How to Install a WordPress Pinterest Plugin

January 22, 2013 by 9 Comments
WordPress Plugins

Happy Tuesday SNAP readers! I'm excited to start our 2013 Wordpress posts talking about plugins. I thought I would change it up a little and do a video tutorial showing you how to install a plugin and specifically how to set up a Pinterest plugin that will showcase your most recent pins on your sidebar. But first, for those that don't know, what is a plugin? Wordpress' site defines a plugin as "... tools to extend the functionality of WordPress. Plugins offer custom functions and features so that each user can tailor their site to their specific needs." There are TONS of plugins out there, … [Read more...]

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How to Create a Navigation Bar in WordPress

November 27, 2012 by 2 Comments
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Hello SNAP! readers! Are you ready for another fun Wordpress tutorial? Today I'm going to show you how to create a navigation bar using Wordpress menus and how to set up dropdowns for that navigation bar. On the left side of your dashboard hover over "Appearance" and choose the "Menus" option. Your screen will now look something like this: Enter a name for your navigation bar in that box and click "Create Menu." Once you do this the left side options will become active. You use these options to create each individual navigation link. You can add custom links linking to external … [Read more...]

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How to Truncate Posts in WordPress

October 23, 2012 by 14 Comments
WordPress truncated posts

Hello SNAP readers! I'm excited to be back with another tutorial for WordPress. Today we are going to talk about how to truncate your posts in WordPress... What is Truncating? What does truncating mean? Basically it means to shorten something. So in our case, it would be to shorten a post. Most of the time this is on a home or archive page, with a link for the reader to "read more." Why Truncate? Truncating is valuable for several reasons: Your readers don't have to scroll through long posts they are not as interested in. It gives the page a clean, organized and professional … [Read more...]

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Best WordPress Plugins for Bloggers

September 24, 2012 by 30 Comments
10 Best WordPress Plugins

One of the best things about WordPress is the opportunity it provides for fairly easy customization. Don't believe me? Here's the theme my site operates on in its standard form... Here's my site: Big difference, right?! Amy obviously worked wonders with the framework (thank heaven for a great site designer), but much of the customization and preferences on individual pages was made possible via great WordPress plugins. There really is a plugin for just about anything and everything. Of course, you don't want to go overboard. Too many plugins can slow your load time and cause problems … [Read more...]

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Blog Design Tips and Resources

August 6, 2012 by 9 Comments

  Today I want to share a few design pointers with you, as well as some blog design resources! Hopefully you will find these tips helpful whether you are paying someone to professionaly design your blog or if you are doing a DIY design. It's time to make the most out of your blog design! #1. Headers The header is the first thing people see when they come to your blog. It should ultimately represent what your blog is all about! The title should be big and bold and preferably be in the center of the header, or if you want it off center, on the left side. We read left to right so it is more … [Read more...]

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WordPress Categories vs. Tags

March 29, 2012 by 12 Comments

I'm so excited to be sharing some tips and tricks about Wordpress here on the SNAP blog! In the spirit of Spring Cleaning I thought for my first post we would talk a little about cleaning up those categories and tags on your Wordpress blog. If you moved over to Wordpress from Blogger you may have been a little confused when suddenly you had two options for labeling/categorizing/tagging (whatever you want to call it!) your posts. On Blogger they just have "labels" but Wordpress gives you a two tiered system which is really nice. So whats the difference? Lets break it down and talk about each … [Read more...]

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Blogger or WordPress?

November 2, 2011 by 65 Comments

When I wrote about how blogging is like a home, it sparked a firestorm of questions and a bit of a debate behind the scenes about whether Blogger or WordPress was a better blogging platform. Here's the controversial paragraph: "Remember even an ordinary apartment can look like a million-bucks with a little planning and some style. Though many bloggers have moved to WordPress (and I think it’s fabulous), you can be just as successful utilizing a free blogging platform like Blogger. Work with what is in your means. Who’s with me on this one?" There were some who were horrified I would … [Read more...]

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Easy Blog Design Tips

October 25, 2011 by 11 Comments

A couple weeks ago Tauni talked about how your blog is like a house and one of the reasons was the need to redecorate. Sometimes a color is wrong, and sometimes you just want to change the entire design. I definitely understand this feeling, as I just re-designed all of my blogs AND my sister's blog, because I just couldn't stand looking at them any longer! I'm going to let you in on a little secret that helps me make easy blog design tweaks and believe me, you're going to LOVE this!  Especially if you know a little bit about CSS. Before I get into the super awesome secret … [Read more...]

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Is It Time To Upgrade?

October 10, 2011 by 13 Comments

Today I am going to let you know how to figure out if it is time to upgrade your site host. A client recently contacted me because their site was loading REALLY slow and generating script errors. After a little digging it was clear that they were in serious need of a hosting upgrade. The client had no idea that there were options out there. Did you? The cheapest hosting plans around are shared server plans - typically $5-$30 a month plan. If you are currently paying for hosting, chances are this is the plan you are on. Shared hosting means that your website's files reside on a server with … [Read more...]

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