If you aren’t a web designer, know nothing about HTML, or just haven’t been using WordPress very long… then it may not be a good idea for you to use a custom WordPress theme. Unless you follow some simple rules:

1. Hire an expert. Ok… I am not trying to promote myself here. But seriously, if you are going to use custom themes, plugins, bells & whistles… but don’t know how to maneuver WordPress CMS… then don’t touch it. Ask an expert to do it. Many experts will let you hire them on retainer so they can this “stuff” for you when you need it.

I get calls all the time… “Help! I broke my site!” 

A lot of you don’t have time to learn to fix it. So hire someone who can do it in a flash. 

2. Learn to use WordPress CMS. CMS means content management system. And really, its easy. You can never be prepared for every emergency that might happen – but if you know the basics, you can save a lot of money on retaining that expert. This means knowing some simple HTML, too. And knowing how to maneuver an FTP program like Dreamweaver or just SmartFTP. 

3. Check your site after every edit. EVERY. EDIT. If you make some changes to the image on your post… save it, then check it before doing any other edits. If you make some edits to a sidebar widget, check it every time you update. If you mess with the plugins, check it after each plugin update.

Some things to watch out for:

• Some plugins don’t work together and can break your site. 
• Some custom themes require a lot of FTP file editing.
• If you change from one theme to another – check all of your pages, some of the code might change. 
• Some themes have special “featured” articles on the homepage that use TimThumb and you will need to learn to use custom fields.

Yesterday I showed Val from Absolute Bridal & Formal this website, Marketing Helper… which is actually my blog. This was his response:

“Remember DOS?” He asked me. “Imagine that I am DOS and you are Windows… that is how beginner I am on this computer stuff. So forgive me for saying this… but your blog looks just like a website.” 

I responded to Val by affirming his correctness. A blog IS a website. 

“Well, then… why do I need a website? If I can just have a blog?”

Good question, Val! Very good question. 

What is the difference between a website and a blog? 

I think it goes back to the difference between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0.

The ‘Essential Keystrokes’ blog defined “getting social on the web” as defining the difference between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0: “In the first generation of the web, it was all about providing information to your readers – the web was a one-way street. Web 2.0 is all about the user and giving the user a voice – thus making it a two-way street.”

While a blog is a “species” of website… hehe… it is still very different.

We can say that websites are online brochures that offer information and make people aware of products and services but also create opportunities for customer convergence (signup for a newsletter, buy something, download something, etc), and SHOULD interact with search engines for new customers to get information. The more intractable a website is, the more it is Web 2.0.

Blogs not only have a very specific trend/style to them, but the key to blogs is that every page allows for comments and interaction. It is a journal – not necessarily a personal journal – but a place for information and interaction. 

The ‘Intuitive.com’ blog said it well: “The real value of blogging isn’t the capability of the tool, but the ability for each and every page on the site, each and every article, to invite and display feedback from readers–comments, as they’re called in the blogging world. This is a dramatic difference because it changes a monologue, a “brochure,” into a dialogue with readers or customers.” 

So… there you have it. 

Thoughts?

Instead of getting frustrated with technorati this morning, I just laughed:

I have heard stories of years ago when professionals had a hard time finding a web designer. It is hard to believe because today it is almost like getting hit with Quickstar: they are EVERYWHERE.

The problem?

All web designers have strengths. And all web designers have weaknesses. But there is so much information out there that there is no way for the “rest” of the world to tell what strengths should be stronger.

So, we are going to start a guide. A guide to avoiding web designabees and finding a good, quality designer who knows what they are talking about.

To start us off today. Look for a web designer who:

1. Doesn’t pretend to know everything. (I promise they don’t)
2. Can name several SEO tools off the top of their head (Here’s a Wordtracker article about SEO)