-bloggers in the form of its WordPress MU (multi-site) offering, the latest incarnation of the world’s favorite publishing platform has taken things to a new level by integrating the same functionality into its core package, opening the possibilities of multi-site management to the masses not previously familiar with WordPress MU.

WordPress 3 has made blog networks easier to launch but running them effectively still depends on individual needs often not covered by the base WordPress package. With multi-site usability built-in, all that’s left is narrowing down the bulk of available WordPress plugins aimed at making the lives of blog network owners easier.

1. ManageWP.com

The only plugin mentioned on our list that isn’t completely free is ManageWP, a full-featured system aimed at giving network owners full and absolute control over their WordPress sites. The ManageWP service provides a single web-based control panel for all of the sites you own, giving you the ability to manage content across unlimited sites with both a single login and a single submission.

Combined with life-changing features like one-click upgrades for multiple WordPress, plugin and theme installations along with mass publishing, automatic backups, editorial calendars the ability to clone whole sites with a single click and much more, ManageWP may be exactly what the proverbial doctor ordered for blog network owners with an eye toward extreme productivity.

2. Networks for WordPress

Network admins managing related sites already functioning on separate WordPress installations are left with the task of making the entire network accessible to all users, often ending with messy database sharing techniques and something less than a seamless experience for network visitors.

The Networks for WordPress plugin solves this problem and a few others by allowing its users to manage blog networks based on very specific criteria, sharing resources – and users – only when and where you stipulate.

3. Shared Users Reloaded

When using WordPress MU or the built in multi-site functionality in WordPress 3 isn’t an option but sharing users across sites is a necessity, the Shared Users Reloaded plugin is the quickest and easiest way to give your registered users access to content across more than one WordPress installation. Setup is simple, database changes are minimal and results are instant; there is simply no easier plugin for sharing users.

4. Multi-site Global Search

A general question for WordPress network admins already running a multi-site environment: How many times have you forgotten exactly which blog contained which particular piece of content? If your answer is anything other than zero, you are definitely familiar with searching manually through endless posts. Luckily, there’s a plugin for that!

The Multi-site Global Search plugin for WordPress allows you to search through all posts on all sites using any search string, giving you instant access to any piece of content, anywhere on your network, at the click of a button. The plugin allows for searching within several fields, including post title, post content and post author, making this the only search-enhancing plugin you’ll ever need to install.

5. Multi-Site User Management

One of the things that the built-in multi-site functionality of WordPress doesn’t cover handily is the fact that not all blogs are alike. Sites based on WordPress serve both different purposes and different userbases and the functionality that you provide to users at one network site does not necessarily reflect the functionality that you want to provide at another.

The Multi-Site User Management plugin gives you the ability to control what default permissions and abilities users have on a given site or the global network, depending on your needs. Where one site may be dependant on user-created content and require default permissions to reflect this, another may be updated by a single author, requiring that default users have only basic privileges.

While the plugins listed above represent some of our favorites for blog network needs, keep in mind that developers are constantly working on new ways to get the absolute most out of WordPress and those efforts are usually made public. WordPress continues to amaze blog network owners with its fast, well-written code, ease-of-use for both end-users and admins and its new built-in ability to handle multi-site environments, but a keen eye toward plugins that suit your particular needs can easily be the facet of WordPress that makes you love it most!

Image credit: 1.

Guest Author Sonia Tracy is the content editor for PsPrint and editor of PsPrint Printing and Design Blog. PsPrint is an online printing company, which you can follow on Twitter and Facebook.

Useful links: Responsive images, WordPress gallery

vdebolt — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 14:15:37 +0000

Responsible Responsive Images brings out some points worth pondering.

WordPress has added image gallery support. Here’s how to make it work. Can’t wait to find a reason to try it out.

Guest post: Ten Ways to Generate Better Site Content

vdebolt — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 12:57:23 +0000

Content Management is a relatively new term in the web world. It’s a concept that has taken on particular importance as the marketing paradigm continues to transition to the digital world.

Before, your website was a static entity, a virtual sign post pointing to your brick and mortar business. Today, your website should be considered your virtual office. Your customers should be able to find out everything they want to know about you from your website, including a deep inference about why it is you are doing what you do. What makes you good at it? Why should they trust you? These concepts and more are conveyed by the content on your website.

Your website content says things about you and your business.

Are you attentive to your customers?
Do you participate in community conversations?
Do you enjoy what you do?
What do your customers think about you?

All of these questions are answered by content on your site, and if you’re not putting thought and energy towards continually growing this information, customers will notice. When customers notice, search engines notice. Your website content should tell potential customers, either directly or indirectly, why they should work with you instead of the other guy.

Here are 10 tips for generating useful content for your website:

1. Prioritize Writing

Make writing a priority for you and your staff. You hired them because they are good at what they do. Expect them to deliver solid content that backs that up. If you do, you’ll benefit from their experience and help develop their talents even further.

2. Don’t Pass the Buck

Make the website somebody’s responsibility. If it’s not somebody’s job, it won’t get done. The buck will be passed until the buck stops coming back to you – okay cheesy metaphor – but you get the picture: without assigning ownership, good things get dropped.

3. Focus on Your Passion

Write about what you like. You’re in your field for a reason. You have a passion for what you do. Share it.

4. Frequency Trumps Overanalysis

Make small but frequent posts. Short and interesting is more valuable than long and dry. In addition, the search engines like it when they see more frequent posts while maintaining good quality.

5. Task Out Writing

Don’t take on all the writing by yourself. It can be tough to create solid, shareable blog posts and content. Instead, share the load. Give others an opportunity to flex their voice by offering guest spots in your news feed.

6. News Rules the Feeds

Write about things that are happening right now. Are you having a work related event? Share it with the web. Take pictures when you do things. Post about the story behind the picture. It makes for a much more interesting website or blog.

7. Get Social

At one time, one-way communication worked for businesses. Those days are gone. It’s time to integrate with social media outlets like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Let your audience engage with you and you’ll earn back dividends of trust…and business.

8. Link Your Stories

Link associated stories together on your site. They don’t call it the ‘web’ for kicks. Integrating an internal linking strategy into your content generation plan brings your site together as a whole. It also helps with search engine rankings.

9. Share Your Sources

Though a professional journalist may keep their sources secret, you don’t have to. Share the industry-related sources that you find interesting or insightful about your field. If you find it interesting, others will too.

10. Publish Case Studies

If you’re good at what you do, no doubt some of your customers can vouch for you. Share those success stories. Writing about specific cases benefits both the vendor and the client. It makes for great marketing material too.

All of these items can take you to greater content management heights. The search engines will love you, your audience will appreciate it, and your business will grow. Better content management helps everyone!

About the author: Kimberly Clark is a senior web designer at VIA Studio. You can read more helpful tips at the VIA Studio Blog.

A Bloggers Guide to HTML5

vdebolt — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 14:10:13 +0000

Are you someone like me who thinks HTML is the most interesting topic on the planet?

No?

Not surprising, really. Most people have other things to think about.

But even those among us – you! – who would rather think about other things have probably noticed a lot of headlines and blog posts that talk about HTML5. Maybe you’ve wondered if HTML5 is something important enough for you to start thinking about. Maybe you’ve noticed that WordPress themes are coming out in HTML5, such as these from WPMU, and you’ve thought about whether you should switch to a new theme on your blog. Maybe you’re worried that your current blog/web site will be out of date if you don’t make a move to HTML5.

This post is for the wonderers, the worriers, and those who are only marginally interested in HTML. I’ll do a little ‘splainin’ that may help you learn enough to make some decisions.

Fact One: HTML5 is still HTML

If you know a little about HTML already, everything you know is still good and still works. HTML5 is an evolutionary growth step, it’s not a completely new invention. HTML5 is backwards compatible. It works with whatever version of HTML or XHTML you already have on your web page. Here’s the kicker – you can take an existing web page and change it to HTML5 with just a few keystrokes.

Change the DOCTYPE to HTML5 and you’re suddenly using HTML5. For example, your existing DOCTYPE (it’s the first thing in the code on your page) might look something like this:

If you replace that with the DOCTYPE for HTML5, your web page would still work. It would still look the same. Backwards compatible, remember? What’s the new DOCTYPE?

That all there is to it. Several other things are much simpler in HTML5, like links to scripts and stylesheets. Nice, eh?

Fact Two: Choose Your Own Syntax

What if you’ve been using XHTML – with all those forward slashes at the ends of tags like
? In HTML5, you can still use that type of syntax if you want it. Or you can do the plain old
minus the XHTML required forward slash. You can write HTML the way you like best. For example, you can capitalize tags if you want to, like this:

You can use quotation marks or not. So you could do this:

HTML5 can deal with all of it. Nothing will get broken and not work.

Fact Three: New HTML Elements

There are some new elements. Some are meant to make things more semantic. Most HTML tags are self-describing. This semantic self-description among HTML elements is a very good thing. You document makes more sense to both humans and machines if the correct tags are used to mark up the content as whatever it is semantically meant to be – for example a list or a heading.

Bloggers might really be interested in the new

element. Think of an article as a single unit, something you could pick up and move around. Like a blog post. Each post on your blog could be an

in HTML5. Inside that article there could be the new

element with the post title, and the new

Useful links: Google+ on WordPress, HTML5, YouTube SEO, Responsive Design

vdebolt — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 14:46:06 +0000

Three Ways To Display Your Latest Google+ Updates On WordPress from wpmods.

searching for signal gives us: The Most Important Parts of HTML5, or Why audio and video are Boring, or The New Web Platform, or an Introduction to HTML5. Yes, all that.

YouTube Tips: Blown Away by Phyllis Khare tells you some tips that will improve SEO (and accessibility) for your YouTube videos.

Beginner’s Guide to Responsive Web Design from Think Vitamin is a good resource/reference for getting people started with responsive design.