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Make It Work: Building an Awesome WordPress Website for Your Small Business

Sé Reed
April 27, 2013

Make It Work: Building an Awesome WordPress Website for Your Small Business

How to make your WordPress website awesome from the ground up, without ever touching a theme. Includes lots of plugin recommendations.

Sé Reed

April 27, 2013
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  1. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    MAKE IT WORK!
    Building an Awesome WordPress
    Website for Your Small Business
    Sé Reed
    @sereedmedia

    View Slide

  2. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    about sé
    Sé Reed Media
    • Web development & strategy
    • sereedmedia.com
    • @sereedmedia

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  3. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    How do you build an
    AWESOME
    business website?

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  4. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

    View Slide

  5. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

    View Slide

  6. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    An awesome website
    EXISTS.

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  7. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    STEP 1

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  8. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    Installing WordPress

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  9. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    Installing WordPress

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  10. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    What Type of
    WordPress?

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  11. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    What Type of
    WordPress?
    •WordPress.com

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  12. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    What Type of
    WordPress?
    •WordPress.com
    •Managing hosting

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  13. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    What Type of
    WordPress?
    •WordPress.com
    •Managing hosting
    •WordPress.org (self-hosted)

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  14. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    WordPress.com

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  15. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    WordPress.com
    •Business tier

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  16. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    WordPress.com
    •Business tier
    •Limited to WordPress themes

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  17. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    WordPress.com
    •Business tier
    •Limited to WordPress themes
    •Limited extendability

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  18. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    WordPress.com
    •Business tier
    •Limited to WordPress themes
    •Limited extendability
    •Includes support

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  19. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    WordPress.com
    •Business tier
    •Limited to WordPress themes
    •Limited extendability
    •Includes support
    •Handles updates

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  20. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

    View Slide

  21. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    Managing Hosting

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  22. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    Managing Hosting
    •Pricey

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  23. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    Managing Hosting
    •Pricey
    •Includes support

    View Slide

  24. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    Managing Hosting
    •Pricey
    •Includes support
    •Handles updates

    View Slide

  25. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    Managing Hosting
    •Pricey
    •Includes support
    •Handles updates
    •Optimized for speed

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  26. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

    View Slide

  27. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    WordPress.org

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  28. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    WordPress.org
    •Free

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  29. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    WordPress.org
    •Free
    •Self-supported

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  30. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    WordPress.org
    •Free
    •Self-supported
    •Manual updates

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  31. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    WordPress.org
    •Free
    •Self-supported
    •Manual updates
    •Fully extendable

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  32. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

    View Slide

  33. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

    View Slide

  34. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

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  35. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    (Not the hard way)

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  36. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    QuickInstall
    (aka “one-click”, 3rd party apps, etc.)

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  37. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    QuickInstall
    (aka “one-click”, 3rd party apps, etc.)
    1. Do not use Auto-Upgrade

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  38. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    QuickInstall
    (aka “one-click”, 3rd party apps, etc.)
    1. Do not use Auto-Upgrade
    2. Do not use “admin”

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  39. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    QuickInstall
    (aka “one-click”, 3rd party apps, etc.)
    1. Do not use Auto-Upgrade
    2. Do not use “admin”
    3. Use strong passwords

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  40. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

    View Slide

  41. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

    View Slide

  42. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

    View Slide

  43. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

    View Slide

  44. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

    View Slide

  45. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

    View Slide

  46. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

    View Slide

  47. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

    View Slide

  48. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

    View Slide

  49. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    STEP 2

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  50. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

    View Slide

  51. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

    View Slide

  52. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

    View Slide

  53. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

    View Slide

  54. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

    View Slide

  55. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

    View Slide

  56. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

    View Slide

  57. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

    View Slide

  58. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

    View Slide

  59. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

    View Slide

  60. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

    View Slide

  61. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

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  62. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    NEWSFLASH!

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  63. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    NEWSFLASH!

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  64. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    NEWSFLASH!
    Humans
    are a visual species.

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  65. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    NEWSFLASH!
    Humans
    are a visual species.
    (We like pretty things)

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  66. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

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  67. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    Form
    vs
    Function

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  68. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    Form =
    How your
    site LOOKS

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  69. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    Function =
    What your
    site DOES

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  70. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    Theme
    vs
    Plugin

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  71. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    Form =
    THEME

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  72. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    Function =
    PLUGINS

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  73. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

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  74. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    The Tale of
    Social Media Widget

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  75. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    STEP 3

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  76. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

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  77. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    Security
    • Wordfence Security
    • Better WP Security
    • Sucuri WordPress Security
    • Limit Login Attempts

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  78. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

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  79. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    Back That &%# Up
    • WordPress Backup to Dropbox
    • VaultPress
    • Backup Buddy

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  80. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

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  81. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

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  82. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    STEP 4

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  83. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

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  84. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    Make
    some meat.

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  85. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

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  86. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    CONTENT
    is the ONLY reason
    people visit websites.

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  87. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

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  88. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

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  89. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    •Home
    •About
    •Contact

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  90. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

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  91. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    •Products

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  92. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    •Products
    •Services

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  93. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    •Products
    •Services
    •FAQ

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  94. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    •Products
    •Services
    •FAQ
    •Blogs

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  95. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

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  96. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

    View Slide

  97. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

    View Slide

  98. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

    View Slide

  99. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

    View Slide

  100. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

    View Slide

  101. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

    View Slide

  102. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

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  103. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    Connect Form
    • Contact Form 7
    • Gravity Forms
    • Formidable
    •Ninja Forms

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  104. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

    View Slide

  105. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

    View Slide

  106. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

    View Slide

  107. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

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  108. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    Comments
    • Disable Comments
    • Akismet
    •Twitter Comments
    •Jetpack

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  109. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

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  110. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

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  111. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    STEP 5

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  112. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    Widgets

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  113. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    Widgets

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  114. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

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  115. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

    View Slide

  116. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

    View Slide

  117. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

    View Slide

  118. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

    View Slide

  119. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

    View Slide

  120. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

    View Slide

  121. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

    View Slide

  122. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

    View Slide

  123. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

    View Slide

  124. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

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  125. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    Just Widgets
    • Image Widget
    • BE Subpages Widget
    • Yelp Widget Pro
    • Testimonials Widget

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  126. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

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  127. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    •Not all widgets are plugins

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  128. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    •Not all widgets are plugins
    •Not all plugins have widgets

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  129. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

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  130. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    BUT!

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  131. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

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  132. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    •Widgets are often in a plugin

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  133. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    •Widgets are often in a plugin
    •Plugins often have widgets

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  134. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    STEP 6

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  135. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    Make
    It
    Work

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  136. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    MOAR
    PLUGINS!!

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  137. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    (awesome)
    MOAR
    PLUGINS!!

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  138. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    Plugins =
    What your
    site DOES

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  139. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    Sooo ...
    what does
    an awesome
    website do?

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  140. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    Welll ...
    what does
    your awesome
    BUSINESS do?

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  141. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia

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  142. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    •Sell products?

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  143. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    •Sell products?
    •Make products?

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  144. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    •Sell products?
    •Make products?
    •Sell services?

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  145. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    •Sell products?
    •Make products?
    •Sell services?
    •Provide expertise?

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  146. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    There’s a plugin
    for that!

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  147. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    Sell Stuff
    •WooCommerce
    •WPCommerce
    •Shopp
    •Cart66

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  148. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    Share & Be Shared
    • Jetpack
    • Sociable
    • Simple Social Icons
    • Social Web Links
    • Instagrate
    • DiggDigg

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  149. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    Email Marketing
    •Mailchimp Widget
    •Constant Contact
    WordPress Widget
    •WP Newsletter
    •Jetpack (subscribe to posts)

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  150. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    Search Engine
    Optimzation
    •WordPress SEO
    •All-In-One SEO

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  151. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    Extra Credit
    •Soliloquy
    •The Events Calendar
    •FAQ Manager
    •About.me Widget
    •Simple Lightbox

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  152. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    Staying Current
    •PostStat.us
    •WPdaily.com
    •chrislema.com
    •WordPress Repository docs

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  153. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    Theme!
    Theme!
    Buy a
    theme!
    Install a
    theme!
    Theme!
    Change the
    theme!

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  154. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    Theme!
    Theme!
    Buy a
    theme!
    Install a
    theme!
    Theme!
    Change the
    theme!

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  155. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    Theme!
    Theme!
    Buy a
    theme!
    Install a
    theme!
    Theme!
    Change the
    theme!

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  156. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    Ask not what WordPress
    can do for you ...

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  157. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    Ask what you can do
    with WordPress.

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  158. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    THANKS!
    Sé Reed
    @sereedmedia

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  159. make it work!
    building an awesome WordPress website
    for your small business
    sé reed
    @sereedmedia
    MAKE IT WORK!
    Building an Awesome WordPress
    Website for Your Small Business
    Sé Reed
    @sereedmedia

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