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Webmaster Tutorials

What Are My Favorite WordPress Plugins – and Why?

by Mahesh Kukreja on January 29, 2012

This is a guest post! If you want to write for us, check out the Guest Post section.

WordPress happens to be an exceptional platform that enables all the Internet site owners to easily take control of their web portals and customize them as per their needs and requirements. There are various different things that make the blogging platform of WordPress more useful and beneficial and they are called as the plugins. These are actually teeny applications that, when installed into your portal, helps to enhance your portals functionality to a great deal. The WordPress plugins are exceedingly useful in making sure that your blog based on WordPress platform runs at peak performance and all those that enable you to make that happen are some of the best WordPress plugins available and are most favorite and preferred ones.

Wordpress plugins

As there are a large number of Plugins available, there are some best ones that can be considered as some of the most preferred ones, and this is for the reason that they are actually destined to be popular and in-demand because of their functionality. Some of the vital ones have been around for some time, and with the passage of time, they have been improvised to a great extent by their developers and are positive to lead the entire pack.

My Favorite WordPress Plugins

Here are five of my favorite WordPress plugins:

WordPress SEO

WordPress SEO happens to be one of the best and most favorite plugins used by most of the bloggers. This is simply an unbeaten plugin that enables users to easily optimize their Internet sites for the leading search engines. Joost De Valk has developed this particular plugin, and is considered to be a legend in the world of SEO. it is useful to optimize the blog pages and also helpful in creating a lot of various other features such as the XML sitemaps, The users stay more focused with the appropriate keywords while the content is being written.

Akismet

This is also one of the most favorite WordPress plugins especially when you are considering protecting your blog from spam. Akismet is one of the most effective and popular spam filter and people make use of it to guard their sites.

Contact Form 7

Contact Form 7 is just another beneficial plugin related to WordPress. The plugin enables you to easily manage various different contact forms, easily personalize them as well as the mail contents easily. The plugin also supports spam filtering, Ajax-powered submitting, CAPTCHA, just as Akismet and various others. To this point, the plugin has been downloaded more than 5 million times and it is also available for free.

Cart66

Cart66 is one of the best plugins when you are considering using it for your E-commerce portal. It is now available in two different versions; the first one is the paid version, and the other one is available for free.

Sharedaddy

As the social networking portals are becoming more and more popular than ever before, there is a requirement for a useful plugin that enables you to provide different options for your portal visitors to easily share your content with Sharedaddy. You can configure the services easily and make them appear as icons, text or both. The plugin basically includes PressThis, Print, Email, Reddit, Digg, StumbleUpon, Twitter, and Facebook.

Author Bio:

I am Susan Hannan from Examsking. Looking for Examsking.co.uk exam assistance? Let’s take benefit of Exams King self-paced CCIE Certification training material and clear your IT certification on first try.

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Making the Connection between QR Codes and Marketing

by Mahesh Kukreja on January 29, 2012

This is a guest post! If you want to write for us, check out the Guest Post section.

More and more users are turning to high end mobile technology, taking advantage of the advanced features and functionality available with smart phones. In response to this shift, companies shift towards creative uses of marketing in order to reach their customers. One particular technology that has an increasing presence in marketing is QR codes.

QR Code

5 Creative Uses of QR Codes

A QR code is a type of barcode that is used to store encrypted data. Traditionally used for tracking and ticketing, QR codes have been increasingly seen in marketing endeavors. The following five examples are creative marketing campaigns that utilize QR codes:

Museums and Historical Areas

Museums, art galleries and other historical sites are finding creative ways to mix the new with the old. By placing QR codes next to paintings and statues, tech-savvy art patrons can quickly access more information on the work of art. QR codes can also give visitors an audio and visual tour, further enhancing user experience.

Retail Labels

QR codes are relatively small, rarely exceeding more than several inches in size. Therefore, many businesses and companies have placed QR codes on labels, on a variety of products. Aside from providing information, retail stores can connect QR codes to social media buttons and multimedia, further expanding customer experience. From clothing to bottles, coffee cups to e-commerce goods, QR codes can be applied nearly anywhere.

Promotions and Free Offers

The word “free” sends a signal to any customer, causing them to flock to the business in question. Therefore, embedding promotions and free offers in a QR codes is an extremely effective way to market the business and brand. One example is to place a QR code in an advertisement or an exclusive email, offering free content to the first several hundred who access the code. This particular use of QR codes is versatile, and can be utilized by a wide range of companies and businesses.

Scavenger Hunts

Similar to the above, a giveaway or prize at the end of a contest is an opportunity for businesses to market to customers. QR codes work particularly well with scavenger hunts, and motivate customers to travel and visit places they normally would not go. Examples of QR codes in scavenger hunts take place in multiple retail stores or in viral marketing campaigns. Scavenger hunts can be a great way to engage and interact with customers.

URL access

One of the main advantages of the QR code is its accessibility; instead of relying on pen and paper, customers can simply scan the QR code to gain access to information. Businesses can utilize this feature in a variety of ways, such as displaying QR codes on storefronts, billboards and ads. By causing the QR code to redirect to a website, businesses can prolong customer experience.

At the moment, QR codes are limited by whether the user possesses a smart phone or some sort of QR scanning technology. However, as more and more users adopt smart phones, the marketing potential of QR codes will continue to rise.

Author Bio

Rachel Hyun Kim is a writer on topics ranging from background checks to payroll services. She writes for an online resource that gives advice on topics including telemarketing services for small business owners and entrepreneurs at Resource Nation.

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How to Start a Membership Blog using WordPress Platform?

by Mahesh Kukreja on January 23, 2012

This is a guest post! If you want to write for us, check out the Guest Post section.

With the seemingly endless stream of information that we can find online there are some people that question whether there are still individuals that would actually pay for content. The truth is that last year more than a billion dollars was spent on internet content: so hopefully that not only surprises most people but also answers the question. But how do we get started creating a membership blog?

WordPress does everything we need

When it comes to a membership site, it may seem hard to believe but WordPress does everything you could possibly need. Specific plugins for WordPress will do most of the work for you. For example, the plugin Mingle Forum will help you easily create a forum where your users can discuss your blog and even SEO work is made easier than before to ensure that you get the best possible ranking. What are some of the major players on the WordPress membership plugin market?

Magic Members

Magic Members

Many people consider Magic Members their favorite membership plugin for WordPress, and for a reason. If you are going to start a membership blog using WordPress, this plugin offers almost everything you need. Getting it installed is like installing a standard WordPress plugin. These are some of the features you can expect:

  • Easy integration with existing or new blogs
  • Control subscription length
  • Flexible membership options
  • Payment modules integration

Magic Member costs $97 for a single site license, $197 for 3 licenses & $297 for unlimited licenses.

Membership Pro

Paid Membership Pro

Membership Pro is another rather nifty membership plugin. There are two different versions available: the free version and the paid version. Of course, the free version offers fewer features than the paid version but it is a great way to get a feel for the plugin and see if you like it. This plugin does not just work with each WordPress site, but also with BuddyPress and multisite. It allows you to transform your BuddyPress, WPMU, or WordPress site into a fully functional membership site. This means that you go beyond the blog and allow access to support, forums, videos, online content, and downloads through flexible membership levels and options. These are some of the features to expect:

  • Serial renewing subscriptions
  • Finite or indefinite subscriptions
  • Offer free memberships that turn into paid subscriptions after a certain number of days

You can download Membership plugin for free, but if you support or hosting services for your membership site, then the pricing starts at $19/month.

Wishlist Member

Wishlist Member

Easy to install and even easier to use. Wishlist Member can convert your WordPress blog into a complete membership website in mere minutes. It offers:

  • Multi-level access
  • Shopping cart integration
  • Flexible membership options
  • Control viewed content
  • Integrates seamlessly into your WordPress site
  • Sequential content delivery
  • Unlimited membership levels

The Single license of Wishlist Member costs $97 whereas Multi-site license costs $297.

Determine a payment gateway

If you are going to make a membership blog there is a good chance that you want to actually, you know, use that money at some point. You need a payment system to process all your member payments. Some of the industry leaders are 1shoppingCart, Paydotcom, Paypal and Clickbank.

If you already have a specific WordPress plugin you want to use (or a specific payment system you refuse to get rid of) make sure that the plugin integrates with your preferred payment gateway. There is nothing more frustrating than finding out that the two are not compatible and you have to make some major changes to your design.

Do not provide substandard content

The most important thing to remember about creating a membership blog is that you are asking people to pay for information they previously may have had access to for free. Before, when you had no desire to post a blog and sent in a substandard blog post people may have forgiven that. If you charge them for content, it is unacceptable to release substandard work. You must always provide absolute unique, engaging and interesting content for your members in order for them to always want to stay, spread the word and keep on wanting more. Finally, make sure to have fast internet connection for uploading, editing and distributing of content. This part is easy since internet service is getting cheaper and cheaper due to competition by different providers. For example AT&T is offering exclusive Uverse coupon deals and savings on its internet service. Hope these tips help and good luck on your membership sites.

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5 Must-have Features Every Online Store Must Have

by Mahesh Kukreja on January 5, 2012

This is a guest post! If you want to write for us, check out the Guest Post section.

E-commerce is still the rage on the Internet with successful part to full-time entrepreneurs raking in sales even as the overall economy continues to stagnate. Just about any product can be found online these days and the Amazon/eBay big boys are no longer the only game in town.

People want to buy locally from other people like them. Corporations tend to exemplify all the cold efficiency that most people abhor in their private lives. That’s why people seek out mom and pop-type operations for their local buying needs. And that doesn’t have to end with the Internet.

E-Commerce Features

Whether you are looking to buy an e cigarette, garden tools, and factory-made auto parts or just about anything else you can think of – someone out there online is selling it. The advent of search engine optimization has allowed the smaller retail operations to compete with larger sellers in a more equalized playing field.

On the Internet, sellers aren’t at the same disadvantage against large retailers as they would be in a brick and mortar operation. Because of this, e commerce can be an extremely lucrative option for anyone looking to build an online business. But it takes work. There are certain elements that must be present on every retail website and they must also work properly. Consumers have grown accustomed to speed and waiting around for a slow application to load is not an option for most. They’ll simply click the button and visit someone else’s site.

To help insure you don’t miss the important stuff, here are 5 essential elements of every e commerce website:

Search engine optimization

To be seen and visited, consumers must be able to find you in searches on Google and other sites. Understanding SEO strategies, or hiring an SEO expert who can do the work for you, is imperative for successful marketing.

PCI Compliant transactions

To sell products online you must have the ability to process payments. A hosting service that is compliant of Payment Card Industry (PCI) security measures and requirements will allow you to conduct transactions with confidence.

Integrated shipping

Your online store should be linked by shopping cart to major U.S. shipping agencies like United Parcel Service (UPS) and FedEx so that customers can receive their products in a timely manner.

Flexible Pricing Management

Your shopping cart software should include flexible pricing features that allow you to use multiple pricing options to use with promotions and other special categories.

Analytics reporting

Accurately monitoring your business is critical to respond to demand and provide an in-need service. Integrating with Google Analytics reports will help keep tabs on business movements.

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