Answers to the Top 53 Questions on WordPress
ByHere are the answers to your questions that were submitted during the webinar last week. On that webinar I explained what WordPress is, showed different examples and explained how you can use it in your business.
Q: Are the WordPress Pages easy to edit?
A: WordPress pages (and blog posts) are very easy to edit. WordPress was designed so that non-technical people could write and create web pages and blog posts quickly and easily. No HTML knowledge is required.
Q: Where do you find the different types of WordPress sites?
A: You can build virtually any type of website with WordPress. It all depends upon your goal. There are many case studies here on this site for you to look at for inspiration.
Q: Before one chooses to build a site, are there some questions to ask to determine what type of site we should build for ourselves?
A: The most important question is “What is the purpose of my website?” What do you want people to do once they get to your site. This is one of the things I coach you on during the 8 module course.
Q: Your pages are so web 2 and professional…how can someone like me get to your level?
A: One of the keys to getting my pages to look Web 2.0 and professional is that I don’t try to design the website graphics myself. I use pre-made WordPress Themes which are easily installed from within your WordPress Dashboard with a few clicks of the mouse. Thousands of these WordPress Themes are available for free on the internet, and there are many excellent paid themes available for a modest fee ($20-$100 typically) that you may wish to consider as well. You can create websites of this in starting this fall by taking my Website Creation Workshop. This will speed you through the learning curve and focus you on the right things so that you will come out of the Workshop with your first website built and ready for business. Look at some of the student examples here… http://www.websitecreationworkshop.com/blog/case-studies/
Q: Can you do a WordPress site like a store?
A: Yes, you can use WordPress as an ecommerce site. A great example is here: http://operadepot.com/
Q: Will you be including how to link our WordPress websites with a shopping cart?
A: Yes. We will spend a whole module (module 4) on making money with your website
Q: When you add a new page how do you specify where it goes? Will it add a new page to your blog, articles, etc.?
A: You can simply put your pages at the root/base level of your site, or you can define page hierarchies, and nest pages as deep as you like. You specify where the page goes by selecting a parent page from a drop-down list on the page editor screen. If you do nothing, then the page will reside at the root/base level (e.g. http://www.mydomain.com/about-us/). I will teach this during Module 1 of the course
Q: Should I build a blog … connected to a main site… with many squeeze pages capturing contact info and then pointing to a sales page … which all creates a membership community?
A: You certainly could have all these capabilities within one website if you desired. As to whether you should separate out the squeeze and sales pages from the blog, there is no one best answer. It depends on your branding strategy, where you are getting your traffic from, and whether you are selling your own products or affiliate products, are some considerations in such decisions. This is a great question to ask during my Workshop and something that I typically help my students with.
Q: Do the email sign-up boxes come with WordPress?
A: We will spend a whole module on email marketing with WordPress (Module 7). WordPress is for building websites and blogs. To build and manage your optin email list you will need an email hosting service. The opt-in box on my webpages was easily created in WordPress and it adds your email to my AWeber email list. Some other good email list services are iContact.com, ConstantContact.com, 1ShoppingCart.com and InfusionSoft.com. Plus the Feedburner.com service as well.
Q: Does WordPress work on Mac OS without Microsoft?
A: Yes. Whether you have a Mac or a Windows system is not relevant. WordPress runs on a webhosting service (such as Bluehost) that then serves up the pages you created across the internet a browser (e.g. Internet Explorer, Firefox, etc.) on your Mac or PC.
Q: Is there a limit to the maximum # of pages you can have?
A: You can create an unlimited number of pages (or posts) with self hosted WordPress
Q: Do you need to have your own image or can you select images from WordPress?
A: WordPress itself does not provide graphics or images. You need to have your own graphics and photos. However one of the bonuses you get when you register for the 8 module course, is that you get a graphics package with graphics you can use on your site.
Q: How do you find buttons and opt-in page forms to use with your WordPress website?
A: I will teach you how to get opt in page forms on your site in Module 7 when we cover email marketing, plus with the graphics package I mentioned above, you have a large variety of buttons to place on your website
Q: Can you move the images around to get a particular placement?
A: Yes, you can left justify, right justify, and center an image placed with the text of a post or page. You’ll learn how to do this in Module 1 of the course.
Q: Are all of the sites under one admin name or do you have multiple logins?
A: WordPress allows unlimited logins. You can customize how much authority each person has to author, edit, contribute, and modify your WordPress website. You could for example give an assistant the ability to post content and edit content in your name and it will display as if you posted it yourself. On the other hand you could give an assistant only limited capabilities such as reviewing and approving approving blog comments. I teach this during Module 6 of my course.
Q: Do you get kicked off for having multiple usernames such as on Facebook?
No, you will not get kicked off for having multiple logins when you use the free software from WordPress.org and pay to host them yourself under a webhosting account that you own and control. Having full control over your website is one of the primary benefits of paying to host your website yourself, instead of using a free website/blog hosting service such as Blogger or WordPress.com.
Q: Is there a way with Word Press to add search terms so that the internet can find you when someone searches those terms (i.e. Google Searches)?
A: Google and other search engines will crawl and index all of your WordPress pages just as well as a regular HTML site. Search engine ranking of your pages and posts in 2009 is much more affected by the inbound links to each page or post, how you design your internal website linking structure, and your usage of targeted keywords in your page titles and body copy.
Q: Does WordPress have built in SEO tools or do you need to do special things to enhance your website getting found?
A. We will spend all of Module 8 on WordPress and SEO
Q: With WordPress, do you have options for background color, format, etc. or are all of them formatted the same?
A: It all depends upont the theme design you choose. We spend a whole module (module 2) on design of your website.
Q: Are there unlimited possibilities in page layout, number of pictures and overall feel of the site when you build a web site in WordPress?
A: Yes, the possibilties are unlimited with WordPress hosted on your own servers. This is one of the reasons why I teach the self hosted version of WordPress. (wordpress.org).
Q: Once the webpages have been created, can they be held in draft form or do they launch immediately?
A: When you are creating your web pages (or posts), they can be held in draft form for as long as necessary.
Q: Why do you have an “Edit This Page” link on the Make Money Online Page?
A: The “Edit This Page” link showing up during the creation of the “Make Money Online Page” during the webinar showed up because I was logged into my WordPress site while I was viewing that page. Upon logging out of WordPress, that link disappears. So regular visitors to your site will not see that
Q: How long did it take to make your Nutcracker site?
A: I had the basic site for the the Grass Valley Nutcracker up in about 15 minutes. From there we built the site as on again, off again project over a few days while my husband and I wrote the content and gathered the photos and videos.
Q: How much HTML does one need to know to do moderate-level WordPress development? For example the GrassValleyNutcracker site you have up now or whatever site you may choose to comment with. How long would that take in general?
A: You do not need to know any HTML to create a site like the Grass Valley Nutcracker. You just need to know how to cut and paste. If you don’t know how to cut and paste, just go to http://cutandpastetips.com/
Q: What is the difference between HTML code and WordPress?
A: All web pages you see are HTML. The issue is whether you need to know HTML or not to create a web page and your website. Prior to software like WordPress, you needed to know how to create HTML code directly and people used tools like DreamWeaver to do so. With WordPress you don’t need to know any HTML at all. WordPress creates the HTML code in the background for your visitors web-browser to display.
Q: Could you send info in video form?
A: Yes. You can easily post videos on your WordPress website. I will be teaching a couple different easy ways to get video onto your website pages and blog posts.
Q: How to post a video on your site?
A: Video can be easily added to a WordPress page or blog post. If you host your video at YouTube, you can simply copy and paste the embed code from YouTube in the page/post editor (this is demonstrated in the webinar recording posted here on this blog).
Q: Can you add video with out going through YouTube?
A: You can also add a video to your pages or posts without hosting it at YouTube. The reason you would want to do this is to eliminate any links in the YouTube video that might distract your visitors and take them away from your site. I will be covering different ways on how to get video on your site in depth during Module 5 of the Website Creation Workshop.
Q: What type camera does Christina use to create her videos?
A: I use both a FlipVideo camera and a Standard Definition Sony Hard Disk Drive Handycam
Q: How do you copyright your website?
A: Anytime you write something original, you have copyright to it automatically. The copyright mark © on my website merely states that I am claim copyright to the works I present on my web pages. You can go further and register your copyright(s) with the U.S. Copyright Office, but this is not necessary as you are automatically entitled copyright ownership over all your original work.
Q: Can you remove the WordPress info on the footer?
A: Yes.
Q: Can you also create an affiliate sign up page on this platform? Membership option as well?
A: Yes. You can create affiliate sign up pages. Affiliate tools/resource pages. Membership areas/sites, and many more types of websites using WordPress.
Questions About the Website Creation Workshop
Q: Are the classes live? and will the classes be archived if I miss one?
A: Both. Each week’s instruction will be delivered by Teleseminar. And weekly Q+A sessions will be held by Webinar. All sessions will be recorded and posted within the private members area for your review if you are unable or do not wish to attend live. There are also mini videos in the members area, to speed you through your learning.
Q: What are the advantages of paying for your class vs. paying a web designer to create a site?
A: For the cost of typically ONE website built by a decent webmaster, you will be able to create unlimited sites quickly and easily after taking the Website Creation Workshop. Also, by paying someone else, you are now on their time table and their time frame, and you have to WAIT for them to get back to you. I believe that you should be able to take charge in your business and be able to move forward with new ideas as you get them.
Q: Did you use WordPress to create your squeeze pages too?
A: Yes. The video squeeze pages at http://www.TheWebsiteCreationWorkshop.com were created using WordPress.
Q: Do you have an affiliate program?
A: Yes. You can go to http://www.WebsiteCreationWorkshop.com/affiliates
Q: What is the name of the theme you are using on the Website Creation Workshop WordPress Site?
A: I use the Flexx theme. You can find it at http://www.iThemesQueen.com
Q: What level is your course aimed at? Beginner, Intermediate, or Advanced?
A: This course will start out at the beginning, giving you the foundation of how to create pages and posts with WordPress. We will then advance through to more intermediate and advanced topics. So if you are a newbie who is just getting started with your first website, or if you are a person who has a site, and wants to take more control of it using WordPress then this course is perfect for you. Find out more on September 10th when the registration doors open.
WordPress and Hosting Questions
Q: What is a domain? Why have different names?
A: A domain is what appears in the address bar of your browser (e.g. Internet Explorer or Firefox). It acts as your address or location on the internet. Why have different names? Each domain name represents a different website.
Q: wordpress.com and wordpress.org which do you recommend?
A: I recommend using your own hosting and using the self hosted version of wordpress (wordpress.org)
mainly because with the self hosted version, you are not limited to what and how you sell products and
services on your site. With WordPress.com you are limited in that.
Q: How do you get a custom URL for your blog that does not include ‘WordPress’ in the name?
A: The only type of websites that have the name WordPress in the URL are websites hosted using the WordPress’s free service at WordPress.com. I do not recommend hosting your site there as there are many restrictions and limitations placed on such accounts that make this impractical for commercial use.
To avoid having a website URL such as http://mydomainname.wordpress.com/ then you need to pay for your own website hosting with a service that supports WordPress. I recommend BlueHost. I have been using them for a couple of years now. You can host up to 100 unique WordPress websites under one hosting account and they have great customer service (being able to quickly reach a competent person by phone is very important with your webhosting company).
Q: Do you use forwarding and masking to avoid having the WordPress name in the URL?
A: No. I host all my websites with Bluehost.com Because I pay for my hosting, I can use my own domain name/URL of my choosing. Only people who use free bloghosting, such as (Blogger or WordPress.com) get stuck with URLs such as http://mydomainname.wordpress.com/
(FYI, you can have an URL without WordPress on WordPress.com for a fee – $14.95(new) or $9.95 (existent) )
Q: If you have already created a blog site in Blogger or WordPress.com, can you transfer the content to a WordPress site?
A: Yes. WordPress has a built in Import feature that will access and import your content from your Blogger account.
WordPress also has a built in import feature to import content from the following blogging systems: Blogger, Blogware, Dotclear, GreyMatter, LiveJournal, Moveable Type, TypePad, and Textpattern.
Q: Why is WordPress better than Typepad?
A: The biggest reason is that WordPress is gaining market share over Typepad. With millions of WordPress blogs, and thousands of WordPress developers out there there is tremendous support for WordPress. (also, Typepad is a paid service. WordPress is free)
Q: How difficult is it to replace an existing website with a WordPress site so that you can use the same URL?
A: Yes. You can use the same URL/domain name that you currently have an established website at. During the Website Creation Workshop I will show you how to easily build your new site WordPress while keeping your established site live until your new site is ready to changeover. When you register for the 8 module course, I’ll give you a wordpress ‘student project’ website to start learning on and develop your site.
Q: Can you save your WordPress blog so you always have a back up to use if you lose your site somehow?
A: Yes. Most good webhosting companies (like Bluehost.com) backup your site for you automatically on a daily basis. I will also show you how to easily turn on daily backups from within the WordPress Dashboard that are then saved to a folder on your webhosting account.
Q: About the domain names for each WordPress site and squeeze pages – Can they all be under the same domain?
A: You can put your squeeze pages under the same domain as the rest of your website and/or blog if you wish. And they will still be true squeeze pages with no linkage to other pages of your website. I will be covering the how to do this during The Website Creation Workshop 8 module course.
Q: If I use WP as my website/home page – can I have another theme for my blog inside that site?
A: Yes. You simply have two copies of WordPress installed. One at the root/home-page level and a second where you wish to have your Blog (e.g. mydomain.com/blog).
Q: Where do you go to purchase a domain name and how much do they cost?
A: Domain names can be purchased at GoDaddy.com, DomainNameQueen.com, and any other domain name registrar. You can also purchase your domain name at BlueHost when you setup your hosting account.
Q: Then, if I have my own hosting and domain, how do I get WordPress on it? FTP pages I generate?
A: The hard way to get wordpress on your site is to go to WordPress.org and download the software, then upload it via FTP. I do not teach that. In my course I’ll show you the easy way to get it installed on your website. Good webhosting services like Bluehost.com now give you the ability to install the most current version of WordPress in just a few mouse clicks.
Q: How does BlueHost integrate with WordPress?
A: Bluehost.com is what the WordPress software is installed and runs on (instead of your local office PC or Laptop).
Q: I already have hosting elsewhere, do I need to use Bluehost to use WordPress?
A: No, just check with your hosting company that they have WordPress and that they have 1 click installs, instead
of FTP installs. The company I use and recommend for hosting is Bluehost.com
Q: Does layering domain names under one Bluehost.com account affect SEO?
A: If you are using above-board, white-hat, SEO techniques, then no, having multiple domains hosted in one BlueHost account will not effect your search engine rankings.
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Excellent information. Christina to me you are gifted in teaching. Maybe I’m at a different spot in understanding, but find lots of value in your wisdom and sharing unconditionally. May you be blessed abundantly.
New website name above for my ladies over 50 who want to thrive in health/wellness and dream bigger, but still blogging under http://www.carolgiambri.com, both will be Word Press blogs. New site intentions teleseminars, newsletters, selling, building my list. Thanks.
I love your social media widget on your sidebar of your site! What is the name of that? I want to use it too!
Christina
Do you back up your WordPress sites?
What about those who use Hostgator vs. bluehost? Both work same way for hosting or advantage using Bluehost.com? I’m fixed into Hostgator. Think we can also have several websites through them too. I know for sure two I have.
Thanks bunches.
Carol Giambri
Carol,
I have never used hostgator, so just check with them to see if they have WordPress with an easy way to install it. I’m sure it will work just fine for you. See how good their phone customer service is too
-Christina
HI Christina,
Hostgator customer service for WP is not their gig as they said they can’t support that application; was a short while back so may have changed and didn’t ask.
So if we are using Hostgator and switch to Bluehost, how easy is that transition.
All I hear about is Hostgator mostly.
Thanks for being so interactive here. Gotta sound the alarm so others at twitter know.
I gotta see your upcoming class prices. Many suggest outsourcing via VA, but wondering how long it really takes to get things up and running. Maybe VA for the other parts including copywriting perhaps, etc. Beginners have to use money wisely but being informed too. Thanks again.
carol
Hostgator has Fantastico for simple WP installation and also has excellent support in both video form and quick phone resolution.
Bert,
Glad you are happy with hostgator.
I’ve used Fantastico, but I now teach Simple Scripts because I find it’s better than Fantastico.
Hi Christina
Love your Q & A. I wanted to alert you to this topic related to backups. I brought my site down and lost all of my content because I assumed that Bluehost was creating backups automatically. They do but only until your account reaches 2 gig. After that, they can no longer do the backups. http://www.thesavvyva.com/how-i-brought-down-my-wordpress-site/
Kathleen,
I didn’t know about that backup issue.
It’s always best to backup yourself. It only takes 5 min to do, and is a habit to get into.
Yesterday I went around and backed up all my sites.
the wp db backup plugin makes it very easy.
I am installing that on all my new students wordpress websites that my team is preparing for the course that starts this month.
Hi Christina
Yes, I was taken by surprise as well by the backup issue.
I am now using a plugin called WordPress Online Automated Backup. It seems to be working well. It does require a (free) account where the backups are stored–and that gives me some peace of mind.
Kathleen,
I always use the wp db backup plugin. It backs up your content to your desktop for safe keeping
Great info site — Love It!
I have three questions
1- I am using the free blogware at storeblogs.com (link enclosed), do you know if I will be able to transfer the content over to WordPress?
2-If WordPress.org is also free, what do they get out of giving it to us? Since they now have removed their branding.
3- I already have a hosting account with Godaddy.com, do you happen to know if they have 1 click installs for WordPress and/or other features similar to Bluehost?
Joe,
you need to ask storeblogs what system it is that they are using.
Here is what wordpress.org has to say about why it’s free “WordPress is an Open Source project, which means there are hundreds of people all over the world working on it. (More than most commercial platforms.) ”
you can read more about that here:
http://wordpress.org/about/
Godaddy is not the best place for wordpress. their interface is lacking.
Will you explain how to use istock photos on the wordpress site in your webinar or how can I find out how that works?
Tina,
istock photos is just a place to get stock photography to put onto any website. In my workshop, I explain how to post photos, audio, and PDFs to your site without knowing anything about FTP. I believe I covered this in the free webinar I did. Go back and check your email for that link
Thank you! I came in late to the webinar…I will check it out!!
I got my domains on Godaddy. So where else can we have then live? Will they refund or can I transfer domain somewhere else? Where? Thanks. Live and learn….
carol
Carol,
Clarification: it’s fine to register your domain names at godaddy. That’s what I do, at my private label of godaddy http://www.DomainNameQueen.com
It’s the web hosting that is lacking at godaddy.
So I register at domainnamequeen.com and then host at Blue Host
so no need to transfer your domain registration
Oh thanks I get it now. Waiting on friend still–he was unclear about my question not posted here.
Hi Christina, I have wanted to take this class for awhile now, even back when you offered it last time. However, I need to know what the cost is and the different payment options so I can save that amount of money. I have looked everywhere for this information and I can’t find it. It would really be great to know that upfront, as it would help people plan their finances accordingly. Can you please email me at Meljoy444@aol.com and tell me the class cost and payment options? I would REALLY appreciate it. Also, if I already purchased domain names, can they be used to make a wordpress site, or is that totally separate?
Thank you!
Sincerely,
Melanie
Melanie,
all the details for the Workshop will be announced on Thursday September 10th.
yes, if you purchased domain names you can use them to connect to your hosting for your wordpress site
Hello Christina,
I attended your webinar and look forward to learning about your upcoming workshop. I have a “temporary” site up at http://www.drtrachharris.com for the first of several books on college success for teens and adults. I have spent so much time thinking (and worrying) about how I can get an affordable professional website up, as most of my resources are going toward the book itself.
I also purchased other .com domains such as askdrharris and have been concerned that I would not be able to get them up (product sites) in in addition to an author site. What is important to me is that I can easily build several sites affordably until I have someone else handle those tasks.
Best of luck in all of your endeavors.
Dr. Tracy
I am also anxious to see the pricing, as my resources are very think these days… but this is something I’m very interested in.
At the end of the course, will we take away some sort of resource, cd, dvd, notebook, access to videos, etc.?
I was wondering if the course will cover customizing a theme…
Some themes are nice but are nicer if you can change up the header (and hide the default text header from WP), change the color or overall color theme and/or background, etc.
(that’s the graphic artist in me, I guess…kind of like never ordering exactly off the menu)…
I assume it will also cover how to modify the sidebar… widgets, ads, sign up boxes, etc. set up RSS and email feed, etc. right?
all details on the full course to be announced tomorrow sep 10th (just like Julia said!)
Thanks for providing the very good questions and answers.Thanks for sharing.
I took the plunge, but surely the investment secretively. My hubby is not into investing in others but yet he is comfortable performing labor for sprinkler services and getting paid. He doesn’t understand value in mentors or teachers I assume, but he can’t be alone. I need to jump start me so I’m in. Getting older by the second, but still no time to waste as I just found WHAT I want to do and my audience. I privately made a choice for US here.
I not only look at the upcoming class as a way of networking and spreading word about others here. Instead of just you shouting about you, there will be massive ways for others to shout about us all.
After the second preview call and already in before it, I am wowing at the endless possibilities. I hope my ladies over 50 get this same enthusiasm from me that I am getting from Christina even before the class. Imagine that!
Cool site, love the info. I do a lot of research online on a daily basis and for the most part, people lack substance but, I just wanted to make a quick comment to say I’m glad I found your blog. Thanks,
A definite great read..
-Bill-Bartmann
Bill,
I’m glad you stopped by my blog!
Christina
This info is awesome and was exactly what I was looking for! I just missed your recent class but did listen to your preview teleseminar and plan to be in the next one. My 2 sites are HTML and my blog is wordpress.com and I’d like to get them all over to wordpress.org I only found out about wordpress.org a few weeks ago!
Thanks for great info
Trudy
Trudy,
well you are in the right place. I may be doing a shorter summer program before my next Fall course. Get on the email list to be notified
Hi again Christina! I am in love with this post, it has all the info I need regarding WordPress.
I’m so glad you like this post on WordPress!