It’s very easy but might take a little practice to get used to it.

*After* you have inserted your image, click on it and you’ll see these image hover on your picture. Click on the one that looks like a picture in a frame:

This will open the image editing screen, select left or right, depending on where you want the image to show in relation to your text (it has a little preview area so you can get an idea what it will look like) – but don’t click on update yet!:

Then click on “Advanced Settings” at the top:

In Advanced Settings, enter a 10 in the Horizontal Space field, then click just outside the field and it will populate the “Styles” field with the code to give your space padding:

Go to the bottom and click update. This will close the image editing screen and you’ll see the image aligned (left or right) and have a bit of space between it and your text.

For my clients who use my CMS/ecommerce system, the format for adding image padding is very similar, see this page:
http://www.amygarrettdesign.com/2010/11/10/adding-images-to-pages-ecommerce-cms

If you are interested in having me design and build your small business website, I strongly recommend requesting a quote as soon as possible. If I have not started on the project by September 15th, I won’t be able to start on it until sometime mid-Spring.

• Go to the page you want to edit.

• Place your cursor in the spot you want to add your image.

• Click on the little button that looks like a picture of a tree, to bring up the box to add your images.
  

You’ll see 3 tabs – General, Appearance, Advanced.

On the General Tab, click on upload to find the image you want to add to your page. Another box will open up to allow you to use an image already uploaded, or upload a new one. Click Load Image, this will upload and add the image to the “Image URL” field in the first box.

Add an Image Description (often the title of the page it’s on, or a description of what the image is).

The preview window won’t show the preview until you’ve actually added the image to the page and then come back to it. I usually just ignore it as the best indication of how it will look on the page, is on the page.

Now click on the Appearance tab.

You’ll see these options –

For Alignment –

if you want to have the image show up exactly where you put your cursor, set alignment to left.

if you want to have the image show up to the right (right aligned) of the content where your cursor is, choose right.

If you want the image to be centered on the page, leave this to -not set- and align your picture in the main content box, after you’ve added it to you page (by clicking on the Align Center button)

Don’t select any other option.

For Dimensions –

Keep the “Constrain Proportions” box CHECKED. Then enter a number, say 200 in one or the other box, not both. This will shrink your image down, but keep the proportions correct so it doesn’t look all bunched up.

Spacing -

You can usually leave Vertical space blank.

For Horizontal space, this can get a little tricky (but only a very little bit). Adding this will create a space between your image and the text next to it, so it doesn’t look all smashed together.

What you want to do here is enter the number 10 (or whatever, 10 is usually what I use) in the horizontal space field. Then, click inside the “Style” box – you’ll see something like this –

You can see in the little preview window with the tree, that this put space both on the left and the right of the picture. You probably don’t want space on both sides. Usually you will want pictures left aligned to have the left side line up with the text on the left, and right aligned pictures have the right side line up with the text on the right.

So here is the “rule” for lining up your image with the text –

If your Alignment is set to left, remove the margin-left: 10px; text

If your Alignment is set to right, remove the margin-right:10px; text

You can add a border if you like as well – usually just a 1 or 2 is a thick enough border. When you add a border, you’ll see additional code added into the Style field that looks like this – border: 1px solid black; – this means your border is 1px thick, a solid line, and the color black. If you don’t want a black background, change just the black text to white, gray, etc.

Click Insert and see if it looks like you want.

If it does, go down and click Update to save your page.

If it does NOT, click on the image you just added, then click on the little tree picture to bring up the same box and you can edit your settings.

On designquote.net, I selected the services I provide to my ecommerce clients and came up with -

Small Company or Freelancer
DesignQuote Budget:
$5,000 – $7,500

Seriously?

Other companies from small to large charge, for example, $2500 for a basic ecommerce site (no graphic design), $3300 for a custom ecommerce site with no extra SEO, $3499 for a 15 page site with no ecommerce. Another site suggests that ecommerce sites should start at $5000 and can go up to $20,000.

Consider that a full ecommerce website client gets all this -

Professional, custom web design with revisions
Full featured website (CMS)/ecommerce system with mals-e integration and set up
Database development
SEO including meta tags and Google Analytics integration
Lifetime support for the CMS/ecommerce system

I do not charge my clients for time spent emailing them.
I do not charge for revisions during the initial design process.
I charge a flat rate which is always to the advantage to the client. This means if your design needs an extra 5 hours to get it perfect, it’s included – you’re not shelling out a few hundred extra bucks (or more!) because you didn’t like the initial draft.
I do not work in an office which means 2 things – I don’t have to pass the cost of running said office onto the client, and I can work as much as I need to. I’m available by email 7 days a week.
I require only a 50% deposit to start.

All this for much less than the lowest prices I could find.

This process is not for WordPress clients.

Log into your site admin and find on the right column, under “Administration”, the link for “Backup”. Click on this link.

You’ll see a screen similar to this (click on image to view full size)-

Make sure all the tables in the list are selected. Leave “Show Data Only” UNchecked (do not check it).

Click on “Backup Database”.

You’ll see this screen -

Right click on the sql link and select “Save target as…” or “Save link as…” and choose a place on your computer that you can find it. Hit save, and you’re done.

Clicking “Delete Old Backup Logs” will remove old logs that were saved to your server/host.

The main reason I’m posting this information is because starting in January, I’ll be taking a full course load, plus homeschooling 3 of my 4 kids, plus working as much as I can fit in there – you might image that I’m already busy now, I’ll be 2 or 3 times busier then. So I will be limiting my work to one client at a time. At this time, I normally have 3-5 at any given time!

I’m on the lookout for more great clients all the time (I have so many now, but I can never have enough – these people are awesome)!Just know coming in January, there will be a waiting list, first come, first served. If I have a client at the time you email me, your email will go on the list. I’ll start at the top of the list and if you’re still interested when I’m available, we can begin right away. Remember this doesn’t start until January 2010, so I can start on your project anytime through the middle of December!

Make sure you have the latest version of WordPress. It’s insanely easy to update your WordPress software and plugins right in your WP admin area, something I really appreciate as a web designer/developer using the software for myself and a lot of clients. Such a time saver (which trickles down to a money saver for my clients!!)

• Add Lightbox (better Lightbox 2 functionality) http://mdkart.fr/blog/plugin-add-lightbox-pour-wordpress/
• TinyMCE Advanced (better HTML editor – it even stops WP from removing your line breaks and paragraphs) http://www.laptoptips.ca/projects/tinymce-advanced/
• All in One SEO Pack by http://semperfiwebdesign.com/
• Google (XML) Sitemaps Generator by http://www.arnebrachhold.de/redir/sitemap-home/
• Lightbox 2 by http://www.m3nt0r.de/blog/lightbox-wordpress-plugin/
• My Link Order by http://geekyweekly.com/mylinkorder
• Ultimate Google Analytics: http://www.oratransplant.nl/uga/
• Feedburner Feedsmith by Google
• Post Sticky by http://lesterchan.net/portfolio/programming/php/
• Post Rating by http://lesterchan.net/portfolio/programming/php/
• Random Quotes: http://www.zombierobot.com/wp-quotes/
• Widgetize Random Quotes: http://ifacethoughts.net/2006/08/24/random-quote-widget-for-wordpress/

This tutorial assumes you use WordPress for your entire website (for your website pages and your blog). It also assumes absolutely no knowledge of WordPress.

Did I leave something out? Email me and let me know.

Your new website

Once your website is live and you have your admin information (username and password), you’re ready to go!

To make any changes to your website, you have to first login into the administration panel.

You can remember your administration panel address by going to your domain name + wp-admin – such as www.mywebsite.com/wp-admin/

Logging In

On this page you will see a place to enter your username and password, with a log in button.

The Dashboard

Log in, and you’ll be taken to your main admin area, called the “Dashboard” (click image to view full size)

This tutorial will concentrate only on “Pages” and Posts” – can you see these words to the left in the image above?

Pages

First we’ll work with your website’s pages. Click on the “Pages” button and a short menu will show right below it -

If you want to edit an existing page, click on “Edit”. If you want to add a new page, click on “Add New”. You’ll see a page like this (if it’s an existing page, there will be text in the boxes) (click image to view full size) -

Simply type in the title for the page (if the title is already filled in, it doesn’t need to be modified).

You can add a wide variety of information to your website pages. In the Page Content area, you can type in text and using the editor tools (the little buttons above the box), you can format your text to look how you want. You can make lists, bold text, links and more. Remember to make it readable – your website visitors won’t stay if they can’t read it easily.

Adding a Photo/Image

(skip this part if your page doesn’t need a photo)
If your page needs a photo, first click on the place where you want your photo to show, then find the text that says “Upload/Insert” – it has 4 images next to it. The first image is to “add an image” – just click on it. You’ll see this -

Click on the “Select Files” button. A window will show to allow you to find the image or photo on your computer. Find the file, and click on the “Open” button.

The next page you see will let you change the size and placement of your image. (click image to view full size)

If it’s a large image, for Size, choose “thumbnail” or “medium” and in the Link URL, click on the button that says “File URL” – this will create a smaller image of your photo AND link it to the big photo for you! If you’d like to change the placement of the image, maybe to the left or right of the text on the page, you can do so with Alignment.

Make sure to select “Insert into Post” (not “Save all changes”) and the image will be placed right where you clicked.

All that is left now is the “Attributes” section, to the right of the page. If your page is a child of another page, select the parent page. Most people need to even look at this, but if you have a main category – such as “Dogs”, with subcategories – such as “Adults” and Puppies”, you may need to select the proper parent page to have this new page show up in the right place on your website. You likely will not need to use the Template section and can ignore it unless you are comfortable with that area.

Hit Publish, and your page is now live! You can visit the main page of your website and find your link.

Posts

Ready to make a post to your blog?

Click on Posts and a short menu will show below it -

Simply select “Add New” and you’ll be taken to a page very similar to the one used to add or edit a Page. (click image to view full size)

Enter your blog post title and content the same as for a Page, but this time, you can add tags and assign your post to a post category. Click on Publish and your new post will show on your blog!

Aksimet – Already installed on most self-hosted WordPress installations, but you need a code called a WordPress.com API to use it. To get the API, sign up at www.wordpress.com, but there’s no need to make a blog unless you want to (you have the option to select “just a username please”). Once you’re signed up, visit your Dashboard, view your profile and at the top will be the WordPress.com API code. Go back to your blog, activate Aksimet and add the code where instructed.

Originally posted July 13, 2009 : Updated August 20, 2011

Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, flickr… if you haven’t heard of any of those, you’ve been living under a rock. Welcome to 2009.

Social networking is a way to get your name, and your business’ name, out into the world. More than free advertising, if you spend just a few minutes a day networking, it gives potential customers a look at who you are. Like the “good old days” when the butcher would gab at his customers about their families and town business, but with a wider audience. People like to know who they are buying from or getting services from, but in the days of Made in China and Wal-Mart, it’s not a common occurrence to know anything real about the company or people who run it. Social networking websites let you give a real face to your business, and customers will respond.

It’s best if you have a website where you can link your networking profiles to and from, but even if you don’t, they will help bring people, and sales, in.

Where to start?
First, a valid email address. You’ll have activation emails to attend to, and potential customers who may contact you, so use an email when networking that you check often (and can rely on to deliver your email, I’m seeing many people with crappy ISP emails that never see any mail in their inbox).

Start with just a couple websites. Everyone is on Facebook. Chances are, when you sign up, you’ll be shown a list of people in your email contact list who are already there. You can also search for people by name or email address. Twitter about happenings with yourself and your business. Just made a batch of product, updated your blog, opened your store, are running a sale? Tell people about it! Once you’re comfortable with those, add on LinkedIn, MySpace, etc.

Make sure all your profiles contain a link to your website and/or blog, and link your website back to your profiles. In previous posts about SEO(1)(2)(3), I mentioned link backs – the links to your site from Facebook, LinkedIn, all of them, count as link backs! It will help your rankings.

If you have a blog, update it regularly so people finding your site have current news to look at – it makes your site, and your business, look more “cared for”.

A word of caution, stay professional unless you know the people you’re talking with online. The potential to get a bad name online is high and one bad review can come up high in search results for your business.