5 WordPress Books for Experienced Bloggers

WordPress is the most popular blogging platform around. It is open source and has a strong community behind it which helps. Starting a blog with WordPress does not really take much. But sometimes you want to go beyond a basic blog and work towards building a business with the help of your site. These 5 WordPress books can help you achieve that:

How To Be a Rockstar WordPress Designer: teaches you how to build a blog, a portfolio site and a general portal for WordPress. It has a pragmatic approach to it and has something for everyone. (more…)

5 Awesome Web Server Books for WordPress

Many WordPress webmasters install WP on their servers and go about running their website without taking time to make themselves familiar with the server they are running their software on. That may not be a big problem when you have only 2 people visiting your website. But if you get any kind of attention on the Internet, you will have to take time to optimize your web server to get the most out of WordPress. You may even have to switch to a different server to keep your load under control (check our Nginx article for more information).

Installing WordPress and mastering it is only one part of the process. Knowing your web server can help you big time as well. These 5 web server books for WordPress (and other websites) can help:

Nginx HTTP Server: Nginx is a web server that we are currently using for many of our WordPress websites. It is one of the best solutions for sites that get a lot of load (we are oversimplifying it but Nginx is especially good for VPS hosted sites). This book teaches you how optimize your web server and get the most out of it.

Lighttpd: another light-weight web server that can reduce your site’s load and saves you money and resources in the long run. In a perfect world, going from Apache to this server would be super easy. That’s not the case, which is why you need to review this book if you are interested in it.

Apache Cookbook: I am not a big fan of Apache, but that does not mean it’s not a decent web server. A ton of websites are run using this web server, and there is a good reason for that. If you love you htaccess and all the goodies that you get with Apache, you want to take a look at this book to pick up some good tips. (more…)

5 Fresh WordPress Books for WP Junkies

Whether you are a regular to WP Jedi or this is the first time you visit this website, there is a good chance you have some affection for WordPress. The good thing about WordPress is that there is always something new to learn and new techniques to master. Just before you have time to blink, a new version of WordPress is released with all kinds of new goodies. But that’s what makes WordPress fun. It’s tough for authors to take a snapshot of WordPress when it’s changing and evolving so fast, but if you are looking to learn new things, here are 5 recent WordPress books that you should read:

WordPress 2.8 E-Commerce: a WordPress book for advanced professionals and anyone who want to learn more about the art of WP e-commerce programming (expect a full review of this book shortly).

Professional WordPress: if you have mastered the basics of WordPress and are ready to tackle more advanced topics (plugins, database management, and more) this book is a good place to start.

WordPress Bible: teaches you all you need to know to use the WordPress the best way possible for your website. It covers WP MU as well. (more…)

How To Be a WordPress Rockstar – Review

We at WPJedi are a bunch of WordPress junkies that live and breathe WordPress. Considering that WordPress is one of the best open source content management systems on the market, we have a good excuse for what we do. Mastering WordPress is not as easy as it sounds. The code is expanding and getting better each day. Besides, there are plenty of additional platforms you can take advantage of to create highly sophisticated solutions for WordPress. So you definitely have to pay your dues before calling yourself a WordPress guru. One way to do that is by making sure you know what it takes to develop solutions (e.g. themes for WordPress platform). That’s where How To Be a WordPress Rockstar comes in handy. It’s a powerful WordPress book that is written to help anyone interested in the art of designing WordPress themes get a fast start in this field. WordPress provides you with amazing opportunities to develop highly innovative solutions. As long as you are familiar with those advanced concepts, there is no reason you can’t go on to develop highly innovative solutions for WordPress.

How To Be a WordPress Rockstar is not your average WordPress book. There are plenty of them around that show you how to install WordPress and add some plugins to it. Haven’t we seen enough of those books? If you are anything like me, you want a book that digs deeper and shows you how to do cool things with WordPress. This books takes a good shot at that. While it starts with the basics, it runs you through what you need to know to develop powerful themes for WordPress. It even covers a few theme ideas to get you started in your journey in the theme development world.

The book starts with the very basics of WordPress. But before you know it, you are learning about the loop, dealing with your sidebar, and changing your footer. You also learn how to build a basic plugin and how to deal with advanced fields. You are also provided with a ton of examples to help you get it. (more…)

4 Cool Twitter Resources To Help You Become a Tweetmaster

Twitter has quickly become “THE” community to be a part of. Not only it’s a great community to network with others and build relationships, but it can help drive lots of traffic to your blog as well. So if you have a WordPress blog, you can’t afford not to be involved on Twitter. But Twitter is more than just talking about what you are doing every minute or what you plan to eat for lunch. It’s about connecting with others and providing them with content that makes them want to come back for more. Perhaps the best way to get a handle on Twitter is learn from the masters. Thankfully, many top Twitter experts have written books or created courses on this very topic. So as long as you are willing to spend some time to get through them, you should have no trouble becoming a tweetmaster.

If you are looking for a killer resource to take your Twitter game to the next level, here are 4 cool resources (and books) you should consider reviewing:

The Twitter Book: a book by the legendary Tim O’reilly. It’s one of the best Twitter books around. The book shows you how to get started with Twitter and how to effectively push your business and brand on Twitter.

Twitter Power: Joel Comm needs no introduction. His Adsense books dominated the best sellers charts for long. Twitter Power shows you exactly what you need to do to dominate the world of Twitter. (more…)

WordPress Search Engine Optimization for Dummies

A lot of bloggers assume that once they switch from Blogger or other platforms to WordPress, their site is going to show up higher on Google’s search engine result pages. There was a time when some experts actually gave WordPress a big edge over its competitors as far as SEO was concerned. But these days, if you want to show up at the top of the search engines, you’ve got to work at it. Choosing the right keyword and writing magnetic content goes a long way towards helping you get better rankings on Google and other search engines but having a long-term SEO strategy always pay in the long run.

Search Engine Optimization for Dummies is a wonderful book by Bruce Clay, a SEO legend, that shows you how to optimize any website for search engines. The books starts from zero and shows you how to take your website to the next level by optimizing all aspects that are deemed to be important by search engines. The book starts with an overview of how search engines work, and what they deem to be important when ranking a website. So you won’t have to follow instructions that others give you without understanding why they are important.

The keyword research section is rich and a must read for everyone. A lot of people tend to go overboard with their keyword research and target too many keywords per page. Bruce discusses what you need to look out for when conducting your keyword research. The author doesn’t just show you how to research keywords. He also discusses how you can develop a real keyword strategy for your website. Your keyword research process never stops. You always have to be on the top of things and find new ways to get ranked high on Google. But having a long-term strategy, you can keep targeting popular terms and grab more traffic share in your niche.

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Best Resources To Get Started With WordPress Development

I have been writing this blog for a while now, and while I have tried to cover a whole lot of WordPress topics, I have not posted on how to get started with WordPress and go from beginning to advanced fast. There is just too much to learn and no matter how advanced you are, chances are there are more things you need to learn about WordPress. That’s why I have decided to create this list to discuss tools and resources you can refer to take your WordPress game to the next level.

WordPress for Beginners

• WordPress Entrepreneur: learn how to setup, customize & use a WordPress website. Easy to read and makes you dangerous when it comes to WP.
• WordPress Foundations 2.7: Second Edition: a great book that shows you what you need to know to find your way around WordPress.
• WordPress for Dummies: the best book to get started with WordPress if you have no idea what you are doing.
• Easy Guide to Blogging (vol.1 ): a good video training course that teaches you how to get started with WordPress blogging. Excellent for beginners. Don’t want to read a book? Then, this is for you.

Theme & Plugin Development

• How to Theme WordPress: learn how to develop a theme for WordPress fast. Learn what you need to do to develop attractive themes. Great video course.
• WordPress Theme Design: a complete guide to creating professional WordPress themes fast. A smash hit by Packt Publishing.
• How to be a Rockstar WordPress Designer: this guide shows you how to create your own themes and make money online from your art work.
• WordPress Plugin Development: another Packet Publishing book that covers WordPress plugin development. Lots of sample code and clear instructions on how to write killer plugins.
• WordPress On Crack: if you need someone to take your hand and show you how to write cool plugins from start to finish, this is the guide you should read. Comes with video training movies as well.
• Total Training Library: a great way to stay on the top of the latest developments and technologies in the world of design. Master everything Adobe with Total Training video training.

Advanced: Programming and API

WordPress Blogging

• Building a WordPress Blog People Want to Read: you may get real good with WordPress but if you can’t write a blog the right away, then you are not going to get a whole lot of visitors. No one wants to know what you have had for your lunch. So instead of writing about that, read this book to find out what works.
• Blogging To the Bank: more advanced tactics to write killer blog posts and make a living online from blogging.
• WordPress for Business Bloggers: if you are working for a corporation and have been asked to take over their business blog, then this is the book you should read. It shows you what you should do and not to do with a business blog.
• ProBlogger: written by legendary blogger, Darren Rowse, this book walks you through everything you need to know to develop a community around your blog and make money online.

WordPress as a Business

• Start Your Own Blogging Business: if you plan to start a business around your blog, you need a guide to walk you through the steps you need to take to build and grow your business. This books shows you what you need to keep in mind when starting your business.
• How to be a Rockstar Freelancer: if you plan to start your own WP consulting business, you need to read this guide to learn what you need to do and avoid to make it big.

WordPress Hosting

• DreamHost: my current web host. They are pretty decent and the support is wonderful. The one click WordPress install is very useful ($50 off coupon: WPJEDI)
• Wpwebhost: tailored towards the needs of WordPress site owners. Supports WordPress MU as well.
• Blue Host: used by a whole lot of small businesses for blogging, pod-casting, and …
• HostGator: another top host for WordPress sites. Compatible with many third party services.
• Yahoo!: Yahoo! web hosting is a top hosting service for all types of websites. You can’t go wrong with Yahoo! (Coupon Code: WHMS35OFF).

WordPress Themes

• Business themes: 45 cool premium themes that get you started with your WordPress corporate site fast.
• Blogging Themes: 52 premium themes for anyone interested in blogging professionally.
• Vlogging Themes: 12 best WordPress themes for video bloggers. Allow you to post your videos to your vlog easily.

Social Media

• Twitter Power: a killer book by Joel Comm that shows you how to get the most out of Twitter.
• Twitter Hacks: learn everything there is about Twitter on this Twitter-exclusive Squidoo page.
• Twitter Tips, Tricks, and Tweets: another book on Twitter that teaches you how gain and grow your follower list fast.
  
• Facebook Marketing: learn how to take advantage of Facebook to push your WordPress blog.

Tools

• Bookmarking Demon: if you need free traffic for your blog, this is one killer tool to try. Let’s you submit your blog posts to social media sites fast.
• Social Maximizer: a service that will automatically submit your blog posts to social networking sites. It’s 19 cents per submission which is pretty cheap.
• Social Submitter: submit your sites to social bookmarking sites easily with Social Submitter.
• EzineArticles Marketing: learn how to use article marketing to drive traffic to your WordPress blog.

There you have it. Whether you are a complete beginner or fairly advanced with WP, you can still get a lot of value from the above resources. The good thing about being a WordPress user is that you will have to be on your toes all the time and never stop learning. It’s all fun though.

Your turn: please feel free to share your favorite WordPress tool/guide here.