WordPress Knowledge Base

About WordPress

WordPress Multisite Explained

WordPress features a powerful function called “Multisite”. Enabling multisite allows users to manage multiple WordPress websites from one WordPress installation. Each website in a network is independent, but the WordPress admin can modify the settings so that plugins and themes can be shared among the websites. When there are updates available for the shared theme and plugin, the site admin only needs to update the corresponding elements once instead of managing them individually. By disabling the network function, the site admin can isolate the plugins and themes access across all websites. To learn more the features and installation of WordPress Multisite, watch this video for full details.

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WordPress.com and WordPress.org

Are you thinking about starting a blog?

When starting out, this question comes to the mind of every blogger. Is it better to pick the self-hosted WordPress.org or the free WordPress.com?

In this series, we will look at the pros and cons of both options. We will also show you how to use both on your Doteasy.com account, and also how to move from WordPress.com to WordPress.org.

What is WordPress?

WordPress is an open source content management system most often used as a blog publishing application.

WordPress is available in two forms: WordPress.com and WordPress.org. Both are free.

What is the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org?

With WordPress.com, the hosting and managing of the blog application is taken care of by the WordPress team.

With WordPress.org, you will need to install the blog application on your own server or web hosting provider.

Matt Mullenweg, founder of WordPress, uses this analogy to compare the two services, “It’s the difference of owning a home and just renting an apartment.”

Benefits of WordPress.com

  • It’s free to setup
  • Everything is taken care of by the WordPress team: setup, upgrades, backups, security, etc.
  • You get extra traffic from WordPress’ Blog of the Day and tags

WordPress.com Cons

  • Although there are currently over 100 themes available to choose from, you cannot run your own custom theme (unless you upgrade to the VIP program on WordPress.com)
  • You cannot use it to post Adsense ads or affiliate links (unless you upgrade to the VIP program on WordPress.com)
  • You cannot customize the PHP code
  • You cannot upload plugins (unless you upgrade to the VIP program on WordPress.com)

How to run your WordPress.com blog on the Doteasy Basic Hosting account?

While you won’t be able to install the WordPress software on your Basic Hosting account, you can use the free Domain Forwarding function to forward your website to your WordPress.com blog so that when visitors type in your domain name in their browsers, they will be redirected to your WordPress.com blog.

To do so:

  1. Login to your Member Zone.
  2. Under the “Domain” section, select “Setup Domain Forward”
  3. Enter your WordPress.com blog URL into the “Destination URL” field.
  4. If you do not want your visitors to see your WordPress.com blog URL in their browser address bar, select the “Show yourdomain.com on browser’s address bar” option.
  5. When ready, click on the “Save Changes” button.

WordPress.com is ideal for…

WordPress.com is ideal for hobby bloggers – completely free but less options and freedom.

Benefits of WordPress.org

  • You can upload any theme and plugin you want
  • You can run ads as you wish on your website (ie. selling ad space on your blog)
  • You have complete control to change the code of your blog
  • The cost of self-hosting is less than upgrading your free WP.com to the premium plan

WordPress.org Cons

  • You will need a web host that offers FTP, PHP and MySQL support
  • You are responsible for stopping spam (although it can easily be done using the free Askimet plugin)
  • You must upgrade the software manually and you have to manage backups yourself

How to install WordPress.org software on your Doteasy hosting account? I don’t have programming or scripting experience!

Don’t worry, we offer a one-step WordPress installation that eliminates all the database creation and file configuration procedures.

*NOTE: In order to run the WordPress.org software on your Doteasy account, you will need to be on the Unlimited Hosting plan – you need PHP and MySQL support to run the blog application.

To begin:

  1. Login to your account cPanel (you can do this via the “Site Admin Panel” link in your Member Zone)
  2. Under “Doteasy Softaculous Apps Installer”, select “WordPress”
  3. Select “Install”
  4. Specify the directory you wish to install WordPress and provide the admin login details for this new blog.
  5. When ready, click on the “Install WordPress” button.

We also provide you with a step-by-step setup guide with screenshots of the process. Check this page for details.

WordPress.org is ideal for…

WordPress.org offers more freedom and flexibility for bloggers as there are no restrictions on blog monetization, code and theme customization, plug-in installation, etc.

I am ready to move from WordPress.com to WordPress.org, can you help me?

Yes, certainly!

First of all, you will need to make sure you are subscribed to the Doteasy Unlimited Hosting plan – you will need PHP and MySQL support on your account to run the WordPress software on your account.

Then, once your Doteasy Ultra/Unlimited Hosting account has been activated, login to your Member Zone and click on the “Site Admin Panel” link – this will log you into your account admin panel for the one-click WordPress installation via Softaculous.

Once your WordPress software has been installed:

  1. Login to your WordPress.com account and select TOOLS – EXPORT from the menu on the left side. The export tool will compile your posts, pages, comments, categories and tags. This information is placed into a WXR file, or WordPress Extended RSS file.
  2. Once you’re finished, click on the Download Export File button to save it onto your computer.
  3. Then, login to your WordPress.org account admin panel (ie. http://www.yourdomain.com/wp-admin if you have installed in the root directory of your Doteasy hosting account)
  4. Next, click on TOOLS – IMPORT from the menu on the left. From the list of blogging systems, click on WordPress.
  5. Next, click on the Browse button and locate the WXR file you downloaded earlier. This will upload the file into your WordPress.org blog and will unpack all of the data contained in the file.

*Note: If your WXR file is large, you might want to contact us first to increase your account’s upload file size limit.

And if you ever have any questions, you can always contact us for assistance.

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SEO Tips for Your WordPress Blog

Here are some SEO tips for your WordPress blog:

1. Alter the Permalink structure

Set your permalinks optimally for SEO. The permalink of your WordPress blog, by default, looks like http://yourdomain.com/?p=N, where N is the Post ID number. While it works on all server environments, it is not SEO-optimal.

You can easily change your permalink structure by clicking on the “Settings” tab and then “Permalinks” menu on the dashboard of WordPress. You can choose from the “common” structures provided or you can enter your own in the “Custom Structure” field using the structure tags. Make sure your do not put your domain URL in the permalinks field. You must use structure tags.

Structure tags:

  • %year% – displays the 4-digit post year in the link (ie. 2013)
  • %monthnum% – displays the 2-digit post month in the link (ie. 05)
  • %day% – displays the day of the post in the link
  • %postname% – displays the post name in the link
  • %category% – displays the category of the post in the link
  • %author% – displays the author name in the link

For example, if you want to display the post’s category and the title in the permalink, you will need to enter the following in the Custom Structure field: /%category%/%postname%/

2. Add a comprehensive SEO Pack

You can install the All in One SEO Pack plug-in. The plug-in allows you to optimize meta tags, keyword tags, description and add a custom title for your blog.

3. Optimize the home page and site title of your blog site

Use a keyword research tool to find good keyword phrases for your home page. Include the keyword phrases in the meta description, title tags and the content of your home page.

Also, the title of your site is one of the single most important factors in terms ranking in the search results. This article provides useful tips on how to write a good title for your page and post. Check this out.

To change your WordPress blog title, go to Settings and click “General”. Quick and easy.

4. Optimize your blog’s images

You can optimize your images by using keywords in the “Alt” attribute and the names of the images. Also, include an image description in the image title tag.

Images with huge file sizes will cause slow load time. Please remember that load time is one of the factors that determine your search rank. Check out this article about the 10 tips to speed up your WordPress load time.

5. Freshness

Have you ever asked yourself this question: “Why do I need to spend so much effort on SEO?” Well, it’s a pretty obvious answer: To Get More Visitors! So, here comes the million-dollar question: What is THE MOST important factor that can attract more visitors to your website? A beautiful website layout? Photo albums with clear description and “alt tag”? Certainly, these are important, but definitely not THE MOST important reasons.

Content is the king.

Your website content is the most influential factor that drives traffic (and search engine robots) to visit your website. If you want your visitors to come to your website on a regular basis, you will have to provide content on a regular basis, too. But, quantity will only get you so far. You have to make sure that your content is in good quality (e.g. How reliable is your source of the content? Does your content provide a valid argument? etc.).

A website with high quality content that is updated regularly can create visitor loyalty. Returning visitors can then bring in more new visitors by sharing your blog post on their social media channels and their blogs. The more readers that post your website on their personal blogs, the more backlinks you will get, which as a result, can further enhance your SEO performance.

We hope these 5 useful tips can help you achieve better SEO performances. If you have any comments and thoughts on SEO techniques, please feel free to drop by the SEO section on our Forums and share your ideas there.

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What Makes WordPress Stand out from the Crowd

A recent research conducted in 2013 shows that 18% of all websites online are powered by WordPress. It is no doubt that WordPress is the most commonly used website builder. Therefore, many website developers are committed into develope themes and plugins for WordPress. Hence, it has the most theme and plugins selections available for users to download. Also, all websites built by WordPress are mobile-friendly and SEO friendly.

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What is WordPress

WordPress is an open source website builder and content management system. The biggest advantage of building a website with WordPress is the flexibility of customizing both the look and functionality of your website. You can choose thousands of free, professional, fully customizable themes to jumpstart your website. Vast selection of plugins are available to enhance the functionality of your website. Coding experience is not required to build a WP website. With the WYSIWYG (What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get) dashboard and editor, you can publish your content, images, video, etc. on your website just like how you do it on Microsoft Word Processor. Fortune 500 companies, international firms, celebrities such as CNN, Forbes, NFL blog acquire WordPress websites.

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WordPress Hosting Environment

When you ask yourself what is WordPress Hosting, you may arrive at different conclusions. The easiest way to think of this is simply the Hosting Environment in which you setup WordPress. That environment needs to have the technical capabilities needed to run WordPress along with the creative freedom needed for your site to flourish and grow. We try to make sure you have everything you need to run WordPress now and in the future.

Our Unlimited Hosting plan comes with a WordPress auto-installer that can help you easily, and quickly sew the seeds of your WordPress site within the our Hosting Environment. Unlimited Hosting is here to provide you with a protective PHP & MYSQL environment using up to date versions to shelter your ideas from the harmful insects of the internet so that your site can blossom into the beautiful creation that you envision. After you have cultivated your site to be everything you wish and more, it’s time to make it live and visible so that others can appreciate your work. Our stable servers have 99.98% up-time to make sure that when you and your visitors come to see your creation, it’s there waiting for everyone to behold.

There are times along the way where you may find yourself having questions when trying to make it work the way you wish. No need to worry as our friendly technical & support staff are here to lend a helping hand when you need it as we’d love to see your site flourish just as much as you do. Just simply contact us when you have questions about the site, please don’t hesitate to contact our support as they are waiting to assist you.

If you’re ready to get started, simply Sign-up Now!

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How to Make a Website with WordPress: Step by Step

With WordPress, you can build a professional website in approximately 1 hour without any coding background! In this video, we will showcase how to build a website with NO steps skipped.

This is our final product:
http://businessdemo.doteasydemo.com/

You can download the WordPress theme from this link:

https://wordpress.doteasy.com/free-wordpress-theme-adventurous/

In particular, we showcase how to create a Booking Page with the Booking Calendar Plugin. With this plugin, you can create a page that offers booking service for your visitor. This feature will become extremely handy for hotel, plumbers, and other service-oriented business websites that require advanced appointment bookings. You can download the plugin from this link:
Booking Calendar – https://wordpress.doteasy.com/free-wordpress-plugin-booking-calendar/

We’ve also created a Contact Us page using this plugin:
https://wordpress.doteasy.com/free-wordpress-plugin-contact-us-form/

To install WordPress to your website, you’ll need a web hosting plan that supports PHP and MySQL. Please visit our web hosting plan for full details:
http://www.doteasy.com/web-hosting/

Our Unlimited Hosting plan is only at $3.98/month. Domain name included! This promotional price is only for new sign up. 1st Year Only!

 

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How to Launch the Full Screen Editor in WordPress

“Distraction Free Writing” is a more elaborate way to describe the full screen editor in WordPress. Using the full screen can help you write more efficiently by preventing excess menus and boxes from clogging up the screen.

To go to the “Distraction Free Writing” Fullscreen Editor, just click on the full screen button in the WordPress editor.

WPFullscreen_1

The menu at the top of full screen mode will appear if you move the cursor to the top of the page. You can toggle between visual and text mode.

The visual editor options: Bold, italicize, create lists, block quote, add links, and insert media.

WPFullScreen_2

Text editor options: Add links, insert media.

WPFullscreen_3

Remember that in order to publish your post, you need to leave the full screen editor. First hit “Exit fullscreen” at the top left of the screen, then choose your publishing option.

WPFullScreen_4

Which editing mode do you prefer? Let us know what works for you!

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Themes – Understanding what’s out there

We’ve shown you many free and ready to use templates. Now free is good, but not necessary the best and this is because your website has needs. In this article we will be going over the three general categories of themes.

Free Themes: These are themes that are ready to go and they are free to use. These themes unlike the other two categories of themes, while they look great visually, they may sometimes be lacking in functionality which you want to have on your website. Now because of repository of WordPress plug-ins available, we’re pretty sure you can find and install the functionality missing. We do suggest only downloading free themes from well-known WordPress theme providers such as WordPress Theme Directory.

Framework Themes: These themes provide building blocks so that you can create your own custom theme. Framework themes allow you efficiently create your own structure and style which you can apply to your entire site. Now with one framework theme, you can create many different styles with just one theme and developers may continue updating the theme so that more styles can be created. Now one limitation to framework themes is that they are usually very limited in functionality. These themes are generally more for advanced users. Also these themes can range anywhere from $60 to $200 in price. Some examples of framework themes:

Premium Themes: This is growing area for available themes. Now pricing can range anywhere from $30 – $60, but this may be a small price to pay consider the elaborate designs, vast selection of built-in features for customizations, and with some themes you can get direct support from the theme authors themselves. Often these themes will make your site look like it was custom designed for you. One of the deciding factors when picking the premium theme to use is to look at the number of downloads and rating that theme has. For a theme to be used by thousands of people is a good thing, it means the theme is obviously built will, easy to use and has all the right built-in functions. Now even though the most popular themes have been downloaded and used by thousands of other people, it is what you put into your website (i.e. content, pictures, etc.) that makes your site unique. Places where you can find premium themes:

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Getting Started with WordPress

The following video playlist covers a wide range of WordPress topics: from “What is WordPress”, “How to Install WordPress”, to “Customizing a WordPress theme” and “WordPress Settings and Configurations”. The playlist contains total of 23 videos. Enjoy!

Getting Started with WordPress Video Playlist

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