The Get Noticed!⢠Theme âUnlocked âChecklist
The Get Noticed!™ Theme Unlocked Checklist
Follow these steps to make the most of the Get Noticed! Theme for WordPress, and optimize your site to jumpstart your platform! All of these are steps I've taken at my site, johnmeese.me . Helpful Resources: ● Get Noticed!™ Theme Unlocked A video course designed to save you hours of wasted time and effort by providing quick solutions and guides for features all over the theme. ● My Brandfolder A layout of my branding portfolio, which you can use for reference. ● My Behind The Scenes page This details many of the services I use for my website. ● GNT Examples Sites Using the Get Noticed!™ Theme Uniquely ● Design Seeds Color scheme inspiration. ● Adobe Color CC A customizable color wheel, so you can see what colors go well together. ● Swiftly (affiliate link) For small, quick design edits to existing files. First job is free, after that $19 per task. ● 99Designs (affiliate link) For more advanced design needs, like creating a logo or header image from scratch. Prices range from $200$500. ● WPBeginner Great for any questions specific to WordPress, rather than the Get Noticed! Theme. ● Iconifier Online image resizer that generates favicon and touch icon image sizes.
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What You Need to Get Started: In order to install the Get Noticed! Theme... 1. A hosting company. I recommend shared hosting through A Small Orange (affiliate link), and you can use promo code MEESE15 to get 15% off your order with them. 2. A domain name. You can typically get this through your hosting company, too, but I prefer to manage my domains on NameCheap (affiliate link). If you have a .edu email address, you can get any .me domain for free at nc.me . 3. A WordPress installation. If you use A Small Orange (affiliate link) as I recommend, there's an option for a quick WordPress installation in the cPanel dashboard. 4. The Get Noticed! Theme for WordPress . Although you can technically use any WordPress theme, this is the best theme by far for any author, speaker, or other platformbuilder who wants a professional site without expensive design work. After you install the Get Noticed!™ Theme, you need... 1. A color scheme (two primary colors, with 23 shades of each, as well as 23 shades of grey or black and a white or offwhite color) 2. Font selection (Most likely two font schemes, sansserif for titles and serif for body text) 3. A logo 4. A header image 5. A headshot, and other action photos of you Follow These Steps to Optimize Your Site: ❏ Verify recommended settings are enabled ❏ Install, activate, and enable Akismet plugin ❏ Install and activate Limit Login Attempts plugin ❏ Create and publish About page ( here's mine ) ❏ Activate recommended sidebar widgets 1. Subscription Form 2. Reach Counter 3. Social List 4. Advanced Text: About Me 5. Popular Posts (or Recent Posts, if this is a new blog)
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❏ Activate recommended footer widgets 1. Advanced Text: About Me In Footer #1 2. Subscription Form In Footer #2 3. Social List In Footer #3 4. Advanced Text: Speaking, coaching, or other service plugs. This is also a good place to reference resources elsewhere on your site. In Footer #3 ❏ Create menus under Appearance > Widgets 1. Navigation Bar (28 items) Primary Menu. This will typically appear on the top of each page, and should have links to your about page, contact page, and any other landing pages you'd like to feature (such as a speaking page or consulting page, for example). You should also add a link to your homepage here. It's best if you change the display name of each link to be one word. 2. Post Categories (36 items) Categories Menu. This will typically display above each post, page, and on the homepage of your site. You should link to the post categories you will be using most often, but some people add a link to their minipost archives , as well. 3. Policies (24 items) Final Menu Below Footer. Technically you can link to anywhere here, but most bloggers use this area to link to the less appealing—though crucial—pages on their site, such as their privacy policy and full affiliate disclosure. I link to my contact page here as well. ❏ Set Permalink Settings to "Post name" under Settings > Permalinks (make sure to save) ❏ Install, activate, and enable Related Posts by Zemanta plugin ❏ Make sure that "Full Text" is selected Under Settings > Reading > "For each article in a feed, show" ❏ Verify site appearance and functionality is as desired ❏ Install, activate, and enable WP Super Cache plugin (using recommended settings )
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Follow these steps to make the most of the Get Noticed! Theme for WordPress, and optimize your site to jumpstart your platform! All of these are steps I've taken at my site, johnmeese.me . Helpful Resources: ● Get Noticed!™ Theme Unlocked A video course designed to save you hours of wasted time and effort by providing quick solutions and guides for features all over the theme. ● My Brandfolder A layout of my branding portfolio, which you can use for reference. ● My Behind The Scenes page This details many of the services I use for my website. ● GNT Examples Sites Using the Get Noticed!™ Theme Uniquely ● Design Seeds Color scheme inspiration. ● Adobe Color CC A customizable color wheel, so you can see what colors go well together. ● Swiftly (affiliate link) For small, quick design edits to existing files. First job is free, after that $19 per task. ● 99Designs (affiliate link) For more advanced design needs, like creating a logo or header image from scratch. Prices range from $200$500. ● WPBeginner Great for any questions specific to WordPress, rather than the Get Noticed! Theme. ● Iconifier Online image resizer that generates favicon and touch icon image sizes.
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What You Need to Get Started: In order to install the Get Noticed! Theme... 1. A hosting company. I recommend shared hosting through A Small Orange (affiliate link), and you can use promo code MEESE15 to get 15% off your order with them. 2. A domain name. You can typically get this through your hosting company, too, but I prefer to manage my domains on NameCheap (affiliate link). If you have a .edu email address, you can get any .me domain for free at nc.me . 3. A WordPress installation. If you use A Small Orange (affiliate link) as I recommend, there's an option for a quick WordPress installation in the cPanel dashboard. 4. The Get Noticed! Theme for WordPress . Although you can technically use any WordPress theme, this is the best theme by far for any author, speaker, or other platformbuilder who wants a professional site without expensive design work. After you install the Get Noticed!™ Theme, you need... 1. A color scheme (two primary colors, with 23 shades of each, as well as 23 shades of grey or black and a white or offwhite color) 2. Font selection (Most likely two font schemes, sansserif for titles and serif for body text) 3. A logo 4. A header image 5. A headshot, and other action photos of you Follow These Steps to Optimize Your Site: ❏ Verify recommended settings are enabled ❏ Install, activate, and enable Akismet plugin ❏ Install and activate Limit Login Attempts plugin ❏ Create and publish About page ( here's mine ) ❏ Activate recommended sidebar widgets 1. Subscription Form 2. Reach Counter 3. Social List 4. Advanced Text: About Me 5. Popular Posts (or Recent Posts, if this is a new blog)
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❏ Activate recommended footer widgets 1. Advanced Text: About Me In Footer #1 2. Subscription Form In Footer #2 3. Social List In Footer #3 4. Advanced Text: Speaking, coaching, or other service plugs. This is also a good place to reference resources elsewhere on your site. In Footer #3 ❏ Create menus under Appearance > Widgets 1. Navigation Bar (28 items) Primary Menu. This will typically appear on the top of each page, and should have links to your about page, contact page, and any other landing pages you'd like to feature (such as a speaking page or consulting page, for example). You should also add a link to your homepage here. It's best if you change the display name of each link to be one word. 2. Post Categories (36 items) Categories Menu. This will typically display above each post, page, and on the homepage of your site. You should link to the post categories you will be using most often, but some people add a link to their minipost archives , as well. 3. Policies (24 items) Final Menu Below Footer. Technically you can link to anywhere here, but most bloggers use this area to link to the less appealing—though crucial—pages on their site, such as their privacy policy and full affiliate disclosure. I link to my contact page here as well. ❏ Set Permalink Settings to "Post name" under Settings > Permalinks (make sure to save) ❏ Install, activate, and enable Related Posts by Zemanta plugin ❏ Make sure that "Full Text" is selected Under Settings > Reading > "For each article in a feed, show" ❏ Verify site appearance and functionality is as desired ❏ Install, activate, and enable WP Super Cache plugin (using recommended settings )
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