thought's from big max
the place for reviews, tips and tricks
Divi vs. Elementor and GeneratePress
I have been using Divi by Elegant Themes since late 2014. During that time I have developed approximately 80 websites, as well as developed and sold child themes. Last year, I authored the book “Dos and Dont’s + 30 + Divi CSS Snippets + Manually Moving WordPress.” I’m...
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Facebook and their new ad policies gone awry
I write and post blog articles on Facebook each week for a client. Often, I will “Boost” the post in the hopes of reaching more people. All of the articles are on the Florida Everglades and range from invasive plants and species to the fragile water...
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How long will it take to design or redesign my website?
The best and most honest answer, to the famous question of, "How long?" It depends, as there are many parts to put a website together, for both the client and the designer. When I first speak with a prospective new client I ask the following questions: For...
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Licenses keys, do you own them or does the website developer/designer?
The answer is, it depends on the developer/designers business model. For me, the answer is both. All of my WordPress designs are based on Elegant Themes’ Divi theme. If you are reading this and don’t know what a theme is, we discussed it in last week’s...
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Great, this WordPress theme comes with everything I need!
Or does it really? A few weeks ago I wrote about taking over the maintenance of a WordPress website and how in my initial review, I found numerous problems. I now know how the problems started, a WordPress theme that had everything included. Or so the...
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Why do I need an SSL Certificate, I don’t sell anything?
With respect to having an SSL certificate, starting in July 2018, to Google, it is not going to matter whether you sell anything online or not. If your website does not have an SSL certificate, Google is going to flag your website as "Not secure." Meaning,...
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What do you really know about the company you are purchasing your website maintenance from or design for that matter?
I’m taking over the maintenance on a website that hasn’t been updated, in, I don’t know how long. When I first logged into the Dashboard area, I found there were twenty-one plugins and a theme that needed to be updated. I do know that has been at least four months...
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One-page or a multi-page website? Which is best for you?
After suggesting a one-page website to a potential client, the response was, “A one-page website? What can I possibly accomplish with that?” I explained that since there was only minimal content, it would be more beneficial than a multi-page website, “You...
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Inspiration; where do you find it when designing a logo?
Inspiration; where do you find it when a client comes to you for a new logo design is a question I’m often asked. When I first speak with a client regarding a new logo design, I ask them two questions: What are your favorite colors? Do you have an icon idea that you...
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LayerSlider to SmartSlider; why I switched and never looked back
LayerSlider, by Kreature Media, was my go-to plugin for years. One the costs was, $26.00 for a lifetime license per website, and for me, it was very intuitive. Over the last couple of years, any website I designed that had a slider, which was almost all of...
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A case of don’t do as I did; rather do as I recommend.
Most logo designs come from a personal story. Some of those stories bring problems for the design. Here are the problems caused by my logo story. Recently, I decided to get polo shirts with my company logo embroidered on them. There are several places on...
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What does niche mean to you?
I was originally going to title this post “Why would you box yourself into a niche?” For the life of me, I can’t understand why anyone would do that. Let me clarify, I’m talking about graphic and website designers. If you are a cardiovascular surgeon, yes,...
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In a blink of an eye, everything goes black
Two weeks ago I sat down to my trusty 10-year-old 15” MacBook Pro to work on a project I had just received. The computer was running slow and seemed to be doing some funky things, so I restarted it. It starts up fine. Then in a blink of an eye, everything...
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Word is not a typewriter; nor is it a design program!
Recently, I went round and round with a client on why she shouldn't use Word to layout a book she was independently publishing. A member of her family had worked on it with her using Word for the layout and design. When he finished, he prepared a PDF...
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Skype Account Stolen! Microsoft No Help!
The nightmare with my Skype account and Microsoft. Last Saturday, I received a text from 723-873 stating that my phone number had been "deleted from ng*****@send22u.info. Not you?" I had no idea who either 723-873 or ng*****@send22u.info were so I didn't...
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All for the love of beautiful fonts
I've always wanted to design a font set. Today I read about a challenge on Instagram called "My Beautiful Alphabet (#mybeautifulalphabet)." The goal is to design a font for each letter of the alphabet for the next 26 weeks. The font can be drawn by hand,...
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WordPress Care Plans – A Must!
Just like any software, Wordpress websites require maintenance to keeping the website working properly. Avoiding website maintenance is like not having the tires rotated on your vehicle. If you don't rotate them regularly, before long they'll be bald and a...
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No, You Don’t Look Cool Smoking!
Of all the important dates in my life that I can’t remember, this is one I’ve never forgotten, May 24, 1982, the day I quit smoking. I had taken a job where there was an absolute no questions asked no smoking policy. I wasn't even allowed to become one of...
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Is it just me?
My father came from a large family during the Great Depression; he was number nine out of ten brothers and sisters. By the time anything got to him five older brothers had already worn it or had used it. Consequently, he never wanted to get rid of...
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TinyPNG Plugin for Photoshop CC 2017 Well Worth the $50.00
I’m not sure when the TinyPNG plugin for Photoshop CC 2017 came out, but I stumbled upon the other day and it is a very welcomed addition to Photoshop. I was never a big fan of the TinyPNG plugin for WordPress for a couple of reasons: I always went over...
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