Integrating Social Media Tools in WordPress Panel Discussion

This question is not “Should I use Social Media on my WordPress site?” the question is “What Social Media tools should I use on my WordPress Web site.”

Learning a new theme can be tough sometimes. Not to mention that each theme can be put together 500 different ways.

This presentation is going to show you that your theme can do all of the cool tricks that any other theme can do. Not to mention, in a much less hair pulling – stress free environment. By the end of this presentation, you will be feeling confident that your theme can do that too!

How many times have you purchased a theme based on the “live demonstration” or “live preview”, only to be let down once you find out that the theme was built in a totally crazy way? Let’s say you have a magazine theme, and you like this other magazine theme because there is a slide show on each blog post. You find out, after buying and installing the theme that the slide show does not run off the images you attach to the post, but through a 12 step process including buying the theme developer’s “special” plugin for another $45 a year?

How many times have you had to edit every page of your website due to installing a new theme and finding out that the old theme used short codes and this new theme has no short codes at all?

I can tell you that I’ve done it 4 times for 4 different clients, and each time got worse and worse. So I’m here to show you an easier way to get your theme to do the tings you want it to do.

Opening Keynote: Chris Lema

WordCamp Vegas is proud to announce that Chis Lema will kick off the 2013 WordCamp Vegas as our Keynote Speaker.

Can You Make Money Blogging?

If you want to make money blogging, there are many things you should do and many things you shouldn’t waste time doing when it comes to blogging. Certainly this will cut at the hearts of bloggers who love to do many of the things I say are a waste and hate doing other things that will make you money. The core question is if you want to make money blogging or not. If you do, then you’ll love this session which will make you rethink how you’re spending your time blogging.

Get Your Site Built Without Getting Burned

Building a website can be overwhelming and for many businesses, downright frightening. It can involve a lot of money, time, energy and frustration and there’s clearly reasons why so many people feel “burned” by web developers.

Learn how to be a confident general contractor of your WordPress build. WordPress levels the playing field for everyone to obtain a cohesive, professional and maintainable website, but before you can maintain a site, it must be built. And before you jump into a build, you’ll want a plan just as if you were building a house: how to find the right architect. What materials to use, which carpenter, plumber and landscaper to hire. How much the job will cost, and when and how to pay them. How do warranties work, and what kind of maintenance will the place require? You don’t hire a plumber to design you a house, or ask a housepainter to pick up a saw, but so many people make a similar mistake when contracting for a website.

This presentation will walk through the steps everyone should take when building out a WordPress website, how to find the right contractors for the job, tools everyone will need, how to handle the buildout, and what to expect after launch. While some of this is applicable to all web buildouts, a lot of content will be specific to WordPress, including dashboard customization, how to find and vet a WP developer, and the plugins/tools/hosting available specifically within WordPress, as well as the maintenance and support required afterwards.

Managing Your Site’s Community: Don’t Make Commenting A Crime Scene

View Mika’s slide presentation at http://helf.us/wclv2013.

Awesome! You’ve done everything you need to do to rank yourself in Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Your target audience can find you! So how come your bounce rate is so high and no one engages with your post? You can’t get good ad-payouts because no one clicks on them. What could you be doing wrong!? You may be *puts on sunglasses* killing your comments.

WordPress isn’t just about slapping some cool plugins on your site; you have to know your audience, understand how THEY interact, and be willing to listen to them. Of course, there are some awesome plugins to help you handle the masses, and I’ll talk about those too, but let’s get down and dirty and look at the evidence, trace the paths, and find out who’s killing your site. It may be you.

Photos from Managing Your Site’s Community: Don’t Make Commenting A Crime Scene

Mika Epstein at 2013 Vegas WordCamp

Terry and Benjamin Beck and Andrew DiMino and Mika Epstein

Terry, Benjamin Beck, Andrew DiMino, and Mika Epstein at 2013 Vegas WordCamp

WordPress SEO That Is Google Friendly

View Benjamin’s slide presentation at http://benjaminbeck.com/wclv2013/.

With so many Google updates happening where we hear about websites being “banned” or “de-indexed” people often ask what can we do? In this presentation we will be going over the basics of optimizing a WordPress site for search engines along with several Google-friendly tips to help you gain more customers without spending a lot of time or money.

Photos from WordPress SEO That Is Google Friendly

Benjamin Beck at 2013 Vegas WordCamp

Terry, Benjamin Beck, Andrew DiMino, and Mika Epstein at 2013 Vegas WordCamp

Benjamin Beck and Andrew DiMino at 2013 Vegas WordCamp

Photos by Glendon James Robbins.

Getting Started with WordPress for Beginners

This 35-minute session is geared toward beginners who are in the early stages of setting up their WordPress-powered site. The session talks about how I have used WordPress to start my own news startup EasternIowaNews.com and used WordPress at United Way of East Central Iowa, a site that has won a national Content Management Association Spotlight Award in the WordPress category in 2012/13. The session will walk attendees through: