Why WordPress? Versatility via Plugins

April 27, 2015 in Blog, Marketing Monday


Wordpress is a fantastic and versatile platform for building your website.

It can handle ecommerce, integration with social networks, mailing list integration, and any number of functionalities you want your website to do.

You should be careful with some Third Party Plugins, though, because they can create vulnerabilities or conflicts – but as long as you go with highly rated plugins from trusted developers, you should have a problem.

I also get a lot of requests to build websites at a base rate – but with the goal of building more onto it later – ie – ecommerce, etc. WordPress makes that process work. It’s a site that will grow with you!

If you need any help with a website, let me know! I’d love to talk to you about what your needs are – and how I can help you achieve your marketing goals! Give me a call today! 814-636-0152

Why WordPress? It’s effective for Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

April 20, 2015 in Blog, Marketing Monday

WordPress is one of the leading platforms for web development – and it’s definitely the best way to get your website built.

Hatcher Media works exclusively with WordPress for website design, and one thing we’ve seen is that it yields excellent and effective Search Engine Optimization.

I highly recommend using the Jetpack Plugin and setting up the Advanced Distribution Feature – as well as the Yoast SEO plugin – which can help you measure your site, and see what kind of ranking each post can get!

Even without the extra plugins, the way WordPress is built is structured well for SEO – assigning categories and tags to posts to assign them to keywords.

Many of my clients have seen tremendous SEO results because of WordPress!

 

Why WordPress? It’s simple to use for updating your site

April 13, 2015 in Blog, Marketing Monday

If you are wondering about using WordPress as a Content Management System for your website, there is definitely a reason that Hatcher Media works with it exclusively.

The fact that it is simple – and allows a novice to keep a site updated is one of it’s biggest selling points.

If you know how to use facebook, gmail, and a word processor like Microsoft Word – then you can keep your website updated. There is a reasonable learning curve, and I’m usually able to show my clients how to update in under an hour.

That being said – installing, configuring, designing, and troubleshooting your site really needs to be done by a professional. The behind the scenes stuff takes some experience and knowledge – and if you get into the inner workings, you can break your site! I have found that the wordpress forums have been a great resource for finding answers to common breaks – but for what you NEED to do with your site on a daily/weekly basis – it’s fairly basic.

Updating your blog and your static pages is not complicated, and you can even download the wordpress app on your phone!

Why WordPress? It allows for beautiful design

April 6, 2015 in Blog, Marketing Monday

Why WordPressIf you are thinking about a website – you’ve probably heard a pitch for all kinds of Content Management Systems, and why theirs is the best.  After years of trial and error, I’ve settled on one platform above all the others: WordPress

There are a number of reasons that WordPress is king – and over the next few weeks, we will discuss those together. Today, I want to focus on what I think is the most important feature:

Design.

WordPress sites don’t all look pretty, but there are some amazing things that you can do with it. Let me show you some examples of websites that Hatcher Media has designed using wordpress.

http://www.secret.openarms.tv

http://www.openarms.tv

http://www.nannenarboretum.org

http://www.reisscountryproperties.com

http://www.justinwilloughby.com

http://www.patruckingins.com
I usually work with a theme pack that I purchased that has great support, beautiful clean design, and that are highly customizable – so that I can make each site unique and relevant to my clients’ target audience.

 

So you think you can blog? Where to start!

January 5, 2015 in Blog, Marketing Monday

Many people want to blog for a number of reasons. I can’t necessarily give an exact plan for ever possible purpose – but let’s talk about where to start if you plan on starting a blog.

A) Your Brand. If you desire to be a professional writer, I encourage you to build your brand around your name. Even if not – everyone that CAN should spend the 11 bucks a year to keep their name as a doman name if it is available, so that someone else doesn’t snag it! It’s a great way to secure that if you ever need that platform, it’s there.

But whatever you brand is – take some time to think about what it is. Next week, we’ll talk about Mission/Vision/Goals – and you can apply that brand thinking there as well.

B) WordPress (preferable self-hosted)
I know a lot of people like Blogger / Blogspot for their blogging – and I used it for years – but it isn’t as versatile as wordpress.

And I do recommend that you get started with a self-hosted wordpress blog.

How do you do that?
– Buy your doman name and hosting (Usually starting out at $11 a year and $5 a month)
-Install WordPress
-Pick a Theme and Customize it
-Start Blogging

Not sure how to do that? Let me know! I can get you setup with a basic wordpress install, hosting, domain name, and some basic theme customization for a reasonable monthly fee and a reasonable setup cost.

C) Make a plan! We’ll talk more about that in the coming weeks as well! But if you expect your blogging to just “happen” – it doesnt. You have to make a plan for what you are going to write, and when you are going to write it!

What if I don’t have ANY budget? I’d encourage you to start out at WordPress.org with a free account – but keep in mind that you will eventually want to transfer it to a self-hosted blog, if you want the credibility and flexibility that it offers!

Stay tuned next week for the next installment of So You Think You Can Blog? Mission/Vision/Goals
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