Moving a WordPress.com website to a self-hosted website WordPress.org based website is more straightforward than it may seem. You just have to move the database over and install a theme.

The big disadvantage to using WordPress.com to host your website is that you have a limited set of themes that you can use, and you cannot install plugins. The latter is a huge problem if you want a robust business website with search engine optimization (SEO) capabilities. WordPress plugins and custom code make a WordPress.org website a powerful Internet marketing engine.

———————
8/24/2010 update on the post below:
If you need to transfer all of your old WordPress database settings and installation to a new WordPress installation then I recommend you:
1. Copy all files below the public_html folder to the new location. This includes the themes and plugins. If your plugin files aren’t in place when you move the database over later in this process then the new WordPress will be broken.
2. Go to this WebDesignerWall.com page about how to export and import a WordPress database and follow the instructions to move the entire database across.
3. Keep copies of your old, original wp-config.php file and the new one used to create your new WordPress installation. This file contains database access information in it as well as seed text strings used to secure the WordPress installation.
4. Copy these sections of the wp-config.php file from the old to the new one that was used to create the new WordPress installation: AUTH_KEY,SECURE_AUTH_KEY, LOGGED_IN_KEY and NONCE_KEY.
5. If you use the DigitalAccessPass (DAP) plugin for subscription-based services then you’ll need to edit the /dap/dap-config.php file to add the new database login values.
———————

Here are the steps to transfer your WordPress.com website to a your own hosting:

1. Create your new hosting account. We recommend either Bluehost or Hostgator.
2. Install WordPress in a one-click install through your control panel.
3. Find a theme for the new website. You can find many free themes by doing a Google search for free WordPress themes. If you want a theme specific to a niche then add the name of your niche to the search.
4. FTP upload your theme to your website. The theme folder and all of its contents will be placed into the /public_html/wp-content/themes/ folder. I use the open source FileZilla as my FTP client. It just works.
5. Enable your theme by going to Appearance > Themes, clicking the one you want to enable then click Activate “Your Theme Name” at the top-left of the preview screen.
6. Export the WordPress.com database and save to your local hard drive. To do this, in your WordPress.com account go to My Dashboard > Tools > Export. Save this file to your desktop hard drive.
7. Import the exported file into your new hosting account by clicking the menu options Tools > Import > WordPress. Select the file you exported from WordPress.com and click submit to import all of your old websites data.

That’s it! That was painless wasn’t it?

About the Author

Michael Cordova writes about technology and builds WordPress SEO websites. He has been doing Internet marketing, search engine optimization since the beginning of the Internet. BEFORE YOU GO call Michael at (303) 744-2178 for a free initial SEO website evaluation or contact him from the links above.

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Web design usability improvements can double sales and visitor satisfaction, and website visitor satisfaction means more return visits. A company’s website is many times the first experience with that company so usability and a quality user experience is critically important to your company’s online success.

Typical websites have usability issues which deter potential clients and customers leaving them with confusion and frustration. It can all be fixed. This how-to quick reference guide is intended for anyone about to design a new website, or those that have a website that doesn’t perform to their expectations.

Usability – The Numbers

* Forrester Research studies estimate that approximately 50 percent of potential sales are lost because visitors can’t find information and 40 percent of visitors do not return to a website when their first experience is negative.
* According to usability expert Jakob Nielsen, website re-design based on usability standards can increase online sales by 100%
* Usability projects can return 5-10 times their cost in the first year.
* A comprehensive usability project can improve website results by 83%. Since your competitors will probably incorporate some of the changes you implemented, this can settle out to 68%.

Page Layout And Structure Usability

* Web design quality enhances credibility – just do it
* Error free HTML (or XHTML) and CSS ensures consistent cross-browser page rendering. A discombobulated website will kill your credibility.
* Whitespace usage increases comprehension by 20%
* Golden Triangle is important. That is the top-left of the page above the fold (before scrolling). Jakob Nielsen’s user scrolling study showed that only 23% of visitors scroll on their first visit to a website.
* Faces not looking at you – if a face image is looking somewhere other than directly at us, we’ll also look in that same direction. Take advantage of this by drawing your users’ attention to the most important parts of your page or ad.
* Search box size counts – 27 character search box shows all search text in 90% of searches according to Jakob Neilsen
* Header and footer should be separated in design from the main body of the page

Website Navigation Usability

* Consistent navigation – make sure navigation appears in the same location on web pages
* Text is king – use descriptive text in navigation links, not images, java applets or flash
* Location feedback – provide the user with information about where they are with breadcrumbs, hyperlink styles, colors
* Sitemaps – provide a visitor sitemap with a website outline and important links
* Call to action or navigation boxes should not look like ads because visitors automatically skip over them
* Homepage navigation placed on the top of the page performs best

Text Characteristics Usability

* Dominant headlines will immediately draw the visitors eye
* Headlines first words must grab your attention immediately. If they are keywords then you also get an SEO benefit out of it.
* Headings, subheads, phone numbers and date/times should be used and formatted consistently. Using a logical progression of h1, h2, h3, etc. tags helps the readers understanding of the page information hierarchy and is also a good accessibility feature.
* Standard fonts of 12 points or more maximize reading speeds
* Black text on a white background increases reading speeds up to 32%
* Sentence case (only first word capitalized) is important for reading speed and comprehension
* Bold and italics should be used sparingly, and ideally to emphasize keywords relevant to the topic

Link Definitions Usability

* Blue links are the most standard color for links
* Underline links – this is also standard and good for accessibility reasons
* Visited links should be a different, more pale color
* Link hover color should light up the link with brighter colors
* Red or green links should be avoided due to the preponderance of color-blindness
* Don’t underline text that is not a link
* Don’t show normal text in link colors
* Don’t use bold-facing as a hover effect. Making the font wider will cause the text to re-align.
* Link titles can be used for the hover effect to describe where the link is going – also a great accessibility feature
* Link text should describe the page they are linked to
* Tabindex is a great method for defining logical tabbing through elements
* Menu links should usually not follow the rules above

Writing Standards Usability

* Write for scanning – internet readers don’t read long paragraphs. Keep paragraphs to 3 sentences, group logically and provide ample but not too much information.
* Bullet points should be used as much as possible
* Bold and italics should be used for your most important words. This is also a big SEO factor – search engines take more heed when you emphasize keywords and will consequently rank you higher for them.

Miscellaneous Usability Items

* Jakob Neilsen points out that tests with 5 users will find 85% of site problems and 15 users will reveal them all.
* If you run Google Adwords campaigns then use the free Google Website Optimizer to test your campaigns
* You might also try the Vertster testing tools: http://www.vertster.com

Usability Resources

There are many online usability resources. I recommend the following sites for further research:
Jakob Nielsen’s Website – He is a major usability expert: http://www.useit.com/

US Government Usability Website and Resource
http://www.usability.gov/guidelines/

Smashing Magazine:
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/09/24/10-useful-usability-findings-and-guidelines/
http://www.problogger.net/archives/2009/05/20/11-striking-findings-from-an-eye-tracking-study/

Other Usability Numbers and Quotes
http://www.optimalusability.com/quotes.php

About the Author

Michael Cordova writes about technology and builds WordPress SEO websites. He has been doing Internet marketing, search engine optimization since the beginning of the Internet. BEFORE YOU GO call Michael at (303) 744-2178 for a free initial SEO website evaluation or contact him from the links above.

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Top Organic Search Engine Rankings is No Longer an Option

SEO is the holy grail of free, relevant traffic. You’re dead if you aren’t in the top 3 positions for your keyword search. In the late 1990′s dinosaur days of the Internet you had to be in the first 3 pages. Later it was the first page to get any clicks. Now its the top 3 positions or die.

This definitive search engine registrations article explains how to make sure your website will always be set up for maximum organic rankings and Internet exposure. These practices are usually known by SEO companies or web development companies but amazingly it isn’t known by most of them.

You can do many things both on-site and off-site to get your rankings, but if you don’t do what is described below then your site will never get the rankings that you would otherwise deserve. You just have to do what I describe below to get the organic rankings traction you expect from your website.

SEO Files Required for Optimum Indexing

Search engines require 2 files to be placed into your root directory:
1. The robots.txt file tells the search engines what you don’t want placed into their indexes. This is accomplished by placing a properly formatted robots.txt file into the root folder of your website. See these Google guidelines for creating a robots.txt file.
2. The sitemap.xml file tells the search engines exactly what you do want to be indexed and found on the Internet. A properly formatted  sitemap.xml file should be placed into the root folder of your website. Here are some Google guidelines on sitemap.xml files.

Point robots.txt to the sitemap.xml File

A standard method of ensuring your sitemap is recognized by the search engines is to add this line to your robots.txt file:
Sitemap: http://www.yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml

Where to Register Your Website and Sitemap in the Top 3 Search Engines

These details are critical but elusive to find. To register your website and sitemap.xml in each of the search engines you need to go to each of their webmaster pages and create files or meta-tags to place on your website. This validates your ownership and points to your sitemap.xml file. Note that you typically don’t have to register the robots.txt file. Register with each of the sites below and add your site to your account. This can either mean that you upload a file with contents that the search engine can recognize, or add a meta-tag to the header of your sites home page that they can recognize. Go to each of these pages, register for an account, register your website and validate your sitemap.xml file:

Google Webmaster Central- http://www.google.com/webmasters/
Yahoo! Site Explorer – http://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/
Bing Webmaster Center – http://www.bing.com/webmaster

Canonicalization – Be Consistent in Your Website Addressing for Maximum Exposure

This issue is about how you reference (address) your website. For example, all of the following are ways to reference your home page and are usually the same page, but they could actually be a different page to you need to be careful in how you reference your website. If you aren’t consistent in addressing your website then you’ll most likely dilute the SEO value of most of the links to your website.

Here are a few examples of how you can lose SEO value by inconsistently addressing just the home page of your site :
1. http://www.yourdomain.com
2. http://yourdomain.com
3. http://www.yourdomain.com/index.php
If you use all of these methods of addressing your home page then your SEO value will be divided 3 ways thus reducing the overall SEO value of the links and minimizing your organic search engine results page (SERP) rankings.

Matt Cutts is a member of the Google Search Quality group that specializes in search engine optimization issues and has commented on this canonical topic a few times.

So, now that you understand the issue and how to do it right the first time, how do you manage an existing site with many pages? Use a 301 SEO friendly redirect. In Linux this is easily done with the .htaccess file with this syntax:
# redirect yourdomain.com to www.yourdomain.com
# RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^yourdomain.com [NC]
# RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://www.yourdomain.com/$1 [L,R=301]

In Windows you have to place code on each page that redirects to the new page. Alternatively, if you have full control of the server you can install an application that provides similar functionality as the Linux .htaccess file.

In Google’s Webmaster Tools register both versions of your domain, one with www. and the other without it. For example http://www.yourdonain.com and http://yourdomain.com Next click Site Configuration > Settings > Preferred Domain and select the your preferred domain name, either with or without the www. This will consolidate all links to your site into one form thus getting credit for all links and increasing your SEO site worth.

More Matt Cutts comments on the subject:
http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=139394

About the Author

Michael A. Cordova has been practicing SEO, Internet marketing literally since the beginning of the Internet. For a free initial evaluation of your SEO needs and website you can call him directly at (303) 744-2178 or email Michael and he will be in touch within 24 hours.

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With the increased accessibility to information on the Internet, web security is a vital necessity. Attacks can range from simple nuisances to dangerous compromises of sensitive data. It is important, during website development, that all possible security threats be considered to ensure adequate protection of the website as well as end users. In this article, three security issues that should be considered during web software development are presented:  SQL injection, cross site scripting (XSS), and man-in-the-middle attacks.

How SQL Injection Affects Website Security

SQL injection is a technique that attacks the database of a website. By exploiting a key security vulnerability of the database, a MySQL statement is deliberately input by the user to inappropriately access or manipulate the content of the database. Websites that require some user input are vulnerable to SQL injection, such as the one below.

$name_bad = "'DELETE * FROM Products'";
$query_bad = "SELECT * FROM Customers WHERE UserName = '$name_bad'";

SQL injection occurs when an incorrect escape character, such as a single quote (‘), is added to the user input, followed by a valid MySQL statement, such as the value stored in “$name_bad”.

To prevent SQL injection, it is important that any string used in a MySQL query is safely escaped. Functions such as mysql_real_escape_string in PHP check any input string for SQL injection attacks and removes any incorrect escape characters.

Website Development Issues with XSS

Cross Site Scripting (XSS) is a method of injecting harmful code into a trusted website, thereby affecting the individual user of the website. This website, when viewed by another user, will then execute the injected code. The result of an XSS attack can be as simple as redirecting the user to another website or as dangerous as accessing sensitive information.  An example of an XSS attack is shown below, where the user name in the welcome page is replaced by a script executing the statement “Hey, you are going to be hijacked!”:

http://www.yourdomain.com/welcomedir/welcomepage.php?name=<script
language=javascript>alert('Hey, you are going to be hijacked!');</script>

Typically, XSS attacks are created using a browser-side script, such as JavaScript, and injecting it into the URL of a website or as a hidden link of a message or email. The effect of XSS attacks can become very large, where information is passed unknowingly from one user to another.
There are a number of methods to prevent cross site scripting attacks during web development activities, including the following:

• Prohibit user input on web pages
• Validate input by extracting unauthorized, potentially harmful characters
• Prohibit all client-side code when developing the website.

These methods, when applied, not only help to prevent XSS attacks, but also protect against other attacks such as SQL injections.

Man-in-the Middle Attacks on Web Security

Man-in-the-middle attacks occur when a third party intercepts communication between two users. Instead of establishing a direct connection between the two, the third party creates two connections to each by intercepting host key information. Any exchanged information, including sensitive data, is first accessed and possibly manipulated by the third party, also known as an eavesdropper.

Man-in-the-middle attacks should be appropriately addressed during web software development. Preventing man-in-the-middle attacks is accomplished using techniques such as:

• Endpoint authentication mechanisms, such as SSL
• Passwords
• Secret keys

See Michael Coates’ more detailed explanation of man-in-the-middle attacks.

Conclusion

When engaging in database and website development you need to be aware of potential threats that can seriously injure your company or reputation. Knowledge of the type of security attacks that can occur is the first step in preventing them.

About the Author

Michael A. Cordova has been successfully designing and building custom database software systems since 1993 when he founded 21st Century Technologies, Inc. A student of methodologies, his custom software systems have never failed. To get started on your own custom software application complete this software development questionnaire and Michael will be in touch within 24 hours.

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WordPress Tutorial – SEO Optimized CMS Installation

WordPress has proven to be an excellent content management system (CMS). The developer community is extremely active as evidenced in the frequent solid versions published increasing usability, security and features. Its ease of implementing free, paid for and custom themes places it as a star in the open source CMS arena.

We at 21st are mostly concerned with the search engine optimization (SEO) of WordPress so that will be our focus in this post. All of the links point to the pages in our WordPress SEO tutorial describing details of how to accomplish each task.

12 Killer AdSense-Ready WordPress Themes Optimized For High Click Through Rate (CTR). Includes Everything You Need To Start Making Money Online With Google.

Use The Power Of WordPress For Sales Letters, Affiliate Landing Pages, Squeeze Pages And More.

WordPress Installation

WordPress installation is easy. Once you download it and create a database it is a simple process of updating a configuration file, uploading all files and you’re there.

WordPress SEO, Usability Configurations

Once installed you have to change some settings and install the right WordPress plugins to use it as your content management system. This effort will allow you to add SEO features to your web pages, notify the Internet community of your content and ensure your pages load as fast as possible. This is good for SEO as well as usability. A high degree of usability ensures the highest level of conversions, and conversions is usually the only reason to have a website.

WordPress Backups

Before you start adding content it is important that you set up backups for your WordPress website. This ensures that you have recourse in case of database or web server problems.

WordPress Content Management

Once you have completed configuring your SEO optimized WordPress installation you are ready for prime time. Adding and editing WordPress content is a breeze, and WordPress allows you to do this without any technical knowledge – indeed, the reason for a content management system.

Integrating a Custom Website Design into WordPress

The WordPress community has created many free and low-cost themes that you can use and/or modify for your website. Most of our customers want high-ended custom website designs so we have provided a step by step tutorial on how to integrate a custom website design into WordPress. This is a technical subject and requires that you know php programming.

WordPress Troubleshooting

There are several problems that can show up in this process, so we have added a troubleshooting section to assist you in correcting any web development problems that may arise.

The WordPress Forums are also a great resource for troubleshooting WordPress:
http://wordpress.org/support/

Free Downloadable WordPress Help File

Lastly, we have provided a free downloadable Windows help file that you can use as a reference in your own installations. Here is more info on WordPress design platform hosting.

Please send me a note if you have any additions or corrections to any of this tutorial.

About the Author

Michael A. Cordova has been doing web development literally since the beginning of the Internet. For a free initial evaluation of your website and SEO needs you can call him directly at (303) 744-2178 or email Michael and he will be in touch within 24 hours.

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The art and science of web design and web development

Web Development for a purpose:
* maximum conversions
* maximum leads
* maximum sales
* maximum exposure

This first post on our Web Development Blog provides information for the creation of high-performance websites – websites with high conversion rates. They either increase sales or increase sales leads. Many topics will be detailed, and the entire list is presented in this first Blog post.

Leaving out any single one of the website features listed below can be costly. It can take just as long to create a properly optimized website as it does to create it in an inferior manner. Web (W3C) standards compliance is important to increase search engine indexing of your content as well as consistently rendering your pages and decreasing page load times.

In order to achieve maximum website performance you need to create websites that:

• Are highly aesthetic and that fit within your industry
• Have fast page load times. Current wisdom is that you have 5 – 8 seconds to convince the visitor that they are in the right place before they hit the back button. Any longer than this you take the risk of your visitor leaving before the page even loads.
• Contain persuasive, benefit-oriented content to maximize conversions. This cannot be underestimated. Content written by professional copywriters ensure that your website captures the visitors attention, moves them through a call to action into a conversion funnel to a sale or conversion – complete a form, send an email, pick up the phone and call you, etc.
• Have error-free web (W3C) standards compliant code. This ensures consistent cross-browser rendering. If your website looks freakish because a browser can’t render your pages sanely and as intended, then you’ll lose your visitors complete confidence. W3C compliance also allows the search engines to separate page code from its content so your message can be recognized and ranked high in the search engine results pages.
• Have a high degree of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). This process starts with an extensive keyword analysis that includes the keywords that are actually being searched on today.
• Undergo Competitive Analysis – what keywords and features/services your competitors websites focus on, who links to them and what advertising they are paying for.
• Have an extremely high degree of usability. It is all about sales and profits. If you have a website that is pretty but difficult to understand and navigate then you’ll lose a percentage of sales, sometimes a huge percentage.
• Are Accessibility Standards Compliant – Section 508, W3C WAI, and WCAG Priorities 1, 2 and 3. This means that visitors with disabilities will easily be able to use the website. This is required for all websites built for the US Government or its agencies.
• Are continually tested and updated to maximize conversions. We use Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising as the last step in the website optimization process. Split-testing and multivariate testing techniques take conversions from less than 1% to 7 – 25%! This means a 700% – 2,500% increase in sales by monitoring and updating your website!
• Undergo optimized website promotion in the top Internet properties so the prominence of your website is recognized by the search engines and you are found at the top of the Search Engine Results Pages (SERP) for your targeted keywords. Timeframes for these results vary directly with the amount of effort put into it. We have seen results in 30 days.
• Incorporate analytics to track website progress – it’s very important to see the fruits of your labor.
• Use a Content Management System (CMS). Using a CMS allows the website to be completely maintained by you or a non-technical person by incorporating a content management system like WordPress or Drupal. You need to be able to shift with the market, and a CMS can be invaluable in making website updates.

If your website doesn’t utilize every single one of these features then you cannot expect to get the best results from it.

Future posts will focus on each of these items individually so you can build high-performance websites.

About the Author

Michael A. Cordova has been doing web development literally since the beginning of the Internet. For a free initial evaluation of your website and SEO needs you can call him directly at (303) 744-2178 or email Michael and he will be in touch within 24 hours.

Follow Michael

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