Client LibraryTraining & Tutorials
Building a website is complex; keeping it maintained is too! I build on WordPress using the Divi Theme. (I also use Elementor for clients that already have sites built with that). These tutorials and articles have been curated from elegantthemes.com (Divi’s website) and WordPress.org. I hope you find these tools useful in updating, maintaining and editing your website.
You should log into your WordPress site monthly to update plugins, themes (Divi for most sites) and the WordPress platform itself. You’ll also want to keep an eye on security and backups; you may want to utilize SEO and analytics, and at some point you’ll likely want to change, add or remove content to your site.
Of course, if this is outside of your skillset, comfort zone or schedule – I can help! Sign up for the Website Care Plan by emailing me at support@jenniferelizabethdesigns.com.
Divi & WordPress Training
WordPress Basics
While most of my websites are built with the Divi theme, they are still created on the WordPress platform.
Learn the basics of WordPress to be able to navigate, update and maintain your website. (For editing content, see the tutorials on Divi.)
Divi Basics
Almost all of my sites are built with the Divi theme – with good reason! It’s flexible and powerful with little to no knowledge of coding required. This makes it fantastic for our clients: I can build you a gorgeous website, and you can maintain it easily. There is a learning curve (just like any new skill), but the basics are easy to pick up.
Beyond the Basics
Ready to get a bit more advanced? Here is a curated collection of articles, tools and resources to go deeper with your site. Bandy around words like “SEO” and “Plugins” like a pro! (Links to resources are in each toggle; just click the body text.)
Images
We live in a visual age. If you want your visitors to stay on your site, you need to catch their eye with the right images. Imagery for your site is more complex than drag-and-drop, though. Learn how to choose, edit and resize great images.
Image Optimization
A great article on optimizing your images for SEO; also has great info on editing tools and how to use them.
Beautiful Imagery For Your Website
The importance of the right imagery; What It Is, Where to Find It, & How To Use It
Design Resources
This is a downloadable PDF of suggested resources for design, color pallettes, fonts, etc..
Image Editing Tools
An overview and review of 5 image editing tools.
Canva
Our favorite design and editing tool! (Note: the free version does not allow resizing; you can use other tools for that – see above link – even Microsoft Paint!)
Copy
Ever heard that “content is king”? If your copy (the text) is awful, you won’t retain viewers long. No viewers=lost clients! Check out these resources to learn more about copy.
Writing for SEO
Elegant Themes shares tips on good copywriting to improve your SEO.
Copy + Design
Why good copy matters for your web design. (An article written for designers, but super helpful to understand why your copy matters so much.)
Brand Voice
Your brand “voice” communicates who you are as a buisness. A law firm doesn’t use cutesy, informal language, and toy companies don’t use big words or a serious tone! Your brand voice is important – here’s why.
Learn Copywriting
Elegant Themes’ advice on where to learn copywriting skills.
Blog Posts
Blog posts aren’t just for “bloggers”. Think of them as education for your clients! Whether you post daily or monthly, a blog is a great tool for educating your visitors, building credibility, and attracting new clients.
Do You Need a Blog?
A blog can be a huge boon to your business – including yours! Read about why and how in this article.
Adding a Blog Page
This article goes over building a “blog page” on your site. This is not writing the actual posts – it’s creating a page where your posts will automatically populate when you publish them.
Sidebars
We like to inclue a sidebar on the blog pages we build – it’s a column on the page with room for lots of information, like a search bar (really good for blogs with a lot of content or many cateories), recent posts, recent comments and more. Here’s an article with more info to help you decide how to use yours (or not).
Writing a Post - Divi Builder
With Divi, you can write a blog post “on the front end” just as you would build a page (see Divi Basics above on how to add a page and build with Divi). This method allows you to “see” your post as a visitor would while you’re building it. You may or may not prefer it – see below for other methods.
Writing a Post - Classic Editor
The classic editor (or Standard Editor) is what you’ll likely see when you first add a new post. With Divi, posting can be a little confusing because there are multiple ways to do it. This article covers posting using the classic editor (and does not mention Divi).
Writing a Post - Block Editor
A few years ago WordPress introcuded the Block editor. With Divi, you may not see this option, but if you dig around you should be able to get to it. See the Divi articles on blog posts for more info.
Blog vs. Copywriting
Blogging and copywriting both require good writing – but they’re not the same thing. Learn the differences here.
Hire a Pro
You can hire someone to write your blog for you! We offer blog/newsletter writing, or check out sites like Fiverr.
Plugins
A plugin is a bit of software added to a site to enhance functionality – like add security, manage SEO or add a special feature. Learn which ones you need and how to manage them.
WordPress Plugins
WordPress plugin page.
How to Install Plugins
What plugins are and how to install them on your site.
How to Disable Plugins
How to safely remove plugins.
Themes/Builders
A theme or website builder is a tool to design your website – to get the layout you want, add your branding and format your content. We build almost all of our sites using the Divi theme.
WARNING: changing your theme will completely upset your site! Changing back should fix it – but ALWAYS backup your site before messing with themes.
Divi
Divi’s website. This is an amazingly versatile builder that lets us see the site as we’re building – with or without knowledge of coding.
Elementor
Elementor’s website. This is another powerful, flexible website builder that requires no coding knowledge.
WordPress Themes
WordPress themes page.
Backups
Backups are STRONGLY recommended regularly, and before every update to WordPress – or even plugins. We recommend Siteground as a host, which includes free daily backups – we’ve used this ourselves (even professionals can “break” their sites sometimes!).
Why & How to Backup Your Site
A great article on optimizing your images for SEO; also has great info on editing tools and how to use them.
Hosting Backups
Many hosting services (Siteground, GoDaddy, Bluehost, etc.) provide regular backups of your website. Some are included in your service package, others are add-ons. You can also backup your site manually.
Other Backup Plugins
Here’s a resource on other plugins out there and how to use them.
SEO
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is prepping your site to be found easily by potential clients looking for your services. Every business’ dream is to land on Google Page #1! But, SEO can be daunting (to say the least). Learn how to be an SEO rock star with these resources (and a good ‘ol Google search – how ironic!)
SEO and Divi
How to use Divi to build your SEO.
Yoast SEO Plugin
Yoast SEO is the plugin we install on our sites. This plugin needs initial setup (which we do on each site), but can do even more. It even helps you write SEO-friendly blog posts!
Yoast Academy
Yoast Academy is a fantastic resource for learning SEO. If we designed your site, you probalby have the Yoast SEO plugin and may be signed up for their emails. Visit the Academy for valuable SEO info!
Rank Math SEO Plugin
Rank Math is another fantastic SEO plugin we sometiems use. Check it out here.
Analytics
Setting up analytics for your site is a valuable tool for tracking visitors. Are they actually reading your content? Or are they jumping ship after one glance? A beautiful design only goes so far – you need great content, and most importantly you need to provide a solution for the pain points of your target audience. Use analytics to help you make sure your site helps people and gains you clients.
What are Analytics?
What are analytics anyway? Don’t get lost in the data – learn why analytics are valuable to your business.
Why Analytics?
Okay, so how do you use all that data to build your business? Check out Elegant Themes’ tips here!
Google Analytics
“Google Analytics gives you the free tools you need to analyze data for your business in one place, so you can make smarter decisions.” We install Google Site Kit on our sites, but to make it work you need to set up a Google Analytics account and then link it to your plugin.
Plugin Options
Lots of plugins help you use Google Analytics – take a look at some options here.
eCommerce
You only need eCommerce if you plan to sell products directly through your website. This is a very complex process and unless you’re an expert, you’ll want help. You can always link to an external payments system or a service like Shopify to sell projects, as well. Below is an overview of WooCommerce to get you started.
WooCommerce
“WooCommerce is a customizable, open-source eCommerce platform built on WordPress. Get started quickly and make your way.”
Subscribers
Do you need an email list? In a word, YES. Capturing subscribers – aka leads – translates into clients when done correctly.
Capture Subscribers
Elegant Themes’ tips on caturing email subscribers.
Lead Magnets
A lead magnet is a “freebie” offered in exchange for a visitor’s email address. It’s a great way to grow your email list: they get something of value and you get a lead! This Elegant Themes article is a great place to start.
Email Marketing Services
You just can’t run email campaigns from Gmail. You’ll need a service that lets you craft great-looking campaigns and get them to your whole email list – quickly! A good email service is imperative. (You may also see the terms ESP (Email Service Provider) or CRM (Customer Relationship Management service) which is more than just email, but good email services are also CRMs). Here are some suggestions from Elegant Themes. We use Mailchimp – it’s user friendly, has tons of great features, and you can start for free (bonus!)
Hire a Pro
Imagine if you had a licensed professional that understands healthcare AND tech AND can complete the challenging system and funnel setup for you… we offer these services too!
Spam Protection
We turn on basic spam protection on contact forms on all of our sites. This shows up in the form of a simple captcha – an addition equation users must solve to prove they’re human. If you want a bit more that this, including info on blocking spam on your blog posts comments, check out the info below.
Google reCaptcha
Divi works with Google reCaptcha if you want to use a third-party spam protection service. You need a reCaptcha account set up and linked to your site, and you need to configure the settings to be more or less aggressive.
Comments Spam Protection
If you have blog posts, you’re going to get comments. Unfortunately, many of those will be spam. This article covers moderationg comments (requiring your approval before showing up for the world to see) and anti-spam plugins.
Security
Hackers are bad. Malware is bad. A hacked or infected site is a nightmare – we’ve been there and we know! Your domain provider and hosting provider will have security features you should get familiar with, but we also recommend a security plugin on your site. Here are some resources to help protect your site from all the jerks out there.
Wordfence Plugin
This plugin does require some setup (we do the basics) – there are lots of settings you can configure to work for you. You’ll get emails from Wordfence notifying you of updates needed on your site, login attempts and security issues.
Securi Plugin
Securi is another of the top security plugin choices for WordPress. Here’s an overview.