Seattle WordPress Event: Business Websites, WordPress 3.0 and SEO for WordPress

On Tuesday, May 11 in Bellevue (Seattle), Washington, you can hear me (Mark McLaren) and two other WordPress experts talk about 1) WordPress for Business Websites, 2) the latest version of WordPress (3.0), and 3) Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for WordPress. It’s an evening event at Bellevue College, with plenty of time for Q & A and networking.

Anyone who wants to learn WordPress, or learn more about WordPress – definitely check it out!

I will be doing the WordPress Search Engine Optimization presentation. You’ll get all you need to take your WordPress website from the basic default level of search optimization to a truly optimized level using the “All in One SEO Pack” plugin for WordPress. The SEO techniques I’ll talk about work on any website. I’ll just be showing you how to apply them quickly and easily to your WordPress site.

To sign up now, visit the Seattle WordPress seminar website.

The event is called “Explode the WordPress Learning Curve: An Evening with the Experts”. Here are the highlights of this awesome WordPress seminar:

After An Evening with WordPress Experts, you’ll understand:

• why so may businesses are choosing WordPress for their websites and blogs
• how to leverage the power and flexibility of a WordPress website to increase sales
• how easy it is to make the move to WordPress
• 5 techniques for optimizing your WordPress pages for better search engine rankings
• the key features of 3.0, the newest version of WordPress

What’s Included in this Event:

• 3 “mini-seminars” from WordPress experts
• 15-minute break with time for networking as well as time before and after the event
• Extended Q & A panel discussion with the experts: Get your questions answered
• Opportunity to meet the experts at the conclusion of the event
• Time to visit the presenters’ tables and exchange information
• Copies of all presentations
• Additional information on useful tips, plugin’s, themes and resources for WordPress users

Feel free to contact me with questions about the event. For tickets and more information, visit the Seattle WordPress seminar website.

WordCamp Seattle 2010

The organizers of WordCamp Seattle 2009 will meet some time this month to discuss the 2010 event. Look for updates on the WordCamp Seattle website. You can also follow WordCamp Seattle on Twitter.

My company, McBuzz Communications, helps business and individuals with WordPress websites in Seattle and around North Amercia. I had the honor of being one of the speakers at WordCamp Seattle 2009.

Thanks in part to votes from Business Blogging 101 fans, I also got to do a 5-minute Ignite-style presentation on WordPress and the Social Web. It was a blast. Really looking forward to 2010.

Nominate WordPress for Best Internet App Award

Hey WordPress lovers, it’s time for the Crunchies Awards! Vote for WordPress as best Internet App of the year.

McBuzz and Business Blogging 101 voted, have you?

Falling Snow on Your WordPress Blog

Each year around this time you can have some pretty realistic-looking snowfall on your WordPress.com site – like you see here on Business Blogging 101. All you need to do is the following:

In the Dashboard, under Appearance, click on Extras and check the box next to “Show falling snow on my blog. (Only until January 4th 2009.)” Don’t forget to click the “Update Extras” button.

If you want falling snow on a self-hosted WordPress site, check out this post or visit the plugin page where Aen Tan has updated his Falling Snow WordPress plugin. Thanks, Aen!

Happy Holidays!

WordPress Security: The Simplest Way to Improve Security on Your WordPress Website or Blog

Recently there was a big security scare for WordPress users. A “worm” (a form of automated malicious software) was traveling around the Internet trying to break into unsuspecting WordPress users’ sites. Even high-profile bloggers like Robert Scoble were caught without adequate file and database backups in place. Scoble lost a bunch of posts, and said he felt less certain of WordPress as a result.

You can read the full post over on the McBuzz.com website: WordPress Security: Create a New User and Delete the Default “admin” Account