This page was formerly called “Even More Free WordPress Help”, but you can no longer ask questions here.
Here are my suggestions for WordPress resources: WordPress.org support (WordPress support for self-hosted sites), WordPress.com support (WordPress support for sites hosted on WordPress.com), WordPress Answers, the Seattle WordPress Meetup discussion board, and Bob Dunn’s WP Chatter on Google+.
Please note that McBuzz Communications, McBuzz.com, Mark McLaren, Endo Creative and Jeremy Green are not affiliated with Automattic, WordPress.com or the WordPress.org website.
Questions about Search Engine Optimization? Check out this video tutorial on Search Engine Optimization and WordPress recorded at WordCamp Portland 2010. Post your SEO questions in the comments on that page, and we will answer for FREE!
If you are looking for something specific, use the search feature on the www.McBuzz.com site (at the top of the page up there on the right). Try putting it in quotes, like “free wordpress help” or “submit xml sitemap”. You can also put part of your search query in quotes, like theme “navigation menu”. This search feature does a great job of searching through comments, where there are lots of questions and answers about WordPress, SEO, Online Marketing and such.
]]>This page was formerly called “Even More Free WordPress Help”, but you can no longer ask questions here.
Here are my suggestions for WordPress resources: WordPress.org support (WordPress support for self-hosted sites), WordPress.com support (WordPress support for sites hosted on WordPress.com), WordPress Answers, the Seattle WordPress Meetup discussion board, and Bob Dunn’s WP Chatter on Google+.
You can also look for Answers to WordPress Questions that have already been answered on these help pages:
Free WordPress Help
WordPress Q&A: More Answers to WordPress Questions
Questions About WordPress? Ask Them Here!
More WordPress Questions? Ask Them Here!
I have added a new search feature to the www.McBuzz.com site (at the top of the page up there on the right). If you are looking for something specific, try putting it in quotes, like “style.css file” or “submit xml sitemap”. You can also put only part of your search term in quotes, like theme “navigation menu”. This search feature does a much better job of searching through comments, where there are lots of questions and answers about WordPress, SEO, Online Marketing and such.
]]>This page was formerly called “Free WordPress Help”, but you can no longer ask questions here.
Here are my suggestions for WordPress resources: WordPress.org support (WordPress support for self-hosted sites), WordPress.com support (WordPress support for sites hosted on WordPress.com), WordPress Answers, the Seattle WordPress Meetup discussion board, and Bob Dunn’s WP Chatter on Google+.
Got a question about Search Engine Optimization? Check out this video tutorial on Search Engine Optimization and WordPress recorded at WordCamp Portland 2010. You can post SEO questions in the comments on that page, and we will answer for FREE! (Please note that McBuzz Communications, McBuzz.com and Mark McLaren are not affiliated with Automattic, WordPress.com or the WordPress.org website.)
You can also search for Answers to WordPress Questions that have already been answered on these help pages:
WordPress Q&A: More Answers to WordPress Questions
Questions About WordPress? Ask Them Here!
More WordPress Questions? Ask Them Here!
I have added a new search feature to the www.McBuzz.com site (at the top of the page up there on the right). Looks terrible, but it works great. If you are looking for something specific, try putting it in quotes, like “free wordpress help” or “submit xml sitemap”. You can also put only part of your search term in quotes, like theme “navigation menu”. This search feature does a much better job of searching through comments, where there are lots of questions and answers about WordPress, SEO, Online Marketing and such.
]]>This page was formerly called “WordPress Q&A: More Answers to WordPress Questions”, but you can no longer ask questions here.
Here are my suggestions for WordPress resources: WordPress.org support (WordPress support for self-hosted sites), WordPress.com support (WordPress support for sites hosted on WordPress.com), WordPress Answers, the Seattle WordPress Meetup discussion board, and Bob Dunn’s WP Chatter on Google+.
P.S. If you’re into WordPress, follow Mark McLaren on Twitter for free tips and howto’s. And if you are in Seattle, check out the Seattle WordPress Meetup on Meetup.com.
Please note that McBuzz Communications, the McBuzz.com website and Mark McLaren are not affiliated with Automattic (parent company of WordPress) or WordPress.com.
]]>This page was formerly called “More WordPress Questions? Ask Them Here!”, but you can no longer ask questions here.
Here are my suggestions for WordPress resources: WordPress.org support (WordPress support for self-hosted sites), WordPress.com support (WordPress support for sites hosted on WordPress.com), WordPress Answers, the Seattle WordPress Meetup discussion board, and Bob Dunn’s WP Chatter on Google+.
]]>Here’s a screen shot of the interface that’s built right into the Dashboard editing window (left), and another of the MapPress Settings interface.
[mappress]
The hardest part about using MapPress is getting a Google Maps API key. For this, all you need is a Google account (same as a Gmail account). When you install the MapPress plugin, it will prompt you for your API key. If you don’t have one yet, MapPress provides a link to this Google Maps page where you can login to Google and get it, or else create a new Google account and then get the key. Once that’s done, you’re ready to build maps and embed them in your WordPress posts and pages like there’s no tomorrow!
I have spent the last few days working with the Google Maps API directly, trying to build some custom maps for a client. It’s amazing what you can do. By “you”, I mean skilled programmers who thoroughly understand JavaScript, a group I don’t fall into unfortunately. I know enough about JavaScript to get by, but it has been frustrating, because I see what’s possible. I just can’t quite get there yet.
After thrashing around with the API code, MapPress feels mighty good. You can put a semi-custom Google map into a page in under 10 minutes. And it’s super easy to make modifications after that if you need to.
MapPress is limited in a number of ways. For instance, you can’t use your own icon images. You have a selection of colors, but the icons are all the same size and shape. But for ease of use and basic features – the stuff you really need – MapPress can’t be beat.
On a scale of 1 to 5 stars, I give MapPress a 5 for easy setup, ease of use, and powerful features that will make you and your WordPress website or blog look GREAT.
]]>This video tutorial replaces my earlier “How to Insert an Image” tutorial for WordPress that was done using screen captures, text descriptions and WordPress version 2.1 or so, which is a bit outdated today.
Some people prefer text tutorials with screen captures. My “How to Make a Text Link” WordPress Tutorial is still a straight-forward explanation of the process, which hasn’t changed.
]]>This page was formerly called “Questions About WordPress? Ask Them Here!”, but you can no longer ask questions here.
Here are my suggestions for WordPress resources: WordPress.org support (WordPress support for self-hosted sites), WordPress.com support (WordPress support for sites hosted on WordPress.com), WordPress Answers, the Seattle WordPress Meetup discussion board, and Bob Dunn’s WP Chatter on Google+.
P.S. If you’re into WordPress, follow Mark McLaren on Twitter for free tips and howto’s.
And if you are in Seattle, check out the Seattle WordPress Meetup on Meetup.com.
Recently there was a big security scare for WordPress users. A “worm” (a form of automated malicious software) was traveling around the Internet trying to break into unsuspecting WordPress users’ sites. Even high-profile bloggers like Robert Scoble were caught without adequate file and database backups in place. Scoble lost a bunch of posts, and said he felt less certain of WordPress as a result.
But the fact is, Scoble should have backed up his site. At the very least, he should have checked with his host to see if they create automatic backups. (You should do the same with your host. Why wait until after something goes wrong to find out?!) If you don’t know how to backup your MySQL database and the files in your wp-content directory, now is a good time to learn. Your web host should be able to help. If not, let me know. If your site is hosted on WordPress.com, no worries! They make backups for you. However, you might want to do a Tools > Export in the WordPress Dashboard (save the .xml file to your hard drive) just in case! Unless you have an explicit agreement with WordPress.com about backing up your data, don’t expect to hold them responsible for data loss on your site.
Here are two good posts about WordPress security inspired by the latest worm scare:
How to Keep WordPress Secure
by Matt Mullenweg – WordPress.org
Old WordPress Versions Under Attack by Lorelle VanFossen
The first thing everyone with a self-hosted (non-WordPress.com) WordPress site should do is this:
Create a new User account with a not-so-simple username. The default username that comes with WordPress is “admin”. That usually comes with a crazy-difficult password. Unfortunately, most people then change the password to something easy like “mydogname” or whatever.
Worms trying to hack into your WordPress site know to try “admin” as a username because it works probably 70% or the time or more! Then they just have to hack your simple password and they’re done.
So do yourself a favor. Login to WordPress. Go to Users (under Appearance) > Add New User. Use a difficult username, something with upper and lower case letters at the very least. Not something obvious. Then use a difficult password, something with upper and lower case letters, at least one numeral and one special character like * or ( or % etc. Don’t worry about the username displaying as your name on the site. You can enter your first and last name, and then use the dropdown menu to tell WordPress to use that instead of the username after blog posts and such. Be sure to note the email address you use for your site admin (under Settings > General). You can use a different email address for each new user account you create.
After you have created the new user account, log out and then login with the new account to make sure it works. After you have done that, you can delete the admin user account. That way, worms won’t be able to use that username to hack into your site.
Again, this is the simplest way to improve security on your WordPress website or blog.
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