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How to Hire Amazing People
I believe anyone can hire amazing people--recruiting takes time and effort but I don't think it's an exclusive skill that only few people have. How to Hire Amazing People In the last few months I've been recruiting and hiring a lot of really incredible people. If you don't know, last December I joined Liquid Web...
Demonstrating Progress on Website Projects
Demonstrating progress was easy. In the old days, when I would work on a website project, there were some natural phases to the work I did. Your process may have been different, but mine went something like this. Phase One: Define project / Agree on Scope Phase Two: Create Thumbnails of Design Concepts Phase Three:...
When pitching new business, ask this question
If you're a digital agency or freelancer, you're continually pitching new business. And there are tons of valuable tips that you'll hear from a lot of people. You'll hear advice like: Have a unique value proposition. If you're pitching website development like everyone else, it's hard to differentiate yourself. So you'll hear people talk to you about...
Managing WordPress timed content by membership levels
If you talk to people about scheduling and managing timed access to content in WordPress, people will often talk to you about scheduled posts. It's the idea that you write something and then give it a date for when you want it published. Alternatively, sometimes people will talk to you about dripping content--the idea that...
Restrict Content Pro is worth every dollar!
If you don't know me, I'm the guy that's been saying plugins are priced too low. Today I was on the phone with a software engineer that works in a company where they're running a WordPress online store, but also a store powered by Oracle / ATG Dynamo. Somehow we got onto the topic of pricing...
WordPress Gamification: A key LMS plugin feature
The other day my son was working on math at our kitchen table. My wife incentivized his progress with skittles--one for each problem he got right. This, of course, did the trick and he was motivated to get his whole worksheet done. Maybe a bit too fast though. He made two or three mistakes and...
Should I use the WordPress Jetpack plugin on my site?
Other than which host to use, the only other question I hear most from both beginners and advanced users is whether using the WordPress Jetpack plugin will help or hurt their site. Should you use the WordPress Jetpack plugin? There's an old Chris Rock comedy sketch (Cheap Pete--not suitable for children) where Chris is trying to buy an Audi. The...
Hiding the coupon code box: why hiding the discount field may help you
Should you hide your discount field? Most online shopping carts, including WooCommerce, show a coupon code or discount code option in the shopping cart. It's so common that I almost never see a WooCommerce site without it. And yet, I wonder if the people who designed / developed the site have had extensive conversations with...
Should I use the Genesis Framework by StudioPress?
It all started with a tweet... The other day I tweeted that I'd migrated a site over to Liquid Web. Someone saw the tweet, clicked the link, visited the site and noticed it was using the Genesis Framework by StudioPress. Their next question was similar to one many people have. Should I use the Genesis...
If you spend a year developing a WordPress theme, are you wasting your life?
This is an open letter to the developer who spent a year developing a WordPress theme and couldn't sell it anywhere. An Open Letter to Chris Dear Chris, My name is Chris too. And that's not the only thing we have in common. I've been in the exact same spot you've been in. And the...
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