https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnxfzeUMYq0

In this talk, Jennifer Bourn of Bourn Creative, breaks down the process she uses to plan and create content for the Bourn Creative blog.

She shows you how to create content that attracts clients, and how to use your internal processes to create content that can then be used on your blog so that you’re not constantly having to reinvent the wheel.

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Think it’s the lack of advanced techniques that’s been holding you back?

Think your blog isn’t finding readers because you don’t have the coolest plugins?

Or that your sales page doesn’t convert because you couldn’t afford the 1,999 Secrets of Ninja Marketing Masters product that got released last month?

Think the secret to successful marketing and running a profitable online business is some piece of Jedi mastery that you would need to study for years to learn?

It’s none of the above.

The problem has to do with getting back to basics.

Fortunately, Copyblogger has done all the work for you and written this handy guide.

Warning: Work Ahead

Implementing the steps in this guide is going to take a lot of work at first.

either it’s going to take a lot of work because you’re new at this and it all seems foreign, or it’s going to take a lot of work because you’ll have to spend time unlearning everything you’ve picked up over the years from all the “systems” you’ve spent tons of cash on.

No matter which angle you’re coming from, this is not a get-rich-quick scheme.

But everything in this guide is totally worth the effort.

So go learn, and implement all the things.

This talk, once again from Loopconf, is required watching not only for WordPress developers, but anyone who develops for, or writes content for, the modern web. A responsive web is a responsible web, and also an accessible web. Lastly, and I think most importantly, accessibility is everyone’s responsibility.


While WCAG 2.0 outlines specific requirements for contrast between text and background colors, these can sometimes be difficult to test.

Fortunately, there are some basic tests you can use to identify potential contrast issues.

Print the page without color

I know, noone has just a black and white printer. But printing your page without color is an excellent way to find out how it’s going to look when viewed by someone with color blindness. Alternatively, you can temporarily graysccale your site to get the same result. Just make sure you put everything back when you’re done.

Decrease your screen brightness

A second quick way to test color contrast is to look at your page with your screen brightness decreased. This is particularly helpful on mobile devices.

Take off your glasses

If you wear corrective lenses, taking them out of the picture will give you a quick and easy way to find out how a site’s going to look in regard to color contrast. If the contrast is bad, you’ll be forced to squint to get everything. If it’s good, the site will be easier to read.

Resources for checking color contrast

Finally, here are some resources you can use to either check the contrast of your site’s existing colors or to determine a good color scheme to use when designing your site.

The Color Contrast Spectrum Tester

The Color Contrast Spectrum Tester by Joe Dolson wil let you enter a color’s hex value, and then it will provide a selection of contrast colors that you can use to make sure you’re following the WCAG 1.0 or 2.0 guidelines.

Color Contrast Tester

If you want to simply test whether or not two colors are going to mesh well in regard to color contrast, this color contrast tester will let you do that. It asks for a foreground color and a background color, and tests to make sure they meet WCAG 1.0 or 2.0 color contrast success criteria.

What about color theory?

I think it’s important to note that, while accessibility is extremely important, it doesn’t mean that everything else goes out the window. For instance, if you’re a blind person trying to design a site, you need to make sure that your color scheme meets WCAG guidelines, and, if you or your client are aiming for a particular goal, like readability or sales or email subscribers, good design still matters. If you’re a sighted designer, good color contrast and general web accessibility doesn’t mean that what you create has to be ugly. You can still have functional, pleasing design while keeping it accessible and meeting your client’s goals.

The obverse of an Olympic gold medal from the 1920 Olympic games

One of the most important things we can do for ourselves, either in our business or personal lives, is to create a “yay” file. It doesn’t matter how this file takes shape, but what it contains. Our “yay” files should contain any positive comments from clients or friends or coworkers, summaries of goals we’ve achieved, or anything else that makes us feel good about ourselves.

We need to keep a “yay” file around not so we can enlarge our egos, but for rainy days when it seems like life is spinning out of control, or when things just suck, and especially when things seem to be going horribly for a very long time.

Our “yay” file serves as a pick me up when we’re in the midst of trouble or bad days and we feel like giving up. It’s not meant to solve any problem other than the one we have with ourselves. We’re still responsible for doing what we can in the present to fix the messes we make. But even while we’re fixing the messes, we still can’t fall into the trap of beating ourselves up continuously, even for mistakes or screw-ups we make.

I’m including myself in this advice, which is why I’m saying “we” instead of just “you.” I have a hard time recognizing my accomplishments, and I know I need to remind myself more of them. So to create my “yay” file, I’m going to open up a text file, start copying the positive things I can find from social media and email and all the other places they show up, and make it a point to add some time to my daiy schedule to take a look at the file, because I need to constantly remind myself.

Now it’s your turn. Do you plan on creating a “yay” file, and if so, how will you do it? Is adding time to your schedule to look it over something you’ll consider doing? Let me know in the comments.

And thank you, Curtis McHale, for a totally awesome tip that’s applicable in multiple situations.

Hang around the WordPress community long enough, and you’ll eventually run into a prospective client who needs something you can’t offer. For instance, in my case, if a prospective client is looking just for design work, or graphic design, I know that’s completely outside of my territory and not something I can legitimately offer and call myself honest. But in cases like that, there’s still something I can do to help that prospective client. I can help that prospective client by giving them a referral to someone who’s better suited to handle those tasks.

By giving that referral, I provide value for the client, strengthen my relationships within the community, and create the likelihood that someone else will refer work to me that either they don’t have the time to handle, or don’t have the requisite skills for. Everybody wins.

Whether you’re an implementer, (someone who knows just the right plugin and theme combination to build what your client needs), a developer, or a designer, the referral technique applies. And regardless of where you fit in the WordPress community, it can be a winning strategy for both you and your clients.