Blog : How To Make A WordPress Website

How To Fix Visual Composer Not Working With WP 5.0.1

How To Fix Visual Composer Not Working With WP 5.0.1

How To Fix Visual Composer Not Working With WP 5.0.1

Hey guys! So, I’ve been absent here in posts for a while… I had a little personal project I was off working on for a bit. But, I’m back with some help on a issue many of you may be having since the latest WP update; How To Fix Visual Composer Not Working With WP 5.0.1

A lot of you that use WP Bakery Visual Composer may have noticed that the WP Bakery editing features are not showing up in your WP page editor. At first it may look like a big mess but, good news – there is a quick, easy fix!

Why Visual Composer Not Working?

The reason for Visual Composer not working is that WP has created a new core feature; a block editor called “Gutenberg”. And while I have to give props to WP for finally giving us a great “in house” block style editor, it still doesn’t have anywhere near the features that top notch editors and page builders like Visual Composer and Optimize Press have.

Also, if you are using Visual Composer, you’ll notice that it includes it’s own “vc” short-code to your pages which, despite being a pain if you ever want to switch page builders, is also what helps us create those amazing page designs.

So if you find that you want to use Gutenberg, you’ll need to remove the “vc” short-code from your pages or it will show up on your live page. However, if you wish to continue using Visual Composer for it’s awesome page building features, again, there is an easy way to fix the issue.

How To Fix Composer

Fortunately, due to the unsurprisingly overwhelming popularity of Visual Composer, the guys at WP have a solution for us; all you have to do is install a free, official WP plugin called “Classic Editor”. Yes, that really is all you need to do. Simply installing and activating this plugin will restore the classic WP editor, thereby restoring the Visual Composer editor and all those great features that come with it!

I’ve tried the fix and can confirm, along with everyone else that has tried it, that it works beautifully, and gets Visual Composer working properly again instantly. I know right?! How often do easy fixes for something so seemingly disastrous actually happen? Well, apparently we lucked out this time lol

Okay so, thanks for reading my post here… I hope you enjoyed it, and that it helps! For more website tips and tricks, be sure to visit my blog 🙂  And you may want to take a look at what I have for you on my YouTube channel as well… Take care and I’ll be talking to you again soon 😉

How To Fix Visual Composer Not Working With WP 5.0.1

5 Simple Phases To Build A Website With WP

5 Simple Phases To Build A Website With WP

5 Simple Phases To Build A Website With WP

Last week we discussed a few things you should line out before you build your website. Now we are going to make sure that you’re familiar with those 5 Simple Phases To Build A Website With WP that I promised I would cover with you. And I think you are going to like this, because it’s all about designing and setting up your WP site!

Obviously, this after you get hosting setup and domain registration covered. But I always recommend getting familiar with what comes directly after, before you jump into paying for hosting and your domain. So let’s go directly to the fun stuff…

WP Website Settings

Settings

Your WP site requires some attention to a few basic settings; a vital part of creating your website. This won’t take long when you know what you’re doing though. For now, I just want you to get a basic idea of what’s involved in this Phase.

➜ Once you login to your WP dashboard, you’ll navigate to “General” settings.

Here you’ll be setting your website name and url, tagline if you want one, and setting the date and time format that your site will run on.

➜ Next, the “Writing” settings will enable you to post via email, which is handy if you’re on the go.

➜ Under “Reading” you’ll determine what your front page does; you can display your posts, or set a static page as your Homepage. You can also edit the emails your followers receive from your blog.

➜ The “Discussion” tab is where you will adjust your default article settings, determine how comments will be handled, insert your Avatar display and Gravatar Hover Cards. Your sites’ rating can also be selected here, along with Jetpack settings, and your comments greeting text.

➜ Under Media, you can change the settings for your image sizes. But these can usually be left alone.

➜ “Permalinks” settings are going to be one of the most important settings to get right. That’s because this setting determines how your page and post urls look. These should be set to /%postname%/ for optimal search ranks.

➜Under the “Settings” tab, you’ll need to go to “Sharing” to integrate your Social Networks with your site so that your visitors can interact with you on Social Media. Very important. (I actually recommend setting your Social Network Accounts up before you build your site if you can. That way you can get this taken care of when you create your site, rather than having to come back later to do this.)

➜ Your site verification services, like Google Analytics, Bing and Pinterest tracking are set up under the “Tools” tab. You’ll need to create accounts with these services in order to do this.

And that’s it for the Settings. Pretty straight forward and easy, right? Okay, so let’s move on.

Website Theme

Themes

I like to get the theme taken care of right away after I adjust the settings, so you can see your website coming together almost immediately. That’s why I consider this “Phase 2” when I create a WP site.

It probably goes without saying, however, this is where the design of your site is determined. Themes are sort of like the “paint and carpet” of your site, so to speak. And they are part of what makes WP such a good platform for building your site; because you don’t really need a web designer to make it look fantastic.

Depending on how personalized you want your site to look, a free theme may be all you need. WP has a lot of attractive free themes available. Some are far better than others. You can waste a lot of time trying out themes. So, to save you a lot of time I’ll be showing you step by step how to customize one of my favorite free WP themes at the Workshop.

However, free themes usually have limited customization capabilities. If you want a more customized site you will probably need to go for a paid theme. Paid themes can also come with additional functionality built in, which can reduce the number of plugins you’ll need to make your site function like you need it to. So it pays to pick a good theme.

If you are going to want a paid theme, you might as well go with one of my tried and tested paid theme recommendations, rather than potentially wasting your money on a theme that doesn’t work well, or lacks design capability.

And believe me, you can spend a lot of time and money looking for a good paid theme. Because you can easily wind up taking the time to purchase, download, install and customize a theme, only to find out it’s not going to work for your particular needs. Worse, you can discover, after all of this, that it may be “glitchy” and simply not work well at all!

➜Once you have your theme selected and installed, this is where you get to set your logo and customize your theme colors. And you get to see your website coming to life!

Now we are going to need to add some features and functionality to your site, and we do that using…

WP Plugins

Plugins

You can think of plugins as apps, or little programs that you install on your site to add features and functionality. This is where you’ll be able to get contact forms, site backups, Social sharing buttons, newsletter signup forms, anti-spam filters, front end SSL setup and more.

Most all the juicy features you may want to add, or imitate from other WP sites you like, goes on here. Plus, there are plugins you’ll need for spam filtering, statistics and maintenance. There are good, free plugins for all of this, and I’ll show you these when you join me for the workshop.

Installing plugins in WP is pretty easy. Good plugins provide documentation to help you set them up properly. So, although I will show you how to set up the plugins on my list, you can always look to this information for help if needed later on.

Just remember that the more plugins you install on your site, the more you put its security at risk.  Because hackers can access your site via a plugin. This is another reason why you want to be sure to check that the plugin you want to use has good reviews, is kept up to date, is well documented, and has been tested with the latest version of WP. And again, you can keep the number of plugins you need down to a bare minimum by choosing a theme that has common preferred features and functionality built in.

Now, comes the phase where you will add the “meat and potatoes” of your site…

Build A Website Content

Content

Once your site design is customized, the settings are taken care of and you have the plugins you need, you’ll need lots of content. Because you will need to fill your pages with everything your audience, visitors, customers and clients need to know so that they can make well informed decisions before they purchase.

You’ll also want to include additional relevant information regularly to keep your visitors, and search engines engaged. Because if you want to give your site the best possible chance for first page search ranks, you must keep adding fresh content regularly.

We’ll discuss the fresh content you can add at the workshop, and how you can schedule it to post out whenever you want, even when you can’t be there to publish it. This means you can, for instance, spend 1 day putting up content that will go out regularly over several weeks. Yes, even while you are sleeping or on vacation, your blog can be updating its self, on auto-pilot, with fresh, new content!

(Work smarter, not harder my friends.)   

As for the standard and required basic content that makes your initial site polished and professional, that’s what we’ll focus on most. This includes your About, Contact, and Privacy Policy pages, as well as your Homepage. Once you get a visitor to your site, these pages need to hook them in and drive them to take action.

You will also need a Privacy Policy, as this legal information is now required by law for most sites. Don’t worry, I’ll show you where to get one online. And I’ll point out the key information you’ll need for your About and Contact pages. And we’ll add a contact form (via plugin) so visitors can reach you when needed, as well as setting up an opt-in page so you can start building your email list.

Next, you’ll create your main navigation and footer menus, so you can see your pages. This is where your site will start to look complete with pages and content you can see live on your site!

And to make your written content look polished, all you need are some quick, yet effective html codes to spice things up a bit. Don’t worry, I’ll show you this too. This is extremely lite code we are talking here, nothing difficult at all. Just a few short character and letter strings to create font styling that will accentuate key points, adjust font sizes etc.

Of course, content means images too. And lots of them, if you really want your site to attract attention. You can and should use images of your business building (if you have one), perhaps your office and team (if possible).  Or, if you want to setup a personal business site you’ll need an image or two of you.

But you’ll also need some additional images to spruce things up. Especially for your regular weekly content, like posts and such. There are lots of free, professional looking images to be had online, and I’ll show you where and how to get them.

Plus, we will add an Image Gallery to your site, so you can show off your products or services.

This includes icons and other graphics to add a professional touch to your site. You can get these online, or if you Join Me in the Web Genesis Nation Silver Member Suite, I’ll give you my Web Graphics Toolbox, so you have plenty of high quality web treats for a good head start.

You’ll want to take a look at video as well because, while lots of static visual imagery is great, video is always better. The best place to go grab video for your site is YouTube. And I’ll show you how to install a plugin that will make embedding videos into your site fast and easy, and display beautifully across all devices.

Now that we’ve discussed content, we are down to the last few details of your website creation.

Build A Website Finishing Touches

Finishing Touches

Putting the finishing touches on your WP website includes setting up your widgets and sidebar(s), and understanding some best practices for regular maintenance on your site. Because I want you to not only create your site, I want you to know how to take care of it in the future so you can avoid issues and costly fixes or updates.

Widgets

For simplicities sake, you can think of Widgets as little packages of code you use to insert content in your sidebar, and also on your pages and posts. Basically, they allow you to add certain types of content and functionality without coding. For instance, you can insert Social Media icons, your RSS feed, buttons, Google maps, display recent posts, newsletter opt-in forms, custom menus and more.

Sidebars

To create your sidebars, all you need to do is drag the widgets you want into the sidebar panel and configure them. To insert widgets in your page, there is an awesome free plugin that makes it really easy. In some cases, widgets also come bundled with themes, featuring standard and specialized widgets you can add to pages.

Basic Maintenance

Proper care of your site includes regular backups, so you can get your site back fast in case anything happens to it. There are plugins for statistics, so you can analyze your traffic, cache plugins and others to help speed up your site. Then there are security plugins to help keep your site and content secure. Some disable and block the right-click-copy function from visitor use, others are a firewall of sorts to keep hackers out, and some can be used to alter your login page url.

You can over-do this though, and again, it’s best to keep plugins down to a minimum, so you should only use the plugins you absolutely need for security, functionality and features. You should also never have disabled plugins on your site. If you are not using them, delete them. And be sure to keep your plugins up to date to help ensure your sites’ security.

Organization

This is something I always highly recommend. You’ll collect lots of materials and passwords when you create your site. Keeping it properly organized is the best way to avoid confusion, losing or misplacing important materials, and having to reacquire or create your materials over again.

Quite frankly, organization will help you avoid the urge to start pulling your hair out at times!

Okay, so that is the basic overview of the 5 Simple Phases To Build A Website With WP. Taking a quick look back over the post, you are probably surprised that there is no more to it than that to create your WP site. And honestly, I didn’t leave much out here, so that is pretty much it.

These are the basic features you generally get when you hire one of those corporate “big boys” to create a WP site for you. I’m actually probably showing you the “How To” for a site that would cost more along the lines of $1500. Because the fee generally starts out at an initial quote, then works it’s way up when you want to add features, functionality and customization.

But who’s counting?

You now understand how to build, manage and grow your website. And when you join me for the workshop you’ll discover exactly how to complete these simple phases to create your WP website; one that’s capable of helping you achieve your online business goals. And that is what really counts, right?

5 Simple Phases To Build A Website With WP

Things To Consider Before Making Your WP Website

Things To Consider Before Making Your WP Website

Things To Consider Before Making Your WP Website

Getting your WP website or blog ready to greet the world can be a bit stressful. Especially if you have never done it before. But I assure you it’s not as difficult as it may seem…especially when you take the time to go over these Things To Consider Before Making Your WP Website

Only A Few Basic Phases To Create Your WP Website

Yes, that’s right. It’s easier than you may have been led to believe to make your brand new WP blog or website. You don’t need prior skills. No coding, no techy, confusing junk. You don’t need to spend months or years to get a WP site or blog. And you don’t have to pay out hundreds or thousands of dollars for someone to build it for you. Best of all, there are only a few phases to building a WP website, and I like to complete these in the following order:

➜ Settings

➜ Themes

➜ Plugins

➜ Content

➜ Finishing Touches

Hosting and domain registration no withstanding, that’s really all there is to it. Of course, it is a bit more involved than this. But it’s all pretty simple once you know how to get it done. And we’ll take care of hosting and your domain later on too, so don’t worry.

Seriously, I guarantee you it is easier than it seems. You just need the right information to “cut to the chase” and create a WP site you’d typically get charged at least $1000 for. Me, I decided I would rather show a lot of people how to create their site, rather than charge a few people every month to build one for them.

After all, I could build it for you, but how will you manage and maintain it afterwords? Yup, that would cost you more money and time. And keep you reliant on me to make changes, adjustments or additions when you need them, along with regular maintenance.

Hence my mindset; building your website for you today isn’t nearly as helpful as showing you how to build it, manage it, and grow it for a lifetime.

And fortunately as well, we’ve come a long way in the world of online business. Because now, savvy people like you want to learn this. 

Which is fantastic. I am so glad you are here, ready to go on this. That means we are all set!

Wrap Your Head Around Your Site Project…

We won’t be covering the actual WP steps here in this post. Here I just want you to wrap your head around the concept that making your WordPress site is far from rocket science. You CAN do it. It doesn’t have to take months, and certainly not years.

However, to get the best results possible, you need to know how to get started. And there is getting off to a good start, and causing yourself problems right from the start.

Because, as always, I want you to understand what you are about to accomplish. I want you to know  how to go about your site project in an efficient, orderly way that will get you the best results the fastest, and with as little stress (and cost) as possible.  I’m all about efficiency. Because it keeps stress, costs, and time down to a minimum.

That said, you may be surprised to discover that this does not have anything to do with what CMS (content management system) you use. In other words, nothing to do with WordPress. Not initially anyway.

A quick interjection here: Really soon I will show you how to make your WP site.  But for now, let’s go over the first thing you will need to decide before you build your site…

Essential “Getting Started With Your Website” Mindset

In today’s high-tech world, having a website is crucial to the success of most businesses, online or off.

If you have a brick and mortar store, the ability to reach more customers or clients via the world-wide web is an opportunity you and your business cannot afford to miss out on. If you have one of these businesses, you must know this. And that is why you are here.

And if your goal is to start an online business, you know that there is no business without a place on the web to call home.

Yes, your website offers the chance to connect with virtual visitors from all around the world. It provides information about your products or services, as well as your company, connecting your business with those visitors 24/7, 365 days a year. But most importantly, it provides a chance to communicate with them, and inspire them to become followers, customers or clients. In taking the desired action, they put more money in your pocket.

However, while the prospect of attracting more readers, customers or clients with your new website is understandably exciting, there are some key elements to be considered before you venture into website creation.

And especially, you will be need to make an important decision that directly effects the design, structure, and functionality of your site. For this, you will need to understand a little about how your website is created, and how it will function, in order to create a site that behaves as needed when visitors interact with it.

Makes sense right? Okay, so right now I want you to focus on this…

What Kind Of Website Site Will You Make?

I’m not talking about selling clothing vs selling health supplements, or catering services vs pluming services. I’m talking about the kind of site you will build. Because the basic structure and layout of your site will be determined when you answer this question. And it determines the kind, or style if you will, of site you will be creating.

When it comes right down to it, there are basically two main options; we’ll think of them as “Information” sites, and “eCommerce” sites, (online stores). So let’s take a closer look at this for a moment…

Information Sites

The “Information” site is the kind of site used for service industry businesses, bloggers & affiliate marketers. These types of sites generally do not require a “cart system” or eCommerce setup for selling product, because the content is entirely comprised of information.

The information can be any type; information about your personal, business, or company service(s), random articles and helpful information like you see on blogs, which can also include product and service reviews, etc. As such, these are the fastest, easiest types of sites to create.

So what we are saying here is, within the Information site category, there are two main types of sites; each designed to meet the requirements of these two basic types of businesses.

  • For service industry businesses, your site structure will be similar to a business brochure. Your main objective is to inform visitors about your business and/or service(s) you provide, with as much information as possible in order to gain their trust, and encourage them to take the desired action. The “Home” page in this case is a static page that introduces the business, and directs visitors to the desired information, all the while appropriately encouraging them to contact or visit the actual business for service.
  • For Blogs and affiliate marketers, your site is structured in the format of a blog, basically like an online magazine. Your main goal is to provide extensive amounts of content for readers in a well-organized manner. The “Home” page for these types of sites will generally be formatted to best display large volumes of articles/posts in an organized manner that is as attractive as possible.
  • For Ecommerce websites, or online stores used to sell products, your site is structured in a way that enables you allow customers to purchase items from you. You can sell physical products or downloadable media products, accept payments for those products, monitor, and process the orders. And for this you need a cart system installed on your site. The “Home” page in this case is a static page that introduces your business and products, and provides visitors with the information needed to decide on a product or products, while encouraging them to checkout and complete the purchase.

This is fairly easily determined by your business. However, there are some variations to note here. For instance, if you have a service industry business, and want to increase your revenue by selling some relevant physical products, then you will need an eCommerce site, rather than just a basic service website. Or, maybe you want your service clients to be able to pay for services on your site; again you need a site that is able to accept digital payments.

Alternatively, you could sell custom physical products, and just want to gain a larger audience online while selling in person, at your place of business. This means you are selling products, but don’t need an eCommerce website, and you can just go for a service style website with a blog (I always recommend adding a blog in any case).

Okay, so by now I am sure you get the point. Take time to carefully determine which kind of site your business requires. Because this is really important; it will ensure that you set up the right site, with everything you need right from the start.

Once you have that sorted out, it’s time to think about…

Web Design Vs Development – What’s The Difference?

Web Design Vs Development – What’s The Difference?

We won’t linger on this topic long, I just want to make sure that you have a basic understanding of these terms, just in case you are concerned about which is which, and what is what. Because a website or blog needs both of these elements working together to impart the overall look and feel of the site, and to make the site function as needed.

Web Design

What you actually see when you view a website is the design of the site. The colors, banner images, background image, text layout, fonts, navigation menu appearance, etc. determine the look and feel of the site. Web Design is also where your branding comes in to play, and calls to action are present if preferred. This is where you present your readers with the best possible visual representation of your company, in an organized, appealing and professional manner.

Web Development

Web Development is what goes on in the background that makes a site function as needed. These are the elements of the site that enable it to work like it needs to in order to be beneficial, rather than just beautiful. This includes integrating with Social Media, contact forms, your navigation, how your cart functions, etc. It does have somewhat to do with the appearance of your site as well, because some of that development tells the device your website is being viewed on how to display it. (Mobile friendly.)

Fortunately, WordPress makes all of this easily attainable, without much effort on your part. Because the WordPress CMS (Content Management System) comes pre-loaded with much of the functionality you’ll need for a professional website or blog. Any additional functionality can be added with the simple addition of some carefully selected plugins. And the design is determined mainly by the theme you choose.

So, when we get down to creating your WordPress, most of what you need will already be there as soon as you install WP. Incidentally, that’s why a lot of internet professionals choose WordPress.

Hopefully this post has given you some direction as to your WordPress site project. And you have gotten a good idea of how the process gets started.

Now I would like to briefly explain how I will help you make your WP website or blog…

Ultimate WP Workshop

I have an entire WP video workshop tutorial coming for you this next month. This is something I am really excited to share with you, because I know it is going to help you out BIG Time with your WP site.  I just have a few finishing touches to take care of, and within the next couple of weeks I’ll have the Free WP Workshop all ready for you. The Workshop is a step-by-step video tutorial to show you exactly How To Build Your WP Site!

And you’ll be able to access the COMPLETE video workshop to make your basic WP website…for FREE!

I am doing this because I really want to help you get your site up and running fast, without spending a fortune on designers. And most likely even have some fun doing it. Because I don’t want you to have to struggle with your site. Honestly, all that expense and hassle is completely unnecessary. If you are ready to take this project on, then you deserve this help. And I can make it so much easier and cost effective for you, I just won’t turn down the opportunity to show you how.

When you join me for the workshop you’ll have no trouble making your entire WordPress blog or website. Whether you need a business site for your existing business, or you are starting an online business with your site, the workshop will help you get it done right, the first time!

And, I’ll have additional video tutorials for you if you want to create the kind of business website that would normally cost you over a $1000 to have built for you!

As for your Brand, like I said, I have you covered there too, if you decide you want or need that help. Whether you have that existing Brand ready, or not, you’ll have the opportunity to work that out once the workshop goes live. I have an excellent video workshop coming up that will guide you to create a memorable Brand for your website and business, and even help with your custom logo creation!

What I want you to do in the time between now and the workshop;

  1. Think about what kind of site you will need; “Information” or “eCom”.
  2. Understand the difference between Web Design & Web Development.

So, that’s it for now! Just make sure you fully understand these Things To Consider Before Making Your WP Website.

I promise that your effort will be well worth it when we get down to creating your site in a few short weeks.

Be sure to Click Here and review the 5 Simple Phases To Build A Website With WP now. This will give you a better idea of how easy it really is to create your WordPress Website.

If you would like for me to email you an invite when the Ultimate WP Workshop goes live [Click Here]. I’ll be happy to send you an email invitation and notify you when the Workshop is ready!

Things To Consider Before Making Your WP Website

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