SmallBiz Dynamic Theme User Guide

Transcription

1 SmallBiz Dynamic Theme User Guide

2 Table of Contents Introduction... 3 Create Your Website in Just 5 Minutes... 3 Before Your Installation Begins... 4 Installing the Small Biz Theme... 4 Customizing the SmallBiz Dyamic Theme Home Page Layouts / Widgetized Drag & Drop Options Layout Options Widgets Color & Font Family Options Creating a Menu, Reorder Pages, Omit Pages Home Page Text & Images, Business Hours, Driving Directions, Feature Boxes, Footer Credits SEO, Google Analytics & Webmaster Tools Mobile Device Page Settings Facebook Page Setup Ecommerce Other Tips Other Tutorials... 27

3 Introduction The SmallBiz Dynamic Theme is a WordPress Template that adds powerful features to your basic WordPress install, including custom home pages, contact form, map and directions page, Local SEO features, a Facebook App for managing your Facebook Page content from within WordPress, and touch- enabled Mobile landing pages. In this latest version, our SmallBiz Dynamic Theme gives you even more ways to customize your business website and more ways to reach your target market. Our new Responsive Layout adapts to any screen size it is viewed from to provide the best user experience. Your business website will render beautifully on ipad, iphone, or any mobile device, making it much easier for on- the- go customers to contact you or make a purchase via their mobile device. Go one step further and create mobile- specific landing pages that are touch- enabled, which allows for the website to format according to the type of device and enables the user to touch their screen to call you, send an , or get directions. The easier it is for customers to browse your site, the easier it will be for them to make a purchase or follow through with a specific action. You re still in total control of your content and design but we ve added even more unique widget options to the SmallBiz Dynamic Theme. Widgets are a simple way to drag and drop pieces of content to anywhere on your site. Now you can add text copy, photos, call to action buttons or optin boxes into 14 different areas, including different sidebars and footer areas. You can also create one sidebar for the home page but a different sidebar for your blog or contact pages. YOU are in complete control of your web design and text! If you have never used WordPress please refer to the Official WordPress User Guide on how to use and operate WordPress. Topics include: how to create Pages, Posts, upload images and more. Create Your Website in Just 5 Minutes This may seem too good to be true, especially if you have heard horror stories about creating websites but honestly, with just a few button clicks, you can have a functional website for your small business. Rather than trying to convince you, let s get right to the first steps.

4 Before Your Installation Begins You should have already purchased a domain name for your website as well as a web hosting account that has cpanel. The domain name is purchased through a domain registrarand will renew annually for a nominal fee. Domains should be easy to remember and easy to spell. We always recommend BlueHost web hosting because their prices are very reasonable and their customer service is superb. Once you have your hosting account in place, you can install WordPress. In some cases, your web host might install it for you. Take note of the login URL and password that you set up during this installation. At this point you should also have purchased the SmallBiz Dynamic Theme and saved the files to your desktop. Installing the Small Biz Theme Now that you have WordPress installed, proceed to the Wordpress login page by typing in your domain name with /wp- login.php after it, as shown below. *NOTE: Simply replace the above with your own domain name. Now login to Wordpress with the username and password you set up as you installed Wordpress.

5 Your dashboard will automatically appear. From here, go to the Appearance menu in the left sidebar and click Themes. The Manage Themes tab shows you which WordPress themes are already installed. Most likely you will see the two default themes that come free with every new installation. Since we want to use the SmallBiz DynamicTheme, click the Install Themes tab. Since you have the theme files on your computer (you should have downloaded them after submitting payment), click the Upload link. Click the Choose File button to find the.zip file on your computer. You will then see the name in the field. Then click the Install Now button.

6 If the installation begins properly, you should see an Upload message in the lower left corner of your screen, showing the progress. If the install does not start right away, try switching browsers. When the SmallBiz Dynamic Theme installs correctly, you will see a Success message. Click the Preview link if you want to see what the design looks like or click the Activate link to make the theme live on your site. Here s what your site will look like now if you type in your domain in another window.

7 Now it s time to add the important stuff about your business, like your business name, address, contact numbers, etc. From the Wordpress dashboard, in the left sidebar under the Appearance menu, click the SmallBiz Options.

8 Then click the 3 rd dropdown menu titled Company Logo/Business Information. ** Please note, this is very different from earlier versions of the SmallBiz WordPress Theme. ** In previous versions, you were loading full size headers with graphic images. You don t need that old header any more. For this SmallBiz Dynamic Theme, it s very important that you only upload a company logo because of the dynamic capabilities of this theme. Remember, the look of your website automatically adjusts based on the device your customer is using to view it, and this often causes problems with larger graphic images becoming distorted. Using a smaller company logo shows your branding but also will NOT get distorted when the dynamic features change the size of the site. If you don t have a company logo, don t worry. The default setting will list the company name and tagline in the space reserved for a logo. If you have a logo designed, that can be uploaded to your website at any time. Click the Save Changes button. After loading your company logo, you have the option of choosing a solid or colored background in the header section. Depending on the colors in your logo, you may opt for plain white or you can choose a different color that compliments the site and which will make the contact information stand out more. Again, this can be changed at any time.

9 If you have a company logo and do NOT want your business name to also be shown in the header, proceed to the next section and check off the first box. If you have a logo and prefer NOT to have your address shown in the header section, check off the 2 nd box. Now scroll down to the Business Information section and fill in each field carefully. The SmallBiz Dynamic Theme has powerful local SEO features built in so be sure to enter the subheader / tag

10 line exactly as indicated with City Name, Business Name, then Tag Line. Click the Save Changes button. Also in this section is a place to enter your social media profiles so the small logos will appear in the header. This is optional but it also allows your customers to connect with you more quickly.

11 Check out the latest changes by typing the URL into another window. Notice how the business information automatically changes and is in the correct position in the header. You officially have a new website! Customizing the SmallBiz Dyamic Theme Using the SmallBiz Dynamic Theme is cost- effective because you can forego hiring an expensive designer to create your website. But even though we supply you with the necessary building blocks for your site, you still want to take some time to customize the SmallBiz options to make it look different from other sites on the web. You still want to create a unique look that your customers will recognize as your own. Home Page Layouts / Widgetized Drag & Drop Options Layout Options - The SmallBiz Dynamic Theme comes with 13 different layout options for your home page. Simply click on the option that you prefer and click the Save Changes button. For those more experienced with WordPress, you also have the option of creating unique sidebars here and a custom home page design.

12 Widgets Widgets allow you to add content to absolutely any part of your website, such as the sidebars, footers, or main content sections. To find your Widget choices, go to Dashboard - > Appearance - > Widgets then click and drag the appropriate widget into the Footer or Sidebar options. In addition to the standard WordPress widgets that come with every theme, we have added 8 customized widgets that you won t find with any other theme (those are the ones with the red and gray icon in the title bar). 1. The Appointment Request widget shows an appointment form to your website visitor so they can request an appointment with you without clicking away from your site. 2. The Optin Form allows you to grab those addresses before your visitor exits your site. Collect your own information or add the code from your own 3 rd party service provider (Aweber, Get Response, etc) 3. Our SmallBiz Social Media Icons widget puts your social media links very neatly into any sidebar of your site. Simply input your profile information into each field and your customers can find you anywhere on the web. 4. Our unique Visual Editor Text widget allows you to turn boring- looking text into eye- catching text with the visual editor. Add different fonts, colors or images very easily.

13 5. The Image Widget allows you to add an image into your sidebar or footer without worrying about HTML code. No more guessing if you copied the code correctly or if the destination link is correct. 6. If you discover some videos from YouTube, embed them directly to your site with the YouTube Video Widget. In the past some themes have had problems with the YouTube embed codes but we solved that problem for you. 7. The Blog Style Recent Posts pulls your most recent blog posts from a particular category and displays the headlines within the widget. This is completely automated; all you have to do is indicate from which category the posts should be pulled. 8. The Slideshow Widget will create a stunning, dynamic slideshow from whichever images you upload. These slideshows are especially impressive on your home page but with the new and improved widgets, you can put it anywhere on your site. If you have any questions at all about what the SmallBiz Widgets are supposed to do, each one contains a link to its own Help and User Guide, which is simply a visual explanation of what each field of the widget means. Color & Font Family Options If you want to customize the color and/or fonts of your headlines, links or other text, this is the place to set those options. The colors are especially important for branding purposes.

14 a. To change the colors or fonts, simply click in each box and a rainbow color chart will appear. Choose your color and the color code will appear in the box. Always click Save Changes. b. The process is the same for changing the navigation bar colors and fonts.

15 Creating a Menu, Reorder Pages, Omit Pages Using this custom Menu option allows you to create your navigation menu just the way you want it. By default, SmallBiz will place your pages in alphabetical order but with a custom menu, you can put the pages in any order you wish. Likewise, if there are pages the public don t need to see, you can omit them from the menu.

16 Home Page Text & Images, Business Hours, Driving Directions, Feature Boxes, Footer Credits a. The home page text and images are all handled with widgets. The widgets can be found by clicking on Appearance - > Widgets b. Local information will help your customers find your physical location but will also help your search engine rankings. Include all the city names that you service along with local directions. Note you can put HTML in this box if you want hyperlinks. You also have the option of adding Google Maps and if you are a web consultant, you can add your own site link in the footer. Anyone who likes the look of your client s site will likely click your link to search for your services and prices.

17 c. Business hours are essential to your local customers. You want to make the purchasing process as easy as possible for them so let them know when you are open for business. This prevents missed phone messages or wasted gas only to find a closed office. These business hours will appear on the Find Us page that was created when you activated the SmallBiz Dynamic Theme. d. There are 3 featured pages boxes located in the footer of the web design. Choose a page from the dropdown box, choose the font color, and write a brief summary of what your visitors will find on that page. Note: to add a new page to your website, choose Pages - >Add New in the left sidebar. Any new pages you add will automatically show up in these dropdown boxes. *NOTE: If you would like to insert your own graphics with hyperlinks into this area, see this article for directions.

18 SEO, Google Analytics & Webmaster Tools With these SEO features built right in to the SmallBiz Dynamic Theme, there s no need for a 3 rd party SEO plugin! If you choose to stick with your plugin, however, you can also disable the built in SEO features. a. Homepage title describe your homepage title in less than 69 characters (otherwise Google will truncate it in the search results).

19 b. Homepage description describe your homepage in more detail, using less than 150 characters. c. Keywords use a comma to separate each keyword. There are no maximum limits to meta keywords, just be sure they are targeted to your business and location. Note: The Google crawler ignores this section. Remember, you want the inside pages of your website to rank well in the search engines, too, so be sure to optimize each individual post and page you write from now on. You don t need any third- party SEO plugin when using the SmallBiz Dynamic Theme because we ve built all the SEO functions into the theme itself. When you re finished writing your text in the page or post editor, scroll down to the SmallBiz Dynamic Theme SEO Details box. Use keyword- rich title tags and descriptions along with filling in the appropriate keywords for that page or post. If you have an SEO plugin that you prefer to use, you can turn off the SmallBiz SEO plugin by checking the box in this section.

20 d. Google Analytics an essential way to track the demographics of visitors to your site. Sign up for free at and then copy / paste the code into the corresponding box. e. Google Webmaster Tools sign up for free here and copy / paste the code into the corresponding box. f. Google Authorship this new tool allows you, the content author, to have your photo show up in your search engine listings, next to every article you ve written, anywhere on the web. Not only will this photograph catch a reader s eye but it also improves your credibility as an expert. To claim your Google Authorship Badge, simply click on the SEO tab from your SmallBiz Options dashboard. Now you ll see these directions and screenshots which explain each step of the process:

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22 Mobile Device Page Settings The Expand2Web Smallbiz Dynamic Theme is designed to automatically detect Mobile and Handheld Devices such as the iphone, Android, Blackberry etc. The "Call" Button in the mobile layout will only work correctly if you have your phone country code prefix specified in the "Business Information" section above. a. Mobile Header Graphic or Logo - Upload your mobile header graphic or logo into the WordPress media library and input the URL into this box. Add your business name and/or tagline to complete the setup.

23 b. Mobile Colors customize your mobile page and touch- enabled buttons with specific colors c. Mobile Homepage Text and Image - Keep it short and to the point with a clear call to action. Keep in mind the small size of mobile screens. You can also add an image to this text area.

24 d. Mobile Map and GPS Driving Directions go to enter your address and click the "Link" icon in the upper right to obtain an "http" link. Do not paste an iframe in here. The button will trigger the mobile devices native maps app. If you do not have a physical location, this feature can be turned off by checking the box. Facebook Page Setup The Expand2Web SmallBiz Dynamic Theme lets you create and manage content on your Facebook Page Tabs. The SmallBiz Facebook App is hosted securely on an SSL server and meets the new Facebook SSL requirements. a. Create a Facebook page. (New to Facebook? Start here

25 b. Create Wordpress pages that you want to show on Facebook (Use this tutorial smallbiz- facebook- pages- and- app/ ) c. Use the SmallBiz Facebook app to link it altogether (get the app here wp- tabs ) Ecommerce We integrated with Cashie Ecommerce because we believe there is no easier Ecommerce solution. But we also understand that every store owner has differnet needs - that's why we made the SmallBiz Theme compatible with all WordPress ecommerce plugins.

26 Other Tips a. Changing your navigation menu titles The pages you see in the navigation bar after you install the SmallBiz Dynamic Theme are simply the default page titles. You can certainly keep these page titles since they re pretty generic, or you can change them to suit your needs. For example, if you want to change the Find Us page title to Directions, go to Appearance - > Menus From here, you can choose which pages to include in your navigation, change page names, or change page order. Whatever changes you make to your menu will automatically update your navigation links. b. Changing font colors on pages or posts This is a good way to emphasize important details in your post or on your page. From the page or post editor, click on the Kitchen Sink icon. This opens up another row of icons, including the Font Color button. Highlight the text you want to change, then choose the color from the dropdown box.

27 Other Tutorials We don t want you to ever get frustrated or feel like the SmallBiz Dynamic Theme can t do what you want it to do. We have created numerous tutorials to help you discover the powerful functions of the SmallBiz Dynamic Theme but if you don t see what you re looking for, we re always here to help you. i. Getting Started Videos ii. SmallBiz Dynamic Theme Video & Screenshot Overview iii. Social Media Widget Video iv. Complete SmallBiz User Guide Thank you for purchasing the SmallBiz Dynamic Theme. We are committed to your success and want you to be completely satisfied. If you have any questions at all, don t hesitate to contact us at support@expand2web.com and we ll do our best to help you out! Don Campbell Thomas Hasch Expand2Web 5205 Prospect Rd. # San Jose, CA