A plugin is a piece of software that enhances the capabilities of what something can do. Some hosting companies (that's where your website files are located) offer a variety of plugins such as adding WordPress to your site in 1 or 2 easy steps. I did a 15-minute video on how to set up a WordPress site here.   Since then, I've moved all my sites to SiteGround, which has better customer service than the company I mention in the video but does things in pretty much the same way. You can view the video here. Themes are another example of plugins for your website. A theme decides the look and style of your website. This could include where your logo shows up, the colors, type of font, etc.  Look on the left side of your screen for free themes, OR read about the companies we recommend here. Regarding this tip, I'm going to talk about adding functions and features to your WordPress site.  For example: Most of my clients host or speak at events. You can add a calendar of events to your site. All my clients need important security functions.  You can add security functions to your site. Most of my clients want their work to be found by others.  You can add SEO (search engine features) to your site. I'm a horrible speller, so I added an editing function to my site.   Once a year I volunteer at an event called GiveCamp.  There, over the

When I started my business, in 1998 (20 years ago!), I had few coaching clients, but many more web design clients.  You see, I'm a bit of a geek, having used my first computer, at work on Wall Street, in the mid 1970's.  Then in the late 1990's, I taught basic computer and internet classes at a local business incubator sponsored by Sanford CC. It was while living in North Carolina that I attended NC State and Wake Technical College to continue learning.  I took advanced classes, learning how to build a computer from scratch, updating my MS Office Skills and learning how to create a website from scratch, meaning I didn't do it using software, I did it writing the code.  Why did I learn about website design? I didn't have the $5,000 to pay for a very basic 5 page website. I started my first blog, using WordPress in 2002 because it saved me time.  Instead of listing my articles on my website and hand coding them, I copied and pasted them from MS Word to WordPress.  You're reading this post on my WordPress blog.   But it wasn't till 2014 that I stopped coding and now just use my coding knowledge to "fix" what WordPress doesn't want to get right. I'm working on adding a shopping cart to this site to highlight the many resources I offer as well as making it easier for clients to pay me as their consultant-coach. In doing so, I realize

"I need new ways to attract or find more clients". In one form or another, that's the number one answer, and has been for 7 years, advisors give when they signs up for my Advisor Toolkit. They're answering the question "What is your biggest business challenge?" Often when I visit their websites, the first things I see are: "Create a XYZ* site! 100s of templates. No coding needed for the site". (XYZ is not the real name of the free website service. This is the message on the top right part of the website -- the most viewed space on every website!) At the bottom of the pages, it proclaims "This site was created using XYZ.com. Create your own for FREE." This was far from the first time I visited a financial firm's website and saw such cheapness. Unfortunately, it's actually a pattern I've seen over and over and over again. (Big difference between cheap and affordable. With some exceptions, cheap or free are usually not professional looking.) What a stranger visiting your website needs, before contacting you, is to know that THEY ARE your ideal clients in both what they see in 7 seconds of viewing your website. They need to know how having you in their life will add value to them. If they don't see that, in the first 7 seconds, they'll move onto a competitor. Come on advisors... get with the program! In this day and age, there are no excuses why an

The concept of a breadcrumb is not new and derives its name as you would think. Rather than it being crumbs from bread, it’s a small fragment of a sites navigation. Breadcrumb plugins pick up on the hierarchy of pages you place within your navigation-menu. To learn more about hierarchies please visit https://blog.kissmetrics.com/site-structure-enhance-seo/ . When a breadcrumb is used on your site, a visitor will see a second navigation area on a page. OR if you don’t use a WordPress program to create your website or blog, you can create a breadcrumb and choose which pages will be part of it. Breadcrumb plug ins allow the reader to easily go to the beginning of a section. I find that websites that contain this feature more useful when I came into a site not really knowing where within an area of a site I was landing. Many sites are leaving the home page link off of their navigation because you can get to the home page by simply clicking on their logo. A breadcrumb’s first link is most often the home page. To see this plugin in action, you can look at my speaker website “Act Now Seminars”. Once you are on my home page, and you won’t see the breadcrumb because that page does not have any additional pages attached to it in the menu. But click on the Event Mgrs. http://actnowseminars.com/new/index.php/customization/ and notice the breadcrumb located on the page. The breadcrumb plugin is especially useful to

Is it time to create a blog?  Maybe you have a website but it's not responsive (mobile friendly). If you own a domain name and have hosting, somewhere in your emails you have the instructions to get into your Control Panel (it's like a dashboard)?  If so, watch me create a WordPress blog (or website) with a plug-n-play program you may already have, such as like QuickInstall or Fantastico. You'll watch me do just that during this 12+ minute video. If your hosting company offers either plug-n-play program, it will be on the dashboard (usually the first page you're brought to once you log into your C-Panel). Setting up a blog on your site only takes a few clicks in the right places. So it's not as difficult as you think! Let me, Maria Marsala, Operations and Marketing Manager to Financial Advisors, take you through the steps of setting up a blog. But be careful.   If you're new to doing major work on you website NEVER, EVER, NEVER place your blog directly in the same “folder” as the website you already have. Otherwise, when you go to look at your website — it might be gone!   In the video, my website is CoachMaria and I put the file there. Instead I put it in a sub-folder called “webinarsite”. Sub folders are good, as long as they're not currently be used.  If you don't have a site up yet, put your new WordPress directly in the main folder for your website.  If you only want to

If you're an advisor, who can't easily be found online*, prospects you've met and who are taking the next step by conducting online research might think you're not legitimate.  And putting what's in your brochure on your website isn't enough to convey credibility and trustworthiness either. Your site needs to be an effective marketing tool.  It needs to compel the prospect to call you, schedule a call, or join your newsletter to learn more about you. Is your website doing all that?  Are you getting at least 2-3 prospects from your site each week?  Making Your Website Trustable Have you ever visited a web site and been attacked by screaming pop-up ads, gotten lost in a clutter of banner ads, had things flash and go boom? Have you visited a site and the information and brand didn’t match what the person was selling, or it wasn’t as professional as it needed to be? And have you ever visited a site that was informative, easy to navigate, and generally enjoyable to peruse? Which site gained your trust? Which site would you revisit? Which firm’s newsletter would you want to read? The more user-friendly building tools you use on your site and the more “on brand” your site is, the more levels of trust you’ll develop with your visitors. Download the rest of the article   ©2003, updated 2013, 2017, 2018  Elevating Your Business