Whenever a new release hits and my dashboard suggests I update WordPress, I have found it’s best to wait on that update. I wait because many of the plugins I use and depend on need time to update too.

Once in a great while I still manage to update a bit early for one or two plugins. If you happen to update too soon, you know it by the error page or blank page you see when trying to access your website. The first couple of times this happened, I panicked. I was unable to access my admin dashboard to even begin disabling the culprit.

I learned a nifty little trick to help with this problem rather quickly and without a great deal of stress.

WordPress Backup & WordPress Automatic Update

The first thing I do is visit my website control panel and conduct a backup. I use c-panel through HostGator.

Once I have my complete backup, I click on the WordPress Automatic Update option at the top of my WordPress dashboard. Within a few seconds, WordPress alerts me that my update is successful. It’s actually a very easy and quick process.

Errors can happen quickly or as in my case, it usually appears broken overnight. So, after conducting and update, I run a quick check of my websites the following morning.

WordPress Error – Page Not Found – WordPress 404 Page

Just like this morning, I went to my blog’s main page to ensure that everything was working properly, and what I found was an error page reading "Not Found" with links to other possible content. For instances where this may happen, you may wish to create a Wordpress 404 page. I’ve written a brief tutorial on how to create a 404 page here.

In many cases, an entirely blank page will be found. By blank, I mean absolutely NOTHING. Some people have referred to this as the “WordPress White Screen of Death“ or the “Blank Screen of Death“ or just “WSOD“. It’s a very scary thing but once you know how to deal with it quickly, it’s not so bad.

After a few minutes of troubleshooting you can correct this issue. I hope this solution works well for you. If it does, please leave a comment and let me and other readers know. There are three things that you can try: plugins, wp-config and wp-settings. While there can be many other reasons, most times you’ll find the issue is related to a plugin.

The first step in my troubleshooting process is Plugins. I’d say it’s been the culprit in 90% of my broken WordPress cases. When it comes to the wp-config and wp-settings, I usually hop over to WordPress Codex and research the fixes to ensure I’m getting the most current code recommendations.

Troubleshooting & Fixing Broken WordPress Plugins

To very quickly determine if it’s a plugin that’s being problematic do the following:

* From within my FTP client (I use Fire FTP) rename “plugins” folder TEMPORARILY to something else. I change my plugins folder to “plugins_temp”. Then I attempt to login. If I’m able to login, I knew there’s an issue with one of my plugins.

* Once you log into WordPress after renaming the plugin folder, WordPress will automatically disable ALL of your plugins as a safety precaution. Because of this, you will need to know which plugins were active. Change the name of your plugin folder back to its original name of “plugins”

* Enable all your plugins at once from within the plugins section of the WordPress admin. All plugins have been automatically disabled because of the step above. You can use “bulk enabling” to accomplish this. WordPress will then enable anything that does not crash it and will disable any plugins that produce “fatal errors.” If any of the plugins are automatically disabled, that will likely be the problem child.

If you have problems with the bulk enabling feature, you can always enable plugins one at a time.

* Once you identify the problem plugin(s), check the plugins website to see if there are updates or tips available for your updated WordPress version. The plugin website is usually linked in the description of the plugin from within your menu. If you find an update, delete the existing plugin from your dashboard and replace with the newer version.

If this doesn’t work, I leave the bad plugin in de-activated status until an update comes available.

Help with WordPress

Short on time and can’t update WordPress yourself? Is your WordPress broken and you can’t figure out how to fix it? I’d be happy to help. I do ask for a $25 “up front fee” paid via Paypal (other arrangements may be considered). With that, I will review your FTP and WordPress accounts.

If I am able to fix the problem, I will let you know and provide an estimate. You can then decide if you would like me to proceed. In many cases, additional fees will run around $25. Depending on the amount of work and time involved, the additional fee could be a bit more. I have never charged more than $150. I’ve never been one to charge astronomical fees, but I can’t support my family on blog loving alone.

Drop me a message through my contact page and I will get back to you promptly. I will be asking for both your FTP login information and WordPress admin credentials. You can easily change those once I have reviewed and fixed the issue.

My assistance is not limited to WordPress error pages – I have assisted with iFrame virus recovery, WordPress reinstallations, scheduled updates, new installations, template changes and more – see a list of my New Media Services. If you have an issue, let me know – if I can’t fix it, I will at least be able to refer you to someone who can.

I do offer free WordPress and Plugin installations for NEW websites as well.

I hope these instructions have helped.

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My Comment Commitment: If you leave an approved comment on any of my posts, I will visit your blog and “share it” in some way whether on StumbleUpon, Twitter or Facebook depending on if I can find a nice fit.

While Maximizing Your Profit Potential

The first question you should ask yourself before writing a post is “How does can this article help me make money online?”.

By purposely placing myself in the shoes of my readers, I can ensure the post is focused on my niche and perhaps prevent straying on the days I struggle most with staying focused..

Focusing on the needs of your reader leads to relevant and SEO-rich content that’s consistent your primary focus. Readers can expect that each post will undoubtedly offer information on short and long term money making opportunities.

If you’re trying to blog for profit, it’s important to make sure that your blog adds value to your readers. You want them to depart with knowledge they can apply to their own lives in some way.

You want to introduce them to a new perspective on your subject matter. You want them to benefit from the time they spent reading your articles.

The best way to accomplish this single goal is to ask the question “How does this help my reader?” before you create any content.

How to Know What Your Readers Want

To produce content that is optimized to meet the expectations and needs of your readers – you will first need to understand or anticipate what those readers want. What is it that interests them and what makes them come back to your blog? What can you offer that is either unique or different from other bloggers?

Developing this strategy is different because it’s based on feedback that’s very different from the traditional advertising strategy. You don’t create needs or wants, but rather, you recognize and fulfill them by providing content that meets those needs.

Ways to Monitor Reader Expectations

Below is a list of fairly easy ways to determine what your readers expect from you and your blog. These methods are easy to implement and by using them, you’ll be able to better plan and create content that meets the needs of your blog community.

Meeting those needs will lead to reader satisfaction, which is key when you are using your blog to promote affiliate products.

Track searches on your blog – A method that lets you know how users perceive your blog. What they search for the most through your blog’s search box should be included as a part of your content.

WordPress bloggers can use the SearchMeter plugin to track searches.

Monitor Comments and Post Views – Consider your posts that have the most comments or have the longest running discussions. Keep a list of the top 10 most commented or viewed posts and continually observe for common factors that may have resulted in their popularity. This is a great way to understand what content engage your readers’ most.

Try Heat maps - Websites like Crazy Egg allow you to understand the parts of your site that attract the most views. This information can be very helpful when you want to promote or test the popularity of specific content or ads. At the moment, I’m testing Heatmap for WordPress – a plugin that claims to do the same as Crazy Egg, but free!

Analyze Trackbacks – Visit websites that reference material on their blog and read their comments. Observe how they reference your blog and which content they found essential. Make note of how they reference your post. The perspective they share could shine light on something you omitted or overlooked in your original post.

Evaluate Search Engine visitors – Observe how visitors land on your site by monitoring the search terms they use. You can use Google’s Webmaster Tools or Feedburner’s Stats. With careful planning and just the right content, you can easily convert these visitors into loyal readers by offering content that compliments their specific searches.

Use a poll – Without doubt, polls are the easiest way to obtain information from your readers. Polls can be useful when you need yes/no answers to specific questions. I have used polls before but personally prefer other methods of reading my readers.

I don’t think it’s necessary for bloggers to write only content that caters to the desires of their readers, it goes without saying that a the success of a blog, especially when building a strong community, depends on it’s readers. By providing your readers with valuable content that appeals to their needs, you can easily accomplish this particular goal.

Mastering the reader’s perspective and understanding how they view your blog will allow you to produce fully optimized content that meets and needs and desires of your blog community.

What are your preferred methods of monitoring your reader?

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My Comment Commitment: If you leave an approved comment on any of my posts, I will visit your blog and “share it” in some way whether on StumbleUpon, Twitter or Facebook depending on if I can find a nice fit.

With a half-gazillion plugins created for WordPress, it’s hard to know what you need, what you don’t – what’s good, what’s not.

Here’s a list of the plugins I currently use – what they do and why I use them.

Akismet – Filters out comment and track-back spam.

Bad Behavior – Prevents spammers from ever delivering their junk, and in many cases, from ever reading your site in the first place.

Breadcrumb NavXT – Adds breadcrumb navigation showing the visitor’s path to their current location.

CommentLuv - Reward your readers by automatically placing a link to their last blog post at the end of their comment. Encourage a community and discover new posts.

DoFollow – The dofollow plugin for WordPress lets you remove the evil nofollow attribute from your comments. Because nofollow will not work.

FD Feedburner Plugin – Redirects the main feed and optionally the comments feed seamlessly and transparently to Feedburner.com.

Featured Content Gallery – Used to create a customizable rotating image gallery anywhere within your WordPress site.

Really Simple Facebook Twitter Share – Puts nice, clean looking Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other share buttons of your choice above or below your posts.

W3 Total Cache – The fastest and most complete WordPress performance plugin. Dramatically improve the speed and user experience of your site.

What Would Seth Godin Do – Displays a custom welcome message to new visitors and another to return visitors. Great way to get new subscribers!

WordPress Stats – Tracks views, post/page views, referrers, and clicks that you can monitor right from your dashboard. Requires a WordPress.com API key.

WP- Contact Form – WP Contact Form is a drop in form for users to contact you. It can be implemented on a page or a post.

Yet Another Related Post – Returns a list of related entries based on a unique algorithm and displays it on your blog and RSS feeds. A template customization feature allows you to control the display.

What’s a WordPress plugin you just could not do without? Know of any that I don’t have listed here?

Comment Policy: If you leave a comment on any of my posts, I will visit your blog and “share it” in some way whether on StumbleUpon, Twitter or Facebook depending on if I can find a nice fit. This is my way of saying thank you!

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My Comment Commitment: If you leave an approved comment on any of my posts, I will visit your blog and “share it” in some way whether on StumbleUpon, Twitter or Facebook depending on if I can find a nice fit.