Using WordPress in Your URL

Just an FYI, did you know that it is in violation of the WordPress trademark to use “WordPress” in your url? You can see here what they say in on their site, but in a nutshell…

It’s best to use yourdomainwp.com instead. For example if you have a site called WordPress Themes, your URL should be wpthemes. And if you already have a URL with WordPress in it, they say:

“If you already have a domain with “WordPress” in it, redirecting it to the “wp” equivalent is fine, just as long as the main one users see and you promote doesn’t contain “WordPress.”

But I still see this abused all the time. Have you? It’s important to remember what this great open source software is giving us, free of charge.

Also, you will find many sites, although they don’t have WordPress in the url, they have it in the site name. This is okay to do. But what you shouldn’t do is make it look like it’s affiliated with the official WordPress site. Also, do not take chunks of text from the WordPress site and drop it onto your site as if it’s your own copy. I see this done and it really irks me. This is copyrighted information.

What you need to do is note that copy has been taken from the WordPress site, by giving them credit. And most important, if you do have WordPress in the name of your site, please put a disclaimer at the bottom of the site that it is in no way affiliated with WordPress.com or WordPress.org.

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Warning Signs of the Wanna Be WordPress Expert

Everywhere you look, WordPress “experts” are popping up. Try googling it if you dare. There are even sites that will tell you how to become a WordPress expert in hours. Amazing, huh?

Well, I just don’t buy it. Like so many professions, people toss around the word “expert” effortlessly.

So, let’s look at the definition of “expert”.

expert: a person who has a comprehensive and authoritative knowledge of, or skill in, a particular area

Hmm, sounds like some gray areas there. The question is, what do you expect of the expert you contact?

The saying goes, calling yourself an expert means nothing, someone else calling you an expert, well, that’s justification. Right?

I would like to propose 10 red flags to look for when searching out your WordPress “expert”.

1. You find out your WordPress expert was only a month ago picking up their first copy of WordPress for Dummies.
2. They use “WordPress Expert” prominently— and everywhere— on their own site. Sounds like someone is trying to pick up some serious google juice, wouldn’t you say?
3. They list themselves as an expert in 2, 3 or 4 different areas, eg. WordPress expert, Social Media expert, SEO expert, on and on… wow, that really is an expert.
4. They leave open comments on every static page of their own website. Like, yes, I would really like to comment on your services.
5. Only 2 weeks ago they were a landscaper.
6. They use cliches like “killer”, “rockstar” and “suck”. Really watch out for the the Rockstar WordPress designer who creates “killer” websites that don’t “suck”.
7. They tell you WordPress is simple and you can have a “killer” (okay, there’s that word again) website yourself in only a couple of hours. Not!
8. Their prices are too good to be true. Often they use the old “bait and switch” approach here. And in the end, you still need help.
9. Their tagline is “We Make a Wordpress Expert and Blogger”. Say what? (Seriously, I found this one the web).
10. And last, but not least, they do not follow protocol, and ignore using uppercase W & P when spelling WordPress.

In closing, all I can say is, “BE CAREFUL OUT THERE.”

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Is WordPress the Answer to All Our Prayers?

WordPress has the reputation of being a simple and easy way to get an online presence. Proclaimers of its ease often spout that you can have a website done in a short amount of time, even  a “killer” site.

Just go to WordPress.com and bam, you have a site before you know it.

NOT!

Okay, let’s back up. Yes, you can create a pretty simple website or blog on WordPress. Adding standard widgets is fairly easy, and creating posts, pages, inserting images…whoa, wait, did someone I know just send me an email and frantically ask, “How do I get my images to look good on my WordPress site? I’ve been working on it for two hours now!”

Okay, maybe it’s not the answer to our prayers.

At Cat’s Eye, we use WordPress as a content management system, which means we create a dynamic, customized website for you, and once we are done, you can go in and make simple edits without waiting for us to do them. Sure, learning some of the editing on WordPress can be done with some practice and it does give our clients more control over their own site.

But unless you have some marketing background, website development and copywriting skills, an understanding of some html and CSS, well, a “killer” website is not at your fingertips.

There are presenters of workshops out there who get people to flock to their event because they promise that even a complete novice can build that “killer” website. So they run through things, very quickly doing this and that and saying, “You can do this, too!” And, bam, they send you on your way.

You are excited! Amazed at what you will be able to do! Getting back in your office, you sit down, login to your account and anticipate the newfound energy that will escape from your fingertips. But whoa, you just tried to do something that the “WordPress expert” showed you, and it just doesn’t work. But it looked so damn easy!

Okay, in fairness, I will say that WordPress does allow you to create a pretty nice blog by yourself, no matter what your skills are. And of course, we know that blogs are driven more by content then by looks. But if your blog is a huge part of your marketing, then maybe you do need to take it beyond just “simple”.

So what are your experiences or thoughts on the ease of WordPress?

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Cheap Websites – An Assembly Line?

 

First off let me say that in general this is not a new subject. Low-cost website packages have been around for sometime. You will find them everywhere on the web. But this recession has done a strange thing. 

I am seeing more and more marketing consultants, web designers and developers and graphic designers offering low-end websites. And a lot of these are the same people who frowned on them only a few months ago. So what the heck is happening?

First of all, it’s obvious: the economy. As businesses cut back on spending, we all need to find the perfect price point that gets us in the door. Secondly, platforms like WordPress are making it easier to create a website for very little money. But….

“We’ll get you started on the web with a 5-page website for only $500.”

“Give us a few hours of your time and you will be on the web for only $300″

“Build your own site and have a web presence for only $49 a month.”

Blah, blah, blah.

Recently I overhead someone talking about the low-end websites they do for clients. Basically I heard this, “Heck, we can pump  those things out like crazy, takes us so little time!”

Makes you feel real confident in the end product, huh?

So what’s the freakin’ point you may ask. What I see are three huge vital elements lacking.

You get what you pay for! Sure they will get you on the web, and most of them get you a decent brochure website. It will tell people landing on your homepage what you do, but I really doubt it will “sell” what you do. Even if you are paying just a few hundred dollars, you want your site to do more than just sit there.

Where’s the accountability? Are these people “pumping out a site” or are they working with you? Do they really take the time to understand what it is you do, what you want your site to do, and then walk you through the process?

Finally, the content. Amazingly in these promos for low-end sites, I see something like this: we will do you so many pages, provide SEO (yeah, right), throw some stock images on it and maybe even give you the hosting. But do they ever mention the copy? The real selling point. Web copy is an art in itself. Web copy can provide great SEO, and it can sell your product or service effectively. Most importantly it needs to pull your customer in, keep them there and make them take the next action. Without good copy, a website is nothing.

So, with that all said, if you are thinking of taking advantage of the low-end sites, think about what I said and ask  questions. If they promise the world, get it in writing.

I know as small businesses we have tight budgets, especially in these times, but all I can say is, “Be careful out there.”

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