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Yearly Archives: 2015

If you have a WordPress website or are planning to develop one, then you need some WordPress font plugins. Ideally, you would need only one but since your requirements may not be the same as that of others, you do have to test run a few plugins to see which ones can satiate your needs.

Fonts are not just important for the sole purpose of appearance or design. Fonts can influence layouts, readability and also contribute to whether or not a visitor or reader would stick around on a website. It is thus necessary that you get your website fonts right. To help you in your quest, here are some of the best WordPress font plugins.

1. Easy Google Fonts

Easy Google Fonts

Easy Google Fonts work with WordPress Customizer and there is a real time automatic sync and preview of all changes you make. You can come up with custom fonts or you can use one or many from the existing inventory. The fonts you come up with using this plugin will be compatible with any theme on WordPress. This is an issue that needs more attention than it gets. Many a time, fonts don’t blend well, get changed due to incompatibility or simply look out of place with specific themes. That will not happen when you use Easy Google Fonts.

There are more than 600 Google fonts and then there are variants. You can obviously choose from this or have your own custom font. You will have complete control to the typography of the theme on your website and that is without any need for coding. You can store your custom fonts in the Customizer preview section so you can instantly make changes whenever you need or have to. You also get to preview the fonts vis-à-vis the themes you may have thought of before you go ahead to save the creations in your account. There are many other useful features of Easy Google Fonts.

2. WP Google Fonts

WP Google Fonts

WP Google Fonts stands out for two reasons. One, it brings to you the entire Google Font Directory. That itself is a huge inventory. You don’t really need any more to make a choice. On a lighter note, the more options you get the more difficult it is to make a decision. Google Font Directory is compatible with all WordPress themes and that is the second advantage. So you effectively get to choose a kind of font you want and you don’t have to worry about its compatibility with the website you have already developed or are in the process of developing. It is one of the most downloaded WordPress font plugins.

3. Use Any Font

Use Any Font

This plugin allows you to embed any font in your website. You don’t need to rely on external sources to keep using the font. The fonts are not stored in remote servers which make uptime uncertain. And you are not confined to a select or preset number of fonts. Use Any Font is very easy to use. It is compatible with all major browsers, the interface allows you to covert fronts within the plugin, you can convert fonts in formats that are not typically in use and can thus use those fonts once they are in acceptable formats (ala otf and ttf), the support for a font file is up to 10 MB which is huge and you can use multiple fonts at the same place and time. There are many other utilitarian features of Use Any Font.

4. Font

Font

Downloaded and used by thousands, Font is one of the more popular WordPress font plugins. It doesn’t need any coding and you don’t have to be a website designer or programmer. All you need is a penchant to select the fonts you think would work for your site. The plugin allows you to choose fonts, to change its size, hues and other attributes.

Other than the standard colors and sizes, you also get color picker and slider to get a unique hue or size. The slider and the color picker are very effective features as they allow you to witness the gradual change of size and color which makes it far easier to come up with unique fonts. With standard approaches of selecting fonts, what you can do at best is select something that is already in use. You cannot have that rare font. With this plugin, you can.

5. Font Awesome More Icons

Font Awesome More Icons

Font Awesome More Icons is more popular for its icons than fonts. You actually need both for an appealing website. You have three choices with this plugin. You can go with the HTML option, the Shortcode option or the new Shortcode option. This plugin is not for every webmaster or website owner as you need to have some knowledge about coding but if you do have some expertise then this can be a great tool.

WordPress Facts and Stats

The main menu or the submenus of a website and on every webpage plays an extremely influential role in determining the browsing experience. There are many websites that don’t have very engaging menus and they suffer as a result of that. If your website has to gain substantial traction and the target audience has to enjoy the browsing experience then you must use some effective WordPress menu plugins. Here are some of the most popular WordPress menu plugins that are being used by tens of thousands of users.

1. Max Mega Menu

Max Mega Menu

Another simple and easy to use plugin is Max Mega Menu. It gives you a drag & drop menu builder, you can display widgets in your menu, have a theme for your menu which you can choose from hundreds of options within the plugin and you can customize them as well. There are various menu and submenu styles, you can choose the manner in which the menus would open, bring in some slide or fade transitions, have icons for your menu items and titles, hide or disable texts and links or other options depending on the menu item and the plugin is responsive which allows you to design mobile friendly website menus as well.

2. Custom Menu Wizard Widget

Custom Menu Wizard Widget

With this plugin, you can display the whole menu or choose to display parts of it according to some strategy. You can have one branch or multiple branches of the menu displayed at a time. You can add filters and also determine the outputs based on the conditions or factors chosen. The plugin also supports widgets in menus.

3. Admin Menu Editor

This plugin allows you to create, change, manage and organize menu titles, icons, URLs and you can use the simple drag and drop feature which makes operating the tool all the more simple. Changing settings or moving one menu to another submenu, all such tasks become a cakewalk with this tool.

4. Nav Menu Roles

Nav Menu Roles offers an expansive interface that makes management of your menus and submenus easy and informed. You can edit the menu items according to their appearance or based on what kind of access you intend to provide to different users. You can customize a role according to your needs, you can keep all menus and submenus visible to every visitor or you can offer partial access as well.

Top Business WordPress Plugins

If your website has a provision of allowing downloads, then you need WordPress downloads plugins. It could be images, videos or just textual contents, a download plugin or manager can work wonders. It is the subtle way to show that your website is professional and well equipped to offer a completely satiating browsing and using experience to your target audience. Here are some of the most downloaded WordPress downloads plugins.

1. WordPress Download Manager

WordPress Download Manager

With this plugin, you can come up with custom post type and taxonomy, drag and drop to upload a file, there is support for Google Drive and Dropbox, users can download files directly or open the content in a new tab or window, you can control who has access to the contents, the download speed can be controlled, you can protect contents with password, have a download counter, create a custom link icon for download and have design widgets for top downloads, searching downloads and new files among others.

2. Easy Digital Downloads

Easy Digital Downloads

This plugin provides a cart system for downloads, you can have a promotional code system, have payment gateways integrated to the download feature and have complete payment histories. This plugin is best for ecommerce sites or websites that offer paid products and services. The plugin is available in as many as 26 languages.

3. Simple Download Monitor

Simple Download Monitor

This plugin allows you to manage all files that can be downloaded and you can monitor all downloads as well. You also have the option to protect downloadable files with a password so a user or visitor will need that kind of access to be able to download the content. You can also design your own download interface using this plugin. You can also keep a track of the IP addresses of the people who visit your site and download content.

With Simple Download Monitor, you can design an interface of your choice, upload and manage all contents available for download, manage and monitor as well as track the downloads, add or edit and remove contents for download, there is a drag and drop feature for all files, you can tag and categorize downloadable contents, design download counter for every file, keep a record of date and time along with IP addresses for all downloads and there are numerous other features. The plugin is available in English, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian and Dutch among others.

Top WordPress Plugins for Blogs

A food blog is incomplete without recipes and if you have a WordPress website or blog then you should use some WordPress recipe plugins. Before you try out any of the plugins, mentioned here or elsewhere, you must know that multiple plugins can render a website inefficient.

You should not use multiple or too many plugins at the same time. There are many WordPress recipe plugins which aren’t very useful. That is precisely why we are talking about utilitarian WordPress recipe plugins here. Before you finalize on using a particular plugin, you can test run a few to know how they actually fare when installed and used. Check out some of the most utilitarian WordPress recipe plugins.

1. Recipe Card

Recipe Card

Recipe Card also has an impact on the search engine optimization of the page. But it is more enticing because of its ability to generate nutritional facts about every recipe you come up with. The presentation of the recipes as facilitated by this plugin is also handy. It is easily readable, printable and reviewable. The plugin allows you to blend in over a hundred colors, layouts, fonts and various templates that you can use for different recipes. There is a template editor that allows you the power of customization. This plugin also uses schema.org regulations for better exposure in Google Recipe Search. Recipe Card also has the feature to allow multiple recipes in the same post.

2. Easy Recipe

Easy Recipe

Easy Recipe stands out for its automatic customization or optimization of a post in accordance to the needs of Google’s Recipe View. It can attend to live custom formatting, complete with preview buttons, ratings and images. Not only does this plugin allow for easy, ready to publish creation of recipe posts but editing existing recipe posts is also a cakewalk.

3. Zip Recipes

Zip Recipes

This is a plugin that has been proven to help bloggers and webmasters rank their websites higher by the virtue of information and relevant images. Zip Recipes makes the whole task a little simpler. The plugin allows you to create recipes even if you are not very aware of the popularly accepted formats or methods of presentation. The tutorial really helps. The plugin uses Schema Recipe Support which allows your recipe to be indexed accordingly so the post can be easily found by people looking for the particular recipes. The plugin has Recipe Image Support which is really helpful.

You can Copy/Paste Recipe Ingredients which is handy if you are into writing many recipes in a short period of time. You don’t need to manually write down or enter every ingredient when you already have a source and can extract the details from there for the appropriate ingredient sections. There are many useful features like Auto-Populate Recipe Name, Add Links to Recipe Ingredients, Instructions or Other Recipes, Bold and Italicized Styling for your Recipe, Incorporate Recipe Images into Instructions, Recipe Notes Field, Enhanced Recipe Printing Capabilities, Multiple Paragraph Support in Summary Section of a Recipe and more.

4. Recipe Hero

Recipe Hero

Recipe Hero is one of the more efficient WordPress recipe plugins, primarily owing to its hassle free interface and the speed at which it operates. In addition to ensuring that the post adheres to the formatting needs of Google Rich Snippets, the plugin also prepares the post for Pinterest Rich Pins. Recipe Hero comes with several other extensions that make this plugin all the more helpful. You get Recipe Hero Labels, Recipe Hero Print, Recipe Hero Video, Recipe Hero Likes and Recipe Hero Submit among others. Some of these are free while some are only available for premium users.

The free features in Recipe Hero include Custom Post Type for ‘Recipes,’ Recipe Details, Ingredients & Instructions; Instruction Images; Recipe Reviews / Ratings; Completely Responsive; Settings Panel; Intuitive Admin / Editing Experience; Templating Engine; Display with easy [recipe] & [recipes] shortcodes; Valid schema.org Markup; Ingredients checkboxes (users can check off ingredients as they use them); Inherits Your Theme’s Styles Automatically; Image Lightbox; Recipe Gallery; Custom Ordering and Translation-Ready.

5. Yummly Rich Recipes

Yummly Rich Recipes

Yummly Rich Recipes primarily makes creating a recipe post a cakewalk. You don’t need to care about structures, you don’t have to adhere to any stringent line-wise description and basically you don’t have to worry about how your recipe would be presented. If you have the details then this SEO friendly plugin will do the rest. Yummly Rich Recipes comes with an Integrated Recipe Box, Schema.org’s Recipe/hRecipe Support, Recipe Image Support, Copy/Paste Ingredients feature, Auto-Populate Recipe Name, Add Links to Ingredients or Instructions feature, Bold and Asterisk Styling, Modified Image Display, Include Images in Instructions feature, Notes Field and Improved Printing Options among others.

Any need you may have will possibly be satiated by one or more of these WordPress recipe plugins but be sure to test run them to know which ones will be more suited for you.

SEO vs Social Media WordPress Plugins

Integrating Flickr to your website is a rational move. Flickr is one of the largest image and video hosting cum sharing platform. Recently, Flickr had announced an exponential increase in its storage which makes it all the more enticing. There is some debate as to whether Google’s new Photos service will give Flickr a run for its money, especially with its larger storage and given the clout of the search engine giant, but it is safe to infer that Flickr will remain relevant and very useful for webmasters and companies all over the world for now. Integrating Flickr to your WordPress website is very easy. All you need is one of the many WordPress Flickr plugins. Here are some of the best WordPress Flickr plugins for you to choose.

1. Slickr Flickr

Slickr Flickr

Another simple plugin, Slickr Flickr allows you to host a gallery with all your Flickr photos and you can have slideshows, posts loaded with such photos or even sidebar widgets displaying the images. The plugin is useful for different kinds of text widgets, supports photos of various sizes and resolutions including landscape and portrait frames. You can have all your photos sorted with title, description and date.

You may also choose to have captions and links that can connect your album, gallery or the webpage back to Flickr. The slideshows can be automated or you can opt for manual browsing. Slickr Flickr is compatible with various other apps including Evolution LightBox, Highslide, FancyBox, LightBox Plus, Slimbox, Pretty Photo, ShadowBox, Thickbox and Shutterbox.

2. Flickr Photostream

Flickr Photo Album

Flickr Photostream is now available as Flickr Justified Gallery. This is one of the finest apps to organize the manner in which your photos would be displayed. The fine grid like system that the plugin facilitates is easy on the eye and quite appealing at the same time. The plugin comes with photosets, group pools, galleries, tags and a layout that you would instantly start to like. The entire grid like system of displaying images is customizable. You can choose everything from the size of the grids to the height of the rows or placement to the number of images being placed in every row.

The latest version of this plugin has a similar layout as you would find on Google+ or Flickr. You can configure this layout as well. The lightweight plugin smartly categorizes or clubs images that have similar tags or as you would want to arrange the tags, there can be multiple galleries on the same page, images of different sizes and resolutions would be managed differently and you can customize this setting as well, the titles of the images are displayed when one hovers the mouse over it, the URLs and tags can be optimized to meet SEO requirements and the plug-in is available in English as well as Italian.

3. FlickrRSS

FlickrRSS is one of the simplest and lightest WordPress Flickr plugins. There’s no fuss or complication. It is a simple plugin that allows you to put up your Flickr photos on the website or blog. You can have user generated content, connect your Flickr galleries or albums and you can have community photostreams.

4. Flickr Photo Album

This is one of the simplest WordPress Flickr plugins. It allows you to sync your Flickr account or photo page with your website gallery or album. You can have your Flickr photos or photosets and have them displayed as albums or galleries on your WordPress website. The plugin comes with a template that can be customized entirely so you can have some uniformity in design, font, color and other visual elements.

You may also choose to use the template just as it is. You can use the photos from your Flickr profile or you can source the photos from the website to your Flickr page. This vice versa correspondence and sync is really helpful. You can use back-links to have your photos on the website connected to the album page or you can have viewers get redirected to your Flickr page and you can also get visitors from your Flickr page get redirected to the album or gallery on the website, using the same Flickr Photo Album plugin.

Best Plugins for WordPress

The sidebar is an important space for any website. Gone are the days when you would have some empty spaces on either lateral side of the website’s layout. Sidebars are becoming increasingly populated and that too with relevant info. From having sitemaps to blogrolls, active updates of social media posts to showcasing snippets of information pertaining to the website’s activity, sidebars are being used in myriad ways. Any website that doesn’t use its sidebars properly or optimally is certainly wasting a useful space and not endeavoring enough to have an effective outreach.

There are many sidebar plugins for WordPress that can make your life easier. You don’t have to come up with special templates or write any specific codes for this purpose. All you need is one or few of these popular sidebar plugins for WordPress and you are sorted.

1. Custom Sidebars

Custom Sidebars

Custom Sidebars allows you to create your own widgets and you can also define or mark the specific areas where these widgets would be displayed. You can choose the pages and the specific zones along the sidebars as well. You can come up with simple designs or layouts and you can indulge in some complex layout or themes as well. The plugin has more than 400,000 users.

2. Simple Page Sidebars

Simple Page Sidebars

Simple Page Sidebars is extremely popular among those who don’t want to indulge in any fuss or hassle while customizing their website. This plugin doesn’t interfere with the template or the theme that you have on your website or webpage. It simply lets you play around with your sidebar and the content you want displayed there.

3. Content Aware Sidebars

Content Aware Sidebars

This plugin is a step further. You can not only create the sidebar widgets and also demarcate the area where you would have these displayed but you can also opt for content specific sidebar widgets. You can decide what kind of custom sidebar which page would have based on the content that is posted on that webpage. This plugin is available in dozens of languages.

4. Easy Custom Sidebars

Easy Custom Sidebars

If you are looking for a simple easy to use plugin that doesn’t require you to write any code and yet manage, create and monitor all your sidebar widgets and contents within the ambit of WordPress then this plugin might suffice.

5. Multiple Sidebars

Multiple Sidebars

The name says it all. If you need to create and manage innumerable sidebars, then this is the plugin you should lay your hands on.

Most Popular WordPress Plugins

If you are running a handyman business form your home, you may find some of these invoice templates an useful addition to your business. Many of these templates are compatible with your basic software programs such as Microsoft and Adobe and can be easily customizable to your business. Help to increase your rate of collection with these invoice templates today.

1. At Your Business

atyourbusiness
This handyman invoice template is basic in nature helping to outline the essentials of your business services and billable rate. You can also visit this site and gain access to a variety of other business resources such as purchase order forms, blank receipts, order forms, and credit agreements. The invoice template available on this site is for use with Microsoft Excel and is fully customizable.

2. Printable Invoice Templates

printableinvoicetemplates
This invoice features a full color graphic in the top left corner and has available columns that outline price, quantity, and cost for your client. Download directly for free to use with Adobe in .PDF version or pay a lot cost to obtain a copy for use in Word and Excel. Hundreds of other template styles are also available on this site to review and download for alternatives.

3. Sample Words

samplewords
There are many services that can be rendered for use by a handyman. Due to this fact, this invoice provides a good way to cover recurring services or periodic services. Simple add in a short description of your single event or recurring event, cost of materials, tax, and billable labor before calculating your grand total. This template can be used in Adobe or Excel. Additional space is given for added personalization.

4. Invoicing Templates

Invoice Template
This invoice template is perfect for use, helping to capture the quantity, price, description, and billable rate of labor for services rendered. Upload a logo to the top left corner and date before sending away to your client. While this invoice was created with software, you can access a free version that works in Excel.

5. Ask the Handyman

askthehandyman
Download more than just an invoice for your handyman business at this site. A short guide to success, directory, invoice template, and more free forms for your business are located here. Your invoice template is available in multiple sizes to include a full standard paper size, half size invoice, and mark up cost calculator you can use for setting your material prices.

As a freelancer it can be difficult to find consistent work that pays you for services regularly. For whatever jobs you may obtained for yourself, these musician template invoices will ensure you are ready to bill and collect your payment immediately. Many of these templates allow you to state a description of services rendered, date, track, and outline the rate for your charges. Here is a look at some of the easiest invoice templates available on the web.

1. Musician Wages

Musician Wages

At Musician Wages, they recommend that any invoiice mailed to your client should be provided in a .pdf format to ensure it is easily opened and not altered. You can find an available invoice template that is downloadable from Google Docs on their website, helping to get you started. Simple make the desired changes and send over to your client to remit payment.

2. Google Docs Templates

Google Docs Templates

Google Docs offers their own variety of invoice templates to users. Locate an invoice that suits your color and design needs, making any desired changes before saving. Simply send to your client or share the direct link with them to preview and save. You can also download or print, dependinng upon your specific needs. These templates provide a good base foundation for your business.

3. Invoice Template

Invoice Template

This invoice template includes the venue details, date, and time for your billable client. Perfect for brokers who arrange and pay the musician for their appearance, this invoice allows additional confirmationfor charges that can be supplied to the musician themselves. Use this as a basis for your own customized invoice or print yourself to use directly.

4. Invoice Berry

Invoice Berry

At Invoice Berry you can use their online invoicing and expense service tracking for free, providing a perfect and convenient solution to musicians, creatives, and freelancers alike. This will give you a professional look and add a convenient way to securely track payment, back up your billing, and send reminders for delayed collections. Visit their site directly to review their full service offerings.

5. GrassRootsy

grassrootsy

Any business and serviceable invoice requires the following information to be included with your billable document. To project your business as credible, make sure to incorporate your contact details, performance description and billable rate, agreed payment amount and signature to officiate. This will help to increase your rate of collection. At GrassRootsy, you can find a simple invoice template with optional logo area placed at the top of the bar. Additionally, you can review their articles on how to create an invoice and get paid.

6. TidyForm

TidyForm

At TidyForm, you can locate dozens to hundreds of invoice templates that work with Excel, Word, or Adobe. These provide a multitude of solutions and designs that will work with your business to ensure your correctly communicate the total amount due to your for services rendered. Simply search through their database and downloading directly to your computer.

If you have created a blog with the intent of selling products or services, chances are you will be getting a SSL certificate. This certificate serves the purpose of encrypting sensitive information that is sent across the internet, aiding to protect the data of your clients or customers. These can be obtained directly from your hosting site. These additional WordPress SSL plugins help are offering expansive functionality to your newly secure blog.

1. WordPress HTTPS (SSL)

WordPress HTTPs

This is the simplest plugin for SSL sites, offering an all in one solution. Select to secure your post or page and create private and shared SSL pages. Fix any encryption errors received and operate on a secure admin panel. Force SSL protection on each page of your site, additionally contributing to the security of your blog.

2. Easy HTTPS Redirection

Easy HTTPS Redirection

This plugin is aimed at creating a redirection from your original http standard site to your newly created SSL compatible site by making a redirection to the HTTPs version. This plugin will also help to force search engines to index your secure version of your webpages. Users also have the choice to selectively choose what pages they want to be redirected. Lastly, bloggers have the other option to force load static files top use a HTTPs URL for images, javascript, css, and more.

3. WP Force SSL

WP Force SSL

This plugin forces all traffic to be redirected from a HTTP to HTTPs site. All pages are automatically included in this action helping to prevent ant errors in partially redirected site pages stuck in the navigation. However, if you specifically tried to access page by manually input the HTTP, the redirect will not work.

4. WpFortify for WooCommerce

WpFortify for WooCommerce

For users operating a commerce site and accepting payments, this plugin will help to add easy and secure ways to host SSL checkout pages, while meeting PCI compliance. Credit cards can be used without the need to install an additional SSL certificate, no monthly fees required or set up, as well as no contracts. Custom checkout pages can be created that match your current site.

Converting your current WordPress blog to a secure and encrypted site does not require a lot of action or know how from the blog owner. These plugins help to ease the transition of this change by allowing your pages and posts to be redirected to their current URL without compromising any of your previous traffic earned.

Wordpress Security

When it comes to managing your business and taking care of your client needs, the following invoice templates will help to ease the pain of billing making it easier to collect payments. Many of these template designs can be downloaded directly to your computer or sent to the client from the site. All that is required is the use of Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe Reader to execute your billing.

1. My Excel Templates

myexceltemplates

This template design was created for managing the day of the week, service provided, time and accumulated charges for the service. This invoice allows for customizations through the removal or additional of rows. Simply download this template into Microsoft Word and get started. The template includes a stand in logo that can be easily replaced with your own. When done, simply save and print for your client.

2. Hloom

Hloom

This invoice template was generally created for service use but can be customized to suit your independent needs. Perfectly designed to bill for services, tangible or physical items, this invoice can be easily used for your pet sitting business. This invoice allows you to manually bill the amount of work performed, include a short description, and include total computable tax. The sum of total charges in the end is presented in the grand total amount at the bottom. This invoice is available in multiple formats to include Microsoft Word and Excel.

3. DocStoc

DocStoc

Available on DocStoc, this invoice template can be downloaded or printed directly from the sit. Focused on tracking billable time for services rendered, this invoice is designed to track by date and any additional charges that occur. Upload your logo, include your basic business information, and calculate taxes and per visits charges for a total end balance for your client.

4. Aynax

Aynax

This invoice template can be customized directly on the website. Input the business and client information, description, and pricing before printing or saving directly as a .PDF. Download and send your invoice for free by clicking the save button. Additional options are available such as uploading a logo, including taxes or including any applicable discounts for your service.

5. Tidyform

TidyForm

On Tidyform, there are hundreds of invoice styles made available to download. Many templates allow for direct download for us with Adobe or Word. Include your company logo, business information, description, and amount of billable services.

6. Get Harvest

GetHarvest

At Harvest, a multitude of templates are made available to include this one that highlights a full customizable designs such as company information, hourly rates, and more. Professionally formatted, calculate your overall expenses, hourly rates, and taxes. Harvest offers a collection of plans and pricing that allow you to manage your client database and billing.

7. Freshbooks Cloud Accounting

FreshBooks

This online customizable invoice allows you to manage and input your billable services directly online. Save and send to your client directly from the website and get paid for your services through FreshBooks. This generator is a great way to make it easier to get paid when services are rendered.