Blog
Some Free Web Design Icons
Here are few icons that you're free to use if you want. I knocked them up this morning for a web design project I'm working on and thought it would be nice to share.
Magento Contact Form Not Working
Recently I had a problem with a Magento installation with my Magento contact form was working. The symptoms were that the Magento Contact form was displayed correctly, but when submitted no email was sent. The Issue was traced to the form action which had nothing in...
Concrete5 Review – Open Source CMS’s
This is my Concrete5 review, the second of my content management system (CMS) reviews comparing alternatives to Wordpress.
The system can be found here: http://www.concrete5.org
I have never come across Concrete5 before and don’t have any preconceptions about the system.
So here is my Concrete5 review.
How to Supercharge Your Tea Break
I read an interesting article on the Harvard Business Review Website recently about research that finds that Coffee Breaks Don’t Boost Productivity After All.ding?
The findings of this report say that you only get the expected benefits if you do something work related.
CMS Made Simple review – Open Source CMS’s
This is my CMS Made Simple review, the first of my content management system (CMS) reviews comparing alternatives to Wordpress.
CMS Made Simple (CMSMS) is an open source PHP based CMS first released in 2004. It was designed primarily for editable static-ish websites rather than blogs. However CMSMS has plugins which enable other implementations such as blogs and ecommerce.
Which is the Best Free CMS?
I’ve been building websites for several years now, and my default setting, like many others, has become to use Wordpress for nearly everything. Wordpress has such a wide user base now that it powers “over 60 million” websites (source wordpress.org).
In reality the true number of Wordpress powered sites is probably far more than 60 million, but whatever the actual figure, it’s a large portion of the web.
It set me wondering whether we all use Wordpress so much because it’s the best, or just because of the internet herd mentality that says we need to do what others are doing.
Why I’ve switched (mostly) from ManageWP to InfiniteWP
Managing a lot of different Wordpress sites can be a daunting prospect. I don’t have nearly as many sites as lots of marketers and yet I still always used to struggle with keeping up to date with Wordpress, Plugin and Theme updates.
InfiniteWP and ManageWP [affiliate link] are both applications that take away a lot of the hard work of managing your Wordpress sites. You don’t have to log in to each admin to check for updates; with each service they’re all managed from central control panel.
In this article I’m going to discuss the similarities and differences between the 2 services and tell you why, while I’m signed up to both services, InfiniteWP is now my “go to” Wordpress utility.
Why running an online business is like a game of rugby
I was at rugby training the other day and I was struck by how similar the advice for rugby players is to the advice I’d give to people starting up and running an online business.
Whether you’re an expert or a novice, you can take the advice of a rugby coach and apply it to your online business.
The 4 Best Programs for Effortless Efficiency
Following on from my recent post about “The Tricks of Effortlessly Efficient People” I’m going to quickly detail the software I use to keep track of my ever growing list of tasks and how I use them to keep the important things to the fore, and distractions “forgotten but not gone”.
In that post I mentioned the four main types of task I encounter:
- Events / Meetings
- Single Tasks
- Repeat Tasks
- Things to Remember
I use a few different pieces of software to track different types of tasks. I’ve tried a lot of different ones over the years, but these are my current favourites.
The List Tricks of Effortlessly Efficient People
Some people seem to be effortlessly efficient and get things done without having to think about it.
Well it may seem that way, but behind all super-efficient people there is some sort of list making and prioritization going on.
These people are just better at covering up the process they use to prioritize their tasks.
Some may be able to keep their tasks in their heads, though I would speculate that not many busy people are able to do this. Others may use a simple diary or notebook. Those at top levels in corporations may have a secretary or PA to look after these details for them.
In this post I’m going to discuss the types of tasks you may need to keep track of, whether in your personal or work life, and suggest ways you may be able to become effortlessly efficient.
More Ways to Monetize a WordPress Site.
Monetize is a common word in internet parlance. But it can often be the hardest part of turning a hobby site into a resource that can make you some money. Whether you’re running your site for a hobby or you’ve deliberately set it up as a money making enterprise, it’s always more enjoyable to make updates that you know are contributing to your income.
There are so many sites that are interesting, get traffic and provide a useful resource for their users. But the people who run these sites do so out of love, passion and in some cases, habit.
So what does “monetize” mean?
- Convert into or express in the form of currency.
- Adapt (a society) to the use of money.
We’re obviously looking at the first of these, unless you’re a dictator in an underdeveloped nation (and if so I think you should be looking elsewhere for advice).
It’s a way to convert the value of the content you provide for your users into an income for yourself. It’s essentially a fair trade of knowledge (content) for money.
How Not to Waste Your Day
Here are some excellent ways you can really make sure you don’t fulfill your potential.
Check your emails every 5 minutes
What we do…
You know you want to. You could get an important email from a friend, or a daily deals website, or a gadget store, or a fashion retailer, or a …., or a …….
What we should do…
Let’s face it, most of the time the emails you get during the day are a big distraction from the work you’re doing. If you’ve set up your email program to check for emails every 5 minutes, chances are that you’ll get some sort of distracting email every 5 minutes to take your mind off the task in hand. I know, it happens to me regularly.