Sweet Smart Design

What are your business plans for 2021? One thing to put on your consideration list: a website redesign. If you think a new website isn't a priority, check out today's blog post - you may find your site is more out-of-date than you think. https://sweetsmartdesign.com/7-reasons-your-site-needs-a-r/

Do you have an online shop? Get some great ideas on how to maximize sales for the holiday season from my latest post for the WooCommerce blog. https://woocommerce.com//how-to-increase-average-order-si/

I don't know about you, but the holidays this year are bringing me a lot of joy and optimism which is a welcome change, given the current times. If you're shopping for a solopreneur, I've put together a gift guide to bring them - and you! - a little joy. What would you add to the list? https://sweetsmartdesign.com/the-solopreneur-gift-guide/

It's pretty easy to create a gorgeous website when your subject - jazz singer Diane White - is so incredibly beautiful herself. We were both pretty happy with this quick website makeover that was required because her WordPress theme was out of date and causing errors. I added a custom discography and music page that plays samples of her songs and showcases her albums, too. https://dianewhite.com/

Are you a self-published author? Your website is your most important asset when it comes to building a community of readers. Does your website have all 10 of these critical components? Double check in today's Sweet Smart blog post! https://sweetsmartdesign.com/top-10-things-every-self-publ/

I'm really passionate about photos on websites - they must always be properly licensed. I have a whole post about it on the blog, but to make a long story short, one great way to get for-sure safe images is to buy them from a stock image site. I buy a lot for clients from Deposit Photos because they have a great selection and are pretty cheap. Right now from Appsumo you can buy a code to get 100 images for just $40 USD. It's a great deal if you blog regularly and are looking ...for a specific Featured Image for every post (which you should have!). This isn't an affiliate link at all - just a product I love at a great price, so snap it up now! https://appsumo.com/depositphotos-black-friday-2020/

On Friday afternoons, I'm usually looking for an easy project that's useful, but not urgent. So this Friday, why not spend your time checking to make sure your business website is mobile friendly? I talk all about what it means for a site to be mobile friendly and how to check for it in today's blog post (spoiler alert: if you're wedded to "above the fold" content, you need to rethink your site!). https://sweetsmartdesign.com/making-it-mobile-friendly/

In the world of SEO - Search Engine Optimization - backlinks are the main currency. Find out what backlinks are, and how to get more of them to boost your Google rankings, in today's blog post. https://sweetsmartdesign.com/how-to-get-more-backlinks-for/

My latest column for the WooCommerce blog is up! It's all about how to open a Print on Demand shop - a quick and easy way to get your artwork, photos, or logo on physical items for sale. Now I'm dreaming of having the Sweet Smart Logo on stickers, pins, and post-it notes! Where would you love to see your own logo? https://woocommerce.com/p/start-a-print-on-demand-business/

Shhh! It hasn't been officially launched yet but I wanted to share this peek at my most favourite website yet, for thriller author Ty Patterson. We're both happy with the dynamic and powerful design, but the best part is that it uses my new book library plugin to make adding a new book for any one of his several series an absolute breeze. Plus, it features an online shop so readers can purchase his eBooks directly from him - meaning more royalties in his pocket. All automated..., of course, so the system runs itself. Check it out here: https://typatterson.com/

September is the perfect time of year to start thinking about your plans for your business for the upcoming 12 months - or even to think about launching a whole new enterprise. Either way, it might mean a whole new website design. If you're wondering what you'll need to gather and get ready in order to get your website rolling, we're talking about that in today's blog post. https://sweetsmartdesign.com/getting-started-with-a-new-we/

Pretty much the only drawback to using WordPress to build your website is the maintenance. The software must be manually updated on a regular basis, but once you learn the process you can do it yourself as often as you need. Learn how, and how often it is required, in today's blog post. https://sweetsmartdesign.com/how-to-maintain-your-wordpres/

If your WordPress website automatically upgraded to 5.5 last week, you might be encountering a whole host of problems. This is because 5.5 removed some older functionality without warning and without deprecating it first. Happily, a quick patch - version 5.5.1 - is being released this week that restores the old functionality, and you should upgrade to it as soon as you can. But even then, have a look at why your site broke, and remove any problematic functionality before vers...ion 5.7 comes out, which is when this same functionality will be removed permanently. Need help with all this mumbo jumbo? We can figure it out for you! https://www.searchenginejournal.com/wordpress-5-5-1-main//

I've got a big announcement! I've spent the summer writing a cool new plugin just for self-published authors who write in series. Now you can simply fill in a form on the back end with your book info, and like magic, it gets added to your website in all the right places! Easy peasy.... Check out today's blog post for an explanation of how it works and an awesome new demo site so you can see it in action. https://sweetsmartdesign.com/wordpress-websites-for-self-p/

Want to boost your SEO? The number one key is to add new content on a regular basis to your website via a blog - and follow this fantastic checklist of 10 things to include with every blog post to make sure it's optimized for Google Search. https://www.titangrowth.com//capitalize-on-content-10-tec/

Now is the time to power up your business with eCommerce - but if you're nervous about going it alone, consider starting or joining a Multi Vendor Marketplace. Learn how in this article I wrote for WooCommerce, the WordPress eCommerce solution. https://woocommerce.com//create-multivendor-marketplace-w/

Is your website secure? Find out if you're doing everything you can to keep your site from being hacked in today's blog post. https://sweetsmartdesign.com/is-your-website-secure/

Calling all artists! Have you dreamed of having a website that showcases your work - sorted by project or style, with lovely visual slide shows? It can be done! I'm so proud of this site I built for local Ottawa artist Mary Ann Varley, which shows off her lovely paintings with embedded photographs. I loved her work so much that after building her site, I even bought one of her paintings! https://mavarley.ca

WordPress 5.5 will be released this month and adds SO MANY awesome new features! Check them out below - and if you'd like upgrade help, just let me know! https://www.wpbeginner.com//whats-coming-in-wordpress-5-5/

What's the easiest way to convert a website visitor into a solid lead or even a paying customer? You might be surprised to find that the answer is just this: ask them! In today's blog post, I talk about how to make sure your website has a Call to Action - a very simple, free way to increase the conversion rate of your website.... https://sweetsmartdesign.com/call-your-clients-to-action/ See more

Loved this post containing easy things you can do as a self-published author to get going with online marketing - especially the first point (hint: own your own website!). https://nessgraphica.com/seven-steps-to-jump-start-your-ma/

I recently helped a client learn to embed a YouTube video in a blog post, so I thought I'd share that process in today's blog post. It's so easy - trust me, you can do it! https://sweetsmartdesign.com/embedding-a-youtube-video-in-/

If you're a self-published author, then you've probably realized from now that it's not just about the creative process - self-publishing is a small business and you'll need marketing skills to make it big. A central part of that is a website that is a home on the internet for your fans and gives them a place to access all your books and sign up for your mailing list. This article has a great step-by-step process for starting your own site on WordPress. Need help? I'd be ha...ppy to lend a hand! https://thewritepractice.com/building-an-author-website/ See more

Have you ever shared a post from your own website on Facebook, and had it pick up the wrong featured image to use in the post? This excellent overview by WPBeginner talks about how to fix that. You'll need an SEO manager plugin on your WordPress website - I use Yoast SEO on all the ones I design and develop. Then, you'll need to do a bit of fiddling inside Facebook itself for links you've already published on that platform - Facebook caches its images for each link and needs ...to be told when you want to refresh the image to a new one. Here's how: https://www.wpbeginner.com//how-to-fix-facebook-incorrect/

Ever notice a little "not secure" or open lock graphic next to your website's URL in a browser? Learn how to fix it in today's blog post! https://sweetsmartdesign.com/whats-an-ssl-certificate-and-/