There is a good chance if you land on my post that you have been trying to setup your Google Apps for Work account with your primary domain but ran into the “red letter notification of death”. That notification warning says, “That address is currently used by a personal Google Account. Use a different address for your organizational account.”. [Read more…]
How to Backup Email Moving to New Hosting (Gmail – POP3)
Setting up Gmail to check and/or backup email using POP3 when moving to new hosting is a viable option that most sometimes overlook. If you are currently using Google Apps, Outlook365, or another email hosting company, this may not apply to you but wouldn’t you agree backing up your email is important just in case something happens? Using Gmail’s options under Settings > Accounts and Import > “Check mail from other accounts (using POP3)” will give you a way to do this. This article will address a simple way of getting that setup and how to do that.
TIP: The best method if you have a current cPanel account is to go to your Dashboard > Backups > and then backup your entire cPanel account. Most new hosting companies can take your “cPanel profile” backup and import it which could save you a lot of setup time besides moving/pointing domains. [Read more…]
How to upgrade PHP 5.2 to PHP 5.5 in WordPress – 1and1
[Video] One of the most visited articles I've written on my site has been “How to upgrade from PHP4.0 to PHP5.0 in WordPress using 1and1.com hosting“. I wanted to give you a quick update since things seem to change quite a bit over time online. Keeping your PHP version up to date is critical to many popular web applications we run such as WordPress and WordPress Plugins.
1and1 has continued to update their user interface/control panel. So below is a quick way to manually update your php version for all your websites especially for WordPress. Sometimes you just need a quick visual to give you confidence in getting it accomplished.
I have been using PHP version 5.2 (I know… please forgive me) on this server for a few years or more. I decided I better get that updated to version 5.5 which is the recommended PHP version out at this time. Shoot, you can even go to PHP 5.6 but keep in mind that most WordPress plugins and other softwares you may be using… could be behind a bit. It is always a good reminder to make sure you check your software on what the current recommended PHP version is before any changes.
Some hosting companies automatically update this and others give you a bit more power. [Read more…]
How To SetUp Branded Domain Name With ZOHO Email (Alternative to Google Apps & Outlook.com)
[Video & Screenshots] I've found that many are still searching for alternatives on how to use your branded domain for email. The giants in the game like Google Apps are no longer offering a free account (some still have a grandfathered account) and also Outlook.com (domain live manager) ended that party last summer. ZOHO Mail has been the quite little engine in the background that stuck to it's core competencies offering a suite of products to individuals and small businesses a like. Their free account is free of Ads and offers 10 inboxes (5gb ea) and the ability to tie in other programs like their CRM, Calendar, and Password Storage – Vault.
ZOHO email is pretty easy to set up and I've done this for a handful of people when they are looking for more products and flexibility than using their hosts email servers. One could argue that mixing your hosting and email together is a recipe for issues down the road because if one goes out… they both do. Not like that has ever happened to anyone I knew before…. hrmmm.
I have a quick video on how to set up ZOHO. Due to time, I wont' be able to step you through each registrar out there but will try to give you a few screenshots to help. I'll use for my video Hostgator / cPanel which is a common “look” amongst most hosting/registrar companies. The concept is the same no matter what company you have.
How To Set UP ZOHO Mail Video
I recommend to watch the video first and then back fill with any information below. 🙂
How To Know What File Type To Use JPG, PNG, GIF
[Inforgraphic below] Ever wonder what file type would be perfect for your project? If you're like me then you like to have a little cheat sheet to keep a fresh reminder of which file types like JEPG, PNG, or GIF you should be using whether it is for online or offline uses. Every project is different. How to know what file type to use is something that some take for granted and may not put a lot of thought into…. as if life wasn't cumbersome enough??? ha
Who Is Hosting This provided a nice infographic that I wanted to pass along and share. All credit should go to them but I see it as a valuable resource and a good post that I feel my readers would entertain and gain knowledge from. There is always a consistent battle of what file type to use to make sure when you are compressing an image that you won't loose too much of the quality of your image.
File size is equally important for your own server and certainly keeping the overall size of your email marketing email down to appropriate levels.
When to Use JPG
Use JPG for still images, real-world images, complex coloring, shading of light and dark. Consider using a good compressing tool like JPG Mini or CompressJPG.com to reduce the file size to save space on your server.
When to Use PNG
Use PNG for things like web images such as logos that involve transparency and fading, images in the middle of editing process, and complex images like photographs if file size isn't an issue. You can still crunch and condense a PNG file just like JPG so keep that in mind.
When to Use GIF
Use GIF for web images with few colors, small icons (favicons), animations, and simple images. Nice thing here is compression won't loss quality.
Source: WhoIsHostingThis.com
How to Setup MySQL Workbench Database for WordPress on Windows Server
Setting up a MySQL database while installing WordPress on their host has came a long ways compared to even 5 years ago. Most people experience an easy way to use cPanel, Fantastico, or Simple Scripts which provide a push button approach of installing and doing the heavy lifting for you such as your Wordpress files on your domain and creating the database. Ideally this post is for someone that is fairly new but has some experience with setting up WordPress.
Recently I came across the need to do it manually. Now, most hosting companies allow you to create an individual database manually and off to the races you are. Typically that entails a pretty control panel to make your life easier. On this current project, they were using what I refer to as a raw server. There is no easy control panel to quickly eliminate several steps to create a database for your new WordPress website. It was a Dedicated Windows Server.
This is where MySQL Workbench comes into play.
The goal I was accomplishing was to set up a WordPress blog within an existing site. That site was built on Bootstrap and was NOT currently using WordPress as it's “engine”. Essentially, a static website.
How to Get Started with MySQL Workbench For WordPress Database
If your dedicated or virtual private server does not already have MySQL Workbench installed, head on over to get it downloaded: Go HERE. This assumes it isn't already installed. I won't be going over on how to install it but the prompts are fairly straight forward to get things set up. Your default username will always be “root”. I recommend choosing a complex and strong password if you choose to leave your username the same.
Step 1: Assuming you have Workbench ready to roll…. open the program. You will come to the “home” screen where you should see something similar to this. Now, my screenshot here is showing you a couple “tiles' but that is only because I've created a few.
Step 2: You will want to select the “+” sign next to “MySQL Connections” at the top left hand side (main screen). Just give that ol' plus sign a click and up pops a window over your screen as shown below.
- Name: Enter a “Connection Name”. It can be whatever your heart desires.
- Connection Method: It defaults to “Standard (TCP/IP). I would just leave it alone. You have the option to change that though. It depends on a few other variables.
- Hostname: Will be auto populated by default (write that down!!!!)
- Port: Auto populated as well. (As Van Wilder said, “Write that down.”)
- Username: If you have chosen it to be “root”… it will be sitting there for you.
- Password: I would go ahead for good measure and click on “Store in Vault”. A new box will pop up. Enter your password and hit save. If all is well… you'll be aware.
- Default Schema: I would say just leave blank for now because we will cover that shortly below.
Test Connection button: Click this and it will tell you if you are good. Generally you will be fine but worth doing.
Hit “OK” button to finish.
Overall, you don't really have to touch much here to move on in the process. I am sure you are relieved at this point.
Step 3: You are back on the “Home” screen. Next you will select your Connection “Insert what you called it here” box. In my example, I called it “test”.
Step 4: A new type of window has now popped up for you to look at. This area is where you could write a Query by selecting multiple databases or “Schemas” to pull data up to export, view, or correct. No worries, you won't have to mess with that during this process. 🙂
- Lower left hand side, you will see a box menu called “SCHEMAS”.
- You will see some existing ones that Workbench includes to give you some ideas.
- Right below it, right click your mouse and a box will pop up.
- Select “New Schema”.
Step 5: Give your new Schema a name and hit “Apply” to move on. Make sure you pay close attention on the instructions on the right on the nomenclature. They want alpha-numeric. Spaces should be avoided and use the “_” (underscore) to separate. I would avoid calling it “wordpress” or “wp”. You could go with something like “mycoolblog_2014111”. Just mix it up some.
Remember what Van said? Yes, right this name down!
Step 6: After you hit “Apply” from the last step, you will receive another pop up box. Nothing has to be down here except hit “Apply” button again. This is creating the basic framework for the database set up. It is creating this by a “Script”.
Step 7: You will see another screen after the above action and simply just hit “Finish”. The pop up will close and you are a step closer to greatness.
Step 8: Looking back at the “SCHEMA” section on the lower left… I called mine “new_schema” but don't be so cool like me and use a better name like something in Step 5.
Completing Manual WordPress Installation
This part is assuming you have unzipped the zip file from WordPress.com and have moved the unzipped folders and files to your folder where you want them. You have a few fields here to fill out.
- Database Name: This was Step 5 above. Enter your name exactly.
- Username: If you have left name as “root”, then this is what you use.
- Password: Input your crafty mile long password you created once you installed MySQL Workbench in the beginning if you had to. Otherwise, you will know it. If not… you will have to go back and create a new user assigned to this database (SCHEMA). Creating Username & Privileges
- Database Host: For our example here… you will need to remember what you wrote down from Step 2. WordPress will default it to “localhost” but that usually is left like that if you are on a managed server. It is an IP address along with the port. You will conjoin the two by a semicolon. It probably will look like this: 100.0.0.10:3309
- Table Prefix: I would just leave as “wp_”.
Hit Submit button. Carry on completing the next steps for your WordPress websites. When you move on after entering your database information…. WordPress will do the heavy lifting in creating the “tables” and such needed inside of the database. That is a question a lot of people don't understand or realize. ******You may be prompted to create a “wp-config.php” file after inputting all your DB info. WordPress comes with a “sample config file” (found in root folder of installation) that you can open up and input these above credentials in if need be. After you do that, just simply rename that file to “wp-config.php” and move forward.
Final Thoughts on Your WordPress Database in MySQL Workbench
I sincerely hope this has helped you in some way. The above steps helped accomplish my task. If you were like me, you probably searched through a lot of pages to find something close to accomplish this. You should experience a working WordPress blog with minimal issues. Of course, a lot of outside variables come into play but this should get you on the right track.
How To Find SMTP Server Address GoDaddy For Outgoing Gmail (alternative)
This is a follow up post about how to use your domain to send and receive email using gmail. In this article I am going to share with you an alternative way to send your branded email address from Gmail when Godaddy doesn't give you an actual inbox. With domain only purchases they do not anymore give you an actual inbox (ability to send and receive using Godaddy outgoing smtp email server: smtp.secureserver.net. I will show you two alternatives to achieve sending email using your freshly created branded email address such as “[email protected]”.
Recently I've been receiving a few emails asking me on why they may not be able to send outgoing email from gmail like my original post described. It seemed that I should look into it a bit more to see if I can offer anymore value to everyone that comes by my blog. Since Godaddy stopped giving you inboxes, they are only providing you “forward” only email addresses. So that means you can create an email address like “[email protected]” and tell it to forward to “[email protected]”. So cool… you'll get the email in your inbox when someone sends to that but you will not be able to send/ reply back using that email address.
How To SMTP Server Options
Problem: Need to send email but don't want to pay Godaddy for an inbox via your Gmail account (or you don't want hosting/ cpanel with them).
Solution: SendGrid.com & Mailjet.com (both offer free accounts)
Tip: If you have cpanel / hosting with your company… you should have the ability to set up your email inbox accounts. Example in Hostgator… you set up the inbox but you also go to the “Forwarders” section and tell that email to forward a copy to your free gmail account. Following my previous posts directions, you should be golden. [Read more…]