Yesterday I spent time going through and removing the MyBlogLog widget from my blogs. As I had 11 different blogs with the widget it could have been a huge undertaking but it wasn’t.

The reason is that I use the widgets function for my sidebars.

Now I have friends that prefer to hard code in their sidebars. I can understand why too. I have on occasion (rare occasion) had trouble with the display of the content in widgets.

It is rare but that needs to be compared to the time savings and ease of using widgets.

In this example, all it took for me to remove the MyBlogLog code was to log in to the various blogs, click appearance then widgets.

Open up the widget titled MyBlogLog and then delete it.

Compare that to going into the editor for the sidebar and finding the code, removing it and making sure I did not remove anything extra that would mess up my sidebar.

Much easier to just delete the widget.

Add in the fact that I can rearrange the sidebar as I am testing things by just dragging and dropping things and there are a lot of advantages to using the widgets.

One final advantage of using widgets is if your theme has an upgrade you do not have to worry about redoing the sidebar file or ignoring the update (not recommended). Now you could avoid that problem if you used a child theme for your main theme with the sidebar code in it but that is a topic for another day.

• So are you taking advantage of the power of widgets?
• Do you prefer to hardcode everything?

Let me know in the comments below.

About the author

Mike Paetzold got started blogging in 2003 and has become an expert on using WordPress. He has become known as The WordPress Guy. After being an under ground niche marketer using his blogs he has surfaced to share some of the ways he uses blogs to enter various niches profitably. If you would like help in building your business check out my coaching offer.

Technorati Tags: editing sidebar, theme editing, wordpress, WordPress widgets

MyBlogLog is closing on the 24th which is Tuesday. Despite being sad to see MyBlogLog go it is important to save aggravation and start removing their widget from your sidebar. It was nice social proof of who was visiting your blog but as they are closing the doors on Tuesday it is a good reminder to take the time and remove it now.

Not sure how it will display but there is a good chance that it will create an error of some type so take the time to remove them today while you are thinking about it.

I am.

No sense having trouble if it can be avoided.

About the author

Mike Paetzold got started blogging in 2003 and has become an expert on using WordPress. He has become known as The WordPress Guy. After being an under ground niche marketer using his blogs he has surfaced to share some of the ways he uses blogs to enter various niches profitably. If you would like help in building your business check out my coaching offer.

Technorati Tags: aggravation, blog, mybloglog, reminder, sidebar, social proof, widget

The Sunday Goodies are back as I was in a chocolate induced coma over Easter and did not post one. Not really. Was having fun with two young ladies that may have had a bit too much chocolate. They don’t like it as much as Christmas but it is close.

So lets get started on our trip through the blogosphere this week.

Our first stop will be to visit Melanie Kiseel’s blog for a post I really enjoyed titled “Two Ears and One Mouth – Do the Math”. The title says it all .

Our next stop will be to visit with Peggy Baron at her Adventures In Internet Marketing blog for a post titled “Duh! After All… I AM An Internet Marketer“.

The last stop this week but certainly not the least is to visit with Michelle MacPhearson to her blog of the same title. A post you need to read but may not be exactly happy with. (Often what we need is not always what we like;) titled “Sheena Was A Man“.

That is all for this week so let me know which one’s you like and any that you have found that I should not miss by leaving a comment below.

About the author

Mike Paetzold got started blogging in 2003 and has become an expert on using WordPress. He has become known as The WordPress Guy. After being an under ground niche marketer using his blogs he has surfaced to share some of the ways he uses blogs to enter various niches profitably. If you would like help in building your business check out my coaching offer.

Technorati Tags: blog, blogosphere, internet marketer

Google Webmaster Tools has a lot of information that can be helpful about your blog. All too often people do not get their sites verified so that you can use these tools.

The process can be to put it bluntly a pain. You either needed to add a file to your server or add a meta tag to your theme to verify your account.

Now there is a plugin that you can simply install that will allow you in a couple of clicks to do this.

It is called Google Site Verification Plugin. Just install it on your blog and run through the steps. (You do need to have a Google account.)

Go to your settings once you have installed the plugin. Click on Google verification.

Then click start verification.

Then grant access to the API.

And you are done with it.

Now you can take advantage of the information from Google Web,aster tools and see how Google sees your site.

About the author

Mike Paetzold got started blogging in 2003 and has become an expert on using WordPress. He has become known as The WordPress Guy. After being an under ground niche marketer using his blogs he has surfaced to share some of the ways he uses blogs to enter various niches profitably. If you would like help in building your business check out my coaching offer.

Technorati Tags: Google webmaster tools, plugin, verify blog

Well another Sunday is here and despite disappearing for the most part this week dealing with the tax man I have found some quality posts in my limited travels.

For those unfamiliar with this each Sunday I highlight three of the quality posts I have found in my travels through the blogosphere. Sharing is an important part of being an active member of the blogosphere.

Lets get started with a post on a topic most of us need. This post is from Npost by Nathan Kaiser titled “Attacking your sucky excuses for not blogging“.

Our next stop is a good post on using Twitter and raises some interesting points. It is a guest post on Reviewz N Tips by Cynthia Kahn titled “So, You’ve been Suspended on Twitter?”.

Our last stop this week is to Famous Bloggers for a guest post by Richard Adams titled “Making The Most Of Ezine Articles Since The Google Farmer Update”. Article marketing has long been a recommended adjunct for traffic generation and this has a few good ideas to keep using it.

That is what I found this week but would love to know of any good articles you found. Just leave them in the comments below.

About the author

Mike Paetzold got started blogging in 2003 and has become an expert on using WordPress. He has become known as The WordPress Guy. After being an under ground niche marketer using his blogs he has surfaced to share some of the ways he uses blogs to enter various niches profitably. If you would like help in building your business check out my coaching offer.

Technorati Tags: article marketing, bloggers, Ezine Articles, traffic generation, twitter, update article

Another Sunday so time to see what we found worth sharing this week.

Each week I share some of the posts I find in my travels across the blogosphere that resonate with me.

Lets get going.

Our first stop is to Pro Blogger for a guest post from Martyn Chamberlin titled “Three Blogging Lessons from Leonardo Da Vinci“. A very kewl way to make a point using some obscure history. (At least to me art history majors probably already knew it )

Our second stop this week is to the KR Design Blog for a good post titled “Are Your Personal Relationships Affecting Your Brand?”. Makes some good points about the difficulty of sole proprietors (most of us) keeping personal from effecting your business brand.

Last but certainly not least was an interesting post at Find My Blog Way by Lye Kuek Hin titled “6 Signs Your Blog Is Heading For Its Death (And Small Suggestion To Revive It)”.

That is all for this week. Hope you are having an enjoyable week end and please leave your comments and any quality posts you found this week below.

About the author

Mike Paetzold got started blogging in 2003 and has become an expert on using WordPress. He has become known as The WordPress Guy. After being an under ground niche marketer using his blogs he has surfaced to share some of the ways he uses blogs to enter various niches profitably. If you would like help in building your business check out my coaching offer.

Technorati Tags: blogging, dying blog, leonardo da vinci, personal relationships, sole proprietors, travels

Another Sunday morning and time to see what caught my eye this week. Each week as I travel through out the blogosphere I look for quality content that catches my attention and share it each week.

Our first stop this week is a place that shows up quite regularly – Traffic Generation Cafe. A definite site to add to your feed reader as Ana puts out a ton of great content. This week the topic is one that really resonated with me – Content Writing vs Link Building: Chicken or the Egg?

Our second stop this week is to visit with Peggy Baron and her Adventures In Internet Marketing blog. List building is the key for any internet business but this week she has a challenge for the traffic impaired. Get all the details in her post – New List Building Challenge For The Traffic-Impaired.

Our last stop this week in our travels addresses a topic that has been quite hot with the new Google update – Article Marketing. It is from Adrienne Smith of AdrienneSmith.net – Has Article Marketing Died a Slow Death.

That is what I found interesting this week. Leave your comments with how you liked them and any items you found this week that you liked.

About the author

Mike Paetzold got started blogging in 2003 and has become an expert on using WordPress. He has become known as The WordPress Guy. After being an under ground niche marketer using his blogs he has surfaced to share some of the ways he uses blogs to enter various niches profitably. If you would like help in building your business check out my coaching offer.

Technorati Tags: article marketing, blogosphere, chicken or the egg, google, internet business, internet marketing, quality content, slow death, traffic generation

The start of another week and time for a quick look back at that caught my eye last week. Each week I try to grab some of the best posts I have found in my travels through cyber space and share them each Sunday.

The topics will vary but they are the posts that caught my attention for the week.

Well let me shake the cobwebs that are cluttering my mind (the residue of the St Paddys Day Parade yesterday) and start our travels.

Our first stop will address a hot topic with Facebook. Face book made some changes in te way you create Facebook landing pages and did away with FBML for new pages.

This post from Francisco Rosales of Social Mouth, will walk you through the new rules.Check out “How To Build A Facebook Landing Page With iFrames“.

Our next stop will be a quick trip to Duct Tape Marketing. (Love that title by the way.) John Jantsch discusses “Why We Overtweet.” A must read for regular Twitter users.

Our last stop this week is to Famous Bloggers and a great guest post by Kim Roach. The topic is “7 Hidden Money Pockets Lying Dormant In Your Business“. A must read if you sell anything online or off.

Hope you enjoy your trip and let me know what you have found in your travels this week by leaving it in the comments. Always looking for new quality places to visit.

About the author

Mike Paetzold got started blogging in 2003 and has become an expert on using WordPress. He has become known as The WordPress Guy. After being an under ground niche marketer using his blogs he has surfaced to share some of the ways he uses blogs to enter various niches profitably. If you would like help in building your business check out my coaching offer.

Technorati Tags: bloggers, duct tape marketing, face book, fbml, money pockets, quality places, st paddys day

Well another Sunday morning and the mind is out of sorts as I woke up about my normal time but the time change has me being an hour late. Yep the US started daylight savings time and now the confusion will start for the next few weeks.

Do recommend if you are in the US take the time today after you change all of the clocks to check any battery powered smoke alarms and change the batteries.

Well back to what caught my eye this week as I was trawling the web.

The first stop was a great resource post on HTML5 & CSS3. This may seem a bit techie for some but it is the way the web is going and some resources are always worth at least being aware of.

The post is on web3mantra by Shamuil and titled “HTML5 & CSS3 Tools“. Some good cheat sheets listed that can save you a bit of time if you, like me, occasionally get confused when tweaking out things.

Our next stop is someone that I frequently visit in my travels, Melanie Kissell of Solo Mompreneur. Loved this post title and the content lives up to it – “Light Yourself On Fire And People Will Come To See You Burn“.

The last stop this week, though certainly not the least is to visit with Jay Baer of Convince and Convert. Another great headline that caught my attention “Lifting the Fog of the Blog: 8 Strategic Questions Before You Write 1 Word“.

So that will wrap up this list of recommendations for another week. Hope you enjoy them and if you found a great blog in your travels this week (other than your own ) share it in the comments below.

Have a great day.

About the author

Mike Paetzold got started blogging in 2003 and has become an expert on using WordPress. He has become known as The WordPress Guy. After being an under ground niche marketer using his blogs he has surfaced to share some of the ways he uses blogs to enter various niches profitably. If you would like help in building your business check out my coaching offer.

Technorati Tags: blog post ideas, blogging, css3, html5

Should you give up a plugin for lent? [ 2:37 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday for the Christian community and marked the start of lent. Mardi Gras is over and it is time to switch from excess to sacrifice. Lent usually includes giving up something. It may be your favorite beverage, chocolate or any thing else that would be a sacrifice.

Maybe it is time to think about using this time frame to give up a plugin from your blog too.

It is not unusual to find that the 5 or 6 plugins you started with are now 25-30. Maybe more for you or maybe less. I know I am guilty of this quite often.

You know how it works. You see something new and neat and just have to add it and see how it works. We all love new shiny objects. Then the bad part happens.

You forget about it. Next thing you know the number of plugins keeps climbing. You think you have 10 or 15 plugins and when you check and actually look, it is double that number.

So as we start lent, now may be a good time to check how many plugins you are using. If your number has climbed, just take a minute or two and see what you have actually added.

Are they helping you or hurting you? A slow load speed can hurt you with Big G, so do you really need all of them.

If you find you have a few that you don’t even remember why you added them then maybe you should give them up for lent. Check and see if it helps or hurts your results. (You are tracking your blog aren’t you?)

If it helps or is neutral then maybe you did not need it to start with. Obviously if it hurts your results then start it back up.

Take advantage of this time of sacrifice to do this and find out if your blog is bloated. Like changing the batteries in your smoke alarms when the time changes it can be a good maintenance item.

Just going through and checking how many plugins you have installed may be an eye opener for you.

That is what I think. What do you think? Leave your comments below.

About the author

Mike Paetzold got started blogging in 2003 and has become an expert on using WordPress. He has become known as The WordPress Guy. After being an under ground niche marketer using his blogs he has surfaced to share some of the ways he uses blogs to enter various niches profitably. If you would like help in building your business check out my coaching offer.

Technorati Tags: big g, blog, load speed, plugin, wordpress plugin