You did a great job setting up my website. Due to theme changes, I have a
couple of issues that I created and need to correct, but overall I love my
website.

As a tech-challenged website newbie, I had no idea how to go about setting up a
site. You had everything up and running within 24 hours. It has been a blast
adding content and trying to settle in at my new home.

I have several ideas for a couple of sites and will contact you very soon.

Thanks again for everything.

Edie : www.eldercarecafe.net

When I decided to start a blog, I had no idea where to begin. From deciding on a host and arranging the
set-up, Ninja Blog Setup came highly recommended.

Thanks to Ninja, I was up and running in 24 hours. With great service and videos to address the common problems, Ninja Blog Setup eliminated the fear of technology when starting a blog.

Now I have something that is functional and well suited not only to my taste but to my brand. Thanks Ninja!

Laura Major
sablelitreviews.com

Laura’s site looks fantastic already, amazing for a brand new blog, so check it out.

I didn’t know the first thing about setting up a blog and was completely overwhelmed until I found you. I can’t even begin to express my gratitude for what you did.I went from having nothing to posting within 24 hours. My gratitude is beyond words and I’m totally in love with my blog. You even went the extra mile for me when we ran in to an issue with DreamHost. You could have let me fend for myself and deal with it on my own, but instead, you went to bat for me and handled all the
“technical” correspondence I wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise.

You’re just one of those people who truly cares and my blog wouldn’t “be” without you so thank you…you are truly amazing!

Visit: Shineyourheart.com

I am happy to make my first post in this blog in gratitude to Ninja Blog Setup service.

I found about Ninja when I searched for Word Press Installation Service in Google. I have signed for a hosting package with BlueHost through Ninja Blog Setup. As a token of appreciation, this blog was set up in less than 24 hours with 50 popular themes and several important plugins.

Without their support, I would not have seen this blog. I am very happy with their service and I thank them sincerely.

Visit “The Shelters” and welcome Malathi to the Blogosphere!

I just wanted to send a message to thank you for an awesome set-up. All I wanted to do was write and post and you made that possible. Coming from a non-technical background you made it easy to understand and I am learning more everyday. I will definitely be recommending your service to every one I know.

Thanks to Darrel for the kind words…be sure and check out the blog: Single Mom Sports Tips

Here’s how Sherrie described her experience with Ninja Blog Setup:

This is not my first blog setup, but it was certainly the easiest and most complete I’ve experienced. Jon took care of all those techie things I don’t understand - and he did it quickly and inexpensively. Not only that, he was gracious when I thought things were messed up that weren’t! Possibly the best money I’ve ever spent on the internet!

Even though they are new, she has packed both sites with useful information already. I’m seriously impressed. Check out Sherrie’s blogs:

Million Dollar Follow Up

Burnout To Blastoff

[btw. For blog setup orders, the first blog setup is free with sign-up for hosting from our links, and I'll do a second blog setup for only an additional $30]

Previously you ran the risk of losing your page rank and any search engine rankings an incoming link traffic, but the free report tells you how to take care of all that and move without cost in traffic or rankings:

Transfer Blog From WordPress.com to Your Own Domain

As an alternative, you can let a Ninja set it all up for you for free

Everyday since signing up with Ninja, I discover more and more fantastic features that were installed on my blog for me. Ninja will not only make your blog look great- they ensure that it can perform great, too!

- Yannai, www.theunpackedblog.com

Check out Yannai’s site, it’s looking great, even though he’s just been up and blogging for a couple days!

This WordPress tip is designed to make it much easier to change themes, which will benefit established bloggers doing an upgrade, but especially new bloggers who are just starting out and experimenting with different looks for their blog.

One day while playing around with my site and inserting my StatCounter code into my footer, I had a thought, “What if I stuck this into a widget?”

I gave it a try and sure enough it worked, the counter kept tracking my stats. Then I tried it with Google Analytics and everything else that I had cluttering my footer.php file and they all worked.

How To Setup A Stats Widget

The process is really simple. In short, we just need to grab all the html or JavaScript code that you have added to your theme’s footer and place it into a WordPress widget.

What You Can Place in a Widget

• Google Analytics
• Stats and counters
• My Blog Log tracking code
• Hittail or similar code
• Quantcast
• Any other code that doesn’t actually display on your page

What Won’t Work

• Custom php code (anywhere you see <?php ?> tags)
• If you have AdSense in your footer, don’t move it.

Let’s get started…

Step 1 - Remove the Code from Your Footer

Go to your blog’s dashboard and navigate to Presentation / Theme Editor. Scroll down the list of files on the right hand menu and click on “Footer” (in some cases it will be called footer.php).

Search around in that file and cut out (remove) all the code snippets that you have added to it. Chances are they will use the <script> tag. I recommend putting them all into Notepad temporarily.

After they are all removed, then click “Update File” to save the footer file without your code in it.

Do step 2 right away so you don’t miss any stats.

Step 2 - Put the Code into a Widget

First you’ll need to make sure your blog has widgets available. WordPress 2.2 and later has them by default but with any previous version of WordPress, you’ll need to download and install the Widgets plugin. Or even better, upgrade your WordPress installation.

Navigate to the Presentation / Widgets page.

Drag a “Text” widget from the “Available Widgets” panel, up to one of your columns. I prefer to put in at the bottom of the right hand column. If there aren’t any Text widgets in the “Available Widgets” panel, then create a new one, in the box just below that panel.

Click the little configuration box on the right hand side of the new text widget to pop open the widget entry box.

Copy and paste all the code the you removed from your footer into the body of the box. Leave the title blank (if you put anything in there, it will show up on your page, which you don’t want).

Close the widget by clicking the “X” at the top right corner.

Click “Save Changes” to update your widget settings.

That’s it. I recommend that you take a look at your stats counter (and any other services) to make sure they are working and tracking visitors. All it takes is a missed “>” in the copy and paste process and they won’t function correctly.

Now when you want to change your theme, you don’t have to worry about forgetting to move your counter and other tracking codes.

One Small Step Towards Theme Independence

This tip will allow you to move one step closer to having theme freedom. My ultimate setup for WordPress would be to never have to add code into the theme files manually.

This would mean that if a new version of your theme is released or if you change your theme you won’t need to migrate any code.

It seems to me that more and more plugin designers are climbing on the bandwagon and creating plugins that integrate automatically into posts and pages without needing to add the code manually.

This has been just a tiny tip that can hopefully save you some headaches in the long run make blogging easier and more fun.

Thank you so much for setting up my blog, www.bedandbreakfastentrepreneurs.com. Not only could I drive it straight away, you were more than patient in answering my questions even after you had finished. What service is that!

Chris Murray

#2 Tom from One Quart Low
(for Tom I moved his existing site to a new WordPress hosting company)

Over the past couple of weeks, my search engine traffic has exploded. Am I more riveting? Are my posts that much more exciting? In a word, no.
What has changed is my entire blog, thanks to Jon. He upgraded my blog with all the bells and whistles that many WordPress types have enjoyed and perhaps even taken for granted. Now, I see traffic hitting my site seeking things that are (strange but true) on my site!!

This service and Jon was a Godsend in my opinion. Do yourself a HUGE favor and at least go to his site pimped above and bookmark it. You may have no worries and no desire to change things up today, but things do have a way of happening. Bookmark, save it to favorites, subscribe to his blog, do whatever, but keep the link handy. When ya need it, look this guy up.

Read Tom’s entire review on his site: One Quart Low.

The guide is broken into two sections. Part 1 lists common problems or emergencies and then provides solutions or ways to get more information or help. Part 2 presents a list of things that you may be trying to accomplish and then describes resources can be used to accomplish your blogging goal.

Quick Start - Table of Contents

Part 1 - Got a Problem?

1. DNS or Server Not Found Errors
2. Script or PHP Error on the Page
3. Website is Really Slow
4. Unknown Error or Problem

Part 2 - Trying to Change or Accomplish Something?

1. Setting Up WordPress
2. Find or Add a Plugin
3. Edit or Configure My Theme for a Certain Plugin
4. Find a New WordPress Theme
5. Upgrade WordPress to the latest version
6. Learn More about how to Use WordPress
7. Learn About Blogging or Improve My Blogging
8. Make More Money Blogging

Part 1 - Houston, We’ve Got a Problem…

OMG - My Site is Broken, People Are Dying!

Take a deep breath, let’s figure out the best place to go for help based on what symptoms that “broken” is actually displaying.

Problem: Server Not Found - DNS Error

If you get an error that looks like one of these:

Firefox

Internet Explorer

Solution: Contact your hosting company. In most cases, these types of outages (which happen once and while no matter who your hosting company is) will be brief, but I would still raise a support ticket with your hosting company immediately, just incase they are not aware of the problem.

You can also use a website monitoring service, to notify you of these types of outages, so you can take action as soon as it happens and also track how often it is happening (if it is happening a lot, then I suggest finding a new host). I personally use Site Uptime to track all of my hosting accounts.

Problem: There’s an Error Showing On The Page

In this case your blog is visible, but there is some kind of error showing on the page that looks like the following:

Solution: The best place to start for this type of error is to search WordPress support forums. Start by taking the error message (or a portion of it) and entering it into the search box and you’ll almost always find the solution is already there.

If not post on the support forums and present as much detail as possible, including a link to the page where the error is showing up. You’ll need to register before posting a question.

Solution: Don’t Forget the Almighty Google!

Copy the error into Google and see if someone else has written about, and solved it. Many times I’ve found solutions this way.

Problem: My Site is Really Slow

This is a common problem, which can be caused by many things and can be difficult to diagnose. The first thing I like to do is visit the following website where you can test the download speed of your site from many different locations:

Internet Supervision (just enter your URL into the box on the top right and press enter)

If any of the locations listed are under 2 or 3 seconds then your site is probably okay. Under 1 second is optimal.

• If you are consistently seeing times above 3 seconds (the lowest on this list of test sites being above 3 seconds) then you should bring it up with your hosting company, and if they can’t solve the problem, then consider moving your blog to a new hosting company. I recommend running the test at least 3 times at different times of the day. One test is not really conclusive of a slow site.
• If the scores on the test seem okay but you still experience the site as really slow or just feel like it is really slow then you need to try the following:
  • load your site on a different computer from your home (if it speeds up then it is your computer that is having a problem)
  • load the site on a different computer from another location (if it speeds up then it is your Internet connection that is slow)
• Try installing and running the WordPress Super Cache plugin. It is designed to speed up WordPress dramatically and protect you from traffic surges causing site slow downs. It will also make your site more efficient to overcome minor problems in your hosting environment, or if you make it to the front page of Digg.

Problem: I Don’t Know What The Hell is Wrong…But Things Ain’t Right

Solution: The best place to start for a miscellaneous error is to search WordPress support forums. Start by taking the any words or error message and entering it into the search box and you’ll almost always find the solution is already there.

If not, start a new topic and provide a link to your site and as much detailed information as possible.

Solution: Are You Willing to Pay for Help?

In this case the best option is to turn to the WordPress pro mailing list. You can view the WordPress Pro list’s information page, or send an email to wp-pro@lists.automattic.com, to request help. Responses are usually very quick and in general the people who reply will be professional, high quality and fair in their prices.

If you ask nicely, you can usually find someone who will at least assess the situation for free, and probably fix it for a very modest fee.

Part 2 - I’m Trying to Do Something, But I Don’t Know How

Goal: Setting Up WordPress

For Help: WordPress offers a Free Install Service

For non-commercial bloggers, you can use Install 4 Free to have a basic (no plugins or theme options, just the minimum blog) WordPress installed on your server.

For Help: Ninja Blog Setup Blog Installation Service

Our service provides a full featured and fully tricked out WordPress installation that is free when you signup for hosting via one of our WordPress host partner links. We also offer paid WordPress installations if you already have a hosting account, or if you require something like moving a site from one hosting company to another, enquire about rates.

For Help: Do It Yourself WordPress Setup Help

• Sherman Hu offers a complete blog setup and training program: WordPress Tutorials
• I created a set of step by step WordPress setup videos: Real Blog Videos
• CNET has a brief video that will give you the basic install: Install a WordPress Blog

Goal: I Want to Add Functionality (a plugin) to My Blog

If only I could get a thingy that would do something…

Some examples of cool plugins would be:

• Remind each new visitor to my site to subscribe to your RSS feed
• Make it ultra easy to embed YouTube videos into your posts
• Improve my blog’s SEO (search engine optimization) but allowing you to add custom title tags to your posts

For Help: Chances are someone has thought of it, and created some custom code for your WordPress blog, called a Plugin, that will do exactly what you want.

There are literally thousands of WordPress plugins. I generally look in three places.

1. WordPress Plugin Repository (over 1200 plugins tagged by their function or topic)
2. Google (for example search for WordPress social bookmark plugin)
3. Other blogs like Weblog Tools Collection, who constantly feature new and interesting plugins.

Goal: How Do I Edit or Configure My Theme for a Certain Plugin?

Some plugins require you to insert code snippets into your theme to make them function.

For Help: In general you will need to consult the plugin’s page for detailed instructions. ALWAYS, take a backup of any files you are about to edit. This means going in via an FTP program and downloading the original file to your computer. Using the WordPress backup plugin does not backup files, so it will be useless if you break the code when editing your site’s files.

• See my video How To Edit Your WordPress Theme which provides basic instructions on performing simple edits to your theme.
• For specifics on how to install a certain plugin, refer to the plugin’s homepage and follow the directions carefully (take a backup of any files you are about to edit).

Goal: I Want a New WordPress Theme or Template

For Help: There are really 2 parts to answer this question. You’ll need to find a new theme, and then upload it to your site and install it.

1. Where can I find new themes?
   • Free themes: WordPress Theme Viewer, WP Themes, Free WordPress Themes, or just Google Free WordPress themes, to find many more sites.
   • Hiring a designer to create a custom theme:
     • Unique Blog Designs (has done a-list bloggers like John Chow, yet surprisingly affordable)
     • Solo Stream (has some “limited edition” themes available that are less expensive than full custom themes)
     • Ben Bleikamp (who designed ProBlogger.net’s latest theme)
     • Elance (post a contest and pick from the many bidders)
     • SitePoint Forum (you can either post looking for a designer or sponsor a contest and only pay the winner. The contest works great if you want to receive a huge variety of ideas, but is can be time consuming as you’re expected to provide feedback for all entries).
2. How do I upload a new theme to my site and install it (tell WordPress to use the new theme)?
   • I’ve prepared a video that will walk you through the process: How To Upload and Install a New WordPress Theme

Goal: How do I Upgrade WordPress to the latest version?

I highly recommend using the WordPress Instant Upgrade plugin. Once you have the plugin installed you can upgrade with one click. (One warning, upgrading across major WordPress versions requires caution. If you are going from version 2.0.5 to 2.3 or even from 2.2 to 2.3 some of your plugins will probably stop working and need to be disabled or updated. You may want to hire someone from the WordPress Pros List to do these type of major upgrades.)

If you are using Instant Upgrade I have prepared a video which will help:

• How To Update WordPress
• And I have outlines some of the pitfalls of going from a 2.2.x version to a 2.3 version in this article: How To Upgrade to WordPress 2.3

Goal: I Want To Learn the Basics of WordPress

If you’re completely new to blogging or WordPress, then you will need to be patient, as there is a lot to learn. Give yourself time and don’t forget, Google is your friend.

For Help: These are the most common things that you’ll need to learn and where to find help:

• How do I upload a picture to WordPress blog story?
• This free WordPress guide will show you:
  • the difference between WordPress and WordPress.com
  • how to change your password
  • how to do a first post
  • some info about themes and plugins
• For a complete guide try Sherman Hu’s blog setup and training program: WordPress Tutorials

Goal: How Can I Learn About Blogging or Improve My Blogging?

For Help: By reading blogs about blogging. The top three that I’m aware are:

1. ProBlogger
   • Blogging Tips for Beginners
   • How Bloggers Make Money from Blogs
   • SEO for Blogs
2. Lorelle on WordPress
   • Awesome List - New to WordPress: Beginners
   • Blogging Tips - Hundreds of Resources for Finding Content for Your Blog
   • Ask Yourself How You Should Get Me to Read Your Blog
3. Weblog Tools Collection
   • use this site to stay up to date with all the latest WordPress plugins and theme releases.

Goal: How Can I Make More Money with My Blog?

Yaro’s Blog Profits Blueprint is the best free guide to how to make money blogging.

Ways that you can made money blogging

• AdSense :
• Promote affiliate products with Clickbank, Commission Junction, Amazon, EBay (free $25 Bonus).
• Create and sell your own information products
• Sell advertising on your blog

There are 2 things required to follow along with the video.

1) An ftp application for transferring the files of the new theme up to your blog. There are many many ftp applications. My favorite, which I demonstrate in the video is FireFTP. This is plugin for the popular FireFox browser, which I highly recommend.

Download FireFox browser (if you don’t already have it)
Then get the FireFtp plugin here. I’ll show you how to install it in the video.

Alternatives:
Smart FTP (free for personal use)
Cyber Duck (for MAC users)

2) The new theme that you’d like to install. The best place to start looking for new themes is the WordPress theme repository.

The rest of the information you’ll need is covered in the video, included a bonus section on copying any code changes that you may have done in your old theme over to the new one.

Click the image below to start the video