Below is an infographic showing the various WordPress security plugins you can download and install to keep your website safe and working well. You’ll also see the descriptions of each plugin as well as the user ratings. So take time to read through it and choose which one will fit well with your needs.

The post WordPress Most Popular Security Plugins appeared first on Ben Francia.

WordPress is one of the most popular platforms today. And business owners choose it for a reason. So here’s a guide to help you on why you should choose WordPress as your website platform.

• It’s really easy to install – Installation is easy when you use WordPress. You don’t need any programming skills to set it up.
• The interface is user friendly – Once installed, WordPress is very to navigate and use. Even newbies can easily get around the interface. It is also easy to explore and get familiar with so setting up is quicker.
• Easy to customize – You don’t want just a regular, run-of-the-mill website. You want one that reflects what you and your business is all about. Therefore, you need to customize it. WordPress comes with a wide collection of themes, widgets, and plugins that will let you customize your website’s look and function.
• WordPress makes it easy to interact with readers – Your readers and followers can easily subscribe for updates and leave comments on your blog. Also, you don’t need to register for an account to leave a comment in a WordPress based blog, encouraging visitors to interact with you.
• Huge WordPress community – There are a large number of developers and designers working on WordPress so if you would need professional help, you can easily find one.

Share your experience about your WordPress based website and blog below. Let me know what’s your thoughts about this platform.

The post Top 5 Reasons Why Small Businesses Should Choose WordPress appeared first on Ben Francia.

• Back up your database, regularly – Nobody wants to lose his or her blog content. Just to be on the safe side, it’s better to regularly back up your database in case it happens. You can also opt for automated backups using a plugin like VaultPress.
• Monitor plugins – Plugins are can be really helpful, but the more plugins there are, the slower the site will be. Of course, this also depends on the quality of the plugins. Updating your plugins can help with your blog’s performance but at the same time it may conflict with other plugins. To make sure this won’t happen, it’s best to research on the plugin homepage and learn about any issues the arise with the update.
• Do some regular “housekeeping” chores – Like a house, there are some regular chores you need to do to keep it neat and organized. The same goes with your website. Some of these chores that will ensure your WordPress site runs smoothly and efficiently are:
  • Check for broken links
  • Delete spam comments
  • Remove disabled plugins and inactive themes
  • Delete duplicate/unused images and files
  • Change your admin passwords

Incorporate these maintenance procedures into your schedule. You can do it twice a month or weekly. It all depends on you. The more frequent you clean it up, the better the performance will be.

Do you have other concerns about your WordPress website? Leave a comment below.

The post How To Maintain Your WordPress Site appeared first on Ben Francia.

WooThemes has some tips on how you can keep your website safe with the additional security measures discussed below:

First of is to use a secure hosting. According to WooThemes, “hosting vulnerabilities account for a huge percentage of WordPress sites being hacked.”

Before you decide on your webhosting, do your research. Don’t get the most affordable one. Look for an established company with a good record when it comes to strong security measures. Make sure that you get your money’s worth.

Second, keep updating. Each version WordPress releases, there are patches and fixes that would address several issues. If you don’t update to the latest WordPress version, you could leave your website prone to attacks.

Hackers usually target older versions of WordPress with known security issues, so it’s best to update your website the minute you see a “Please update now” message on your Dashboard notification area. The same goes to your themes and plugins. If you keep them up-to-date there is are less chances your website will get hacked.

Next is to strengthen your passwords. Avoid passwords like, ‘letmein’, ‘abc123’, or ‘password’. These are very common and you need to change them into more secure ones immediately. You can also use a password manager such as LastPass to help you.

When it comes to your username, don’t use “admin.” Imagine of you are using “admin” as your username and your password is not that strong, that makes your site vulnerable to malicious attacks. We recommend changing your username to something less obvious.

Lastly, limit your login attempts. This is very useful especially if a hacker or a bot attempts to attack and crack your website’s password. It will detect the number of failed login attempts from a single IP address; by limiting it, you can further secure your site.

Nothing beats added security to prevent attacks of your website. So consider these tips and prevent hackers from accessing your website.

The post Tips To Improve WordPress Security appeared first on Ben Francia.

Not focusing on one’s strengths is probably a very common mistake most newbie entrepreneurs commit when choosing a new business to start. Doing so makes the business more challenging for them. They end up spending more time and effort in the new business which is likely to fail, as I have experienced first hand.

A couple of years ago, I started my first business venture which is a small Laundry
Detergent Manufacturing Business. This was in the year 2001, around the same time I was introduced to the book “Rich Dad Poor Dad”. Pumped up with the new found wisdom, that having your own business is the key to financial success, I set out to discover the best business to start.

The Laundry Detergent Business first came to mind when I visited a business and technology training center that offers various business and livelihood trainings. The Laundry Detergent Business Training popped out of their brochure probably because I saw right away the market potential of detergents. Households, Companies, Hospitals, Schools, Laundry shops… you can’t think of any house hold or business that doesn’t make use of detergents. It was a “widely accepted need” that I can offer at a much lower cost to consumers. I saw the MONEY and then decided to pursue this new business without much consideration to other factors.

So to make the long story short, after going through the challenges of production, deliveries and employee management for less than a year, and being demotivated by the high maintenance and low revenue, I just decided to just discontinue my first business venture.
I guess things could have been easier if I have some background in the manufacturing business, if I have been a chemist or someone who has worked for a company like Proctor and Gamble or Unilever. The detergent business isn’t just my thing, and not focusing on my strength ended with me choosing a business that’s doom to fail.

I remember while I was busy juggling my time between the business and my day-time job (and starting to think what have put my self in to this time), I was still getting a few Web Development projects on the side. And the funny thing about it is that I’ve been earning a lot more from this “side-line” than my daytime job and my detergent business combined. And not to mention that I just do these projects a few hours at night and didn’t feel any stress in doing them at all.

Web Development is one of my core professional strengths and that I believe made the difference. It then dawned on me that if I’ve been getting better results by just putting in a few hours and very little attention to this “Strength”, how much more if I focus on it, develop it, and harness its potential in building a successful business. It was a wake up call that completely changed how I do business. I then decided to Focus on my Strength instead.

Twelve years moving forward, I now manage a profitable Web Development Business which not only builds websites for companies, but also grew in to a full outsourcing business that can pretty much handle everything and anything that an Internet Business needs to run its operations.

Focusing on your Strengths is not only important, it is rather an essential factor that every entrepreneur should consider in starting a new business. Focus on the things that you are good at. Put your talents in to use. Capitalize on your strengths and see your small venture grow in to a profitable  worthwhile business.

PS:

Check out my Digital Marketing Seminar on January 30 and find out how I’ve been getting Customers and Client’s Online for over 10 years. Sign up now:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=525556737455531&set=a.453614091316463.109324.440777959266743&type=1&theater

The post Focus On Your Strength: A Key To Business Success appeared first on Ben Francia.

For the past couple of months, I’ve been working on a new mobile friendly version of my website but have been unable to launch it since my team  has been preoccupied with a lot of our offshore web development projects and my site just kept on being bumped in favor of client projects.

Then fortunately, in spite of the busy schedule during the holidays, we were able to finally launch version 3.0 of BenFrancia.com before end of the year! 🙂

What’s cool about this new version of my site is that it already makes use of “Responsive Web Design” (often abbreviated as RWD). RWD is an web design approach wherein the the whole design and layout of the website “responds” and changes depending on the size of the screen of the device being used to view the website for easy viewing and user experience. This means no more horizontal scroll bars, zooming and panning when viewing website on your smartphones. Cool right!

What makes it even cooler is that this Web Design Approach prepares your website for the Mobile Internet Era. Mashable.com no less has dubbed 2013 as the year of Responsive Web Design. With more than 30M Filipinos who are already online, 25% of which are already accessing the Internet through their mobile devices. And with the increased sales of Internet Ready Mobile Devices (even overtaking PC sales) due to the introduction of low cost smart phones, Mobile Internet Users are sure to grow significantly this year!

What does this mean to us doing business online? This means sure business loss if your website cannot be easily viewed by Mobile Netizens!

Responsive Web Design isn’t a Fad! It is a trend and a revolution that every online business needs to adapt to. And for those who aren’t taking advantage of RDW on their websites yet, Catch up… or Catch you later! 🙂

The post Responsive Web Design: Is Your Website Mobile Ready? appeared first on Ben Francia.