Choosing the Right WordPress Theme

Welcome to another episode of Silence is Golden where Simon and Gin (this week) give away invaluable tips for your business. 

This week the main topic is about choosing the right WordPress Theme. We also bring you the latest news on the Elementor 2.0 Beta Video that has been released, Chatbots and something interesting that Google has been testing. So, let's Go!

Watch the Video

Stuff That Happened

Facebook Imposes New Restrictions on Ads and Popular Pages

Sick of hearing about Facebook? So are we. This week, Facebook announced that in addition to requiring political advertisers to be verified before posting ads, Facebook will require anyone buying “issue ads” to undergo the same process. The aim is to dissuade bad actors from polluting the platform.

Gin is tempted to get off Facebook and perhaps going to get a shared Facebook work page that they can all log into.

Simon talks about how Facebook controls so many things at the moment such as your business network. However, with it's massive data reach, it shows how quickly a platform can be undermined. It is a wake up call to you that you don’t own your Facebook business network and it can change at any time because it’s a free platform that you don't have control over.

Find out more here.

Hot Tip

Do you rely too much on Facebook for advertising and building your network? You can invest too much in a platform, so make sure you have owned media such as a blog platform.

As an example, we use Grytics at WPE to source weekly engagement stats of our members in the Facebook group (we award them points for the Leaderboard from these stats). We logged into Grytics today to see that they are suspending all information about individual members and only providing a general overview on stats “for the time being”. The service will be of no use for us for the purpose of awarding points, so we will likely cancel our subscription if it's ongoing. Grytics is an example of a business that has been built entirely around Facebook – a tool that they have no control over. As you can see from this example, having no control over the platform your core business is built around is risky.

Elementor 2.0 Beta Video

The Elementor 2.0 Beta video looks super exciting, so have a look at that on youtube. What page builders are helping us do is build websites much faster. Less focus on how to do things and making it much easier for us to build websites. So it lets you focus on what you put on the page instead. Building is almost done for you, so you can focus on results and what gets them.

Chatbot Research and Stats

Chatbots can be annoying but they can also be very useful. You can't stop that it is a growing platform, so it's worth giving attention to it.

If the answer can't be found bu the chatbot, there can be a couple of options given up front to then direct them to the right live person. How well is your website being able to navigated? With limited information and good navigation, the need for chatbots is negated. This technology can be good for businesses like banks and government bodies where the websites are content heavy.

In this article from Social Media Examiner, it says that the average time saved per chatbot in the banking and healthcare sectors, when compared to traditional call centres, is 4+ minutes. WOW. Looks like they’re here to stay!

Google Testing “More Results” Button

Instead of making searchers click to the next page of search results, Google is testing showing more results on the same page.

Thoughts? Gin doesn’t think it’s a big deal. Simon thinks that it’s because no one goes to page 2 so they just want to test what happens with the new infinite scroll. Will 11-20 be exposed to more clicks?

Get the full details here.

This Pisses Me Off

Simon gets annoyed that people can get so bogged down in the “how” to do something, that they lose sight of the “why”. If you’re working with clients, focus on what it is that gives them value, NOT on the “how to” stuff. Ask yourself why are you doing it, what gives the most value and what gets results?

If you are feeling overwhelmed by a project and focussing on what theme, what host, where to get domains, what tools and processes, you can waste a lot of time. However, if you are grounded and focused on the “why” as well as the results, then the other pieces will come together and you will work more efficiently.

You also need to change your mindset and let go of self-doubt. If you’re waiting to have confidence or skill before you do something, then you have it backwards. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable, just do it and get the thing done.

Let’s Get Unstuck

Within our Facebook group, Matt Rodela asked:

What are some of the ways to add value, both real and perceived to your service in order to position yourself as a premium service?

Gin's Ideas

Gin gives us her perspective from customer service point of view.

• Video User Manuals plugin. (videos on your dashboard that explain to  how to use WordPress) Use this plugin as low hanging fruit to value add to your package. (If you missed our previous episode where we talk about Video User Manuals then check it out here). So by giving this already existing content to your client, it is a great perceived value.
• Connect. People love connecting, so anything you can do to show a personal touch or to go above and beyond is a perfect way to do this. You can give a small thank-you gift or a personal letter in the mail (which WPE do through Thankster). Go above and beyond with these small touches and this will set you apart.
• Personalise your Care Plans. Have a think about how can you personalise your care plans so that they don't feel like a number. For example, offer a 15 minute Skype video once a month.

Simon's Ideas

• Get in sync with your client’s goals. Simon tells us that this is one of his best value-adds. They have a goal sessions with their clients once every 12 months and use a Trello board to get clear on how they work towards the goals. Here is an example. This lets the client know that you are focussed on their goals as well as their clients. You can help them achieve their goals before they tell you what to do and they then feel that you know exactly what they want.
• Know what is the most valuable thing to them and get super clear on it. For example, if it is sales, how many sales? Really get to the core of what it is. It will set you apart from competitors and you become the trusted advisor. You build rapport with them and they feel understood.
• Picking a niche and go deep into that niche. If you serve a particular niche and only that niche, you are perceived as adding more value because you are seen as the expert in their area. So get specific as much as you can, even geographically.
• Endorsements. Ask a known authority or influencer to endorse you.
• Write the book on the topic. Even start with a basic e-book.
• Create content articles, blog posts and videos on the topic and make sure it ranks highly. Be the expert in your field.

The Golden Nugget

WordPress Themes is the main topic for today. It also pisses Simon off when people change themes all the time. So Gin and Simon are going to help you to choose the right one and stick with it.

After using the Go Wide and Go Deep method you will be on the same page as the client and know exactly what their goals are.

You then need to choose a theme based on this and show them that you are the expert and explain why you chose it and why it will be the best fit for them.

From a builders point of view, you need to look at the following things.

Theme Checklist

1. Is it well coded? The theme needs to be from a reputable company, endorsed by trusted WP Professionals and has received good reviews.
2. Does it work fast? There are multi-purpose themes that are super bloated and then they become a pain. You need a theme that loads super fast.
3. Is the company reputable? The company who develops the theme needs to have been around for a while. Do they have good support? Have they made other products and were they successful?
4. Is it overloaded with features? If the answer is yes, then forget it.
5. Does it use the WP Customiser? Ideally, it should use the WP Customiser for settings (which is also a sign of a well coded theme).
6. Is there a community of users? If yes, do they like it? Is the community supportive? If it is a large community this is also a good sign that they won't be going out of business.

Simon's Faves

The differences between the following stack of themes are quite subtle and they change constantly so just pick one and double down. They're all great!

• Generate Press: It has a free version to start with and then there are premium add-ons.
• Beaver Builder Themer: Unlimited sites are available.
• OceanWP: Has a free version. The themes are a little different, they have a pop up for WooCommerce and some enhanced functionality.
• Astra: He is loving it at the moment. Elementor combined with Astra is amazing. Nice site templates. You can basically click and have a website, making it very easy! Experiment and see what you like.

Let us know what theme you love using the most?

Tool of the Week

And the winner of the above themes according to Simon is…. drum roll please… Astra!

It's incredible how easy it is to use, so there are no excuses for you to not start focussing on the “why”!

Wrap Up

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