When I started this blog, I always disliked the fact that I could not layout the content as I wanted it to.
The newest posts appeared at the top of my home page and the only way to change that was to set a static page as the home one.
Sure there were ways to override anything in WordPress, but that usually includes a lot of PHP which I am not familiar with.
Then, with trying to post regularly on this blog and maintaining some other sites, I just didn’t have too much time to get into learning everything about WordPress.
Like I said above, I didn’t like that I just could not set the layout of the blog to match a layout of my static sites so people would find content following a logical way. The best thing I could think of was setting up categories and hoping someone would click on them, but my GA says, hardly anyone does, ever…
Well, I finally learned how to do that and started creating more useful layout of this blog. It is a work in progress, but I can already see some benefits, like longer time on site and more pageviews, which means people are clicking around more.
What did I do?
So far I re-did (partially) the menu on the top and included more info and more useful links than just “About” and “Contact” pages. If you hover over About menu item, you will see more options to click on as well.
The menu you see there is not the default WordPress or Thesis menu that includes all pages you have on your blog (because you probably don’t want to show all pages anyway). It is a WordPress menu created link by link.
What is the point?
It gives visitors an idea what the blog is about (by looking at words in the menu) and more things to click on, if they want to snoop around the blog. Hence – longer time on the site and more pageviews.
What else did I do?
I highlighted blog posts I think you should not miss here. That is the “Must Reads” widget in the sidebar. It isn’t a plugin, it is a link widget where I manually picked the posts that I think everyone will learn something from.
Must read widgets are the ones I search for first, when I am on a new blog. Those posts are always the best so it would be safe to assume they are the ones you can learn from.
How did I come up with all this? I didn’t. Lisa Irby did. And she put all that and more, in her new guide.
If you are someone who reads this blog from time to time and follow me on any social network, you know how much I love and respect Lisa. She is the reason I am working from home.
And when she puts something out, it is the best money can buy. And no, it isn’t a $150 guide. It is actually $27 and it is worth every penny.
A few things that I liked about the WordPress starter guide
# The book is down to Earth, written in simple language, which means you will not scratch your head and not understand what the heck is she talking about. You will be able to do everything on your own!
# Lisa thought of everything, she is focusing on some important things you can not read about in other books, but she made a complete WP guide that will be your go-to-guide till the last day of WP.
# I love how specific her guide is, she moves quickly through the basics without dropping a single thing. The guide is easy to read but includes everything you need to know.
# She tells you how to do keyword research and how she has been doing it for years and years, with one important lesson – when is the time to follow your guts and stop being paralyzed by keyword research.
# And one more time, just in case you missed it, she has some amazing ideas about how to use navigation, menus and links, probably the least used and the least talked about feature of WP.
After reading the guide, I can say that it is one of the features of WP with the most potential! It will help with the flow of your visitors on your blog and pretty much help you send them to important content they will love. So you can count on more subscribers and eventually – more money!
I think I could go on and on until tomorrow, but I will let you decide for yourself, while I work some more on my new cool menu 
How are you using your navigation and menus? Are you focusing your blog on “blog like updates” or do you have some static content you highlight?
Related: Another great book you should own Learn how to make money writing e-books.
I love the way you crafted this post. I would have bought this myself if I was a wordpress beginner. I’ve been blogging for about 8 years now so have a gone through all the pains! Learned the hard way and after spending many hours trying out stuff. Wish these products were available back then..
I recommend this one to anyone, not just beginners, cause I am sure most of the people will find some new pieces of info in it
Wow, what a fantastic review. Thanks soooooooooooo much, Brankica!
You are more than welcome Lisa, it is totally deserved and I had to stop myself not to write 3 times as much, lol
Cool start guide, my one rule for anything with WordPress is “There is a plugin or theme for that” Sticky posts are the rule in WordPress 3.0 and most themes allow you to set featured articles that can be made sticky on homepage.
My own foray into WordPress was when I started my blog in August 2008, I never touched it prior and I just dove right in and learned on the fly like I enjoy doing. Things are always more daunting until you get your hands wet, and sometimes a tutorial in a guide is much easier to reference than searching and crawling across 5-10 pages online to find the info you are looking for.
I don’t like featured sliders on home page too much. I had one and with people landing on certain posts and not home page, it loses the point. So I want to make sure every page has all the elements that would keep clicking around longer
Right, they make some themes without sliders, and WordPress has a default sticky post where that marked post stays on homepage all the time at the top. Good for excerpt on homepage blogs, but long posts don’t make good sticky posts.
Yeah, I think it would only work as excerpt, but then again, people don’t land on home page as much as on a single post, so it would be a gamble if they would see the featured posts. Another thing is that a lot of people reading blogs (any blog) don’t know it is a sticky, so they can keep checking the home page and see the same few posts on the home page all the time, not pay attention that there are updates below the stickies, and again go without sticking around
True, most people do arrive on posts not homepage, so usually to showcase something you want long term you have to make a header/footer or sidebar banner ad for it
Hey Brankica,
I have no doubt that this is a great buy! I’ve heard nothing but great things about Lisa and anyone who really wants to learn WordPress let’s face it, they need to invest in their education.
Same thing I just talked about in my post today. Invest people, invest. You’ll save SO much time learning from the pros instead of wasting so much time searching for these answers all yourself.
If I were a beginner, I’d get it. You can count on that!!!
Great post Brankica!
Hey Adrienne, actually I would not say that the book is for complete beginners. I see all the same mistakes on a lot of blogs and people who think they know WP inside and out, make them too.
I learned some interesting things from this one as well, and I don’t consider myself a beginner.
I just want to make sure people know this isn’t something like “how to create a category in WP” type of guide, it is so much more
But anyway, back to the comment, yeah, Lisa is amazing, and everything I have learned from her brought me closer to full time income every time, and I have to say, a year later, after leaving my job, I am just going stronger because of her
Thanks for sharing that Brankica. That’s really saying something if you are learning from this. You have a lot of us beat in knowing WordPress.
I remember reading before that Lisa was the reason you were able to quit your job and do this full-time that you had really learned a lot from her. I’ve seen her around and been to her sites and she really does know her stuff. That’s why I have a feeling this eBook is a steal.
Thanks for letting me know! I appreciate that.
Just the thing I need Brankica- to know more about WordPress!
I have recently got to know Lisa through twitter and her site, similar to yours is full of wonderful content and information for everyone. The guide sure looks promising!
I love to see the changes you have made to this blog also, I can see them clearly. And thanks so much for sharing all your experiences with all of us, they sure give us a better insight into how to go about things.
Hey Harleena,
so glad you like Lisa’s blog. She is my online business idol
Great post Brankica,
Change my naviagtion around and adding drop downs is somthing I did not to long ago and it really works. Thanks for sharing as you have given me a few ideas for the other tabs on my blog.
The course looks great for anyone who has a blog.
Tristram Lodge
Hey Tristram, welcome to my blog. Lisa’s book is full of those great ideas, the best part is that she talks about some cool features people don’t pay attention to much. I already saw some advantages from changing my navigation
Hi Brankica
Great post and I have just bought this guide as I am currently in the process of re-writing my own guide to using WordPress.
WordPress is a great CMS and one that is massively flexible, I always try to automate as many of the mundane tasks as possible, from favourite posts to top commentators.
This is the reason I love reading other peoples blogs as it constantly reveals new ideas and opportunities I had not considered.
igor Griffiths
Hey Igor,
So glad you decided to get it, I am sure you will pick a tip or two from there. I would love to hear what you think about it after you read it.
Thank you, I was considering using the paid version of WP, but I didn’t knew if I could work with it without lot of IT knowledge. With this book I can hopefully find my own way.
Sharita, I think this will be a perfect book for you
Oh, I’m sure I could think of something witty to say but let’s just leave it at great job and thanks for sharing. You always make me smarter if I am so inclined to do so………..:)
Waiting for the witty comment
Hi Brankica
You introduced me to Lisa and now I regularly check what she publishes as she really knows her stuff.
Bought the book, and it is worth every cent
Some great tips and so easy to follow. Can you believe this technophobe is saying that lol
But it is truly worth having and I think you have written a great review. Agree with what you share about the book and hope people take note and get it.
Will be implementing some of her suggestions on my lavender blog, that’s for sure.
Patricia Perth Australia
That’s wonderful! Thanks so much for purchasing.
I’m so grateful to Brankica for announcing this on her blog.
Patricia,
I knew you would love Lisa’s blog, especially that you are really picky lately
This is a real SBI train here, Lisa then me and now you!
Hey Patricia, hope you have been well.
Thanks Bill. I am. Plus I am busy with new site and Brankica is keeping me on the right track
Patricia Perth Australia
I personally found the best investment I ever made with WordPress was my time. I just rolled up my sleeves and played around – it looks a whole lot more complicated than it really is.