How to Market Your WordPress Web Design Business for More Exposure

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While WordPress web design business is one of the best forms of solopreneur business, maintaining a steady flow of paying clients is something easier said than done.

If you're a starter, you'll often find getting newer clients your way is very difficult. Similarly, word of mouth and friendly referrals can bring a handful of clients to existing designers, but you deserve way more.

The WordPress freelance business is a competitive field and using the right way to market your business can give you an edge over your competition.

If you're wondering how to get more clients to your freelance web design business, here are three ways to market your web design business that will ensure you're in business.

Let's start!

Start a blog and funnel search engine clients.

While this is one of the simplest and commonly found ideas, starting a blog has a more scientific approach to it than visible. You'll understand this once you are in the shoes of your audience/clients.

Imagine you're a business person who just bought his copy of a WordPress theme for your company website. Since coding isn't your area of expertise, you are now confused how to add a menu bar to the theme that shows your company details or a call to action.

What will be your next big step? Obviously, Google!

You'll Google how to add a theme menu and voila you got your results!

The second result by Amethy Website Design is the blog of a website design agency, and you just landed there without them having to spend a dime on advertising.

You read their problem-solving article, and they get a credibility boost and a chance to funnel this Google visitor (you) to their website designing service. They remain in your subconscious mind so that you can contact them if you need a more complex design done.

This is the #1 principle to land website clients that have a clear intent of buying or hiring your services.

How to leverage your blog to get clients?

To leverage your blog to get clients from search engines, you have to write blog posts that solves your readers' problems or talks about those. This will increase your chances to appear when they search something on Google and hence eventually hire you.

Research carefully on the issues your clients are facing, check other competitors who are in your space (you can use a tool like SEMrush) and see what type of posts they are writing and that's where you get your starting point.

Then you can use Google's related searches to find similar ideas. Free keyword research tools like Google's keyword planner would also help you get a lot of similar content ideas and associated keywords to get started.

Make sure your blog is optimized and is relevantly visible to search engines too. Submit your sitemap, use schema markup to show up your availability, pricing, etc directly on your search results.

If you're not sure what to add, here is a list of essential WordPress SEO plugins that will help you install the right plugins. If you're targeting your local clients in your work area, the above list contains a list of local SEO plugins too, choose one as needed.

Pro Tip: Don't use too many plugins, only use the ones that your business needs from the above list.

Use Social Media

The next best place to get more clients for your business is to hang out where your potential clients hang out too.

Twitter and Instagram are great places to get started.

On Twitter, you can use relevant hashtags in your tweets so that it reaches the maximum people searching or using that keyword. To get started, use the following guide which is about using your competitors' social media strategy.

You can also use Twitter search to land potential recruiters by searching for relevant keywords like:

Hiring [add keyword here]

Looking to hire a [add keyword here]

I need a [add keyword here]

or even help-asking tweets like how to do [add your keyword/niche relevant work ideas] etc.

Also, make sure you are using the platform at its best. Read the official Twitter blog for great tips that work. Here is a golden nugget that helps you optimize your freelance shop to get more visibility on Twitter.

Similarly, Instagram is a place that is often underrated for business purposes. With over 800 million monthly active users (data source) Instagram is a place to market your business to get more clients.

Optimize your profile, add your location (if need be) and in the profile bio link, make sure you add a link that shows your visitor what to do next.

Since you cannot post multiple links on Instagram, your profile link should lead your potential client to the right location to get a free quote.

Use multiple images, post with relevant hashtags (hashtags are very important but don't use more than 5-7 hashtags) to your Instagram updates. Here is a perfect example of an Instagram post (by Fabrizio, a great designer) done right. It showcases the work of the designer, then uses a good description and relevant hashtags so the post gets found by a relevant community of users who can be his potential clients.

Leverage a bigger platform like TemplateMonster's marketplace

Sometimes, leveraging a bigger platform is an excellent alternative than struggling to get good referrals for your own network. Just like freelancers use a job board or a site like Upwork, designers can leverage Marketplaces like TemplateMonster's to get ahead of your competitors.

The main benefit of getting your work showcased in a marketplace is you get the exposure to 1000s of customers who already use and trust the platform. This saves you the time to market your business and get newer clients.

They do take away a part of your earnings for sure, but that fee is worth every penny, you get acquiring new clients. You can further use the word of mouth of these clients to land new referral gigs.

For example, if you get selected for TemplateMonster's MarketPlace, you can easily get in front of your millions of potential clients (they have 6 million potential clients in the last quarter itself) which is something you or me as an individual freelancer might not make it at an individual level.

You could also keep doing your freelancing and graphic design work side by side.

Wrapping up

So, these were the best yet often underrated strategies that you could use to market your WordPress web design business and land new clients.

Your client acquiring process shouldn't stop even after your first few clients. In fact, there starts your most vital method to leverage these happy clients to get new referrals.

We will, however, leave that topic to leverage your happy clients to get newer clients for a future post. Stay tuned by subscribing to the TemplateMonster blog.

What strategies have been working for you to get a steady influx of clients?

Share it with other readers and us in the comments section. Let's form a community of helping freelancers.

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Source: How to Market Your WordPress Web Design Business for More Exposure

How to #Market Your #WordPress #Web #Design #Business for More Exposure

How to Market Your WordPress Web Design Business for More Exposure While WordPress web design business is one of the best forms of solopreneur business, maintaining a steady flow of paying clients is something easier said than done. If you're a starter, you'll often find getting newer clients your way is very difficult. read moreHow to Start a Blog for Your Business That Actually Makes Money "Content marketing ... website, we use the Divi theme from Elegant Themes – a drag-and-drop builder that allows non-programmers like us to make design changes really easily. Starting a blog can potentially boost your business by helping you reach out to ... read moreHelp your customers find you by building a great website plus access to dozens of WordPress themes and some 2,000 stock images. You'll also get a tutorial about adding web plugins, learn how to use Facebook and Youtube marketing, and launch an ecommerce business via your site. And if you want to get even more ... read more

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Source: How to #Market Your #WordPress #Web #Design #Business for More Exposure

WordPress plugin used by 300,000 websites hides a secret backdoor

Captcha control The discovery was made by researchers at cybersecurity experts Wordfence. It impacts the Captcha plugin for the WordPress content management system. Captcha was developed by WordPress development firm BestWebSoft. The company sold the free version of the plugin to a new developer called Simply WordPress back in September. Captcha was one of a number of popular WordPress plugins built by BestWebSoft. It provides CAPTCHA capabilities for websites, allowing developers to include anti-bot protections in their sites. Exactly three months after purchasing the plugin, its new developers released version 4.3.7 with an added backdoor. With over 300,000 websites confirmed to be actively using the plugin, the discovery is a serious security incident for the WordPress ecosystem. The software is used by millions of websites, ranging from small personal blogs to major media publishers. WordPress temporarily removed the plugin from its repository, a decision which maintains security but also leaves sites without access to CAPTCHA functionality. The backdoor works by creating an authenticated WordPress session as the software's default admin user. This gives the attacker complete administrative control of the site, allowing them to interact with content or monitor new events. The backdoor is contained inside a "plugin update" script. Once it's been installed, the developer can remove it without leaving traces on the filesystem. Plugin infection This isn't the first time WordPress plugins have been bought by actors with malicious intentions. Because popular plugins have such an extensive reach, they've become prime targets for cybercriminals looking to inject adware, spyware or search ranking abuse tools into websites. Often using concealed identities, fake development companies are established which purchase plugins from their original owners. After continuing to release minor patches for a few months, a new version is then issued which contains the malicious code. Because the plugin was originally a reputable piece of code, the changes could go unnoticed for some time. READ NEXT: Coinbase starts investigation into Bitcoin Cash "inside trading" In investigating the infiltration of Captcha, Wordfence uncovered links between "Simply WordPress" and individuals already known to be involved in WordPress plugin infection schemes. The company's website currently offers five other WordPress plugins for download, all of which contain the same backdoor as Captcha. There is some good news for users of Captcha. Wordfence has worked with the WordPress plugins team to remove the backdoor and issue a new update. Users should install version 4.4.5 immediately to protect their site. Over 100,000 infected sites have already been automatically upgraded to the safe version. Simply WordPress has been banned from publishing further updates without obtaining a review from WordPress.org.
Source: WordPress plugin used by 300,000 websites hides a secret backdoor

Hidden Backdoor Found In #WordPress Captcha Plugin Affects Over 300,000 Sites

Hidden Backdoor Found In WordPress Captcha Plugin Affects Over 300,000 Sites | Latest News Hidden Backdoor Found In WordPress Captcha Plugin Affects Over 300,000 Sites Buying popular plugins with a large user-base and using it for effortless malicious campaigns have become a new trend for bad actors. One such incident happened recently when the renowned developer BestWebSoft sold a popular Captcha WordPress plugin to an ... read moreBackdoor Found in WordPress Plugin With More Than 300,000 Installations A WordPress plugin installed on over 300,000 sites ... a hidden backdoor. The WordPress team has intervened and removed this plugin from the official WordPress Plugins repository, also providing clean versions for affected customers. Known only as Captcha ... read moreIf We Want Robots to Be Good, We May Need to Destroy Their Self-Confidence We've all worried about artificial intelligence reaching a point in which its cognitive ability is so far beyond ours that it turns against us. But what if we just turned the AI into a spineless weenie that longs for our approval? Researchers are ... read more

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How to Clean Your Hacked #WordPress Site Without a Backup

How to Clean Your Hacked WordPress Site Without a Backup When a website is hacked, it's not the end of the world. Most webmasters and site owners reduce their chances of a quick recovery because their first reaction is panic. When cleaning a hacked WordPress site, it is important to remain calm. This article ... read more7 Ways to Ruin your WordPress Website Without Really Trying This post on how to ruin your WordPress Website was inspired by a client I worked with last week. His ecommerce site had been hacked and suspended by his host, and he wanted to clean it ... These backup maniacs think that without copies of their site ... read moreBlogging Platforms. How to Choose the Best One WordPress ... a backup of your Tumblr blog or import it to other platforms. This resource is free. You can use your own domain, which is bought separately, and themes or applications, which are also available for purchase. Squarespace is a reliable site ... read more

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How to Clean Your Hacked WordPress Site Without a Backup

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When a website is hacked, it's not the end of the world. Most webmasters and site owners reduce their chances of a quick recovery because their first reaction is panic. When cleaning a hacked WordPress site, it is important to remain calm.

This article shares important steps to identify if your site is hacked, how to clean the malware or the hack and how to enhance the security of your website. This article assumes you do not already have backups from which to recover your site.

How to Identify if Your Website Has Been Hacked

Before you start panicking, you should check if you have actually been hacked or is it just a spam attack.

When a website gets hacked, there are a few clear indicators of compromise as listed below.

Sometimes if the search engines observe malicious behavior from a web property, they blacklist that site and it loses its ranking. You should check if Google flags your site in search results as "compromised." If any of your readers are reporting that their antivirus has flagged your site, it may well be malware infected.

Web hosting providers may disable your site, if they notice malicious activity on it, in order to stop the infection from spreading to other websites sharing the same server.

Often hackers will replace the homepage with a clear message that your website has been hacked.

Sometimes they will insert malicious code and ads (drugs, pornography, gambling) through the header/footer/sidebar. Such codes even hamper the performance of your WordPress website, which is also a sign of site getting hacked.

If you notice new users, new pages/posts, new themes or plugins downloaded, or any other unauthorized activity that none of your team members can validate, it definitely means one of your admin accounts has been compromised.

Admins may not see anything malicious but other users/daily visitors may be redirected to malicious sites.

Hackers could send malicious emails from your website's SMTP account to redirect users to a dirty site that will then download viruses to the visitor's computer. Using your website helps them avoid spam filters on the recipient's mailbox.

Steps to Follow to Clean Your Hacked WordPress Site

First of all, you need to be calm. As a website owner, it is natural that you might think of the post-hack consequences. Your mind might become clouded with negative thoughts about losing your business and your money but you have the biggest role to play in its recovery. You can also try some breathing/meditation exercises on YouTube to help you calm you down.

Once you are in a state of mind where you can think rationally, ask yourself three questions to help you decide your next course of action:

Can you give yourself a few hours of downtime due to a security incident? Usually, for high-value brands or trending ecommerce businesses, the answer is a big fat "No," they want it cleaned immediately.

As a protocol, many hosts completely delete a website that has been reported as compromised as a first step. So at this stage, do not approach your hosting provider for help.

Do you (or someone in your company) have the technical know-how to clean the hacked site manually?

If you are not comfortable handing the high-tech stuff by yourself, it's best for you to hire a professional to fix it for you.

Do you have the budget to hire a third-party or a professional to clean your hacked site? Security cleanup services could be anywhere between $100 to $250 and perhaps even higher.

If you can perform the procedure yourself, you can proceed with the steps explained below.

Keep Calm and Start Documenting the Hack

Documenting the hack means gathering data about it and creating an incident report baseline. This data will be useful in the long run.

Even a professional will ask you many questions to create a formal incident report. You can hand over the complete baseline; it will enable them to do their job more quickly.

Before you start cleaning the hack, you should change all your passwords (admins and non-admin users) immediately.

Now, you want to document the hack by asking following questions:

What are the visible signs of a security breach? You may use the indicators of compromise mentioned in the previous section as a checklist.

What was the local time (and time zone) when the hack was first reported/noticed?

What were the last 5 actions you performed? Did you install a new theme or a plugin?

Sanitize the Site

Now, you have to isolate the virus and kick it out of your website. First, you want to remove all of the (installed but) inactive plugins and themes from your WordPress code base because they are the easiest target for hackers.

The easiest option is downloading a plugin called Sucuri or WordFence and follow the instructions to clean the complete website. The WordPress Codex tutorial for cleaning a hacked site also mentions GOTMLS and Quttera plugins from their plugin repository.

You can also use remote file scanning services such as VirusTotal. Some websites such as aw-snap and IsItHacked also provide useful resources to help you find hacked files on your site.

If the tool only reports the malicious code of your website (but does not automatically delete it), your best solution is to reinstall a fresh copy of the plugin/theme.

Now, sanitize your local system and update all your plugins

How did the hacker get access to your admin account passwords? Chances are the malware might not be on your website at all. It may have installed keylogger software that secretly reads your keystrokes and sends it to the hacker's remote server.

Hackers can also infect your computer with advanced malware and it might get uploaded through an infected image. You can use any popular desktop antivirus to do that.

Make sure you do select the full computer scan and not the partial option. For extended safety, use the second AV too because some Trojans may manage to hide from popular AVs.

Also, update all your activated plugins, themes, and the WordPress code itself. Doing this ensures you remove any potential vulnerabilities due to outdated code that may be exploited in the future.

Also, check the list of all website users. Is there a new, possibly suspicious user? Usually, these are bot accounts with weird names containing special symbols and numbers instead of English letters.

If you spot any such user account and you don't recall creating it on WordPress, delete it immediately.

Once the malware is cleaned, you can inform your hosting provider

If you are sharing a server, you may want to inform your hosting provider with the exact details from your incident report and what steps you have taken to cleanup the website. They may employ their advanced security and malware scanning tools to see if all sites on the shared server have been infected (and take steps to clean them).

Even if you are hosted on a dedicated server, you might want to accept the help of their customer service representatives as you deal with this emergency.

Tighten Your Website Security After You Have Taken the Necessary Steps

After everything is clean, you want to make sure this doesn't repeat. In this section, we discuss steps you can take to increase the security of your website.

Increase your password security

You should secure all your WordPress accounts, your PHP and MySQL logins, your cPanel logins, and your FTP logins with strong passwords. Consider using password management tools such as LastPass too. For effecting a mandatory global password change for all WordPress users, use the Force Strong Passwords WordPress plugin.

We strongly recommend using 2-factor authentication (2FA) apps like Authy or Google Authenticator for securing your website. There are numerous 2FA plugins in the WordPress repository as well.

Using 2FA is also highly recommended because it sends an additional one-time password on the user's phone/email as an additional security layer besides the strong passwords.

Don't forget to change your secret keys

WordPress encrypts passwords for all users through secret keys. It also uses cookies to save them. Changing your secret keys will reset the cookies and it forces any logged in user to get logged out.

Additional security enhancement steps

You should use a security plugin like Sucuri or WordFence to regularly check for malware on your site. Most of these plugins provide free services.

If you haven't already installed a backup plugin, this is the right time to do so. Again, don't just install them, use them to schedule automated backups of your site. In future, this will help you quickly recover your website content when a security incident occurs.

Wrapping it up

You can use any security plugin for malware scans. Once you have cleaned the malware and improved Wordpress website performance, make sure you take all of the necessary steps to enhance the security of your website.

Have you been targeted by malware or a hacker? If yes, how did you deal with the scumbag?

About the Author

Catherrine Garcia is a freelance blogger and web developer. She is currently working as a freelance writer at MarkupTrend and managing content. You can follow her on Twitter.

Source: How to Clean Your Hacked WordPress Site Without a Backup

How can i make my #WordPress site #SEO friendly?

How can i make my wordpress site SEO friendly? How can I make my wordpress site SEO friendly? means I want to know is there any good working plugins available, and how to choose post title, keywords and some knowledge about meta tags. For serious WordPress publishers with specific online business ... read moreHow To Create Default .htaccess File For WordPress? The .htaccess is a server configuration file allowing setting up the details of the website without changing the config folder. The file is present in WordPress themes along with all Apache web hosting and can ... SEO friendly method to inform your ... read moreHow Can I Make My Blog or Site into a Mobile App (Without Programming Knowledge)? I have a blog that I want to make more mobile-friendly ... tools you can use to do this. If your blog uses WordPress as its base, check out the previously mentioned plugin WPtouch (or see the enhanced WPtouch Pro, which is $39 for one website). read more

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