In this post I'm going to show you how to create links in your Gutenberg (block editor) WordPress posts and pages that open a new tab in the viewer's browser. Before we get into it, did you listen to WHY and WHEN you want to do this? Don't worry, that link will open in a new window for you! …
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WHY You Want Your Links To Open In A New Window
This Part ONE of a TWO Part Series. We've come to expect that if you mention another site on your posts or pages, that we won't have to search Google for that site, you'll have a link we can click on right there in your post. It's just a common internet courtesy. Links are the 'chains' that …
What Pages Should Your New Website Have?
For this week's 2MT, we'll explore the pages that you must have, talk about the pages that you don't need and more importantly - the lead capture that will help your new site reach your goals. While I had this post in draft mode for a while I honestly just had a new client ask that very same …
Battling For Your Attention
I've said it before and it bears repeating. We're in a constant battle for attention. One of the reasons we blog in the first place is to get our message out. The problem today is that the attention span of the reader has become so very short and new information is bombarding them from all angles …
2MT has a new format!
One of the biggest stumbling blocks for me in creating new content is the time it takes. Afterall, we all only have so much time, right? I haven't done a 2MT in a while and I think this is the answer. No fancy schmansy intros anymore, no ticking stopwatch, no end of session bell. Just quality …
How to Reduce SPAM
If you have a form, any form at all, you're going to get some SPAM. How to Identify, and Eliminate Virtually All SPAM from your Website Let's start with a few simple rules that we can all agree on RULE #1:The simpler the form, the greater the response.The harder the form, the less …
Are You a “Tool”?
A funny thing happened to me the other day on my way to writing a post. I was going to write something educational and then this thing happened and well... I'm a little upset and I'm going to name some names. WHAT IS A TOOL? Depending on the context, a Tool could be good. My wrenches all …
Setting Up in the new IDXBroker Dashboard
For better purposes the title should really be "How to setup Showcase Widgets and Saved Searches in the new IDXBroker Dashboard" As this post and video are going to focus on just 2 things... Creating new Showcase Widgets, andCreating new Saved Searches (they call them "saved …
How to Embed a Video
A better title would be "How to Embed a YouTube Video in Gutenberg Properly" I'll bet if you been using Gutenberg (WordPress 5.0+) for any length of time you've embedded a video. It seems easy enough as there's a handy dandy block for YouTube video right on your dashboard. There's a YouTube …
Don’t justify an image
Yes I'm going to do a video to show you something about an image and why you should never justify an image. Of course what we're talking about here is putting an image to the right or the left side of a block of text and having that text 'wrap' around the image. In this I'm going to assume 1 …
How to (properly) add an Image
Images are everything when it comes to a good blog post. Images add visual interest, add to the story or compliment the story you are trying to tell. Images can break up the "wall of text" and help the reader actually read all the way through your post. Images are good! Here's how to properly …
What does BLOG stand for?
It might seem a little strange, but after I launch a new client website I subscribe to their blog. I want to see what they are writing and how they are using it. I read everything in my feed reader and I can usually zip through several hundred (really) posts in a short period of time. One of my …
New Years Resolutions For Your Website
I've had this post planned for a while but every year it just doesn't feel right unless it's the first day of the year (or in this case the first biz day of the year. That's kind of funny as I'm not a big maker of resolutions and even if I was I have always felt that you don't wait for a starting …
How to write a “basic” post in Gutenberg
In this post I’m going to show you how to write what I see as a “basic” post using the Gutenberg editor found in WordPress 5.0+. I’ll cover from start to finish what you’ll need to do using just the simplest of techniques. What is a “Basic” post? Good question. I’ll suggest that most of …
Understanding Gutenberg
Warning: I'm going to be writing, videoing and maybe even podcasting a lot of posts in the coming months on the topic of Gutenberg. It's the new editor inside of WordPress 5.0. You can follow all the "gutenberg" related posts here. While I wanted to dive right in and start the in-depth …
WordPress 5.0 (Gutenberg) Drops
"Drops", "pushed", "launches" - choose your lingo. The fact is that like it or not, you are going to wake up and there's going to be a new version of WordPress ready for you to update. Or maybe your site will auto update. Or maybe you heard about this and fearing the worst you've installed an Anti …
Understanding DNS
Let's use this post as a bookmark of sorts. You really don't need to know this, I just want to be able to point clients here when I need to for reference. That said shouldn't we all keep on learning new stuff? What is DNS? This is a great place to start. You've seen the acronym in your …
How to properly do lead capture
Ok, I know that sounds kinda of lame for a title but bear with me - I'll make it way less salesy. Let's start with this. Fill out this form, please. Yeah. Right. You see, simply asking for your email address is pretty much going to be a No Go, no matter what our relationship is. Heck, I …
How to do EVERYTHING in Gutenberg
I'll keep saying it - there's a HUGE change coming to WordPress. If you have a site that I built, I've also included a section in the backend titled "Need Help?" In it you'll find a variety of helpful videos that will walk you through most anything you need to do on your site. Here's what that …
Plugins: When to update and why
When it comes to WordPress, I generally see two different kinds of site owners... The ones that never (ever) update their site. We're not talking about updates like posts or pages, we're talking about the updates to WordPress core, Themes and Plugins. I've logged into existing sites (not …