Challenge #1 - Are you gonna type all that into WordPress? Nope. This article demonstrated a method for a batch import of data from a spreadsheet to create all of the posts. Beware however that you need a different timestamp for each post or paging and post ordering break down.

Challenge #2 – So many pictures! Photoshop provides great functionality for batch processing of images for the web. Then, WordPress’s flash uploader does us the favor of creating thumbnails. I thought I might be pushing the limits of the flash uploader, but it passed with flying colors.

Challenge #3 - How do we keep track of these kids once they’re in WordPress? Luckily, each child is assigned an ID# which became our key variable in the custom template creation. A single post template called up the post, the image and dynamically populated a response form field for easy organization and identification when a visitor to the site wanted to support an orphan.

Redirect to a PayPal payment option list and voilà! Check out the site to see the acrobatics in action and consider making a donation to the orphans.

My favorite ‘no duh’ fix that probably wasn’t a ‘no duh’ to implement is the ability to have multiple copies of widgets. This is especially useful when creating multiple page templates utilizing different sidebars. Previously, if you had used your Latest Posts widget on Sidebar 1, tough luck on Sidebar 2!

Also, if you haven’t played with ‘Screen Options’ in the upper right since it was implemented in 2.7, try it out now with new improvements. I try to set new WP users up with a more simplified screen as soon as they log in for the first time to keep them from getting distracted by all of the possibilities WP offers.

So, way to go WP folks! And if you are looking for your site to be upgraded, I am also offering a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) package that includes two hours of tweaking to get you better search results to generate more traffic to your site.

Step One: Use Wordpress to power your website. Leverage the blog feature to maintain current content to keep visitors interested in your site or at least create the illusion of activity.

Step Two: Install the Twitter Tools plugin. Give the plugin your Twitter account details and choose your settings. I prefer the plugin to create tweets with a link back to my blog. You can also publish your Twitter feed on your site or create digest blog posts from your Twitter activity.

Step Three: Login in to your Facebook account and install the Twitter application to republish your Twitter feed to your Facebook status update.

Congratulations. You are now in the loop. Obviously none of this work is my own, but thanks to the talented folks working on those projects you can benefit. I can also set you up a great WordPress powered site with a custom designed theme for your business or non-profit.

Studio3Music is a Kindermusik studio with multiple locations in the Seattle area. We wanted people looking for Kindermusikt to find Studio3. I referenced this article about SEO in wordpress and made the following changes to achieve #2 google ranking. Note that this is second only to Kindermusik International themselves!

Changed permalinks structure

Added appropriate meta descriptions and keywords in head

Added an invisible bit of text on the front page to describe the site and be more searchable by search engines

Added appropriate heading tags to denote important content titles

You may be saying, “No duh, that’s just common sense web design.” Or you may saying, “I have no clue what you are talking about, but #2 sounds good to me.” Either way, it goes to show that a website powered by WordPress can be a powerful tool to catch your audience online.

I should also note that these rankings are also influenced by Studio3′s prolific blogging and dedicated client base who provide backlinks, etc.