WordPress Semiologic Pro Theme Tip #4

Here is tip #4 of using the WordPress Semiologic Pro theme and, this time it has nothing to do with the WYSIWYG editor …

But, it does have everything to do with uploading Semiologic Pro, something, many Sem Pro users have problems with.  The first confusion is that many people think they have to upload a copy of WordPress before uploading Semiologic Pro, but it already has a fully functional version (and it’s usually the latest version) of WordPress integrated right into the software.

Now, Denis de Bernardy, the developer of Sem Pro has a great tutorial here http://www.semiologic.com/resources/wp-basics/how-to-install-sem-pro so I don’t want to go over ground that Denis has already covered but I do want to go over one aspect of the installation that many new users come across and that is whether they NEED to install WordPress first.

The answer to this question is "No." 

Step-by-step, this is how I install Semiologic Pro …  Remember, this does not apply to those using the Classic (free) version of Semiologic:

Step #1: using my FTP software, I upload all of the semiologic files from my PC to the hosting server.  The semiologic folder MUST be open on your PC so that you can see all of the individual folders and files within Semiologic Pro.  I have seen people just upload the Sem Pro folder and this will not work.

Step #2: I go into the hosting control panel and create a MySQL database and then use the appropriate information from this (user name and password) to create my wp.config.php file.  See Denis’s link above for more information on this.

Step #3: Using my FTP software (I use FTP Voyager, but Core FTP Lite works when this one struggles to upload my files), I then upload the wp.cpnfig.php file into the same folder that I uploaded all of the Sem Pro files.  Now what I mean here is that if you created your blog in the root folder, it’s more than likely your files would be in the public_html folder.  If it is in a sub directory, then you would have created an additional folder which, you may have named "blog" and uploaded all of the Sem Pro files into that folder.  Whichever one it is, this is where you upload the wp.config.php file.

Step #4: This is where I take a shortcut since most people go to WordPress and upload the install.php file.  I cheat.  I just type in the domain name of the blog and then it will give me a message saying that the install.php file is missing and will give me the option of creating it at the click of a button.

 

Step #5: After I click the Install.php link, this is what you’ll see…

Step #6: The next step will take you to a page which will ask for the Weblog title and my email address.  Once you complete the details, you’ll be taken to a page where you’ll be given your login details to get into the dashboard of WordPress

Step #7: Since the user name is usually Admin, I don’t bother copying that, but I do copy the password because unless I’m creating a client blog, I intend changing the password straight away.  So, this is where I copy the password, click the link to log in to the WordPress dashboard, type in admin in the user name box and paste the password in the password box.   

Step #8: Go to ’Users’  and then ‘Edit’ and add the necessary information as requested, plus change your password.

That’s it, you’re done.  Almost … Don’t forget to change the permissions as outlined http://www.semiologic.com/resources/wp-basics/how-to-install-sem-pro

Best,

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WordPress Semiologic Pro Theme Tip #3

Here is tip #3 of using the Semiologic Pro WYSIWYG editor … 

Make use of the integrated spell checker. 

This one is more for your new readers rather than regular readers of your blog because in truth, unless you really do have a lot of typo’s, most people will forgive you and learn from the content. 

However, correct spelling and grammar in my view has less to do with whether you’re credible or intelligent but more to do with you getting your message across to your target audience effectively.  If your blog posts are filled with typo’s, people will get distracted from your message possibly resulting in you losing the sale, a subscriber or even a joint venture partner.

It’s so tempting sometimes just to ignore the spelling and click "publish," but just remember another 30 seconds of your time could add another few hundred or a few thousand dollars to your bank account.

I don’t know of any other WordPress blog theme that can boast it’s very own integrated spell checker, but if you do choose the pro version of Semiologic, ensure you take advantage of this feature and give yourself a pay rise.

Successful Blogging,

 

WordPress Semiologic Pro Theme Tip #2

Here is tip #2 on using the WYSIWYG editor of Semiologic Pro …

Give some variety to your blogs by making it more interactive.   

Apart from the fact that Semiologic Pro is search engine friendly (the canvass of the theme has been optimized for you), if anything will sway people from using the classic or free version to using the pro version, it’s the WYSIWYG editor.  Not merely because of it’s look and feel, but because of it functionality and ease of use.

In terms of making your blog interactive, you have several helpful task buttons on the tool bar including the ‘add media button’, ‘the insert video button’ and the ‘ad unit button.’

By clicking on the media button, you can enter the url of where your audio is hosted (which could actually be a different server than where your WordPress blog is hosted) and it will insert a lovely looking player bar like this …

And, within just a few seconds (once you’ve obtained the code from say YouTube), you could have your own, a third party’s or, an animated video on your blog like this one … 

Ouch!  I think it missed though.  I could have sworn I heard the mouse laugh after the click!

I’m sure there’s a marketing lesson here somewhere, though I’m scraping the barrel to find one.  Perhaps the moral of the story is simply,

"know when to move on and find more big cheese rather than trying
 to make a last ditch effort for the crumbs… it’s this ‘last ditch’ activity
 that could kill you - or your online business for that matter"

Anyway, finally, you can easily add Google AdSense blocks to your blog posts so you can earn some revenue from your visitors interactivity.

I hope you can see the advantages of how the Semiologic Pro WYSIWYG editor  can easily make a potentially boring blog post into a spiced up multimedia article, complete with some money making activity to add to the fun - and your bank account of course.

That’s all for now,