The way the WordPress website software industry is going today, puts you in the best position to “get it.” A website is something you need. It’s not a matter of how, but more of when is the website going to be ready for use. There is no denying the learning curve with WordPress no matter what Theme is used. The only way to try out something is to use it. At first glance it looks simple, but there’s more to the elegant layout. There is a learning curve, but then we know that.
The way I learned was the hard way. I jumped in and created a flat Homepage with no visual quality at all. I just couldn’t do what I wanted, not because I couldn’t, but because I did not know how. I would look at gorgeous websites and want mine to look as good. No way, this wasn’t possible, until I found the Divi Theme. But at first I still created what I call “flat” pages. I couldn’t get the page to look like the beautiful themes I was looking at. Of course I couldn’t do it, I know nothing about how it’s done. Fortunately for me, the makers of the Divi Theme created video tutorials.
As I followed the video tutorials this taught me how the Divi Theme works. After a while I was creating pages that didn’t look flat, but had some context. The other thing that I started to learn was to follow the designer’s lead. There were now layout packs available in the Divi library with pre designed layouts. These layouts were a lot more advanced than my just above flat, some context pages.
The whole process was possible without having to know how to code. I found the Divi Theme helped stimulate ideas and I was never at a loss to figure out how to put the content onto the page or blog post.
The design compliments the content. You want the content to be read. A pretty design is pretty, and you’re too focused on the shapes and colors, and in some cases, moving distractions, you don’t even remember reading the content. You remember the distractions and the design.
It’s hard to imagine how something already good is improved regularly. A recent update to Divi is an editing tool icon when using the Visual Builder. Click on the edit tool and the exact setting pops up in the settings module. Now that’s news! With Divi there’s always good news.
I no longer write a blog post in a separate document and then copy and paste into the blog post and press the publish button. There is a better way to present content and communicate information. The content on the web page or blog post is a single page with some links in the article leading to more information
The above buttons Help! and How? lead to another page with more information about the Divi Theme. The exercise you go through when composing content into the world’s best content management system, WordPress, is similar to strategic thinking. You’re organizing information to communicate with your reader. You don’t know who the reader is. You might have created a persona, or an avatar, but this can be a guessing game.
The person reading the content is a human being with a brain with existing knowledge.
Even if someone knows nothing about the subject initially, they are able to absorb and assimilate information. We shouldn’t presume others don’t know. After all we read information all the time, and accummulate it.
Once you know how to use the modules built into the Divi Builder you’ll be organizing your content exactly the way you want it. After you’ve learned how to use the Divi Theme you’ll find you can do it yourself. The Divi Theme changed everything. The website building experience is now a pleasure, you can concentrate on your business and not on getting frustrated trying to get complex technology to work.
There isn’t one for a reason. These days there are too many spam bots coming around to the blog post and making incoherent comments that need to be deleted. If I want comments for this blog post, I can use the Comment Module available inside the Divi Builder and adjust the Discussion Settings in WordPress to show the comment block.
WordPress Classic Editor This is the post editor looks similar to a Word Processor. The Classic Editor will be replaced by the Gutenberg Editor. At first it might be irritating to search for something that was obvious before, but is now hidden. There's a large...
This is a sample post for layout and design It will show you what the blog post looks like when it is pulled into the blog module. This blog post is set to fullwidth, so there is no sidebar on the right side of the page. The purpose of a blog post is to inform and...
The match between Divi and WordPress is a good from start to finish. No matter what you read about the "end of WordPress," or the "end of Page Builders and Themes," it isn't for real. Here are some facts: WordPress is the most used website software worldwide 30% of...
Yes, you can do it yourself The way the WordPress website software industry is going today, puts you in the best position to "get it." A website is something you need. It's not a matter of how, but more of when is the website going to be ready for use. There is no...
The match between Divi and WordPress is a good from start to finish. No matter what you read about the “end of WordPress,” or the “end of Page Builders and Themes,” it isn’t for real.
There will always be those who want to take down the person who is sucessful. It is a favorite passtime among some competitors to consistently bash the best. The Divi Theme is the developer and the designer’s best kept secret. This is the Theme they use because it compliments their knowledge.
Open source means developers from all over the world contribute to the core code. WordPress is the framework upon which a Theme is built. The fact that expertise is garnered from the best developers is a testament to the collaboration of WordPress. The end result is WordPress has created the space for everyone to benefit.
Developers, designers, business owners, entrepreneurs, corporations, governments, schools, individuals, use WordPress. With this philosophy, WordPress isn’t about to collapse or put anyone out of business because it makes changes and improvements to it’s existing framework.
The features inside the Divi Theme give you the opportunity to work within a framework that suits your technical knowledge. At first you might think you cannot build a website because Divi is too advanced. There are predesigned layouts in the Divi Library. A new layout is added each week.
With Divi, you never have to look at a blank page.
Conceptualizing the layout of content onto a web page is much easier if you have the elements of the page widths and measurements visible. As you work with the premade layouts with the modules you become familiar with how a webpage works. The page is divied up into dividers, this is how the Divi theme got its name.
You have a selection of columns. After choosing the layout you select a module to place into the layout.
The design team that created Divi wanted to make the experience of building a website pleasureable. Not only for the developer and the designer, but for us, the user.
The design team at Elegant Themes were so successful, the Divi Theme is now the #1 used theme in the world. Since it came out in 2013, I have had no need for any other theme. Some have said when you use Divi you’re stuck with it. Not so. I’ve never been “stuck.”
Once you learn the basics there is no limit, you can take your website where you want, and concentrate on your business, and enjoy the experience of owning a website. To have more visibility and take advantage of doing business online you would need a marketing and promotion strategy.
Today’s web is a network of connections. Knowing how to connect isn’t obvious. To get help with this next step connect with Scott Winterroth. I had the good fortune to meet him at a WordPress Meetup four years ago. Ever since that meeting the conversation hasn’t stopped. He is an excellent resource for digital marketing strategy for your online business.
If you’re interested in learning more about how WordPress and the Divi Theme work to build a website, join me in an online bootcamp. I show you how it’s done step-by-step. No code or advanced knowledge needed.
It will show you what the blog post looks like when it is pulled into the blog module. This blog post is set to fullwidth, so there is no sidebar on the right side of the page. The purpose of a blog post is to inform and give out information. When you need to communicate with your audience, you don’t want to distract them with sponsored ads in the middle of the blog post. Neither do you want to interrupt their attention span as they are reading to sign up for your newsletter.
Our world is distracted anyway. Why would you want to keep distracting the reader? Isn’t this why you wanted them to come to your blog in the first place? It is, so you should respect the visitor and let them decide if they want to sign up for your Newsletter based on the merit of what you offer. People are looking for information. If you have specific news and product information, take care not to irritate the reader with distractions.
An advertisement is selling something.
An advertorial is a mini advertisement. It has information and attempts to persuade you to buy something. Everyone is tired of advertisements and push notifications. After a while the visitor ignores the message, but remembers the unpleasant experience of too many sales emails, and one too many messages on a website. It’s time to return to the humble web log. The blog. The original means of communicating to inform, and share ideas and experiences, without pushing a product.
How many blog posts are informative, without pushing the buyer?
Not too many. A product worth buying is when the product value is obvious. The product sells on the merit and not the persuasion. Anytime someone has to persuade you about something, you’re being sold that something. If I tell you about a product that I use based on my experience of that product, I’m giving you information so you can decide if you want to by the product. The information is based on my use of the product, and not on a use case scenario designed to persuade you to use the product.
This is the only time we are offering this. So get in while there are spots available. Don’t miss out on not being able to attend.
This is a push to sell something placed in the middle of the blog post.
But your attention about what you were reading is broken by the above offer telling you to reserve your spot now. What is the purpose of the blog post? To inform the reader, or to promote some offer. Even if you put the word Advertisement (in an off black color) above the text to signal to the reader it is an advertisement, the reader has been interrupted by your pushing them to do something.
All this does is irritate the reader, the person you’re wanting to reach with your information.
Consider the reader, the person you want to reach.
If you have an event or special offer place it in a sidebar.
Write a specific post about that event or special offer.
If you sell products on the website have a products page.
Use internal links in the post to direct the person to the information.
Separate the information and content from the sale of a product or an event. Consider using an Event Calendar plugin to promote events and show them on a calendar or in a list view. The Event Calendar can be listed in the main menu, the sidebar, or the footer area. Let the event attract the reader’s attention naturally. We read from right to left, in English. Keep in mind people can translate the content of your website into their language. Some read from right to left.
Ask yourself before you start to create the content; is this a blog post or an advertisement?
This is the post editor looks similar to a Word Processor. The Classic Editor will be replaced by the Gutenberg Editor. At first it might be irritating to search for something that was obvious before, but is now hidden.
There’s a large debate about this. Developers of WordPress Themes and Plugins must modify their products to accommodate the impending change.
Is it a good change? Time will tell. The user will have the final say.
It doesn’t, because the makers of the Divi Theme understand the frustration and so built into the modules you will find the very same icons that used to be in the Default WordPress Editor. Even the makers of WordPress realize this and there is a button called Classic Editor to open in the coming new editor. When the function of an icon does what it says it does, this makes creating content easier. If the icon is changed to something unrecognizable then we don’t find it and abandon using the software. Once you know how the system works, you’ll be surprised at how well it works. When you can concentrate on the content, and not the software, then you know the software is the right one.
This is a block quote. A good way to emphasize text.
Your website is an extension of you and the service you offer. The ability to make it unique will set you apart from too many look-alike Themes. Your website should be scalable, able to grow with your needs. For this you need a flexible framework. This a WordPress website built with the Divi Framework. The one size fits all website doesn’t work, you now have the ability to create the website you want, or you can have someone build it for you.
Nothing is easy when you first start to learn how to use the software. Let’s break the myth of easy steps and in a matter of minutes you are up and running. There are many details to take care of just on the web page. It helps to have someone show you the details. This is how I first started using WordPress. I knew nothing about the software, websites, and how they worked. I did not know (and still don’t know) how to use code.
The reason why I use WordPress is because I don’t have to use code at all. The code I need is already built into the Divi Modules, and WordPress core code runs in the background. All I have to do is select the module, put in the content, and adjust the style or the settings.
