Some people are tech wizards. Seriously. Everything they touch seems easy to fix, and the next thing you know, it looks beautiful too.
And then there are the rest of us. We get just far enough along to understand the basics, but we really need some help to go further than that. This post is for you, if you want to take your website/blog to a higher level, and just don’t know where to start.
What is the purpose of your site?
When you create great content for your audience, you want to make it appealingly beautiful to attract more readers/viewers, you want to encourage engagement and help them feel like they are part of a community, and it needs to be easy for you to do tech stuff behind the scenes.
So below we have some of the most-highly-regarded WordPress plugins that can make a really big difference in your ability to engage with your readers, while creating a more appealing, beautiful website.
A better-looking site
In many cases it could be useful to add a portfolio to your site. Even if you are not a photographer, great photos of your products (beautifully-groomed dogs; jewelry that you make; your best recipes; places where you travel; cars that you fix up; client logos; etc.) will make your site more appealing, which will, in turn, attract more viewers.
1) One of the best – and easiest to use – portfolio plugins is the free Nimble Portfolio. This responsive plugin works with all sorts of images, as well as videos.
2) To add images in a sidebar, you’ll want to check out the Simple Image Widget. You can use it for display ads, calls to action, and lots more.
Engagement
3) The Email This button is great for “word of mouth” marketing. Get your readers and current fans to bring you new fans! Don’t forget to ask them to share, whether by email or social media.
4) Speaking of social media, many people use the WhatsApp platform. While not one of the “regular” social media shares, it’s a great idea to have this sharing button available to your audience, if this is a platform that they love.
5) One of the best measures of engagement is blogpost comments, but most WordPress themes don’t have very interesting comments sections. If you want to create an opportunity for your readers to feel like they are part of a community, then try using De:Comments. It’s not free, but it really boosts engagement! The plugin allows readers to vote comments up or down, share single comments, login with their social accounts, add videos, GIFs, tweets, images, and status updates. And you can encourage readers to return by giving them badges for their comments. This app totally transforms comments on a blog!
6) When your site visitors make micro-commitments – that is, they are willing to click on one thing, or give you one small piece of information – they are much more likely to continue sliding down the ramp toward becoming a customer. One way to invite this type of engagement is to use the free Visitor Engage plugin. This tool allows you to: get feedback from your visitors; ask them to fill out short surveys; and push notifications on them during their site visit. You can add a feedback tab at the top, or push notifications based on their behavior while on your site.
7) For direct engagement with YOU, include a live chat plugin like Zopim. Whenever your prospects arrive on your site, it pops up. If you are on the computer at the time (and many of us are on the computer a lot), you can chat live with them. If not, they can still leave a message for you to reach out to them later. This type of chat means that you are creating an experience for your prospects, and they are much more likely to become a customer!
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It’s your turn! Please share in the comments below which of these tools you think will be useful to you, and why.
