Nice Wordpress Theme

I attended a free webinar today hosted by Adria Richards (Wordcamp speaker & CEO of Freshworkshops) on Selecting a Wordpress Theme. The hour long webinar was basic. I am in the 1st steps of setting up my Wordpress blog. Everyone on the webinar was new to Wordpress- all Blogger users, so non-techies will feel comfortable with the content.

My takeaway: there are 3 ways to get your word press theme up and running

Free Themes. On Wordpress.com / Wordpress.org. Free is great and does not mean sub-par. Expect common designs and ease of use. Downside on free, there will be no support services for the technically challenged and if you set up thru wordpress.com you are limited to about 70 templates, no plug ins, and limited on analytics.

Commercial Themes- if you prefer some support or different design options there are many providers that sell templates. Expect to pay $ 30- 200. The upside of buying a Wordpress theme: may have support services from the designer when it comes to installing and customizing. There are trillions of templates - too many for me to digest. It was recommended to check out www.welovewp.com for some design ideas.
Custom- looking for a unique design and have bucks to put into the project ( I didn’t pay much attention to this option as most of my clients & I do not have the budget luxury )

One question that orginally perplexed me was the difference between Wordpress.com vs. .org. Wordpress.com has limited templates (approx. 70), no plug-in but requires no installation. So if you are technology challenged or want a blog template for personal use, Wordpress.com may be for you. Wordpress.org is preferred by designers and webmasters since you can edit codes, upload your theme, install plug-in bells and whistles but you will need some technical ability to install it on your server. Cons- you are responsible for preventing spam, backing up, installing newer versions and should have some technical interest to handle these housekeeping issues.

What I did learn today, certain servers are more Wordpress friendly. This was good to find out before I started the process. I love learning new facts!!

A lot of handy links were provided by the Freshworkshops moderator – this one has a lot of detailed information http://en.support.wordpress.com/com-vs-org

So now I know I will need to adjust my server and go with wordpress.org….next step installing ….stay tunes.

2010 Small Business Resolutions for Online

New year and time to get going. A key to any business is having a plan; a way to measure your accomplishments along the way. Now is a time to put in writing some goals to stay abreast of the ever changing online environment and if lucky, lean some new things along the way. So I documenting my commitment here and plan to check in over the next 12 months to share my success or failures along the way.

Angela Bustamante’s 2010 Online Marketing Resolutions:

1.Use a technology tools to better manage my busy schedule and abundance of information out there. For me personally, that means incorporating Google Reader and Social Bookmaking on a daily basis.

2. Explore Wordpress, its themes and plug-ins. Already started on this goal…Currently working on incorporating a new wp site with the tools I pick up in the coming weeks…stay tuned on my progress.

3. Educate myself (even more) . There is always another blog to read, newsletter to subscribe to and a plethora of free webinars and online classes. I like ClickZ, SEMPO, HubSpot Webinars, MarketingProfs, Lynda.com and Freshworkshops to name a few

4. Focus on creating unique blog and site content. Share my marketing experiences and campaign success for others to learn from. Having worked in CPC,CPM,CPL , Email & now entering Social Media I have a lot of insight on how businesses across different industries and with different budgets are making good use of various media ( pass it along). I too hit roadblocks and learn from others and happy to share new insights

5. Focus on my Local Search networks and Profiles- Bing Local, Google Maps Local Business Center and eventually user reviews

6. Possibly barter or volunteer some of my marketing skills for a fledging small business or non profit, so I can further my portfolio and gain new perspectives.

7. Become active in at least two travel social communities and start particpating ( as I currently provide marketing consulting for a Travel Network and Online Travel Marketing company)