I’m looking forward to testing this new Genesis Tabs plugin from StudioPress.com. I’ll post a review soon and show a sample on the site.
Top 3 Free WordPress Image Sliders
August 23, 2011 By
1. Easing Slider – This is one of our favorite free Image Sliders that has tons of options. They have also developed a Premium Slider that has even more options than Easing Slider. Easing Slider lets you add the image URL’s into a custom field on posts and either select a particular category or all categories. You can also put up to 10 images in their Custom Images area which is very nice if you do not want to pull from posts. Easing Slider also has the options in the admin area to change background colors, shadows, transition type & speed, etc.
2. Genesis Slider - StudioPress just added this great new free plugin. It is very easy to use and can be added as a widget which makes it very easy to get it on your site rather than inserting code into the PHP file. However, if you want to edit any of the border colors or padding you will need to edit the css file. Genesis slider pulls from posts in a certain category or if you know the post ID’s you want displayed you can do that as well. No custom fields needed like in Easing Slider. If you want to have a simple slider without all the bells and whistles then Genesis Slider is it.
3. SlideDeck - SlideDeck has made it very easy to build and input their sliders with their graphical user interface. They have also made it easy to insert a SlideDeck onto a page or post with just a click. There is also SlideDeck Pro with more options.
- C3 Church
- KFBC
- Seth Condrey Music
- Fly Right Inc.
Updated the Look of KFBC.org with Easing Slider
August 19, 2011 By
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We recently updated Kennesaw First Baptist Church’s website with a simple slider and it made a huge change in the way it looks. Love doing simple things like this that make a difference in the looks!
8 Free Online Tools
August 17, 2011 By
1. SSLpic- FREE SSL image hosting service by E-junkie.com team. This is a wonderful tool for those who use PayPal Payment buttons on their sites. You can upload your image to SSLpic’s site and it will send you a GeoTrust SSL image URL that will NOT generate a security warning on PayPal or any other payment processor’s payment page. The images can only be GIF or JPG file, the file size can not be more than 50 KB, the width can not be more than 750 pixels, and the height can not be more than 90 pixels.
2. RoundPic – Online tool for making anti-aliased rounded corners for images. It can create JPG or PNG files… even with transparency (with option to choose transparency background color) for PNG files. It also allows you to change the size of the corner.
3. Vector Magic - Automatically convert bitmap images like JPEGs, GIFs and PNGs to the crisp, clean, scalable vector art of EPS, SVG, and PDF. This is a great option for those who do not have a vector software package like Adobe Illustrator.
4. Picnik - Picnik allows you to edit your photos with easy to use yet powerful editing tools.
5. WhatTheFont! - Seen a font in use and want to know what it is? Submit an image to WhatTheFont to find the closest matches in their database.
6. Art Viewer This tool interprets EPS graphics files and displays preview images. Approximate layouts and colors are shown. Preview images can be saved in JPEG format for later reference and for use in presentation materials. This is a great tool for those who can not view an eps file with software like Adobe Illustrator.
7. FavIcon Generator - Use this online tool to easily create a favicon (favorites icon) for your site. A favicon is a small, 16×16 image that is shown inside the browser’s location bar and bookmark menu when your site is called up.
8. net2ftp – A web based FTP client with no need to download any software.
Can you build a church website with WordPress.org or is it just for blogging?
August 12, 2011 By
WordPress.org has come a long way! It is no longer just for blogging. WordPress.org is a full content management system designed for any kind website. It is very easy to learn… and it is free!
WordPress.org is very easy to install on most web hosting servers and I love the ease of their automated updates. There are tons of plugins and themes (like Genesis themes by StudioPress - my affiliate link) to help make WordPress.org what you need for your particular website. See my previous post for 8 great plugins for church planters.
It is so easy to set up your website. Below are the steps to set up your own website with WordPress. However, if you need our help with this process we would love to offer our services for any part of this process or the whole process. See our starter packages.
1. Find a web host.
We use icdsoft.com (our affiliate link) for hosting our websites. They have always had the best support for any of the web hosts we have tried. Godaddy.com (our affiliate link) also has great web host features.
2. Download WordPress for free
Here is a link to the most recent WordPress file to download – Download WordPress.
3. Upload Files to Web Host, Set up a Database on your Web Host, and Install WordPress
Some web hosts offer a one-click option to install WordPress but others do not. If that is not offered by your web host, you will need FTP Software to upload the WordPress files to your web host. We use coreftp.com because it is simple and they have a free LE version. Here is a guide to installing WordPress.
4. Find a Theme and Download and Install it.
We highly recommend StudioPress’ themes (our affiliate link).
5. Find and Install Plugins
There are many plugins like Event Calendars, Image Sliders, etc. that you may want on your site. WordPress has made it very easy to search and install these.
6. Enter Your Content
You will be able to add pages, posts, videos, audio, photos, etc. The options are endless! Adding your content is simple and as easy.
7. You are done!
So, to answer the post’s question… YES you can build any website with WordPress.org including blogs! 
