We talk a lot about keeping WordPress and the plugins you use updated. That’s great and all, but you also have to remember that it doesn’t stop there, you have to keep your WordPress themes updated as well.

Recently we found some older themes that have security vulnerabilities. However, there are still a large number of websites running these old versions, and we’re seeing cases where these sites are being compromised.

We feel this adds a lot of validity to what we’ve been saying for a long time – Security is a process, and you have to keep your sites updated, secured, and monitored. If you miss one little piece, like updating your plugin or theme, it can be used against you in a big way!

Like any software, the longer it sits, the larger the risk of it being exploited. It is imperative that you upgrade your software when a patch comes out. If not, you’re putting your site, business, and ultimately your users at a higher risk than needed. Ultimately it’s your responsibility.

If you’re running WordPress and have not updated recently, you need to get it up to date immediately. The issues that were found with the previous release were patched.

In closing, it’s about mitigating risk. Make sure you’re doing your part by keeping ALL of your software up to date!

Keep Your WordPress Theme Updated!

If you do not feel comfortable updating WordPress core, themes or plugins yourself, we offer WordPress services at affordable rates.

Article source: http://web.andrechelle.com/2011/12/27/keep-your-wordpress-theme-updated/

Thanksgiving is the appointed time for focusing on the good in our lives.

In each of our days, we can find small blessings, but too often we overlook them, choosing instead to spend our time paying attention to problems.

We give our energy to those who cause us trouble instead of those who bring peace.

Starting now, let’s be on the lookout for the bits of pleasure in each hour, and appreciate the people who bring love and light to everyone who is blessed to know them.

You are one of those people.

On Thanksgiving,
We’re thankful for you.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We’re still hearing from customers who have received what appears to be a domain name renewal invoice from a company called “Domain Registry of America”.

These “invoices” are a scam. Domain Registry of America is unrelated to our company, and has been cited by the FTC for “deceptive conduct”.

If you look closely at the “invoices”, they say something like “This notice is not a bill, rather an easy means of payment should you decide to renew your domain with us.” However, that small print is easy to miss.

 We encourage you to make sure that whoever pays your invoices is aware of it.

“Domain Registry of America” Notices

A company named “Domain Registry of America” is sending misleading “expiration notices” to domain name owners via postal (paper) mail. This company has been cited by the FTC for misleading consumers and has an extremely poor Better Business Bureau rating.

If you receive a domain name “expiration notice” from that company (or from any other company except Andrechelle.com), it is not a renewal notice from us, and you should not pay it. The company is trying to mislead you into sending money to them unnecessarily.

If you are a Andrechelle.com Web hosting customer with an account in good standing, we will automatically renew your domain name each year. You do not need to anyone else to renew your Web hosting domain name.

Even if you’re a Andrechelle.com “domain name only” customer, any renewal invoice will clearly show our company name (Andrechelle.com). Any other “expiration notice” is not from us, and you do not need to pay it to renew your domain name.

Sample mailing

Here’s a sample of the misleading notices sent by Domain Registry of America. The text of the notice does say that it’s not a bill, but it’s in small print and easy to miss.

If you pay this notice by mistake, Domain Registry of America will attempt to transfer your domain name registration from our company to theirs. If the transfer completes, you’ll no longer receive domain name renewal from us if you’re a Web hosting customer.

What you should do

First of all, don’t pay this company (or any other company that sends you a renewal notice) unless you want to transfer your domain name from us to them! If you pay them, the fine print gives them permission to transfer your domain name from our service to theirs. If you receive an “invoice” from any company except us, please contact us before paying it — it is almost certainly not an invoice you need to pay.

You should also pass this warning on to your accounting department or person who normally pays your invoices.

Finally, you should file a complaint with the FTC to inform them that Domain Registry of America is still engaging in illegal trading practices — they can’t take action unless people who receive the notices complain. You can file a complaint online by clicking this link.

You can also avoid this issue altogether by renewing early or adding additional years to your account.

Thank you for taking the time to read this!

YourTeam @ Andrechelle.com

Attention WordPress users: If you haven’t upgraded your version of WordPress you may want to take some time and perform an update.  It is important that you upgrade WordPress soon after updates are issued.

WordPress updates are available via your dashboard. Many are security updates for all previous WordPress versions.  These critical maintenance and security release fix vulnerabilities.

We suggest you update WordPress promptly,  These release updates also fix bugs.

Download or update automatically from the Dashboard

Reminder: ALWAYS BACKUP YOUR FILES AND DATABASE BEFORE PERFORMING AN UPDATE OR YOU RISK LOSING YOUR WEBSITE

Never install an auto update if you have made modifications to the default themes or plugins without renaming them because the auto update will write over those files.

If you noticed any glitches in the upgrade or conflicts with any plugins be sure to let us know right away. The servers store a backup overnight  (hopefully from before your failed update) and may be restored. If that file has already been overwritten with a backup of broken site, we willalso  have a backup from when your site was first created (if we built it)  and can  restore it to that point ( you will lose all work and posts since the site was first put  online).

If you do not feel comfortable updating WordPress yourself, we offer WordPress services at affordable rates.

Why Backup WordPress

Your WordPress database contains every post, every comment and every link you have on your blog. If your database gets erased or corrupted, you stand to lose everything you have written. There are many reasons why this could happen and not all are things you can control. But what you can do is back up your data. After all, it is important. Right?

Click Here for  instructions to back up your WordPress Site and your WordPress Database as well as resources for automatic WordPress backup. In addition, support is provided online at the WordPress Support Forum to help you through the process.

Making backups is essential because problems inevitably occur and you need to be in a position to take action when disaster strikes. Spending a few minutes to make an easy, convenient backup of your database will allow you to spend even more time being creative and productive with your website.

Article source: http://web.andrechelle.com/2011/07/12/wordpress-update-services-or-diy/

Grade A Painting is proud to announce the release of their newly redesigned website.

“We are excited to be launching our redesigned company website and a couple new micro websites. By updating our main website with a look and feel to match our other marketing materials our existing clients will know immediately that they are at the right website.”

“We are extremely optimistic about the future of Grade A Painting and the continuing support we receive from our fantastic Alpharetta, Cumming and Suwanee Georgia area customers,” said Dustin Shirley, president of Grade A Custom Painting.

“Our new websites have only been live online for a couple weeks and we are already on the first page of Google! Our previous company website had been online for years and never made it into the search engines at all.”

The new websites, created by Andrechelle, allow people to find Grade A Painting when searching the Internet for a painter in the Alpharetta Georgia service area. Grade A Custom Painting provides far more than just painting services. They now showcase a menu of painting and other expert services to their prospective clients:

• Painting
• Deck Construction
• Preparation and Staining
• Sheet Rock Installation
• Siding Replacement
• Carpentry Work

Andrechelle did a marvelous job matching the look of our new website to our existing company brochure. We couldn’t be happier.

Grade A Custom Painting
Painting Alpharetta GA
Painting Cumming GA
Painting Suwanee GA

30022, 30028, 30024

Article source: http://web.andrechelle.com/2011/05/08/new-website-grade-a-painting-alpharetta/

WordPress 3.1.2

Attention WordPress users: If you haven’t upgraded your version of WordPress you may want to take some time and perform an update especially if you have users on your website.  It is important that you upgrade to WordPress 3.1.2 as soon as possible.

WordPress 3.1.2 is available and is a security release for all previous WordPress versions.  This critical maintenance and security release fixes a vulnerability that allowed Contributor-level users to improperly publish posts.

The issue was discovered by a member of the WordPress security team.

We suggest you update to 3.1.2 promptly, especially if you allow users to register as contributors or if you have untrusted users. This release also fixes a few bugs that missed the boat for version 3.1.1.

Download 3.1.2 or update automatically from the Dashboard ? Updates menu in your website’s dashboard (admin area).

Reminder: always backup your files and database. Never install an auto update if you have made modifications to the default themes or plugins without renaming them because the auto update will write over those files. If you noticed any glitches in the upgrade or conflicts with any plugins be sure to let us know right away.

If you do not feel comfortable updating WordPress yourself, we offer WordPress services at affordable rates.

Article source: http://web.andrechelle.com/2011/04/27/wordpress-update-3-1-2-important-security-release/

Optimize your 404 page to retain your visitors and get additional pageviews

Broken links and deads ends on your website cost you potential customers, erode trust and can negatively affect your standing in search engines.

The 404 or Not Found error message is a standard response code indicating that your computer was able to communicate with the website server, but the server could not find the page that was requested.

A 404 error is often returned when pages have been moved or deleted or never existed (typo). You’ve seen it right? Unfortunately your website visitors will probably see this error too. The good news is, you can turn this error into business.

Standard 404 Error Message

Typically, the  404 page displays a standard error message when a page or post URL no longer exists on your website. When this happens, the visitor will usually use their browsers back button to return to the previous page on your website or simply continues their journey to another website!

The object is, once the visitors are on your website, you want to do everything you can to keep them there. Therefore, you want to optimize your 404 page by offering your visitors some options that will help them find the information they were looking for (or related information). The easier you make things for your visitors, the better odds you have that they will use the additional search options on your customized 404 page.

Simply add the following code to your WordPress 404 page to help retain your visitors from outdated links from other sites and search engines.

Code to add (and customize) to your 404 page:

pPage Not Found, Error 404/p
pThe page that you are looking for, no longer remains/exists on this website./p
pPerhaps you could find what you are looking for by searching our site archives!/p
bSearch by Page:/b
ul
?php wp_list_pages('title_li='); ?
/ul
bSearch by Month:/b
ul
?php wp_get_archives('type=monthly'); ?
/ul
bSearch by Category:/b
ul
?php wp_list_cats('sort_column=name'); ?
/ul

You could replace the pPage Not Found, Error 404/p with h1Page Not Found, Error 404/h1 if you prefer larger text!

This works out well, helping your visitors find what they were originally looking for and it also increases the page views on your site. However, you are not finished yet. You should also add a custom Google Search on your 404 page as well. This is easy to do, and again, it helps your visitors find the information that they were looking for or related information and increases your websites page views as well. Its a win, win situation!

Code to add for the Custom Google Search:

!-- Google Custom Search Element --
div id="cse" style="width: 100%;"Loading/div
script src="http://www.google.com/jsapi" type="text/javascript"/script
script type="text/javascript"// ![CDATA[
//  ![CDATA[
google.load('search', '1');
google.setOnLoadCallback(function(){
new google.search.CustomSearchControl().draw('cse');
}, true);
// ]]/script

Examples of Custom 404 Page:

• Andrechelle
• Al’s Absolute Best Restoration and Cleaning
• Alpharetta Painting
• EcoClean Carpet Care
• Home Is Where We Park

Contact Andrechelle to order a custom 404 page for your website : or click here to add a custom 404 page to your website

Article source: http://web.andrechelle.com/2011/04/03/seo-optimized-404-page/

It’s time to update your WordPress to 3.1. Most plugins and themes have been updated and bugs worked out, so it is now recommended to proceed with the update.

BACK UP EVERYTHING first!

Backup your Database.
Backup your WordPress files
Backup your wp-content folder and wp-config.php
If you have a plugin that backs everything up simultaneously, use that too!

No shame in multiple backups!

Updates usually work without issues, but bad things can happen.

After backing up all your files and database, disable all plugins.

You are now ready to update.

Automatic Update: You can launch the automatic Update by clicking the link in the new version banner (if it’s there) or by going to the Tools – Upgrade (or Update for version 3) menu. Once you are on the “Update WordPress” page, click the button “Update Automatically” to start the process off. You shouldn’t need to do anything else and, once it’s finished, you will be up-to-date.

If you have customized the default or classic themes without renaming them, you should not use the automatic upgrade, as it will overwrite your changes – you should use a manual update instead.

If the automatic upgrade doesn’t work for you, don’t panic, just try a manual update.

Your update is now complete, so you can go in and enable your Plugins again. If you have issues with logging in, try clearing cookies in your browser.

If you want Andrechelle to perform the update please submit a support ticket.

The fourteenth release of WordPress, the open source content management system, is now available. Codenamed “Reinhartdt,” you can either download the update on http://wordpress.org or simply log on to your WordPress site and update from the Dashboard. Before updating,  be sure to back up your WordPress database and files just to be on the safe side.

WHATS NEW IN WORDPRESS 3.1

Here are some of the new features with the 3.1 update:

Streamlined writing interface
The refreshed writing interface lends for a more clutter-free writing experience. This update feels slick and speedy.

Redesigned linking workflow
This new feature will allow content authors to find and link to existing published content. In previous versions of WordPress, it was inefficient to link content together in a WordPress site. The ideal scenario for bloggers to link pages together was by copying and pasting the URL of an existing page. Now, you can select the text that you want to link, click on the link icon, and search for existing content that resides in your WordPress site.

Admin bar
Similar to the admin bar that’s featured on WordPress.com blogs, the new admin bar allows the user to navigate to most-used dashboard pages with just one click away. The admin bar contains links or menu items that lets you get to the dashboard, add a new post/page, see comments, and alter appearance.

Refreshed blue admin scheme
Even though this revamp of color scheme is subtle, it’s an appropriate and beneficial refresh. It puts more focus on your content when logged in on WordPress.

Post Formats support
This feature allows the WordPress site to create portable tumblelogs with different styling for different types of posts. The options are Standard, Aside and Gallery.

Import/Export feature overhaul
This update allows for adding author information, better handling of taxonomies and terms, and improved support for navigation menus.

Perform advanced taxonomy and custom field queries
This addition will be a big plus for WordPress developers. This feature will enable the developers to create more meaningful themes and plugins.

It may seem like WordPress 3.1 is a subtle update but this refresh definitely makes WordPress a more wholesome CMS.

According to the creator of WordPress, Matt Mullenweg, this update is one of the best since the release of the system. If you’re running WordPress on your website and have updated to the latest version, let me know your thoughts by leaving your comments below.

Article source: http://web.andrechelle.com/2011/04/02/wordpress-3-1-update/

The long awaited 3.1 version of WordPress has been released. I’m sure you are anxious to upgrade to the latest and greatest.

HOWEVER, this is a major update to the WordPress code and the changes will BREAK many of your Plugins (and other features) and may even break your Theme.

We suggest waiting and NOT UPGRADING just yet. You dont have to rush in to the Upgrade! (its not a security update)

There are bugs in this new version and I recommend not signing up as guinea pig.

If you insist on upgrading now, BACK UP EVERYTHINGfirst!

Backup your Database.
Backup your WordPress files
Backup your wp-content folder and wp-config.php
If you have a plugin that backs everything up simultaneously, use that too!

No shame in multiple backups!

Updates usually work without issues, but bad things can happen.

Article source: http://web.andrechelle.com/2011/02/24/wordpress-3-1-update-released-may-break-your-website/

It’s here again, the time of year filled with hope and promise of a New Year filled with health, happiness prosperity.

The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.

I can’t think of a better time to reflect on your business than right now. Re-focus and re-commit yourself to make 2010 your best year.

The beautiful thing about our business and our industry is that each one of you will determine the level to which you want to take your business. It really boils down to investment of time, personal focus and consistency of effort. The question is, where do you want to be this time next year?

Now is the time to make the changes and commitment necessary to become a leader and to make 2010 your best year.

Happy New Year and all the best of health and wealth,
Andrechelle Mark Cermak
Andrechelle.com | OCIBR.com

Article source: http://web.andrechelle.com/2010/12/31/happy-new-year-2011/