I've absent from Nairaland for almost a month this summer, mainly because I needed to do some restructuring and reorganizing within my business.

But now that that's over, I can get back to work.

Before I left I was working on two things: 1.) a blog building case study and 2.) sharing more of what I've learned from self-publishing information products to help independent authors (as well as myself) sell more novels and short stories.

Before, my plan was to create separate websites for each, but now I think the best approach will be to create a single site from which to do everything. This way, instead of sending people to multiple different sites, I can house everything under one umbrella. This is good for a number of reasons, but there are 3 that are most appealing to me:

1. A stronger focus for myself. (Having multiple sites can be taxing on the brain.)
2. Better branding and brand consistency. Which in turn, offers more credibility and creates more trust among users/readers.
3. MUCH easier for readers to find and follow my work. Better engagement means greater potential to generate revenue.

As for the site itself, once I've setup hosting and WordPress, I will post a link here for you to follow my progress.

Sometimes posting about blogging and online revenue gets posts removed from this site, so I will publish updates on one of my own sites to make sure that future readers have access to all of my updates concerning this topic and thread.

I will return shortly.

Thanks for reading and following along.

Be blessed!

Ra

Also as you are doing that remember to Stay Healthy, and Wise

stay with newsphases.com for the best health news and tips

UPDATE: July 24, 2016

Well, things didn't go as planned yesterday. My initial idea for this site didn't work, and it took a considerable amount of time to find a work-around. But that's like. Things don't always happen the way we envision them, and when they don't, all we can do is pick up where we are, and keep moving forward.

I've chosen to go with WordPress for this project because 1.) the previous versions of these sites all ran on WordPress, which made moving them to a new site and hosting simple, and 2.) it will make things much easier to manage in the future as the site expands.

I know many Nigerians choose Blogger as their preferred blogging platform, but my only problem with blogger is that you do not have access to Google's server files. Which poses a problem for me because many of the expansion plans I have for this site will involve customizing the server files to improve functionality.

Otherwise, probably would have used Blogger for this project because it would have allowed me to save money on hosting every month.

By end of today, the site should be working, which means the site can be viewed online. Right now, I've noticed a few redirect errors whenever I attempt to load the site via my web browser, but once the DNS has propagated completely, the site should load as expected without error.

There won't be much to read or view in the beginning, but that will come with time.

Once the site is up I will be sure to post a link for anyone interested in following my ongoing progress.

Be blessed!

QUICK UPDATE:

I managed to finish building out the framework of the site. The only thing left to do now is edit the theme to be sure each section blends seamlessly together, giving the site greater sense of unity and brand consistency.

The site link is www.genesiscovenantsaga.com. The site is still under construction, but at least it is finally loading correctly without any loading errors or redirect issues.

In the mean time, I'll be working primarily from the 'Making Genesis' Blog section of the site. This is where I will share updates and insight about not only how I'm growing the site and brand, improving my writing, and developing the overall story, but also how I'm getting traffic, growing my audience and mailing lists, monetizing the site, increasing conversions, and more.

Basically, it will be a living case study focused on building a successful and profitable online presence.

When it's ready, you can view Making Genesis, HERE.

Be blessed!

Nice one op

Tune in to MP3badoo.com.ng to listen to cool music as you follow this thread.

QUICK UPDATE:

I've completed the look for my homepage. I will add more content as the site grows, but for now, the current look will work just fine.

I have temporarily unblocked the site so people can take a look at the design. You can view the site HERE.

Feel free to take a look, ask questions and leave comments. All feedback is welcome.

You can visit the site at www.GenesisCovenantSaga.com.

Thanks for reading and being a part of this adventure!

Be blessed!

QUICK UPDATE:

I just wanted to post a quick update to say that I've completed the full framework for the site and have removed maintenance mode from the site. Now readers may view Genesis Covenant without restriction.

I've yet to publish any real content, but I will begin to publish posts to the site in the next coming days. There are still a few CSS and coding errors to be corrected before officially making the site live, to which I intend to have resolved no later than a week from today.

For now, I'm going to retire and catch a few hours of sleep, but when I return I will begin walking you through the site and going into more detail about this site is, its purpose and my plans for the next 5 months.

I will connect with you all in a few hours.

Be blessed!

Hey Everyone!

I meant to publish an update earlier this morning, but found myself getting busy with work as well as the new site.

Since this morning, I've managed to successfully link each of the site's subsections to the main site, and blend the layout and themes accordingly. So there is now one cohesive look to the design.

Next I will go through and modify the typography of the site -- the font styles, and text sizes and color. I should have this step completed later on tonight, and if so, I can begin publishing content as early as tomorrow. Which will be a full week ahead of my original deadline.

To be honest, I thought it would take a lot more time to edit this site, but thankfully it hasn't, and I can begin putting the site to use much earlier than expected.

Also, in addition to the typography, there is one section of the site -- the wiki page -- that I want to give a slightly different look than the rest of the subsections on Genesis Covenant. For now, I will probably only change the header of the page, and maybe the color of the navigation box, but that's about it for now.

When it's done, I'll post before and after pics for you to see.

That's about it for now. I'll check back in again once I'm done.

Thanks for reading!

Be blessed!

Finished the menu settings and typography. As well as the changes to the header for the "wiki" pages of the site. As promised I've included before an after pictures below.

BEFORE:


AFTER:


It's not much of a difference, but it looks better I think.

Tonight I will work on setting up the menu/navigation links, and start writing the Terms of use, privacy statement and other policy and content pages for the site. From there, I will work on the 404-Error page. It's not absolutely necessary, but I like to customize my 404-page because I think it gives the site a more personable feel.

I will have all of this completed by early morning. At which point I can begin building the homepages for the Wiki site and the Case Study site. I will be sure to include before and after pics for that as well.

Talk with you in a few.

Be blessed!

it likes better I think too

Well, I've managed to complete the custom 404/Error page. It looks good, and will work for now. I will go back later and do a better customization after the site has been active for a few months.

Here's the before:



And here's what the page looks like now.



Nothing major, but a noticeable change nonetheless. Once I have a few ebooks and/or products to sell, I will use this page to promote them.

The 404 page is among the few pages users should never see, or at worst, see very rarely. However, when they do seem them, I think it's important for webmasters to use the space to further enhance their brand or offerings, rather than only display a boring wall of text informing them that their search has resulted in a dead end.

Today, I will continue work on the homepages for the Developer Blog and the Story Bible sections of the site.

I would have been done sooner, but I didn't like the earlier version of the sites, so I'm re-doing them. Hopefully, I can have them both completed by tonight. I still need to review and publish more of the content pages for the site. Some of the pages will no longer be necessary on account of everything being consolidated to single domain/site. It's taking a little longer than anticipated, but at least it's not hindering my overall progress with the site.

All in all, things are still progressing ahead of schedule. I'll follow up with another update later this evening.

Thanks for reading!

Be blessed!

July 28, 2016 - 3:21 AM Est

(Now that I think about it, I should have been dating and time stamping each of these posts. Nothing I can do about that now, except make an effort to do so in the future.)

Hey Everyone!

Just thought I would post a quick update before retiring to bed tonight. It's going on 3:21 in the morning here, and I've been up since 6AM the previous day.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to accomplish all that I set out to do today. I had a few minor interruptions during my work flow, with friends and family stopping by. And as a result, I was not able to finish the homepage layouts for the Story Bible and Developer Blog sections of my new site.

I should have at least one of them completed by tomorrow, and the other sometime on Friday or the weekend.

On a positive note, I did manage to complete one section of the site. It will serve as a personal site/blog where I will talk about and share some of my personal thoughts as I work to write and publish my first fiction series. I call the site North of Zero.

If it sounds familiar, that is because it used to be a newsletter and blog about personal development, mindset, mastery and success. I suspended the site a few weeks ago to concentrate more on my creative writing, but I've decided to revive the site as a sub-section of my latest domain.

The purpose of North of Zero is to speak openly about my experiences as I try to earn a living with my writing. It won't offer much in the way of writing tips, but I will share a lot about my doubts, fears, frustrations, and anything else an aspiring writer might be feeling as he labors to write and publish his first novel.

I am working on a separate site that will offer more of the writing tips and insight into my fiction series. I will post more on that tomorrow.

By far, today was my least productive day this week. I've lost a little momentum today, but I'm still well ahead of beating my expected completion date of August 1st.

Hopefully I can make up for lost time tomorrow and still have the site finished ahead of schedule as I'm hoping to.

Thanks for reading!

Be blessed!

well done, that's nice to hear

meant to say it looks better

yes and no re my website

Yes I have recovered it from the hackers but there seems to be something not quite right with it. for starts I can't upload files greater than 8MB event though the settings has been put at 100MB. The images I uploaded in July aren't showing in blog posts. Not really sure what's going on.

I wasn't pleased with the way my hosting company handled things, so when my hosting expires I will move to a UK based one. Which I am yet to decide.

I feel my website is due an overhaul. Would love to give it a go myself but not sure where to start. Don't want to use wordpress as they have next to no customer support. I have between now and Sept to sort it all out. At the very worst I will get a web designer

What do you think?

The only light in my dark tunnel now is that I have finished my first adult fiction book. Sent a copy to my beta reader. Fingers crossed as long as she can't see anything drastically wrong with it, I will pass it to the editor.

I would love to share it with you but it was written from a woman's point of view and I think your eyes would get burnt if you read it

Let me know if you would like to take the risk ehehehehehehheheheh

radragan:


Thanks.

I don't know why, but I believe this project will ultimately turn out to be the most fruitful of all my personal projects and endeavors this year. Things have been coming together quite serendipitously. I'm already a few days ahead of schedule. At this rate, the site will be complete within the next 2-3 days. A full 48 hours before my original deadline. I just pray things continue coming together as they have.

Speaking of building sites, were you ever able to resolve the issue you were having with your site?

Ra darling . . . sweetie pie . . . if I butter you up enough will you do my website for me too?

What you are doing looks amazebals

radragan:
Well, I've managed to complete the custom 404/Error page. It looks good, and will work for now. I will go back later and do a better customization after the site has been active for a few months.

Here's the before:



And here's what the page looks like now.



Nothing major, but a noticeable change nonetheless. Once I have a few ebooks and/or products to sell, I will use this page to promote them.

The 404 page is among the few pages users should never see, or at worst, see very rarely. However, when they do seem them, I think it's important for webmasters to use the space to further enhance their brand or offerings, rather than only display a boring wall of text informing them that their search has resulted in a dead end.

Today, I will continue work on the homepages for the Developer Blog and the Story Bible sections of the site.

I would have been done sooner, but I didn't like the earlier version of the sites, so I'm re-doing them. Hopefully, I can have them both completed by tonight. I still need to review and publish more of the content pages for the site. Some of the pages will no longer be necessary on account of everything being consolidated to single domain/site. It's taking a little longer than anticipated, but at least it's not hindering my overall progress with the site.

All in all, things are still progressing ahead of schedule. I'll follow up with another update later this evening.

Thanks for reading!

Be blessed!

UPDATE:

Sorry for the EXTREMELY late update. I had a client session that ran late yesterday evening and then another this morning. So I did not have the time I was hoping for to work on Genesis Covenant.

But no matter, I was able to get some of the work done on the Developer Blog, and I'm glad to say that the site is finished. It took a while to include the post loop into my custom template for the site, though. I almost considered giving up on the idea and just using the standard post page for my WordPress, theme, but I'm glad I kept going. I like the new look anyways.

Here's what the site's homepage looked like before the change:



And here's what it looks like using the custom template:



There isn't much content on the homepage currently, but as the site grows, and because I'm using my own customized template, I can add and remove features to give the homepage a more unique feel whenever I choose. Rather than displaying the typical header image and 2-column layout as depicted in the 'Before' picture.

I also managed to complete the content pages for this section of the site. Now I just need to complete the pages and layout for the Story Bible section of the site, as well as the final blog, which is titled, Making Genesis. (I will go into more detail about Making Genesis once I begin customizing its layout.

I don't have any client sessions scheduled for later today, so once my next session is over, I will be free to work on the site at my leisure. Which means I should have the Story Bible completed today, Making Genesis completed on Saturday, and then I can spend Sunday doing a few last minute checks and edits before the site officially launches on Monday, August 1st.

So far, so good. Let's pray everything stays that way.

Be blessed!

OK I'll email you a copy of the book. It would be interesting to know what a guy thinks of it

re my website, I deleted the infected version, re-installed wordpress with a new admin that is not admin then restored the backup. The backup reverted all the changes back to what it was at that point. so the new admin I created was not registered.

hosting expires in Sept.

I use medium to compliment my blog as I republish to it. I still need a website to put my books and podcast details on that has my name and is self hosted.

I think a custom built website would be the way forward rather than templates but this is all new territory. I need something simple to manage

radragan:


Thanks for the compliments. I was a bit worried it looked too generic so I changed a few things and added color. Several people have told me the new header makes a difference.

Concerning your site, it sounds like the hackers may have corrupted or altered the core files of your site. If you are currently using WordPress, this is a common problem with hackers. Not that they frequently hack WP sites, but that when they do, they almost always corrupt the core files, which causes the site to perform in unexpected ways.

The best way to handle this is to back up your posts, pages, comments, etc, then re-install WordPress with new admins, passwords, etc, then import your posts and pages, reinstall and reactivate your plugins, and you should be set.

Self-hosted WordPress definitely has no support, and is minimal. It's essentially moderated by more "advanced" users. They don't actually have their own dedicated customer support team. But I suppose if they did, WordPress wouldn't be free.

And what happens in September? Is that when your current hosting plan will expire? And if you won't be using WordPress, will you move to another platform such as Blogger or Medium? Just curious.

And I wouldn't mind reading the book. I think that it's from a woman's point of view will make it that much more interesting.

UPDATE:

Well I managed to finish Arc of the Covenant today, and it looks good. Better than the original at least.

BEFORE:



AFTER:



It's not much of a difference than the other sites in the sub-directory, other than I went with a lightly colored background in the new version, as well as added 2 additional post sections to the homepage. In a standard WordPress theme, there is usually a single recent posts section on the homepage that will display your posts as you publish them.

What I've done is include 2 additional sections that will display posts from separate categories. I could have used plugins for this, but I prefer to hard code in elements since it uses less resources. Plugins can slow your site down, and if they aren't properly maintained, can be prime targets for hackers to take over your site.

So the less plugins you can run, the better you are.

I've also included a ton of other features to give the site a more wiki-like appearance, however until I've published more content to the site, many of these features will remain inactive or hidden. So until then, this is what the site will look like. But it won't remain this way for long.

I have one more site to update and after a few rounds of edits and double-checks, it will be ready to go.

But for now, I'm going to take a break, and then later tonight, I will get started on the last of Genesis Covenant's sub-sites.

Be blessed!

Meanwhile,
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Ra dear, I know that I act like I am very tech savvy but I am so not. How do I find that out? the back door i mean

the rest of what you wrote went over my head but I am open to learning. So how do I customise a template?

radragan:


Thanks. I'll start on it over the weekend, and let you know my thoughts in the coming week. I'm sure it's good though.

And a custom built site isn't necessarily better. It does make it harder for people to hack since it's built on a unique core, unlike WordPress which uses the same setup for every site it's used on. Assuming you don't customize your install.

You can also customize your template if needed. It's what I do. The layout I'm currently using is a template I acquired a year ago. I've since stripped it down and rebuilt it to my liking.

Also, do you know how your site was hacked? That may help you prevent future attacks if you can find a way to safeguard whatever backdoor they used to enter your site.

Well, she's finished!

The framework for my author platform, Genesis Covenant, is complete and after doing a round of double-checks and editing, I am free to use the site whenever I wish. I managed to finish a full day and a half ahead of schedule. My deadline was August 1st.

Though the site was completed early, I may wait until the 1st before I begin pushing content and promoting the site. I want to spend some time today mapping out what I call an "article flow chart". Meaning, I will need to figure out a way to not just post content to the site, but to do it in a way so that each new post either complements or links to at least one other piece of content on the site.

It's about establishing cohesion. Which is something many bloggers fail to do.

At least once a week, I'm contacted by someone who wants help with his or her blog, and when I take a look at the site, the first thing I notice is the inconsistency in their posts. There is no central theme, only a collection of articles whose only relation to one another is that they fall under the same general niche.

For example, I recently worked with someone who was running a blog on dieting. Reading the headlines for his articles and I swear it was as if I was looking at a search results page for the word "dieting".

Though eat post was in some way related to some aspect of dieting, their only relation was that they were about dieting. My suggestion, was that he choose a specific type of individual, to which he chose middle-aged men with active lifestyles, and focus on providing dieting and nutritional information for that readership.

Why? Because depending on a person's age, sex, height, current weight, physical health, lifestyle, and a number of other factors, their dietary requirements will differ. So in turn, this blogger needed to identify what type of dieting he wanted to promote, and then curate content and material suited to that particular individual.

Before, his site's scope was too broad and too general, and thus, it failed to attract much of any interest from readers. Now with a better focus, he's beginning to see more positive growth.

From my experience as a web consult, the most trafficked sites are those with either 1.) massive budgets for advertising, or 2.) not only promote content around a specific idea, but also provide a unique perspective and/or branding to their content. In other words, they differentiate themselves from everyone else.

There are 3 ways to build a readership online:

1. Educate - which means to teach someone something they do not know, or don't understand well enough to do it on their own.

2. Inform - which means to make them aware of something -- usually factual or statistical data -- they have not hear or have not received the most recent information.

3. Entertain - which means to appeal to some emotional or psychological need.

Do one or more (preferably at least two) of these through your site, and it's only a matter of time before you're not only seeing consistent growth, but increased conversions and revenue bumps as well.

Be blessed!

thanks for the explanation but as I am not skilled enough to know how to customise a template, I will leave it to the likes of you. I own my limitations

so will you be so kind as to do it for me? pretty please

radragan:


In reference to the backdoor, it's basically a vulnerability in a web application -- be it a plugin, a theme or the core files of a site's setup -- that would allow a hacker to exploit, manipulate, and gain access to your site. For the most part, these are very hard to detect unless you know what you are looking for. And often times, you won't know the vulnerability is there until after you've been hacked.

But not all hacks are the same.

The reason I asked if you knew how the hacker gained control of your site is because if this person found a way in by manipulating parts of your theme's code, I would suggest you stop using that theme. Because even though you've reinstalled your site, you're still using the same theme with the same vulnerability, which means the hacker can take control of your site once again.

The best way around such attacks is to not use old and outdated themes and plugins, or using resources from unfamiliar resources. Just because it's in the WP depository doesn't mean it's safe.

As for customizing your theme, I personally go through and remove any code or functionality that I know I will not need when managing my site.

For example, the theme I'm using now has a membership plugin built into it. I've not only removed the the files from the theme, but also the scripts and php code that would allow a user to create an account. Will this prevent hackers from ever taking over my site? No, but it does make it a little harder by removing an entry point myself and my readers will never use.

I also change the usernames of my admins, and use plugins and scripts that only allow certain users to access the back-end of my site. So even if someone were to gain access, because they are not on the list of approved admins, they are immediately redirected to the homepage of the site.

Another tactic I employ is to hide the admin users of my site. Whenever I create content, I attribute all posts to a specific user without admin capabilities. Most users almost always create post and content using the admin of their WP sites, and if a hacker can discover your admin user ID, they can more easily find ways of hacking your site.

But if the user ID is NOT an admin, and they manage to hack the site anyway, there is very little damage they can without the proper access to certain files and functionality of your site.

Two plugins that I find extremely helpful are All-In-One WP Security and Wordfence. I've used both and have had little to no problems.

Having your site hacked is no fun, but it doesn't have to be something that completely ruins your site or your brand online. It's just a matter of learning all you can about the various types of attacks that are out there, and safeguarding your site as best as possible to minimize an attack.

congrats on finishing your site

re the last points you made, something you can add is a little personalisation

if you are sharing how something is beneficial, the reader would benefit from knowing how you utilised said solution and the results you got.

radragan:
Well, she's finished!

The framework for my author platform, Genesis Covenant, is complete and after doing a round of double-checks and editing, I am free to use the site whenever I wish. I managed to finish a full day and a half ahead of schedule. My deadline was August 1st.

Though the site was completed early, I may wait until the 1st before I begin pushing content and promoting the site. I want to spend some time today mapping out what I call an "article flow chart". Meaning, I will need to figure out a way to not just post content to the site, but to do it in a way so that each new post either complements or links to at least one other piece of content on the site.

It's about establishing cohesion. Which is something many bloggers fail to do.

At least once a week, I'm contacted by someone who wants help with his or her blog, and when I take a look at the site, the first thing I notice is the inconsistency in their posts. There is no central theme, only a collection of articles whose only relation to one another is that they fall under the same general niche.

For example, I recently worked with someone who was running a blog on dieting. Reading the headlines for his articles and I swear it was as if I was looking at a search results page for the word "dieting".

Though eat post was in some way related to some aspect of dieting, their only relation was that they were about dieting. My suggestion, was that he choose a specific type of individual, to which he chose middle-aged men with active lifestyles, and focus on providing dieting and nutritional information for that readership.

Why? Because depending on a person's age, sex, height, current weight, physical health, lifestyle, and a number of other factors, their dietary requirements will differ. So in turn, this blogger needed to identify what type of dieting he wanted to promote, and then curate content and material suited to that particular individual.

Before, his site's scope was too broad and too general, and thus, it failed to attract much of any interest from readers. Now with a better focus, he's beginning to see more positive growth.

From my experience as a web consult, the most trafficked sites are those with either 1.) massive budgets for advertising, or 2.) not only promote content around a specific idea, but also provide a unique perspective and/or branding to their content. In other words, they differentiate themselves from everyone else.

There are 3 ways to build a readership online:

1. Educate - which means to teach someone something they do not know, or don't understand well enough to do it on their own.

2. Inform - which means to make them aware of something -- usually factual or statistical data -- they have not hear or have not received the most recent information.

3. Entertain - which means to appeal to some emotional or psychological need.

Do one or more (preferably at least two) of these through your site, and it's only a matter of time before you're not only seeing consistent growth, but increased conversions and revenue bumps as well.

Be blessed!

ahahahahahahah I wanted to dump it all at your feet eheheheheheheheh let you take charge

radragan:


Understandable. Editing a wordpress theme isn't something I recommend everyone do. Especially if they aren't familiar with editing/writing PHP.

I would be willing to help, but doing it on my own will take a considerable amount of time, given that I have my own sites to run/manage and also a business. But I would be willing to help when I can. What did you have in mind?

you're the best

will do so now

radragan:


Okay. Shoot me an email with any ideas you might have and we can go from there.