15 Jun

Create a Clickable Header in WordPress 3.1.3 Using Artisteer 3.0 Beta 2 for Mac

Clickable Headers are Expected on Websites

WordPress is constantly updated as is Artisteer, which is a great program I use regularly to design WordPress websites. It is also a great program to design Joomla, Drupal and even static websites.

Artisteer - Web Design Generator

Most websites have their logo and/or header clickable to the home page. Unfortunately this is not a default process using Artisteer.

I’ve written about this before. But things change with each new update. So here is a simple code to make your header a clickable link to your home page:

In the sidebar, under Appearance / Editor / Header, look for:

<div class=”art-header”>

Replace this code with:

<div class=”art-header”onclick=”location.href=’http://www.yourdomainname.com/’;” style=”cursor: pointer;”>

And you’re done. Simple and easy.

Keep in mind that if you update or change your theme, this code will disappear and you will have to do it all over again.

Maybe this function will become a part of Artisteer or WordPress in a future update, I hope.

For more information check out:

Make Header Clickable in Latest Artisteer Version

Computer Tech Support Helpful Hints Software
08 Jun

Advertising Campaigns Should Be Truthful and Easy

Truth in Advertising

Not only should your ads tell the truth, but what you are offering should also be fairly easy to accomplish. Whether you are giving something away or having a sale, you should make it very easy to do.

Here’s an example of what not to do. Ralphs and Shell have been advertising their 10 cent deal for quite some time.

I visited Shell and saw no place to scan or enter a Ralphs club card. A big sign said bring in your receipt to Ralphs for double rewards points.

I did so, but the checker at Ralphs says the receipt was missing the proper numbers. The manager said the same thing.

“Go back to the Shell station to get the proper receipt”. Yeah, I’m going to go out of my way to do that.

The result: this blog post. Bad karma for Ralphs and Shell. It probably won’t have any real effect but I feel better and I got a post out of it.

Back up your claims

If you run a small business, the best thing to do is to back up what you advertise. Even if you lose a little money, it’s better to make a customer happy than to have them bad mouth your company online for all the world to see.

The Results of Bad Advertising

I will continue to go to Ralphs because it is convenient and I’ve been going for years. Overall, I like the store and it’s products and prices.

But unless it’s an emergency, I will avoid Shell. Why Shell and not Ralphs? Not only did this Shell not have the proper receipt, but they advertised one price for cash on their big sign, and another price for credit on a little sign I did not see.

Plus they put a tiny little notice on their pump saying the cheaper price was for cash only. Not a good idea to tick off your customer. I will not be back. At least not at that Shell station.

These Days It’s Best Not to Upset Your Customers

Social media is everywhere. With places like Twitter, Facebook and Yelp to voice your opinions of companies, it’s always best to follow through on your promises and don’t tick off your customers.

Advertising Business Practices Marketing 101
23 May

What do you do with Apps that die?

Lighten your day with daily comics

Why aren’t there any newspaper comic strip apps that last on the iPhone or iPad?

Apps that die

I bought an app called “Comics” quite a while ago. It was a universal app for the iPhone and iPad, and although a bit clunky, it had most of the comics I wanted. Not all of them updated regularly. And you had to go back and forth between screens to advance to the next comic strip.

But “Comics” was rarely updated and soon disappeared from the app store. I still have it and it still sort of works. Unfortunately, one by one the comic strip links are breaking down.

Then came “The Funnies” by AFK Studios. This app was also universal and cost $4.99. I read the website info as well as the reviews and it seemed like a good app. It too was a bit clunky. The interface seemed odd and the background ugly. But it worked, was updated regularly and new strips added every once in a while.

But, alas, this app too disappeared from the app store as did their website. And now the app is pretty much non-functioning.

My question is, why is this happening? Is there an issue with copyright infringement? It’s frustrating paying $5 for an app that soon disappears and ceases to work. Just saying.

Buyer beware

Guess it’s just like anything else you buy. Stores go out of business and so do app developers. Even apps with great reviews can disappear. It takes a lot of time and money to design and develop applications. Then there’s promotion and updates. Sometimes the return may not be worth the effort.

So what do you do? Unfortunately you can’t take it back to the store to get your money back.

But you can delete the app and be more careful when buying a new one.

You can still find daily comic strips online

For online comics, check out the following sites:

comics.com Quite a big selection of comics here.

gocomics.com A large selection of comics, including 2 Cows and a Chicken!

ArcaMax Comics Daily comics from your newspaper.

If you’re using an iOS device you can bookmark these links and add it to your screen for easy access. Just click the curved arrow in Safari and “Add to Home Screen”.

Or you can buy a printed newspaper made out of paper with ink and stuff. They’re still available daily. And they deliver.

 

Apple Apps iPad iPhone
12 May

5 Reasons Why the Cheapest Website is Not the Best Choice

You Don’t Want to Look Cheap

Times are difficult for a lot of people. Making ends meet is very important. But in business it’s all about image. When it comes to how people perceive you and your company, how you represent yourself is vitally important.

Make Your First Impression Count

To be a successful business you must have a web presence. Just having your name out there is not good enough. You need to showcase your products and services. You only get a few seconds to make an impression.

You Won’t Find Your Web Designer at The 99 Cent Store

Here’s five things to look for when you shop around for a web designer and why cheap is not always a bargain.

  1. You get what you pay for. This is not just a cliché. The cheapest web design is not necessarily the best representation of your business. Do you really want your business to look cheap?
  2. Keep your navigation simple and easy to follow. People notice when a website is poorly designed.
  3. Most cheap websites are either copied from a template or from someone else’s site.
  4. Will that web designer be there if my site has errors or ceases to function properly? Do you really want to pay someone new to fix your broken site?
  5. Do they have a knowledge of SEO and how it works? Even a little search engine optimizing helps get your site noticed.

A modern, clean, fully functioning and easy to navigate website says a lot about your business. Update your content and website regularly and you’ll increase your chances of getting noticed.

To that end, why not call (310-791-5803) or e-mail Chuck at Creative Juices house of design. We create websites that fit your personality, business and budget. And we’re friendly too. (Chihuahua kisses are optional).

Blogging to promote business. Branding Marketing 101 Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Website Design
08 May

Apple’s Amazing Magic Trackpad

Being an Apple geek I purchased Apple’s Amazing Magic Trackpad the day it came out. After a little practice I’ve learned to love this gadget.

It’s sleek and looks great next to my wireless keyboard. The glass surface is smooth and easy to use. You just have to make sure your fingers are clean and dry. Like using your iPhone or iPad, if your fingers are damp there’s too much friction to move them over the surface.

Double tapping is the same as clicking. It takes a little getting used to. Use two fingers to scroll. On the “Mighty Mouse” you only need one finger to scroll, so if you use both you may get a little confused.

The batteries last quite a while. I use the cheap Costco batteries and still get at least 2-3 months usage from them. And it’s easy to change the batteries. All you need is a coin to open the side slot and simply change the batteries. Don’t forget to press the side button to turn it back on. Hold for a few seconds until you see the miniscule light blink on. This sets the bluetooth connection.

With the new Lion operating system coming out this Summer I believe the Magic Trackpad will have many new, convenient uses. For the price, I’d say this is a great product, especially if you use an iMac.

Disclaimer: I am an Amazon affiliate. Even still, I love the Magic Trackpad and highly recommend it.

Apple Technology
01 Apr

Setting Up a Clickable Header Using Artisteer and WordPress

It’s a common practice that the header image of most websites link back to the home page. People expect this.

Linking your Header Home Using Artisteer and WordPress

What if you’re using Artisteer to create a WordPress template?

Here’s a simple way to link your header back to your home page.

(Before making any changes to the page.php code, copy the original code and save it someplace. If you mess up you can always return things to the way they were.)

1. Find the art for the header. It should be located in the wp-content folder in the theme folder under “images”. It would be called “header.jpg”.

Figure out the exact url for this image, or copy it to an easier location and upload it to your server. You will have to locate this exact url, either way.

2. Log into your wp-admin account.

3. Go to Appearance in your Admin page.

4. Click on Editor

5. Find “Page Template” (page.php) on the right hand side and click.

6. Look for the following highlighted code:

Original code for page.php header image.

7. Replace this highlighted code with the new highlighted code below:

Make sure to use your own domain name as well as the entire url address of the header art. Also include the proper height and width.

8. Update the page template.

You should now be able to click on your header from any page and it will take you home.

If you see a little box with a ? in it, that means either you do not have the correct, exact url for the header image or you did not upload it to the server.

For more details check out the Artisteer Forum.

Helpful Hints Technology Website Design
03 Mar

You Will Lose Your Data Unless You Backup

Hard drives crash and burn

It’s inevitable. You will lose all your data unless you regularly backup.

It’s happened to me. There I was, sitting at my computer when whoosh, the hard drive crashed. On my iMac. Can you believe it?

You think restarting will fix the problem. Sometimes it does. This time it didn’t. The only recourse was to spend hundreds of dollars to try and recover the data. And buy a new hard drive.

There are many backup options.

Since then I take every precaution to back up all my data.

  • Every project I work on I store in a folder I named “backup”. Clever and informative. Whenever I have chunk of time free I regularly back up all this data onto DVDs and then file them away.
  • I have a 1TB external hard drive. Being a Mac person I use Time Machine. I set this up to run a backup every hour. It’s come in handy a few times to rescue lost files.
  • I subscribe to Carbonite. It’s an online, off-site storage company, for both Macs and PCs. There are other options, but Carbonite has a free iPhone app where you can access all your online files. It regularly backs up all the data on my hard drive and stores it offline. Then if something happens to my home, external hard drive and backup DVDs, I’m covered. They do have earthquakes in California, you know.
  • I also subscribe to MobileMe. Big changes are coming soon, I hear. I use this service to backup my QuickBooks for Mac and Quicken.
  • I also use MobileMe to backup my home data, contacts, calendar and mail.
  • My music and photos are also backed up online, through Time Machine, on DVDs, Carbonite, iPhone and iPad.
  • I use Todo to store all my todos online with the Appigo sync service. I’ve also got all my todos on my iPhone and iPad using the Todo app. If only I would do my todos I wouldn’t need to store them.
  • I bought 1Password for my iPhone, iPad and Mac. This stores all my passwords and sensitive info. It’s a great program that asks you if you want to store login info whenever you log into something online.

Am I paranoid about losing my data? You bet. It’s happened. And it’s not unusual.

I highly recommend you look into some form of data backup. Better to be safe than regret losing data or memories permanently.

Also check out How to Backup Your Data & Installation Discs from Gigaom’s Apple Blog.

Have you got backup horror stories? Share them here.

Sign up NOW for our fun and informative newsletter.

Apps Business Practices Helpful Hints Technology
01 Mar

Tips to Optimize Videos for Search Engines

Guest Post by Cayley Vos, Netpaths.net

This video outlines the process of optimizing rich media for the web. By performing keyword research and analyzing competitors you can understand how to position your videos online to get improved placement and increased traffic.

Using the advanced allintitle: search query will reveal the true numbers of competitors in your niche and give you a benchmark to evaluate the challenges in ranking videos for these keywords. Understanding the keywords people use to search for information will allow you to unlock the spigot of search engine traffic and provide the conversion funnel to dramatically increase sales.

Videos have a 30% higher clickthrough rate in the search engine results pages, so having videos rank for competitive keywords gives you a huge advantage over competitors with standard blue text links.

Video is created by Creative Juices partner Netpaths.net who collaborate on online projects to help bring you targeted visitors and increased leads.

Video Video Optimization
01 Feb

What Everyone Ought to Know about E-mail and Content Marketing

What is E-mail Marketing?

e-mail marketingSimply put, e-mail marketing is sending out regular e-mail to your current and potential customers. They need to be consistently reminded that you exist. Write from your own voice and don’t copy other people. Once people get to know the real you, chances are they will want to do business with you. You’ll become more than just a symbol or logo.

What should I put in my e-mails?

You could create a newsletter with helpful tips relevant to your business. For instance, if you have a landscape company you could write about how to prune roses.

You could tell a little bit about yourself and what you’ve been up to. How about promoting a new product or service and explain the benefits. Reviewing other people’s products can also be helpful.

What is this Content Marketing thing?

Content Marketing is not new, but is becoming very big. It often takes form in a blog. A brochure type website no longer cuts it. Creating a constant stream of new content on your website makes it popular with search engines like Google as well as site visitors. People love information they can use. Gear all your content toward helping the reader. They want to learn about something useful. Teach and inform and you won’t go wrong.

Can I do anything else with all my new content?

Certainly. Once you have a collection of informative and helpful content on your website, you can reuse that content in many ways. For instance, why not send your great content to your customers in your regular newsletters. Update and rewrite it to make it new even for those who view your blog regularly.

Organize your blog and newsletter content into an e-book. You can sell your e-book and add to your income. Advertise your e-book on your blog and in your newsletter (and Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn). Sign up with an affiliate service and let others sell your e-book too.

Sign-up for your newsletter

Don’t forget to add a sign up link or form on your blog/website for your newsletter. Collecting a list of email addresses for your mailing list is a powerful tool to gain and retain happy clients.

And don’t forget to sign up NOW for MY fun and informative newsletter.

Plug for Constant Contact

I’ve been using Constant Contact for many years and recently signed up to be an affiliate. I like promoting a service I’ve enjoyed using. Constant Contact is a great way to stay in touch with your clients.

Place a link on your website for subscribers to your mailing list and you will soon receive a bunch of e-mail addresses you can use to send your newsletters to.

E-mail Marketing from Constant Contact is the perfect fit for small businesses, associations and consultants. It doesn’t cost much, starting at only $15.00 per month. It doesn’t take a lot of time. And it’s effective.

Constant Contact makes it fast and easy for you to create and send high-impact, professional-looking email newsletters and promotions. They have a wide variety of pre-made templates which you can customize with your own brand image. And you can track your results and monitor your success, to see how many people opened and clicked on your email communications. Plus there’s a great iPhone App so you can keep track of your stats anywhere.

Emails for Small Business with Constant Contact

As always, I welcome your thoughts and comments.

Business Practices Helpful Hints Marketing 101
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