Using Social Media in Your Marketing

I have always followed the philosophy that your website comes first, online. Meaning-post your content on your website, and then post links to that content on your social media. This ensures that your website receives all the “juice” (traffic, visits, hits). It’s the best way to market your business and improve your SEO. So…website first.

The Change Doesn’t Affect Everyone

There has been a lot of near panic going around this week, that everyone with a WordPress website and a Facebook or Instagram account is going to have issues. I’d like to clarify some things for you and hopefully, make you feel more at ease because it’s not everyone.

First. Do you “pull” (or embed) feeds from Facebook into your website? Videos, posts, reviews? If so, you’ll want to make sure that you have one of two things:

1. A Facebook Developer account with a registered Facebook App. This is done through Facebook, and your web designer may have set this up for you. Contact them if you’re not sure. But ONLY contact them if you have feeds from Facebook embedded into your website.
2. A WordPress Plugin that will do everything for you. The best one around (and I’ve been using it for my clients) is Smash Balloon They have already updated their plugin for these upcoming changes, so if yours is up-to-date you have no worries.

Second. Do you “pull” (or embed) photos or videos from Instagram into your website? If yes, then all you need is the Smash Balloon plugin I mentioned above, and you are good to go!

Keep Calm and Use Smash Balloon

So, to sum it all up…NO, your WordPress website is not going to break because you also have Facebook and Instagram accounts that you use to market your business. It’s a very SPECIFIC change to how a very SPECIFIC process will work. NO, they didn’t spring this on everyone this week. They’ve been emailing people for months to let them know.

The specific process that is affected by this change is: “pulling” (or embedding) content into your website from Facebook and Instagram, not the other way around.

And by the way, the Smash Balloon plugin is an incredible thing! If you’re thinking of adding your social media content to your website, it’s the way to go. It is super easy to use (you don’t need developer knowledge) and it’s kept up to date. And it works on Twitter and YouTube, as well!

I’m always happy to answer any questions you may have regarding this change, so email me if you need more info!

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Smash Balloon in any way, and do not receive any compensation from them. The plugin is just that good!

The post Facebook and Instagram Embeds…Don’t Panic appeared first on Nola Cooper Designs.

Domain Registration and Website Hosting

I come across some of these issues, more often than I’d like to, in my business. Domain registration and website hosting issues can cause you major problems with your website, if you don’t set them up correctly. They are the cornerstone of your website build.

It’s a good idea to plan ahead, and know the basics about owning and running a website, before you get started. This could also apply to redesigning an old website that is no longer giving you a return on your investment. After all, the internet changes, and you need to be ready to change with it, to a certain extent.

Here’s how to get your ducks in a row:

• Know what domain you want, and make sure it’s available
• Know what you want your website to do for you (what’s the objective?).
• Choose a reputable, knowledgeable, and HELPFUL website developer. Ask colleagues and other business owners who they recommend.
• Research website hosting companies for not only price, but also reputation, support capabilities, and security. A good website developer can and will give you advice in this area.
• MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL: Make sure your domain and hosting account is owned by you or your company, and that you are given all of the access you deserve as the owner of the website:
  • Domain Registrar Login (sometimes included with hosting)
  • Hosting Account Login
  • Website Platform Login (such as WordPress, SquareSpace, etc.)
  • FTP Credentials
  • Database Credentials

While it’s true that you may not know what to do with FTP or Database Credentials, any future web developer will want to have them. Business needs can change, and so can service providers. If you have all of the access a website owner deserves, you can easily change to a provider that meets your changing needs (if necessary).

It’s also important to be mindful that, if you change your passwords on any of these things, your current web developer will need to know.

Always remember that your website is a very important part of your business marketing. So important it deserves the same effort in planning that you gave your original business idea. Your input and participation is crucial.

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Color and Emotional Response

Color can cause a visitor/customer to pass by your business, or leave your website altogether. For this reason, deciding on a color scheme for your business image is a very important first step.

BOLD

Warm colors such as red and orange are typically associated with boldness and strength. In web design, black can also trigger a feeling of strength.

PEACEFUL

Cool colors in the blue family conjure feelings of peace and calm. Purples are considered playful.

PROSPEROUS

Green and shades of it, cause most people to think of money, good health, nature, and/or prosperity.

PROFESSIONAL

Muted primary colors such as red, navy, or green along with black and dark gray convey a sense of professionalism.

You should avoid overuse of colors that cause a negative reaction such as bright (neon) purples, pinks, and yellows. Use of these colors in your website background can be particularly distressing to visitors. Unless you are looking for that specific type of reaction, you should avoid using them as the main colors on your website.

COLOR IN YOUR LOGO

The color of your logo should arouse the same feelings you wish your products to instill. As a general rule, a logo should not contain more than 4 colors. Many times even a black and white image is all that is necessary to achieve the desired response to your image.

It’s a good idea to study color and emotions when you are deciding on a color scheme for your branding. The knowledge you develop through a little extra studying, can make a huge difference in your brand’s future.

The post Playing on Color and Emotional Response in Your Brand appeared first on Nola Cooper Designs.

The biggest advantage of a WordPress website is that it combines a functional interactive site with a blog function. It’s truly the best of both worlds.

Thinking through the order of your website content and how you want to present your information is crucial to making an easily navigated site. With WordPress, you will find pages and posts are easily reordered, rearranged, and reassigned…which is one of the biggest reasons that WordPress is the number one CMS (Content Management System) on the web, with an estimated 18+ million websites built on it as of 2017.

Your website is hungry for new content. But do you assign your newly written copy to a page or a post? Let’s look at the differences between WordPress pages and WordPress posts.

WordPress Pages

THE HOME PAGE

WordPress websites have the advantage of easily creating a custom home page for your site or blog. In most cases, your home page is the first page visitors see on your site. If you have a blog only website, your visitors will typically see the most recent posts listed in chronological order (newest first).

When you have created a home page that you feel is complete, you should first publish it. Once published you can designate it as your home page by going to Settings in the dashboard sidebar and clicking on the Reading link. At the top, look for the heading of “Front Page Displays”. This is where you can choose to display a static home page. This will allow your published page to be set as a static home page, which your visitors will see first. Keep in mind that many WordPress themes have custom home page templates, these allow even more flexibility in what your home page displays to your visitors.

ADDITIONAL PAGES

You are not limited to only one page in your website. To create multiple pages besides your home page, log into your dashboard and click on Pages in the sidebar. By clicking Add New, you can add a new page to your site. The page you add will not show up on your site until it is published. You can add a page as a “draft” and continue to edit it until you feel it is complete. This gives you yet another advantage: developing your page content as you are able.

SUB-PAGES

You can also create sub-pages for your WordPress website. Click on Add New to the Pages area and to the right, you’ll see Page Attributes. Here you can assign a Parent page for the page. Any sub-pages would then appear under the parent page.

As an example, consider your About page. If you added a sub-page called Services, your domain would look like this: yourdomain.com/about/services.

You can even add sub-sub-pages, so your URL would look like this: domain.com/about/services/event-planning. The sub and sub-sub pages can be added to a drop down menu within your site’s navigation.

USING PAGE ORDER FOR ORGANIZATIONAL PURPOSES

Another alternative, is to keep all of your pages at the top level, and organize them using the “Order” attribute.

You can assign an order to your pages in the Page Editor “Page Attributes” section/box. Pages are automatically listed in your dashboard in the order you created them, unless you use the “Order” attribute. When an order is designated, pages will then be listed in ascending order based on the number you assigned. This is a great way to put pages you will not use often (such as test or preview pages) at the end of your pages list – out of your way. The “Order” box also applies to child pages. This function is very helpful for keeping track of your pages and sections.

I take advantage of the “Order” attribute to not only give my pages a hierarchy (parent/child), but also to keep “sets” of pages together. For example: pages containing contact forms all begin with 200 (i.e., 201, 202, 203). Pages with photo galleries begin with 300. Pages with policies begin with 400. And so on.

This practice allows me to keep pages on the top level of the site (homepage/toplevel/) vs. deeper (homepage/toplevel/deeperlevel), and yet group them together for organization.

WordPress Posts

A WordPress post is a more fluid option, allowing information to be assigned to categories and sorted within your blog function. Posts are typically shown in the order they are posted and are usually assigned a date, at least one category, and tags.

Posts are traditionally shown in reverse chronological order but you can assign a post stickiness by designating that it that stays at the top of your blog at all times.

To assign stickiness, look in the Post Editor “Publish” section/box. Next to “Visibility” click on edit and under the “Public” option check the “Stick this post to the front page” option box. An example of a post that you might want to be “sticky” would be a “rules for commenting post”. If you create rules, you would want them to always be visible first.

Scheduling your posts ahead of time can also be a great time-saver, when you’re a busy entrepreneur.

WordPress Pages are Static, WordPress Posts are Dynamic

In summary, pages contain more static information that changes infrequently, such as: services, contact information, etc. Posts tend to be more dynamic and frequently added items such as news, events, a blog series, updates, etc.

The post WordPress Pages and WordPress Posts – The Difference Between Them appeared first on Nola Cooper Designs.

Categories as Clues

Categories act as file folders in a crowded file cabinet. It is easy to find the proper information if it is filed correctly, and retrieved easily.

You can create a new category on your WordPress blog in one of two ways:

1. Go to Posts > Categories in your dashboard, and create as many categories as you’d like, all at once.
2. For true easy creation, click Add Category from the “Categories” box, while creating a post.

OPTION 1. – THE DASHBOARD OPTION

The dashboard option allows you to edit and manage all of your categories at once.

Via the dashboard option, you can add category descriptions (which are shown in some themes), and even create a category hierarchy (parent/child) with sub-categories. This is like labeling your hanging files with one title (ie. Tax Records) and adding labeled sub-folders within (2010 taxes, 2011 taxes, 2012 taxes, etc.).

Option 1. also allows you to delete categories. Deleting a category doesn’t erase your blog post but does move it to your default category (which, as we know, is titled “Uncategorized”, if you never changed it).

Categories and sub-categories are used to help visitors find what they need. Tags can help as well but they tend to be more voluminous and subject specific. For example, let’s say you have a recipe blog and one category is vegetarian foods, while another is chicken recipes.

You would post chicken recipes within the chicken category, but you might use a variety of more specific tags, such as “Mexican chicken,” “salsa chicken,” and “spicy chicken” as well.

MAKING IMPORTANT CHANGES

Changing your “Uncategorized” Category (which is the only category in WordPress out of the box) to something different is very simple. Go to Posts > Categories and click Uncategorized. Change the name from within the “Edit Category” screen. Be sure to change your slug, too. This is what will be used in your blog post URLs, and thus should match the category name whenever possible (for the best SEO advantage).

Changing your Default Category is also very simple. Go to Settings > Writing and near the top you will find “Default Post Category” with a drop down list of all your current categories. Select the category that you would like to have as your default, then click the Save Changes button. That’s it!

Organized Chaos

Category designation can help your visitors navigate your website with ease. As mentioned above, if your website features recipes, you can categorize your posts by food, ethnicity, topic, or some other category. Then if a visitor is interested in chicken, all the chicken recipes will be at her fingertips.

The only downside to categories is if you over do it. Select your categories wisely. If you offer a long list of category selections, you can overwhelm and confuse your visitors. If there are several categories you want to feature, consider consolidating some or adding sub-categories. Often, this is where you might want to consider using a tag instead.

Taking control of your categories is both advantageous to your SEO, but also helpful to your many guests.

The post Categories: Take It to the Next Level With Better Organization appeared first on Nola Cooper Designs.

WordPress Categories Versus WordPress Tags

Categories within blog posts and pages are broad definitions of the content, such as profiles, special offers, photo gallery, etc. These category designations sort your posts according to topics, often assigning it to a page based on the category. It also helps identify the content for search engines, as well as visitors searching by keyword phrases.

Tags are a micro-definition, far more specific than their category counterparts. A WordPress tag designation digs deeper into the content and describes specifically what’s inside a particular blog post.

A tag can be a specific list of colors or styles, the name of regular contributors, hot button words, or any further designation of the content within your post.

Adding Tags to Your WordPress Site

When you add a new post to your blog, you’ll see a box with the heading “Tags” on the right side.

You add keywords and keyword phrases by typing them into the tag section, separated by commas. Or, if your blog is established and you’ve been using tags for awhile, click Choose from the most used tags and select from your common tags within the tag cloud. To delete a tag from your post, click on the “X” before that tag.

Tags can be managed, in bulk, from the main dashboard as well-allowing you to edit your tags without going into each individual post. Go to Posts > Tags. From there you can add tags, edit them, or delete them.

Tip: WordPress recommends assigning anywhere from 5 to 15 tags for each blog post. Not assigning any tags negates any search engine optimization. An overabundance of tags can make the navigation more difficult for your visitors.

Effective Use of Tags

Several effective strategies for utilizing tags include:

• Think of keyword phrases, rather than a single keyword
• Reuse tags frequently, rather than only once
• Reorganize occasionally, consolidating tag designations and editing for word choice
• Consider adding a tag cloud, tag list, or “find others like this…” option to your site for visitors to utilize

The findability of your site and the effectiveness of your navigation is centered on your tags and categories. Use tags and categories wisely to give your blog the best SEO results possible.
For more help with customizing your tags and category designation and content creation, contact us about our design and content services.

The post WordPress Tags: Your Secret to Better Organization and SEO appeared first on Nola Cooper Designs.

This wonderful little box, provides the blogger with lots of time-saving tools! Let’s go over the Publish Box from the top:

1. Save Draft button: This allows you to write a post as you have time for it. As a matter of fact, I’ve used this button several times during the writing of THIS post! When you save a draft, your post is not visible on your site. It is also not visible without being logged in.
2. Preview button: This allows you to preview how your post will look on the site with the current changes. Remember, if your post is still only a draft, persons who are not a logged in user on your site will not be able to see the preview.
3. Status: This is automatically set to Draft when you “Save Draft”, and it is automatically set to “Published” once you publish your post. You can, however change it at any time. If you accidentally publish your post, you can easily change it back to a draft. If you are an editor, and need final approval of a post before it’s published you can change the status from “Draft” to “Pending Review”. “Pending Review” means that the post gets flagged in the Posts Admin area of the dashboard as needing to be reviewed. Click the OK button when you’re done.
4. Visibility: This allows you to determine who can see the PUBLISHED post. Public = everyone who visits the site can see the post. Password Protected = allows you to require a visitor to enter a password to see the post. Private = means that the post is only visible to logged in users with editor or admin permissions. Click the OK button when you’re done.
5. Publish: Gives you scheduling options. If nothing is entered here, the post will publish immediately. You can use this area to schedule posts for the future (giving you the flexibility of writing several posts at once in your free time); or you can change a post’s date to the past to rearrange how it displays (order) on your blog. Click the OK button when you’re done.

Once you’ve got everything the way you want it from the options above, none of it will take effect until you hit that “Publish” (or in the case of a previously published article – “Update”) button…even if you’ve clicked the OK button. And don’t forget about your Categories and Tags!

So the next time you’ve got a little extra time on your hands, or you have inspiration to blog…use these wonderful WordPress functions to help you post more effectively!

The post Scheduling Posts and More in Your WordPress Blog appeared first on Nola Cooper Designs.

YOUR WEBSITE PHOTOS AND IMAGES: It is also very important to have the images and photos within your website optimized for fast viewing AND SEO. While technology has basically “caught up” to higher resolution images, there are still people surfing the web on dial up connections who may not want to wait for a high res image to load. Even people who are viewing your website on a fast connection will want your site to load rapidly. Site load time is now a factor in the major Search Engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing. Nola Cooper optimizes the images and photos within your website for the best of all scenarios. Never sacrificing the beauty and integrity, yet allowing them to load as quickly as possible. I always make sure that all of your images have an “alt” tag (or attribute) as is required by compatibility standards. Alt tags are used in many ways: by the search engines, when a browser has images “turned off”, and in Internet Explorer when your mouse hovers over an image the “alt” tag will show on the screen. Also, it’s important to remember that screen readers used by the vision impaired use your site’s alt tags to determine the type of content on a web page.

Download Google’s SEO Starter Guide

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MOORESVILLE, NC. November 5, 2012. After 48 years, the Merle Norman Cosmetic Studio and Spa on Main Street in Historic Mooresville has remodeled both their store and their online presence.

New Look, New Website

Focused on clean lines, warm woods, and feminine sensibilities, the updates—both to their online presence and their brick-and-mortar storefront—offer ease of use and streamlined efficiency.
“We opened our studio in 1964 and moved to this location over 20 years ago. It was time for a makeover and much like a fresh new makeup application, we feel so much better with our new look,” said Glenda Kelly, the co-owner of Merle Norman on Main.

The remodeling project started with the store itself, which is lined with light maple wood throughout the interior and dedicated locations for facials, makeup application, and demonstrations. The website was brought alongside, custom designed to match the look and feel of the store, creating a seamless appearance.

“The ladies at Merle on Main wanted to create a website where they could independently add products and specials to their site, while still making the site easy to use for their customers. The WordPress platform is ideal for small businesses like Merle Norman, because the sites are affordable to create and maintain, putting all of the control in your hands. Yet they look like fancier, custom (and expensive) sites,” said Nola Cooper, the web designer behind the new site and local business owner of Nola Cooper Designs.

The revitalized site, www.merleonmain.com, needed to further the Merle Normal brand within the Lake Norman area, while matching the elegant, simple, and personal touch you get when you walk into the store. The 2nd and 3rd generation co-owners, Glenda Kelly and Monica Hicks, respectively, wanted to add special offers, last minute deals, and up-to-date information to the website themselves. They also wanted to highlight their top products and services, such as foundation matching, eye makeup, waxing, facials, and special events makeup sessions.

Visit Merle Norman’s new website at www.merleonmain.com or in person at 169 N Main Street, Mooresville, NC.

Discuss creating your own custom website and blog with Nola Cooper Designs by visiting www.nolacooper.com.

About Nola Cooper Design

This Mooresville, NC graphic and website design firm has been operating since 1995 and specializes in complete business identity, providing all aspects of visual design: logos, websites, print materials, and social media.

Contact:
Nola Cooper
Owner of Nola Cooper Design
Phone: (877) 291-0620
design@nolacooper.com

About Merle Norman on Main, Mooresville
Merle Norman Cosmetics is an 80-year-old, established cosmetics franchise business with retail locations across North America. The Merle Norman on Main, in Mooresville, North Carolina is a 48-year old third generation business.

Contact:
Glenda Kelly
Co-Owner of Merle Norman-Mooresville
Phone: (704) 664-2610

The post Merle Norman Unveils New Website appeared first on Nola Cooper Designs.

A basic website includes the following architecture:

• a HEADER-which typically contains your logo or business name and states the purpose of the site as quickly as possible through text and images. Some other items included in a header might be: trust symbols (such as security certificates, or BBB, etc.), a search box, a tagline, or contact information (such as a phone number, or email link).
• NAVIGATION-links to other sections of your site-typically on the top, left, right, or all 3-should be easy to read and understand. Text navigation is preferable for better SEO. Drop down navigation can provide better structure, and easier flow through the information on your site, and can help to lead your visitors to the right section. Lower or footer navigation is important when your pages require the visitor to scroll down for viewing. Lower navigation allows the visitor to find their way without having to scroll back up to the top of the page.
• the BODY of the website-the place where all of your information and images go. Placement is key in the body of your website. Important items should go “above the fold” (the area viewable before any scrolling is done).
• CONTACT INFORMATION-always make yourself easily accessible to your visitors. This is a key component for promoting security.
• COPYRIGHT-you should always include a copyright statement on your website to protect your content legally.

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