Web Design and Marketing Resources

Wordpress Tutorials

We recommend Wordpress as a general CMS as well as blog platform. It's well designed, well supported, and user-friendly.

	Installing Wordpress Step by Step Learn how to install Wordpress from the control panel, install two essential plugins, and install your first theme - all through the Wordpress interface without touching FTP.
	Five Essential Wordpress Plugins Spam fighting, traffic statistics, a contact form, one-click theme installation, and a few more goodies.
	Choosing a Wordpress Theme There are many free (and some commercial) themes out there - we'll discuss what to look for, free vs premium themes, simple themes for customizing, and links to few of our favorites.

Straightforward information to help you get started.

	Introduction to E-commerce A roadmap to the options for credit card processing for small websites. Includes recommendations of shopping cart software.
	8 Tips for a Successful Website Learn how to think strategically in developing your website.
	8 Tips for a User-Friendly Website Learn how to give your viewer a better experience.
	6 Tips to Rank Higher in Search Engines Learn how to elevate your natural rankings in search engines like Google.

A gathering of relevant resources on the web that we could think of that might help our customers.

	Customer Directory This section contains links to some of our current hosting clients. Listing is free for current clients—just submit your listing to add your link. To change or remove your listing, please contact us.
	27 Free Tools for Webmasters Free and commercial software recommendations for FTP, image editing, and website development, as well as links to online tools to help with designing and promoting your website.
	Where to Learn More About Web Design, Marketing, and SEO There is a wealth of free information available on every topic related to creating, maintaining, growing, and promoting websites. Here are links to our favorites.
	Online Resources for Non-profits Links to resources especially for non-profits who are operating on the web.

Our customers often ask about related services, so we've compiled this list of other software and solutions we recommend checking out:

HTML editor: We hear good things about CoffeeCup Software. They have a free version of many of their products. Folks also recommend Komposer and Notepad++ which are both free.
Web Design Software: Adobe Photoshop & Dreamweaver (combined in Creative Suite 3 for Web) are the standard (although not cheap).
Free business cards can be obtained from VistaPrint. (We've heard mixed reviews of their paid services though).
If you need a logo and you can't afford a freelancer or a design firm, check out LogoWorks . It's a bit of a factory, but it's cost-effective. They also do web design, brochures, etc.
If you need a newsletter management system, Constant Contact is an industry standard. You can try them out with a 60 day free trial.