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Favorite Google Chrome Extensions for Web Developers

Yesterday I wrote about my favorite Basic Google Chrome Extensions. There are a number of extensions specifically helpful for web development. Here are the ones I use every day: ColorZilla This is a super easy way to grab a color from your screen and learn the hex code. WordPress Admin…

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Get these! 10 Best BASIC Google Chrome Extensions

I use Google Chrome as my default browser. I am a fan of the extensions they offer to increase productivity and simplify processes. There are extensions I use for WordPRess website development, which I will cover in a different post. This post focuses on my 10 favorite extensions for basic…

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How to Use the Chrome Inspector to Edit Your Website CSS

My life as a web designer was changed once I figured out that I can use the Chrome Developer Tools Inspector to play with the CSS on my websites. There are many uses for these great tools, but here I am focusing on using it for CSS specifically. I did…

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Taking and Selecting Great Photos for Your Website

Today’s post is from guest blogger Lawrence Cheng, of Lawrence Cheng Photography. Lawrence is a professional photographer based in Arlington, VA who specializes in portraits and corporate photography. You’re probably aware that images do increase traffic to your website or social media feed. How much more traffic? Jeff Bullas, social…

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5 Reasons to Add Periscope To Your Social Media Presence

Today I am pleased to welcome my first Guest Blogger! Karen Bate, of KB Concepts P.R. is a social media, public relations and marketing professional who specializes in work for non-profits and “great ideas for good causes.” She is also the founder of Awesome Women Entrepreneurs, a networking organization which…

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Big_Mac_hamburger Big Mac from Wikipedia

What’s the Beef? Taking a Bite Out of the Hamburger Debate

I have a keen interest in hamburgers. They are not my favorite food … I am talking about the small, 3-lined menu icon that has been the topic of debate in the web design community. The icon was designed by Norm Cox as part of the user interface for the…

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10+ Favorite Free WordPress Plugins and Why You Should Use Them

I have used a lot of plugins over the years and I love listening to podcasts and reading blog posts to learn about new plugins and other’s favorites. Here are the Top 10+ Free Plugins I use on my WordPress websites: Yoast SEO: This plugin is one of the most…

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How to resize and prepare images for use on your WordPress website

Images are a key to a blog or website. Bad quality images will make your site look unprofessional. Images that are too large will slow down the load time of your site. Images that the wrong dimensions and shape will mess up a page layout Once you have selected an…

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5 Best Ways to Get Help with WordPress

I built my first WordPress website in 2011. At the time, I was not aware of the many avenues available for support and learning within the WordPress community and struggled to find answers and teach myself everything from css to html to plugins and ftp. Over the years I have…

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Why I Love WordCamps

I attended my first WordCamp in Baltimore in 2014. I found out about WordCamp by accident. I had hired a developer in Florida to do some php work for a client of mine, and he mentioned in passing that he was presenting at WordCamp Tampa. I googled “WordCamp” and discovered…

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Help! The Facebook Image from My Website is Wrong!

If you have ever tried sharing a link from your website and Facebook, you may have encountered an issue where the image that Facebook is reading from your website is not the image you want to be featured. When you share a link on your Facebook timeline, you will usually…

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The Blogging Challenge: Blogging For One Month

I met the sister team from @sumydesigns, Susan Sullivan and Amy Masson at WordCamp US. They impressed me with their commitment to blogging about website and WordPress design and development. As a result, I have set myself a goal of blogging every day (or almost every day!) for the month…

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hacker Photo from Pixabay

ACK! HACK!

5 Ways to Protect your WordPress Website We very rarely have to deal malware on our client’s websites because we keep the software updated and run scans regularly. WordPress website can be vulnerable to hacking when old plugins and WordPress core files are not kept updated. Sometimes, website files have…

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What Kind of Car Do You Drive – WordPress Hosting Conversation

I recently posted some information on the Facebook Advanced WordPress Group about blacklisted plugins on Go Daddy Managed WordPress Hosting plans, including several backup plugins.  My intention was to share this information with the community and advise you how to choose managed WordPress hosting plans in case you may be…

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Hillary_Clinton_official_Secretary_of_State_portrait_crop-240x300 By United States Department of State (Official Photo at Department of State page) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Lesson from Hillary – Use Your Email Properly

Politics aside, using personal email for business is a bad  idea. Debating whether or not Hillary knew or didn’t know or realize this, if her advisors did or didn’t tell her to avoid this mistake, is not the purpose of this blog post, but it is has reminded me how email…

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Solving Problems

My mom just arrived for a visit. She is one of the best problem solvers I know. If something is broken, my mom can fix it! She is not only very talented at “tinkering” with things, she is also smart about asking for help and knowing where to find answers….

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Jumping In

The ball just dropped in Times Square. There’s no time like the present to jump in and begin a new challenge. How many times have you put something off because you are not “ready?” I recall mornings when I rose early to swim in the open water, training for a triathlon….

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