Eileen Lonergan

One of my most popular posts of all time is Thesis vs. Small Business (SmallBiz) WordPress Theme, and I have had people ask for comparisons between SmallBiz and other themes, so here is my head to head, SmallBiz vs. Woo.

Please note, I have used the SmallBiz theme a ton and only built a few sites with Woo, so feel free to use the comment section to share your knowledge.

Note: Woo Themes is a Framework, which means there are a core set of files and lots of different themes, layouts and designs (I have used the Simplicity Theme), but there are e-commerce themes, Magazine, Blogs, pretty much whatever you need.  The SmallBiz is one theme with eleven different layouts and design capabilities, it may not be your theme of choice for e-commerce or a blog.

Why I like Woo:

• My favorite thing is that there are two style sheets: the main one for the website (style.css), and the custom CSS (custom.css).  You can easily copy a piece of code from the style sheet, paste it into the custom CSS, and revise.  If you don’t like your changes or made a mistake, just delete the info out of the Custom CSS and your files are still perfectly in tact.
• The Theme Options panel is very easy to follow: you can easily add a logo, favicon, Google Tracking code, breadcrumbs, link color, background color (or image), font color and size, layout and navigation, footer links, etc.
• Subscribe and connect options allows you to enter your Feedburner ID or Mail Chimp Subscribe URL.  You can also easily add the urls of social media accounts to display icons with links to those sites.
• Framework Settings allows you to brand the theme with your company logo
• Sidebar Manager allows you to create different sidebars for different pages and customize the widgets for each page.
• Update Framework is handy because with one click you can update your website, yet due to the custom.css, you won’t loose any of the customization that you have done, or harm the infrastructure of your site.
• The backup settings allow you to setup another website with the same settings, which can cut down on set up time for websites.
• The seo capabilities are built in and easy to use.
• In relation to the the Simplicity theme:
• The homepage slider was easy enough to use.  You can have an image with text (and links).  You can control the speed of the sides via the Options Panel
• The portfolio features I found a bit of a challenge to set up.  I have used the theme twice and I am pretty sure I will be scratching my head when I need to update either sites portfolio.  The good side, it looks great, with thumbnails, lightbox, and resized images.
• The testimonials were super easy to add and update.  Just like the rotating slideshow you can update the speed of the rotation in the Options Panel.
• I did visit the forum a few times, and while the navigation was a bit awkward, I did receive an email within 24 hours of sending it to the help desk.  There is an extensive video library and theme documentation.

Why I like the Small Business Theme:

• The first thing you will find in the Options Panel is a Video Tour of the theme, a Users Guide PDF, and a color scheme assistant for those who may feel a little design challenged.  The color scheme assistant allows you to upload an image for a digital analysis, which will return the hex values of the colors.
• The Options Panel is an actual To-Do list of everything I need to do for a client.  The features are heavy on SEO, which is fantastic for all sites!   This includes homepage title tags, meta descriptions, keywords, Google Analytics and webmaster tools.  This list serves not only as a reminder of best practices while I am building, but there are actually links to the specific pages where you create your Google map, analytics and webmaster tools.  With one click I am able to generate the needed code and pop back into the theme to continue work.
• There are eleven options for design layouts,  some of which allow for the use of video or slideshows on your homepage, along with feature boxes that you customize with content that best represent your business.
• The Theme comes enabled for a mobile. This means you can customize a specific pages for people who come to your site via a smart phone, iPad or iPod. See my mobile websites page for further details and samples.
• The SmallBiz theme comes with a Facebook Application which allows you to create custom Facebook Pages.  See my Customized Facebook Pages portfolio for samples.
• Font choices & size and color choice for Headers, Menu’s, paragraphs & footers.
• The connection with social media.  The Expand2Web Small Business theme already has the icons built into the sidebar of the  page, all you need to do is input your link urls.
• Support.   Don Campbell, President of Expand2Web or one of his dedicated team members will help you through any and all questions.  Don has a YouTube channel devoted to instructional videos, his blog is loaded with tips and tutorials, and there is even a FAQ page with step by step instructions.  If you are looking for more coaching you can register for one of his online classes or join his Member Forum.
• Customization.  You can easily upload a background image, or change the color, change the font, size and color, add a custom header.
• There are six different options for pages with sidebars
• The theme comes with a Home page, Find Us page, Contact form, Business Hours and built in blog.

There are plenty of great things to say about both WordPress themes.  A few samples of sites I built with SmallBiz: Freitas Package Store, Top Candidate Recruting, and Discover Specific Chiropractic.  I used Woo for: Sweet Gum Horticulture and InSideDesign.

The SmallBiz theme comes with a built in Contact Page form. This video shows you how to modify the text and add a link by editing the Contact Form Page template (contact_page.php). …Continue Reading

Facebook recently released a new feature that allows fans to write recommendations to the right of the wall of a fan page. Note the example below from InsideOutAcupuncture located in Marion, MA. Once you like their fan page, you’re given an option to write a recommendation about the brand.

…Continue Reading

To change the color of the footer link in the SmallBiz theme from grey to something that matches your color scheme.

Login to your WordPress Dashboard
Go to Appearance
Editor
Look for: /* You can add your own styles below this line. */
add this line (change the hex code to whatever you want): #footer a {color:#4BC1DD;}

For help with WordPress or designing a website for your business, please call Eileen, 508.317.7355.

I really am grateful for all my clients (I know I say this every post), but there is one in particular that I really have learned a lot from, Beate Chelette. She has an incredible personal story, one that takes her through an exciting life as a fashion photographer in Germany, an unexpected turn as a broke single parent, to mega entrepreneur (she sold her company, Corbis, to Bill Gates)! …Continue Reading

I want to pass along what I have learned after 125 posts on this blog!

1.  The sky has yet to open with angels singing any time I have hit publish

2.  I love comments and feedback

3.  It is smart to have a focus: I would say pick three keywords and create content around those keywords.  Things change, so don’t be afraid to refine your focus.

4. Sometimes good enough is actually terrific.  Fretting over each comma and italicized word is just a waste of time.  Just hit publish!  Keep going!

5.  Tutorials get the most traffic

6.  Appreciate your relationships.  My gang at Expand2Web has been incredibly gracious with their Likes, +1′s and retweets, I reciprocate as often as possible.

7. Comment and leave feedback on other blogs!  If you appreciate a post, let the author know.  Some great things have come from my commenting: a gig as a guest author on Search Engine People Blog and I have landed a few really cool clients who have seen my comments, visited my blog and hired me!

8.  Share your “voice” – it is nice to know there is a person behind the posts.

9.  Don’t get all worked up over the Analytics, but do keep track.  If you check every day you will go crazy, but by checking in to see what is working is pretty interesting.

10.  Blogging is great for SEO.  Each blog post is like opening another entrance into your website, the more doors, the more people who you attract.  Take the extra two minutes to give your post a title tag and meta description.

This blog has been good for me and for my business.  I am proud of 125 posts – thanks for reading.

PS Make my day and Like, +1, Tweet or Comment, please!

My client George Page, of Page Insurance Ltd in Guildford CT cares deeply about his clients.  He asked me to create an easy tutorial showing people how to put an icon and quick link from their iPhones to his website. This is a great idea as he doesn’t need to go through the expense of building an App, yet by adding an icon on your iPhone home page to your makes him super accessible to clients! Even though the video is customized to PageIns.com, you can use the process to teach your customers how to quickly access your website. …Continue Reading

My friend, the owner of FancyFirePit.com, recently asked me for some help with her blog which I was delighted to learn, had been built with WordPress. When we sat down to create and editorial calendar and add some seo functionality to her blog I was surprised when I saw that she couldn’t use plugins. Her blog had been installed as a WordPress.com blog, NOT a WordPress.org.
…Continue Reading

I am going to show you how to edit the CSS file of the SmallBiz Theme for WordPress to change the background color of the four feature boxes on the homepage of the Rotator  or Rotator-Video Layout.

To do this, use your favorite ftp client (Text Wrangler for Mac users or Filezilla for PC or Mac’s are both free to download). Navigate to the layout and look for CSS file of the layout you are using, it will look something like this: …Continue Reading

Let me deliver my best advice to you via a once a month newsletter, sign up for a roundup of my best tips + a few gems reserved just for you!

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When using the SmallBiz Theme for WordPress you may want to change the wording on the default buttons. In the case of my client, I didn’t like the plural “us” for a business with a sole proprietor. By editing the frontpage.php file within the mobile layout it is very simple to customize the wording on the buttons.

To do this, use your favorite ftp client (Text Wrangler for Mac users or Filezilla for PC or Mac’s are both free to download). Navigate to the mobile layout.

…Continue Reading

This post is from Kristin Mullen an author who writes guest posts on the topics of business, marketing, credit cards, and personal finance. Additionally, she works for a website that focuses on educating readers about debt consolidation.

Most successful entrepreneurs out there want to help new business owners learn how to succeed through their experiences. One of the best ways to find these entrepreneurs is to get a business mentor. Most professionals will do this service for free, and the information you can get from them could help you immensely.
…Continue Reading

I am going to show you how to edit the CSS file for the SmallBiz theme for WordPress mobile homepage which will allow you to change the default color of the header & the font style.

For my client, Cassy West, a real estate broker in Marion, MA, I wanted to do a little customizing to her mobile layout, changing the color of the titles from black to white. …Continue Reading

I am going to show you how to change the color of the default header in the Mobile layout of SmallBiz WordPress theme from Expand2Web.

Login to your WordPress site and navigate to:

Dashboard >Appearance >Editor >CSS

Copy and paste this code into your CSS file:

#headerstrip{
background:#000000;
} …Continue Reading

I am constantly asked “how can a business like another business”.

First, toggle from your personal page to your business page and Use Facebook as the Business:

…Continue Reading

The SmallBiz Theme from Expand2Web has the Arial font installed by default.

If you would like to modify the font, ftp into your website:

/public_html/new/wp-content/themes/smallbiz/css

open the CSS file. Change Arial, Sans Serif to whatever font family you would like. …Continue Reading

“More kids know how to use a smartphone than tie their shoes.”  Google.

Are smart phones as ubiquitous as shoes?  If mobile use is even CLOSE, then it is time to get a mobile version of your website.

My favorite WordPress theme, SmallBiz, is mobile ready.  What this means is that there is a designated section for uploading your mobile content, a space for a link to your Google maps and the ability to uplaod an image.  The process takes only a few minutes and will make a huge difference in the ease of use by your clients.

Google is uber focused on mobile and has this site, HowToGoMo.com you can enter your sites url and it will show you what mobile visitors will see on the site.  It also asks you a few questions about the site and will give you a rating from 1-4.

…Continue Reading

I recently completed SweetgumHorticulture.com for Wellesley, MA Landscape Designer Catherine Volic. We used the WordPress theme Simplicity theme from Woo, which is an excellent choice for clients with a large portfolio. …Continue Reading

I just completed a website for Top Candidate Recruitment, a recruitment firm specializing in the Manufacturing field.

For this site I used The SmallBiz Theme from Expand2Web. I created a custom homepage, as I wanted rotating images with text that the client can update as new jobs are posted and others are filled. For this I used  a premium plugin and a few PhotoShop Elements tricks.  I dug through Subtle Patterns to find a background that would appeal to the engineers who would be using the site. …Continue Reading

I am a virtual fan of snow! To get this gentle snowstorm on my site I used the Tribulant Software plugin called Snow Storm.

If you need some holiday decorating ideas for your WordPress website, please be in touch with WordPress Web Designer Eileen Lonergan, 508.317.7355.