WordPress is not only a great blogging platform, the ability to create custom templates has made CMS platforms like WordPress the best way to get an entire professional looking website up and running. In this discussion we’ll review several key areas that one should pay special attention. Including permalinks, plugins, SEO, web hosting concerns, Apache vs. IIS, etc. We’ll also take a look at some best practices.

1. Take the Bull by the Horns Transitioning your website to WordPress @rossimichael

2. Agenda Some Background Information Technical Considerations Themes SEO Useful Plugins Getting Help Q/A

3. DISCLAIMER(S)

4. About WordPress.ORG “WordPress is web software you can use to create a beautiful website or blog. We like to say that WordPress is both free and priceless at the same time.”source:wordpress.org Open source, community-driven CMS platform Created in 2003 but still relevant @ #pcto2011. Even better now! Latest stable release 3.1 (Feb. 2011) Standalone software installation – not to be confused with WordPress.COM blogging service

5. WordPress EMPOWERS Business Owners and Personal Brands Sky’s the limit! A WordPress installation is more than just a blogging platform Create full-fledged websites No Ads! (WordPress.COM requires premium acct) No 3gb storage constraints (beyond your hosting limit) – you’re NOT limited to amount of pictures and content Branded with your own domain name Same easy to use authoring tool

6. WordPress EMPOWERS Business Owners

7. Agenda Some Background Information Technical Considerations Themes SEO Useful Plugins Getting Help Q/A

8. Prerequisites Find the right hosting company – the right hosting company will handle the rest Unix/Linux preferred over Windows for flexibility Minimum PHP 4.3 - PHP 5 preferred with GD2 Graphics Library support Minimum MySQL database 4.1.2

9. Prerequisites Support for URL rewriting - Permalinks Unix (Apache web server) - mod_rewrite module Windows (IIS web server) - URL rewrite module Difference between this…not very descriptivehttp://www.blogname.com/?p=123 And this…very searchable!

10. Agenda Some Background Information Technical Considerations Themes SEO Useful Plugins Getting Help Q/A

11. Themes Custom website templates for your blog or website 1300+ different themes available for download Many free open-source themes (http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/about/) Commercial themes Pagelines Genesis Custom designed theme

12. Agenda Some Background Information Technical Considerations Themes SEO Useful Plugins Getting Help Q/A

13. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Process of improving the visibility of your website or blog online Natural or organic means – not paid search (ppc) Done through building reputation/brand awareness Optimizing your blog or website: Good, descriptive blog or page titles - very important Make use of categories and tags with rich keywords The SEO plugin is not a substitute for an SEO pro

14. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) “pretty permalinks” vs. WordPress default

15. Agenda Some Background Information Technical Considerations Themes SEO Useful Plugins Getting Help Q/A

16. Useful Plugins Plugins extend WordPress from contact forms to Twitter integration 13,276 available (http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/) Installed through WordPress administration console I Always (almost) WordPress Importer Breadcrumb NAVXT Excludes Page from Menu WordPress SEO – not a substitute for an SEO pro NextGEN Gallery (requires GD2 PHP library) WP Super Cache

17. Agenda Some Background Information Technical Considerations Themes SEO Useful Plugins Getting Help Q/A

18. Where to get Help WordPress Forum – http://wordpress.org/support/ Google

19. Q/A Michael Rossi@rossimichaelFindability Solutions, Inc. http://www.findabilitysolutions.com