Library of all things
WordPress and Mailchimp
What’s a featured image? What’s a domain name? Why is SEO so important? Here, I introduce terminology, theory, and mechanics behind the tools I use to produce WordPress websites and Mailchimp marketing. I mean: who the heck knows what a segment is, anyway? I do, and I’m sharing.
Do you have a question or a topic you’d like me to address? Use the button above to get in touch with me and I’ll take a look. Who knows – it might already be in the queue.
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A Thanksgiving Reading List
This Thanksgiving, I’m grateful for many things, not the least of which is my ability to continually expand my understanding of the world.
All the Australian critters!
My final week in Australia and I’m snuggling all the animals! I dove with manta rays & sharks, fed kangaroos, and held a koala and a python.
Queensland
My journey in Australia continues this week with travels in Queensland. We saw dozens of kangaroos and a few koalas. Soooo sweet!
Trip to Australia!
I’m taking a break from essays for a couple of weeks to spend time with friends in Australia! Sydney first; Brisbane and more next week 😀
RSS and Atom feeds
RSS and Atom feeds can help you build your email list, but they can leave you vulnerable to hackers. Use your tools and keep safe.
Page Speed
What’s your page speed? What *is* page speed? It’s how fast your page loads onto your visitor’s device. And it might be the most important thing of all.
WordPress Categories & Tags
WordPress categories and tags classify your posts and pages. They help users and search engines find the right content on your site.
Safety first! Let’s start with SSL…
SSL is a layer of security between your web host and browsers. It makes sure your site doesn’t get hacked on its way to your users.
Structured Data & Rich Results
Structured data is code you add to your website to help search engines understand YOUR content. Viewers don’t see it, but Google does.
Portfolio Websites
I am offering up to five portfolio websites at a great price for a limited time. Design, build, launch – let’s get your work out there!
Website Crawling
In website crawling an app called a bot thumbs through your site to understand your purpose & content so the engine can index it right.
Setting up a WordPress Website
What do you need to start a WordPress website? A domain name, host, and a WordPress installation. I walk you through it in this short post.
SEO for Images
Applying thoughtful SEO to images improves page load speed, user experience, and search engine ranking. And only takes a few minutes.
Hyperlinks and SEO
Hyperlinks are critical for SEO. Internal, outbound, backlinks, easter eggs – what they all are & how to use them.
WordPress & Mailchimp Glossary
A comprehensive and growing glossary of terms used in WordPress and Mailchimp. SEO, responsiveness, accessibility, excerpts, posts . . .
4 Types of SEO
There are various types of SEO. Here’s a primer to four biggies: on-site, off-site, technical, & local. All of them increase organic traffic.
Careers evolve
Circumstances change. Careers evolve. The pandemic gave me the chance to change careers, but I still have my toe in the door of my old one.
Keyword research
Keyword research teaches you phrases your audience uses in their online searches. Smart application of keywords helps your peeps find you.
Headings and Website Accessibility
Headings and Website Accessibility go hand-in-hand. For sight-impaired users, well-written headings are website gold.
WordPress Pages vs Posts
WordPress pages contain static content: Home, Contact, Events, FAQ, etc. Posts have timely information like journals, podcasts, or updates.
Mailchimp’s Social Cards & Social Share
Mailchimp’s Social Cards & Social Share features let you customize how your post looks when it’s shared on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
WordPress Page Builders
Page builders are software added to a WordPress installation. They include pre-built code to help you design responsive websites.
Website Cookies
Website cookies are little bits of information servers store on your computer, tablet, phone, or other device, to help websites function.
What’s a WordPress Multisite?
A WordPress Multisite is a WP installation controlling multiple websites. The sites share related content such as themed blogs or franchises.
Backlinks
A backlink is a hyperlink that appears in someone else’s page or post and leads to your website. They’re (usually, mostly) good for your SEO.
Being Freed today
Today, being Freed involves taking time out to spend with my wonderful friend from overseas. Next week, we’ll get back to work.
Breadcrumbs
Breadcrumbs are a trail that indicates your place on a website: little word maps showing where a page lands in your site’s hierarchy.
Archive pages
A WordPress blog archive page, also called an index, is a page that lists all the posts on a website. It’s like a card catalog for your blog.
Canonical tags
A canonical tag is an identifier used for multiple posts or pages containing similar content. It tells search engines which one to prioritize.
Alt Text, Image Descriptions, and Accessibility
Alternative (Alt) text, Caption, and Description. They all describe images, but when do you use them, and what does each one do?
Caching
Caching is data storage located in little pockets along the chain between your web search and the server a site is stored on. It decreases page load time.
Website servers
A website server has two parts: hardware to store data and software to transfer that data. It stores your files and grants access to them.
Mailchimp Journeys
Automations and journeys are both useful tools offered by Mailchimp, but what’s the difference between the two? Hint: a journey is a type of automation.
Color blindness and website design
You want as many people as possible to be able to use your website. Color blindness is one area of accessibility that’s easy to address.
Image sizing for your website
Image size, aspect ratio, file size, resolution: what do these terms mean, and how do you apply them to your website’s pictures and graphics?
Image formats
JPG, PNG, WebP: which type of image file is better for your website? Which one has the smallest file size or offers transparency?
Mailchimp Templates
Mailchimp templates are pre-built frameworks used to quickly create consistently-styled campaigns. Templates can be used repeatedly and indefinitely.
Website maintenance
Your website designer is trying to sell you a monthly website maintenance package. Should you buy it? Yes! And here’s why.
CRM
CRM is an acronym for Customer Relationship Management: a system for collecting and using client data to build effective marketing strategies.
Search Engine Optimization
Search Engine Optimization is the practice of tailoring your content so browsers like Google and Safari understand the purpose of your page or post.
What are Keywords?
Keywords are labels, strategically chosen and assigned to pages & posts. They categorize content so search engines can guide users accurately.
What is a Website Host?
A website host is a company that provides software & storage for a site’s files. It’s like a smart filing cabinet that allows browsers to access a site.
Website responsiveness
Website responsiveness is how well a web page adjusts its appearance on different screen shapes and sizes: desktops, tablets, and phones.
Audience Organization is key for Successful Mailchimp Campaigns
The basics of Mailchimp’s audience organization are not complicated. Understand just four terms and you’re golden: Audience, Group, Tag, and Segment.
What is a featured image?
What is a featured image on a website? It’s the picture or graphic which you assign to represent a post or page. Mine is quite silly.
What’s in a (domain) name?
Confused about domain and subdomain names? Here, you’ll find a succinct answer to the question, “What is a domain name?”
My spiffy new website
With a new year comes a new website! I’ve revamped to better reflect my services. If your small business needs a website or Mailchimp help, drop me a line.
Why does this blog exist?
I’ll be honest here about this page. I’m a middle-aged woman who changed my career post-pandemic. I love this line of work and I’m plenty tech-savvy. For heavens sake, I started using computers daily in 1984 and they’ve been a huge part of my career and personal life. But as I started learning how to build websites, I had a hard time finding answers to my simple questions. This stuff isn’t rocket science, but it is a puzzle where all the pieces have to work in concert.
This blog is my answer to helping my clients (and anyone else) understand the mechanics of WordPress websites and Mailchimp. It’s not just that, though: it’s my ongoing education. Every time it takes me longer than 2 minutes to find an answer I add it to my syllabus. This is not websites for dummies, because we’re not dummies. Even so, it’s a long list so stay tuned and we can learn together.
Can’t find the topic you’re looking for? Message me and I’ll add a post about it.
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