This may sound like the easy way out, but in truth, condensing a website down to just a single page is anything but easy. In fact, I would say it requires far more planning than building a larger website because everything you add must be deliberate and serve a purpose.

What Is A One-Page Website?

A one-page or single-page website is one that only consists of one page. All of the content the website offers can be found on that single page and users simply need to continue to scroll down to find what they are looking for.

Another way to look at them is that your entire website is a landing page. This is a page that is specifically created for a marketing campaign and can help lead customers to another website or area.

Thus it can be an effective marketing strategy for a normal website, or to lead visitors to a third-party platform.

For instance, the page could lead to an eCommerce site or even something like an eBay auction.

As you can imagine, there are a number of benefits associated with building a website in this manner, so let’s cover them.

The Benefits of Building A One-Page Website

1. Your Content Is Streamlined

Normally visitors need to go through multiple pages to find what they are looking for. However, when you only have a single page, everything the website offers is in one place.

As a result, you are less likely to lose a visitor.

This is because visitors don’t have to waste time or effort looking for what they need. This means all of that energy can be used to focus on the content you are delivering them.

Thus, your call-to-action is far more effective.

2. No Loading

This might be obvious, but if your website only consists of a single page, visitors will only need to load it once. And as you might be aware, visitors are quick to leave a website that has long loading times, or if they are frequent.

For instance, did you know that 53% of mobile users leave a website that takes longer than three seconds to load? By only having to manage one page’s load time, you can ensure fewer visitors leave your website due to slow speeds.

3. Easy to Maintain

While there might be instances where you will change the design of your website, maintaining it is very simple. After all, it’s only one page. In reality, most of the content found on this type of website is static, or in other words, it doesn’t change.

Typically, the exception to this is if you need to update pricing structures, but that’s pretty easy to do regardless. This leaves you with more time to manage your business and less time worrying about web design.

4. Mobile Friendly

I already mentioned that mobile users hate loading, but there are multiple other advantages to using a single-page layout.

For instance, what happens if you lose access to the internet momentarily? You can’t go to a different part of a website, at least normally.

Yet, on a single-page site, even if the internet cuts out, everything is already loaded. They don’t have to waste any time. And due to the condensed space, most developers design their website in a way that favors mobile users.

5. Cost Efficient

While building a website has gotten significantly cheaper over the years, it can still cost a lot to build a larger website. However, when you only have to build one page, the price is only a fraction of what a normal site takes to build.

That said, when you are building on a platform as efficient as WordPress, the price might be similar because the software itself is free. At that point, the only costs you need to worry about are your web hosting services and domain name.

6. Higher Conversion Rate

Traditional websites usually have a call-to-action of some sort on multiple pages to help convert visitors into sales. This is because the web traffic it receives is spread out across multiple pages on that website.

Yet, on a single-page site, that call-to-action is front and center and all of your traffic is going to see it. After all, it’s the only page. As you can expect, that is going to have a positive effect on your conversion rate.

Negatives of Building A One-Page Website

Now, while there are a lot of benefits in building one, nothing is perfect. One-page sites also have some drawbacks that you need to consider. In fact, these reasons are exactly why not every website uses a single-page layout.

1. SEO

Without a doubt, the biggest problem with a one-page site is the implications on SEO. To properly rank on search engines, involves a lot of work. For instance, you need to use multiple keywords to rank properly.

Yet, trying to use all of the variations on a single page isn’t easy. At least if you want it to sound good. You also don’t have the benefit of different page titles to help search engines organize your content.

Instead, one-page sites, typically have terrible SEO, which is why blogs avoid them. They are mostly effective as landing pages whereas ads and social links are the driving force behind the traffic.

2. They Can Be Too Long

Since you are limited to a single page, businesses with a lot of information will end up with a very long page. And let me tell you, trying to scroll through a long page is not fun.

That’s why a lot of websites are adopting a table of contents on longer pieces of content.

Ultimately, a long page can lead to a terrible user experience. And because everything will use the same design, some of the elements may blend together. This can make it difficult for users to separate the sections.

If you offer a lot of services, you might need a traditional website that allows you to dedicate a page to each of them.

What Kind of Websites Should Use a One-Page Design?

While there are a lot of benefits to using a One-page design, not every website should use it.

A one-page design works best for websites that are trying to sell a service they provide. For instance, let’s say you run a landscaping business. On this one page, you may want to list the services you offer, the schedule you work, examples of your work, contact info, and a bit about yourself.

Another example would be a restaurant that does not do take-out. Now, this might sound crazy given the last two years, but this was pretty standard at one time. This allows you to display your address with directions, phone number for reservations, and the menu.

Normally, this kind of information would be divided between multiple pages. Instead, it can all fit nicely onto one page.

This also raises the question, what type of websites shouldn’t try to use a single page? This would include the more typical sites like blogs and eCommerce. These types of sites just don’t work using this format.

What to Include On A One-Page Website

So, you still want to build a one-page website, which is great. But now it’s time to discuss what the website must include.

Obviously, not every website is going to include the same information. That said, there are a few general pieces of information that should always be present.

1. Call to Action (CTA)

For those that might be unaware, a call-to-action is when a website tells a visitor to take a specific action. For instance, this can be as simple as telling a user to sign up for an email subscription. Although in the case of a single-page layout, most CTAs will be to make a sale.

You need to create a strong message that tells visitors why they need the service you provide, and why they should hire you to do it.

For instance, perhaps you opened a new sushi restaurant. You might want to highlight that your chef trained in Japan for a decade.

It adds authenticity and helps you stand out from any other restaurants in your area.

2. Contact Information

Building a terrific website is great, but it’s completely useless if you don’t provide contact information. You cannot make a sale if a customer cannot contact you, so the real question is what information should you include?

Normally, it’s a good policy to include, your name, phone number, email, and address (assuming you have a physical location). We also live in a social media-driven world, so it may be a good idea to also link your profile on various platforms like Facebook or LinkedIn.

3. About Us

It might sound cheesy, but people really do want to know the story behind the business. This presents a great opportunity to not only provide that information but to do it in a way that makes them feel good about choosing your company to do business with.

For instance, this is a great area to highlight your passion for the craft or industry and how it has changed your life.

On top of this, you can also add information and language that helps improve the conversion rate. Use it as a way to highlight your business, not just describe it.

4. Your Logo

Any business worth its salt has a logo and it should be front and center on your website. Having customers associate your business with your logo is critical. And that’s exactly why major corporations spend millions on advertisements.

If you don’t have a logo, it’s time to start brainstorming because you’re gonna need one. And as a reference, that logo should also be visible on any other platforms you have a presence on, like Facebook.

5. Images of Your Work

Images play a huge role on any website, but even more on one trying to sell a service. You should have a few high-quality images that show off your work.

For instance, if you run a painting company, show off a few rooms that you have done.

It’s also important to realize that this can work against you if the work isn’t impressive. That said, I can assure you that not many people will be willing to hire someone without examples of their work, especially when looking online.

How to Build A One-Page Website Using WordPress

Now that you have a deeper understanding of what you need to include in your website and how it can benefit you, let’s get building. I will be demonstrating the process with WordPress because it is a beginner-friendly platform that can build any type of website.

Step 1: Choose A Web Host & Domain Name

Just like when building a normal website, you are going to need to select a web hosting company and a domain name. To put it simply, a web hosting company will rent you out a web server in which you can store your website.

They will also be in charge of maintaining it 24/7 to ensure full uptime, and they will have a support team that can help answer questions on a variety of topics. There are a lot of them to choose from, but that’s a good thing.

As a result of the intense competition, the prices are very low. The thing you need to keep in mind, however, is the quality of your hosting service.

You see, not all web hosts are equal, and this can directly affect the performance of your website. Thus, you need to pick the best.

That’s why here at GreenGeeks we are proud to be recognized as one of the best web hosting companies in the industry. And we achieved this status while minimizing our impact on the environment.

We even plant a tree every time someone signs up!

You will also need a domain name, which is basically the URL of your website. It needs to be short, easy to remember, and most importantly, catchy. This will cost a small fee, but when you sign up with GreenGeeks, we give you a domain name for free for the first year.

Step 2: Pick A One-Page Theme

Once you install WordPress, the first thing you should do is find a theme. However, this can be a bit time-consuming because there are thousands to choose from. Since we are building a one-page website, it’s recommended to choose a theme made for it.

These themes will have more tools to help design the page you want. You might even want to consider using a premium theme. While it will cost a little more, these themes typically look better and have a wider range of features.

For instance, many of them come with a page-builder plugin or premium plugins.

Be sure to use the demo sites they provide and imagine the content you plan to share. Be sure to consider if your color scheme fits the theme, or if the layout options will allow you to put content where you want it to go.

Step 3: Choose A Page Builder

Now, this step is optional, but since you only have one page, the design of it has never been more important. The default WordPress tools, namely the Gutenberg editor, will allow you to build a stylish page, but there are many limitations.

Nevertheless, that’s the same reason that WordPress shines so brightly; you can add more tools via plugins.

In this case, you could take the time to add sliders, carousels, testimonials, and more through independent plugins, or you could use a page builder plugin. A good one will include all of these features, among many others, and WordPress has plenty to choose from.

But to make it simple, I highly recommend using Elementor. This is one of the best page builders available because it is easy to use and provides a lot of features. With it, you can create a page any way you like using a drag and drop interface.

Therefore, it’s perfect for beginners.

Step 4: Design Your Website

Honestly, once you have WordPress installed, a theme selected, and a page builder, all that’s left is to design your website and add content.

Start by understanding the order your page should follow.

For instance, does it make any sense to list your contact information before you tell visitors what you do? Not really. Instead, consider leading off with a call-to-action to get people interested.

Carefully choose what images, you plan to use. Make sure you have the rights to them, and more importantly, make sure they positively reflect your work. A picture says a thousand words, and you want to make sure they are all positive.

You should also try to make sure the color scheme matches your logo. This is a subtle way of making your branding more apparent.

Most importantly, you need to make sure the website you create works well on both desktop and mobile devices. Roughly half of your traffic will come from mobile users, so the website must be responsive.

If not, you have already failed.

The final step should be to have other people look over your work. Sometimes it can be hard to catch mistakes when you are creating web pages. Ask your family or friends to see how the website works on multiple devices and get feedback.

It’s much better to find these mistakes before the website goes live.

Build A One-Page Website Today

Creating a single page on a WordPress website might sound like less work, but it really ends up being equal. This is because that one page has to be designed very well. Yet, if you can pull it off, you can get some excellent results.

And you can reap the benefits of not having to maintain a larger website. This can save hours of weekly maintenance, which frees up more time to manage your business or spend time with the family.

How easy did you find it to build a one-page website in WordPress? Did you use a page builder plugin?

The post How to Build a One-Page Website Easily with WordPress appeared first on GreenGeeks.

While you can certainly embed YouTube videos on your website, there are limitations. This plugin provides far more options that give you greater creative freedom over your website.

Not to mention that it is fully compatible with Elementor.

Today, I will demonstrate how to transform WordPress into an entertainment site with WP Film Studio.

What is An Entertainment Site?

An entertainment site is a broad term that can refer to any form of entertainment like movies, television, video games, books, or more. The goal of the website is to create interesting content based on a particular industry.

For instance, if a website was covering television shows, they might talk about upcoming releases like the second season of the Witcher. And as you might have guessed, video content is necessary on these websites.

For example, maybe you want to discuss a new movie trailer. Well, having that trailer appear on the same page would be very helpful. It also helps it get more exposure.

The more people interested in the show means more people that will be interested in your website’s content.

So there’s a very good relationship between the industry and content creator.

How to Create An Entertainment Site with WP Film Studio

Step 1: Install WP Film Studio

The WP Film Studio is all about displaying video content on your website. It allows you to build video carousels, display unlimited movie trailers, and even has a special setting for those trailers.

It’s the perfect companion tool for any website focused on movies and television shows.

More importantly, this plugin was built with Elementor in mind. By using Elementor, you’ll be able to place the elements WP Film Studio adds anywhere on a page. It gives you complete control over how your posts and pages will look.

Note: This plugin is not a studio movie maker, instead, it allows you to post information about movies and add trailers for them.

To begin, click on Plugins and select the Add New option on the left-hand admin panel.

Search for WP Film Studio in the available search box. This will pull up additional plugins that you may find helpful.

Scroll down until you find the WP Film Studio plugin and click on the “Install Now” button and activate the plugin for use.

Important Note: Upon activation, you will see a warning message saying that the CMB2 plugin is required. You must also install this. It is how the plugin adds meta boxes to your website.

Step 2: Add Trailers

Once both of these plugins are installed, you are ready to start adding content, which is really simple. All you will need is the trailer URL and the plugin takes care of the rest.

On the left-hand admin panel click on WPFilm and select the Trailer option.

This is broken up into two tabs, Trailer and Categories. First, I would recommend setting up your categories, so click on the Categories tab.

This area is identical to the WordPress category section but is unique to the plugin, thus, you will not see any existing categories.

Simply add the categories your website will need. A good idea to future-proof your website is to create a category for every type of movie/show (Comedy, Drama, Action, etc.).

It might take a few minutes, but once that is done, you won’t need to make any additions.

Note: The categories for trailers are separate from movies.

With that out of the way, click on the Trailer tab. Then click on the “Add New” button.

It doesn’t get any easier than this section. All you need to do is enter a title (use the name of the trailer), the trailer URL, and the duration of it. Click on the “Publish” button to finish.

Add as many trailers as you want to the plugin, there is no limit.

Step 3: Add Movies

As a WordPress movie plugin, it also has a dedicated section for movies. The reason I didn’t start with it is that you can link the trailers to their respective movies. Thus, you would create extra work if you set up the movies first.

Click on the Movie option.

This time, there are three tabs, Movie, Categories, and Tags. The categories section is identical to the trailer section, but it is a separate list. Thus, you will need to reenter the categories you need. Tags are identical as well, but for tags.

In the Movie tab, click on the “Add New” button.

Here you can add a title (use the movie name) and a description. Scrolling down you will find the Movie Option section. This allows you to enter more information including a movie banner image, the publish date (release date), and movie duration.

You can also attach a trailer to the movie by using the drop-down, assuming you added one in the previous step.

Once you fill out all of the information, click on the “Publish” button. At this point, all you need to do is keep adding movies. You can edit any movies to add in case new information is released like a new trailer or if the release date has changed.

Step 4: WP Film Options

There are also some general settings you might want to customize. Click on WP Film Options to find them.

There are two tabs: Settings and Pro Themes. The settings section consists of basic settings that you can configure like the label used for the trailer name.

By default it’s “TRAILER NAME:” so you might want to change that to something a little less generic, or just not have it in all caps.

Other options include a theme color to help it blend in with your theme, which is a great segway into the Pro Themes tab. There’s nothing actually in this section to configure.

Instead, it’s just advertising the Film Studio WP theme for WordPress, but all themes will work with the plugin.

Note: The link to the theme inside of the plugin is broken. Hopefully, the plugin creator fixes it in the next update.

Once you are done, click on the “Save Settings” button.

You might have noticed a Campaign section. This is to help organize events at physical locations, which will only apply to very few websites.

For instance, you could build a campaign to watch the first movie in a series before the next one comes out (like what many people did for Avengers: Endgame).

The section is pretty straightforward, so if it applies, or you find another use, feel free to go through it. Otherwise, congratulations on setting up the WP Fils Studio plugin.

Make Sure To Inlcude Your Own Content

One of the biggest mistakes new entertainment websites make is relying on entertainment to carry them. Let’s face it, if people want to watch a movie trailer, they probably will on YouTube.

It’s not enough to just include the trailer.

Instead, you need to combine it with your own content. Include trailer/movie breakdowns or discussions. It makes a more unique experience that will bring in visitors. That said, competition is fierce, so make sure it’s quality content.

How easy did you find the WP Film Studio plugin as a content maker? What kind of content do you plan to pair with it?

The post How to Turn WordPress Into an Entertainment Site with WP Film Studio appeared first on GreenGeeks.

The truth is that some themes don’t have the option to change fonts present by default. Yet, this doesn’t mean you can’t do it. The issue is that the theme probably only has one font, thus there’s no point in displaying an option.

Some themes may even lock changing fonts behind a paywall, which means you need to buy the premium version.

This plugin fixes all of that.

Today, I am going to demonstrate how you can easily change your font with MW Font Changer.

Why Change the Font in WordPress?

Each WordPress theme comes with a font that compliments the design of the theme. At least, according to the theme creator. But like anything design-related, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Thus, it’s entirely possible to like the theme, but not the font.

As I’m sure you know, the font controls the style of the text that will appear on your website. And as there are over half a million fonts to choose from, the choices at your disposal are enormous.

Of course, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t follow a few basic rules when picking out a new font.

For instance, you need to make sure people can actually read the font you choose. I’m willing to bet you’ve been on a website where you’ve had a hard time reading the text because of the typography, and that is exactly what you need to avoid.

Many people have disabilities that can make it hard to read very “stylish” font. Choosing something that is easy to read is imperative.

How to Change WordPress Font With MW Font Changer

Step 1: Install MW Font Changer

The MW Font Changer plugin, as the name implies, allows you to easily change the font on any WordPress theme. It adds over thirty fonts for you to choose from and they not only apply to the front end of your website but also your WordPress dashboard.

More importantly, the process is extremely quick. All you need to do is install the plugin, go into the settings, and choose a font. It really doesn’t get any easier than this.

Let’s start by clicking on Plugins and selecting the Add New option on the left-hand admin panel.

Search for MW Font Changer in the available search box. This will pull up additional plugins that you may find helpful.

Scroll down until you find the MW Font Changer plugin and click on the “Install Now” button and activate the plugin for use.

Step 2: Change Theme Font

The plugin settings are broken up into two sections. One for the theme (frontend) and another for the dashboard (backend). Let’s start with changing the font of the theme.

On the left-hand admin panel, click on Settings and select the MW Font Changer -Theme option.

The settings are broken up into four sections. They include Heading Font, Body Font, Adminbar Font, and Custom Elements (there are three of them). Each section is almost identical in terms of functionality.

The only option in the first three sections is to choose the font family. Use the drop-down box to select the font.

Note: There is also an option to upload a custom font in WordPress, but this is only available in the Pro version of the plugin. This is a great feature if you want to further expand your options. It even supports Google fonts.

The Custom Elements sections have a few more options available. The first is a section that allows you to change the font of specific elements in your theme. All you need to do is enter the classes and ids you want to change separated with a comma.

Then choose your font family, but this time there is a section to choose the size. Remember to keep in mind the element you are changing when choosing.

After making the changes, scroll down to the bottom and click on the “Save Changes” button.

You can now go onto your website to see the changes. The fonts you choose can be changed at any time by repeating this step.

Step 3: Change the Dashboard Font

If you’ve ever wanted to change the WordPress dashboard font, well, it’s your lucky day. This process is identical to the previous step, so you probably don’t even need help with this step.

Click on settings and select the MW font Changer – Dashboard option.

This section is broken up into four tabs, but only the first actually deals with the font. Use the drop-down to select the font for the WordPress dashboard.

Save the changes, and you can see the font change on your dashboard. You are done, but let me also quickly cover what those other tabs are for.

The Help tab provides detailed information on how to use the plugin. This also includes the information necessary to add a custom font in the Pro version. There is also a Feedback tab that allows you to leave feedback for the plugin.

And finally, the Pro Version tab is just a shortlist of features you can find in the Pro version of the plugin.

This covers everything the plugin can do, congratulations on customizing the font of your website.

What Happens If I Uninstall the Plugin?

It’s common to delete plugins if you are not using them, but since this plugin contains all of the font data, you must keep it installed to keep using that font. Thus, if you delete the plugin, your theme will revert to the default font.

This will not impact your content, only the font in which it is displayed.

Can I Just Manually Add More Fonts to My Theme?

Absolutely.

To do this, all you need to do is download the font you want to use, go into your website’s cPanel, locate the wp-content/themes/your-theme/fonts directory folder and upload the font file. In which, “your-theme” is the them you are currently using.

Doing so will allow you to select that font in the WordPress customizer.

Do Custom Fonts Slow Down My Website?

They absolutely can.

When using a custom font, the web browser your visitor is using must do a small check. First, it needs to figure out what the font is, then it needs to actually download that font. This isn’t that big of a deal if it’s just one font.

However, as you just saw, the plugin allows you to use multiple fonts for specific theme elements. This can really cripple your page speeds if a web browser needs to download multiple files before the page can be displayed.

Everything in WordPress is Customizable

The best aspects of WordPress are how easy it is to use and the level of customization it offers users. Everything inside of WordPress is customizable, all you need to do is find out how to do it. And the good news is we have guides for all of it.

Doing so can dramatically improve the presentation of your website, which can lead to a better user experience. And in turn, that can lead to greater sales numbers.

Which font do you use on your website? How easy do you find the default WordPress method to add font?

The post How to Change the Font in WordPress with MW Font Changer appeared first on GreenGeeks.

And most importantly, it integrates with established real estate portals, so transferring your property information has never been easier. You can even select which features are active so you only use what you need.

Today, I will demonstrate how to use PropertyHive as your WordPress property manager.

Why Use WordPress to Manage Property?

There are a ton of real estate tools available to property owners, so why do it in WordPress instead of a dedicated system?

Most of those tools either cost an arm and a leg or want a small portion of your earnings. With WordPress, you are in complete control of your website, it’s easy to manage, and it’s far more affordable since you only pay for what you use.

So I know your next question, what can I do with PropertyHive?

PropertyHive is a robust tool that specializes in property management for WordPress. Think of it as a landlord plugin. For instance, you can manage tenant or business applications from those who want to rent your property. And it’s all done on your own website.

If you’re into selling property, you can create full listings of import existing ones from other sites onto your website. This can help you build your own personal directory to show off to potential customers.

This can save you a lot of money instead of using a real-estate agency.

How to Manage Property with PropertyHive

Step 1: Install PropertyHive

PropertyHive is a free plugin, to start, but many of its core features are locked behind a paywall in the form of add-ons. However, this is still far cheaper than a dedicated piece of real estate software. This system allows you to only pay for the add-ons you want.

The free version is still good on its own and allows you to list and manage the property, but without a lot of the bells and whistles.

Let’s start by clicking on Plugins and selecting the Add New option on the left-hand admin panel.

Search for PropertyHive in the available search box. This will pull up additional plugins that you may find helpful. Take a second to examine some of the other PropertyHive plugins. These are free add-ons you can take advantage of.

Scroll down until you find the PropertyHive plugin and click on the “Install Now” button and activate the plugin for use.

Upon installation, you’ll see a welcome screen with some information to help you get started.

Step 2: Add Google Maps API

There are a lot of things you can start doing upon activation, but I strongly recommend adding the Google Maps API keys first. Just about everything dealing with property uses Google Maps, and your website shouldn’t be the exception.

Luckily, getting the Google Maps API keys is simple and free.

On the left-hand admin panel click on PropertyHive.

You will see a few recommendations at the top. One of them is for Google Maps. Click on the “Enter Google Maps API Key” button.

Despite the name of this button, the plugin actually gives you two options, Google Maps, and OpenStreet Maps. Most people are familiar with Google Maps, so I recommend using that one. But OpenStreet Maps doesn’t require an API key, so it’s easier to implement.

Follow this guide to obtain the API key and paste it into the appropriate text box.

Click on the “Save Changes” button to finish.

Step 3: Add Property

It wouldn’t be much of a property management tool without adding property. There are two ways to go about this. One way is to use the Property Import add-on, which allows you to import your listing from most major real estate sites and tools.

The second option is to manually enter them. Since this is the free option, I will showcase this. That said, if you have a lot of property, the import tool is probably worth it.

Click on the Properties option.

Click on the “Add Property” button.

This is pretty straightforward. You just need to enter all of the relevant information into every option. This includes things like the address, contact information, pricing, records, residential or commercial information, pictures, and more.

Click on the “Publish” button to add the property to your list.

Repeat this step for all of your properties.

Step 4: Adding More Information

Anyone involved in real estate knows there is a never-ending series of paperwork. Real estate tools are no different, you need to enter a lot of information. The good news is that you probably only have to do it once.

While I will not go into full details about each section, they are all quite similar and just require some basic information.

To add contact information for property owners or landlords, click on the Owners & Landlords option.

Click on the “Add Contact” button and you can add all of the relevant information for these individuals. One person cannot be assigned to multiple properties, unfortunately. Instead, you need to duplicate the information with each address.

To add applicant information, click on the Applicants option.

Click on the “Add Contact” button. This section is similar to the last. Just fill out the information and include the address of the property they are interested in. Again, you cannot have multiple addresses to a single contact, so you may have to duplicate it with a different address.

Note: There is also a Third Party Contacts section. It works identically to this. The Tenancies section is also identical, the only difference is you can set the date they began their tenancy and when it ended.

The Enquiries, Appraisals, Viewings, Offers, and Sales sections are all quite similar. They have a few options that are specific to them, but simply click on the appropriate option, and click on the corresponding button to begin.

By the end of this step, you should have entered information into every section that accepts it. You will most likely spend over an hour in this section if you have a decent amount to enter.

Step 5: Set A Search Page

The next and final step is to assign a search page. This is the page on your website visitors will use to search through your property. Make sure to create a new page for this purpose before beginning this step.

While you could do this immediately upon activation, I recommend doing it after all of the information has been added. This ensures all of the data will be available for would-be searchers.

Click on the “Go To Property Hive Settings” button.

Use the drop-down box to pick an existing page.

Click on the “Save Changes” button. This will enable visitors to search for property on your website, congratulations.

PropertyHive Saves Time And Money

If you plan on adding a real estate section to a WordPress website, there is no better tool than PropertyHive.

It allows you to do everything in WordPress from property listings to managing tenant applications. It’s a comprehensive tool and the best part is that it’s free. Any additional features can be added for a reasonable price, but are not necessary.

How easy did you find PropertyHive to use? How long did the initial setup take?

The post How to Manage Your Real Estate in WordPress with PropertyHive appeared first on GreenGeeks.

It was originally built to help organizations get the voter turnout they hoped for. Thus, they could record all of the necessary information like name, home address, volunteers name, and much more. The point is you can make the database into anything.

Today, I will demonstrate how to use the Participants Database plugin to build your database.

Why Create A Customizable Database

There is a WordPress database plugin for just about everything, so why would anybody want one that wasn’t tailored to a specific need?

Many database plugins that are made for a specific topic or niche can be limiting, even for the people or organizations they were made for. Oftentimes, you might find a field missing that is very important to your website. And sometimes you can’t add it in.

With a customizable database, you will never run into this problem.

It also avoids the dilemma of needing multiple database plugins for your website. For example, you may have a database dedicated to your customers and another dedicated for your website content (like a game database).

You could achieve both of these results with the Participants Database plugin.

How to Create Databases with Participants Database

Step 1: Install Participants Database

Participants Database is a database plugin for WordPress that is fully customizable. There is no limit on the number of items you can add to a database. It comes with a variety of pre-made fields for data entry like name, address, phone number, email, etc.

However, the real power of this plugin comes from creating your own fields. And it isn’t hard to do at all. In fact, as you will see, this plugin is very simple to use. Thus, it’s perfect for beginners.

Let’s start by clicking on Plugins and selecting the Add New option on the left-hand admin panel.

Search for Participants Database in the available search box. This will pull up additional plugins that you may find helpful.

Scroll down until you find the Participants Database plugin and click on the “Install Now” button and activate the plugin for use.

Note: It is worth mentioning that this database is not meant for public viewing on your website. While it is possible to grant users access to their specific files, this will not allow you to create a database to share info with visitors. You will need a different plugin for that.

Step 2: Customize the Database Fields

The plugin is actually ready to go after activation. While you might expect that the first step is to actually add data, that’s not the case here, or at least, it shouldn’t be. Instead, you should customize the database fields.

By default, the plugin has a lot of fields available to fill out. Every website has different needs, so some may find them useful and some may not. However, if you looking to build a different kind of database that isn’t about customers or users, your going to need this step.

For instance, you might be building a database about actors. Instead of their address, you might want a field that lists their movies, or maybe a specific field dedicated to their upcoming movie or latest film.

All of these things can be done in the customization field.

To find it, click on Participants Database and select the Manag Database Fields option.

This section is broken up into multiple tabs. Each tab contains pre-built fields that you can customize. Since each one works the exact same way, let’s take a look at the first one, Participant Info.

By default, this section has fields for the first and last name, address, city, state, country, zip code, phone, email, and an opt-in to a mailing list. Basically, everything you need for a basic customer database.

To delete an item, click on the red X next to their name.

You can also rearrange the items by using the blue arrow. To add a new field option, click on the “Add Field” button.

You can then enter the name of the new field and select the field element type (text box, drop-down, checkbox, etc.). Click on the “Add Field” button when you are done.

Repeat these steps to customize the fields to your liking. There is no limit of the number of fields you can add, but just remember someone is going to have to fill them in.

Step 3: Add Data

With all of the fields setup, it’s time to start filling them in. Keep in mind that if you are planning on adding a large amount of data, you could spend a lot of time here.

However, the individual process of adding information is quite quick if you have the info in front of you.

Note: Some users may already have their information in a spreadsheet. This plugin allows you to import CSV files and add the information to the database. Pay close attention to the format requirements for imported sheets.

On the left-hand admin panel, click on Participants Database and select the Add Participants option.

Here you will see all of the fields you need to fill out. At the bottom of the page, you will find some read-only fields that record the time edits are made to the information. This can be useful if you are running a business and need to keep track of such info.

Simply go through each option and enter the necessary data. When you are done, click on the “Submit” button.

Note: If you are updating info, click on the “Apply” button to save the changes.

Keep in mind that you do not have to manually enter all of the information. You can use the following shortcode to add a signup form to a post or page:

[ht_message mstyle=”info” title=”” show_icon=”” id=”” class=”” style=”” ][pdb_signup][/ht_message]

The signup form will look like this:

This is ideal for someone looking to build an email subscriber database. You can view all of the database information by selecting the List Participants option.

Congratulations on setting up your own customizable user record database in WordPress.

Stay in Control of Information Collection

In an effort to make database plugins more accessible, many of the plugins available offer way more information fields than necessary. This is sometimes very annoying to website owners that want databases that only consist of the information they need.

For instance, if you only operate in the United States, you are not going to need a country option. And unfortunately, many of these plugins lock the customization element behind a paywall or just don’t include one.

This plugin solves all of these problems by being free and easy to use.

However, it is worth mentioning that some database plugins really do an excellent job at providing customization options within their own niche. This can lead to better results, especially when these databases are going to be displayed to visitors.

How easy did you find the Participants Database plugin to use? What kind of database did you build in WordPress?

The post How to Create a Participants Database for WordPress Websites appeared first on GreenGeeks.

There are a lot of ways you can build and show pricing for goods and services on your website. You can use custom code to build a pricing table, or you can even use a plugin to help you quickly and easily design a price list of services on your site.

Today, I am going to show you how to build a stylish price list that you can display anywhere you want on your WordPress site using a generated shortcode.

Why Should You Have a Price List?

A common question that many people have is, “should I actually list prices on my website?” The answer to this, yes. You might worry about things like clients leaving your site once they see prices, your competitors knowing your rates, or you want to leave pricing options open.

Whatever the reason may be, you should still show things like a freelance price list, or other types of pricing on your WordPress website. The fact of the matter is most customers do research on pricing beforehand, and they already have a budget in place. 

So, while there might be some wiggle room, are you really going to get a customer to pay much more over the phone? Probably not. Might as well give them what they want to see, your price list of services available.

And also, if you are worried about your competitors knowing your prices, don’t be. Chances are they already know them anyway. And in reality, if your services are good, you will get the right customers.

Let’s take a look at the plugin we are going to use today to build a price list of services on your website.

Stylish Price List

Stylish Price List is a smooth, simple, yet powerful WordPress plugin that will give you the ability to build and design amazing price lists to put on your website. It comes with a good amount of functionality, but will not slow your site down at all.

The plugin is perfect for any small business or freelancer that needs a way to display pricing options on their websites for their goods and services. Showing rates in WordPress is important when it comes to getting clients.

Stylish Price List can be used for just about any niche. Some of the more popular ones it is used for include:

• Spas and Salons
• Graphic Designers
• Website Designers
• Restaurants
• Retails Businesses
• Travel and Tourism Sites
• Photographers
• Massage Studios

Basically, if your site needs some sort of working price list, then this is the plugin for you.

As stated above, while being smooth and easy to use, the plugin actually does come packed full of functionality. Some of the main features include:

• Drag and Drop Functionality
• Works With Almost All Languages
• Multiple Design Styles
• Font Styles
• Responsive Price List
• Add to Any Page
• Shortcodes
• Secure
• Fast 

Let’s get the plugin installed and running on your site together. 

Note: This plugin does have a pro version available. It does give access to quite a bit more features and functionality. If you feel this is something you need, then go ahead and give that version a look. The rest of the tutorial below is based on the free version of the plugin.

How to Add a Price List in WordPress

Step 1: Install and Activate the Plugin

In order to start showing rates in WordPress, you first need to install and activate the Stylish Price List plugin. You can do this by heading over to the Plugins page in the WordPress admin dashboard.

Simply use the search field to search for the plugin by name. Once you see it pop up, go ahead and install and activate it right from there.

Step 2: Add a New List

Once the plugin has been installed and activated, you can immediately create a new list. There is a “Settings and License” tab, which we will discuss a little below, but this plugin is essentially ready to roll right when you activate it.

Click on Stylish Price List > Add New List, located on the left menu area of the dashboard. You will see this is now an available option because the plugin has been properly activated.

Step 3: Add a List Name and Style

At this point, you are on the configuration page for adding a new list. At the top, go ahead and give the price list a name, and then select the style that you would like to use.

You will see a popup box appear when you select a style. This is showing you what the stylish price list will look like on the front end of your site.

Feel free to scroll through the styles and pick the one that you like best.

Step 4: Configure “More Settings”

Below the style picker, you will see a few different buttons. One of these buttons is titled “More Settings.” Go ahead and click on that.

A drop-down of settings options will appear. Go ahead and fill all of those out how you see fit. This will include things like columns, width, tabs, languages, buttons, and more.

Step 5: Configure Font Settings

Again, you will see another big blue button titled “Font Settings.” Click on that just like you did the “More Settings” button above.

Now, go ahead and configure all the font settings how you would like them.

Step 6: Fill Out Price List Categories and Prices

The last thing you need to do is scroll down a little and start filling out your categories, pricing, descriptions, and button text.

This is actually all the info that will display on your price list.

You can add as many services and as much information as you want to the price list by using the “Add Category” button. When you are finished building the price list you want, go ahead and click on the “Save” button to save the price list and get it ready to post.

Step 7: Add the Generated Shortcode to a Page

Your price list is now ready to be added to any page you want. Go to the “All Lists” area of the plugin. There, you will see a list of all the pricing tables that have been built. 

Copy the shortcode of the price list you want to place on a page.

Now, head over the the “Pages” section of your dashboard. Select the page you want to display the Stylish Price List on and add the shortcode.

Publish or update the page and you are all set.

Step 8: Go View the Price List Live

The price list should now be live on the page you placed the shortcode. Go ahead and give it a look and see what you think.

Remember, your price list will look different based on the theme you use, the styling options, and other details you picked.

That’s it! Your price list is live and running. Make any adjustments you want at any time.

Other Stylish Price List Options

As I stated quickly above, there are some other option areas in the plugin that you might want to look at over time.

Under the Stylish Price List tab is a list of plugin options. These include things like diagnostics, help, video tutorials, and a tab to enter your license number if you buy the pro version.

Final Thoughts

Having a clean, smooth, professional price list on your website will only work to attract more customers. It gives them the ability to see what all you offer right away, and tie it into their own budgets. It is also very professional and helpful to potential clients.

I hope this tutorial was able to show you how easy it is to show a price list of services on your site. Using a plugin like Stylish Price List makes it easy.

What other plugin have you been using to build price lists and price tables? Do you prefer to use custom code instead?

The post How to Show Your Rates in WordPress with Stylish Price List appeared first on GreenGeeks.

Today, I want to show you how you can use a smooth plant and gardening plugin on your website. This will allow you to list all sorts of plant and floral related content on your site.

There are other ways that you can fill out your garden website design, but having FloraPress as part of it will really help set your site apart from others.

Let’s take a look at the plugin and see all that it has to offer.

FloraPress

FloraPress is a clean and smooth WordPress plugin that will allow you to easily manage plant and garden information on your website or blog. It is also very lightweight despite all the functionality it brings to the table. Your site will not be slowed down if you use it.

The FloraPress plugin is compatible with just about all gardening themes in WordPress. You won’t have to worry about plugin conflict either, as it runs well and will not provide conflict issues.

This gardening plugin for WordPress comes packed full of features including three core modules; a plant directory, a garden year planner, and a garden year journal. It gives you a ton of options to look through and the ability to add all sorts of profiles and lists.

The plugin will automatically build pages when it is installed and activated. However, you can also use a series of shortcodes to display all the information you want on any post or page.

Having a landscaping blog in WordPress is a great idea! With this plugin, your site will be taken to the next level.

Let’s take a look at how you can get the plugin on your site and start managing your garden.

Managing a Garden in WordPress

There are several things that this plugin allows. I am going to show you how to get it all installed and going on your WordPress site. Before you know it, you will be on the road to building and managing your very own garden in WordPress.

Step 1: Install and Activate the Plugin

In order to start using FloraPress, you first need to install and activate the plugin. You can do this by heading over to the Plugins page of your WordPress admin dashboard.

Simply use the search field to search the plugin by name. When it pops up, install and activate it directly from there.

Step 2: Go to FloraPress Options

Once the plugin has been installed and activated, there are several things you will see in the left side menu area of your dashboard. FloraPress has a lot of separate places where you can add content based on what you need.

However, before you start adding any content, let’s take a look at the plugin info and options. To do this, click on FloraPress > Options. This will take you to some information and options for the plugin.

You will notice that this is an available option on the left menu after you have activated the plugin.

There are two tabs that you can see in the options section of the plugin. These tabs include “Display Your Information” and “Options.”

Display Your Information

This tab gives you valuable information as to how and where you can display all of the content you add to the plugin over time. You see that some pages are automatically built to display relevant content. However, you can also use a series of shortcodes to display the content on any post or page you want.

Options

This tab gives you a few options in regard to displaying measurements and other front-end views. Go ahead and select what you want and click the “Save Changes” button.

Step 3: Start Plant and Garden Content

At this point, you are ready to start adding content and building your website up into a massive floral and gardening powerhouse. In the left side menu area, you can choose what type of content you want to add first. You can see there are several options including:

• Plant Profiles
• Types
• Plot Profiles
• Used For
• Planting Plans
• Year or Season

You can see that we need to select what we are going to add. Additions work the same. So, since this is the case, we are going to go over how to add Plant Profiles, and how to add Types. All the other content is added the same way, via the editor, or via using a category layout.

Add a Plant Profile

To add a plant profile, click on the “Plant Profiles” link that is located in the FloraPress menu of items.

Now, click on the “Add New” button to open the editor and add a new plant profile.

Go ahead and give your new plant profile a name and description.

Feel free to click through and use the “Planting” and “Conditions” tab to add even more relevant info you may have to the plant description area.

Look to the right and you will see the “Types” widget box. Click on the type or types of plant options that you want to use here.

Note: You can add and delete “types” in the types section of the plugin. They will display here.

Now, scroll down a little more and add the rest of the relevant information to this new plant type using the options and functionality the editor provides.

When you have gone through everything and you are finished, click on the “Publish” button and you are all set. The new plant type is added to the relevant page, or you can use the generated shortcode to display it wherever you would like on your website.

Add Types

To add “Types,” click on the relevant “Types” link located under the FloraPress menu of items on the left.

You will see a category style page come up. Here, all the current types added are displayed. You can add a type, delete a type, or categorize however you want.

Whatever additions, subtractions, and edits you make here will automatically display in the “Types” widget box inside the Plant Profile editor.

That’s it! Plot Profiles, Used For, Year or Season, all work the same as above. You can go through all of these and add as much content as you want.

Note: There is a pro version of this plugin available. The free version gives you a ton of options but will limit the number of profiles you can add to 10.

Additional Question Answered

You may have a few questions while you are working with the FloraPress plugin. Here are some common ones along with their answers. As always, you can also contact the plugin developer for more answers and troubleshooting options.

Is FloraPress Compatible with Multisite?

Yes, you can use the plugin in conjunction with Multisite.

Do I Need the Pro Version?

For functionality and features, no. However, you are limited to 10 plant profiles using the free version.

I Want to Add a Feature

You can contact the plugin developer, as they are very friendly when it comes to feature requests.

Final Thoughts

Most garden themes in WordPress have a decent amount of functionality when it comes to building and design. However, if you want to take a plant-based and gardening blog or website to the next level, then FloraPress is definitely a plugin to look into.

I hope this tutorial showed you how easy it is to build a plant-based and gardening site using a plugin. You could try to do this manually, but it will take a lot more time and effort. Give the FloraPress plugin a look.

Have you been trying to blog and build this type of site manually? Is there another plugin you have seen that you like better than this one?

The post How to Manage a Garden with FloraPress in WordPress appeared first on GreenGeeks.

Using this plugin you can create an interactive 3D flipbook to show off your products or content to visitors in a new dimension. This will perform really well on mobile devices that allow users to turn pages with the swipe of the screen.

Today, I will demonstrate how to add a WordPress 3D flipbook with the 3D Flipbook plugin.

What is A 3D Flipbook?

A 3D flipbook allows you to browse images in either a PDF or HTML format that is typically used to showcase moving objects, like turning a page in a magazine or book. This type of content has become more prevalent thanks to the rise of smartphones.

Instead of simply clicking on the next page, you can swipe the screen to turn the page. This type of interactive content gives visitors a more immersive experience.

A WordPress 3D Flipbook can be used in a variety of ways:

• Magazines
• Books
• Brochures
• Booklets

While it may still seem like a gimmick on a computer, it can have some pretty amazing results if it is used under the right circumstances.

How to Create 3D Flipbooks in WordPress

3D Flipbook is a flipbook WordPress plugin that operates in the third dimension. It allows you to use both PDF and HTML image sources and comes with a variety of templates that you can use.

The attention to detail is truly impressive, and a great example of this is being able to actually select the page thickness. You can even add page-turning sounds! And as you would expect, this plugin is mobile-friendly.

The plugin is very easy to set up, so let’s get right into it.

Step 1: Installing 3D Flipbook

Click on Plugins and select the Add New option on the left-hand admin panel.

Search for 3D Flipbook in the available search box. This will pull up additional plugins that you may find helpful.

Scroll down until you find the 3D Flipbook plugin and click on the “Install Now” button and activate the plugin for use.

Step 2: Picking A Source

All of the settings are specific to the particular book you create, thus, you’re ready to start building a flipbook.

Note: At the top of the screen you will see a notification highlighting the fact that you are using the free version. The pro version offers a variety of extra features, that you may want if you plan to use this often.

On the left-hand admin panel click on 3D Flipbook and select the Add New option.

The flipbook’s creation is broken up into multiple tabs. However, you cannot click on all of them at any time. Instead, you need to start on the first tab before the second becomes available.

The General tab is where it all begins. Here you can select if it will use PDF or Images & HTML as the source.

Note: The source will determine what settings are available to you. I will try to highlight the differences, but for the most part, it should be a similar process.

If you pick PDF, you need to upload the PDF URL. Otherwise, you will not be able to use any of the other tabs.

If you choose images, you can add them now by clicking on the “Select Image” option or add them on the following tab.

Afterward. you can also select the book style and the ready function.

You can now click on the Page tab.

Step 3: Customization

If you chose PDF as the source, all you will see is the Page customization option that is set to none by default. You must change this to All to see the options.

If you chose images & HTML as the source, you will now need to add those to the book before you can see the options.

The actual options include adding custom CSS, HTML, or JavaScript to the book. This allows you to customize it to match your website or business design. You can do this for all pages, so you might spend quite a bit of time on this tab.

If you chose Images & HTML as the source, the rest of the tabs are now available. Let’s go through them.

The Book Properties tab provides rendering options. The default options on this page should work for most websites, but if you want to customize it, you can.

The Sheet Properties tab allows you to customize the thickness of the paper, the page flipping speed, the curvature of the paper, paper color, and if the side of the book is visible. There a lot of really cool things here that you will probably want to customize once you see the actual book in action.

The Cover Properties allow you to customize the appearance of the cover of the book/magazine. These include curvature, color, texture, depth, and padding. Similarly to the last options, you are going to want to check these out in a preview to see what they actually do.

The Page Properties tab is similar to the last and works the same way. Be sure to check the changes in a preview.

Control Properties is our final tab to cover. It controls the option you are giving visitors to have when using the flipbook. These include the ability to save it, print it, and toggle a single page mode (traditional PDF). Simply select the options that work best for your website.

Click on the “Publish” button when you are done.

Note: The Preview option may not work until you add the flipbook shortcode to a specific page.

Step 4: Displaying the 3D Flipbook

Now its time for the easy part, adding the 3D flipbook in WordPress. This plugin utilizes Shortcodes to do the job. You can find the shortcode above where you can save the changes.

Paste the shortcode into a text or shortcode block in the editor. Both will have the same effect. Save the changes and you can see your 3D flipbook in action.

Note: I personally think the effects look better when the document is in full screen. It might be worth making a note of it for visitors on your website.

Congratulations on adding your very first 3D flipbook to WordPress. Remember you can edit the appearance of your flipbook at any time.

Not Every Website Needs 3D

Similar to movies, not every website needs 3D effects. In some cases, it might come off as unprofessional and that can be a serious problem. In fact, you might even lose out on potential customers.

Thus, it is very possible that this style will not suit your website.

Carefully analyze the tone your website is expected to have and ask customers to test it out and give feedback. After all, at the end of the day, the only thing that matters is what the visitor or customer thinks about it.

How easy did you find the plugin to use? Did you find the plugin lacking any customization features? Do you think the plugin should have a live preview option to view changes in real-time?

The post How to Create a 3D PDF Viewer in WordPress with 3D FlipBook appeared first on GreenGeeks.

What is an eRoom?

An eRoom is an easily accessible room that you can use for meetings and webinars. It allows a space for remote workers to come together to learn, interact, team-build, and connect. eRoom is also the name of a WordPress plugin.

There are several ways to make an eRoom room correctly. One of the more popular ways to accomplish this is to use Zoom. You can either use it as a stand-alone product or use it integrated into something like your WordPress website.

What is Zoom?

Zoom is an enterprise-level video communication company. They offer a state of the art cloud-based video communications app. This app allows you to set up virtual video and audio conferencing, webinars, live chats, screen-sharing, and other collaborative capabilities.

This is extremely important for the way we do business and keep in touch today.

In this tutorial, I am going to show you how you can easily set up an eRoom and use Zoom for webinars and meetings on your WordPress website. This is a great way to keep the operation all in one place and be in full control of your team.

To do this, we are going to use a plugin. Let’s take a look at it and see all that it has to offer.

eRoom – Zoom Meetings and Webinar

eRoom – Zoom Meetings and Webinar is a powerful tool used for remote work that will help you make sure all the business processes are handled at a top-level. The plugin also allows you to easily connect and interact with team members and remote workers.

The plugin is free to use and provides you with a ton of functionality for managing Zoom meetings, scheduling options, and adding users directly from your WordPress dashboard.

It is lightweight, yet very powerful. It combines WordPress and Zoom together and gives you an outlet that allows for almost anything you need via remote style workrooms and conferencing.

Webinars

The eRoom plugin will also allow you to create webinars using Zoom and put them on your website. This is a fantastic option for something like a lecture, or some other project where you have to include a large audience. Furthermore, the webinars you create can be added to any page of your site, and you can sell them as WooCommerce Products.

The plugin is easy to use, yet very comprehensive. It is a perfect solution for long-distance work and learning how to adapt to it on several levels. Once activated, the plugin will allow you to conduct online training sessions, seminars and lectures, business meetings, online consultations, and more.

This particular Zoom WordPress plugin comes with a lot of great built-in features as well. Some of the highlights include:

• Fully compatible with WordPress
• Provides Zoom integration to WordPress
• Compatible with Zoom API
• Zoom video conferencing features enabled
• Shortcodes to conduct meetings on any page of your site
• Intuitive admin area to manage all meetings and users
• Includes performance and engagement reports from Zoom

All-in-all, if you are trying to use Zoom and integrate it into WordPress, then the eRoom Zoom video webinar plugin gives you all the tools you need and more.

Note: You will have to have a Zoom account. What you do and don’t pay for through them is based on usage. However, the plugin itself is free to use. There is also a pro version of the plugin that allows for more features. Feel free to view this option if you feel you need it. The tutorial below is based on the free version of the plugin.

Let’s get it set up and running.

Setup eRoom and Add a Meeting

In order to start adding meetings and webinars to your site, you first need to get the plugin all setup. Here is the main rundown of steps that include everything you need to get up and running properly.

Step 1: Install and Activate the Plugin

The first thing you need to do is install and activate the eRoom plugin. You can do this by hopping over to the Plugins page inside the WordPress admin dashboard.

Simply search the plugin by name using the available search field, and install it directly from there.

Once activated, you need to access the settings real quick to get your Zoom API keys. To do this, click on eRoom > Zoom Settings in the left menu area of the dashboard.

You see that this is now an available option after you activate the plugin.

Step 2: Get Zoom API Keys

It is actually not difficult to get the proper Zoom API keys needed to run the eRoom plugin. Go ahead and head over to the Zoom Marketplace. Once there click on the “Develop” button located on the top right of the page.

From the dropdown menu select the option “Build App.”

Enter your login credentials here. If you don’t have a Zoom account, then sign-up for one. It is free to hold an account.

Once signed in, you will see a number of app type selections that you can build from. You want to choose the JWT type from the options available. Click on the “Create” button.

Enter any information that is requested within the App Credentials section. Two API keys are then generated. Take both of those keys and copy and paste them back into the main settings page for the plugin in WordPress.

Click on the “Save Settings” button and you have activated the app. You are now ready to add meetings and/or webinars.

Step 3: Add a Meeting

At this point, you are ready to add a meeting in eRoom. Click on the “Meetings” tab link located in the left menu area.

From here, you can either add a new meeting or sync with Zoom meetings. In this case, we are going to add a meeting.

Click on the “Add New” button at the top of the page.

An editor pops up and you can start building your first meeting. Add a meeting title and some information for the meeting agenda section.

Scroll down a little and add a Meeting host, date, time, and timezone.

Finally, scroll down more and add the last few items to your meeting. This will include the meeting password (which you will need to make available for all meeting participants), as well as some other options to complete the meeting setup.

At this point, you can click on the “Publish” button and publish the meeting.

Simply go to that page to access the meeting and you can start.

Note: Your Zoom account must be attached using the API keys you got above for this to work properly.

Step 4: View Other Options

The eRoom plugin allows you to also add webinars, users, and assign other host IDs. You can do this by selecting any of those options from the left menu area under the main eRoom tab.

The concept of adding webinars and users is the same as adding a meeting. You simply add in the requested info and you are good to go.

That’s it! You are off and running with the eRoom plugin and now have the ability to integrate meetings and webinars into your WordPress website.

Do I Need Zoom to Make This Work?

While everything is integrated and run in your WordPress dashboard, you do need to connect your Zoom account to make it operational.

Is This Compatible With My Theme?

Yes, the eRoom plugin is compatible with all WordPress themes. Simply install it and go to work!

Can I Save Webinars?

You can indeed save webinars for viewing later. Just use the URL link of the video. That being said, you will need the eRoom purchasable meetings plugin to do this, as well as sell your webinars on WooCommerce.

Final Thoughts

Remote work is becoming the norm. It is important to have solid options in place that will allow for both a smooth transition for remote workers, as well as an access point for meetings, connections, webinars, and more.

The eRoom plugin can help you accomplish all of this and more. Not only does it easily connect to your Zoom account, but it allows you to manage everything from the WordPress admin dashboard.

I hope this tutorial showed you how easy it is to actually add an eRoom using the plugin and start adding meetings and webinars.

Have you ever used Zoom before? Do you use their app as a stand-alone product, instead of integrating it into your website?

The post How to Set Up eRoom for Your WordPress Zoom Webinar appeared first on GreenGeeks.

I say they “may” show up because there is a threshold for the number of reviews before Google displays stars. We don’t know what that threshold is exactly (it’s Google, after all), it may vary for different categories of sites.

One or two reviews are unlikely to get the stars added to your listings. But if you can get enough visitors to rate your articles or products, you can get the stars.

Is it worth the effort to try to get review stars on your Google search appearances? Well, one study showed a 35% higher click rate for starred results. I think most of us would be more than happy to increase our search result click rate by 35%.

If you use WordPress for your site, adding reviews is easy. We’ll use a WordPress review plugin called Site Reviews to demonstrate just how easy it is.

Installing the Site Reviews Plugin

Log in to your WordPress admin panel.

In the left column navigation, mouse over the “Plugins” link and click the “Add New” link.

In the “Search plugins…” box, enter, “Site Reviews.”

When you find the plugin, click the “Install Now” button.

Now the plugin is installed, but it has to be activated before you can use it.

Click the “Activate” button.

That’s all there is to it. Now let’s put the plugin to work.

Adding Site Reviews With a Widget

Reviews can be added using a shortcode, a Gutenberg editor block, or a widget.

Since a widget appears on every page of the site (in most themes), we’ll start there.

In the left column navigation, mouse over the “Appearance” link and click the “Widgets” link.

Scroll down to the “Submit a Review” widget.

Click “Submit a Review,” choose the widget area (if your theme has more than one), then click the “Add Widget” button.

Now in the widget area, click “Submit a Review” to format the review entry.

By default, if you enter only a title, the reviews will apply to the entire site. If that’s what you want, you can click the “Save” button, and you’re finished.

In most cases, though, you’ll want the review to be left for the article the visitor is reading. To do that, enter “post_id” in the “Assign reviews to a custom page/post ID” field.

The “Automatically assign a category” setting is related to categories that are configurable in the plugin. We haven’t added any categories, so there’s no option to choose there.

Whether you choose to hide certain elements of the review form is up to you. We’ll leave them all visible.

When you have the configuration you want, click the “Save” button.

Now, go to the widget area on your site and you’ll see the review form.

Changing the Appearance of the Review Form

I’m not crazy about how the text looks in the form by default, so let’s change that.

In the left column navigation, mouse over the “Site Reviews” link and click the “Settings” link.

The first option on the “General” tab is “Plugin Style.” That drop-down has settings for several site types. Since I’m using the WordPress Twenty Nineteen theme for this tutorial, I’ll select that.

Then scroll down and click the “Save Changes” button.

If your site type or theme isn’t in the list, try “Site Reviews (minimal).” That also gave me good results.

Now the form looks better, more integrated with the site.

Adding Site Reviews With Shortcodes

Using shortcodes is a good way to add a review to a page or post outside of the available widget area(s).

To add the same type of review form we added with the widget, we would use [site_reviews_form assign_to=”post_id”]. That makes the review form visible and assigns the reviews to that specific post, rather than being a website review.

For all the shortcode options, see Site Reviews > Help > Shortcodes.

Here’s what it looks like in a post.

Adding Site Reviews With a Block

Blocks are part of the WordPress Gutenberg editor. If you’re still using the “classic” WordPress editor, this option is not available.

To add a review using a block, open the block selection option, and look for the “Submit a Review” block.

When you add the block to the post, the review form is visible in the editor.

Remember the review form settings we saw when we added the form with a widget? Those are on the right in the block settings. Make sure to add [post_id] there if you want the reviews to be for the specific post.

Displaying Reviews on Your Site

Once you’ve accumulated some reviews, it’s good to display them somewhere on your site.

You can do that using the “Summary of Reviews” or “Recent Reviews” widgets. But that restricts you to showing the reviews only in your widget area.

So let’s add the recent reviews to our home page using a block.

Search for “review” in the block search. You’ll see options for “Latest Reviews” and “Summary.”

We’ll choose “Latest Reviews.”

When you click the block, the reviews will show up in the page preview.

You’ll notice in the block settings that you can filter the reviews in the “Assigned To” field. That works the same way the review forms work. Meaning you can add [post_id] to show only the reviews for the page the visitor is on.

Since we only have a few sample reviews, I won’t use that filter.

Now, if we go to the home page, we can see the latest reviews.

There’s Much More to Explore

We’ve only scratched the surface of the configuration options for the plugin. One cool feature is review verification through a blockchain service (it’s a paid service, so we didn’t touch on that). Aside from that, the schema is adjustable, as well as limits, captcha, blacklists, Gravatar integration, and a lot more.

As a site reviewer, it’s unparalleled. And just in general, it’s one of the more feature-packed free plugins I’ve ever used.

And I’ve used a lot of them.

What Happens if You Uninstall the Site Reviews Plugin

If you uninstall the plugin, review entry forms and review displays will no longer appear on your site. The plugin shortcodes will stop working, so the shortcodes themselves will be displayed as text anywhere they were used.

The Stars Are Not Always What They Seem

While a properly implemented review plugin can help add stars to your search result listings, there is a potential downside.

The plugin doesn’t allow you to choose to display only reviews that are above a certain number of stars. That means low star ratings could make their way to Google. People tend to equate the number of stars they see in search results with the quality of the site. Even if a low rating only applies to a single article or product review.

It’s something to bear in mind. For a page or article that receives low ratings, you may want to remove the review option for the page. Or, use the review feedback to improve it. 😉

Do you give more weight to links with stars when you search? Are you less likely to click a link with fewer stars? I’d love to hear from you. Let me know in the comments.

The post How to Set Up Site Reviews for Your WordPress Website appeared first on GreenGeeks.