Archive for wordpress consultants grass valley

Video Tutorial: Add your custom CSS styles to your stylesheet

Learn CSSWhat is CSS?

It stands for cascading stylesheet and when we say “I want to learn CSS” or “I want to modify my theme’s styles” we are referring to the process of adding custom style information to the bottom of the stylesheet of our child theme.

Why at the bottom? Because that is the way cascading stylesheets work. Whatever styles are placed at the bottom of style.css will override the styles above.

Learning CSS is fun and easy (especially since if you make a mistake, it will not break your site like working with PHP could). This video tutorial takes you through the process of modifying the styles that come with your theme, which in this case, is iThemes Builder Air (a custom child theme).

There are lots of great free tutorials available through doing a simple Google search for the type of style you are trying to accomplish. There are also online classes you can take for learning CSS more in depth. I plan to add some additional resources to this post in the future.

This tutorial is part of a series of e-courses created by Cat Scholz to empower you with using the self-hosted version of WordPress to achieve your internet marketing goals. Get more information and/or sign up:

Checkout Level 1 (free)
Checkout Level 2 (on sale)
Checkout Level 3 (on sale)

What is WordPress (self-hosted version)?

What is WordPress (self-hosted version)? The WordPress self-hosted software (not WordPress.com or WordPress MU) I am referring to is FREE, open-source software that…

  • is constantly evolving by an international community of developers (not Microsoft or Adobe)
  • is the #1 blogging software available (and is also used for websites)
  • anyone can download and install on their own web hosting (I use SiteGround)
  • is easy to learn how to use (FAR easier to use than Dreamweaver!)
  • is highly customizable with WordPress plugins and themes (learn which ones to use!)
  • must be kept up-to-date and be backed up regularly (the not-so-fun, but still easy part)
  • can be used for e-commerce, embedding audio and video and as a CMS (content mangagement system) in addition to blogging (you can make money easily)

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.
Watch the What is WordPress? video:

Top 5 posts from Cat’s Web Weave

I looked at my “All Time” Stats today and discovered the top 5 posts that have gotten the most views since I started my blog.  Here they are:

Add a feedback tab to your site

Sync your blog with your Facebook Page

Free alternative to Dreamweaver

Free alternative to BrowserCam

ProPlayer Plugin

Have you found any of these posts particularly useful in your work?  Leave me a comment.

Class Preview Video: What will be covered in the Intro. to WordPress Class?

In this video, I briefly outline the subjects I will covering in my upcoming Introduction to WordPress class in Grass Valley, CA.

Why use WordPress (self-hosted)?

There are many great reasons to use a self-hosted version of WordPress for developing your website and blog.  Here are my top 10:

  1. Google loves WordPress (and blogs in general) because search engines favor sites that have regularly created fresh content.  See my post on SEO.
  2. WordPress is interactive.  Visitors can comment on pages and posts.  You can create a community around your business with your site.
  3. You can organize content with categories and visitors can view or subscribe to the categories they want to.
  4. You can automatically sync your content to social websites such as Facebook with the RSS feed.
  5. WordPress sites can be translatable into many languages.
  6. WordPress sites are easy to update (far easier than reglular html or Joomla).
  7. Multiple authors and editors can contribute to writing content and posting photos or video (you can DELEGATE!)
  8. You can add PayPal buttons or a shopping cart to monetize your site (you can MAKE MONEY!)
  9. You can embed video from YouTube easily (YouTube is second to Google as a search engine now!)
  10. WordPress is open-source and is constantly evolving (it’s always getting better!)
  11. OK one more: WordPress is easy to learn!

There are more advanced reasons that concern templates, tags and permalinks, but the 10 reasons listed above should satisfy most folks who need a fast and easy way to get their business website up and running.

Here is a screenshot of what WordPress looks like from the back-end:

Live in Nevada County and want to learn more about WordPress in person?  Come to my free class.

What is involved with a Web Weaver monthly retainer agreement?

A Web Weaver™ monthly retainer agreement is a written document and mutually beneficial exchange of monies and services, co-created between 2 parties through dialogue and email.  The monetary exchange is pre-paid through a recurring PayPal transaction or with check or cash.

The retainer agreement allows a client to purchase a set number of Web Weaving™ hours per month, thereby engaging the Web Weaving services regularly over a period of time, with a minimum commitment of 6 months.  Hours may not be carried over to the next month if not used.

Making a retainer agreement represents a higher level of commitment from both parties to an ongoing working partnership that supports successful outcomes (such as increased website traffic, growing an email list, growing sales, improving social media reach, etc.) through ongoing site improvements, attention and communication about the effectiveness about the Web Weaving services applied to the WordPress site.

Read More →

What is Web Weaving?

“Web Weavingâ„¢” is a term that describes a process of blending skill sets for the purposes of comprehensive internet marketing strategy.  A Web Weaverâ„¢ may use some or all of the following skills to market a product, service or business online:

  • WordPress
  • Search Engine Marketing/Optimization
  • Podcasting with audio and video
  • Social Media: YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and more

Need to delegate internet marketing to someone else or just don’t have the time to do it?  Hire a Web Weaver™!

Catherine Scholz synthesizes the best internet marketing tools available: WordPress, SEO, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, podcasting to iTunes and more.

She also trains other Web Weaversâ„¢ how to use these tools to jump start their internet marketing strategy.

Hire Catherine to be your Web Weaverâ„¢ (monthly retainers start at $144/month), or sign up a member of your staff to learn how to become a Web Weaverâ„¢ for your business.