This post is dedicated to Freshalina of Crunktastical.net, who also chimed in last night via Twitter and gave the congregation an earful. This post is organized a bit different from Part I. I chose to just group the related tweets by subject followed by a list of Freshalina’s recommended readings and videos. Enjoy!

Top 10 advice tweets from Freshalina

1. Be original instead of worrying about numbers. Don’t listen to Jay-Z, numbers LIE

Freshalina: If your writing is up to par you can make almost anything interesting by putting a spin on it. But you coons worried about numbers. (src) I’m not interested in numbers. That’s where a lot of people fuck up. Everybody trying to have a big dick contest. Not I. (src)

2. Stop trying to make money before you have grown an audience and built a reputation.

Freshalina: I went a year and a half of blogging daily without having ads on my blogspot. Didn’t look at it as a business at first. Just fun. (src) I had a Yahoo group. Announced new posts via Myspace bulletins. I didn’t and still don’t give a fuck about popularity. (src)

3. Cultivate a unique voice that sets you apart from others within your niche.

Freshalina: There is so much ground to cover. But if I had to start off one place I would say a lot of people just lack originality in general. (src) No originality. No connection with readers. Just a whole bunch of pictures with the same commentary. That’s not fun. (src) If you are going to cover the same thing as someone else, your individual spin will make it unique. At least have that. (src)

4. Write quality articles for the enjoyment of you readers, not for clicks.

Freshalina: This is how I operate. I don’t care about how many people aren’t reading my site. I care about the people who are reading my site. (src)

5. Take time to put up only your best work. Your readers will appreciate and respect your craft.

Freshalina: Quality over quantity, for sure. I don’t throw up any and every thing. I edit my pictures. I select the best pictures to post. (src) I want my readers to have the best. I don’t even like watermarking pictures because I think its distracting but bitches steal. (src)

6. Don’t throw shade at celebs because it’s in style. Be authentic and consistent with your voice.

Freshalina: Everybody is trying to throw shade and all that and its so forced. Listen if that’s not you, don’t force it. It just comes across lame. (src) It’s a difference between joking and just coming across mean-spirited. Readers know the difference. (src) Mean spirited bloggers come across bitter and lonely. If you want to be one, that’s your business. No judgement here. (src) If you are going to be messy, be messy all of the time. If you are going to be mean, be mean all of the time. Stand up in your truth, LOL. (src)

7. Stay aware of current happenings within your niche. Be ahead of the curve by always striving to learn more.

Freshalina: I don’t think a lot of bloggers new and old educate themselves on what’s current enough. I’m always reading a new book. (src) There are a lot of great resources out there. Stop waiting for someone tot tell you about them and go after them yourself. (src) I watch free seminars ALL the time. I print out free worksheets ALL the time. I’m up late a lot just trying to learn more. (src)

8. Create a plan and focus your energy into accomplishing that goal.

Freshalina: Raw talent / appeal is good but you’ve got to be able to harness it into something greater. Make a plan. (src) I wish I would’ve jumped on the social media wave earlier but I didn’t understand. I thought Twitter was stupid and Facebook was boring, LOL (src)

9. Determine what success means to you. Comparing yourself to other bloggers in your niche is pointless.

Freshalina:  That’s why I don’t care about what the next blogger is doing, numbers and otherwise. Because what is for me is for me. (src) I have my own mission statement to accomplish. I can’t be worried about what the next blogger is doing. I have my own plan. (src)  I have built a community that operates regardless of if I’m around or not. Fuck numbers, LOL. My readers have meet ups, LOL. (src)

10 .Stay humble and know your worth. Once you’ve determined your definition of sucess, what the next person is doing won’t change that.

Freshalina: And it started with one poorly designed blogspot that was original as fuck. So no, I don’t care what someone else is doing. (src) I don’t need a gimmick. I don’t need an exclusive interview. I’m just determined everyday to give the best I can give. (src) I don’t give a damn about making anybody’s top lists. I got chicken thighs in my freezer and I’m happy. That’s how I define success, LOL (src)

Bonus:

11. Be your own toughest critic. Do what the next person won’t do in order to be successful and give back.

Believe in yourself. Work hard even when you think no one is looking. Educate yourself. Be appreciative. Give back. Stay humble. (src)

12. Qualify the people you are following. If they aren’t a leader in their niche, what advice can they offer you?

Don’t take criticism seriously or personally from people who don’t know what they’re talking about. (src)

Recommended Resources from Freshalina

Freshalina also listed various book and videos from her Kindle library.

1.  ”I personally love [Google] Adsense because its reliable, legit and you can make a KILLING if you figure out how to make it work on your site.” (src) Watch this video to get started http://t.co/RIt3gCJntO

2. Visit Problogger.net for more information on blogging and monetization

3. Video on remaining positive in business. Why Happiness Is The New Productivity: http://youtu.be/T8ZFU4FoNvY 

4. Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell

5. Read more on the 20 Powerful Lessons in the Art of Mastery

6.  Learn about Gurbaksh Chahal

7. If You Have to Cry, Go Outside by Kelly Cutrone

8. From Ramen To Riches: Building Wealth in Your 20′s by James G. Wood and Self-Employed Tax Solutions by June Walker are cool reads.

9. A quick and inexpensive read,  My Blog Traffic Sucks! 8 Simple Steps to Get 100,000 Blog Visitors without Working 8 Days a Week by Steve Scott

10. “If you love Jesus and managing you money, check out The Storehouse Principle by Al Jandl and The Blessed Life by Robert Morris.”

11. “I also love Suze Orman because I have a vagina, girlfriend.”

If you turned in early last night you may have missed an enlightening conversation on Twitter. Freshalina from Crunktastical.net and Luvvie from AwesomeLuvvie.com were giving testimony without the morning announcements and collection plate. I decided to compile a list of my favorite tweets. This post is kind of long, but well worth the read.  Freshalina’s advice will be in Part II.

Top 10 advice tweets from Luvvie

1. “Instead of faking popularity, how about you put effort into being better at your craft so people will be inclined to care about it?” (src)
This is true. I’m a web designer by day. We are born and bred to be in the background so being liked isn’t as important as doing great work. I tend to see the opposite online. Popularity can be bought, but authenticity and creating a real connection with your readers can only be achieved by putting in real work and providing something of value to your readers. Remember quality is king!

2. “Some of you are housed in a shack tryna be a mega church. You’re trying to play “get the pageviews” so you throw up anything. You won’t win.” (src)
Anyone can get pageviews by putting up crap. But what do those pageviews mean? Have you taken a look at HOW people are reaching your site? What they are reading and HOW long they are staying? For top dollar advertisers, this is the information that counts. Advertisers that spend real money want to know how your readers are engaging with your site.

3. “You know what you should be paying attention to in Google Analytics? Time on site. And pages per visit. THOSE matter. Get those numbers up” (src)
BINGO! Start by learning HOW to read/interpret your analytics reports. I’ve had jobs as a web designer, social media marketer, social media account manager, etc. and one of my duties was to read and interpret analytics. If you are clueless on where to begin start with this guide from Smashing Magazine and learn about Social Media Marketing.

4. “This is why good blogs are hard to come by. Folks are chasing pageviews instead of chasing engagement. And QUALITY. Losing outchea.” (src)
Again, on point. Quality should be your main goal. Not comments, not working with brands, not free trinkets and definitely not Likes and Followers. If your content is great, all of that other stuff will come when it’s time. Don’t rush to put up the same information 20 other blogs in your niche have already covered. Do something different. Set yourself apart from the rest, have real expectations and find a great niche.

5. “Brands, I blame you. Some of you have hired PR folks who don’t know what analytics means so you’re placing ALL cred just on pageviews.” (src)
Stop listening to people who have no idea on how website traffic works. You’ll end up chasing some magical carrot and lose focus on why you started your blog in the first place.  Don’t diminish the potential power of your brand by falling victim to chasing these numbers, just work on building your traffic organically.

6. “Your blog should be so good that when you finally DO start getting traffic, people will be going back in your archives tryna get more!” (src)
You want people to spend hours on your site being upset that they didn’t find out about your blog sooner. This means you have effectively engaged your reader and made them interested in YOUR point of view. I’d rather have 5 regular readers who value my content verses 25 visitors who reach my blog once and never return. So it helps to identify your audience before you begin.

7. “You don’t have competition. There’s room for everyone. Do what is authentic to you and drink gatorade to quench your thirst.” (src)
Truer words have never been spoken.  Your only competition is yourself. You need to be a better blogger than you were last year. If you concentrate on what the next person is doing, or THEIR accomplishments, it’s easy to lose focus on what you own personal blogging goals are. Stay in your lane and “do you”. Also see my do’s and don’ts for newbies.

8 .”And while we’re at it. My blogger sisthrens and brethrens. Show love to other bloggers. That doesn’t take your pageviews. Why so stingy?” (src)
This is a pet peeve of mine. The ONLY way to prosper online is to share each others content. It’s called back-linking  You need links coming into your site as well as leaving it in order for Google Search to know that you are popular. No one can be successful online without the help of other bloggers. While you guys are chasing comments, I’ll chase incoming links, retweets and shares. Read more about back-linking and why it’s important.

9. “Get your money. But don’t bend yourself backwards and change your whole voice and compromise your integrity to do it.” (src)
Make the money, don’t let it make you. Do not, under any circumstances, change who you are while chasing success. The minute you do, your credibility is out the door. You gain a readers trust by allowing yourself to be vulnerable and sharing your world. So why be fake it just to earn a buck? Don’t make the sacrifice, because once you’re exposed, it’s over. Read more about getting paid online.

10. “I’m stubborn so I want success on my own terms. As long as I can pay my bills, look at myself in the mirror and hit my dougie, I’m good.” (src)
Determine what’s successful to YOU. If you are comfortable with earning enough to pay your bills and money left over for your savings, then be happy with that. Do not be swayed by what OTHERS consider successful. You are the only that can can define success and figuring out this sooner than later can help you stay focused.

Bonus: Luvvie’s Top 5 Things Every Blog Needs

Now this information seemed like common sense to me as a designer, but maybe it needs to be said. I have a post called Top 25 Website Pages which elaborates on the subject as well.

1. An “About” page. Folks need to know who is behind the words. Tell us who you are. (src)
Take a look at my About Page for an example. In general, it should give an idea of who you are, what your blog is about, how to connect and where else we can find you online.

2. A “Contact” page. Give us a page where we can send you email w/o leaving your site. And where else you are (src)
A contact page is where you list your email address or any contact information. If you don’t want your email listed, I’d suggest a form. WordPress users can try the Contact 7 plugin. If you are using Blogger try Wufoo. My contact page is simple and easy to find.

3.  A navigation bar. Folks should be able to click to different pages w/o scrolling down. Your pages go there. (src)
I advise clients to include a top navigation bar for important information you want visitors to see immediately and a sidebar for less important info. Ignore #3 if you goal is to lose a new visitors.

4. Google Analytics. Because you need to know how folks are interacting w/ your content beyond hits. Measure. (src)
Understand how your visitors are engaging on your site. This will help you tailor your posts and bring more traffic into your site. Start with this guide from Smashing Magazine.

5. A “subscribe” button. So it can be easy for folks to get your content. Either thru email or an RSS reader. (src)
This is automatically built in Blogger and WordPress built sites. But make the link available and easy to find for your readers. The RSS for this site is at the top right of the website.

For the entire list of tweets or please visit AwesmeLuvvie.com, grab a cup of tea and look around. All images used are copyrights of their respective owners.

[This article has been updated]

I have a bone to pick with women, specifically brown women, in tech. By now everyone has heard about the drama surrounding Adria Richards, PyCon, SendGrid and fighting sexism in tech. I’m not here to defend Adria’s actions, because I definitely think the entire situation could have been handled differently. But that’s not the point of this article.

This article is about one thing – why aren’t women of color in tech discussing Adria Richards?

I’ve been a fan of Adria’s and Butyoureagirl.com for years. I followed her as she made the big move to San Francisco, conducted various tech related workshops and became a champion of diversity in technology. I really admired her and her accomplishments.

So what happened? Well, I won’t get into specifics because there have been countless articles written on the situation. Some telling Adria where she went wrong, others called her a bully, those who empathized with her situation, a few highlighted the violent backlash and a final comment from Adria herself.

Through all the noise, half-truths and opinions written online, there’s a noticeable silence – where are the opinions from women of color in tech?

Adria has been raked over the coals, threatened with rape, called the n-word repeatedly on her Facebook page – yet still there is a dead silence.

There are tons of brown women in tech and I have not seen one post, tweet or Facebook status on this subject. Why?

Do we not speak up in fear that we will be the next target of assault? We’d rather stay safe than speak up for an obvious abuse of social media? Have they been living under a rock for a the past week? It’s safe to say it’s possibly a combination of the three. But why does it have to be this way? Why have women of color not spoken up to defend or even distance themselves from the incident?

I have always been outspoken and opinionated. I do not condone how Adria handled the situation, but I can’t pretend like the racist backlash against her is justified.

What’s your opinion?

Update:

After writing this article, it was brought to my attention that there has been conversation online on this topic by women of color. So it’s only fitting that I update the post.

If you are active on Twitter you can use the #SupportAdria hashtag to engage other users in conversation. However, I did find that some were using the hashtag to mock the entire situation, so be careful who you confront.

Several blog posts have been written on ForHarriet.com here and here. Popular online magazine for brown girls, Clutch Magazine made their stance known. Dr. Goddess, well known speaker and evangelist for women, voiced her opinion on Twitter here and here. BlackEnterprise.com also published an article on the subject.

In addition, other brave women have come  forward their tales of being bullied, victimized and discriminated against within tech related fields.

It also saddens me to know that several outspoken women have been harassed online, stalked and even had their sites attacked/hacked simply for voicing their opinions. So it’s understandable why larger sites haven’t been more vocal. When situations like this happen, it always makes me pause and take a step back.

As much as we like to think times have changed, the world shows us that we still have far to go.

I know what you’re thinking. Trinidad James? Is she serious?

Well, yes, yes I am. Whether you like his music or not, Trinidad James has exploded into the stratosphere with a look and appeal all his own. With his catchy hooks and unique style, the world has definitely taken notice. So how has he managed to do this?

I’ll explore my top 5 lessons in branding that you can learn from being more like Trindad James. Don’t believe me? Just watch.

1. Be true to yourself. There’s no doubt about it. Trinidad James is an individual. Even though he has been accused of stealing his “look” from Jerome (of the TV show Martin) because of his signature gold teeth and unkempt hair. Building a successful business online requires you to wear many hats. With so much to juggle it’s easy to lose sight of who the REAL you is. Take time to remind yourself of why you starting along this journey. 
2. Create your own path to success. Trindad James, born Nicholas Williams, relocated many times as a youth and at one point called Canada, New York and Florida home, before settling in North Carolina. As Catholic school student, there are dozens of paths he could have chosen, but he decided to rap. He began rapping in November 2011 and within a year, his debut single, “All Gold Everything” landed on the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B/Hip-Hop charts.
3. Make a commitment. As much as people seem to find humor Trinidad James’s look, he’s continued to “ride with it“, despite what anyone thinks. This holds true with being an entrepreneur or blogger. Don’t be swayed by what others think. The consequence of putting yourself out there is that you leave yourself open for judgement. Some people will love you and some won’t – stay focused and continue to move toward your goal.
4. Ignore the naysayers. Negative people will always be the loudest and their comments sting the worst. It’s inevitable. Trinidad James gets entire blog posts mocking his sense of style. But he hasn’t let that stop him and it shouldn’t stop you. No matter where you are in life, there will be someone who doesn’t approve of what you are doing. Don’t worry about them. Let them waste energy worrying about you, while you plan your next big move. It’s their loss, not yours.
5. Surround yourself with people who like you just the way you are. Trinidad James surrounds himself with people who accept him just as he is. How else can you explain how he manages to flourish in a career path where many have bombed and failed. He stepped out of his box 2011 and commanded that the world take notice – and we did. This entrepreneur/blogging life can be a lonely one. Hours spent sitting behind a computer monitor, researching new posts, composing emails, scheduling tweets and organizing Facebook posts can be draining. Make sure you have good friends around you who can tell you when to step back, take a breath and who genuinely care about you.

So while you may continue cringe at the sound of his music (or secretly love it like I do), there’s one thing you can’t deny – there’s only one Trinidad James.

From vibrant pinks to the use everyday faces, these sites help bring together people for one common cause. I hope you will be inspired as much as I was to stay informed and get regular exams!

Race for the Cure Houston

Avon Foundation

Avon Walk for Breast Cancer

Breast Cancer Action

Breast Cancer Fund

Bright Pink

The Breast Cancer Deadline

National Breast Cancer Foundation

The Atlanta 2 Day Walk for Breast Cancer

Strides Walk

NFL Pink A Crucial Catch

Pink Mitten

The Breast Cancer Charities of America

Ford: Warriors in Pink

A blog is a great way to communicate with readers. Today, there are blogs for nearly everything: political news, businesses communicating promotions and news and people sharing images, song quotes and more. Though blogs are easy to update and there are many templates for people to use, it is wise to consider using a professional blog designer. Such experts understand how to design blogs that are not only easy to update and maintain but eye-catching, full of the latest features and developments and are sure to be noticed. There are millions of blogs out there. Having a professional designer is a great way to develop a one-of-a-kind blog.

So why should you hire a blog designer?

Professional Design

Experts in the blog design space understand how to shape public opinion and build a blogger’s brand through brilliant design work. For example, if you are reporting political news, a designer that focuses on this area would understand how to reflect a visual and graphic way to represent the political community. Any business that wants to make a name for itself needs to think about how a design affects its public image. Hiring a blog designer for your company is a chance to refine one’s brand. Templates do not impress. Customized designs do. Professionals understand how to make unique designs that will be noticed. This means thinking about everything from the layout of the page to the headers, fonts and other features of the blog.

Lure Traffic to the Blog

Design professionals understand how to build blogs so that they lure in traffic. This is a chance to make use of a designers’ understanding of search engines, website design and the many analysis tools out there. By hiring a blog designer for your company, you can tailor content so that the target audience notices it. This is a chance to increase search engine rankings and to really find the right type of customers. The more specific a blog design is, the better able a business is to build its clientele.

Time Is Money

Anyone trying to build their brand or is strapped for time should outsource this job. You know when to hire a blog designer when it takes hours to sort through coding and perfecting the space. A great designer understands how to customize a blog in a tenth the time it would take an average person. This means that you can focus on refining content and really tailoring the blog’s posts and information. Why worry about design when someone else can do this for you?

Make a Profit

Blogs can be incredibly profitable today. You could build a name for yourself as an expert in your field or could make use of the many advertising opportunities that abound online. You know when to hire a blog designer when you take blogging seriously and want to turn this into a profession. Blog designers understand how to build attractive websites and know how to make use of the affiliate and advertising tools out there. So, yes, blogging is an investment – in time and money, but it can be incredibly profitable. Increased web traffic plus making use of advertising tools and image building are all sure to reap some serious benefits.

Browser Compatibility

Experts understand the nuances of blog design. For example, they know that their blogs need to properly show up in all the different types of browsers. Visitors need to be able to view content and engage with the blog or they will quickly leave. No one wants to upset visitors – word of mouth buzz can travel quickly and be negative or positive. To build a positive image, bloggers need easy to access web pages and simple navigation. This is where professional designers come into the picture. They understand how to code designs so that popular browsers like Firefox, Safari and Chrome are compatible with the blog. This increases web traffic and customer satisfaction.

Advice from Experts in the Design World

Experts in the blog design world have typically worked on many different projects. Thus, they will have good advice about the type of content to include in a blog. Having professionals’ advice helps bloggers refine their voices and focus on developing memorable posts and media on the blog. Getting noticed on the Internet can be difficult but very possible if you work with a design expert that knows your industry and you work closely with them to build a blog that piques visitors interest, is eye-catching and increases search engine rankings.

If you want to veer away from the one-size-fits-all blog templates that are out there and establish yourself as an authoritative blogger, you should invest in a designer’s services. This is a chance to really build the right image, lure in web users and get noticed. Designers understand how to develop web spaces that reflect bloggers’ needs. With the proper support, you can build a great reputation for yourself online. Design professionals can take a great idea and get it noticed in no time at all.

Good luck!

Kaitlyn Ytterberg is a writer for Officite, a leading provider of websites and online marketing for the medical community. Officite specializes in Internet marketing and practice websites for all healthcare specialties, including dentists, midwives and gastroenterologists. Services span from SEO and social media to reputation management, blogging and mobile websites. Learn more at www.officite.com. 

Photo Source

In my previous post titled, ‘What Your Email Address Says About Your Computer Skills‘, I touched on my acute case of email snobbery. Directed toward people who run a business or want to project a professional appearance while using free a Gmail, Yahoo, or Hotmail email account.

To help navigate the process, I have decided to write a series of posts to help those who want to make the switch, as painless as possible.

The first option, which is the easiest, is called the “mail forwarding” and “send mail as” option which essentially creates an email alias. I will explain the steps for each mail provider – Gmail, Yahoo and Hotmail.

Send Mail from Gmail

1. Login into cPanel Admin area where you manage the settings for your hosting account.

2. Create an email Forwarder to send all the emails from your you@yourdomain.com email account to your @gmail.com email account.

3. Open a new tab or window with your @gmail.com email account. While inside Gmail go to the upper right corner of your screen and click the gear icon and select Settings from the drop down menu.

4. Click on the “Accounts and Import” tab. Next in the Send Mail As section,click on “Add another email account you own” link.

5. A pop-up window will open. Type in your name and your you@yourdomain.com email address. Leave “treat as an alias” checked.

6. You will see this message “Before you can send mail as you@yourdomain.com, we need to verify that you own this email address. To perform the verification click “Send Verification”. We will then send an email to your@yourdomain.com with instructions on how to verify your address.” Click the send verification button.

7. The confirmation code should appear in your Gmail account, since you are already forwarding all email on your you@yourdomain.com account to Gmail anyway. Copy and paste that code into the pop-up window and you’re done!

Send Mail from Yahoo

1. Login into cPanel Admin area where you manage the settings for your hosting account.

2. Create an email Forwarder to send all the emails from your you@yourdomain.comemail account to your @yahoo.com email account.

3. In the top left corner click the Options, the Mail Options from the drop down menu.

4. Select Mail Accounts from the left navigation. The click the Add button to add a new account.

5. A pop-up window will open. Enter your email account info, then hit Continue.

6. Next click the Skip This, Setup to Send Only button.

7. You will see this message “Check you@yourdomain.com for a confirmation mail from Yahoo! Member Services. Click the link in the email to enable sending mails from this account. If you don’t see a confirmation email, try resending it.” Click Ok.

8. Since you are already forwarding all email on your you@yourdomain.com account to Yahoo, the message will appear in your inbox. Click the link and you’re done!

Send Mail From Hotmail

1. Login into cPanel Admin area where you manage the settings for your hosting account.

2. Create an email Forwarder to send all the emails from your you@yourdomain.com email account to your @hotmail.com email account.

3. Log in to your Hotmail account and right-click the inbox settings icon which looks like a gear, then click Create an Alias.

4. A pop-up window will open, type in your name and you@yourdomain.com email address.

5. Configure any additional settings, then click Done.

6. You will receive a conformation email from Hotmail on how to get started and you’re done!

The End

You should now be able to send and receive mail using your @yourdomain.com account. It’s the best of both worlds. An interface you are familiar with, that has a more professional appearance. However, if you are still using either Yahoo or Hotmail, please refer to this article.

As much as we like to pretend that we aren’t all email snobs, many if us are (including me). In many instances, your first impression can be your last and emailing anyone in a professional setting from an @verizon.net email address is considered email suicide.

So in order to do my part, I just finished a two-part tutorial series on “How to Configure Your @domain.com to Use Gmail”. I will show you two basic options to bring your email up to speed.  Stay Tuned!

In a years time, the WooCommerce WordPress plugin has accumulated close to 350,000 downloads and has over 100+ extensions and 24 official themes. They even created an infographic to highlight their accomplishments.

To celebrate these accolades, WooThemes is offering all of their themes and extensions at a discount of 30% OFF from today until midnight (UTC time) on Friday, September 28th 2012.

Why Do I Love WooThemes?

WooThemes is easily my favorite premium WordPress theme developer. Why? Well, for a few reasons:

• Customer Support. While they have a support forum similar to other sites, there is one major difference. The support forum is moderated by WooThemes employees and not other users. You no longer have to take educated guesses from your peers when you have trouble with one of your themes.
• Commitment to Quality. The Woo Team frequently takes suggestions from their customers on how to improve their products and actually implement them. I once requested an update to their core WooCommerce plugin, by the next week, the feature was implemented and rolled out with the upcoming upgrade.
• Innovation. These guys are ahead of the curve when it comes to premium WordPress themes and even have a section of their site where you can stay notified of their upcoming projects. I am personally looking forward to their LMS (Learning Management System) + WooCommerce integration.
• Accountability and Updates. Each week, yes EACH WEEK, WooThemes posts updates, new plugins and new projects on their blog. Every Thursday I wait with anticipation as they roll out new features. Reading this post each week, helps me be assured that they are working to make improvements everyday.
• WooCommerce. This is the best eCommerce plugin for WordPress, and it’s FREE. Of course you will need to pay for additional features, however, the core system is actually enough to get you started. You can download and install the plugin to see if it would be a good option for your next project.
• Freebies. While they do sell premium WordPress themes, they also offer tons of plugins and themes for free, including themes built using their WooCommerce plugin.
• Theme Club. If you are a web designer (or developer) like me, this is especially great for you. WooThemes offers a theme club where you can pay a setup fee and small monthly fee in order to gain access to all of their themes and plugins and use them on an unlimited number of sites.

Top 5 Favorite Themes from WooThemes

While in general I love all of  the WordPress themes that WooThemes offer. I have listed my top 5 themes below:

Inspire

Inspire is a highly functional theme that has a custom homepage with a featured area powered by jQuery, and lovely mini-featured area.

Saving Grace

Saving Grace is a theme specifically for charities & non-profit organizations.

Elefolio

Elefolio combines easy Tumblog publishing and a Portfolio to showcase your work and posts.

Placeholder

This theme is perfect if you have a website in development and you simply need to let your visitors know how to get in touch and how long until the site will launch.

Briefed

Designed by Cameron Moll, Briefed is for all types of designers & creatives thanks to it’s modular layout and clean, minimal design.

So what are you waiting for? With each theme purchase you get two additional bonus themes as well as lifetime of support and updates.

Hurry up and take advantage of these discounts by going over to WooThemes before the sale ends! I am. Normally I only buy themes and plugins when they have a sale going to get the best deal. I currently have my eyes on several WooCommerce plugins to use on several other online projects.

Which themes are your favorites?

Below I have compiled a list 10 Cool Facebook Timeline Covers which are sure to give your Fan page or Personal page the facelift it needs to get noticed.

Facebook Timeline Covers | Volume 13

This package includes 10 unique Facebook Timeline Cover designed in Photoshop. Well organized layer sets makes it easy to edit. Fully customizable and very easy to update. All fonts used are available for download, nice and easy! These are perfect for photographers and anyone who loves photo collages.

Cost: $3   |   Download

Facebook Timeline Cover | Spring

Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring! A beautiful sunny & natural atmosphere for the upcoming spring. Includes: 1 PSD file, very well-organized in color coded folders, easy to edit text (link to free font included in help file), 1-Click smart object for photo replacement and web ready RGB color space at 72DPI (the correct DPI for web purposes).

Cost $3   |   Download

Facebook Timeline Kit

A clean or creative presentation on your Facebook Timeline Cover, you can add your personal information, latest news/work to your timeline. All resources are fully layered so you can also use them on your website or blog.

Cost $4   |   Download

Promo Facebook Timeline Cover

Facebook has a great new feature called Timeline! It allows you display a nice banner sized image at the top of your profile.

Cost $3   |   Download

Facebook Tech Kit

Facebook Tech Kit | Photoshop PSD | Pixel Dimensions 851×315 | 12 bonus backgrounds + floor option which you can hide/unhide according to your choice. Drag & drop elements which enables you to create your own compositions.

Cost $3   |   Download

Facebook Timeline Skills

This visual and creative facebook timeline is perfect for the job. -Professional Skills – Skills Graph – Personal Skills – Samples – Personal & contact.

Cost $3   |   Download

Facebook Timeline – Creative

The main features are top colors, 5 different backgrounds, easily transferable photos/images using Photoshop smart objects.

 Cost $2   |   Download

48 Facebook Timeline Covers Mega Bundle

This layout features: 48 layered PSD files, 850×315; Made with smart objects so it is easy to edit; Easy to customization, all the elements on separate layers; Easy to change backgrounds, pictures, fonts, text & all elements

Cost $11   |   Download

Facebook Timeline Covers | Volume 3

This package includes 2 Facebook Timeline Cover templates designed in Photoshop. Well organized layer sets makes it easy to edit. Icons are included! All fonts used are available for download, nice and easy!

Cost $2   |    Download

Facebook Timeline Cover E-Commerce

Features include: 850×315 Pixel – Unique design fully layered Adobe Photoshop .PSD files – Fully customizable – Smart object used – Background included – People and Product photo used for preview only and not included

Cost $2   |   Download