Entries Tagged 'Tools' ↓

I’ve been meaning to add a “Tweet This” button to this blog for awhile but I didn’t want the standard look of the WordPress plugins that were available. Instead, I decided to add the code right to my theme so there would be no need for a plugin, plus I could customize the look of the button.

I decided on this graphic and just added “Tweet This” to the sign using Fireworks:

There are lots of free Twitter graphics kicking around the web or you can create your own. Either way, you’ll need one for this tutorial so I’m assuming you’re going to do that right now or you already have one.

This requires you to be registered with bit.ly which is a URL shortening service much like TinyURL. I like bit.ly because of their link tracking features and many people are now switching from TinyURL to bit.ly. If you want to use this code to track your ReTweets, you’ll need to go ahead and register with them.

You’ll need access to your server so an FTP program is recommended. If you don’t have one, you can download one for free. I’ve got a quick post about installing an FTP program here.

Once you have access to your server, you’ll need to edit your header.php file. This is in your themes folder which is located in the wp-content folder.

In your FTP program, right click the header.php file and click “Edit”. Search for the tag </head>.

Copy the code below and paste it right above that </head> tag.

<?php if ( is_single() ) { ?>
<script type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8"
src="http://bit.ly/javascript-api.js?version=latest&login=LOGIN&apiKey=KEY"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8"
src="http://s.bit.ly/TweetAndTrack.js?v=1.01"></script>
<?php } ?>

Where it says LOGIN and KEY in the code above, you need to enter your own bit.ly login and API key so that you can track your links. This is important, so don’t forget.

Make sure you save your header.php file and close it. Now right click the single.php file and edit that.

Look for the part that says “php the_content”. If you need to, paste the entire file into a text editor and use the Find command to locate it.

Right under that line, paste the following code:

<a href="#" onclick="return TweetAndTrack.open(this, '<?php echo get_permalink();?>');"><span style="display:none;">RT @cassiegermsheid: "<?php the_title();?>"</span><img src="/twitter.png"></a>

Change “@cassiegermsheid” in the code above to your own Twitter name so that any ReTweets will show in your Twitter timeline.

You’ll also need to save the Twitter graphic you want to use to your root folder. You can simply drag it in there using your FTP program. Your root folder is the folder your blog was installed in.

The code above assumes your Twitter graphic will be named “twitter.png”. If it isn’t, be sure to change it in the code to match your graphic name.

Save the single.php file and close it.

Now it’s time to visit your blog and admire your work.

With this code, your Tweet This graphic will show on individual posts. If you want it to show on the main page as well, you’ll need to add this code to the header.php file. Just put it under the last code you entered, right above the </head> tag.

<?php if ( is_home() ) { ?>
<script type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8"
src="http://bit.ly/javascript-api.js?version=latest&login=LOGIN&apiKey=KEY"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8"
src="http://s.bit.ly/TweetAndTrack.js?v=1.01"></script>
<?php } ?>

You’ll also need to add the same code you pasted in the single.php file to the index.php file. Look for the part that says “php the_content” again and paste it right underneath.

Now your Tweet This graphic will show on individual posts and the main page.

If there are any questions or you need help, please leave a comment.

Thanks to labnol.org for the code.

If you don’t already have an FTP program, now is the time to get one. As a blogger with your own domain and self-hosted blog, you’ll benefit from having one. In some cases you absolutely need one to install certain files. I’m going to show you how to download and install the free FTP client FileZilla. This is going to be a fairly comprehensive “how to” so if you are pretty computer savvy, you can probably skip this.

First, go to FileZilla and download the program.

Since I’m running on Windows XP, I’ll be choosing the first option. Choose according to what operating system you’re using.

Depending on your operating system and browser, you’ll have the option to save the file. Hopefully you have your download folder set to something that’s easy to find and not some obscure folder hiding on your hard drive.

Once you save the file, locate it in the proper folder. Double click the file and start the installation process. Leave everything set to default and finish installing. Click “Finish” and let FileZilla load.

When you load FileZilla, you’ll come to this blank screen:

This is when you’ll need to use your FTP login information. When you signed up for web hosting, you received a welcome email with your FTP info. Hopefully you’ve kept this in a safe place. You’ll need your Username, Password, and IP address. Enter those three things in and hit the Quickconnect button.

If you entered the information in correctly, the folders on your server will be listed in the main window. Now you can navigate to the folders and files so you can edit, delete or add to them.

Having an FTP program will save you loads of time and allow you to perform certain tasks like editing WordPress files without changing permission settings.

Launching an uncustomized blog.

(Is “uncustomized” even a word?)

I have to say that I’m a firm believer in the fact that NOBODY should have a blog that isn’t at least a teeny tiny bit customized these days.

Sure you can install WordPress, throw up a free theme and start publishing in under an hour. But that’s like farting on your blog and having a bunch of people come to visit and smell catch you redhanded with a stinky blog. Blogging with a bareass blog can be just as embarrassing.

There are so many ways you can add your own unique touch to your new blog that there’s really no excuse. Leaving up the default theme should be a sin. Shame on you if you’re a sinner!

Now, I’ve had the opportunity to play around with the Thesis theme that everyone and their dog has been talking about and was most thoroughly impressed. This is a premium theme, meaning you have to purchase it.

However, it’s a ridonculously great price for the slick features that come with it, and it’s super simple to navigate around the options. Not only that, but Levar freaking Burton uses that theme! Who wouldn’t want a WordPress theme that Geordi La Forge rocks out to?

Using the Thesis theme is one great way to have a blog that allows you to make it unique without spending a boatload of money.

Another option for you is to keep your eye out in the coming days/weeks because I’m going to be posting about a few things you can do on your own to make your blog stand out. These are things that I can do, so there’s no reason why anyone else can’t do it too. There are days when I put the cereal in the fridge and the milk in the cupboard. Seriously. So anyhoo, make sure to sign up for my RSS feed so you don’t miss out on some cool WordPress tutorials.

Instead of wracking my brain trying to come up with new content for some of my websites, I’ve been focusing more on improving what I already have.

I’m talking about increasing my conversions.

I’ve been going through each page and making little changes here and there to see which changes make a positive impact. Sometimes all it takes is increasing the size of the subheadline.

It’s ridiculous how tiny changes can make such a huge difference, yet these are things that many website owners don’t bother to do. If not, you’re leaving money on the table!

I’ve got a short report for you that will help you:

• Increase sales.
• Keep your hard earned traffic on your site longer.
• Generate more income by increasing sales conversion rates.
• Get more newsletter subscribers.
• Learn what mistakes can cost you visitors and sales.
• Learn and use copywriting skills to improve your existing content.

It’s a short report, but it’s packed with information that every website owner should know. You can learn more about Website Makeovers and Conversion Strategies here.

Whether you’re blogging for fun or profit, you should always have some sort of web traffic stats program installed. There are lots of options to choose from, but my two favorites are Google Analytics and StatCounter which are both free.

Which one is better?

I actually like to install both. I’m a stats junkie so I like to have plenty of info at my fingertips. Analytics and StatCounter both have their advantages and disadvantages which is why I decided to let them both hang around. (Although “StatCounter” is much easier to say than “Google Analytics” so Statcounter wins the phonetics round.)

StatCounter Advantages

Label IP Address – I like that you can tag IP addresses to keep track of certain visitors. Say you had some crazy broad who was web-stalking you. Label her IP address and see just how crazy she is by tracking her every movement on your site. If she doesn’t have a static IP address, this will change after awhile and you’ll have to keep labelling it which puts a bit of a damper on this feature.

Realtime Stats – If you’re doing any kind of testing on your site, it’s nice to see what kind of results you’re getting instantly.

Fast – The more code and crap you have on your website, the slower it will load and the faster people will bounce back out of your page. You want that puppy to load as quick as possible so StatCounter is a good option since it loads fast. I always paste the code into the footer of my pages so it’s the last thing to load and won’t keep my main content or images from loading first.

Newbie-friendly – It’s easy to navigate around the StatCounter user interface and it’s pretty simple to figure out what everything means. Certain programs *cough cough Google cough* require tutorial videos to learn how everything works, but StatCounter is very straight-forward which means you can get started right away.

Invisible – Lots of free web stats programs come with complimentary ads and nice big juicy counters that can really clutter up your website. StatCounter gives you the option to add an invisible counter.

Google Analytics Advantages

Website Optimizer – We now have access to Google’s Website Optimizer through Analytics which allows us to create “experiments”. Split testing or A/B testing might sound scary for someone who’s never done it before, but it’s really easy when you use Analytics. This is something everyone should be doing, whether you want to increase sales conversions, optin rates, or even Adsense CTR.

Pretty Graphics – I’m a very visual person so colorful pie charts and bar graphs make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. They make for some nice screen shots too!

Highly Configurable – From Custom Reports to Advance Segments to setting Goals and Funnels, there’s a lot to do for people who love to have complete control. You may have to read a few FAQs to figure out just how the hell to make everything work, but once you do, you’ll be a testing and tweaking machine and the knowledge that you get from your web visitors will give you a huge advantage over your competition.

Single-page Statistics – With Analytics, you can choose which page you’d like to analyze and see the traffic stats of that one page including Bounce Rate and Time on Page (the time your visitors spend on that page before clicking away).

There are many more features to each program than I’ve just mentioned, but these are just a few of my favorites. Either way, these are both powerful programs (especially Analytics) for any website owner or blogger. It’s essential to know how your visitors are interacting with your site so you can continue to improve it for them and generate even more traffic. These programs will help you do just that.