Eileen Lonergan

I just finished this site for Bill Gurney of Gurney Talent Solutions.

My favorite thing about the site is the great videos that Bill Gurney created with his iPad. The visuals are great, the music is familiar and attention grabbing and they have a sense of humor. Bill has worked in automation engineering for his entire career, and wanted a site that would encourage networking and highlight sales and marketing tips curated throughout his career.

One tip that I wanted to share with you from creating this site is how to align text around videos.  You toggle to html and add this div code before the video code:

PS: I used the Classic with Video layout for the SmallBiz Theme for WordPress to build this site.

I was delighted when Dr. Matt Lyon of Network Wellness Charlotte asked me to work on the redesign of his website.  Dr. Lyon is a Chiropractor with a cult like following of clients that range from Olympic athletes to parents of children with ADHD to regular folks with chronic back or neck pain.  Our goal was to update his Thesis themed site to one that used the SmallBiz Theme.  We had a really cool testimonials video created to put on his homepage (All in One Layout) and check out his testimonials page!  I used lots of div codes to create the stripes, I did a tutorial on how to create call out boxes  a while back which you may find helpful.

If you are looking for a Chiropractic website or would like to learn more about WordPress, please feel free to give me a ring!

I am helping a client with their SmallBiz Themed website and they have asked me how to get the three footer widgets to link out of their website and open a new tab on a browser.  The process is simple and I wanted to share the code:

<a href=”http://TheSiteURLHere.com” target=”_blank”>put the code for the image here</a>

The same process works for any link, so if you wanted to link to Facebook, yet have Facebook open in another tab, the process is the same:

<a href=”http://www.facebook.com/EileenCLonergan” target=”_blank”>Visit me on Facebook!</a>

Now of course the question was for using the widgets, which you input all of the text into HTML, you most certainly can follow this process for pages and posts, but make sure you are in HTML mode, not visual.  Your end result will look like this:  Visit me on Facebook!

You may find some other nuggets of info in my recent post: 11 Tricks for Using WordPress.

Website security is an important issue – no one wants their blog hijacked and filled with links to scammers, or their members’ emails stolen and sold to spammers. And while securing WordPress is certainly a priority, sometimes people forget that it’s not just WordPress itself that can be vulnerable but the underlying server as well. For instance, last week (May 3^rd, 2012), a security hole in PHP 5.3.12 and PHP 5.4.2 was announced that allowed an attacker access to the underlying webserver via the server’s PHP interpreter itself.

So it’s important to make sure that both your actual WordPress install and your server are kept up to date and adequate security measures are taking – especially if you’re hosting your site on your own server, or your host gives you access to server related functions. Read on for some tips for both securing both WordPress and Linux-based Apache servers. …Continue Reading

I recently attended an online professional development class on 12 Ways to Get New Clients. It was held by my friend and mentor Don Campbell who is the founder of Expand2Web.  There were lots of good ideas, and I wanted to share one technique that I used last summer.

I landed  Turks Seafood, in Mattapoisett, MA because I donated a free website to a local fundraiser. The person who bought it is my friend, who was gracious enough to bid so my silent auction item didn’t look naked on the table! My friend had no need for a website, so I convinced her family to let me create a site for their restaurant. …Continue Reading

I am celebrating 3 years of using WordPress and this is my 151st blog post! I have built a ton of WordPress websites, so I thought it would be fun to share some simple WordPress tricks (some were more simple to figure out than others)!

1.  Why can’t Google find my website?

Make sure search engines are crawling your website.

Dashboard ->Settings ->Privacy (check the top box ALLOW)

2.  How do I create a Back to the Top of Page link at the bottom of a page?

Toggle to html, before the first word of text insert <a name=”top”></a> then at the end of all the text insert <a href=”#top” title=”RETURN TO TOP”>RETURN TO TOP</a> …Continue Reading

You may or may not be aware of the Malware threat that is circulating on both PC’s and Macs., which could shut down your access to the internet  The “event” is due explode on July 9th, so you have a little time to take care of warding off the evil villains.

Techy Bits:

DNS (Domain Name Service) is how the web organizes its addresses. This means you can type eileenlonergan.com into the url bar instead of a long string of characters. Your computer talks to a DNS server operated by your Internet Service Provider (ISP) to access websites. (Phew, that was technical, still with me?)

The Situation: Some “bad guys” set up a redirect which sends all traffic through malicious servers. So you type in EileenLonergan.com and wind up in a nasty infected hornets nest. …Continue Reading

I was asked this question today, so I thought I would share with everyone who isn’t a “coder” a simple process for making an image in the SmallBiz Theme for WordPress Feature Boxes a link.  (In very basic language, you want to be able to click the picture and have it take you to another page on the web.
Go into your WordPress Dashboard:

• Add a New Post
• Upload an Image
• When Adding the details of an image, complete the link url section.  Use the url of the page to where you want the image to be linked to (your About Page, Blog, etc)
• Click Insert Image into Post
• Toggle to HTML View
• copy the HTML code
• Go to the SmallBiz Options Panel
• Scroll to the area where you want the image to appear
• Toggle to HTML – past the code beneath <hr /><p> (the hr is the horizontal rule and the p is for the space)
• Save
• Viola!

…Continue Reading

To change the default black line to line green (or any color you want) copy the text below and paste it into your CSS Editor:
hr {
background-color:#99CB4F;
border:0 none;
height:2px;
margin-bottom:8px;
}

Please note: change the color to the hex color that suits your design.

To find the CSS file:

Dashboard -> Appearance -> Editor -> Paste the code below the line that says “add your own styles below this line”.
…Continue Reading

I know you have heard that Facebook just bought Instagram for a billion big ones! I just started using Instagram last month, and love it.  I thought that it may be fun to share some ideas on how to use Instagram for marketing your business.  In case you hadn’t heard, Instagram allows you to:

“Snap a picture, choose a filter to transform its look and feel, then post to Instagram. Share to Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr too – it’s as easy as pie. It’s photo sharing, reinvented.”

Instagram allows for user engagement in the same was as Facebook, Twitter & Pinterest.

Some ideas for your business:

>Photo Contest.  Ask people to take pictures of themselves in the process of using your product.
Event Marketing – ask people who are at an event you are hosting to capture the moments with Instagram!  As they share & tag the message about your business and the event will be shared. …Continue Reading

It is not a secret that web designers are getting fined for using images on their websites and blogs that have copyright protection. The use of images is a tricky one, which I explored a bit recently in another blog post: Using Images From the Web On Your Website & Blog Posts.

We would never walk into a brick and mortar establishment and take a CD, video or piece of art. Yet in our current digital age using something that we have found on the internet doesn’t match the sinister definition of stealing.  In reality someone else owns that image and I know that you, like me, want to figure out how to do the right thing.   So, I have turned to my peer group (and online colleagues), at the Expand2Web Experts Group.

This post is a compilation from members in the group as we address the issue of using images on our WordPress Websites and Blog Posts. …Continue Reading

Google Local Listings are free to set up and you increase your chances of appearing in the “Lucky 7″ pack if you go through the process of claiming your listing.  I did this recently for Michelle Rodriguez, owner of Inside Out Acupunctre & Chinese Herbal Medicine in Marion, MA.   This step, in addition to reviewing her website and optimizing each page for the search engines has now landed Inside Out Acupuncture & Chinese Herbal Medicine three of the top spots on Page 1 of Google for their primary keyword!

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I recently built a website for Brookline, MA Prosthodontist, Dr. Lawrence Phan.  For the site I used the SmallBiz Theme for WordPress from Expand2Web.  When I started this site I wanted to have large “banner” type images that scrolled, but it wasn’t one of the Layout Options for the theme, so I custom created this homepage using the Easing Slider plugin.  The theme developer has since added this layout, so It would be quite easy to replicate this site without any extra work. …Continue Reading

If you haven’t started using Pinterest for e-commerce yet, I highly suggest that you do. It is the most amazing visual sharing platform I have ever seen, and from what I can tell the opportunity for selling is huge!  It is quite simple to let your followers know that an item can be purchased by placing a price tag on the left corner.

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There is little debate over the fact that awesome images can make a website or grab attention to your blog post.   Where to find those images and your legal responsibilities are a serious matter.
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Copy this code and paste it into your CSS:

Appearance ->Editor ->CSS will open by default. Modify #ffffff to any color. The hr is the little line beneath the text, again change that color to whatever suits your scheme.

#homepage-box1{background:#ffffff;}
#homepage-box2{background:#ffffff;}
#homepage-box3{background:#ffffff;}
#homepage-box4{background:#ffffff;}

hr {
background-color:#9FC10A;
border:0 none;
height:2px;
margin-bottom:8px;
margin-top:2px;
}
Have questions about the SmallBiz theme? Send me a quick note and I will be happy to help.

I recently launched a website for C.O.R.E. Sacramento, a professional development group for Chiropractors in Sacramento, CA.

For this site I used the The SmallBiz WordPress Theme from Expand2Web. I choose the All-In-One Layout, which is one of 11 layouts offers with the theme. …Continue Reading

On occasion you may want an image for the background to your navigation (menu) bar instead of a solid color.  These How To Steps are for the The SmallBiz WordPress Theme from Expand2Web, which is my go to premium theme for WordPress built websites.

Follow these simple steps and take a look at the video and you will be all set:

• Login to your WordPress website.
• Look on the left hand side of the screen under Appearance, click on Editor
• On the right side look for and click on Header.php
• Look for Look for #access{background-color:#<?php echo biz_option(‘smallbiz_menu_color’)?>;}
• Change to #access{background-image:url(‘YOUR-IMAGE-URL’);}

…Continue Reading

Well, I’m really not, but if I were on a March holiday I would LOVE to be kiteboarding in Cairns! I have had the awesome fortune to travel to Australia twice, yet both times I was pregnant which redirected some of the action adventure choices I made.

Since this time my trip is virtual, I am doing all the fun stuff. To start: Kiteboarding in Cairns. On my previous visit I was pregnant + carting around a 9 month old, the closest I came to the Great Barrier Reef was one of those charter boats with a glass section that allows you to look out at the people who were diving (the husband) and some random fish.  This time I am going vertical!  My first stop is with Andrew Bamford of Kiteboarding Cairns Australia. Andrew stresses safety first, which is a priority for a first timer! Since I may not find myself back in Oz any time soon I am investing in the Go Pro Camera so record each thrilling moment!

Next I will circle in my friend Eamon FitzGerald of Naked Wines. Eamon will be my guide for all things grape related, maybe he will give me a guest gig writing for his wine blog, My Grape Escape.

I am lucky enough to have two clients that are personal shoppers | stylists! Since this is a virtual vacation and money isn’t standing in the way of my looking my best, I will ask both Boston Personal Shopper Missy McInnis and Greenville, SC personal stylist Corey Urbina to shop and pack for me.

I love my iPad, so the timing seems perfect to upgrade! Have you heard of this new App that allows you to organize and share your photos from around the world?  I don’t know the name of it, so if you do, can you post it in the  comments?  Also, share any of your travel tips, obviously I am not restricted by a budget

I should plan more virtual holidays, this has been quite fun!