News

Genesis 2.6 Beta Released

We are very happy to be able to announce that after closing 128 issues and pull requests on the Genesis Github repository, Genesis 2.6 Beta has been released, and is ready for testing!

The excellent progress from Genesis 2.5 has carried over to this release as well, including more moves toward better code standards and organization through more object oriented patterns.

But it’s not just code changes. You’ll notice a few feature additions and enhancements as well.

For instance, we’ve started making moves to fully embrace the WordPress Customizer as the primary location for theme settings, including the built in SEO settings. Settings can also be added or removed using a single filter.

We hope youÔÇÖll download the Genesis Beta Tester plugin and help out the Genesis community by testing Genesis 2.6 Beta, then reporting any issues you might come across.

As always, feel free to send any bug reports to our support team. You can also give me a shout on Twitter (@nathanrice) and IÔÇÖll look into it.

For a full list of changes coming in Genesis 2.6, see the changelog below:

Fixed

  • More compliance with WordPress coding standards.
  • Set ID of entry-pings to comments if only pings exist.
  • Ensure default settings get saved to database in new installs.
  • Change h3 to h2 for titles in admin metaboxes.
  • Ensure theme support for Genesis import / export menu before outputting.
  • Check for post parents before outputting parent in breadcrumbs.
  • Ensure [post_tags] and [post_categories] are valid for post type before outputting.

Added

  • Add option to sort Featured Posts by date modified.
  • Add contextual filter for content passed through the Markup API.
  • Add filter for 404 page title.
  • Add Genesis_Customizer class.
  • Add Genesis_SEO_Document_Title_Parts class.
  • Add title-tag theme support by default.
  • Add class autoloader.
  • Add support for AdSense Auto Ads.

Changed

  • Change urls to https wherever possible.
  • Update to normalize.css 7.0.0.
  • Duplicate all theme and SEO settings in the customizer.
  • Move all classes to their own files in lib/classes.
  • Use Markup API for entry-title-link.
  • Change description for headings on archive pages to account for a11y.
  • Improve color scheme retrieval function.

Removed

  • Remove duplicate genesis_load_favicon.
  • Remove header right widget area screen reader h2.
  • Remove feed settings if Genesis 2.6 is your first version.

This blog was originally posted on Studiopress.com This post is in no way associated with Kembel.ca. For more posts by this author, please click here.

[37] 3Q for Picking the Right Host for Your Website

Above all else, you want to make a hosting choice that gives you peace of mind. And that means rushing the choice is probably not a smart move. There is plenty to consider — more than we can dive into in just one podcast episode. But the three questions IÔÇÖve prepared for you here should move you in the right direction toward picking the right host for your website.

Click to subscribe to Sites on Apple Podcasts

Here is a quick rundown of what you’ll find in this episode:

  • Why picking a host is such a big commitment
  • The potential long-term costs of going cheap in the short-term
  • Why you need to understand what hostÔÇÖs plans fit your needs the best to give you the most value for your dollar
  • The importance of gauging who is going to have your back when problems arise

Resources and links mentioned in this episode:

Other links of note:

This blog was originally posted on Studiopress.com This post is in no way associated with Kembel.ca. For more posts by this author, please click here.

[36] How to Pick the Right Domain Name for Your WordPress Website (with Brian Gardner)

Should you still worry about getting the .com extension? Does protecting your brand by buying non-.com extensions still matter? And how did an impulse domain purchase allow Brian Gardner to hang out with a former contestant on The Bachelor? All of that and more in this discussion between Brian and Sean Jackson.

Click to subscribe to Sites on Apple Podcasts

Here is a quick rundown of what you’ll find in this episode:

  • One incredible story from Brian GardnerÔÇÖs secret background as a domain squatter (and fan of The Bachelor)
  • Why Brian doesnÔÇÖt go with anything but .com (outside of a few very rare exceptions) — and will even think of another name if he canÔÇÖt get the .com.
  • Why extensions like .blog, .fm, and .tv can work if itÔÇÖs the right fit for your content
  • The importance of protecting your brand by buying the non-.com extensions
  • What do you do if the domain you want is registered but isnÔÇÖt being used (as actually happened with StudioPress.com!) ÔǪ and why sometimes a cold email actually works best
  • When you should be prepared to shell out money for the .com domain you really, really want
  • The step-by-step process Brian goes through to determine the best available domain for website/brand ideas that he has
  • What to do when the domain you want is available, but the corresponding social handles are not
  • Should you augment your URL idea with hyphens, ÔÇ£the,ÔÇØ etc. — and what The Social Network taught us about this question
  • What to do if youÔÇÖre sitting on a bunch of domains that youÔÇÖre never going to use

And then Brian closes with his Starbucks domain story  what, you thought this episode would end without Brian talking about Starbucks? ?

And if you like this episode, don’t miss episode 35 in which Jerod Morris gives you three questions to answer that will help you choose the right domain name for your site.

Resources and links mentioned in this episode:

Other links of note:

This blog was originally posted on Studiopress.com This post is in no way associated with Kembel.ca. For more posts by this author, please click here.

Sites Weekly: How to Get Featured Snippets on Google

Welcome to another edition of Sites Weekly.

In this week’s edition, you will find links to articles about the following:

  • Content. How to Get Featured Snippets on Google: A Quick Start Guide
  • Design. Transform Your Business Website Using Our Free ÔÇÿDesign 101ÔÇÖ Ebook
  • Technology. 6 Tools for Sharing and Promoting New Content
  • Strategy. Why Is Diversity Important?

But first …

Last week on Site Success

I walk you through the next step after defining your ideal audience: putting together your initial content marketing strategy, which helps propel you and your content forward in the direction of specific goals.

Listen: [33] 3Q for Defining Your Content Marketing Strategy

If you have a WordPress website and are looking to grow your audience through content, then this episode will help. Sonia Simone is one of the most accomplished content marketers in the world, and she stops by to discuss smart, winning content strategies with Sean Jackson.

Listen: [34] Amazing Content Strategies for WordPress Sites

And now, on to this week’s links …

Content: How to Get Featured Snippets on Google: A Quick Start Guide

Featured snippets are important for a couple of obvious reasons:

  1. They pop up right at the top of Google search results pages, and drive much higher click-throughs than the standard results listed below them.
  2. With voice search gaining in popularity, featured snippets are gaining in stature as well — because the featured snippet is often what is read in response to the voice search.

So, it would be wise to figure out how to get your website featured in more snippets. This guide from our friends at Search Engine Journal provides an excellent primer for getting your site ready to take advantage of the featured snippet opportunities that might be available to you.

Read at Search Engine Journal

Also of importance from SEJ: Google Sets Deadline for HTTPS and Warns Publishers to Upgrade Soon

Design: Transform Your Business Website Using Our Free ÔÇÿDesign 101ÔÇÖ Ebook

Choosing a WordPress theme can be a little overwhelming at the beginning — especially if you donÔÇÖt really know what you want your final website to look like.

Before you even start browsing different designs, there are a couple of things you should first consider, because they will help you narrow down your choices.

In this ebook, Rafal Tomal will guide you through making the best design choices for your brand.

Download at StudioPress.com

StudioPress logo

Two of the most important decisions you will make about your WordPress website are your theme and your hosting. Wouldn’t it be great if they worked together to make your website more powerful?

Now they can.

Discover why over 213,675 website owners trust StudioPress.

Technology: 6 Tools for Sharing and Promoting New Content

Assuming that you’ve invested time to create high-quality content, your work is not truly “just beginning” once you’ve hit publish on a new piece of content. Though you’ve probably heard that clich├® a time or two.

But … your work is definitely not done. You now need to promote your latest content to your target audiences across the different channels you are participating in.

And while manual channel-by-channel posting is one way to do it — and occasionally you should do it that way, to make sure you’re staying engaged socially on social media, and so you stay up-to-date on changes to the platforms — finding automated tools that fit your particular objectives and workflow can be both efficient and effective.

Personally, I use CoSchedule for my social media automation. I love its feature for creating templates for post types that repeat. So I encourage you to check it out. But also take a gander at this post by Sandra Clayton, which provides you with six more options for tools that help you share and promote new content.

Read at Social Media Examiner

Strategy: Why Is Diversity Important?

This quote from Christopher Penn’s article linked below really hit home:

“The importance of diversity is that if our ingredients — the people we hire and the ideas we encourage — are stale and monotonous, our business will be stale and monotonous — and our competitors will crush us.”

Consider the importance of diversity in everything you do with your website: from the sources you use for research, to the tools and strategies you engage for efficiency, to the viewpoints you embrace in your comment section and community.

Read at ChristophersPenn.com

So …

Which of the ideas in these posts will you put to good use immediately?

I’ll be back with a new edition next week.

Keep building.

This blog was originally posted on Studiopress.com This post is in no way associated with Kembel.ca. For more posts by this author, please click here.

[35] 3Q for Choosing the Best Domain Name

Settling on a domain name for your website can be a difficult process. Your ideal choice probably isn’t there, and you probably want to balance picking something clear and easy to remember that also gives you some kind of keyword or branding benefits. Fear not — Jerod is here with three questions (and a mindset shift!) that will help you make this a smooth process that propels you forward, rather than hold you back.

Click to subscribe to Sites on Apple Podcasts

Here is a quick rundown of what you’ll find in this episode:

  • An important reality check on choosing domains
  • Why every domain search needs to start with you understanding the essence of your site
  • How to think about and factor in the ways people will be most likely to discover your site
  • What matters when trying to choose a domain that is memorable
  • What’s more important: keywords or branding?

Other links of note:

This blog was originally posted on Studiopress.com This post is in no way associated with Kembel.ca. For more posts by this author, please click here.

[34] Amazing Content Strategies for WordPress Sites

If you have a WordPress website and are looking to grow your audience through content, then this episode will help. Sonia Simone is one of the most accomplished content marketers in the world, and she stops by to discuss smart, winning content strategies with Sean Jackson.

Click to subscribe to Sites on Apple Podcasts

Here is a quick rundown of what you’ll find in this episode:

  • SoniaÔÇÖs one essential tip for avoiding overwhelm
  • The importance of understanding what your website is going to do
  • Why marketing matters for all sites, not just websites that are selling stuff
  • How your blog can be a tool to create important stepping stones for your audience
  • Sean goes ÔÇ£knee-deepÔÇØ: what is the first step to take when itÔÇÖs time to start publishing content?
  • The evergreen power of simply answering questions
  • Why you should think about things you love AND things you hate about your topic
  • Are you getting to the point quickly enough? (And doing it simply enough?)
  • Why you should never, ever build your online platform on land that is owned by somebody else — but — how you can leverage social media tools to your advantage

Resources and links mentioned in this episode:

Other links of note:

This blog was originally posted on Studiopress.com This post is in no way associated with Kembel.ca. For more posts by this author, please click here.

Sites Weekly: WhatÔÇÖs Next for Digital Marketing in 2018?

Welcome to another edition of Sites Weekly.

In this week’s edition, you will find links to articles about the following:

  • Content. “Old school” factors still lead to present-day sales
  • Design. How to create a website with beautiful typography
  • Technology. Do you still believe any of these 15 SEO myths that refuse to die?
  • Strategy. How will digital marketing evolve in 2018?
  • Bonus. Considering Facebook’s recent changes, should you use Groups to build your community?

But first …

Last week on Sites

The Sites podcast is back … and now it’s called Site Success. Last week, we published two new episodes, which will be our modus operandi moving forward.

If you missed those two episodes, the theme was identifying your audience.

Get caught up:

Episode 31: 3Q to Help You Define Your Ideal Audience

I discuss what all the changes to the podcast mean, and then how to define your ideal audience.

Episode 32: Brian Clark on Identifying the Right Audience for Your Website

Brian Clark joins Sean Jackson to describe three key elements of a framework for choosing who you want your audience to be.

And now, on to this week’s links …

Content: “Old school” factors still lead to present-day sales

Leave it to Sonia Simone to bring important, “old schoo”l lessons into a present-day context that you can put to use immediately in your content marketing to help you sell better.

And whether it’s selling an actual product or selling people on the idea of exchanging their email address for your free newsletter, you need to understand the basic factors that will help you sell successfully.

As Sonia says:

“You donÔÇÖt have to be ‘born’ understanding how selling works, any more than you have to be ‘born’ knowing how to play the piano, or ‘born’ knowing how to ski. Some people take to those activities more quickly, but all of us can learn them.”

Start learning how to sell better with this post.

Read at Copyblogger

Design: How to create a website with beautiful typography

I feel like we’ve discussed typography a lot in this section in recent weeks. Rafal would be so proud. ?

In this blog post by Bogdan Sandu, you will learn some basic tenets for using typography to share a message about the purpose of your website, help create your website’s personality, and perhaps most importantly, maximize readability and a positive user experience.

For example:

“You might be tempted to put as many characters as possible on a line of text, but that is not a good idea. A smaller number of characters per line is important if you want to have good readability.

You will see different recommended values for characters per line. Some put them at 50, others at 75. I recommend 60, if you want a good reading experience.

On mobile, things are a bit different. In apps or responsive designs, you should have 30-40 characters per line.”

And even if you’re using a theme, like a StudioPress theme, and thus not doing all of the design work yourself, you can still exercise some granular control over typefaces to incorporate different looks and feels, as described in this post.

Read at Line25

StudioPress logo

Two of the most important decisions you will make about your WordPress website are your theme and your hosting. Wouldn’t it be great if they worked together to make your website more powerful?

Now they can.

Discover why over 213,675 website owners trust StudioPress.

Technology: Do you still believe any of these 15 SEO myths that refuse to die?

SEO can be a tricky subject to understand. No search engine actually publishes its algorithm, and there are constantly tweaks and even major changes being made.

What is a hard-working, content-focused website owner to do when it comes to staying up-to-date on the latest wisdom about what works and what doesn’t?

One smart strategy is to stay dialed in to sites like Search Engine Journal, which regularly post useful articles — like this one — that dispel some common myths you might still believe.

Here is one that stood out to me, having not really thought about sitemaps in a while. Oops, sounds like that was a mistake.

“Sitemaps are not a nice to have add-on for sites today. This gets even more important as we move to the mobile-first algorithms in 2018.

Why? When Google cannot easily crawl a portion of your site, the sitemap allows the crawler to better find these pages.

Bonus Tip: Google is going to have a harder time finding pages due to the reduced size of navigational elements in mobile-first indexing. Sitemaps — both XML and HTML — will be the best way for them to find all the pages on the site you want indexed and ranked.”

There are 14 more just like that …

Read at Search Engine Journal

Strategy: How will digital marketing evolve in 2018?

Digital marketing is constantly evolving. While the underlying principles mostly stay the same, there are often hot new strategies (often driven by technological advancements) that are worth considering to see if they will work for your content and your audience.

In this blog post, Michael Johnson provides a brief overview of three ways he sees digital marketing evolving in 2018.

One big idea that has me very encouraged:

“Digital marketing is no longer about transactions and bottom lines. It is more about interactions and building a stronger relationship with the audience. The business impacts of such campaigns will come later and the campaign will continue to produce results long after the relationship is established.”

Read at Creativeoverflow

Bonus article: Considering Facebook’s recent changes, should you use Groups to build your community?

Right off the bat, I shudder at that thought … because building something as important as your website’s community on land owned by someone else is a very risky proposition. And yet, we all know that Facebook can be a powerful driver of community because of how much time people spend there.

So it seems, at least, worth considering.

That’s what big websites like Fatherly and Vox are doing, and you can learn a little bit about their experiences so far in this post from MarTech Today.

Read at MarTech Today

So …

Which of the ideas in these posts will you put to good use immediately?

I’ll be back with a new edition next week.

Keep building.

This blog was originally posted on Studiopress.com This post is in no way associated with Kembel.ca. For more posts by this author, please click here.

[33] 3Q for Defining Your Content Marketing Strategy

This week, Jerod Morris walks you through the next step after defining your ideal audience: putting together your initial content marketing strategy, which helps propel you and your content forward in the direction of specific goals.

Click to subscribe to Sites on Apple Podcasts

Here is a quick rundown of the questions Jerod walks you through in this episode:

  • Why is it so important to figure your content marketing strategy?
  • What does your ideal audience member need to know in order to do business with you?
  • How can you position your content to be different than what people are already seeing?
  • What will allow your content to engage people in a deeper way that will make you and your site indispensable?

Resources and links mentioned in this episode:

Other links of note:

This blog was originally posted on Studiopress.com This post is in no way associated with Kembel.ca. For more posts by this author, please click here.

[32] Brian Clark on Identifying the Right Audience for Your Website

ÔÇ£It is more important to have some people love you than everyone to be indifferent.ÔÇØ In this episode of Site Success, Brian Clark joins Sean Jackson to describe three key elements of a framework for choosing who you want your audience to be.

Click to subscribe to Sites on Apple Podcasts

Here is a quick rundown of what you’ll find in this episode:

  • Why thinking seriously about your audience is truly where the battle of building a platform is won or lost.
  • The importance of choosing your ideal audience, rather than pandering to anyone who shows up.
  • The three key elements of a framework for choosing who you want your audience to be.
  • Why the topic, not demographic factors, is what brings people together online.
  • Hey — whatÔÇÖs up with naked mole rats?
  • What authenticity actually means (and why itÔÇÖs essential).
  • The story of Apple, and what it can teach us about the importance of core values.
  • BrianÔÇÖs cocktail party analogy — which will help you find more of the people you want to talk to, and fewer of the people youÔÇÖd rather avoid.
  • What it means to find your ÔÇ£voiceÔÇØ ÔǪ and why itÔÇÖs fundamental to building a close relationship with your ideal audience members.

Resources and links mentioned in this episode:

 

Click to subscribe to Sites on Apple Podcasts

Other links of note:

This blog was originally posted on Studiopress.com This post is in no way associated with Kembel.ca. For more posts by this author, please click here.

Sites Weekly: The Simple Comment that Launched WordPress 15 Years Ago

Welcome to another edition of Sites Weekly.

In this week’s edition, you will find links to articles about the following:

  • Content. A simple way to think about the value you create
  • Design. How to create digital assets
  • Technology. What GoogleÔÇÖs new ad settings mean for your remarketing campaigns
  • Strategy. What you can learn from the way some media companies are adapting to Facebook’s changes
  • Bonus. What two drastically different leaders can teach you about building trust

But first …

Did you realize that WordPress is now 15 years old? It’s true.

And on the one hand, that seems like such a long time when you consider that WordPress started before the iPhone and so many other technological advancements that have radically changed society.

But on the other hand, it’s only been around for 15 years. That’s barely even a ripple off of a drop in the bucket of human history, and then think about all of the achievements WordPress has enabled, all of the lives it has transformed, and all of the promise that it still holds for the future.

So happy belated 15th birthday, WordPress (the actual date was January 25).

Here is the simple comment that started it all. (WPTavern.com)

Oh, and the Site Success podcast returned this week, so you’ll get links to the new episodes in next week’s newsletter (but for a sneak peek, click here). Not only does the show have a new name, but it also has a new schedule and format as well. I’m really looking forward to what we have planned for 2018!

Subscribe at Apple Podcasts here: sites.fm/apple.

Or just search for “StudioPress Sites” wherever you listen to podcasts.

And now, on to this week’s links …

Content: A simple way to think about the value you create

When we’re trying to convince people to join, or subscribe, or buy, we often focus on comparing features and benefits. And with good reason. Doing so allows us to position ourselves against the competition our audience members and potential customers are seeing elsewhere.

But what if there is another way — maybe even a better way? — to think about the value we are delivering to our audiences?

If you click on this very short blog post by Bernadette Jiwa, you’ll spend a teeny tiny amount of time reading … but then a lot of time thinking and considering.

Read at The Story of Telling

Design: How to create digital assets

This blog post is targeted at designers, but it provides useful lessons for any online content creator who is creating digital assets to be served on their website.

If you are creating the digital assets yourself, you’ll learn some useful tips for the creation process. If you are hiring someone to create the digital assets for you, then you’ll have a short checklist of questions to ask your designer to make sure the deliverable you get is ready to go.

Read at Creative Bloq

StudioPress logo

Two of the most important decisions you will make about your WordPress website are your theme and your hosting. Wouldn’t it be great if they worked together to make your website more powerful?

Now they can.

Discover why over 213,675 website owners trust StudioPress.

Technology: What GoogleÔÇÖs new ad settings mean for your remarketing campaigns

Facebook isn’t the only Internet giant making important changes to how it distributes content and serves ads. Google also recently announced changes to the control that users will have over what ads are served to them, and what happens when they choose to mute an ad.

This article, by Allen Finn, at WordStream is worth reading for two reasons:

  1. As a general web user, it’s a good reminder of the control you have with your Google account.
  2. It provides useful advice for how to respond to these changes from a publisher perspective.

Read at WordStream

Strategy: What you can learn from the way some media companies are adapting to Facebook’s changes

Chances are, your website isn’t driving the amount of traffic and making the amount of revenue that sites like Topix and Fatherly are. Still, you can learn from the ways in which these big-time publishers are adapting to Facebook’s recent algorithm changes that de-prioritize organic brand content in news feeds.

One big idea is that you can still see results on Facebook if you’re willing to pay. Just make sure you have a smart strategy so that you’re reaping a reward on the investment.

Another big idea is that going all-in on Facebook (or any single channel) is never the best idea. Diversification helps future-proof you against potential changes on platforms you don’t control.

Read at MarTech Today

Bonus article: What two drastically different leaders can teach you about building trust

Going whitewater rafting or sitting around telling stories don’t sound like the best paths to productive problem solving, do they? Well, perhaps it’s time to rethink that.

This blog post, by Shane Show, shares what he learned from General Stanley McChrystal and Evernote CEO Chris O’Neill about leadership. In the end, it’s about trust. And you don’t build trust just by working. You have to have experiences that help you get to know people on a deeper level. (Note: the same can be applied to building audiences, too.)

Read at Contently

So …

Which of the ideas in these posts will you put to good use immediately?

I’ll be back with a new edition next week.

Keep building.

This blog was originally posted on Studiopress.com This post is in no way associated with Kembel.ca. For more posts by this author, please click here.