This plugin is perfect for any website that talks about movies on a normal basis, like a fan site or one that focuses on reviews. You can easily add all of the IMDB data to any post or page on your website with a single shortcode.

Today, I will demonstrate how to improve a fan site with the IMDB Shortcode plugin.

What Is IMDB?

IMDB is the most popular movie and television database. You can find information about every movie or show including the actors, summaries, ratings, trivia, and more. It’s the ultimate resource when it comes to movies.

And visitors do not have to pay a penny to access it, which is why it’s so popular.

Why Add IMDB to WordPress?

Depending on the nature of your website, it can be extremely useful to add IMDB information to your posts or pages.

For instance, perhaps you are creating a trailer breakdown post. Since it is still just a trailer, many visitors might want to know more about the movie, and that’s exactly where IMDB shines the most.

You can provide all of the movie info from a source people trust.

Of course, IMDB isn’t just for movie data. It also contains actor biographies and any position they held in the industry. Such as being an actor, producer, or director.

This can be great if your website ever finds itself talking about specific celebrities. It can show all of the movies they have been in, their biography, where they studied, and just about anything else the internet knows about them.

Overall, an IMDB tag can really help provide more information to their audience.

How To Use Shortcode IMDB

Step 1: Install Shortcode IMDB

Shortcode IMDB allows you to grab data directly from IMDB and display it on WordPress. To put it simply, all you need to do is copy part of the IMDB URL and paste it between the shortcode tags. It’s really that simple.

It even has integration options for WooCommerce. This is perfect if you sell DVDs or Blue Rays on your site because you can include all of the information most people may look up naturally.

This keeps them on your website and improves sales. However, this feature is a premium add-on.

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

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

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

Upon activation, you will see quite a few messages saying an API Key is required. These messages can be closed by clicking on the small “x” to the right. Otherwise, you will need to get an API Key from PluginPress.

If you want one, I’ll highlight where to find it in the next step. If not, skip to step 3.

Step 2: Obtain An API Key (Optional)

The plugin is fully functional without a shortcode. All of the messages you see about needing an API Key are for the premium add-ons. They can be very annoying, and that by itself, might be enough to keep people from using this plugin.

On the left-hand admin panel click on Shortcode IMDB and select the Shortcode IMDB option.

You should notice that the first option is for an API Key. You can get one from the PluginPress website (they made the plugin). Click on the PluginPress link.

On the PluginPress website, scroll down and click on the “Register Now!” button to start an account. If you already have an account from one of their other plugins, feel free to log in.

Fill in the necessary information and go through the registration process. This will require billing information as the API key is for premium add-ons.

Then, simply locate the API Key in your account and insert it into WordPress.

Step 3: Create An IMDB Shortcode

As you might have guessed from the name, you are going to use shortcodes to add IMDB data to your website. The good news is that they just consist of the IMDB shortcode tag ([IMDB][/IMDB]) and a small piece of information from the IMDB URL.

First, let’s get the IMDB information.

In this example, I will include an IMDB box of Robert Downey Jr. in WordPress. The process is identical for anyone else, or for any movie. Visit IMDB search for the actor or movie you want to include information about and take a look at the URL.

You should notice a series of letters and numbers at the end of the URL, copy it.

Next, go to any post or page on your website and add a shortcode block.

Now you need to create the shortcode, but that’s really simple. In my case, I simply add the IMDB shortcode tag and paste the piece of the URL I copied in between, like so:

[imdb]nm0000375[/imdb]

That’s it. Now just save the changes, and view the post or a preview to see the IMDB box on your website.

If you are wondering how to add movie IMDB data in WordPress, it’s the exact same process.

The box is similar for movies, but the main difference is that you can find the IMDB rating in the top right corner and it also includes a trailer for the movie.

Here is Iron Man as an example:

Congratulations on learning how to use the Shortcode IMDB plugin. Remember that you will need to add the shortcode onto each page or post individually.

Does This Work For Widgets?

Sadly it does not, at least when I tested it. But this could change in future updates. And this is most likely due to the size of the IMDB box that it adds. It is not small by any means and would take up too much space in a widget area.

In fact, it might take up all of the space. It also wouldn’t make much sense.

After all, unless your website is dedicated to Iron Man, it would be a bit strange to see an IMDB report on Iron Man on every post or page of the website as a sidebar widget.

IMDB Is the Ultimate Movie Database

When it comes to movies and television shows, IMDB is the most recognizable resource on the internet. Thus, it’s the best option for your own website. The only exception is if you were trying to build a better one, but good luck with that.

One of the biggest advantages of using this plugin is that it also includes movie trailers. This can be a great tool when you want to talk about a new trailer that is available.

Of course, you might already have a plugin dedicated to videos, so be sure to avoid having the same video twice on a page or post.

Not only does it look sloppy, but it also slows down your website.

How do you plan to use IMDB data on your website? Did you find creating shortcodes easy to do?

The post How to Create a Fan Site in WordPress Using Shortcode IMDB appeared first on GreenGeeks.

And as we all know, appearances are half the battle. The other half is your website’s performance, which can be enhanced by choosing a great web host. And you might as well keep your conscience clear by picking one that cares about the environment, like GreenGeeks.

Today, I will demonstrate how to use WordPress Books Gallery to easily display books on your site.

Why Not Just Use Regular Product Pages?

If you are using WooCommerce to operate your store, you are probably wondering why you should install a second plugin for product pages. And the answer is pretty simple. It takes a lot more work to customize a WooCommerce product page to be book-ready.

Instead, a plugin like WordPress Book Gallery will have all of the necessary fields ready to go. It can save a lot of time, and it has some awesome customization options that can make your book store look spectacular.

And yes, it can be integrated with WooCommerce, so no worries on that front.

Of course, you can also use the plugin to set up an Amazon affiliate site that focuses on books. Instead of having a button that brings customers to checkout on your site, you can have it bring customers to Amazon using your link.

It’s highly effective, versatile, and free to use.

How to Create A Product Page for Books With WordPress Book Gallery

Step 1: Install WordPress Book Gallery

WordPress Book Gallery allows you to build a gallery for books in minutes. All you actually need to do is add the product information and display it on your site using a shortcode.

It’s really that easy.

It also has a detailed search panel options section. This allows you to customize what customers can use to search your database.

It’s worth mentioning that while the plugin is free, there is a Pro version that adds more features. Most importantly is the ability to set prices, and choose which storefront to buy them from.

For instance, you can set it up to connect with Amazon.

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

Search for WordPress Book Gallery in the available search box. This will pull up additional plugins that you may find helpful.

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

Upon activation, you will be asked if you want to opt-in to plugin updates and security notifications. You can choose any option, and it will not influence how the plugin operates.

Step 2: Add Books

You can begin setting this plugin up in a number of ways, but let’s start with the most obvious choice, adding the best books in WordPress.

On the left-hand admin panel click on WBG Books and select the Add New option.

You can add a title and a description in the appropriate sections. Scrolling down, you will see the Book Information section. This is where you can add all of the book details like the author, published, ISBN, number of pages, and more.

Simply go through this section and fill in the information.

Once all of the information is good to go, click on the “Publish” button. Repeat this step to add as many books as necessary. Obviously, for larger stores, this is the part of the setup process that will take the longest.

Step 3: Gallery Settings

The Gallery settings contain a collection of settings that determine factors like the number of books to display down to the colors used on the buttons. Once again, it’s very straightforward.

Click on the Gallery Settings option.

This page is divided into two tabs: Content Settings and Style Settings. Content Settings deal with stuff like how books are sorted, choosing what elements to display, image size, and more.

It’s very easy and mostly consists of checkboxes and drop-downs.

The Style Settings allow you to choose the color scheme of the WordPress bookstore this plugin creates. The only issue is that you cannot see what this looks like until you add the shortcode to a page.

Therefore, it might be better to come back to this section when you create your book page. That way you can use the preview option to check out what it looks like.

Click on the “Save Settings” button when you are done.

Step 4: Search Panel Settings

It can be extremely frustrating to search for a product and not find any matching results. And with books, there are a lot of ways to search, such as by author, title, ISBN, and more. The problem is that you need to set those options so they are available.

The good news is that this plugin makes it very easy by enabling just about every option for you. Your job is to decide which ones not to use.

Click on the Search Panel Settings option.

Once again, you will find two tabs with the exact same name. In the Content Settings, use the checkboxes to enable or disable with factors to use in the search option. You can also choose how they are sorted and the default options.

Style Settings contain more color options. When you are done, click on the “Save Settings” button.

Step 5: Book Detail Settings

The last part you need to configure is the book details section. This is where you choose what pieces of information are visible when viewing a book.

Click on the Book Detail Settings option.

Like all of the previous sections, there are two tabs. One for the main settings and one for the colors. Simply go through the options and use the checkboxes to decide which information will be visible when viewing a book.

Finally, click on the “Save Settings” button to finish.

Step 6: Display the Gallery

All that’s left is to actually display what you have built with this book store plugin on WordPress. And the good news is that it is really easy since the plugin uses one shortcode.

Thus, all you need to do is go on the post or page you want to add it to and paste the following shortcode:

[wp_books_gallery] 

You can also create a gallery based on category with the following shortcode:

 [wp_books_gallery category="Mystery"] 

Once the shortcode is in place, you can view the gallery you built on a live page, or using the preview to make sure it is right. Congratulations!

Get the Word Out

All that’s left to do when the gallery is on display is to get the word out. Be sure to mention it on your social media feeds. You might even want to create a blog post to make sure your visitors know the feature is available.

And just remember, you need the Pro version to actually add pricing or connect to other stores.

How easy did you find the WordPress Book Gallery plugin to use? Do you prefer using product pages from WooCommerce?

The post How to Set Up WordPress Books Gallery to Show and Sell Literature appeared first on GreenGeeks.

Today, I am going to cover the steps to build a basic website in less time than it takes you to go out to dinner at a restaurant.

What Is A Basic Website?

Now a basic website can mean a lot of things. It could refer to the designs behind it, the features it offers, or even the content it produces. So to clarify, I am describing a website that is functional and nothing more.

The website will use a preset appearance, and not have any advanced features.

Note: You should not build an eCommerce website this quickly. There is nothing basic about the setup process of one, and it can lead to a variety of mistakes that could cost you money or customers.

How to Make A Website in Under An Hour

Odds are if you want to build a website this quickly, you already have an idea of what you want to create. If not, you should really take a few minutes to figure out what you want to do.

Not having a plan in mind will slow down the entire process.

In either case, following this process will only result in a functional website without any of the bells and whistles, but you can always update it later on.

Step 1: Choose A Platform to Build On

When it comes to speed, you need to pick a platform that enables you to build easily and does a lot of the work automatically. While there are a lot of options to choose from, none come close to WordPress.

This is exactly why over 40% of all websites are built with it. So, what makes it such a great platform to build on?

The main advantage of WordPress is its accessibility. It’s no exaggeration to claim that anyone can build a website on WordPress without any experience. Nothing in WordPress requires any coding knowledge whatsoever.

The truth is that setting up WordPress is really just a series of settings to configure at its most basic level.

Now if the platform was just beginner-friendly, it still wouldn’t be nearly as popular. Instead, the other major factor to consider is customization. You can build any type of website and customize every aspect of it.

And a big part of what makes WordPress so easy and customizable at the same time is the huge library of plugins and themes. A plugin is just like an app for your smartphone. It adds a specific feature to your website.

Whereas a theme is like wallpaper. It dictates the appearance of your website, which can be changed at any time.

Step 2: Choose A Web Host and Domain Name

Now that you decided on a platform to build on, it’s time to find a web hosting company that supports it. A web hosting company rents out web servers that store websites. They are also in charge of maintaining it to operate 24/7 without interruption.

The web host you select will have a direct impact on your website’s performance. The good news is that you have a lot of options to consider because the web hosting industry is extremely crowded.

And as a customer, this has resulted in very low prices. But that being said, not all web hosts are equal.

Even a basic website needs a good web hosting company because it can improve speeds and open up doors down the road. That’s why at GreenGeeks we are proud to offer excellent services, low prices, and a positive impact on the environment.

We have even been recognized as one of the top web hosts in the industry.

We also throw in a free domain name for the first year, which is a great segway into choosing one. For those who don’t know, a domain name is your website’s address.

Every website must have a domain name, and there are a few basic rules to follow.

It should be short, reflect the website’s content, and be easy to remember. For small businesses, the domain name is usually just the business name. If you’re a freelancer or other professional, a lot of people will just use their names.

Step 3: Install WordPress And Choose A Theme

The good news is that most web hosting companies offer one-click installation, and GreenGeeks is no exception. Check out our detailed guide on how to install WordPress in just one click.

After the installation process, you need to pick out a theme for your website. In short, a theme is a collection of style sheets and templates that customizes the appearance of your website.

This allows you to quickly create a basic website design in just a few minutes as all of the themes are ready for use upon installation.

There are free and premium themes available, and the difference between the two is the level of support you receive and the features it may have.

In most cases, premium themes come with packages with premium plugins that justify the cost. Combine that with a support team that can help you troubleshoot basic problems, and they are well worth the money.

Since you are going for speed and don’t have a lot of time to customize a layout, I recommend starting off with a free theme. You can always change the theme later on when you have more time.

That said, it’s worth mentioning that you can edit them to get better results at a later date. You may find that you want to change the font, colors, or perhaps add a background image.

You don’t have to settle on the details right now when you’re building a basic website.

Step 4: Create Web Pages

At this point, your website is really ready to go and all that it’s missing is your content. Use the remaining time to enter your website’s information and create a few basic posts and pages to get started.

So that raises the question, what types of pages should your website have?

In truth, it should depend on your website’s focus, but there are a few general pages every website should have.

For instance, your website should include a Contact Us (Me) page. This page provides contact information (phone number, email, address, etc.) for visitors or customers that want to leave feedback.

It can also be how customers contact you to begin requesting a specific service. Every website should have one.

The other obvious choice is a homepage. This is where many visitors will end up when they find your website. It should provide visitors with a clear idea of what your website is all about. For example, a blog will display its latest content.

Whereas an online store will display products.

After this, it really depends on what you want the website to be, but odds are you are close to the one-hour mark. You should also have a fully functioning website, so congratulations!

Install Plugins for More Options

This tutorial covers the process of building a website with only the basic features in mind, and a one-hour time restriction. That doesn’t leave much room for plugins as some of the setups can take a few minutes to get right.

But once the rush is over, you should install a few necessary plugins.

These powerful software packages allow you to add a variety of useful features that really help your website shine. And don’t require any coding.

For instance, if you were building an online shop, you would want to install the WooCommerce plugin. It allows you to turn your website into a fully functional storefront that can accept payments and build product pages with ease.

Or, if you want to use WordPress for its impressive lineup of blogging tools, the Yoast SEO plugin will help make your website SEO friendly. It also provides writing tips to make your blogs more readable.

And never forget the value of great security plugins to keep your website and data safe.

If you are not happy with pages you can construct with the default WordPress tools, you can use a page builder plugin like Elementor to get more creative. These tools allow you to customize every aspect of the pages you build including unique layout designs.

The point is there are literally thousands of plugins that you can install to improve the experience on your website.

Take Time to Refine Your Website

Now, just because you can build a website within an hour, doesn’t mean you should. The point of this guide is to show that the actual process is really simple. The real time investment in building a website is improving the experience for visitors and creating content.

Unless you are an experienced web developer, the final result will be basic. It’s not going to be a website that wows visitors. And frankly, it will probably be very clunky to navigate.

It will take time to iron these issues out.

Obviously, a website without content isn’t much of a website. Creating new content or adding new products is a lot of work. It gets easier over time, but expect to spend hours before the process becomes streamlined.

How long did it take you to create your own website? Do you plan to spend more time later on to improve the design?

The post How to Make a Basic Website in Less than an Hour appeared first on GreenGeeks.

This will allow potential employers to find an entire website full of information about the experience and skillset you could bring to the company or project. And the good news is that these types of websites are very easy to make.

Professional resume websites also work exceptionally well for freelancers, especially writers, photographers, and visual designers.

Today, I will fully cover the process of building a resume website to wow employers.

How to Make A Resume Website

In the beginning, it was difficult to build any type of website, but that is no longer the case. In fact, building a website has become easy enough that anyone can build one without writing a single line of code.

This is all thanks to the advancements from the content management system industry (CMS). A CMS allows you to build an entire website using that platform’s tools, and most are highly customizable.

This allows for quick creation and superior customization.

Building a resume website to display your resume online is no different than starting a blog in terms of steps. The main thing that separates building any kind of website is the content you choose to create for it and the features you choose to include.

Step 0: Build A Regular Resume & Assemble Projects

This might sound like a throwaway step, but it’s the foundation of your website. A regular resume can act as the template for your entire platform because it contains all of the information you need to display on the website.

Just in a more condensed format.

The key information typically includes:

• Experience
• Education
• Awards & Certifications
• Skills (Software Usage, Coding Languages, etc.)
• References
• Contact Information (Name, Phone Number, Email, etc.)
• Personal Projects (Applicable for Creative Fields)
• Volunteer Work

Now, while the plan is to just use this as a template for your website, it is a good policy to make sure this looks nice. In fact, you might want to include this as a PDF somewhere on your site.

That way employers can print it out or store it on their computers with other applicants.

Unlike a regular resume, your website will also have room to display projects you have worked on. Obviously, this isn’t applicable for all professions, but more creative professions might have great additions.

For instance, engineering students might want to include their Capstone projects in greater detail. This is highly recommended for graduates without much experience.

Once you have assembled everything you want to include, you are ready to start the actual web development part of this.

Step 1: Choose A Webhost and Pick A Domain Name

Now the first real step is to choose a web hosting company to host your website. For those who are unaware, every time a visitor connects to your website, they are really connecting to a web server that contains your website’s information.

This web server is managed and operated by a web hosting company, and every website needs a web host. As a result, there are a lot of these companies to choose from, and that’s a good thing because it has made the service inexpensive.

In fact, in most cases, you are going to spend more money on a cup of coffee for the day than a month of web hosting.

The bad news is that not all web hosts are equal. The level of quality and support you will receive can carry greatly between hosts.

This can directly affect the performance of your website, and when it comes to a resume, you want it to be lightning fast.

After all, it’s literally a website dedicated to your professional career. Thus, you need to pick a great web host.

Here at GreenGeeks, we offer the best web hosting services without having an impact on the environment. On top of this, our support team is standing by to assist and we have a full website of helpful tutorials to get you started.

And we even include a free domain name for the first year, which is a great segway because you are going to need one of those as well.

For those unaware, a domain name is basically your website’s URL. It is how visitors will find your website, and the good news is that this should be a pretty easy choice.

The most common domain name for a resume website is just your full name.

So if your name was John Chaloopadump, a domain name could be JohnChaloopadump.com or you could spice it up with a different extension like .tech, .online, or something else entirely.

No matter what your name should be in the domain name.

Step 2: Choose A CMS (WordPress)

Next, you are going to need a platform to actually build your personal resume website. While there are hundreds to choose from between website builders and CMS, I’m going to save you a lot of time and headaches by recommending WordPress.

WordPress is the most popular CMS in the world and currently powers over 40% of the internet. Or in other words, 40% of all websites are currently built with WordPress.

It successfully claimed this massive market share by being the best option available. Building a website with WordPress does not require a single line of code and the platform is flexible enough to support any type of website from a blog to an online store.

And as the most popular CMS in the market, the level of support you will find is unmatched. There are millions of helpful resources everywhere on the Internet. And even more important, just about everything is compatible with WordPress.

In fact, most third-party services have dedicated plugins (more on those later) that make setup a cinch.

From a design perspective, WordPress is stylish and flexible. This is all thanks to the huge library of themes you can select. Choose a theme and install it and your entire website will match that design.

However, you still have the option to individually style any area on your website. Thus ensuring creative freedom.

Step 3: Pick Out Plugins and Themes

The secret of WordPress is its impressive library of plugins and themes. I mentioned them briefly in the last step, but let’s cover what these actually are.

A plugin is a small software package that adds a specific feature to your website. Think of these like apps for your smartphone. You install them and add a new feature to the website.

Thanks to these, most websites can be fully functional without writing any code.

A theme is a collection of stylesheets and templates that dictates the appearance of your website. This controls everything from the font you use to the color of your menus.

Everything within a theme is fully customizable.

Both of these come in two forms, free and premium. The main difference between these versions is the level of support you can expect from that plugin or theme creator, and the number of features.

The good news is that a resume website won’t really need a lot of fancy plugins. Free versions will be more than enough in most cases.

Instead, the most important choice will be your theme because the presentation of your resume matters. This is especially true in fields where design is imperative.

Remember, first impressions are vital.

Here are a few helpful plugins and themes when building a resume website:

Kerge

Kerge is a premium resume theme for WordPress that has a terrific design. It makes it easy to display all of the key information you would find in a standard resume with its vertical menu. It has room for everything, even a full blog.

As a premium theme, it comes with a variety of extra features including a full drag and drop page builder. With this, you can build a variety of unique pages in minutes without a line of code. And it has an excellent support team standing by to help.

Resumee

Resumee is a free resume theme for WordPress that is simple, but highly effective. The theme’s colors are quite basic and it sports a minimalist design, which is perfect for a professional atmosphere.

However, it might be a bit lacking for more creative professions.

The theme is optimized for mobile users and is SEO-friendly. It’s perfect for any professional portfolio due to how easy it is to customize.

Resume Builder

While you can do a lot with the Gutenberg editor, you are probably going to want a dedicated plugin for building a resume on your website. This can help make your resume stand out in an online environment. And Resume Builder is the perfect plugin for the job.

This plugin makes it simple to enter resume information. Simply pick the fields you want to include, the order that they appear, and enter the information. It’s really that easy.

You can also customize the design of the resume including the font styles and color used.

WP Google Maps

In some cases, you might have a physical location associated with your business. For example, you may have an external office as a freelancer.

In these situations, making sure potential customers can find you is essential, thus adding Google Maps to your website can be a huge benefit, and WP Google Maps makes it easy.

This plugin allows you to add Google Maps in a variety of styles anywhere in WordPress. This is perfect for a directions page or section on your website. All you need is an API key from Google to set it up.

Step 4: Share Your Resume With Employers

With your theme and plugins in place, all you need to do is actually add all of the information and your resume website is complete. However, that doesn’t mean you’re done. In fact, most would say building a website is only half of the battle.

The other half is actually getting visitors, or in this case, employers to take a look.

Now unlike a traditional website, you’re not marketing your site to the general audience, but instead, to employers. Thus, you need to advertise it in the right locations. Let’s start with the most obvious: LinkedIn.

LinkedIn is the face of social media that meets the business world, and there is no better place to include a link to your resume website than your LinkedIn profile. This will help everyone that views your profile to also view your personal website.

Of course, you should add this to other social media profiles like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and anything else you use.

Next, if you are using resume sites like Indeed or Monster, make sure to include a link to your website. This will really help your resume stand out in a sea of applicants and can be the factor that gets you an interview.

Essentially, use every opportunity that puts your resume site in front of an employer’s eyes.

Showoff Your Skillset With A Resume Website

The entire point of an online resume is to make yourself look good. Most people who have not built a website think that it is extremely difficult to do so. After building one yourself, I’m sure you realize, it isn’t that difficult.

And, it still makes you look like the better applicant. At least when it is done well. Which makes this a great time to point out the obvious. If you make a bad resume website, it reflects who you are on a professional level.

So make sure it looks good! Don’t be afraid to ask your friends for an honest opinion. It can be the difference between getting a job and not.

An online resume also gives you more room to better describe your accomplishments and even show off your work. Just remember that an online resume is different from a graphic design portfolio, so if that was your goal, this guide will be more up your alley.

Did creating your own personal resume website help you get a job? How long did the process take you from beginning to end?

The post How to Make a Professional Resume Website with Little Effort appeared first on GreenGeeks.

Just keep in mind that the website is only accessible by providing a link and when your computer is on. This makes it a perfect testing ground that won’t cost a penny to set up.

Afterward, you can migrate the entire site to a live platform. In reality, this is a very common method for many WordPress developers.

Today, I will demonstrate how to build a WordPress website offline.

Why Build An Offline WordPress Website?

There are a variety of reasons to build a WordPress site offline.

The first, and most common, is to create a testing environment. Let’s face it, things can go wrong when you are testing out a new plugin or tweaking some code. Having this happen on a live website is not professional.

It could even end up ruining someone’s first experience on the website. Instead, doing this in a testing environment is recommended.

The second is to build a local website for friends or a group. For instance, let’s say you run a small gaming clan with your friends. Since you will be online at the same time, a local website can work well since it’s just for friends.

This idea can be applied to a variety of topics. While a regular website will work just as well, if not better, this is free, which works better for hobbies.

Another reason is if you build websites for a living. You may keep an offline website that contains all of the settings configured to your liking. At this point, you just need to transfer it to the website you are building.

It can save a lot of time and remove the steps you are likely to take every time to build a website.

How to Make A WordPress Site Offline

Before I begin, I want to stress that there are multiple ways to go about this. This tutorial will focus on using the Bitnami WordPress Stack, which works on Windows, Mac, or Linux, and it even works on a Virtual Machine. There is also support for operating in the cloud, but this is not free to do.

The tutorial will be on a Windows device, but the process is similar on Mac.

Step 1: Install Bitnami WordPress Stack

Visit the Bitname WordPress Stack website. The first thing you should see is the deployment offerings. This is where you pick where you want to use this tool, in our case, we want to use it on our computer.

Click on the “Win/Mac/Linux” button.

Clicking this button will make multiple installer options appear at the bottom of the page. Click on the “Download for Windows 64-bit” button or the one for the platform of your choice.

Note: Bitami is currently discontinuing support for Linux users.

A small pop-up will appear asking you to sign into Bitnami to continue. You can sign in with multiple accounts, at least if you already have an account. If not, you can create a new one by clicking on the Create One link.

Enter your name, email address, and create a password. When you are done, click on the “Register” button.

The Bitnami WordPress installer will begin installing. When it is complete, click on the file at the bottom of your web browser.

Note: It is located within your computer’s Downloads folder.

A small pop-up will appear asking if the installer can make changes to your computer. Agree with it. Then, an even smaller pop-up will appear asking you to select a language. Choose the language you want and click on the “OK” button.

If you have an antivirus running on your computer, you will get a small message that it can impact the installation. Click on the “Yes” button to continue the installation process.

Step 2: Install Wizard

The install Wizard will now be open. Click on the “Next” button to continue.

Here, you need to select the components you wish to install. The options include WordPress and PHPMyAdmin. Both are selected by default and should remain that way.

Click on the “Next” button.

Next, it will ask you to select a folder. The default one is recommended, but you can create any folder you wish. Click on the “Next” button to continue.

Afterward, you need to create an admin account for your website. Make sure to write all of this information down, otherwise, you can be locked out of your website. Enter your name, username, email address, and password.

NOTE: This is for a local and offline WordPress website. You can use pretty much anything you wish, just remember to make the passwords more complex should you decide to migrate it to an online server.

Click on the “Next” button to continue.

Next, you need to choose a blog name. If you’re not sure, you can leave the default value for now. It can be changed at any time. Afterward, you can choose to configure email. This allows you to send notifications via email.

This is not required, but feel free to set it up especially if you plan on moving the site online. Click on the “Next” button to continue.

Next, you can choose if you want to set Bitnami up in the cloud. While this is free through Bitnami, you may be subject to charges from the servers that store it. Since the focus is on creating an offline website, uncheck the box.

After this, the wizard is ready to begin installing on your computer. The installation process will take one to five minutes depending on the choices you made.

Note: You may get a pop-up from windows defender or other antivirus software during this process. You will have to allow access for the installation to finish.

That concludes the setup wizard. You can now launch the Bitnami WordPress Stack.

What To do Next?

At this point, your offline WordPress website is fully operational and all you need to do is log in. To do so, simply enter http://localhost/wordpress/wp-admin into the URL bar and enter the login credentials you created earlier for the admin account.

Once logged in, the backend is identical to a normal WordPress website. At this point, you can start choosing themes and plugins to add or get right to creating content for the website.

It’s really up to you.

Even though this is an offline installation, WordPress will still have access to the online repository for plugins and themes. That is as long as your computer remains connected to the Internet.

Also, be aware that this installation of WordPress may be quite a bit slower than what it would be online. That’s because your personal computer most likely doesn’t have the power nor the resources specific to websites.

However, there’s nothing wrong with installing this on a server should you have one.

How would I Import/Export My Website?

For those that plan to use this as a testing environment, you are going to need to use importing and exporting to make the most of it. The good news is that this is really easy to do and the process is not different from a regular website.

One way to accomplish this is with the WP Import Export Lite plugin. As the name suggests, you can import and export WordPress files. You will need to install the plugin on both websites, but that is very easy to do.

An Offline WordPress Website Is A Powerful Tool

Managing a WordPress site isn’t that hard, but keeping an offline version can help with maintenance. Of course, it can also be a great building platform for those that want to see what the platform is like without committing to a web hosting contract.

Some developers may even spend months building the website slowly and filling it with content to ensure it is ready for a stable launch. At no extra expense to you, building an offline website is a great move for any website.

Why did you build an offline website? Did you consider using a subdomain as a testing environment?

The post How to Build a Website Offline with WordPress appeared first on GreenGeeks.

Today, I am going to go through the steps necessary to build a website and the best ways to make money with one.

How to Build A Website

The good news is that building a website from scratch is pretty much the same regardless of what type of website you want to build. The main difference is usually the content you produce and the tools you choose to use.

We will do an overview of the major steps.

Step 1: Decide on the Website Type

While the steps are mostly the same, deciding on a website type needs to happen before you begin building. The type of website you build will also determine the monetization option at your disposal.

One of the biggest mistakes is assuming that only eCommerce websites can make money. Trust me, that could not be further from the truth. Blogs can also earn a lot of money, especially with the lucrative affiliate plans out there.

Thus, the first choice is to actually decide what type of website you are going to make and what the main focus will be.

Once you decide on a website type, also come up with a few ideas of what the website will look like and the type of content you reproduce. This is assuming you will release content.

If not, then think about the products or services you will provide.

Have a good mental image and understanding of the website you want to build before going forward.

Step 2: Pick a Web Host and Domain Name

With all of that in mind, the first real step of building any website is deciding on a web hosting company. A web host is responsible for renting out a web server for your website and maintaining it to operate 24/7.

Every time a visitor connects to your website, they are really connecting to that web server. The good news for you is that web hosting is extremely competitive, which has driven the price down considerably since the early days of the web.

However, this is also a curse, because all web hosts are not equal. And that’s a big problem because a web host determines your website’s performance.

Here at GreenGeeks, we strive to deliver the best experience possible, which is why we were recently recognized as one of the top web hosts in the industry. This is because the services and support we offer customers are unmatched.

What really separates us from the competition is our commitment to the environment. For every customer that signs up with us, we plant a tree. And most importantly, we carefully calculate the energy each website uses and purchase three times that in renewable energy.

Thus, the websites we host are actually carbon-negative.

You will also need to select a domain name. This is the URL of your website, and it should be short, easy to remember, and catchy. Some web hosts will charge extra for the domain name, but we offer it for free for the first year.

Step 3: Choose A CMS (WordPress)

Now you need to choose a platform to build your website on, and while there is a lot to choose from, there is one that stands above the rest: WordPress.

WordPress currently powers over 40 percent of the internet. Or in other words, 40 percent of all websites are made with WordPress. And the only way this platform could achieve those numbers is if it really works.

And trust me when I say, it really does.

Unlike most CMS, WordPress does not require a single line of code. Instead, the theme and plugins you choose do all of the heavy lifting. Most of what you will do includes changing settings and creating content.

Most importantly, WordPress is flexible enough to build any kind of website and has the tools you need to do it. For instance, if you want to build an eCommerce site, the WooCommerce plugin will take care of everything.

Due to its customization, ease of use, and the fact that it is free, it is the best choice.

Step 4: Choose a Theme and Plugins

I mentioned that the theme and plugins you choose will do most of the work for you, and now it’s time to choose which ones to use.

A theme is a collection of style sheets and templates that determine the appearance of your website. In the past, this would consist of complicated code and would require hiring a developer to do it, assuming you do not have the knowledge yourself.

In contrast, all you need to do is pick a theme and your website’s appearance will change instantaneously without editing the code. That said, there are a lot of customization options available.

A plugin is a small software package that adds specific functionality to your website. The best analogy for them is that they are the equivalent of apps for your smartphone. And there is one for just about anything.

Now normally, I would suggest which plugins to install, but since the type of website you choose to make will determine the tool you need, the best advice I can give is to search for what plugins your website type needs.

For example, it wouldn’t make much sense to install WooCommerce if you don’t plan on setting up an online store. Choose plugins and themes that fit the plans you have for your website.

Step 5: Market Your Website

One thing that should be obvious about your website is that you cannot make money without visitors. This is why every website invests money into a marketing strategy, and starting a website is the most crucial time to do so.

For instance, let’s say you run a blog. The truth that no one wants to admit is that you could spend months or even a year without making a single penny. This is because growing organically takes a lot of time and a lot of content.

Marketing speeds up the process and can help give your website a running start.

The good news is that there are a ton of ways to market your website, and many of them do not cost anything. For instance, consider the 20+ social media networks out there. You can build a profile on each one to help promote the site.

Share it with friends and family, and you might build up an initial audience that much quicker.

You can also take advantage of paid options like Google Ads or Facebook Ads. While this can be more expensive, they also offer some free credits that you should take advantage of.

The bottom line is you need to get the word out about your website. In not, it will be exceedingly difficult to make money with a website.

How to Monetize a Website

Now with your website built up and ready to go, it’s time to start thinking about how you can earn some money. The good news is that the number of monetization options for websites is staggering.

The bad news is that many of them require a solid amount of web traffic.

This is the main issue new websites face. They need to build a community and can barely make a few dollars a month in the meantime.

Let’s take a look at four of the easiest ways to make money.

1. Advertisement

If we’re talking about the easiest methods, running advertisements is as easy as it comes. All you need to do is place the ads on your website and you will begin earning money, with a couple of caveats.

The real money does not come from visitors seeing the ads. It comes from them interacting, or more specifically, clicking on the ad. This is why running ads that match your visitor’s interests matters.

It’s one of the main reasons that Google Adsense is so successful. The algorithm uses search history, along with other information, to display advertisements that visitors are interested in.

Thus, the platform increases the click-through rate (CTR). This helps you as well as Google make more money.

However, many visitors today will use adblockers on their browsers. This will make it impossible for them to see the ad. While larger websites can make thousands from ads, new websites will be lucky to make a penny a month.

2. Affiliate Programs

Larger companies are always looking for shoutouts. And this has essentially become its own business in the form of affiliate programs. These programs pay you to link to a product or service, and if a sale is made, you get a small commission.

This can be extremely lucrative if you can combine a good affiliate deal with a popular topic. And it’s completely possible to quickly make a lot of money if you have the visitor traffic.

And large websites like Amazon have made that even easier.

For instance, let’s say you start a blog about video games in which you review them. You could sign up for the Amazon affiliate program and start including affiliate links to the games that you review.

This allows you to create content for your website while enticing visitors to buy a product that you can profit from.

3. Dropshipping (eCommerce)

Running an online store is the first thing that people imagine when they think of ways a website can make money. It can be extremely profitable but calling it an easy way to make money is a bit of a stretch.

It takes a lot of effort to successfully manage an online store more than most people realize. But there is one way to make it much easier, and that’s creating a Dropshipping business.

Dropshipping is essentially an online store where you do not have to actually purchase any of the goods you sell until a sale is made, or deal with shipping and handling.

Essentially, you are the middle man.

Your website sells products that a distributor carries, and when a sale is made, the item ships from their warehouse.

4. Donations

Odds are if you visit a lot of blogs, you might have seen it mentioned that they accept donations. This can be in the form of a Patreon subscription or a “Buy Me A Coffee” button, and the truth is, it can really help your financial situation.

Newer websites often fail because they cannot make a profit even if they produce great content. With a small donation from visitors, they can help support a website creator and inspire him or her to continue developing great content.

Of course, the term donation is often misused in these cases. For instance, take a Patreon account. Most of these typically offer patrons rewards or access to content earlier. Perhaps the creator offers locked content for supporters.

Thus, the donators are actually getting something for those contributions.

And it’s not just blogs, either. Look at your favorite content creators on YouTube or streamers on Twitch. Viewers are happy to donate a small amount of money to content creators they enjoy.

It helps buy better equipment and support future content.

Final Thoughts

Starting a website to make money is normal, and you can find a lot of success. However, you need to be prepared for an uphill battle. I assure you, your website is not going to be making money for a few months.

In most cases, you will lose money.

However, if you stick with it, your website could end up netting returns tenfold or even a hundredfold. The earning potential from a website is huge, and your website can definitely achieve success as long as it produces solid content.

How do you plan to monetize your website?

The post How to Easily Build a Website to Make You Money appeared first on GreenGeeks.

This is particularly helpful for specific events like baby showers. One of the big parts of a baby shower is to provide necessary items for the baby before it arrives, and a gift registry website is a great way to help keep it organized.

Today, we are going to look at how to build a gift registry website for any event.

How to Build a Gift Registry Website

Websites all start out the same. You need a web host, domain name, and a platform to build it on. This doesn’t change. But what really separates them is the type of website and the content and design you choose.

In this case, it’s all about displaying the gifts you want to display.

Step 1: Plan An Event

Unlike other types of websites, this one is completely built around the type of event you or someone else is hosting. For instance, if you want to build a wedding registry site, your website is going to reflect the wedding and probably request some goodies for your new home.

Once the event is in the early stages of planning, start thinking immediately about what gifts you would like to receive. Now fair warning, you shouldn’t ask for overly expensive things for typical events. This can actually lead guests to decline invites.

In reality, a wedding registry website should be fully operational when invites are sent out so guests know what to bring. This also helps give them time to sort out what others might be bringing.

Thus, planning the event is the true first step.

Step 2: Pick A Web Host and Domain Name

Now on to the first real step of building any website, picking a web host. For many, this is the most important choice you can make as this directly determines the performance of your website.

So what is a web host?

A web hosting company is responsible for renting out servers to customers to store or host their website. They also directly monitor and maintain this server to ensure that it is running 24/7.

This is why the internet always works despite what time it is.

The web hosting industry is extremely competitive, which is great news for anyone interested in building a website. This is because you are going to get great service at an affordable price. That said, not every web host is the same.

That’s why here at GreenGeeks, we pride ourselves on the service we deliver customers. Our support team is already on standby ready to assist customers and our servers are well maintained and equipped with SSD technology.

Thus ensuring your website is lightning fast.

However, we go far beyond this with our commitment to the environment. Unlike the rest of our industry, we take environmental concerns seriously. We carefully calculate the energy we use and buy three times that in clean, renewable energy.

This ensures the websites we host are actually carbon negative.

You also have to pick a domain name during this process, which is basically the name of your website. In most cases, it will just be the name of the person and the event, but you might get creative with it.

Luckily at GreenGeeks, we provide a free domain name for the first year, so there’s no extra cost.

Step 3: Pick A CMS (WordPress)

There are a ton of platforms to build a website with nowadays, and many of them are great. However, for a wedding gift website, your not looking for anything complex., which is why I highly recommend using WordPress.

WordPress is the most popular CMS in the world and actually accounts for over 40% of all websites. Odds are your favorite websites were built using it, and that’s because it’s extremely versatile and doesn’t require knowing a single line of coding.

Thus, it’s perfect for beginners.

WordPress has two secret tools up its sleeve: plugins and themes. Plugins are the equivalent of what apps are for your smartphone. They add specific features to the website in a few clicks of the mouse that would otherwise require coding.

Themes are a collection of templates that dictate the appearance of your website. You basically pick the one that fits your website ideas and you’re good to go. Both of these have thousands of free and paid options available, so the choices are almost limitless.

Installing WordPress takes less than a minute.

Step 4: Pick Plugins and A Theme

To help you get started I’ve assembled a few plugins and themes that you may want to consider using. This is only a small sampling of what WordPress can off you:

NM Gift Registry and Wishlist Lite

The NM Gift Registry and Wishlist Lite plugin are perfect for building an online wedding registry site or any other kind of registry layout. This plugin allows you to assemble a wishlist and display it within WordPress.

You can display images of the gifts, direct links to the stores that sell them, and even add the quantity of the item you need. Guests can also interact with the wishlist site to say what they are bringing to help prevent duplicate gifts.

Events Made Easy

A big part of hosting an event is knowing who is coming and isn’t, which means you need an RSVP tool. Events Made Easy is a great choice for your website. With it, you can set up a full RSVP system on your website.

It even enables you to send reminders to guests about the event. It also comes with a lot of other features that are great for paid events, like concerts and whatnot. This means that most of those features may be useful.

VW Event Planner

VW Event Planner is a theme dedicated to planning events. I know, who would have guessed with a name like that? It is very customizable and can match any occasion by changing a few colors and adding images.

Of course, this isn’t exclusively for showing off gifts you want. This can host your entire website, which is great for larger events like weddings that usually have a dedicated site.

Nikah Wedding

An excellent choice for a theme is to match the event. Thus, if you were creating a gift registry website for a wedding, then a wedding theme is perfect for your website, like Nikah Wedding.

This theme is stylish, looks great, and is fully responsive. It has plenty of room for images, which is definitely going to be the focus for many weddings and other events in general.

Step 5: Send Out Invites

With all of the plugins set up and a theme in place, all that’s left is to send out the link to guests. And the best way to do it is to include it on an invite through something like a social media page.

For instance, many events have dedicated Facebook pages or groups. Sending out a link to the website here is a great option. That said, for formal events like weddings, you are probably going to send out a traditional paper invite in the mail.

Mostly, because people like to keep hard-copy elements as mementos. It’s kind of hard to store a digital invite in a scrapbook or photo album.

Regardless of how you send the invites, make sure the link is included.

Careful What You Ask For

While some may think that asking for specific gifts is greedy. In reality, it is appropriate at some events. That said, don’t get too picky and aim too high. These gifts are in good nature and sometimes guests can’t afford to get you a 4k tv.

If you are requesting a gift make sure it is reasonable for the event.

The post How to Easily Create a Gift Registry Website appeared first on GreenGeeks.

You don’t have to build a full trading platform, you simply need to learn how to make a stock market website so that you can offer up information, articles, quotes, charts, and more. There are all sorts of things you can offer if you build and design a stock trading website.

In this article, I will show you how to start a stock market website by giving you a step-by-step look at what it takes to get it done. Follow the steps in the order they are presented and you will be on your way to having your own website for stock trading in no time at all.

What You Need to Build a Stock Market Website

Everyone is different when it comes to the process they take when designing something. However, when you are building a website for stock trading, it is a good idea to have a few things in place before you start the actual build process.

The first thing to start with is a checklist. When you have a checklist in front of you, it helps you narrow down the items you need to have done before building the actual stock market website.

You may already have some ideas. If so, great! If not, here are some items to add to your checklist. Having these things done or having an idea of what you want to add will make the entire process much easier.

Stock Market Website Checklist

• Will you add a trading platform
• Live market quotes
• Content (have some ready)
• Create a posting schedule
• Newsfeed
• Come up with a website name
• Logo/Branding
• Create a professional email
• Decide on a domain  (below)
• Find web hosting (below)
• User registration

Your checklist may include some or all of these. Either way, this is a great way to store your ideas and make them a reality.

Choose a Domain Name and Web Hosting

The first step to take after you have your website checklist in place is finding a domain name and then getting a good web host for your site. Something you might want to remember when you are choosing is that you may not be able to get the exact domain name that you want.

Remember, there are already millions of websites online. For this reason, oftentimes the exact domain name or extension may not be available. There is, however, a way around this.

If the domain name you want is not available, then try searching related terms, or names with different domain extensions. At this point, there are so many different domain name extensions available, that there is a very good chance you will be able to find one that you are comfortable with.

Once you have a domain name, it is time to choose a web host. You want to pick a web host that has everything you need to help you get your website for stock market trading up and running.

GreenGeeks not only gives you all the tools you need to build a fantastic stock market website, but they also provide the very best customer service around. An added bonus is that you can also get a domain name through them.

Having your domain name and web hosting in one place makes tying it all together, building your site, and managing it over the long run much easier.

Use WordPress as Your CMS

There are actually several really good CMS platforms (Content Management System) available for you to choose from. Everyone has a different opinion, but I suggest that you use WordPress to build your new site. There are a few great reasons behind this choice.

First off, WordPress is an open-source CMS. This means that thousands of developers are able to contribute to it. The system is user-friendly, secure, and continuing to grow in popularity. As of right now, it is the most popular CMS in the world, with over 40% of the sites online using it.

Since the platform is so popular, you won’t have to look very hard to find WordPress tutorials and resources, as there are communities and message boards all over the place. These will help you through just about any issues you have.

WordPress security is also top-notch. The CMS is built on solid code and is very secure right out of the box. There are also a lot of things you can do the strengthen the security of your site.

Finally, WordPress installation is very easy. You have two choices; you can install it using the one-click Softaculous installer that is provided in your web host cPanel, or you can install it manually. Either way, you will be up, running, and ready to create very quickly.

Choosing WordPress Themes and Plugins

WordPress has no shortage of great themes that you can use to build and design your new stock market website. This is also true when it comes to plugins. There are literally thousands and thousands of both free and paid themes and plugins that you can access when using WordPress.

That being said, it is never a bad idea to try and find a theme and plugins that are niche-specific. In this case, you are building a stock market website. So, try and find a theme and some plugins that will work perfectly with what you are trying to accomplish.

Also, there are certain plugins that every site should have in order to run smoothly. However, try and find some that are a perfect fit for your niche to help engage your audience.

You may already have a theme and some plugins ready to roll. If not, here are some suggestions for you that will fit perfectly with websites for stock trading.

Financity

Financity is a financial theme that is perfect for someone who wants to build a stock market website. it provides tons of layers to build on, multiple page layout options, and plenty of pre-built theme styles and pages.

You can use the built-in tools to help create a fantastic website. There are also countless color and style combinations available directly in the theme. The theme gives you access to a built-in GDPR tool that is ready to go, along with a page builder.

Give this theme a look for your stock market site.

Finance Experts

Finance Experts is a very flexible and professional finance-based WordPress theme that is also perfect for building a stock market website. There is excellent support and documents within the theme. It also comes with powerful tools and functionality.

This theme provides you with over 28 pre-built demos and other page layout styles. It comes complete with the WP Bakery Visual Composer page builder, it is WooCommerce ready, and also has Slider Revolution to help you build slides and layouts.

All in all, this is a fantastic theme to use.

Stock Market Overview

If you are looking for a free, powerful, professional plugin that provides you with a ton of stock market information, then Stock Market Overview should be part of your website. Once downloaded, you have both a widget and a block option for Gutenberg.

Both options allow you to display a categorized list of equities, market indices, currencies, and commodities with their prices and variations.

With over 65 different stock exchanges and a large number of market indices, currencies, and commodities supported, this plugin should be a must-have for any stock market website.

Stock Portfolio Tracker

The Stock Portfolio Tracker plugin is a great addition to any stock market website that allows user registration. Your users can input their portfolio data and they can track how it is doing right from your website.

Users will have the ability to track their portfolios not at the end of the day, but in real-time. They can also share portfolios across social media and interact with other users.

If you have a stock market website that allows user registration, then this is a perfect plugin to add.

Marketing Your Website

So, you have your domain name, web hosting, CMS, theme, and plugins. You should be at a point of deciding the final steps to take once your site is ready to go live. The main thing to consider at this point is how you are going to market your stock market site and get it out there to the masses.

Marketing your website can be daunting if you don’t have a purpose in place. That being said, if you are able to come up with some good marketing ideas, then getting your site out there for people to see and interact with is a lot easier.

There are actually quite a few fantastic website marketing options below for you to consider. Implement some of these and you will find that your site will start gaining traction a lot faster.

• Use Social Media and Share
• Run Ads Online and on Social Media
• Build Social Profiles for Your Stock Market Website
• Add Social Sharing Buttons to all Posts
• Build a Newsletter Email List
• Spend Time in Trading Forums
• Guest Post on Relevant Sites
• Allow Others to Guest Post on Your Site
• Run a Giveaway or Content
• Add a Forum to Your Site

Conclusion 

There are all kinds of different tools and steps you can use to build a stock market site. Hopefully, the methods, tools, and steps above give you a great starting point and a solid structure.

Try to follow the steps above in the order they are given. This way, you will be able to create your stock market website in the easiest way possible. Remember, the checklist is very important, as it will give you some good options to consider during the site-building process.

Good luck on your journey! Drop us a line and let us know how the process worked for you.

The post How to Build a Stock Market Website to Engage an Audience appeared first on GreenGeeks.

That said, you can use it to also distribute ebooks for free, and the interface you can create works well and looks great. Thus, it’s perfect for any website that wants to distribute ebooks to visitors.

Today, I will demonstrate how to create an ebook shop in WordPress.

Ebooks Are Good for Business

Ebooks offer websites a lot of advantages, which is why you should consider writing your own, or at least consider paying someone to write it for you.

One of the most important aspects of a blog is its reputation and authority on the subject matter they cover. For example, no one wants to read stock advice from someone who has no experience trading stocks. But they would be interested in hearing that information from someone with 30 years of experience.

And, guess what? If you have a book published under your name, you look like an expert.

Of course, ebooks are not just for proving your knowledge on the subject. They can be a great source of income for talented writers that have a dedicated following. While everyone would love to make it big as an author, not everyone can.

But that doesn’t mean their work isn’t good enough to be sold. And this is especially true for short stories or very niche topics.

How to Make An Ebook Store in WordPress

Step 1: Install Ebook Shop

The Ebook Shop plugin is a terrific tool for anyone that plans to sell or distribute ebooks on their website. It supports the most popular payment options like PayPal and Stripe, supports 7 languages, and is very easy to use. And this is just what the free version does.

If you plan on actually selling ebooks, I highly recommend upgrading to the Pro version. It allows users to encrypt their ebooks and allows you to place watermarks in them to help prevent theft. On top of this, you can also integrate Woocommerce with your ebook store.

I will only be covering the free version in this tutorial.

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

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

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

Step 2: Configure the Settings

You can immediately start uploading ebooks. But before that, I recommend configuring the settings. After all, you don’t want to mistakingly put an ebook up for sale without setting up a payment method.

On the left-hand admin panel, click on Settings and select the Ebook Store option. Alternatively, you can click on Ebooks Store and select the Settings option.

The settings section for this plugin consists of 8 tabs that include General, Integrations, PayPal, Fonts, PDF-Protection, MailChimp, Templates, and a coupon section. The majority of these settings are not available in the free version.

However, the one you absolutely need to set up is the PayPal settings. This will enable your PayPal account to receive the payments for books. Click on the PayPal tab, fill in the information, and click on the “Save Changes” button.

You should also check out the Templates tab. Here you can customize the email messages that customers receive, which includes a link to the ebook. You might also notice at the top of the page, the plugin is asking you to create a “Thank You” page.

If you have already done this, you can also customize the message displayed on it here, as well as any order cancellation messages.

There are some other settings like font size, link download limit, language, and more that you can configure. But for the most part, the rest of the settings are locked behind the Pro version.

After customizing these settings, you are now ready to add ebooks to the website.

Step 3: Add Ebooks

Adding ebooks to your store is very simple, which is a great thing if you plan on uploading a lot of books. That said, you must do so individually.

Click on Ebook Store and select the Add New Ebook option.

At the top, you can add a title, and you will see a text editor where you can input the description. It can also be used as an excerpt, but the goal should be to make readers interested in downloading or purchasing the ebook.

Scroll down below the editor and you will see some options regarding uploading your materials. In the free version, the only choice available is the PDF option. Click on the “Choose File” button and select the ebook you wish to upload.

Note: All ebooks you upload are subject to the upload limit of your website. If your file exceeds the upload limit, you must increase it.

On the right side of that, you can enter the price of the ebook, date, the number of pages, and currency. And at the bottom, you can upload a book cover image.

Note: The free plugin does not allow you to give away eBooks for free. It will automatically assign the lowest value possible. This is problematic if you forget to set the price as well since it will automatically be set to a low value. Always double-check your prices.

Simply fill out all of the information in this section and click on the “Publish” button when you are done.

Repeat these steps for each ebook you want to include. There is no limit on the number of ebooks you can add.

Step 4: Display the Ebooks

Once the ebooks have been uploaded and all of the settings configured, it’s time to display them. Like most plugins, this is done via shortcode.

To locate the shortcode for your ebooks, click on Ebook Store and select the Ebooks option.

On the right side of the page, you will see an “Embed Code for posts and pages” column, which contains the shortcode. Copy the shortcode and paste it in a shortcode block on the appropriate post or page.

Here is a sample view of what one looks like without a book cover image:

For reference, that $0.01 is the smallest price you can list an ebook on the free version. It is also the automatic value assigned if the price is left at $0.

Congratulations on learning how to sell ebooks in WordPress with the Ebook Store plugin.

Build Your Reputation And Make Money

Ebooks are a great way to build a reputation and you can make quite a bit of profit off of them. And with the Ebook Store plugin, it’s easy to sell them on your website. However, you can also reach out to other content creators and collaborators to sell their ebooks as well.

Trust me, if you have a popular website, many creators will be happy to have their ebook sold on your storefront.

How easy did you find the Ebook Store plugin to use? Do you plan on selling other content creator’s ebooks?

The post How to Sell Digital Books with Ebook Store in WordPress appeared first on GreenGeeks.

Why Have a Podcast?

There are several reasons as to why you may want to start a podcast or keep one going on your WordPress website. Many people believe that starting a podcast will help their business grow. Truth be told, they are correct.

However, there are also other reasons to have a podcast. They range from simply wanting to connect with others and share something you are passionate about, to starting a podcast to make money.

Today, some of the most popular podcasts are those that started a while ago and have a built-in audience that has gathered over time. Don’t let that deter you. You can have a popular podcast if you put the work in and stick with it.

So where do you start? It is probably a good idea to get your podcast on your website. That way, people can listen to it there and also easily subscribe to it on the other major platforms.

Unsure how to do this? Don’t worry, today is your lucky day. In this tutorial, I am going to show you how to use a simple podcast WordPress plugin to get everything on your site where it is needed.

While there are actually several good WordPress podcast plugins available, today I will be demonstrating how to use the Seriously Simple Podcasting plugin to accomplish this.

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

How to Add Seriously Simple Podcasting

Seriously Simple Podcasting is exactly what the name says it is. It is a very simple, yet powerful plugin that you can use to set up and run WordPress podcasts directly from your website.

The plugin comes with a ton of built-in options and functionality. Perhaps most appealing is that this plugin is free to use on any level, as there is no pro version. The only cost you may incur is if you choose to host your audio files with a dedicated podcast hosting provider.

That being said, this is very common, as just like the case is with video, it is better to host those types of files outside your WordPress site for various reasons.

Once you install this podcast plugin for WordPress, you will notice how easy it is to use. The plugin is straight-forward with its setup instructions, has plenty of advanced features, and delivers a ton of customization options.

Every plugin feature is fully functional no matter who you choose as your podcast hosting provider. Remember, it is recommended that you host these files on a dedicated podcast hosting provider, but it is not required.

Seriously Simple Podcasting gives you more control over your content so you can start podcasting without limits. The plugin is stacked with great features. Some of the best ones include:

• Ability to Manage RSS Feeds from WordPress
• Manage Multiple Podcasts
• Customize the Embedded Media Player
• Use Custom Widgets to Create Playlists
• Display Playlists Anywhere
• Publish Your Podcast Episodes on Any Post Type
• Supports Video Podcasting
• Free Analytics Add-ons and Integrations
• Imports, Migrations, Redirects All Made Simple

As you can see, Seriously Simple Podcasting has left no stone unturned. You basically have all the tools imaginable to start and run a podcast with WordPress

Let’s take a look at how to get the plugin installed and running. After that, we can go over the configuration and settings together to get it running.

1. Install and Activate the Plugin

In order to start a podcast in WordPress, you first need to install and activate the plugin. You can do this by going to the Plugins page in your WordPress admin dashboard.

Just use the search field to find the plugin by name and install and activate it right from there.

Once the plugin has been installed and activated, you want to access the main settings and configuration page to set it all up. You can do this by clicking on Podcast > Settings.

You will see this is now an available option in the left side menu area of the dashboard after you activate the plugin.

This takes you directly to set up, where you can configure everything and get the plugin running live on your site. There are quite a few options to go through. Even though it isn’t hard, let’s go over setup together and get your podcast up and running with Seriously Simple Podcasting.

Note: If you are using the Gutenberg block editor, the plugin will provide three blocks when it is activated. These blocks are:

• seriously-simple-podcasting/castos-player
• seriously-simple-podcasting/audio-player
• seriously-simple-podcasting/podcast-list

2. Setup Seriously Simple Podcasting

At this point, you are on the main settings and configuration page for the WordPress podcast plugin. You can see that there are eight main tabs to go through. These include:

• General
• Feed Details
• Security
• Redirection
• Publishing
• Hosting
• Import
• Extensions

Let’s go ahead and run through these together. This should give you a pretty good feel for how it all works.

General

The “General” tab has all the main settings and configuration options for the Seriously Simple Podcasting plugin. Choose items like post types, visibility, colors, and a bunch of other options. Fill these out how you want them to be for your podcast.

Feed Details

Arguably, this is perhaps the most important tab to set properly and configure. All the data and input you add here is used in the feed for your podcast so your listeners will know more about it before they subscribe.

Surprisingly, a lot of these fields are optional. However, if you want your podcast to show as professional as possible, then fill everything out as best you can.

Security

There are several security options available to apply to your podcast. Go ahead and set these in how you see fit.

Redirection

If you want or need to move your podcast from a different location, then you will find those applicable settings under this tab.

Publishing

Here, under this tab, you see all the publishing options for setup.

Hosting

If you are using Castos (recommended hosting provider for podcasts using Seriously Simple Podcasting), then you can fill in all of that information under this tab.

Import

A one-time import option is offered for those wanting to import already existing podcasts into their Castos account and tie them all together. You can do all of that under this tab.

Extensions

Here, you see all the available and recommended extension for the plugin. If you are interested in these, then download and activate them from here.

That’s it! You have been through all the configurations and settings. Make sure you double-check that everything is saved. At this point, your podcast system is up and running.

Let’s add a podcast episode real quick.

3. Add a Podcast Episode

Adding a podcast episode and getting it onto your WordPress site is very simple. Click on the “Add New” link located under the “Podcast” tab in the left menu area of the dashboard.

When the add new episode editor comes up, the first thing to do is add a title and some podcast episode info. Go ahead and do that first.

When that is done, scroll down some until you see the “Podcast Episode Details” section. Enter all the relevant details for this particular podcast episode.

That’s it. Publish your podcast episode and it is live with everything else. You can repeat this process and add as many episodes as you want.

Final Thoughts

A plugin like Seriously Simple Podcasting will allow you to build and expand your podcast across your WordPress website. It also makes it available for following and downloading across major platforms.

If you have ever dreamt of building and maintaining a WordPress podcast, then this is the plugin for you. Have fun with it, create, be unique, and start to build an audience. If you keep at it, you will find that you have built a nice little audience in no time at all.

Have you been thinking about starting a podcast and putting it on your website? Is there is a different solution that you are looking at as opposed to Seriously Simple Podcasting?

The post How to Use Seriously Simple Podcasting with WordPress appeared first on GreenGeeks.