KRMD

Ask Me Anything (AMA) All Day Long on March 8

March 6, 2017 by KRMD

AMA me – ever want to have the opportunity to sit at your computer and participate in a great discussion about running your business?

Here’s your chance – Ask Me Anything on March 8th – in the comfort of your office (no need to dress up and head out & meet me at an event – unless you have an office away from the home that is – wouldn’t want to scare anyone!)

Join Me and 11 other WordPress Influencers, for the 4th season of AMA (Ask Me Anything). I will be kicking off Season 4 of the AMA is starting on March 8^th.

Yes, I’ll be “online” all day to answer questions…

What does this mean to you? I’m so glad that you asked. It means that you can join me and get some ‘great’ free advice about WordPress, running a business as well as some great tips & tricks about helping your own clients!

Now, I know that you might be wondering…

What could I possible ask? (here are a few suggestions):

What’s the best way to stay organized and out of email clutter?
I want to grow a team but not sure if I can afford it and where to even start – any suggestions?
I’d love to learn more and get involved w/ some great courses – where can I find the best course that would be the best value?
I’m ready to build a membership program – I have a lot of material – but, I am not sure where to start – any suggestions?

How to get involved?

Visit this page on March 8th: ManageWP.org and then you can join me in the discussion!
Get your questions ready – and remember, there are no dumb questions.
Come back here on the 8th and I’ll have some updated information as well.

I know, right, how easy is that!?

Remember to add a note to your calendar and come back here for more info & join me on March 8^th!

If you want to find out a bit more about the idea of the AMA, and why it’s important, have a look at Get Free Expert Advice From WordPress Influencers. For those who are interested in a deeper behind the scene’s look, this is for you, Ask Me Anything: WordPress Influencers Answering Your Questions.

One thing is certain, this season is promising to be the best one yet!

What You Need to Know About AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages)

July 12, 2016 by KRMD

AMP stands for Accelerated Mobile Pages, a Google-backed project intended as an open standard for any publisher to have pages load quickly on mobile devices. We can all relate to sites loading slow on any mobile device. So say goodbye to bloated slow loading mobile pages that loads a small army of synchronous JavaScript files into your page. And say hello to AMP, we’re here with open arms to welcome you!

The AMP Project was formally announced on Oct. 7, 2015, with support from Google, Twitter, WordPress and several publishers and other companies.

Since the announcement of the project in October 2015, a lot has been said about Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) — what they are, how to get started, how Google and other platforms use them and so on. Yet there is always more to learn.

It’s important to realize however, that Google is giving TOP priority to posts that have implemented AMP. Luckily if you are on WordPress, this can be implemented quickly.

The AMP Plugin

With more than one hundred releases/updates so far, the AMP project is evolving rapidly, adding more and more supported features and acquiring more and more adopters. This plugin adds support for the Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) Project and aims to provide mobile optimized content that can load instantly everywhere.

With the plugin active, all posts on your site will have dynamically generated AMP-compatible versions, accessible by appending /amp/ to the end your post URLs. For example, if your post URL is “http://example.com/2016/01/01/amp-on/”, you can access the AMP version at “http://example.com/2016/01/01/amp-on/amp/” .

If you do not have pretty permalinks enabled, you can do the same thing by appending ?amp=1, i.e. http://example.com/2016/01/01/amp-on/?amp=1

Please note that pages and archives are not currently supported. And this plugin only creates AMP content but does not automatically display it to your users when they visit from a mobile device. That is handled by AMP consumers such as Google Search.

Implementing AMP on a WordPress Site

The first step to implementing AMP on any WordPress site is to install an AMP plugin. Once the Automatic AMP plugin is installed and activated, if you go to any blog post and add the “/amp/” to the end of the URL you will see the converted page.

Isn’t it AWESOME?!!!

One important note is we need to make 100% sure that this page converted properly to fit Google’s standards of validation otherwise, this page will not be indexed as AMP.

AMP Presentation Tweaks

The steps above got your page ready to be served as an AMP page but we know you want it to look cool! Here are a few AMP plugins to style and tweak the presentation of your page:

Glue for Yoast which Stick your page at the top of Google
Facebook Instant Articles & Google AMP Pages by PageFrog

The mobile web experience is rapidly becoming the web experience. Soon the majority of users, shoppers, and visitors will be arriving at websites from a mobile device. How will your business greet them? Let the KRMD team help you.

Periodic Website Maintenance : What do we do?

April 14, 2016 by KRMD

Web site maintenance is an integral part of updating and keeping your site working properly. Many people don’t realize the benefits of site maintenance, but having a good web developer update and maintain your site is something one should not only seriously consider, but DO!

When a Site is Not Properly Maintained

Report Without proper site updates and maintenance, your content gets old, your domain name may expire which means one day suddenly your site is just plain gone! Consider yourself lucky if you catch it in time before someone else snaps up your domain name! Links get broken, images disappear, content gets old, and your rankings fall off the face of the search engines.

These are just a few issues that can happen if you don’t have someone keeping an eye on your site. It’s like not having regular oil changes done on your vehicle. You wouldn’t drive your car very long if you didn’t look after its maintenance, would you? Well, the same process is true for your web site. Our purpose here is to make sure your site is always live, ready for customers and presenting your business at its finest.

What do we do?

At KRMD we take great care to first back up the website, check the website, update, then check the website again for any changes. Our software keeps a record of plugins we update so if there is ever an issue we see what plugin version was changed and revert back.

“Just like your car, it costs more to fix it than it does to maintain it properly. Regular oil changes help keep your car running properly, regular site maintenance helps keeps your web site running properly.”

Do You Save Money Doing It Yourself?

In order to save money, some people want to update and maintain their own site. Yes, it’s done but no it doesn’t always save you money. Maintaining your site yourself could cost you more than you may think. If the client just updates from their WordPress admin, KRMD wouldn’t have that record. We update client’s site once a month so we can take the time to devote to checking their website thoroughly (either the 15th or the 30^th). Also included on our monthly maintenance report are the performance and security scans. If in the event we ever catch a plugin issue, it becomes a support ticket and we address it before you, our client ever knows there is a problem. We also take care about which plugins we are updating and single out large updates (like Woo Commerce) as its own task for additional quality control.

If you don’t have a web site maintenance contract, you may actually be throwing money out the window by not providing proper maintenance to your site. When you go to a web site and find things wrong with it do you stick around? I don’t, I move on to a working site. If your site is the one I just left because it wasn’t working properly or designed well, you’ve lost a potential customer.

It Costs More to Fix Than to Maintain

Inexperience and neglect can damage the look and functionality of your web site. When that happens, you have a choice to make. Either you can leave it as is, try and fix it yourself, in which case you may do further damage. Or … you can then pay the (sometimes hefty) price for someone experienced to fix it. Just like your car, it costs more to fix it than it does to maintain it properly. Regular oil changes help keep your car running properly, regular site maintenance helps keeps your web site running properly.

Experience Can Save You Money

Your business is yours – you know what’s best for it. One of our jobs is to help you do what’s best for your website which reflects strongly on your business. You know your product, we know ours. Why not deal with what you know best and let us deal with what we know best? Would you try to fight that court battle without a lawyer? Try to fix your damaged heart valve or heal your sick child without the benefit of medical advice? Then why try to maintain your own web site if you’re not a professional web designer?

By securing an experienced designer to update and maintain your site properly you are actually saving money in lost sales and visitors. You’ve no doubt heard the old cliche “you have to spend money to make money” and this is so true when it comes to your web site. Your goal is to impress your visitors, get them to come back and if you have products to purchase, you want them to buy from you. Well, you can either keep your site updated and properly maintained or if you prefer to not do this, you can simply give your business to your competitors.

The Choice is Yours

If you’re interested in securing a maintenance contract for your web site, contact us to learn how you can have a professional web designer keep your site in proper working order. It’s really not as expensive as you may think!

Why Choosing the Best Web Hosting and Website Maintenance Is Crucial for Your Business

March 4, 2016 by KRMD

Smart business owners use websites and blogs to reach would-be customers and engage with their existing clients. Though most business owners know the value of creating amazing content, the importance of choosing a good and reputable web host is often set aside. In my experience, most small businesses make wrong choices in the beginning because of improper evaluation of their needs.

Websites, website hosting, domains and website maintenance are foreign words to many people and it can get confusing. How do you sort through these concepts and understand what’s right for you? We find it helps to compare these terms to car ownership.

The car is your website, the car’s license plate is your domain, and the paid parking space is your hosting. You can either have street parking (cheap hosting), or garage parking (premium hosting).

Street parking is provided by a variety of the common popular shared hosting platforms you hear about, while garage parking is provided by our friends at WP Engine.

WP Engine provides sophisticated WordPress hosting that fits your needs. Whether you are setting up a personal blog or an intricate and complex multi-site for your brand, WP Engine makes managed WordPress hosting a snap.

And while you don’t HAVE to do maintenance service or have a security system on your car (website), if you expect it to get you where you want to go, want to keep it safe from vandalism and protect it from being stolen, it is necessary.

Maximizing profits is one of the most essential priorities in your business. If you think a wrong web hosting or not maintaining your website will not have a negative impact on your income, think again. The following are the results of choosing the wrong web hosting and lack of website maintenance.

Revenue Loss – when your website is down, customers will not be able to learn about your products or services. Furthermore, if you have an online store, potential sales and income are lost too.
Malware Attacks and Security – There is no perfect solution for a secured website but a reputable hosting company will do a regular data back up on a remote server so it will be easy to restore your site in case it gets hacked. A hosting company can assist you with maintenance, technical support and security issues 24 hours a day.
Negative effect on SEO Ranking – If your site is down repeatedly when search engines are attempting to visit this will give adverse result on your site ranking.

So how do you choose a reliable web hosting company? Here are some tips that can help you decide:

Excellent uptime track record – hosting provider must take every precaution to ensure maximum uptime. Look for a hosting provider that offer at least an average of 99 percent uptime.
Good reputation – find a host with a top-notch reputation by doing a backgound check, have enough endorsements and testimonials from current clients and who regularly check maintenance schedules and average downtime statistics.
Outstanding Customer Support – because the internet never sleeps, your chosen provider should offer 24/7 support that offers fast and knowledgeable service.
Cost consideration – “You get what you pay for” and as a business owner, you cannot afford to experience long period of downtime. It may cost you more upfront but it will be more reliable in the long run. The quality of technical support is a lot better too.

Remember that choosing a hosting provider solely on price is not worth the hassle and headaches if your site goes down. There are a lot of web hosting companies out there. It’s crucial to select a hosting provider carefully since your business will depend on it. Do your homework.

We are proud to have a strong relationship with WP Engine and have secured 20% off and 2 months free for annual payment for all our referrals and clients. Visit our own dedicated page with this special offer.

KRMD offers more than just website maintenance. We supply the tools and knowledge for growth. Click HERE to learn more about our Client Plans.

Website of Maryland based roofing company, TITAN gets a revamp by KRMD

February 29, 2016 by KRMD

We are pleased to announce the launch of our client’s brand new website! After months of hard work and dedication, we are delighted to officially announce the launch on February 2016. The new site launch is available and the URL is www.titanbrb.com

The website has been redesigned to improve user friendliness and appeal. In addition to the changed design and layout of the pages, new functions have been implemented in this version. Amongst the new features the site contains integrated social media buttons for Facebook, Twitter and Google+ to foster improved communication with the clients.

Not only did we build a brand new website for this Maryland based roofing company, but we streamlined their contract process by taking all their documents online inside their website. This allowed them to have all their agents digitally sign on-site with customers and send copies to the company’s Dropbox and customer’s email.

Do you need a website or your existing needs a revamp? Check our Client Plans, they are tailored fit to suit all your website needs.

About Titan

Headquartered in Bowie, MD, Titan Construction and Reconstruction Inc. provides the same service and trusted commitment to every new customer that was provided to their very first customer. They have established themselves as the top storm damage repair company in MD . and strive for a standard of excellence.

Titan is committed to quickly repairing or replacing all areas of your home that may have been damaged by a storm. They utilize their experience, skill and quality craftsmanship to ensure your roof repairs will be done properly.

Google Analytics Tips: 10 Data Analysis Strategies That Pay Off Big!

December 7, 2015 by KRMD

In 2016, Google Analytics is set to go through an evolution based on their announcements.

According to Avinash Kaushik, below are the top ten standard reports in Google Analytics that you should know well, especially if you are only a part-time user of Google Analytics.

If you are an Analyst, of any tool, check out the Bonus tips included to kick your efforts up a notch or two.

Everything here’s simple. You don’t have to be a particularly deep expert to find value in this training. Find out how we at KRMD can help you with your Google Analytics by checking Our Process Page.

WP Elevation Digital Business Consultant

November 6, 2015 by KRMD

WordPress Consultant Kristina Romero of KRMD has just been certified by WP Elevation. WP Elevation is a mastermind group of WordPress consultants that shares the best practices on project management and development workflow.

Kristina runs a handful of WordPress-based businesses and dedicates the majority of her time communicating with her clients and working on how they can improve their online presence.

She is also busy collaborating with her team on product advancement, as well as working on social media content management.

The presence of a WP Elevation Badge on our website means that you can be assured you are in good hands and that we are highly knowledgeable in WordPress business development. Read more about Our Process.

A new kind of client training: ATOM

May 5, 2015 by KRMD

KRMD has opened up a new type of client training idea for funding on the popular crowd-funding platform Kickstarter. If you are not familiar with Kickstarter, its a way to get pre-orders for a concept/business idea where interested people can become “backers”. See here:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/krmd/atom-online-learning-community

The client training we created is called ATOM, All Things Online Micro-coaching. Instead of just focusing on coaching WordPress, we decided to open it up to training how to utilize all the tools online to run a more efficient business and spread your brand online by increasing your knowledge of online tools. We are achieving this through licensing an amazing video training library and customizing it into learning tracks, along with some experts. The ATOM platform is geared at the busy business owners who has only 10-15 minutes a week to devote to learning and desire training tailored to their needs. The interface is clean, easy to use, and most of all customized to the user’s immediate needs.

Support at any level on Kickstarter by clicking here. By doing so you are getting in on the ground floor at a great price. If you want a little more about ATOM, you can see the temporary website in progress are http://atom.krmd.co .

Make Your Message Viral

July 27, 2011 by KRMD

Everyone likely remembers “that” link that was sent to them with a “Check This Out!” tagline: whatever YouTube video or article that was sweeping the web http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9oxmRT2YWw. It was probably on the morning shows, text and emailed to millions of friends, and an online search trend to boot. Whatever “it” was, it was viral; the most coveted of social media monikers for anyone who is attempting to get their image, message, or story across to as many viewers as possible. Was it just luck or lightning in a bottle though?

The truth is there are identifiable aspects to what makes something go viral on the web. Categorically, if something is viral, it usually exemplifies a series of traits. Those traits can generally be identified as being funny, amazing, controversial, or just plain helpful. With the amount of noise and nonsense that exists on the web, public viewer-ship and interest generally eliminates quickly that which fails to excite any one of those categories, meaning, if it is truly funny people will look at it and if it is truly helpful people will share it. Furthermore, even if your message has that “amazing” factor, it still needs a little extra edge. Always attempt to get your message to the right audience first. If it is an email blast of a baby laughing to a series of friends, well you’ve found a good audience because you know they’ll watch it and likely share it. The same goes for that helpful tip on how to pay for your child’s college education; make sure you reach your demographic of parents with college-aged children.

So remember, lightning and instant Internet fame can be caught in a bottle. The bottom line is, if you are attempting to get your message across to as many eyes and ears as possible, nothing is more important than making sure your message meets that identifiable criteria and your primary audience receives it first. And whatever that message or advertisement may be, a cute, laughing baby sure doesn’t hurt either.