Weekly Web Tools show

Weekly Web Tools

Summary: The Weekly Web Tools podcast features tips and insights, reviews of products, and advice from our global audience

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 Watch How Easy it is to Hack a WordPress Site | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 10:34

WP Site Guardian This plugin shows you how easy it is to hack a Wordpress site, and then it shows how after installing their plugin your website is safe. This site looks for hackers, targets their behavior and defends your site by blocking the hacker, and alerting you that something is happening on your website. Prices start at $27 for a single site user, and go up to $40 (they are currently having a sale). Check it out at www.weeklywebtools.com/siteguardian Vid Stickers Vid Stickers are a cute way to make your videos stand out from everyone else who is using the same software as everyone else. The best thing about them is you get 50+ animations for $20. For more information visit www.weeklywebtools.com/vidstickers

 Untangling eCommerce Fees: A Quest for a Cart | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 11:17

E-Junkie Has A Simple No Mess Setup E-junkie has the ability to sound digital downloads via a buy now or a add to cart button. For $5 a month you get unlimited transactions and you can store up to 200 MB. As the typical Paypal fees are 2.9% +.30 cents per transaction. If we through out the 30 cents, it would be 1$172 to pay $5 to paypal (depending on how many transactions that would be lower cause 30 cents a pop will eventuality add up). You can have up to 10 products. The 200 mb is what causes me concern. If you're selling videos that could chew up space (even zipped up). Selz.com Slick Flexible Shopping Selz.com is a slick format that charges. They have cool tools that will stamp a pdf for those selling ebooks. They have tools to put your store on Facebook and other social media. For free you pay 4.9% + 30 cents for 5 products. If you go up to $12.99 you get unlimited products and you can customize your design. If you want a shopping cart it's $4.99 a month. If you want to accept Paypal it's $4.99.  Slick yes. It just seems like they charge for thing that others things are not. For $20 a month I get paypal, a cart, unlimited products, and a combined 3.9%. I find their system confusing. If I pay them their combined 3.9% do I still pay paypal their 2.9% With Selz you get paid via stripe which ends up going into your bank account. Gumroad: Great For Software Gumroad allows you to accept anything for 5% + 25 cents per transaction. This is for unlimited products, and unlimited products. The one thing that is seriously missing is a shopping cart. They do have an affiliate program. That is a little clunky as you have to invite people to be an affiliate (so it's not easy). They do offer a pre-orders function and if you're selling software with an activation code this is the place where gumroad excels. I do like that they automatically deposit into my checking account via ACH (or paypal). Do it Yourself Plugins EStore There is a free Simple Paypal Shopping Cart From Tips and Tricks where you could use this tool with one of the ecommerce theme from Elegant Themes. Tips and Tricks has a very versatile estore plugin for a one time fee for $49. This is a super flexible cart plugin. If you want additional payment options that is a one time fee of $40. Easy Digital Downloads Easy Digital Downloads (EDD) plugin is versatile until you go to sell something then you pay roughly $50 a feature. I like the look of their site, and they seem very flexible. If I want to sell via paypal business that add on is $49 for a single site. Which Way I'm Leaning? After watching some videos on Lynda.com on Woo Commerce, and see all the fees that can come and go, I think with the right theme, E-junkie may be the way I end up going. It's simple, and if you don't have a ton of products, it shouldn't be that expensive. There is next to no fees to get going, and at $5 a month, it would take years to match the fees associated with some of these FIY plugins. I want a cart, and easy downloads. Support Weekly Web Tools

 ProStlyer Evo Vs Divi Theme | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 10:38

Pro Styler Evo Theme I recently learned about ProStyler Evo and I purchased the theme. It's a great theme and it's super flexible. It (pretty much) allows you to build pretty much any site you see you can recreate it. The one thing that caught my eye is you can easily add (or take away) columns, and then via drag and drop resize the columns. That was cool. At first it looks like a steal. For a limited time you can buy the ProStyler Developers License for only $57.00. Or you can buy the Unlimited Personal Usage License for $47.00. The offer has a 30 day no questions money back guarantee period. So jumped in. One your purchase you then get upsell #1. You can buy the Pro Styler Theme Pro Upgrade for $47.00. With this package you get the above mentioned color scheme templates together with a bunch of graphics. So the $57 theme is no $104. They even say in some of the videos that not having the color scheme tool can add a lot of time to customizing your themes colors. As downsell on the first upsell you can “just” get the Pro Styler Theme Style Pack ($27.00). Lastly you can join a template club for $27 a month and it gets cheaper the more months you buy. So the $104 just went to $131 ProStyler has a ton of options — 4 Instant Presets — Ultra Responsive. — Multi-Purpose Theme. — Pre-configured Page Layouts (Templates) for homepages, pages, blogs and video layouts. — 3 different header layout options. — Responsive Image Slider. — Custom Widgets. — Unlimited Color Variations. — Tons of Shortcodes. — Google Maps Integration. — WooCommerce Integration. — SEO Optimised. — Built on the Latest Technology. — WordPress MU Compatible — Backup Options — Dark Color Options — Insert Galleries With A Click — Hundreds of Icons Available — Advanced Typography Options — Add Countdown Timer — Add Google Maps — Add Sales Features — Add User Features I looked at the website, checked out their support. I saw where the Theme has been upgraded over time, so it all looked good and it is. So I bought and installed it. The true power isn't the theme but a WP Glow plugin that looks and acts alot like the Divi theme From Elegant Themes. In watching the tutorials for ProStyler it acts and smells a lot like Divi. There is one common theme among all "SITE BUILDERING - DRAG AND DROP - kind of tools. They have insane amounts of details that you can (but probably won't) use.   So on one hand you don't need to learn code, but you can get a shell shocked when you click on the wrong tab and see all sorts of CSS options. Divi Theme The thing you gain with Divi from Elegant Themes is more money in your pocket up front. If you buy the Developer's License and the Upgrade you are looking at $104 for ProStyler. With Elegant themes I can spend $89 a year and get access to the Divi theme along with 86 other themes and six really cool plugins to help you grow your list, share your site, and more. What I did when I saw the Divi theme is I purchased a Lifetime Access for $249.  Their service is awesome, they have cool forums, and I get my questions answered quickly. Comparison Video Support the Show

 Tracking Your Virtual Assistants Time – Great Free Stuff | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 8:37

Time Doctor Vs Rescue Time I've used Rescue Time for a few years. It's a "set it and forget it" solution so that you can say "Who spent 14 hours on YouTube yesterday?". Rescue time is not really meant for payroll (in my opinion) but I've found it very useful. In the same way that tracking your food intake will open your eyes (or your money) Rescue Time does as well. Rescue Time is free, with an upgrade for $4.50 a month. Time Doctor is more for tracking a team, their status, and (and this is cool) it will randomly take screenshots so you can see what they are working on (Upwork has a similar system). Time Doctor also integrates with more systems (and has apps for iPhone). There is a free limited plan, a solo plan for $5 and then it's $9 per user. Here is a quick overview of Time Doctor For more information go to www.weeklywebtools.com/time doctor   Finding the Free Stuff at the Envato Market Check it out at www.weeklywebtools.com/envato

 Free Screencast Tool | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 9:41

I stumbled across two tool that you can use to create screencasts. The first one is called Screencast-o-matic and the other is Jing. Screencast-o-matic allows you to record 15 minutes of video. You can record your screen and webcam, save the file and publish to YouTube. The free version will put a watermark on your video. I also found Jing which is from the same people who make Camtasia. This software allows you to create 5 minute videos. The files is a swf file. They used to have a pro version which allowed files of mp4, but that has been discontinued. So if you are looking for a free solution screencast-o-matic might be something to look at. If you want to go pro to allowed you to make longer recordings, perform edits, and remove the watermark, the price is $15/yr Scarcity Product Provides Live Stats to Customers Social Pop is a great idea. It works with sites like JVZoo, Click bank, Deal Guardian and others to give you real time statistics on sales. For example if you have a deal for the first 100 sales at a certain price, Social Pop let's people know exactly how many are left. If can let people know if someone else just purchased the program as well. It integrates with the different websites I mentioned and you can customize the way the pop appears, looks, and where it is positioned on the page. My biggest complaint was I set up a black Friday deal from Friday to Monday and the counter showed 24 hours. Their support was quick and really wanted to help .You need to be able to copy code into the heading area and the body. I had one out of two and it caused a conflict with Value Add on (which I use) so I requested a refund, and the gave me one almost immediately. I liked the product, and their support was quick (but I had a very limited window) so I didn't have time to help me troubleshoot. For more information on Social Pop click here.

 Rafflecopter Vs Contest Blitz – Weekly Web Tools Crowdfunding | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 10:36

Rafflecopter Contest and Viral Tool This is a tool to help you make contests intended to drive traffic to your site. Here is an example of what a free giveaway looks like (runs through 11/28). You can pick the prize, how many prizes you give away. Most of the cool features (email integration, pictures, etc) are not included in the free package (understandable). You collect entries, and they can win more chances to win the prizes by helping to promote the contest. Once the contest is over, it's super easy to pick a random winner. According  to their website: "On your giveaway’s entries tab in your Rafflecopter dashboard, clicking ‘add a random winner’ will randomly select an entry -- similar to randomly picking a name out of a hat. After that button is clicked and the winner chosen appears, you’ll be able to view a winner card of the chosen individual which will show you their name, email address, a link to their Facebook account (if they logged in with Facebook), when they entered, what entry option they completed, their IP address and country associated with the IP (approximate location).   a Rafflecopter giveaway For more information go to www.rafflecopter.com Contest Blitz Wordpress Plugin Price: $20 Reward people for sharing the contest. It's not a flexible as Rofflecopter, but the price seems a bit high With rofflecopter you can export your entrants information (so you can manually add them to your email list) This is integrated with Contest Blitz. Contest Blitz is a one time fee, and Rofflecopter is an ongoing price (the free version is pretty limited). For more information go to www.weeklywebtools.com/contestblitz New Weekly Web Tools Crowd Funding If I had a sponsor, the only you could support the show would be to buy a product that you may or many not need (and a very small amounts goes back to the podcaster). Crowd funding is an inexpensive way for you the listener to chip in $2 a month. If everyone did that, it would be awesome. For more information and to see the rewards, check out www.weeklywebtools.com/support

 The Quick, Easy, and Affordable Way to Create a Professional Logo | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 8:10

I've seen a few programs that help you create logos. efx3gsqt This is great, but sometimes you are in a hurry, and that is where logaster comes in handy (for the record, I think its a dumb name). You put in the name of your company, or lead magnet (or whatever you're making a logo for) and an optional slogan. Logaster spits out hundreds of potential logos that you can tweak. You can add key words to help you find and create the right logo for you. When you are done you can but a kit of the logo for $35 or just an online version. For screen 1024px (png, jpeg)$9.99 For screen 5000px (png, jpeg)$19.99 For print and screen (svg, pdf, png, jpeg)$24.99 Watch how easy it is to create a cool looking logo Here are the logo samples I ended up with For more information and to test it yourself go to weeklywebtools.com/logaster (aff link)   FotoJet - Free Collage Maker You've heard me talk about Canva.com, well fotojet.com is similar with a twist. It's more about working with Photos, and making collages. I emailed the company to clarify, and it is true. There is no catch. It's 100% free. Here is a quick overview of making a Facebook image Support The Show  

 Find The Exact Influencers You Need in Record Time | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 5:49

I just discovered Ninja Outreach. This is a tool that allows you to type in a subject and it returns the top influencers around that subject. You can filter  the results on MANY different variables to get just the list you need. You can then setup a template and contact these people. There is even a browser extension that allows you to use those forms right on their website (more than likely on their contact page). No need to copy and paste, everything is right there in your browser saving you time and making it easy. Here is a quick tutorial from the founder. For more information go to ninjaoutreach.com (ignore this 86q5ikxn, '86q5ikxn' ) hbpq6zny  'hbpq6zny'

 How to Write Better Headlines Quickly and Easily | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 11:24

Yes I used Fresh Title to make today's post title. Previously I was playing with Headlinr as a tool for creating headlines. I like it. It's a browser extension. This is an actual piece of software and it seems to have a bit more teeth. You can add words and additional functionality. It also has features to let you import and export Headlines. Builder The builder is where you type in a subject and Fresh Title comes up with an insane number of headlines. If you like it you can copy it and paste it and use it in your blog post, video post, YouTube Video, etc. If you want to, you can add it to the "My Titles" tab and later come back and enter notes about how it worked. SwipeFile There is a swipefile tab which has over 3,000 headlines that are used to create a customized headline based on your subject. News Headlines I liked this tool to see what is happening in the news. You type in a subject and Fresh Title searches Google and Bing for that subject. You can select what countries to use. Again, you can copy/add the title and begin customizing the headline to be your own. Quick/More The More feature allows you to add in benefits of your headlines, a time frame and more and it comes up with more detailed headlines. When I use this feature it needed a bit of tweaking. I then used the help buttons and I learned I needed to change the format of my topics and it worked fine. How Do You Know If Your Headlines Are Any Good? Enter the Title Analyzer to analyze your Headlines. These two tools work great together. You can created a giant list in Fresh Title and copy the entire list and paste them into the Analyzer to rate your headline based on research for what works. You can double click on your score (the headline for this episode got an 82) and you can see what needs tweaked. Support? I emailed the developer and got a fast response. There are help videos to walk you through the software (it's pretty easy). I like the tool and will be using it in the future. Here is a quick video of me using both software titles. You get both software titles for $37. Click here for more information  

 Convertkit Email: Is This An Aweber Killer? | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 14:47

Today we are celebrate 300 episodes. Thanks to Marcus Couch for the shout out at the beginning of the show. You can find Marcus at www.marcuscouch.com and www.wppluginsatoz.com as well as Wordpress Weekly I've used Aweber because "serious marketers" used it. So I paid my $180 a year and jumped in. It is my fault, but I didn't use many of the tools that are there. They have automation tools, but in the end I have a ton of people who have unsubscribed over the years (again, not Aweber's fault). As I don't have a ton of people on my lists, I don't run into problems, but if you are having to pay more because your lists are large, Aweber makes you pay for people who have unsubscribed (but you've never removed - according toe convertkit.com's site). Until recently, you could not add a list to aweber without doing a double opt-in. In some cases (without using the list automation) you could easily have the same person on multiple lists and be paying for them. For me, I've been paing $15 a month ($180/yr) so it did what I wanted it to do - send email, and convert an RSS feed to an email. I've wanted to start doing more strategies to build my list. I purchased Lead Pages, and purchased Optin Monster, and when I saw videos on ConvertKit it is part Aweber, part lead pages, part optin monster. The price seems a bit hit at $29 a month for 1000 subscribers (you can send 10X the number of subscribers). But then, if you're paying for unsubscribers it may be cheaper. The cool thing is you can EASILY create segments of your list and just send (or exclude) them. I like this idea, especially for those list that I want to do more than send out a follow up email. Check out these videos from Convertkit. Convert Kit Videos Watch this Quick 2 minute video on Segmentation Super Easy Landing Pages For more information go to www.weeklywebtools.com/convertkit The last thing I've seen in videos (again, I don't own this -yet). Is they are all about making the transition super smooth.

 Copywriting -3D Flip Book – Bookly – Learn Dash | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 16:15

Boost Sales with Better Copy Ray Edwards is a master copywriter, and right now he is kicking of a course (that I have taken, it's awesome) and you can get a ton of content for free as he unveils his course. Go to www.weeklywebtools.com/rayedward Real 3D Flip Book The Real 3D Flip book is a great plugin if you want to have a magazine that people can flip through on your site. It's cute, but when it comes to functionality (actually reading the content) I foudn the demo annoying. I have to zoom in so much, that I have to then use the "hand" tool to drag and drop the page around. Great idea, great looking tool, but functionally it didn't do it for me. It's $32, it may be what you're looking for. You can find it here Here is a quick video Bookly Wordpress Booking System Over the years I've used many booking systems. I currently use Appointlet. It's fine. It's simple, and it does what I wants. However, when I saw the Bookly plugin I saw a one time fee and that is it (obviously you might have to pay for an upgrade later). This plugin allows you to have a staff, unlimited services, and in a nutshell you can customize everything. It is designed to look great on mobile devices as its responsive. I'm seriously thinking of purchasing this plugin. It syncs with Google Calendar (and that's about it). You can send text message reminders to your guests as well as email. Here is a quick video to show of how easy it is to use (there is no audio). The plugin is $46. LearnDash WordPress LMS This LMS is for the person who is not only interested in having a member ship site, but in making sure that they actually learn the subject. There are certifications, there are quizes, and all sort of things you can add on to the system. They have features like custom forums per class, but it appears you need to install BBPress for that (and I can never get bbpress to look anything but awful). It starts at $99 and you can find more information here.

 P1 Targeting App New Powerful Keyword Tool | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 9:15

In the past we've mentioned tools like Long Tail Pro, and Marketing Samurai, but there is a new tool on the scene called P1 Tartgeting App. It's a pretty cool keyword app. It does the following: * You type in one word and it looks up tons of keywords * You can then look at the competition around such words * You can check domains that are available * You can sort by profitability * You can filter out the keywords that are less profitable The pricing starts at $29 (up to $99), and once you sign up there will be an upsell for a content app, and (BUT WAIT THERE's MORE) there will be one last upsell for a targeting app. Here is a video that shows off the software (just press skip if you don't want to join the e-mail list).   For more information go to P1Targetingapp.com

 FSQM Pro A Bit of a Disapointment | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 8:23

I was using Polldaddy to do polls. Its very robust, but if you use the free version you can't export the results. When I found FSQM Pro, it seemed to do everything that poll daddy did, AND it let your export your results. The plugin is pretty easy to use, I made a form, it looks great, and it has tons of options. When I went to export, I could export the questions - not the results. This is handy in the event you made a survey on one website and you wanted to duplicate it on another, but not what I was looking for. For $29 I expected more. Here is a video. It's a great plugin, but for me I think an additional $10 for the exporting option is too much. Their support has me jumping through hoops to get their attention. There is plenty of documentation and videos.

 Know Who and When People are Reading Your Email with Sidekick | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 6:34

Quick show today. I found a tool that for $10 a month will let your schedule email ahead of time, and also let you know when people have opened your email, clicked on items, etc. You can login to your account and see your stream. Best of all you can get a free month by going to www.weeklywebtools.com/sidekick www.weeklywebtools.com/sidekick

 CanvaKala Super Image Editor for WordPress | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 6:13

Canvakala is a new plugin that allows you to do serious editing to your images without leaving wordpress. You can add effects like those in instagram, add text, brighten, sharpen, etc. There are even layers like in Photoshop. There are hundreds of images to pick from (you are pulling from sites that have legal images).  As I record this episode its $17 with a promise of the price going up (to what I'm not sure - you know the old internet marketing thing). They do have a link to support which goes to a ticketing system, so without craeting a ticket, they have at least taken a step towards being legit. The plugin looks really cool. Here is the video demo.   More information at canvakala.com

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