Meet Lisa Sanovski, Web Developer

Lisa Sanovski is a freelancer who does web development work for clients, mostly for small to medium sized businesses. She has been building websites for clients for the last five years or so, mainly on WordPress. Over the years, Lisa has come across a number of web hosts; most have been good but some have been not-so-good. Bluehost is one of the latter. Lisa started websitehostingrating.com as a place to post her reviews of Bluehost.com and other web hosting offerings.

1. When someone who has never built a website before tells you they want to start a website, what's the first thing you tell them?

I usually tell them that their website will be built on WordPress which is the exact same platform that many of the Fortune500 brands like News Corp and Sony Music use to build websites, and the reaction I get is often, "Wow," followed by "Oh, and how much is that going to cost me?"

That's the beauty of building websites using WordPress; it powers more than ¼ of all sites on the Internet; it's secure; and because it's open source, it's 100% free use. There are a bunch more compelling reasons why you should WordPress, nicely compiled here.

2. I used to think of WordPress as being more suited for blogs, but over the years, I've seen it used more and more for websites that are fairly static. What's your advice to people who want a website but don't want to be regularly updating it like a blog?

Yeah that's right: WordPress started out as blogging platform, but today it can be used to do so much more. It can power full blown ecommerce sites and run company intranets, online forums, job boards. And it has loads of more uses. I would say it depends on the industry you are in, whether or not you should regularly update your website with more blog-type content. Most clients I create sites for are more static, set and forget type ones.

3. What's your process like in building websites for clients? Do you mostly get people set up with WordPress, and then they carry on with refining and updating their site?

The thing is, anyone can learn how to use WordPress and update their website's content. I think that is one of the main reasons why I love working with WordPress, and regularly use it to build websites, because it's so easy to master. So once the design is more or less locked in, I do a bit of training with the client, and they will learn how to refine and update their own website.

4. What inspired you to start your website about web hosting?

The main reason why I started my honest Bluehost review site was to provide a more of an honest and unbiased review of Bluehost, based on my own personal experience of using them for clients and personal sites over the years. Because Bluehost has a fairly generous affiliate marketing program, there are loads of review sites out there, sites that are more interested in earning an income from referring signups to Bluehost than to provide people with real honest facts.

5. In the five years that you've been doing web development, what changes have you seen--and are there other changes you think might be on the horizon?

That's a really great question. Gosh, there have been so many changes over the years, from one page layouts, parallax scrolling, flat designs, video backgrounds, just to name a few. Looking into the crystal ball, I think the mobile first approach is here to stay; you know, people and "users" of websites are more and more on their mobile devices and expect websites to load fast and display well no smaller screens, and web developers and designers have to adjust to that.

Thanks, Lisa!

Meet Akhtar of GoodWPThemes.com

Akhtar is a web designer who specializes in designs and code themes for WordPress websites. With his company GoodWPThemes.com, he has also worked with many clients as a freelancer to enhance their online presence. Learn more about his company and work by checking out his site, goodwpthemes.com or connect with him on Facebook and LinkedIn.

1. How and why did Goodwpthemes.com first get started?

GoodWPThemes has grown from a small company with just one developer back in 2013, when the WordPress was a very different place. The site is a great for responsive WordPress website themes and Bootstrap based templates. The concept of the site is to provide a one-stop shopping solution with high-quality themes for your development needs. The company's perspective is customer-centric, with a focus on design, implementation, and support solutions based on the individual desires and concepts of each new customer. The visitors come from all over the world, with 60% of visitors from the United States, UK, Germany, Australia, and several European countries. We made a decision to focus on custom WP themes development.

2. What makes a WordPress theme stand out, in your opinion?

We discover premium WordPress themes to be always an ideal choice to create something unique and exceptional which is impressive and eye-catching to bring targeted traffic to your website. Even though there are a lot of cost-free themes to choose from, most of them have similar designs and layouts.

There are only a few themes that will help you stand out from the crowd, and improve the blank WordPress installations into a cool looking site which people will visit and share. Check our most popular collection of Creative WordPress Themes for more design ideas.

3. What are some of the features of your website that are available for people to use?

There's a great collection of premium themes as well as some free themes you can download, but the premium themes are priced very competitively with some available for just $5. These are beautiful and nice-looking themes; several are aimed toward specific kinds of businesses, such as real estate, artists, authors, retailers, and much more.

4. Do you have resources that are helpful for newbies to WordPress--and what about for more advanced users?

We're working on the helpful resources section of our site, which covers a series of tips and tutorials about WordPress for both beginners and for advanced users. It will bring a lot of exciting and useful content. Stay updated! It will be worth waiting for! In addition, if you just want to focus on the videos, you can check out GoodWPThemes YouTube channel.

5. For someone who has been thinking of switching to WordPress but hasn't made the switch yet, what would you tell that person?

I think people should think about switching to WordPress, because it is a great choice for all websites owners, when compared alongside other CMS, and it has a big community that supports of the wide range of features.

We also offer additional WordPress installation services that include custom installations and a free installation service, which includes themes, plugins, and much more. This service is currently free but there are plans to expand it into a paid service in the future. To get more info about these services, you can visit our website contact page.

Thanks, Akhtar!

Introducing GreatWPSites.com for WordPress Inspiration

Are you a web designer and/or a blogger who wants some WordPress inspiration? Check out GreatWPsites.com, a cool site designed to promote, inspire, and motivate web designers who use WordPress to build their sites.

1. What made you start the greatwpsites.com website?

I've been building WordPress sites for a number of years and often been frustrated by the lack of websites which display and show off completed WordPress sites, rather than the Demo themes created by the Theme Author.

2. Who is the site aimed at?

I wanted to create the site for people similar to myself, who understand the basics, but aren't masters when it comes to PHP or CSS.

3. What plans do you have for the site in the future?

We would like to accept useful content from WordPress masters with a view to helping our visitors create some of the wonderful sites we are displaying on GreatWPsites.com. Although we do feature sites that were fully custom coded, we prefer to focus on sites that were built using off the shelf themes that are available to one and all.

4. How do you attract visitors?

So far we have been relying heavily on outreach and also social media to promote the site. We have been doing very well with our traffic numbers considering our advertising and promotion budget has been less than the cost of a nice meal!

5. Which is the favorite site you have featured so far?

I would have to say Crunchbistro.com. It was actually a site that I had come across prior to starting GreatWPsites.com and saved it as a bookmark in my browser. I've been using Stumbleupon.com to find new great designs for a number of years and that one just stood out. I've researched the person who created the original design, and her work is just amazing; I'd love to be that talented.

Thanks!

Introducing Will Web Hosting

How can you resist a web hosting company that names its hosting packages after pandas? At https://www.hostwithwill.com/ you have the choice of the Baby Panda, Little Panda, and Big Panda, depending on your hosting needs; the packages start at just $2.95 a month for the Baby Panda, designed for people who are just hosting a single domain.

Will is a green, wind-powered hosting company that was founded in the UK in 2013. Using green power, they've maintained 99.9% uptime for their servers. They also pride themselves on quick customer support, with live chat and the promise to respond to customers' questions within minutes.

Will's website is clear, informative, and easy to navigate. They have reseller packages available for web designers or anyone else who wants to sell web hosting services to their own clients. And if you want a Wordpress site custom-built for you, Will can do that, too.

I really get the feeling from the website that Will is a small, responsive team, and they value their business and their individual customers. I like their emphasis on green power and customer service. The tone of the site is light-hearted yet direct and serious. If you're tired of giving your web hosting dollars to a big, faceless company, why not give Will a try?

Meet Vas Blagodarskiy, Developer of Keyword Swarm

Developed by Vas Blagodarskiy, Keyword Swarm is a WordPress plugin which helps WordPress owners understand their audience better. The plugin is like having Google Analytics for your WordPress, and you no longer have to install a code on your site that siphons data off to Google or some other company; you keep your data. Keyword Swarm also comes with a two week risk-free guarantee, and Vas is giving away resale rights to the software, too.

1. What made you decide to make a plugin for WordPress?

One in six new websites that go online are using WordPress. That's a staggering statistic. I decided to build a WordPress version of an already-existing Analytics product line. I wanted to pack more features into it to make it a true WordPress exclusive.

2. What makes Keyword Swarm unique?

Besides being a keyword tracking tool, it also allows you to get a world map view over your website's traffic. There are a lot of detailed stats on your visitors, and the best part is this: it updates automatically in real time. That has never been done before.

3. Is your plugin intended for businesses or bloggers or both?

Both.

4. As a developer, why do you like WordPress?

It lets any person build any kind of website with minimal programming skills or web development know-how.

5. Why do you think WordPress has become so popular--and do you plan to create other WP-related products in the future?

Wordpress.com certainly helped. Blogging is a modern-day re-emerging phenomenon of self-discovery. Any person can find value in it. The rest is a matter of supply and demand--just as with the advent of the printing press.

Thanks, Vas!

Phyllis Garland: WordPress Lady and Blog Whisperer

When Phyllis Garland told me that people often refer to her as the WordPress Lady or the Blog Whisperer, well, I had to check out the website for her business, Garland Web Services. Based in San Mateo, Phyllis reaches beyond her local client base through webinars which offer training designed to help simplify your experience using WordPress.

A lot of independent entrepreneurs and small business owners (myself included!) hear a lot about WordPress but haven't made the leap and given it a try. Phyllis wants to show you that it's not really that hard--and beyond that, a WordPress site can serve a lot of different purposes. We all think of WordPress as being a great blogging platform, but it's also a clean and simple design for a more static website about your business (or nonprofit, or art project, or family genealogy page or...!).

For a nice overview of WordPress and why Phyllis has come to love it, check out her article on "What Is WordPress and Why Should I Care?".

Phyllis also does marketing work, and you can gather up some great tips by following her on Facebook.

An Introduction to Wpresstic.com

Nick W. Bennett is the founder of Wpresstic.com, which aims to help entrepreneurs and small businesses learn WordPress and grow their online presence through integrated marketing strategies. As an entrepreneur, Nick is a big proponent of people tapping into their own talents and skills so that they may be able create their own path professionally. In Nick's words, "Becoming your own boss has never been more attainable than right now."

Wpresstic specializes in helping people learn WordPress and teaching them how to grow their WordPress-powered websites. Navigating today's digital landscape isn't easy, and the online environment changes rapidly. However, with the right marketing strategy, Nick believes that anyone can find success. Thus, Wpresstic offers several avenues for people to both learn WordPress and market their WordPress-powered websites.

Nick and his colleagues offer a video tutorial series in conjunction with a community forum that walks people through the basics of WordPress. This includes how to set up WordPress, navigate the dashboard, learn to publish posts and pages, upload images and videos, install themes and plugins, and much more. This service is currently free but there are plans to expand it into a paid service in the future.

Wpresstic also offers additional WordPress installation services that include custom installations and a free installation service.

If you are looking to building your presence on the Internet to become a self-employed success, WordPress definitely deserves consideration as the platform for your website, and Wpresstic is a good place to start learning about what WordPress offers.

Meet Rob McGuire of Blog Movers

As someone who moves blogs to WordPress for a living, it brings Rob McGuire great joy when he finishes a project and delivers a website that performs better than the client's original website, is cheaper and easier to maintain, and rekindles the joy they once had when they first had their website. Check out some samples of Rob's WordPress migrations, as well as this portfolio of his work.

1. How did you get into the website migration business?

I had been a freelance web developer for a few years when I noticed that I started received more and more requests from people wanting a new website, and having it on WordPress instead of the platform they were currently using. As more and more of these types of requests came in, I decided to focus most of my time on doing website migrations.

2. What do you think motivates most people to want to migrate to WordPress?

I think most people choose to migrate to WordPress either for the cost savings or for the amount of flexibility WordPress offers. For example, many people who have migrated to WordPress from HubSpot have saved over $20,000 a year from the switch.

3. What are the benefits in hiring a professional blog mover rather than figuring out the details of migrating or using a redirect url or...?

A professional knows all the steps that are involved with migrating a website. There are a lot of steps that one should take in order to successfully migrate a website or blog to WordPress without losing any visitors or search rankings. If done improperly, it's a lot like throwing all your hard work away and starting fresh with a new website.

4. In your own experience, what makes WordPress a great product for blogs and websites?

I find WordPress to be a great choice for most websites because of the huge community that supports it and also for the wide range of features it supports. Many of the most popular websites run on WordPress and it's rare to come across some type of feature that can't work with WordPress.

5. If you could give advice to someone who knows he or she needs to go through a website remodel but has been putting it off, what would you suggest?

I think anyone considering a migration to WordPress should definitely not procrastinate about getting started. The longer you wait to migrate your website, the more work it ends up being. If put off long enough, the task could seem to be overwhelming, which may cause a person to just leave things as they were, and they would settle for the website they have instead of the website they wanted to have.

Thanks, Rob!