what is preview text?

: : for email marketing : :

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"Preview text is a snippet of copy pulled in from the body of your email and typically displayed underneath the sender name and subject line in a subscriber’s inbox."

- Lauren Smith, The Ultimate Guide to Preview Text Support

I'm not going to rehash Lauren's excellent article ... go read it yourself!
The article covers:

• what preview text is
• how to add it to your email (tip: if you're using Mailchimp, you add Preview Text in the same step as adding your Subject line)
• which email apps will actually display your preview text along with screenshots of common email programs
• and some great tips for how to optimise your preview text

Okay, that last bit is worth repeating here (copied verbatim from previously mentioned article by Lauren Smith The Ultimate Guide to Preview Text Support:

TIPS FOR OPTIMIZING PREVIEW TEXT

SECOND SUBJECT LINE

Think of preview text as a “second subject line” and use similar strategies to improve your campaigns. Write preview text that is useful, specific, and, if appropriate, has a sense of urgency. This is also an ideal place to experiment with humor, symbols, or other tactics that aren’t quite ready for subject line status.

FRONT LOAD KEYWORDS

Keep character limitations in mind, and pack the beginning of your preview text with keywords and phrases that perform. You’ll want the “good stuff” to show up in clients that may cut off characters. But don’t make it too short—you also want your preview text to fill the space displayed in iOS inboxes and Apple Mail. It’s a delicate balance.

AVOID REPETITION

It can be tempting to re-use existing subject and headline copy in your preview text. Get creative, using this extra space to play off of the subject line and further encourage your subscribers to open the email. And don’t forget to A/B test!

• Use personalization: If you’ve had success with using personalization in other parts of your campaigns, try personalizing preview text, too.
• Sum up the email: If your subject line includes a call-to-action (CTA), use preview text to include more details. For example, if your subject line is “50% off new arrivals,” use preview text to explain what type of merchandise has arrived.
• Include a CTA, or secondary CTA: Does your email have a few CTAs? If they pair well with the subject line, consider showcasing them in your preview text.
• Be honest: As always, you should never trick your subscribers into opening your emails. The sender name, subject line, and preview text should work together so subscribers know what to expect when they open the email.
• Encourage scrolling: If you’re sending a newsletter, highlight a featured article (or two).
• Don’t forget to update: If you’re using hidden preview text, it’s easy to overlook. As your emails change it’s important to keep your preview text current.

create a child theme

: : for WordPress : :

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Child themes ... it's a thing ... use them!  There are a lot of great articles already out there that explain what a child theme is, why you should use them and how to set one up.  This article on Smashing Magazine By Nick Schäferhoff is my go-to: How To Create And Customize A WordPress Child Theme

NB: Under "When to Use a Child Theme" Nick says "So, should you always build a child theme ... ? No, it really depends." ... I disagree ... I think you should always use a child theme.

As great as Nick's article is though, I thought I'd give you a condensed, step by step process to simplify it even further, for next time.  I do suggest you read up on child themes first so you know what/why you're setting one up, and that article from Smashing Mag is a great place to start.

Once you've got your head around that, here's the cut-down version for quick reference (I'll use the same headings so you can refer back to the original article for more info at any time):

NB: I usually work with offline files, then load them via FTP to the webserver.  Nick has a great suggestion to zip the theme folder then install it like a normal theme via the WordPress Theme menu ... gold!

Set Up A Basic Child Theme

"... a child theme needs three things: its own folder, a style sheet and a functions.php file."

Create a Folder in wp-content/themes

• It can be called anything, but no spaces - something like "twentyfifteen-child" will work, and so would "myawesomewebsite".

Create a Style Sheet

• Create a new text file and call it "style.css" (you can use any text editor or you can be fancy and use Dreamweaver ... do not under any circumstances use Word!)
• Paste the style sheet header as follows:

/*
 Theme Name:   Twenty Fifteen Child Theme
 Description:  A child theme of the Twenty Fifteen default WordPress theme
 Author:       Nick Schäferhoff
 Template:     twentyfifteen
 Version:      1.0.0
*/

Activate Child Theme

• Skip this step for now!

Create functions.php

• Same as the Style Sheet, just create a text file and call it "functions.php" (these files are of course created in the theme folder we created earlier "wp-content/themes/myawesomewebsite/functions.php"
• Copy the following code into the file (yep, that's PHP ... don't worry, you don't need to fully understand PHP to get this going, trust me!):

<?php
//* Code goes here

Inherit Parent Styles

•  DON'T use the @import method ... (this is the one thing I don't like about the article, this is the old way of doing things so in my humble opinion, why mention it at all?!)
• DO use the wp_enqueue_style() method ... copy this code into your functions.php file (underneath the other bits we just pasted):

add_action( 'wp_enqueue_scripts', 'enqueue_parent_styles' );

function enqueue_parent_styles() {
   wp_enqueue_style( 'parent-style', get_template_directory_uri().'/style.css' );
}

Upload Theme

• NB: This is a variation of Nick's "Activate Your Theme" step
• Zip your Theme folder, eg, "myawesomewebsite"
• Login to WordPress
• Click on Themes
• Click on Add New and upload your zip file
• NB: The parent theme must already be installed
• Activate your child theme

Congratulations you've created and installed your child theme ... easy right?!

two-factor authentication (2FA)

: : for wordpress security using ithemes : :

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What is WordPress Two-Factor Authentication?

WordPress two-factor authentication (or WordPress 2-step verification) adds an important extra layer of protection to your WordPress site’s login and admin area by requiring 1) a password and 2) a secondary time-sensitive code to login.

More about WordPress 2FA »

The time-sensitive code is generated via a two-factor authentication app, usually installed on your smartphone. We use Authy, but you can use any 2FA app.

How to setup and use Authy »
(NB: If you are a client of Accurate Expressions, 2FA is most likely already enabled on your site so you can skip that bit at Step 2 of these instructions!)

URL Redirects

: : for domains registered with Crazy Domains : :

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If you have your domains registered with Crazy Domains, you will need to upgrade to Premium DNS to allow URL Redirects to be set up.  You can do this via the Account Manager.  I believe the cost is $19.95 per domain.

More about Crazy Domain's DNS Hosting here »

Once you're logged into Account Manager:

1. Click on Domains
2. Locate the relevant domain name in the Domains List
3. Click on the double circular arrow icon (Premium DNS) under Addons
4. Click Add to Cart
5. Repeat steps 2-4 for second domain name
6. Checkout

If accurate expressions is setting up URL Redirects on your behalf, please notify us once your DNS Hosting has been upgraded.

stock image libraries

: : for stock images : :

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There are lots of online stock image libraries out there, here are a few of my favourites:
pexels.com (FREE)
unsplash.com (also FREE)
pixabay.com (yep, FREE)
imcreator.com/free (the name says it all FREE)
freeimages.com (you get the idea!)

This guy allows you to search 47 websites from one place: librestock.com

These guys aren't free, but their libraries are usually easier to search and generally larger which of course means more variety ... so if you have the money and specific needs, you'll most likely find what you're looking for here (and no, I don't get any kind of commission if you buy from them):
istockphoto.com
fotolia.com
dreamstime.com

If you want to go down the rabbit hole ... take care ... and we will see you on the other side ...

Here's a list of free stock libraries from Entrepreneur Magazine ... with a bonus "Attribution and licenses explained" section: entrepreneur.com/article/238646

And another list from them: entrepreneur.com/article/237094

And here is the most overwhelming list of royalty free stock image libraries I've ever seen ... knock yourself out! web-tools.club/royalty-free-images/

UPDATE AUGUST 2017: Here's a new list from Typeform, some old favourites along with some new: typeform.com/blog/ask-awesomely/free-pics/

20 Hidden WordPress Features You Might Not Know About

 : : for WordPress : :

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from the Elegant Themes Blog, written by Shaun Quarton ...

20 Hidden WordPress Features You Might Not Know About

If you use WordPress regularly, you probably have a good handle on how everything works.

However, a little digging is required to access WordPress’ functionalities in full. You might not realize there are plenty of “hidden” WordPress features – some more hidden than others.

In today’s post, I’m going to uncover 20 of these hidden WordPress features, so that you can get the maximum from the world’s most popular CMS.

This post is primarily targeted at WordPress beginners. If, however, you consider yourself to be a WordPress dab hand, you might still learn something new or at least refresh your memory of commonly underutilized features.

Read the full article here ...

replace a media file

: : for WordPress : :

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This method uses the plugin Enable Media Replace

• From your WordPress Dashboard, click on Media in left sidebar
• Search for the file you want to replace
• Click to select the file
• In the right column you'll see a bunch of fields, look for the button "Upload a new file" next to Replace media
• Click to display the Replace Media Upload screen:

• Click on Choose File to select the new file (ensure new file is the same file type, ie, .pdf, .jpg, .png etc)
• Ensure "Just replace the file" is selected
• Click Upload

Once you've replaced your media file, double check your site to ensure the new media is visible/downloadable.

the 3-2-1 rule

: : for anybody who has any type of data they want to keep : :

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The 3-2-1 rule

As coined by Peter Krogh here

• He recommends keeping 3 copies of any important file (a primary and two backups)
• He also recommends having the files on 2 different media types (such as hard drive and optical media), to protect against different types of hazards.*
• 1 copy should be stored offsite (or at least offline).

*While 3-2-1 storage is the ideal arrangement, it's not always possible. A second media type, for instance, is impractical for many people in the ingestion or working file stage. In these cases, many people make do with hard-drive-only copies of their data. Best practices, however, still require 3 copies and some physical separation between the copies.

setup TextEdit to save HTML files

: : for TextEdit on mac : :

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from Chris Thomson on Quora ...

There isn't any way to set the default extension for files in TextEdit -- you'll always have to type .html at the end of the filename manually. I'd highly recommend using an alternative text editor for editing any sort of code files (see What is the best text editor for writing HTML and CSS?), but if you must use TextEdit, here's a few tips to make it as painless as possible to save HTML, CSS, and other code files constantly:

• Set the default filetype to plain text. You cannot save code files when you're in Rich Text format. Open up TextEdit, and go to the TextEdit menu and select Preferences, then change the Format option to Plain Text. If you ever need to save a file as rich text, you can change that on a per-document basis using the Format menu.
• Tell TextEdit not to automatically add the .txt extension to plain text files. In TextEdit preferences, go to the Open and Save tab, and uncheck the Add ".txt" extension to plain text files option.

add a blog post

: : for squarespace v7 : :

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adding content to a blog page

The following article from the Squarespace (v7) knowledge base explains how to:

1. Add or Open a Blog Page
2. Add a Post
3. Add Content
4. Add Categories and Tags (Optional)
5. Enable/Disable Comments (Optional)
6. Add Thumbnail Images (Optional)
7. Add an Excerpt (Optional)
8. Add a Location (Optional)
9. Push Content to Social Media (Optional)
10. Save
11. Manage Blog Posts (Optional)

Read the article here »

how do I configure a post to publish in the future?

You can also schedule a post to publish in the future (or backdate it).

Read the article here »

optimising posts/pages in your wordpress site

: : for WordPress using Yoast SEO : :

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optimising individual posts

Use the snippet preview added by the WordPress SEO plugin:



This preview will automatically take the values you’ve already filled in in your blog post and apply them to your template, but you can also override the title completely using the title field just below it:



The input will show a warning below it if your title is becoming too long. The title length is not a fixed amount of characters but rather limited to the length of the display in the search results.

For titles the following things are important:

• They should always contain your brand, preferably at the end, so people may recognise you in consecutive searches.
• They should always contain the keyword you think is most important for the current post or page, which we’ll call the focus keyword from now on. The focus keyword should preferably be at the beginning of the title.
• The rest of the title should entice people to click.

optimise your descriptions

Now that we’ve got proper titles, we should start to focus on meta descriptions. The meta description can be used by search engines to show in the snippet, it’s the black piece of text shown beneath the URL. The meta description is usually only used when it contains the keyword the searcher was searching for.

Some plugins, most specifically the All in One SEO plugin, use so called “automated descriptions”. They use the first sentence of a post to fill the meta description by default. That’s not very smart. That first sentence might be an introductory sentence which has hardly anything to do with the subject.

Thus, the only well written description is a hand written one, and if you’re thinking of auto generating the meta description, you might as well not do anything and let the search engine control the snippet… If you don’t use the meta description, the search engine will find the keyword searched for in your document, and automatically pick a string around that, which gives you a bolded word or two in the results page.

Auto generating a snippet is a “shortcut”, and there are no real shortcuts in (WordPress) SEO (none that work anyway).

So, use the meta description field you find in the WordPress SEO plugin to write a meta description. Make sure it entices the reader to click through and make sure that it contains the focus keyword of your post or page at least once.

You’ll notice we do not mention meta keywords. We don’t use them and neither should you, for an explanation, read this article by Joost: meta keywords and why I don’t use them.

This is an excerpt from the WordPress SEO Tutorial which you can read here »

getting started with squarespace v7

: : for squarespace v7 : :

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The best place to get started with Squarespace v7 is here: Getting Started and then Using Squarespace 7

But if you're keen to jump straight in with adding content, I highly recommend you read through these guys first:

• Content
• Building a Page
• Using Clickthrough URLs
• Adding Pages to your Navigation
• Content Blocks
• Moving Blocks
• Resizing Blocks
• Resizing an Image
• Using the Quote Block
• Using the Line Block
• Scheduling Blog Posts

And there's a whole bunch of videos here

Can't find what you're looking for?  Ask for help here: help.squarespace.com

Configuring an e-mail program (Outlook Express, Apple Mail, Thunderbird, etc)

: : for ICDHost Control Panel : :

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If you up your mail as IMAP, you can access your mail from just about any device.  To set up your device, follow this link:

https://www2.suresupport.com/faq.php/34

then click the link of the appropriate device/email reader.  For example, if you have an iPhone 4, you'll probably want to click on "Apple iPhone & Apple iPod with iOS 7".

The next screen will list 4 different options - POP3, POP3 & SMTP over SSL, IMAP or IMAP & SMTP over SSL.  Select whichever is most appropriate.

You'll need some if not all the following details:

• your email address
• your password
• your domain name
• your server name

All these details are available in your Welcome email (except your password).

Follow the instructions step by step!  It may seem daunting, but if you follow each step (there are lots of pretty pictures!) you'll have your email set up in no time.

custom thumbnails for youtube videos

: : for youtube : :

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Looks like custom thumbnails are back!

To upload a custom thumbnail for an existing video:

1. Go to your channel Video Manager.
2. Locate a video and click the Edit button.
3. Click the Custom thumbnail button and upload a thumbnail.
4. Once the thumbnail is uploaded, don't forget to click the "Save Changes" button.

Custom thumbnail best practices
Size

Your custom thumbnail image should be as large as possible, as the image will also be used as the preview image in the embedded player. We recommend your custom thumbnails:

• Have a resolution of 1280x720 (with minimum width of 640 pixels).
• Be uploaded in image formats such as .JPG, .GIF, .BMP, or .PNG. 
• Remain under the 2MB limit. 
• Try to use a 16:9 aspect ratio as it's the most used in YouTube players and previews.

Read the full support article here »

reconnect your facebook account to twitterfeed

: : for twitterfeed : :

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Twitterfeed is a great tool for autoposting your blog to Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

For reasons unknown to me, Facebook kills its feed every few months, so if you're using Twitterfeed to autopost to Facebook, you'll need to reconnect every now and then.

It's easy enough to reconnect, just follow these steps:

1. Login to Twitterfeed
2. Click on ‘Edit feed’ next to the social platform icons in the dashboard
3. Click on ‘Continue to Step 2’
4. Click on ‘Facebook’ under Active Services
5. Click the "Connect with Facebook" link, and you will be redirected to Facebook. Facebook automatically does this with the currently logged in Facebook account (if not, it will prompt to login), so if you want to connect a different account, you’ll need to log out of Facebook first.
6. Once you're back at Twitterfeed (which may be immediate, if you previously authenticated), there may be a list of Pages underneath the blue button - if you want to post to a Page instead of your personal account, select the Page to post to. If you want to post to your personal account ignore this step.
7. Click the "Update Service" button, in order to save the new Facebook connection settings.

If everything goes well, the connection will display an expiry date, eg, [expires 2013-10-29 06:10:32] in about two months time.  Set yourself a calendar/task reminder a week prior to the date and don't forget to reconnect your account!

If you have any trouble, contact Twitterfeed directly by clicking here.

tips for taking product shots

This is an excerpt from one of my favourite design guru's, John McWade, from Before & After | Design Talk

Clear and simple tips for artists (or anyone) who want to photograph their product for web and/or print design:

Hi Angela,For Web work and desktop output, a $200 point-and-shoot camera is just fine. Two or three megapixels are plenty. For book-quality photos, you should have an SLR camera. I can recommend the Nikon D40, which on Amazon is about $500 with its standard lens. It’s excellent.
Buy a small tripod. You can probably find one for $25 at Target.

Turn off the flash.

Shoot against a solid, not patterned, background. White or neutral is best. I suggest shooting an entire collection on the same background. This can vary. Your artistic eye will know best.

Whenever possible, shoot in soft, ambient outdoor light, the kind you’d get through a north-facing window. Avoid direct sun, which makes harsh shadows. Avoid artificial light if you can.

If you must shoot in artificial light, set your camera to “fluorescent” or “incandescent” or whatever you’re using. This will help keep the colors true.

Pose your piece against its background. Set your camera on its tripod. Make sure it’s focusing on your piece. Steady finger, then shoot. If you’re indoors at night, the no-flash exposure will be too long to hold your finger steady, so set the camera’s automatic timer, and let it take its own picture. An SLR camera will come with a remote shutter release.

Read the whole article here »

custom keyboard shortcuts

: : for mac (snow leopard) : :

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Adding a keyboard shortcut to a menu item is a simple task thanks to Apple's Keyboard preference pane. These instructions are for OS X 10.6.x (Snow Leopard), but the process is the same for earlier versions of OS X, with just a few minor differences in names.

1. Launch System Preferences by clicking the System Preferences icon in the Dock, or selecting System Preferences from the Apple menu.
2. Select the Keyboard preference pane (Leopard and Snow Leopard), or the Keyboard & Mouse preference pane (Tiger and earlier).
3. In the preference pane's window, click the Keyboard Shortcuts tab.
4. Click the plus (+) button near the bottom center of the window.
5. Use the dropdown menu to choose an application you want to add a keyboard shortcut to. For this example, I'll add a new keyboard shortcut to the Finder.
6. In the Menu Title field, type in the exact menu name as it appears in the application. I'm going to add a keyboard shortcut to the Finder for the New Burn Folder, so I'll type New Burn Folder.
7. Click once in the Keyboard Shortcut field to highlight it.
8. Add the keyboard shortcut you wish to use by typing it. I'm going to use control + shift + b (that's the control key, plus the shift key, plus the letter b key).
9. Click the Add button.
10. Close the preference pane.

exporting contacts from gmail/google apps

: : for google apps : :

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You can quickly export your Gmail Contacts list into a CSV file. Here's how:

1. Sign in to Gmail.
2. Click Contacts along the side of any Gmail page.
3. From the More actions drop-down menu, select Export....
4. Choose whether to export all contacts or only one group.
5. Select the format in which you'd like to export your contacts' information. Please note, some of these formats can lose some contact information.
   • To transfer contacts between Google accounts, use the Google CSV format. This is the recommended way to back up your Google Contacts.
   • To transfer contacts to Outlook, Yahoo! Mail, Hotmail, or various other apps, use the Outlook CSV format.
   • To transfer contacts to Apple Address Book, use the vCard format.
6. Click Export.
7. Choose Save to Disk then click OK.
8. Select a location to save your file, and click OK.

These instructions taken straight from Google Help: http://support.google.com/mail/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=24911

Interestingly, clicking on More using Google Chrome on a mac doesn't work?!! So try using Firefox instead :)

comment as you not your page on facebook

: : for facebook : :

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If I am an admin of a Facebook Page, how do I comment on a post using my own identity as opposed to the page's identity?

Facebook has finally made it possible for you to comment on your pages with your own identity. Go to Edit Page --> Your Settings --> Posting Preferences. Uncheck the box to be able to post on your page as yourself not the page.

Taken from this guide to FB Pages by Brittany Darwell:
http://brittanydarwell.wordpress.com/2011/02/11/guide-to-new-facebook-pages/

how to take a screenshot

: : for PC : :

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Here is a great article which describes a few different ways to take a screenshot using your PC:
http://www.wikihow.com/Take-a-Screenshot-in-Microsoft-Windows



: : for mac : :

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And here is a similar article which describes a few different ways to take a screenshot using your Mac:
http://guides.macrumors.com/Taking_Screenshots_in_Mac_OS_X