If you’re encountering the “Briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance, check back in a minute” error message when accessing your WordPress site, there’s no need to panic. This common issue is usually caused by a failed WordPress update and is relatively easy to resolve.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the process of completing the update manually. We’ll also show you how to take your site out of maintenance mode and remove the error message and ensure your site is back up and running smoothly in no time.

Table of Content:

• What Causes the “Briefly Unavailable for Scheduled Maintenance” Error in WordPress?
• Steps to Solve Briefly Unavailable for Scheduled Maintenance Error
  • Option 1. Manually Update WordPress
  • Option 2. Remove WordPress from Maintenance Mode
    • Delete .maintenance with FTP client
    • Delete .maintenance with cPanel
  • Option 3: Update the wp-activate.php File
  • Option 4: Deactivate all WordPress Plugins
• How to Prevent the WordPress Maintenance Mode Error in the Future
• When You Need to Put Your Site in Maintenance Mode
• Conclusion

What Causes the “Briefly Unavailable for Scheduled Maintenance” Error in WordPress?

When WordPress performs an update, it temporarily places your site in maintenance mode to ensure a smooth and secure process. 

During this period, the “Briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance. check back in a minute.” message is displayed, preventing user access to the WordPress site. This is a built-in safety measure designed to protect your site and maintain a positive user experience by preventing access to a site that is in the process of being updated.

Typically, this message is displayed only for a few seconds. Once the update is completed, WordPress automatically exits maintenance mode, and the message disappears. 

The maintenance mode process involves creating a `.maintenance` file in the root directory of your WordPress installation. This file signals that the site is under maintenance. When the update is finished, WordPress deletes this file, allowing normal site operations to resume.

When everything functions correctly, this brief interruption is not an error but a necessary part of the update process. 

However, issues can arise if the WordPress update does not complete successfully. Common causes of incomplete updates include server timeouts, interruptions in the connection, or conflicts with other plugins or themes.

In such cases, the update script fails to execute completely, meaning the `.maintenance` file is not removed. 

Consequently, your site remains stuck in maintenance mode, and the “Briefly unavailable” message continues to be displayed. This is when the maintenance mode message becomes an error, requiring manual intervention to resolve and restore normal site functionality.

Steps to Solve Briefly Unavailable for Scheduled Maintenance Error

To quickly fix the “Briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance. check back in a minute” WordPress error message, follow these two steps:

• Option 1. Manually Update WordPress Installation: Complete the failed update by updating WordPress manually.
• Option 2. Remove WordPress from Maintenance Mode: Ensure your site is no longer in maintenance mode by removing the maintenance file.
• Option 3: Update the wp-activate.php File
• Option 4: Deactivate all WordPress Plugins

Option 1. Manually Update WordPress – Briefly Unavailable for Scheduled Maintenance in WordPress

Since your WordPress update is likely incomplete, you could run into many more problems if you remove WordPress from maintenance mode without first completing the update.

Follow the steps in this guide to complete your WordPress update: How to Update WordPress Manually.

Option 2. Remove WordPress from Maintenance Mode

WordPress puts your site into maintenance mode by placing a .maintenance file in the main directory containing your WordPress files.

To stop your site from displaying the “briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance” message, all you need to do is delete the maintenance file.

You can do this using either FTP or cPanel.

Delete .maintenance with FTP client – Briefly Unavailable for Scheduled Maintenance in WordPress

To delete this file, connect to your site using FileZilla FTP client program. If you are not sure how to connect with FileZilla, watch this video: How To Use FTP.

When connected to the root folder, open the main folder containing your WordPress files (it could be Public_html folder). In this folder, look for the .maintenance file and delete it.

After deleting the .maintenance file, you would no longer see the error message ‘Briefly Unavailable for Scheduled Maintenance’ and your site should load properly.

Note: If you do not see the .maintenance file, it is likely hidden by your server. To view the file, go to the “Server” menu and click on Force showing hidden files.

Delete .maintenance with cPanel

As an alternative to using FTP, you can delete this file with cPanel. If you often manage your site with cPanel, this may be the easier option for you.

To do this, log into your cPanel account (obtain your details from your WebHost if you do not have them) and click File Manager.

Next, double-click the folder containing your WordPress files to open it. If your WordPress site URL is like www.yoursite.com, then this folder is public_html. Otherwise, try to locate the folder.

When in your main WordPress folder, you may not see your .maintenance file. This is because most servers hide dot configuration files.

To view the file, click Settings on the top-right of the screen, tick “Show Hidden Files (dotfiles)”, and click Save.

Next, locate the .maintenance file, right-click on it, and hit Delete.

In the pop-up confirmation, tick the option to skip trash (if present) and click Confirm.

And that’s it. You have successfully removed your site from maintenance mode using cPanel in order to solve ‘Briefly Unavailable for Scheduled Maintenance’ Error.

Option 3: Update the wp-activate.php File – Briefly Unavailable for Scheduled Maintenance in WordPress

If your WordPress site is still stuck in maintenance mode after following the previous fixes, you may need to update the ‘wp-activate.php’ file. This file is located in your main WordPress directory, the same place where you previously found and deleted the ‘.maintenance’ file.

Using your Hosting Account/FTP Client

First, log in to your hosting account. This is typically done through your hosting provider’s website. Once logged in, locate the file manager app provided by your hosting company. It’s often found in the control panel (such as cPanel or Plesk).

Alternatively, you can use an FTP client (such as FileZilla) to access your website’s files. You will need your FTP credentials (hostname, username, and password) provided by your hosting provider.

Next, navigate to the directory where your WordPress files are stored. This is usually the public_html or www directory.

In the file manager or FTP client, find the `wp-activate.php` file in the main WordPress directory. This is the same directory where you previously found the `.maintenance` file.

Now, you need to open the `wp-activate.php` file. If you are using the file manager, right-click on the `wp-activate.php` file and select the option to edit or open. If you are using an FTP client, download the `wp-activate.php` file to your computer and open it using a text editor (such as Notepad or Sublime Text).

Once the file is open, search for the following line of code within the `wp-activate.php` file:

define('WP_INSTALLING', true);

Change the `true` to `false` so that the line of code looks like this:

define('WP_INSTALLING', false);

After making the change, save the file. If you are using the file manager, simply save the file after making the change. If you are using an FTP client, save the file on your computer and then upload it back to the same directory on your hosting server, overwriting the existing `wp-activate.php` file.

Finally, check your WordPress site to see if it is no longer in maintenance mode. You should now be able to access your site normally.

Option 4: Deactivate all WordPress Plugins – Briefly Unavailable for Scheduled Maintenance in WordPress

If your site encounters issues after a plugin update, you can temporarily deactivate all plugins to resolve the problem.

Connect to your website via FTP and navigate to the wp-content/plugins/ directory. Rename the plugins folder to plugins_deactivated to deactivate all plugins.

This step ensures that any corrupt or problematic plugin is disabled, allowing your site to come back online.

Next, log in to your WordPress dashboard. Once you have access, rename the ‘plugins_deactivated’ folder back to plugins. In the WordPress dashboard, go to the Plugins section and reactivate each plugin one by one.

After activating each plugin, check your site to identify which plugin is causing the issue. Once the problematic plugin is found, manually update it to ensure it functions correctly.

If the issue occurred while updating the WordPress core software, follow our guide on how to safely update WordPress to avoid similar problems in the future. This process will help you maintain a stable and functional website.

How to Prevent the WordPress Maintenance Mode Error in the Future

To prevent the ‘Briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance’ mode error in the future, you can take several proactive steps. Below are some tips to prevent WordPress maintenance mode errors on your website:

Ensure Complete Updates

Ensure you are completing updates properly. It’s advisable to update one thing at a time, such as individual plugins, themes, or the WordPress core, rather than updating everything simultaneously. This approach reduces the risk of conflicts and errors during the update process. Additionally, make sure you have a stable internet connection while performing updates to avoid interruptions that could leave your site in maintenance mode.

Use Reliable Hosting

Using a reliable hosting provider is crucial. Choose a host that offers good server performance and support. Some hosting providers also offer automated backup and restore features, which can be invaluable if an update fails.

Backup Your Site

Regularly backing up your site is essential. Utilize plugins like UpdraftPlus or BackupBuddy to create scheduled backups. Regular backups ensure that you can quickly restore your site if an update does not go as planned.

Increase Server Resources

Increasing server resources can also help. Specifically, increasing the PHP execution time limit in your server settings ensures that larger updates have enough time to complete. Similarly, increasing the PHP memory limit helps handle larger processes more efficiently.

Optimize Plugins and Themes

Optimizing your plugins and themes is another important step. Deactivate and delete any plugins you are not using, as having fewer plugins reduces the chances of conflicts and errors during updates. Additionally, use themes that are well-coded and lightweight to ensure smooth updates.

Manual Update Process

Consider performing manual updates if automatic updates frequently cause issues. You can do this by downloading the latest version of WordPress, plugins, or themes and uploading them via FTP.

Maintenance Mode Plugin

Using a maintenance mode plugin can provide more control over the maintenance mode page and ensure it exits maintenance mode correctly. Additionally, monitoring tools can alert you if your site goes down, allowing you to quickly address any issues that arise during updates.

Test Updates on Staging Site

We recommend testing updates on a staging site before applying them to your live site. A staging environment allows you to identify potential issues in a controlled setting.

Clear Caches

Finally, remember to clear your site’s cache after updates to ensure that old cached files do not interfere with the new updates.

When You Need to Put Your Site in Maintenance Mode

During an update or any other development on your live site, putting your site in maintenance mode prevents user activity, database connections and updates, and any other actions that could ruin your site or ruin user experience.

You can use maintenance mode plugins to activate this message on your site. A good plugin for this purpose is “Maintenance Mode” by Lukas Juhas.

When installed and activated, this plugin shows a maintenance message to users but allows you to access your admin panel as usual.

Better yet, you can customize the message with text, images, and links.

Whenever you are making development changes to your live site or doing any major custom work on your WordPress themes, WordPress plugins, etc., it is a good idea to place your site in this mode.

Conclusion – Briefly Unavailable for Scheduled Maintenance in WordPress

By following the steps in this guide, you can effectively resolve the “Briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance. check back in a minute.” error and get your WordPress site back online. Ensure you complete the update manually before removing the maintenance message to avoid further issues.

It is important to note that this error often occurs due to slow server responses or limitations in server settings. To prevent such errors in the future, consider upgrading to a better web host. For more information, read our Best WordPress Hosting guide.

Additionally, regular backups are crucial for maintaining your site. We recommend using backup plugins to simplify this process. Learn more in our “How To Perform Regular WordPress Backups” guide.

For more WordPress tips and tutorials, visit our WP College blog.

The post How to Fix Briefly Unavailable for Scheduled Maintenance in WordPress appeared first on FixRunner.com.

Learning how to edit footer in WordPress is an essential skill for any DIY WordPress website builder. Usually, after installing WordPress, you’ll find the “Proudly Powered by WordPress” or “Powered by ‘a specific’ theme” footer copyright text on your new site. This text can create the wrong impression about your website. So you’d want to change or remove it.

Thankfully, you can modify the text and make several other modifications to your website footer. You can also add custom text, links, images, and several other widgets to your footer.

We created this tutorial to show you how to edit footer in WordPress in a few steps. Keep reading to learn more.

Table of Contents

• What is WordPress Footer?
• Importance of Having a Footer on Your Website
• How to Remove “Proudly Powered by WordPress” Copyright Text From Footer Content
• How to Modify the WordPress Copyright Text
• How to Edit WordPress Footer Widgets
• How to Add Various Footer Components
  • 1. Modify Footer Layouts (Columns)
  • 2. Add Footer Menu
  • 3. Add Navigational Footer Links
  • 4. Add Social Profiles and Communities
  • 5. Add ‘About Us’ Content
• How to Change Footer Color
• Tip to Make Your Footer Responsive
• Conclusion
• FAQs

What is WordPress Footer?

The footer, as the name suggests, is the section of a website that appears at the foot (bottom) of a website. You can see the footer of your site by scrolling all the way down. It typically contains copyright text like ‘Proudly powered by WordPress,’ as well as menus, navigation links, about us content, images, and more.

Importance of Having a Footer on Your Website

Here are some of the benefits of having a footer section on your site:

• Keyword Placement: Including relevant keywords in footer links can improve SEO by providing context to search engines.
• Internal Linking: Properly structured internal links in the footer improve site navigation and help search engines index pages more efficiently.
• Alt Text for Images: Adding descriptive alt text to footer images aids SEO and makes content accessible to visually impaired users.
• Semantic HTML: Using appropriate HTML tags (e.g., <footer>) helps search engines understand the page structure and boosts accessibility.
• Build Trust: You can use the footer section of your website to incorporate security tags, reliable certificates, great reviews, etc. Customers will view your site as more trustworthy.
• Branding: Your company name, logo, and tagline are best displayed in the website footer. This helps buyers recognize your company’s brand identity.
• Integrate Contact Details: You can embed interactive features like a contact form, location information, contact data, etc., in the footer to create a line of communication with your visitors.
• Contrast and Readability: Ensuring high contrast and readable text in the footer improves accessibility for users with visual impairments, improving overall user experience and engagement.

Now let’s look at how to edit your website’s footer.

How to Remove “Proudly Powered by WordPress” Copyright Text From Footer Content

Before we show you how to remove the proudly powered by WordPress copyright text, we first need to tell you how not to do it. While researching this topic, we saw that people recommend editing CSS and adding a code to remove the footer content. The code they recommend using looks something like this:

.site-info(

display:none;

)

While this code may seem super handy, you should never use it. why? Because it doesn’t remove the text; it only hides it, and secondly, because it might end up hurting your SEO.

Google hates this practice, and using the code can mean your site won’t rank well in the search results. There are other ways to edit your WordPress footer to change or remove the copyright text without hurting your SEO.

How to Modify the WordPress Copyright Text

Almost all WordPress themes will let you modify the footer text of your website. There are multiple ways you can do this, including using the customizer, code, and plugin.

i. Edit Copyright Text With WordPress Customizer

One of the easiest ways to modify the text is to use the WordPress customizer. For this illustration, we’ll use the OceanWP theme. Follow these steps to edit the footer copyright text using the customizer:

First, log into your WordPress admin Dashboard. Then go to Appearance>>Customize

On the customizer, look for the footer section. It’s called the “Footer Bottom” for this theme.

Click on it.

Next, find the field that contains the copyrighted text. Change the text or remove it entirely.

In this example, we will modify it to include FixRunner.

Once done, click on Publish at the top to update the text. Here’s our updated footer text.

ii. Edit Theme Footer Code

Not all themes will allow you to change footer copyright text using the customizer. Thankfully, you can also edit theme files directly to remove footer text.

But before you start editing your WordPress footer, it’s recommended that you create a child theme and a backup. Here’s our guide on how to perform a WordPress backup.

For this example, we are going to edit the WordPress theme called “Twenty Seventeen”. The theme comes with a “Proudly powered by WordPress” footer text but doesn’t have the option to edit the footer text on the customizer.

To change the footer copyright text, you have to modify the code in thetheme file. Depending on your theme, there are two ways to do this;

Method 1: Edit the Footer.php File

One way to change the footer text is to edit the footer.php file. To do this, navigate to the same theme editor; Appearance >> Theme Editor.

Next, click on the Theme Footer (footer.php) file. Then find the code below:

get_template_part( ‘template-parts/footer/site’, ‘info’ );

Replace the code with the one below.

//get_template_part( ‘template-parts/footer/site’, ‘info’ );

echo ‘add text here’;

Replace “add text here” with the new footer text you want.

For example: //get_template_part( ‘template-parts/footer/site’, ‘info’ );

echo ‘Copyright (2024) Fixrunner’;

Then click Update File, and you are done.

And here it is. The footer copyright text has been update.

How to Delete the Footer Copyright Text

If you don’t want the text at all, then just delete the code to remove the entire copyright text.

To remove the text, navigate to the Theme Footer (footer.php) file, then find and delete the code:

//get_template_part( ‘template-parts/footer/site’, ‘info’ );

Then click on Update file

This will remove the footer entirely, as seen below.

Method 2: Edit the Template File

Another way to modify the copyright text is to edit the template file. To do this, first open WordPress admin dashboard, then go to Appearance >> Theme Editor

In Theme Files, go to template-parts >> footer >> site-info.php.

Now you have to find the footer text. If the text is “Powered by WordPress,” do a search for the text by pressing Ctril+F. Typically, if you find the text, you just need to replace it with your preferred text.

For this theme, you can find the code below, which contains the text and link.

<a href=”<?php echo esc_url( __( ‘https://wordpress.org/’, ‘twentyseventeen’ ) ); ?>” class=”imprint”>

<?php

/* translators: %s: WordPress */

printf( __( ‘Proudly powered by %s’, ‘twentyseventeen’ ), ‘WordPress’ );

?>

</a>

Replace ‘https://wordpress.org’ in the code with your url (the url you want to text to redirect to). E.g https://www.fixrunner.com/

Next, divide your custom footer text into two parts. Replace ‘Proudly powered by’ with the beginning part of the text and replace ‘WordPress’ with the ending part of the text.

Note: Ensure all the text remains inside the single quotes.

Once you are done, click Update File.

Here’s how we changed the footer text to ‘Copyright (2024) Fixrunner’

Here’s the outcome:

Deleting the Footer Text

If you don’t want the text at all, then just delete everything in between tags <a and </a> and click Update File. This will remove the entire footer copyright text.

iii. Use a Plugin

There are several plugins that allow you to modify your WordPress footer copyright text. Some of the top plugins include:

• Visual Footer Credit Remover: This plugin allows users to easily remove or edit the footer credit text on their WordPress site without any coding.
• Remove Footer Credit: A straightforward plugin designed to help users modify or delete the footer credit text on their WordPress site with a user-friendly interface.
• Elementor Header & Footer Builder: This plugin enables users to create custom headers and footers using Elementor’s drag-and-drop interface, providing extensive customization options, including editing footer credits.
• Footer Credits: This plugin offers an easy solution for changing the footer credit text on WordPress sites, allowing users to personalize their site’s footer content effortlessly.

All you have to do is install one of these plugins and follow the prompts to modify your footer text using code.

How to Edit WordPress Footer Widgets

Almost all WordPress themes have a footer section that you can edit to add links, menus, images, and other content. There are three ways you can do this.

The easiest way to go about it is to use the WordPress customizer. There is also the option of adding a widget to the footer through the WordPress admin panel. Otherwise, you can use a plugin to edit it.

Method 1. Use a Customizer to Edit the Footer

To edit the footer in WordPress with Customizer, follow these steps:

Go to Appearance >> Customize

When the customizer loads, go to the Footer Widgets section. The footer section differs for each plugin. We are using the OceanWP theme for this example.

Most plugins don’t have a footer section set up by default, especially if its a free theme. So you have to set it up yourself.

To start, ensure the footer feature is turned on.

Set Up Column/ Layout

Next, you have to set up the columns and layouts. Most themes allow you to decide on the number of columns, whether its one, two, three, four, or more.

The column is set to four by default for this theme. This means that you can add four or more widgets to your footer. One or more for each column.

Add Widgets

Once you’ve set the columns, then it’s time to add the widgets. Widgets are the building blocks of the footer.

To add a footer, go to Appearance>>Customize. Then go to the widgets section of the customizer.

This should take you to the area where you can add widgets for different parts of the website, including the footers. To proceed. Click on each footer and add the widgets you want.

For example, if you want to add the “latest posts” widget to Footer 1, just click on the add widget + button and search for the widget. Then add the widget once you find it.

If you scroll downward, you can see a preview of the changes.

You can follow the same steps to add a widget to Footer 2, Footer 3, and Footer 4. You can even add multiple widgets to a single footer column.

Here’s a preview of our footer update with one widget in each column.

Method 2. Adding Widgets Through WordPress Admin Dashboard

Another way to edit the footer is through the WordPress admin panel.

To do this, open the WordPress admin panel, then go to Appearance>>Widgets

Just like with the customizer, you can add one or more widgets to each footer column, from Footer 1, Footer 2, Footer 3, and Footer 4.

To add a widget to a footer column, click on the Add footer + button.

Alternatively, you can also click on Browse all.

Drag and drop the widget from the left side to the desired footer section on the right side.

Add as many widgets as you want to the footer columns. Once you are satisfied with the look of the footer section, click on Update.

Here’s the outcome with one widget for each column.

Method 3. Edit Footer with a Page Editor

WordPress page editors like other page builders like Elementor, Divi, Beaver Builder, and Brizy allow you to edit your footer. These editors breaks up different components of a page, allowing you to add and remove various components.

The “Twenty Twenty Four” theme comes with the WordPress site editor by default. To edit the footer copyright text with the WordPress Editor, navigate to your homepage and click on Site Editor.

Once in the editor, scroll down to the footer. Now you can edit any part of the footer you want.

For instance, you can change the footer copyright text. To do this, click on the text to make it editable. Then delete the old text and enter your new footer text.

You can also change the footer background, delete existing elements, add new ones, etc. To do this, you have to click on the + sign at the top-left side of the screen.

Then drag and drop your desired elements into place.

This article explains how to use the WordPress Block Editor.

Widgets can be a great way to add extra functionality to your footer, but they need regular updates and optimization. WordPress support and maintenance services can help you manage and maintain these widgets, ensuring they stay functional and error-free.

Method 4: Use a plugin

Just like for most things on WordPress, there are plugins that allow you to edit the footer section. Here are some recommended WordPress plugins to edit your plugin.

• Head, Footer and Post Injections: This versatile plugin enables the insertion of scripts and HTML code into the header, footer, and individual posts, offering flexibility for customization.
• Insert Script in Headers and Footers: This plugin lets users add custom scripts to the header and footer sections of their WordPress site for added functionality.
• Scripts To Footer: This plugin moves scripts to the footer, improving page load times by ensuring that scripts are loaded after the main content of the page.
• Head & Footer Code: This plugin provides a simple way to add custom code to the header and footer sections of a WordPress site without editing theme files.
• Elementor Header & Footer Builder: Designed for use with the Elementor page builder, this plugin allows users to create custom headers and footers using Elementor’s drag-and-drop interface.

Edit Footer with the Remove Footer Credit Plugin

To use the Remove Footer Credit, you will first need to install the plugin. Here’s a guide on how to install WordPress plugins.

Once you install the plugin, you will find it under Tools on your WordPress dashboard. Navigate to your dashboard, then go to Tools>>Remove Footer Credit

This will take you to the plugin’s dashboard, where you can enter the HTML code you want to remove in first box and the one you want to add in the lower box.

How to Add Various Footer Components

Here’s how to add various components to your footer:

1. Modify Footer Layouts (Columns)

One of the first things to do when building a footer is to create the layout. The footer section is divided into different columns, whether it is one, two, three, four, or more columns. There are two simple ways you can do this:

i. Use WordPress Customizer:

To set your footer layout, navigate to the Customizer from your dashboard Appearance>>Customize.

Once in the customizer, look for the footer or layout option. These options differ depending on the theme. For the OceanWP theme, you can find the footer column option under Footer Widgets. Set the number of columns and choose the layout you want for your footer.

Some themes like Astra come with a footer builder feature that provides a visual structure to guide you while building your footer.

To set the layout and columns using a footer builder, click on the setting icon, then choose the number of columns you want for each section and the layout for the footer section.

Click Publish to save your changes.

ii. Use a Page Editor

Using a page editor provides more flexibility when setting up your footer layout.

To set your footer layout using the WordPress editor, go to your homepage while logged into WordPress and click on Site Editor

This will take you to the editing interface where you can set the footer layout and add new elements to it.

2. Add Footer Menu

It’s common to add menus to your footer to help with navigation. However, you’ll need to first create the menus before you embed them in the footer. Here’s our guide on how to create a custom menu.

Once your menu is set, the next step is to add them to your footer. You can do that with the customizer or directly from your WordPress dashboard.

To add menus with the customizer, go to Appearance>>Customize>>Menu>>View All Locations.

Select the footer menu category and choose the footer menu you created from the drop-down.

Click Publish once you are done to save the changes.

Alternatively, you can go to Appearance>>Menus, then click on Manage Locations. Click on the drop-down under the footer menu and select the footer menu you created earlier.

3. Add Navigational Footer Links

Adding essential links in the footer can help with navigation. You can add links to pages like About, contact, privacy policies, terms of service, and copyright notices.

To add footer links, you need to add a ‘navigation menu’ or a ‘page list’ widget to your footer.

• The page list widget adds links to all the pages on your site on your footer.
• The navigation menu widget allows you to add a menu with essential links to your footer.

To use the navigation menu widget, you first need to create a menu that contains all the links you want included. Here’s our guide on how to create and manage custom navigation menus in WordPress.

4. Add Social Profiles and Communities

Another component you can add to your footer is your social profiles, like Facebook, Twitter, and others. You can add these social links with a menu, but if you want a stylish look, then you can use the’social icons’ widget.

To add the social icon widget, navigate to the customizer, Appearance>>Customize>>Widgets>>Footer. Click on the plus sign to add a new widget, and search for and add the social icons widget.

Once you add the widget, edit it, and click on the plus (+) sign to add all the social profiles you want. Add the link to each profile to activate it, and then click Publish once done.

You will end up with something like this, which users can click to access your social profiles.

5. Add ‘About Us’ Content

Adding “about us” content to the footer page is another common practice. The About Us content tells users about your website or services.

To add the ‘about content,’ you will need to add text widgets to your footer. Go to Appearance>>Customize>>Widgets>>Footer, and click on the add widget + icon. Now add a ‘Heading’ widget for the about us header, and add a paragraph widget for the about text.

Edit the header and enter your ‘About Us’ content into the paragraph widget.

How to Change Footer Color

Changing the color of your footer is another step you can take to customize your website. You can change your footer from the default color to any color you want using the customizer or with CSS code.

i. Change Footer Color With Customizer

To change the footer color with the WordPress customizer, go to Appearance>>Customizer. Then search for the footer color section.

Now use the color picker to choose the color you want for your footer.

Click Publish to save your changes.

ii. Change Footer Color With Additional CSS

Another way to change the footer color is to use the additional CSS feature. The additional feature allows you to assign properties like color, size, and display to the HTML tags.

To change the footer color using additional CSS, go to Appearance>>Customizer>>Additional CSS, and paste in the code below:

footer {

background-color: #yourcolorcode;

color: #yourtextcolorcode;

Replace ‘yourcolorcode’ with the code for the color you want to use for the footer background. Also replace ‘yourtextcolorcode’ with your desired footer text color.

Click Publish once you are done to save the changes you’ve made. Check your footer section to ensure the color has been updated as desired.

Footer Troubleshooting tips

Here are some tips to troubleshoot common footer issues:

1. Footer Not Displaying:
   • Check Theme Settings to ensure the theme supports a footer section and that it is correctly configured.
   • Confirm footer.php is included in the theme and properly referenced.
2. Styling Issues:
   • Use browser developer tools to identify conflicting or missing CSS styles.
   • Clear browser and plugin caches to see recent changes.
3. Misalignment:
   • Check HTML Structure to ensure proper closing of tags and correct nesting.
   • Apply CSS Flexbox or Grid for better control over footer alignment.
4. Responsive Design Problems:
   • Use CSS media queries to adjust the footer for different screen sizes.
   • Test the footer on multiple devices to ensure it looks good everywhere.
5. Widget Issues:
   • Ensure widgets are correctly placed and configured in the footer widget area.
   • Keep all plugins updated to avoid compatibility issues that may affect the footer.

Tip to Make Your Footer Responsive

• Apply CSS media queries to adjust the footer layout for different screen sizes to ensure optimal display on all devices.
• Utilize percentage-based widths and flexible grid systems to allow the footer to adapt to various screen sizes seamlessly.
• Implement responsive font sizes using relative units like em or rem to maintain readability across devices.
• Use CSS to hide or show specific footer elements based on screen size to ensure a clean and functional design.
• Regularly test the footer on various devices and screen resolutions to ensure consistent and appealing appearance.

Conclusion

We presented you with a few options on how to edit a footer in WordPress. Now you need to go and create an awesome footer for your website. We also highlighted several footer modification plugins you should check out.

Using one of those plugins might save you time, so it’s something worth looking into. Also, if you are in the process of building a website, choosing a theme with good footer options is a good idea.

Also, ensure to check out our guide on how to customize WordPress header. Check out our WP College for more WordPress tutorials. If you have further questions, write them in the comments section below. Have a great day!

More Resources:

• Hide Page Title in WordPress – 4 Easy Methods
• How to Completely Delete WordPress Site
• How to Add Dummy Text to WordPress Sites

FAQs on How to Edit a Footer in WordPress

1. How do I edit a WordPress footer?

There are several ways to edit the WordPress footer. You can use the WordPress Customizer: To do this, go to Appearance>>Customize and find the “Footer” section. Adjust settings as needed. Alternatively, you can edit your footer in the widget section. Go to Appearance > Widgets and add or modify widgets in the footer widget area.

Another option is to edit the theme files. Go to Appearance>>Theme Editor, open footer.php, and make the necessary changes. (Backup files before editing.)

2. Where is the footer menu in WordPress?

Before you set up the footer menu, you must first create a unique menu that incorporates all the relevant links you want in your footer menu. To do this, go to Appearance>>Menus. If there’s no existing footer menu, then create one and add the relevant pages and links you want to it. Now you can assign the menu as your footer menu if your theme has the option. Otherwise, you can add the menu to your footer using a navigation menu widget.

3. How to edit footer in WordPress Astra theme?

The Astra theme comes with a footer builder that allows you to easily setup and modify your footer as you want. To access the builder, go to Appearance>>Customize>>Footer Builder, then use the drag-and-drop interface to customize footer layout, content, and style.

Alternatively, you can edit the Astra footer in the WordPress widget section. Go to Appearance>>Widgets then add the widgets you want to the footer areas.

4. How do I add a background color to my footer?

To change the footer background color, you can use the customizer. To modify footer color with the customizer, go to Appearance>>Customize>>Color>>Footer. Then use the color picker to choose your idea footer color. Alternatively, go to Appearance>>Customize>>Additional CSS, then enter the code below, replacing ‘yourcolorcode’ with the footer background code and ‘yourtextcolorcode’ with your preferred footer text color code.

footer {

background-color: #yourcolorcode;

color: #yourtextcolorcode;

5. How do I fix the footer at the bottom of all pages?

To fix the footer at the bottom of your page, first check your theme settings for options related to footer positioning and adjust accordingly. You can also use plugins like “Sticky Footer” to ensure the footer remains at the bottom. Alternatively, you can add the following CSS to ensure the footer stays at the bottom:
body {

display: flex;

min-height: 100vh;

flex-direction: column;

}

.site-footer {

margin-top: auto;

}

The post How to Edit Footer in WordPress appeared first on FixRunner.com.

Looking to learn how to start a blog? Creating a blog is an exciting adventure – it is a journey to share your story, knowledge, and experience with the world.

However, blogs have several moving parts, and it can get overwhelming to figure it all out. This is why we have created this simplified guide to show you how to start a blog successfully using WordPress. Just keep reading as we explain the various steps to creating a successful WordPress blog.

If you find the process overwhelming or need professional assistance, our team is here to help. Contact us for a free WordPress installation, and we’ll handle the setup for you.

Table of contents

• What a blog is and isn’t?
• Should You Start a Blog?
• What you Need to Start a Blog
• How to build a successful blog in 10 easy steps
  • Step 1: Pick a niche
  • Step 2: Choose a Name for your Blog and Register a Domain Name
  • Step 3: Get a Web Host – How to Start a Successful Blog
  • Step 4: Choose your Blogging Platform
  • Step 5. Install WordPress – How to Start a Blog
  • Step 6: Install a WordPress Theme and Customize it
  • Step 7. How To Customize Your Theme
  • Step 8: Install WordPress Plugins – How to Start a Successful Blog
  • Step 9: Optimize your Blog for Search engines
  • Step 10: Start creating content – How to Start a Successful Blog
  • Step 11: Set up Google Analytics
  • Step 12: Promote and Monetize your Blog
• How to start a Successful blog with no money
• Conclusion – How to Start a Successful Blog

What a Blog Is and Isn’t?

A blog is just like a website – except that blogs are regularly updated with fresh content, while websites are more static in nature.

The content of a blog (known as ‘blog posts’) is usually arranged in descending chronological order – which means new posts appear first. See the screenshot below:

Blog readers can scan through the topics and click to read any topic they want.

Note that your blog content may not appear in ‘grid format’ like it is in the screenshot. The arrangement of your posts depends on your active WordPress theme (more on this later).

Now, a blog could be a part of a website, in the form of a separate page. Like this:

Or it could be an entire site of its own.

Most blogs have a comments section where readers can respond to the write-up. This creates a connection between the blogger and the reader.

Should You Start a Blog?

No doubt, building a successful blog is no child’s play. It takes a lot of time and effort. If you are passionate about blogging and you don’t mind giving it all it takes, go right ahead. Here are some benefits of being a blogger:

• You get to share your ideas with the world.
• Establishes you as an authority.
• Creates a connection between you and the reader.
• You have an opportunity to make money from your blog.
• Refines your writing skills.

What you Need to Start a Blog

It doesn’t take much to start a blog. Basically, all you need is:

• Access to the internet.
• A functional computer device.
• Some money is needed to buy a web hosting service and a domain.

How to Build a Successful Blog in 12 Steps

This is the part you’ve been waiting for! Here are the steps involved in building a blog.

Step 1: Pick a Niche

A niche is a specific subject or field on which a blog is focused. It could be anything from technology, education, business, food, adventure, robots, automobiles, entertainment, fashion, parenting, blogging, etc.

But you may be asking, – why can’t I discuss everything on my blog?

Well, you won’t get into trouble for writing on many random topics. In fact, several bloggers have recorded significant success using the ‘any subject’ approach. However, sticking to one subject will help you build a more dedicated audience.

According to research by GrowthBadger, most bloggers who earn more than $50,000 in a year focus on a specific niche. Lower-income bloggers tend to worry about having a small audience, so they write about anything and everything.

Now, if you focus on ‘Fashion’, you are more likely to become an authority in that field faster than someone who blogs about fashion, food, business, etc.

Also, internet users who love what you do can identify with your blog easily (if you constantly update your blog with great content).

How do you choose a blog niche?

Many brilliant ideas are probably running through your head right now. But answering the following questions will help you choose the one that is perfect for you.

• What topic do you enjoy discussing? Fashion? Then you should consider blogging about fashion.
• What topic do you know more about than many others? Business? You could teach people how to start and manage their businesses via your blog.
• What are your hobbies? Car racing? What if you discuss all you know about cars on your blog?
• What profession have you spent a better part of your life doing? Nursing? Then a health blog will make a lot of sense.

Use this chart to ease things up:

In summary, if you are passionate about it and a group of people need it – blog about it. Blogging about something you love will keep you motivated every time.

Don’t be in a hurry to leave this stage. Take your time. Do some brainstorming. The perfect idea will come.

Step 2: Choose a Name for your Blog and Register a Domain Name

When starting your blog, one thing is indispensable – A domain name. It’s a unique name for your blog.

Here are the factors to consider when naming your blog:

i. Use a descriptive name:

Use a name that emphasizes what your blog is all about. For instance, if your blog is all about food, names that include recipes, meals, kitchen, etc., are great choices.

Using a name that properly describes your blog will give your visitor an idea of what to expect.

On the other hand, you can make your blog a bit more personal, by using your name or a variation of it.

Ii. Keep it as short as possible (3 words at most):

A domain name can contain as many as 63 characters. But having a name that’s so long is pretty awkward. Keep your blog’s name short. The shorter, the better!

iii. Use a name that is easy to remember:

Not everyone uses the ‘Bookmark’ feature on their browsers. Choose a blog domain name that is memorable, easy to spell, and easy to pronounce.

For instance, the word ‘Pochemuchka’ is used to describe someone who asks too many questions. As beautiful as it sounds, it isn’t a good choice for a domain name. It is quite easy for an internet user to misspell such a word.

iv. Avoid numbers:

Using numbers can mislead your site visitors. Think of this – ‘Head2toe.com’ is a lovely domain name. But a user may try to access your site using ‘headtotoe.com’. This is quite confusing. If you can, avoid using numbers.

v. Avoid hyphens:

Hyphens are misleading. In most cases, a web user may type ‘domainname.com’ instead of ‘domain-name.com’. That could cost you a significant number of visitors.

vi. Use an appropriate domain extension:

There are lots of extensions available from .com, .co, .org, .net, .us, .blog, .io, .biz, and so much more.

A survey conducted by GrowthBage on the memorability of domain extensions revealed that .com URLs are 33% more memorable. This is followed by .co, .org, .biz, .us, .net, and .blog, in that order.

If you can’t get a .com extension, feel free to try the others. However, bear in mind that your visitors will find it easy to remember your blog if it has a .com extension.

That said, there are domain extensions to avoid.

Top Level Domains (TLDs) to avoid – How to Start a Blog

According to Spamhaus (a company that fights spam on the internet), there are Top Level Domains with bad reputations. They include:

• .buzz
• .wang
• .top
• .ryukyu
• .work
• .tk
• .rest
• .loan
• .gq
• .live

Using these extensions could affect your site’s traffic.

Check for domain availability

After choosing a domain name, check to see if it’s available. To do this, visit the whois lookup page and search for your chosen name.

If it isn’t available, that’s fine. Think of something different.

Finding a perfect and available name is hard, so take your time, search, and find a good one. Although you can change your domain name later, it is best to select the right name from the beginning.

Side note: To know more about changing your site’s domain, read our beginner’s guide on how to change a domain name in WordPress.

Register your domain name

Domain registrars are companies that let you purchase domain names. Although there are hundreds of domain registrars out there, they offer different services. Some domain registrars are only licensed to sell domain names with specific extensions. Others can sell any domain.

Look out for the following when choosing a domain name registrar:

• Pricing: Don’t be carried away by attractive offers from domain registrars. In many cases, they offer low introductory prices for the first year. But that’s just for the first year. Renewal prices are significantly higher. For instance, some registrars offer $9.99 as an entry fee.

From the second year on, you’ll have to pay $20.17 for renewal. Learn about all the hidden fees before you commit. On average, though, a domain name costs about $12/year.

• Domain Transfer Policies: Domain names can be moved from one registrar to the other. Review a registrar’s transfer policy to know if you will be charged for transferring your blog.
• Expiration Policy: When your domain registration expires, a domain registrar may give you some time to pay up. Some others may simply resell your domain. So, check out a company’s expiration policy first before pitching your tent.

Top domain registrars include:

• Namecheap
• Domain.com
• GoDaddy
• Bluehost
• IONOS
• Hostinger
• Hover
• Dynadot
• DreamHost

Step 3: Get a Web Host—How to Start a Blog

Web hosting gets your blog up and running on the internet. Hosting is like the building that houses your blog online. Without it, your blog remains offline.

There are plenty of web hosts available on the market right now. How do you know which to go for? Every good web host is expected to have the following:

• High Speed: Slow-loading blogs can be a nuisance. 53% of mobile web visitors tend to leave a website/blog if it doesn’t load in 3 seconds. Choose a hosting company that offers good speed. How do you know which hosting company has great speed? Simple! Check the reviews from their previous users.
• Uptime Guarantee: Uptime is the amount of time a website/blog is online. Your blog has to be online most of the time. Generally, 99.9% uptime is the hosting industry standard. 99.9% uptime means your blog may be offline for about 8.64 hours in a year. Downtime could be a result of ongoing maintenance. When shopping for a host, read the Terms of Service to know how much uptime guarantee they offer.
• Support: A good web host is expected to have a group of experts that offer all-day support to customers. It could be through any of these means: live chat, e-mail, or phone.
• Security: Poor security could cost you a lot. Choose a web host that offers good security. Want to know more about WordPress security? Check out this tutorial on WP security.

The next question is, where do you get reliable WordPress hosting?

We have created a list of the best WordPress hosting providers. They include:

• Bluehost
• Dreamhost
• Hostinger
• Namecheap
• Siteground
• A2 hosting
• HostGator

Some companies offer free hosting, but it is often limited. You can check out this guide to see a list of the best free WordPress hosting services. We also compiled a list of the Best cheap WordPress hosting.

AWS (Amazon Web Services) also offers free hosting services. You can check out our guide on how to install and use WordPress on AWS (Amazon Web Services).

Step 4: Choose your Blogging Platform – How to Start a Blog

To start a blog, you need content management software (CMS), and choosing the right one is crucial for your success. As the name suggests, content management software is a web application that makes it easy to create and manage pages and web resources.
There are several content management systems out there, including WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, Ghost, Joomla, and Drupal.

WordPress is undoubtedly the best option for both newbies and experienced bloggers. It provides numerous customization options for your blog, with thousands of themes and plugins at your disposal. Its user-friendly interface makes it easy to manage your blog and content with no technical knowledge.

Managing your blog and publishing content on WordPress requires no technical knowledge. WordPress also comes with strong SEO tools to ensure your blog is search engine optimized from the beginning. It also has a large developer community and a wealth of internet information to provide the answers you need.

Most interestingly, 96% of the top 1 million blogs use WordPress. So you can’t go wrong with a self-hosted WordPress blog (WordPress.org).

Step 5: Install WordPress – How to Start a Blog

Once you’ve decided on WordPress as your ideal CMS, the next step would be to install it. Installing WordPress isn’t such a big deal, especially if your web host offers a one-click WordPress install. You just need to log into your hosting cPanel and install WordPress.
If things don’t go well with this easy method, don’t fret. You can still install WordPress manually. Click the text below to see how to install WordPress manually.

Step 6: Install a WordPress Theme and Customize it

Although your WordPress blog is ready, it will look plain. You need to install a theme to give it the structure you want. The WordPress theme controls how your blog looks and feels.

There are thousands of themes out there, both free and paid, suitable for all niches, from travel to personal finance and technology.

Here’s how to install a theme: How to Start a Blog

Start by logging into your WordPress dashboard. Here’s how:

• Type in “www.yourdomain.com/wp-admin” on your web browser. e.g., “www.fixrunner.com/wp-admin”. This will take you to the WordPress login screen.
• Fill in your username and password and click on Login.

If, for some reason, you can’t access your WP admin area, read our instructional guide on how to fix WordPress login issues.

Once you’ve logged in, look at the tabs on the left-hand side of your screen. Hover your cursor around Appearance and click Themes.

WordPress comes with some themes installed by default. You can simply click on any one of them to activate it. They are absolutely free.

However, if you want more design, click Add New and explore a new world of eye-catching themes.

Choosing a theme can be a big deal. Most of the themes are lovely. Click on a theme’s thumbnail to preview it. You can always change your WordPress theme later on.

You can use the ‘feature filter’’ to make things easier. Click on it and select the features you’d love to have in your theme.

Once you have decided on the theme to use, click ‘install’ right next to it. Once the installation is done, click ‘activate’. And that’s all.

But that’s just one way to install a WordPress theme. Here’s our guide on how to install a WordPress theme In 3 different ways.

If you are looking for a free theme, then you should checkout our list of the best free WordPress themes.

Best Premium WordPress Blog Themes

Apart from these free themes, you can also buy premium themes. Here are some of the top WordPress blog themes:

• Astra
• Writee
• OceanWP
• Poseidon
• Newspaper
• Neve
• Mantra News
• Barletta
• Ashe
• Hemingway

Check out this article on the best 20 WordPress blog themes to see more themes and get detailed information about each of those theme. We’ve also curated the fastest WordPress themes.

Best WordPress Them Provider

Here are the best websites to get premium themes:

• ThemeForest
• CodeCanyon
• Elegant themes
• WooThemes
• MojoThemes
• WPExplorer
• Premiumwp
• TemplateMonster
• StudioPress
• ThemeRoulette
• ThemeGrill
• MyThemeShop
• Theme Fuse, etc.

If you purchase a premium theme or get a theme outside of WordPress, then you have to install the zip file. This guide explains how to install a new WordPress theme.

Most people also stumble upon nulled WordPress themes, but there’s a lot you should consider before you use them.

Step 7. Customize Your Theme: How to Start a Blog

What you have at this point is a freshly installed theme bearing a name that isn’t yours. It’s time to make the theme yours. The level of customization varies for every theme. Here are some steps you can take:

1. Import theme demo content (if applicable):

Some themes come with demo content to help you set up your site quickly. If your theme has a demo, then you should first import the demo.

Follow the theme’s documentation to import the demo content.

2. Set up menus:

Create new menus and assign them to the theme’s menu locations (e.g., primary menu, footer menu). To create menus, go to Appearance >> Menus. Here’s a guide on how to create a custom menu on WordPress.

3. Customize widgets:

Add, remove, or rearrange widgets in the available widget areas. Go to Appearance >> Widgets to manage widgets. Here’s our guide on how to create custom widgets.

4. Set up the homepage and blog page:

You can make your homepage static or a blog. If you choose blog, your homepage will be updated whenever you post a new blog. Go to Settings >> Reading to set up your homepage.

5. Customize your blog’s appearance

WordPress has a theme customizer that allows you to modify various aspects of your blog. To access the WordPress Customizer, go to Appearance >> Customize.

This will take you to a customizer like this. We used the Astra theme for this illustration. However, most themes have similar customization options.

Below are some of the top customization you can make with a customizer.

• Header Builder: This feature allows you to customize how your header looks. You can add different elements to the header, from buttons to menus and widgets. Here’s our guide on how to customize WordPress Header.
• Global: this section allows you to modify the topography (font size, weight, etc), colors, buttons, etc.
• Site Identity: Change your site title tagline and upload a logo.
• Colors: Modify the primary colors of your site.
• Header and Background Image: Set a custom header and background image.
• Menus: Create and manage navigation menus.
• Widgets: Add and arrange widgets in your sidebar or other widget areas.
• Homepage Settings: Choose what displays on your homepage (latest posts or a static page).
• Additional CSS: If you need further customization, you can add custom CSS. Go to Appearance >> Customize >> Additional CSS and enter your custom CSS code.

Once you’re satisfied with the customizations, click the Publish button in the WordPress Customizer. If your customizer isn’t coming up, then you should check out this guide on 7 easy ways to fix a WordPress customizer that isn’t working.

6. Use WordPress drag and drop:

Drag and drop is a simple way to customize your WordPress blog by clicking and holding an element, then moving it to a desired location. To customize your WordPress blog using drag and drop, you need to install a drag-and-drop page builder plugin like Elementor or WPBakery or use the WordPress Gutenberg editor.

These builders allow you to select your desired elements (text, images, buttons, etc.) from the builder’s sidebar and drag them into place on your page. You can then rearrange elements by dragging them to new positions.

Here’s our guide to the best drag-and-drop WordPress theme builder.

Step 8: Install WordPress Plugins – How to Start a successful Blog

WordPress plugins improve the functionality of a WordPress site. Plugins make it easy to add more functionalities to your website. What makes WordPress awesome is that there are plugins for most features you want to add to your blog.

Here are some plugins you may need for your blog:

WordPress Security Plugin:

Implementing robust security measures is essential to protecting your blog from brute force attacks and other WordPress vulnerabilities. This includes installing security plugins and using practices like regular backups and strong passwords. Additionally, optimizing performance enhances the user experience and protects against potential security vulnerabilities.

Here’s our recommended list of WordPress security plugins:

• iThemes security plugins
• Jetpack
• WordFence
• MalCare
• Sucuri
• All-in-One WP Security & Firewall

Other WP security tips:

Here are other tips to keep your WordPress website safe.

• Ensure all passwords are complex, combining uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and special characters to reduce the risk of brute-force attacks.
• Regularly update WordPress core, themes, and plugins to patch security vulnerabilities and improve overall security.
• Implement two-factor authentication (2FA) to add an extra layer of security, requiring a second form of verification beyond just a password.
• Install an SSL certificate to encrypt data between your site and its visitors, ensuring secure connections and improving trust.
• Restrict the number of login attempts to prevent brute-force attacks by using plugins like Limit Login Attempts Reloaded.
• Schedule regular backups of your site to ensure you can quickly restore it in case of a security breach or data loss.
• Avoid using “admin” as the default username to make it harder for hackers to guess login credentials.
• Keep track of user actions on your site using activity log plugins to detect any unauthorized or suspicious behavior promptly.

Here’s our guide on how to secure your website.

WordPress Backup:

Every WordPress blog needs a backup. You need to perform regular WordPress backups to ensure you can recover your data in case of any issues. If, by any chance, your blog crashes, you can restore your files quite easily when backed up. Here’s a list of the top 6 best WordPress backup plugins to protect your database and files.

WordPress Contact Form plugin:

Creating a relationship with your readers is vital to building a successful blog. Use a WordPress contact form plugin to add forms to your blog. To learn more, read this guide on the best contact form plugins.

Tips to consider before installing a plugin:

• Download plugins from the WordPress Plugin directory or from any trustworthy plugin developer. Stay away from plugins from questionable sources. To verify the quality of a plugin, check its reviews and ratings.
• Download plugins that won’t conflict with your WordPress version.
• Too many plugins can reduce your site’s speed. They occupy valuable space and bandwidth.
• Install updates regularly.

Top WordPress Plugins to Consider

Here’s a list of WordPress plugins you should consider for your blog:

• Yoast SEO – Optimizes your site for search engines.
• Akismet Anti-Spam – Filters out spam comments and protects your site from malicious content.
• Jetpack – Offers a suite of features, including site stats, security services, and performance improvements.
• WP Super Cache – Generates static HTML files to speed up your site.
• Elementor – A drag-and-drop page builder that makes it easy to create custom layouts.
• UpdraftPlus – Provides backup and restore functionality to keep your site safe.
• Contact Form 7 – Allows you to create contact forms easily with a drag-and-drop interface.
• MonsterInsights – Connects your site with Google Analytics to track visitor data.
• Smush – Compresses and optimizes images to improve site speed.
• Wordfence Security – Protects your site from security threats and malicious attacks.
• Redirection – Manages 301 redirects and keeps track of 404 errors.
• Broken Link Checker – Scans your site for broken links and helps you fix them.
• Social Warfare – Adds social sharing buttons to your posts and pages.
• W3 Total Cache – Improves site performance by caching files and optimizing delivery.
• MailChimp for WordPress – Integrates your site with MailChimp to grow your email list.
• Google XML Sitemaps – Creates a sitemap to help search engines index your site.
• WP Rocket – A premium caching plugin that enhances site speed and performance.

Step 9: Optimize Your Blog for Search Engines

If you hope to have lots of readers someday, don’t skip this step. There are about 152 million blogs on the internet. To stay afloat and visible, you need to optimize your blog for search engines.

Fortunately, WordPress makes this process amazingly easy. To get started, install and activate a WordPress plugin. We’ve done several analyses to find the best WordPress SEO plugin, including a comparison between All In One SEO vs. Yoast and Rank Math vs. Yoast SEO.

Here are the top WordPres SEO plugins out there:

• Yoast SEO
• Rank Math
• SEOPress
• All-in-one SEO
• The SEO Framework
• W3 Total Cache
• Squirrly SEO

Ultimately, we found Yoast to be one of the best and most popular SEO plugins. You can learn more about Yoast in the article on how to use Yoast SEO.

First, you need to install Yoast on your blog. To do this, go to Plugins >> Add New page and search for Yoast SEO.

It’s most likely to be the first plugin to appear in your search results. Click Install and activate it.

At this point, Yoast SEO is fully activated on your blog. There are two ways of accessing your settings – the ‘SEO’ menu in the sidebar and the ‘Yoast’ icon on top of your dashboard.

Also, when creating a page or post, a section with SEO tools appears below the editor to help you optimize your content for search. You should use this section for each piece of content you create.

Here are the steps to optimize your blog posts with Yoast:

• Set a Focus Keyword: Choose a primary keyword or phrase for your post. Ensure it accurately represents the content and is included in the key areas like the title, headings, and text.
• Improve SEO Title: Craft an engaging SEO title that includes the focus keyword. Ensure the title is within the recommended length, and encourage users to click on the post
• Optimize Meta Description: Write a compelling meta description with the focus keyword to attract clicks from search engine results and summarize the post’s content.
• Use Internal Linking: Add internal links to other relevant posts or pages on your site to improve navigation and boost SEO through better link equity distribution.
• Add Alt Text to Images: Add descriptive alt text with the focus keyword for all images to improve accessibility and help search engines understand the image content.
• Check Readability: Use Yoast’s readability analysis, which suggests improvements like shorter sentences and paragraphs to make your content easier to read.
• Use Outbound Links: Include outbound links to authoritative sources to provide additional value to readers and improve your post’s credibility.
• Optimize for Social Sharing: Configure social sharing options by setting custom titles, descriptions, and images for Facebook and Twitter to improve your post’s appearance when shared on social media.
• Check Keyword Density: Review the keyword density to ensure the focus keyword is used appropriately throughout the content without keyword stuffing.
• Set Canonical URLs: Define canonical URLs to prevent duplicate content issues by indicating the preferred version of a page to search engines.

Before you proceed, ensure to check out this guide on five SEO tips for WordPress that you should know.

Step 10: Start Creating Content – How to Start a Blog

Here is the part you’ve been waiting for—to start sharing your ideas with the world.

Content is everything when it comes to blogging. When you create the right content, your audience will love you, and so will search engines like Google.

The first step to creating blog content is to undertake keyword research. This allows you to know what to write about. You also need to research your competitors to see what they are writing about.

You can aggregate everything about your content writing and publishing into a content plan. The content plan will highlight how often you will update your blog. Whether daily, once a week, or twice weekly.

It should also contain the ideal blog post length. A blog post needs to contain a minimum of 300 words to do well in search engine rankings. However, longer posts (1000 words and more) perform better and are more likely to be shared on social media by readers.

You can write many articles as inspiration comes and schedule them to be posted in the future. To schedule a post, log into the WordPress dashboard. Paste your blog post into the editor, customize it, and click on Schedule Posts on the right side of the screen.

Creating a content plan

Here are some steps to create a content strategy:

• Identify your target audience: Careful planning and a strong content strategy are essential for the success of any blog. Start by determining who your target audience is and getting to know their needs, interests, and challenges. This information will help you create content that is both relevant to and helpful to them.
• Keyword research: Use tools like Ahrefs or Google Keyword Planner to find keywords that people in your audience are searching for. Naturally, include these keywords in your content to improve your blog’s organic traffic and search engine rankings.
• Competitive analysis: Analyze popular blogs in your industry to learn what makes them successful. Take note of their posting schedule, types of content, and engagement strategies. Use this insight to improve your plan.
• Create a content calendar. Plan your posts in advance, balancing various topics and formats to keep your audience engaged. Include evergreen content that remains relevant over time and timely posts that address current trends or news in your niche.

Step 11: Set up Google Analytics

Integrating Google Analytics into your blog allows you to track important metrics such as traffic, user behavior, and engagement. GA allows you to analyze the performance of your content and can provide you with insight into the performance of your blog, including the following:

• How many people have visited your site?
• Which pages are popular?
• What kind of content do your visitors prefer?
• Your current blog speed.
• Where do your visitors live?
• What time do they visit?
• How your visitors got to your site, etc.
• How long your visitors stayed on your site, and more.

How to set up Google Analytics

Setting up Google Analytics on your site is pretty simple. There are three major steps involved in the process:

• Set up a Google Analytics account.
• Copy your tracking code.
• Paste it into the code of any page you want to track.

To learn more about this, check out our guide on how to add Google Analytics to your WordPress site. And if you are still using Universal Analytics, this guide explains how to safely switch to Google Analytics 4 in WordPress.

Step 12: Promote and Monetize your Blog

To effectively start a blog and ensure its success, promoting your content is just as crucial as creating it. Here are some key strategies to enhance visibility and engagement:

• Write guest posts on popular blogs within your niche to drive high-quality traffic to your site and increase your blog’s visibility.
• Connect with other bloggers in your niche through comments, social media, and guest posting. Collaborate on projects, share each other’s content, and participate in blogging communities to increase your blog’s exposure.
• Share your blog posts across various social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
• Build an email list and send regular newsletters featuring your latest blog posts. Offer incentives such as free resources or exclusive content to encourage sign-ups.
• Register on platforms like Medium, LinkedIn Pulse, and industry-specific websites to republish your blog content.
• Optimize your in-site search to make it easier for people to search for their desired topic on your blog.

Monetization

Now, to the monetization aspect:. There are a couple of ways to make money by blogging. They include:

• Affiliate Marketing: Join affiliate marketing programs like Amazon Associates or ShareASale and promote products or services to earn a commission for each sale made through your referral links. to get started.
• Advertisements: Display ads on your blog through networks like Google AdSense. Earn revenue based on the number of impressions or clicks the ads receive.
• Physical items. Selling physical products on your blog lets you leverage your audience to generate sales, whether through a dedicated online store or affiliate partnerships.
• Sponsored Content: Partner with brands to create content that promotes their products or services. This can include blog posts, reviews, or social media promotions, for which you get paid.
• Digital products: Create and sell your own digital products like eBooks, online courses, or merchandise. Use plugins like WooCommerce to set up an online store on your blog.

Before we conclude, it is important to highlight the legal considerations you should know when creating a blog.

Legal considerations:

When starting a blog, it’s crucial to address legal considerations to ensure compliance and protect yourself and your readers. Here are some factors to consider:

• Copyright: Copyright laws dictate that you should only use content that you have the right to use, whether it’s images, text, or other media.
• Privacy: Privacy policies are essential to inform visitors how their personal information is collected, used, and protected on your site. Additionally, having clear terms of service outlines the rules and guidelines for visitors interacting with your blog.

How to Start a Blog With No Money

The steps we described above are for the self-hosted WordPress version, which would cost you some money (hosting, custom domain name, theme, etc.). If you want to build your blog without spending money, there is a way out. WordPress.com allows you to create blogs at no cost (note that we do not recommend this for professional, or even serious blogging).

Follow these steps:

Head over to www.wordress.com and click Get Started.

Create an account by filling in your email address, preferred username, and password in the provided spaces. Click Create Account.

Next, confirm your WordPress account. To do this, open the email you receive from WordPress.com. And click Confirm Now.

Choose a domain. WordPress offers you a list of available domain names related to your preferred name. Each with varying prices. Since we are interested in starting a blog that takes no money, you should go for ‘domain.wordpress.com’. They are absolutely free.

Next, select Start with a free site.

Choose a blog design. Select a theme that meets your needs and install it.

Write and publish your first blog post.

Truth be told, using a self-hosted blog is a better option. A blog that ends with ‘WordPress.com’ isn’t always a good option. However, if you just want to get a feel for what blogging is about before making any financial commitment, you may try it.

Conclusion – How to Start a Blog

You have just learned how to start a successful blog. What next?

The secret to having a profitable blog lies in one word: CONSISTENCY. Keep dishing out great content and your dream blog is only a while away.

You may experience some technical issues as time goes on, don’t worry. That’s why we are here – to support you on this journey. To start with, go through our WP college for more WordPress tutorials.

You can also get a free report on your site’s performance, security, and SEO delivered to your email in 60 seconds.

Starting a blog is a fulfilling endeavor that combines creativity with technical know-how. By following these steps and prioritizing security measures—including being prepared for tasks like WordPress hack repair—you set the foundation for a successful and enduring online presence.

More Resources:

• Speed Up WordPress Website
• WordPress Malware Cleanup Services
• WordPress Support

The post How to Start a Blog – Easy Step by Step Guide appeared first on FixRunner.com.

Contact Form 7 is one of WordPress’s most popular plugins for creating and managing forms. The plugin helps over 5 million WordPress website owners collect valuable data and stay in touch with their visitors.

One feature that makes Contact Form 7 stand out from all other form plugins for WordPress is its remarkable simplicity. You can easily set up the form fields and customize the templates, even if you are a newbie.

This article will explain how you can create forms with Contact Form 7.

Table of Contents

• Installing Contact Form 7 on WordPress
• How to Create a Form With Contact Form 7
• How to Create Your Form from Scratch
  • Step 1. Form Tab
  • Step 2: Set Up Mail
  • Step 3. Set Up Messages
  • Step 4: Additional Settings
• How to Insert Your Form
• How to Add Conditional Fields to Your Form
• 8 Extensions To Improve the Functionality Of Contact Form 7
• Other Important CF7 Options
• How to Improve Engagement and Optimize the Performance of Your CF7 Forms
• Troubleshooting Common Contact Form 7 Issues
• Conclusion

Installing Contact Form 7 on WordPress

If you are just starting, this video explains how to install and configure Contact Form 7.

Steps to Install Contact Form 7

The first step to using Contact Form 7 is to install the plugin on your website. To do this, go to Plugins >> Add New.

Next, search for “Contact Form 7” using the search function.

When you find the plugin, click on the Install Now button to install it.

Once you’ve installed the plugin, click to Activate it.

With Contact Form 7 installed and activated, you are now ready to start creating your forms. But first, let’s look at the plugin’s major features that make it stand out.

Installing Contact Form 7 is simple, but managing the plugin over time requires regular updates to maintain compatibility with your theme and other plugins. Our WordPress site maintenance services offer the peace of mind that your contact form and other critical plugins are regularly maintained.

How to Create a Form with Contact Form 7

To create your very first form with Contact Form 7, navigate to your WordPress dashboard and go to Contact >> Contact Forms.

Using the Default Form

CF7 comes with a default contact form named “Contact Form 1.” If you don’t have the time to create a new contact form and want something quick, you can go with this default form.

It contains all the basic fields you want for a contact form.

To use the form, copy the generated shortcode and paste it to the page/post you want the form to appear in.

How to Create Your Form from Scratch

To create your custom form, go to Contact >> Add New

This will take you to the “Add New Contact Form” page where you can create forms, synchronize your mail, format your message body, and more.

To create a form, start by entering the title/name of the form in the title field.

Let’s say you want to create a form for customers to inquire about a product or service. Here are the steps to follow:

Step 1. Form Tab

To get started, click on the “Form” tab (if it isn’t already selected). The tab allows you to set the fields for your form.

Configure Existing Form Fields

By default, Contact Form 7 typically comes with some basic fields like name, email, subject, message, and submission button tags/fields.

You need to decide which of these fields you want in your form. If you don’t want any of these fields, delete them. You can also modify the existing fields. You can change the name of the field and its label.

For instance, you can change the call-to-action message in the submit button from “Submit” to “Send”.

Insert New Form Tags

Let’s say these default fields are not enough, you can add new tags to the form.

For instance, if you want to collect the phone numbers of anyone who submits the form, you just need to add a tel field. To do that, place your cursor where you want the field to appear and click on the tel button.

Doing this will launch a popup box where you can customize your field.

First, check the “field type” box to make the field ‘Required’. A required field must be filled for the form submission to work. If users don’t fill in the required field, they won’t be able to submit the form. The “required” status of a field is indicated by an asterisk (*).

In the Name field, set a name for the newly created form field. This is the name that you will use to identify the field. Feel free to use what suits you best. In this example (image above), we used telephone-number.

The default value box is where you can set the value that the form field should have. This value appears by default in the field, but the user can imut in a new value.

If you are an advanced user, you can set an ID attribute or class attribute.

Click the Insert tag button once done.

Next, like other fields, you will need to wrap a label tag around this new Tel field.

And with that, we have added a telephone field. Follow the same steps to add other custom fields like a dropdown menu, date, radio, etc.

Step 2: Set Up Mail

Now that you have created the form, the next step is to get it to function exactly as it should, starting with the Mail tab, which allows you to set where emails regarding your forms are sent.

Here are the various fields in the Mail tab and how you can best fill them out.

To: (recipient) – This is where you enter the email where you want messages about your contact form sent. The email is sent to the site administrator’s email by default.

From: (sender) – This field contains the details of the person who sent a message from your WordPress site. You can change the email manually or type in the tag [your-email] to automatically use your email as the sender.

Other fields: To retrieve the subject field, insert the subject tag – “[your-subject]” – into it.

You can leave the Additional Headers and Message Body sections just the way they are or add text and other tags as needed. With that, you are done with the mail section.

Step 3. Set Up Messages

For a better user experience, you will want your form to display a message when a user completes an action. For example, you may want to show confirmation to inform users that their form has been successfully submitted. Similarly, you want error messages to appear when they make mistakes.

The Messages tab allows you to set up these notifications.

The default values will suffice. But you can always change them to what you want.

But be sure to click the Save button after making any necessary changes.

Step 4: Additional Settings

The additional Settings tab allows you to add code snippets to customize your forms further. For example, you can add the snippet subscribers_only: true if you want only subscribers to be able to fill out and submit the form.

And that is it. You have successfully created your form. Next, let’s look at how to insert your form using shortcodes.

How to Insert Your Form

To access the form you have just created, go to Contact >> Contact Forms. Then copy the generated shortcode for your contact form.

Now, locate the page you want the form to appear and open it for editing. Paste the shortcode where you want the form to appear.

Hit Preview Changes to see how the form would display.

If all looks fine, go on and click Update to publish your contact form. Also remember to run tests on the form to ensure it is working and send email alerts as required.

How to Add Conditional Fields to Your Form

Conditional fields are fields that only appear based on a WordPress user response.

For example, let’s say you wish to know how a user found out about your website. You can list out several options like emails, online ads, referrals, and ‘others’ in your form.

If a user chooses “others”, a field would typically appear that says “please specify.” It won’t appear if a user chooses a different option. This is an example of a conditional field. Here’s how you can add conditional fields to your CF7 forms.

Step 1. Install and Set Up Conditional Fields for Contact Form 7

To add conditional logic to your forms, you will need to first install and activate the Conditional fields for Contact Form 7 plugin. This plugin allows you to create a group of fields that do not appear until a set condition is true.

Step 2. Add Drop-down Menu

Once you install and activate the plugin, a new Conditional fields tab will be added.

To add a conditional field, you first need to decide which fields you want to add.

In this example, we want to create an option that allows users to specify where they found the website.

To get started, click on the drop-down menu tag to add a dropdown field.

In the dialog that pops up, add a name for the drop-down tag. There should be no spaces in the name. Next, enter the various options you want to show into the “Options” input box as shown below.

Then click Insert Tag.

Once the tag is inserted, add a label as shown below.

Step 3. Add Conditional Field

Next, add a Conditional Field Group field. Enter a name for the group and click Insert Tag.

An opening and closing pair of group tags will be added to the editor.

Anything in between the opening and closing group tags will only be shown when “Other” for your form. And this brings us to the next step.

Step 4. Insert Tags in the Group

Place your cursor in between the opening and closing group tags and click to add the text tag. This is the text box that will be displayed when someone makes the “Others” selection.

In the dialog box that opens, enter a name for the text input, and click Insert Tag.

Again, wrap the text field in a label as shown below.

Now save the form.

Step 5. Add Conditional Logic

With that done, you can finally set the conditions so that when a user selects “Others”, the field within the conditional group will be displayed.

To do this, switch to the “Conditional fields” tab and click add new conditional rule.

Click the Show option and select the group you created earlier. Choose the field you created earlier for the if option.

So the structure will look something like this: Show [show-when-other-selected] if [find-out-about-us] equals [Others]

Once you are done, click on the Save button.

And that’s it. You’ve added conditional fields to your form. You can use the shortcodes to display your form anywhere on your site.

Extensions To Improve the Functionality Of Contact Form 7

Contact Form 7 can do a whole lot more than just collect messages and sender details. However, for this to happen, you will need to install a couple of form extensions to enhance its functionality.

Below are the top Contact Form 7 plugins to add more functionality to your website.

1. Really Simple CAPTCHA

Really Simple CAPTCHA is an innovative solution developed to keep spammers and spambots in check. Without them, your inbox would be run over by a ton of spam emails.

Developed by the same author as Contact form 7, this plugin is very simple to use, hence its name.

2. Drop Uploader for CF7

What if you wanted users to submit file attachments while sending a message via your contact form? Maybe you put a vacancy post, and would like applicants to send their resume along with the applications.

Unfortunately, CF7 has no file uploads feature. The only way to make this happen is via an add-on. Drop Uploader for CF7, a premium addon, can get the job done.

One of the very cool features of this plugin is that it lets you determine where files are stored when users submit their messages. You have the option of using Dropbox or your Google Drive.

3. Ultimate Addons for Contact Form 7

Ultimate Addons For Contact Form 7 is a must-have plugin that supplements Contact Form 7. It has over 30 critical features like Mailchimp, Conditional Fields, Redirection, WooCommerce, Multi Step Forms, and more. This plugin will greatly improve the functioning of your website’s forms generated using Contact Form 7.

4. Drag and Drop Multiple File Upload – Contact Form 7

Drag and Drop Multiple File Uploader is a simple, straightforward WordPress plugin extension for Contact Form7, which allows the user to upload multiple files using the drag-and-drop feature or the common browse-file of your webform.

5. Multi Step for Contact Form 7

Multi Step for Contact Form 7 turns long and boring CF7 form fields into exciting multi-steps forms. Assume you have a form with 20+ fields. This can put off your viewers and make them stop the process halfway. With the Multi Step for Contact Form 7, you can transform your lengthy contact form into a multi-step form.

The plugin would allow you to break the form into several easy to fill-out pages to make the process easier for your users.

6. Contact Form 7 Database Addon – CFDB7

Do you want to save or even export your Contact Form 7 data? The CFDB7 plugin can help you achieve this. The plugin saves Contact Form 7 submissions in your WordPress database and allows you to export the data as a CSV file.

Once you install the plugin, it will automatically start capturing form submissions from Contact Form 7 and save the submission data to the database.

7. Redirection for Contact Form 7

Oftentimes you want to redirect users to a different webpage after they fill out your forms. Redirection for Contact Form 7 allows you to do that.

8. Contact Form 7 – PayPal & Stripe Add-on

Contact Form 7 – PayPal & Stripe Add-on allows you to integrate PayPal and Stripe payment to your CF& forms. The plugin allows you to add and configure the payment structure for each form. So when a user clicks on the submit button, they are redirected to either the PayPal or Stripe payment pages where they can make payments for your product or services.

Other Important CF7 Options

In this section, we will cover a few common how-tos and settings you would use often in Contact Form 7.

How to Link CF7 to MailChimp

Mailchimp is a popular marketing tool that can be integrated with Contact form 7. If you have a Mailchimp account and would like to integrate it with CF7, first install and activate Contact Form 7 Mailchimp Extension.

With the plugin installed and activated, head over to your Mailchimp account and copy your API key.

Then go back to WordPress admin area. Navigate to Contact >> Contact forms, and select a form. Click on ChimpMatic Lite tab, and paste your API key.

Finally, click on the blue connect button, and you are all set.

How to Improve Engagement and Optimize the Performance of Your CF7 Forms

When creating forms, it’s important to make them easy to understand and fill-out. You also want the form to be visible to more people. Here are some steps you can take to improve your form’s engagement and optimize its performance.

Steps to improve CF7 engagement:

• Evaluate the need for each field and reduce the number of fields to only include what’s necessary. Having too many fields can lower engagement.
• Use a compelling Call To Action (CTA) that conveys the benefits of completing the form. E.g: “Request a Quote” or “Get Started.”
• Position contact forms strategically on high-traffic pages and use sticky headers for persistent visibilities as users scroll.
• Offer incentives or access to premium to entice users to complete forms.
• Include social proofs like testimonials and clients logos to improve trusts.

Steps to improve CF7 Performance:

• Test different forms setup, placements and CTA to identify the one that performs best.
• Implement caching to improve the form’s response time.
• Only set validation rules when necessary and use simpler rules to ensure data accuracy.
• Minify and Load CF7’s JavaScript and CSS files to lower their impact on page load times.
• Regularly update WordPress and CF7 to maximize performance, fix bugs and improve security.
• Choose themes and plugins that don’t clash with Contact Form 7.
• Use tools like Google Pagespeed Insight or GTmetrix to identify and fix performance issues.

Troubleshooting Common Contact Form 7 Issues

Here are some common issues that arise when using Contact Form 7 and how you can solve it.

1. People are not filling out specific information you want

If you want specific information like phone number, emails or names filled out on your form, then you should make that field mandatory. To do that, simply add * to that field to require users to fill out that field before being able to submit their form.

2. My emails end up in the spam section:

Emails sent using Contact Form 7 may be rejected during the sending and receiving process and wind up in the spam folder for various reasons. Email servers all around the world have the option to just reject your message as malicious, and this often occurs because of the content of the email or the email address.

For instance, if your website is located at www.fixrunner.com, you should enter an email address such as yourname@fixrunner.com in the Mail tab’s From: box. If not, many mail receiving systems will reject the CF7 email as spam, or it will not send correctly on some hosting systems.

3. Email is not delivered due to hosting

Depending on your hosting provider, you may need to make changes to your WordPress installation to be able to send email. Read your hosting documentation or get in touch with them to find out about their email setup.

If your hosting provider does not allow both wp_mail() and the regular PHP mail() method, you may need to use an SMTP to send emails on your site.

4. JavaScript Conflicts in Plugins/Themes

Contact Form 7, just like most WordPress plugins, sometimes conflicts with other themes or plugins. One typical sign of a JavaScript conflict between a plugin and theme in CF7 forms is a spinning arrow that keeps spinning after the form is submitted.

This usually means that there is a JavaScript issue with another JavaScript that is loaded on that page, which is preventing Contact Form 7’s JavaScript from finishing. You will need to find out the plugin causing the problem.

Deactivate all your plugins except Contact Form 7, and reactivate them one after the other to know which one conflicts with the plugin.

5. Securing Your Forms/Preventing spam

To secure your Contact Form 7, start by adding Google reCAPTCHA to stop bots. You can do this with any of the reCAPTCHA plugins we mentioned earlier. Also consider activating email validation to ensure only valid emails are submitted. Regularly update Contact Form 7 and WordPress to patch vulnerabilities, monitor your form for suspicious activity and update accordingly.

Conclusion

As a website owner, you need a way to listen to the requests of your clients and visitors. The easiest way to achieve this is by setting up contact forms on your site.

Contact Form 7 is a plugin solution you can count on. Not only is it effective, but it’s also free. So you don’t have to worry about making an upfront financial commitment before using the plugin.

But if you are skeptical about using CF7 form, there are other alternatives to Contact Form 7 solutions you can try. Examples are WP forms, Gravity forms, Ninja forms, and Formidable Forms. For more tips and tricks in WordPress, visit our WP College.

More Resources:

• Typeform WordPress (How to use Typeform with WordPress)
• MailChimp for WordPress
• WordPress Popup Plugin

The post Contact Form 7- How to Install, Setup, and Use appeared first on FixRunner.com.

With version 3.8 WordPress introduced Dashicons, the WP admin icon font set. The WordPress Dashicons are a set of over 300 font icons included in the WordPress core. Just like any other font icon, each font icon set contains symbols instead of letters and numbers.

These icons are high-quality SVG files, meaning they will scale to any size without any pixelization. Although these icons were added for Dashboard menu items, there is nothing stopping you from using them elsewhere. So you can use them for custom plugins, themes, admin panels, and front-end theme design.

To start using WordPress Dashicons, you have to do two things. First, enable Dashicons for the theme you are using. Then go to WordPress.org and find HTML or CSS code for the icon you plan to use. Yes, it’s that simple. So let’s go over how to do this in more detail.

Contents:

• Enabling Dashicons on the WP Front-end
• How to get Dashicons HTML and CSS code
• Display Dashicons directly in Posts and Pages
• Customizing Dashicons
• How to use WP Dashicons for Navigation Menu
• Using Dashicons on the Backend
• Embed Menu in a Custom Post Type using a Plugin
• How to create a Shortcode
• Conclusion

Enabling Dashicons on the WP Front-end

Before you start using dashicons, you’ll have to enable them for the theme you are using. This is done by adding a small snippet of code to functions.php file. To do this, follow these steps:

• First, in the WordPress Admin Dashboard, go to Appearance/Theme File Editor.
• Then open functions.php file.
• Next, scroll to the end of functions.php and add this code:

add_action( 'wp_enqueue_scripts', 'load_dashicons_front_end' );
function load_dashicons_front_end() {
wp_enqueue_style( 'dashicons' );
}

We recommend creating a child theme before you edit functions.php. If you edit the theme file directly and later on there is a theme update, then the update will override changes you made to functions.php. For this reason, it’s always better to have a child theme.

How to get Dashicons HTML and CSS Code

WordPress.org provides a dashicons library where you can find HTML and CSS code for every icon. Once you are on WordPress.org, look for Developer Resources: Dashicons or click on this link. Then follow these steps:

1. First, click on any icon that you like.
2. Then click on Copy HTML or Copy CSS depending on what you need.
3. A popup window with code will appear. Copy this code to the clipboard by pressing CTRL + C.

With Dashicons enabled and code copied to clipboard, all you need to decide is where to use Dashicons icons on your wp dashboard. For example, You can use them for post meta things like date, category, tag, or author. Also, maybe menu navigation or custom post types on the backend.

Display Dashicons Directly in Posts and Pages

If you want to add icons to posts or pages, this is easy. To do this, just add this code in the text editor:

<h2 class="dashicons-before dashicons-smiley">A Cheerful Headline</h2>

Or alternatively, you can use this code:

<h2><span class="dashicons dashicons-smiley"></span> A Cheerful Headline</h2>

Then once you save your post and reload the page you should see the smiley icon.

Customizing Dashicons

In 2020, the Dashicons project stopped accepting new icon requests. As a result, you can only create a new icon by modifying one using CSS. Like a text, Dashicons can be styled by changing their size and color using standard CSS properties.

To change the size and color of an icon, you only need to place a code snippet in your site’s style.css file. Head on to Appearance >> Theme File Editor. Next, click on style.css. Paste the code at the bottom of the file:

.dashicons-{icon-name} { 
font-size: 50px; 
width: 50px; 
height: 50px; 
color: blue;
}

How to use WP Dashicons for Navigation Menu

The more useful example of using WordPress Dashicons is for the navigation menu. To add icons in menus follow these steps:

1. First, in the WordPress Dashboard go to Appearance/Menus.
2. Then add the HTML code of the menu icon you got from WordPress.org to the Navigation Label.

As you can see, adding an icon to a navigation menu is also simple. In case you need to display text next to the icon, just add text at the end of the Navigation Label field.

If everything worked correctly you will see the icon displayed on your home page navigation menu.

Using Dashicons on the Backend

In case you want to use different icons for custom post types, post titles, or widgets, this is even easier. There is no need to change functions.php file since this is on the backend of WordPress. So you can skip the first step we did. To make custom post type with custom icon, follow these steps:

• • Go to WordPress Dashboard Appearance/Theme Editor.
  • Next, open functions.php file.
  • Then to register custom post type, add this code at end of the file:

function create_posttype() {

    register_post_type( 'movies',

       array(

            'labels' => array(

            'name' => __( 'Movies' ),

            'singular_name' => __( 'Movie' )

            ),

            'public' => true,

            'menu_icon' => 'dashicons-format-video',

            'has_archive' => true,

            'rewrite' => array('slug' => 'movies'),

       )

    );

}

add_action( 'init', 'create_posttype' );

When making your own post types you will want to change code for each post type. So for example to change the post type icons you need to change ‘menu_icon’ => ‘dashicons-format-video’ part of code. In case you don’t want to mess with code you can use the Custom Post Type UI plugin. However, just note that if you deactivate the plugin, you won’t have access to the custom post type you made with that plugin.

Embed Menu Icon in a Custom Post Type Using a Plugin

Using a plugin simplifies the whole process. So if you do not want to take the coding route, this is for you. For this tutorial, we will be using the Custom Post Type UI plugin.

To begin, go to Plugins >> Add New Plugin page on your WordPress dashboard. On the search field, type in the Custom post type plugin. Next, install and activate the plugin.

Upon activation, a menu item ‘CPT UI’ will appear in your admin menu.

Click on the Add/Edit Post Types, then, open the Edit Post Types tab. From the drop-down menu, select the custom post type you wish to modify.

Next, scroll down to the Menu Icon section. If you select the Choose dashicons button, you will get a box with different icons.

Simply pick an icon that fits the custom post type you created.

On the other hand, if you have an image you wish to use, click the Choose image icon button. This will allow you to import the image from WordPress media library.

Once you are done, scroll down and click the Save Post Type button to register your changes. The new icon should appear next to your custom post type.

How to Create a Shortcode

To make Dashicons easier to use for your clients, you can make shortcodes for Dashicons. To do this simply add this code to function.php file:

add_shortcode( 'dashicon', function( $atts ) {

    $atts = shortcode_atts( array(

        'icon' => 'menu',

    ), $atts, 'bartag' );

    if ( ! empty( $atts[ 'icon' ] ) ) {

        return '<span class="dashicons dashicons-' . esc_attr( $atts[ 'icon' ] ) . '"></span>';

    }

} );

Then, you can use shortcode like this one:

[dashicon icon=”format-video”]

Conclusion

In case you need some icons for a WordPress website, Dashicons are a good choice. But if you are doing backend WordPress development, you can keep the look of your WordPress Dashboard consistent by using the same font icon set as WordPress does.

If you are happy with Dashicons but you are missing some icon, you can request for more icons. The icon request process is done on github.com/WordPress. Also, if you want to add your icon to the Dashicons library, that is also possible through the GitHub page.

The dashicons icon set is somewhat limited and there are larger icon fonts out there. So if you need a bigger set of icons, we recommend Font Awesome. They offer a large selection of free icons. But if you need more icons, they offer more if you upgrade to the PRO version.

For more WordPress tutorials check the rest of our blog out here. If you have further questions write them in the comment section below. Have a great day!

Dashicons are a great tool for adding visual appeal to your WordPress site, but ongoing care is essential to ensure they work correctly over time. With WordPress maintenance plans, you’ll receive the support and updates needed to keep all your site features, including Dashicons, running smoothly.

More Resources:

• • How to Fix ‘sorry you are not allowed to access this page’ Error in WordPress
  • How to Enable Twitter Cards on a WordPress Site
  • How to Fix Error 521 with WordPress and Cloudflare

The post What are Dashicons and How to Use Them in WordPress appeared first on FixRunner.com.

When it comes to Search Engine Optimization, there are things to do to improve your site’s ranking. Adding a WordPress meta description is one of those things.

Meta descriptions are short descriptions of a page or post.

When users make a Google search, they will see your meta description on the search result page along with your meta title, and post URL. The meta description tells readers what the page is about.

In this article, you will learn everything there is to know about WordPress meta description. We will look at how they affect your SEO and how you can create the ideal WordPress meta description.

Most importantly, you will get to learn how to add/optimize meta descriptions using Yoast SEO plugin and manually.

Table of Content

• Why are WordPress Meta Descriptions and Keywords Important?
  • Examples of Effective Meta Descriptions
• Are Metatags Considered as Ranking Factors?
  • Statistics that Show the Importance of Meta Description for Search Engine Ranking
  • How Meta Description Impact SEO and Click-through Rate
  • Meta Description Vs. Other SEO ranking Factors
• What Makes a Good WordPress Meta Description?
• How to Add Meta Description in WordPress
  • How to Add Meta Description with Yoast SEO Plugin
  • How To Add WordPress Meta Description Manually without Plugin
• Advanced SEO Tips for Meta Descriptions
• Conclusion – WordPress meta description

Why are WordPress Meta Descriptions and Keywords Important?

When you publish a WordPress post, your ultimate goal, most likely, is to get as many eyes as possible on it. Unfortunately, the quality of your post content – no matter how good – won’t be enough to realize this goal. Considering the short attention span of the average web user, you need to hook them in quickly.

That’s where WordPress meta descriptions come into play.

Meta descriptions are HTML metatags, with a maximum length of 155 characters, added to the header section of your WordPress site. They tell a searcher if your content is worth spending time on or if they just have to move on.

A well-written meta description acts as the hook you need to get clicks to your pages and posts. And the more clicks your page and posts get, the higher your CTR (Click Through Rate).

But that’s not all meta descriptions do. They also inform search engine crawlers about the relevance of the page to help determine which content best fits the needs of a searcher.

To better understand the concept of meta-descriptions, consider the image below. The meta description is the text directly above the URL that shows a summary of the content of the post.

Another important thing to consider is meta-keywords. A meta keyword is the keyword(s) you use in the WordPress meta description. For example, in this screenshot below, the bolded text is the meta keyword, while the entire text beneath the URL is the meta description.

Getting your descriptions and meta keywords right from the get-go will go a long way in improving your website’s visibility on search pages. Below are some examples of meta descriptions.

Examples of Effective Meta Descriptions

Here are examples of meta descriptions for various use cases. You can use any of these as a template to create your meta descriptions.

Meta Description for E-commerce Product Page:

“Discover the new iPhone 15 Pro Max with cutting-edge features and stunning design. Capture breathtaking photos, and stay connected with fast 5G. Order now!”

Meta Description for Blog Post:

“Master the secrets of Instagram marketing with our detailed guide. Learn proven strategies, tips, and tricks to grow your following, and drive conversions.”

Meta Description for Service Page:

“Transform your home with our professional interior design services. Our team of experts can bring your vision to life. Schedule your consultation today!”

Meta Description for Local Business:

“Indulge in tasty Italian cuisine at our neighborhood trattoria. We offer a taste of Italy right in your backyard. Join us for a lovely dining experience!”

Are Metatags Considered as Ranking Factors?

From our discussion so far, you might have assumed that a well-optimized custom WordPress meta description will be used by search engines to rank your content. Sadly, it won’t.

Google, as well as other search engines, officially dropped meta keywords and descriptions as ranking factors sometime in 2009.

The question about the relevance of meta description for search ranking was also posed to John Mueller, a Senior Webmaster Trends Analyst, and Search Relations team lead at Google.

He was specifically asked whether “adding the location name in the meta description matters to Google in terms of ranking if the content quality is maintained?”

In responding, John Mueller said “The meta description is primarily used as a snippet in the search results page. And that’s not something that we would use for ranking. But obviously, having a good snippet on a search results page can make it more interesting for people to visit your page when they see your page ranking in the search results.”

What this means is that depending on metatags alone won’t lead to good SEO results for your WordPress site.

However, WordPress meta descriptions can still help your SEO indirectly. As stated previously, having good meta descriptions affects how users interact with your site. When you add the keywords users want to see in the article, they are more likely to click on your page and view your content. This will increase your Click Through Rate (CTR).

And Google uses CTR to rank pages. So in this way, meta description does affect your site ranking indirectly, even if Google does not use it as a factor.

Here are some statistics that highlight the importance of meta descriptions for SEO:

• Implementing meta descriptions can improve a website’s click-through rate (CTR) by up to 15% and boost search rankings by up to 10% according to Search Engine Journal.
• According to a study by Backlinko, pages with meta descriptions have a 5.8% higher CTR compared to those without meta descriptions.
• Using keyword-rich meta descriptions can boost a website’s search rankings by up to 5%.
• Research found that including a strong call-to-action in meta descriptions can drive an 8.6% increase in click-through rates.
• Adding relevant keywords in meta descriptions can result in a 4.8% increase in click-through rates.
• 74.98% of top-ranking pages have a meta description.
• Research found that nearly 70% of all search queries contain four or more words. This shows the importance of descriptive meta descriptions for capturing long-tail keywords and improving search engine visibility.
• Google has confirmed that meta descriptions are used as snippets in search results when they are relevant to the user’s query. So having an optimized meta description increases the likelihood of your page being displayed prominently in search results.
• In 2018, Google’s John Mueller recommended on Twitter to write your meta description, saying, “You know your content best.”

How Meta Description Impact SEO and Click-through Rate

Meta descriptions help search engines understand the content of web pages. If you include the right keywords in your meta descriptions, it will inform search engine crawlers about the relevance of your content to specific search queries and ensure that your site appears in relevant searches.

Similarly, creating meta descriptions that perfectly summarize the content of a webpage allows searchers to understand the content of a page before clicking through.

As mentioned above, users are more likely to click on your website if they find your meta descriptions compelling and relevant to their search intent.

Search engines interpret these clicks and longer stay times as a positive signal of user satisfaction, and can indirectly boost your rankings. So as more people click on your site on searches, you will gain prominence and subsequently rise in searches.

Meta Description Vs. Other SEO ranking Factors

As mentioned previously, meta descriptions play an indirect role in SEO. Here’s how meta description compares against other SEO elements

1. Meta Description vs. Title Tag:

The title tag focuses on keywords and grabbing attention while the meta description complements it by providing additional context and enticing users to click with a compelling call-to-action (CTA).

Example:

• Title Tag: “Best Running Shoes for Men | Top Brands 2024”
• Meta Description: “Discover the latest trends in men’s running shoes from top brands like Nike, Adidas, and New Balance. Find the perfect pair for your runs today!”

2. Meta Descriptions vs. Keywords:

Keywords are essential for signaling relevance to search engines. The meta description complements this by incorporating relevant keywords naturally into a compelling summary that appeals to users’ interests and needs.

Example:

• Keywords: “vegan restaurants Los Angeles,” “organic dining options,” “plant-based eateries”
• Meta Description: “Looking for vegan restaurants in Los Angeles? Explore our curated list of organic eateries offering delicious plant-based options for every palate!”

3. Meta Description vs. URL Structure:

Both the URL structure and meta descriptions can help search engines and searchers understand the page’s hierarchy and content.

Example:

• URL: www.example.com/mens-running-shoes/nike-air-zoom-pegasus-38
• Meta Description: “Explore our collection of Nike Air Zoom Pegasus 38 running shoes for men. Get ready to elevate your running game with the latest innovations!”

What Makes a Good WordPress Meta Description?

A badly written description will do more harm to your website than omitting it altogether. As such, you must get it right.

Here are some of the characteristics of a well-written meta-description based on Google’s recommendation.

• It’s neither too long nor too short. If you are unsure of the right length, aim for something between 150 and 160 characters (including spaces).
• It is spiced up with focus keywords. A description that contains the keywords a searcher is looking for has a higher chance of being clicked on.
• Must contain a call to action. It’s in your description that you get to tell web users the action you would like them to take. Want them to click and read? Say that in the description.
• A good meta description is unique. Copying your competitor’s description is self-sabotaging. So be unique with your description.
• Don’t use identical descriptions across your site. Instead, customize each WordPress meta description to accurately represent the unique content of each page.
• Think beyond mere sentences. Use the meta description to highlight key details that might otherwise go unnoticed.
• It is best written in an active, actionable voice.
• Avoid stuffing your meta descriptions with keywords that offer little insight into your page’s content.

Below is an illustration of how to better your WordPress meta description:

Illustration 1.

Bad: “Sewing supplies, yarn, colored pencils, sewing machines, threads, bobbins, needles”

Good: “Discover everything you need for your next sewing project. Visit us in the Fashion District, open Monday-Friday 8-5pm.”

Illustration 2.

Bad: “Eggs are a source of joy in everyone’s life…”

Good: “Master the art of egg cooking with our comprehensive guide. From poached to over-easy, become an egg aficionado in under an hour!”

How to Add Meta Description in WordPress

There are two ways you can add meta descriptions on WordPress. You can do it with a plugin like Yoast SEO or manually with code. We will look at both steps below.

How to Add Meta Description with Yoast SEO Plugin

There are several SEO plugins that allow you to  add meta tags to your WordPress website. However, for the purpose of this tutorial, we will use Yoast SEO.

Installing Yoast SEO is pretty straightforward. If you are not sure how to go about it, check out this tutorial.

After installation and activation of the Yoast SEO plugin, navigate to Dashboard >> Posts >> All Posts. Then pick the post you would like to edit.

Next, navigate to the bottom of the post. Then click the Edit snippet button.

In the meta description box, type in the meta description of your post.

That’s it!

How to Add a Description to Your Pages

The process for adding a description to a page is similar to that for posts.

First, navigate to Dashboard >> Pages >> All pages. Select the page you wish to edit and scroll down to the bottom of the page. In the snippet editor, click the Edit snippet button and then type in a meta description.

If you so wish, you can also add descriptions to your archive pages. The process is pretty much the same for posts and pages. Only this time navigate to Dashboard >> Posts >> Categories.

How To Add WordPress Meta Description Manually without Plugin

If you are not keen on using an SEO plugin to create custom meta descriptions, then you can add it manually by editing your theme code. However, this method might be a bit complex, especially if you’re looking to add descriptions to only specific pages.

The first thing to do is to backup your website. Also consider working with a child theme to protect your site from any potential issues. Once you have backed up your site, then follow these steps to create a meta description for your site using plugins.

Step 1. Access Theme Editor 

From your WordPress dashboard, go to Appearance>>Theme Editor

Step 2. Open Theme Function

Once on the theme editor screen, find the Theme Function (function.php) file and open it.

Step 3. Paste Code into function.php

Paste the code below into the Theme Function (function.php) file, then click Update File.

function meta_description_r(){

if( is_single() || is_page() ) { ?>

 <meta name="description" content="<?= wp_strip_all_tags( get_the_excerpt(), true ); ?>">

<?php } }

add_action('wp_head', 'meta_description_r');

Note: The code converts the post excerpt and uses it as the meta description

Step 4. Create Posts Excerpt

To create a meta description for your post or page, you simply have to paste the content to the excerpt field. To do this, navigate to the page or post you want to create the meta description for.

If you’re using the Block Editor, you’ll find the excerpt field on the right side or the page. For those using Classic Editor, it should be under the text editor.

Just paste or type in the meta description text and update or publish the page or post.

And that’s it.

Advanced SEO Tips for Meta Descriptions

Here are some advanced SEO tips to optimize your meta descriptions for higher click-through rates and improved search engine performance:

• SEO plugins: SEO Plugins like Yoast SEO and Rank Math offer tools to preview and optimize meta descriptions directly within the WordPress editor. These plugins allow you to finetune your meta descriptions for maximum effectiveness.
• Exceed the Character Count: While Google typically truncates meta descriptions around 155-160 characters, there’s no strict character limit. Experiment with longer meta descriptions (up to 300 characters) to provide more detailed information and increase visibility in search results.
• Special Formatting: Use formatting like bullet points, numbers, and emojis to make your meta descriptions stand out and improve readability.
• Keywords: Include relevant keywords in your meta descriptions to signal to search engines what your page is about. Focus on long-tail keywords and phrases that align with user intent and reflect the content of your webpage.
• Track CTR: Keep a close eye on your click-through rates in search engine results pages (SERPs) and adjust your meta descriptions accordingly. If you notice low CTRs for certain pages, consider revising the meta descriptions to make them more compelling.
• A/B tests: Conduct A/B tests to experiment with different variations of your meta descriptions and evaluate their impact on click-through rates using tools like Google Search Console.
• User Intent: Tailor your meta descriptions to align with user intent for specific search queries. Conduct keyword research to understand the intent behind target keywords and craft meta descriptions that directly address users’ needs or questions.
• CTAs: Use compelling language and persuasive calls-to-action (CTAs) in your meta descriptions to entice users to click through to your website. Incorporate power words like “exclusive,” “limited time offer,” or “free shipping” to create a sense of urgency and value.

Conclusion – WordPress meta description

If you run an online store, manage a blog, or just own a website, you can’t afford to leave any stone unturned when it comes to SEO. As such, writing a well-optimized description shouldn’t be ignored.

Like we had earlier discussed, meta description no longer plays a direct role in improving the search ranking of a page. However, it still helps by improving your click-through rate, which is a search ranking factor.

That said, it is important to learn how to improve your site SEO using the techniques and factors that work. Please read our complete WordPress SEO Guide to learn more.

More Resources:

• How To Verify Your WordPress Site Using Google Search Console
• How To Create Custom WordPress Widget – Complete Guide
• WooCommerce SEO

The post WordPress Meta Description – How to Use in WordPress appeared first on FixRunner.com.

There are many reasons why you might have to use plugins to duplicate pages and posts in WordPress.

For instance, when redesigning your website, you want to maintain consistency in your design layout. An easy way to achieve that is by duplicating your pages rather than building them up from scratch.

Another typical example is if you run an eCommerce site. To save time and minimize layout problems, it’s best you duplicate your product pages.

Thankfully, you can easily clone posts and pages in WordPress. And you can do so without compromising the safety and integrity of your website.

In this article, we will show you how to use plugins for duplicating posts and pages in WordPress. If you prefer to do so manually, we’ve also got you covered.

Content:

• Reasons to Clone or Duplicate posts and pages in WordPress
• How to Duplicate pages and posts with plugins
• How to Duplicate posts Manually
• Other plugins for Duplicating
• SEO points to Remember when Handling Duplicate Contents
• Conclusion

Reasons to Clone or Duplicate Posts and Pages in WordPress

We briefly listed out reasons why you might want to clone your pages and posts in WordPress. Now, we will elaborate more on them.

Reason 1: Editing a Page on a Live Site

You might find yourself needing to make edits to a page on your live WordPress website. At such times, you have two options:

• Editing the live page directly: This method is pretty risky – you might end up breaking your site. Even if you don’t break your site, the live changes could confuse your audience.
• Duplicating the page, making all needed edits to the duplicate, and then replacing the original page with the duplicate. If you go this route, the chances of breaking things is greatly minimized.

To duplicate a post or page in WordPress, you can either use a plugin or do so manually. There are quite a number of duplicate post plugins you can use for this task. We will be looking at a few shortly.

Reason 2: Creating multiple, similar products in WooCommerce

If you run an e-commerce store, you might find yourself creating several product pages with a similar design and layout. This can become extremely tedious, especially if you have a large product collection.

To save time and energy and improve efficiency, simply create a page that will serve as a template. Then duplicate it as many times as the number of products you have.

Reason 3: Maintaining Design Structure across Pages

Let’s say your website has become old and outdated, and you find yourself needing to redesign it. During the redesign process, you will want your pages and posts to maintain the same design across.

To achieve this, you have the option of manually copying and pasting the contents into your new site. But this would be tedious. Worse, when you copy the content of a post, the media files and SEO data will be left out.

The best way to go about this is by creating an original version, and then duplicating it as many times as you wish. And in turn, making tweaks across the duplicates.

Reason 4: Alternative Staging Site

A staging site is like a test version of your live site. So instead of going through the whole process of creating one, you can create a duplicate post or page to experiment with your content.

Reason 5: A/B Testing

In the case of split testing, you do not have to create another page/post from scratch. Simply clone the original make and make the changes needed.

Reason 6: Multilingual Content

If you have a site that offers multiple languages, duplicating your posts eases the process of translation. All you need to do is clone the post design and contents, then convert the texts to different languages.

How to Duplicate Pages and Posts in WordPress with a Plugin

Using a plugin is the easiest way to duplicate a WordPress post. For this demo, we will be using the Duplicate Post plugin. Of course, there are many more you could use, and we will be discussing them later on.

Step One

So, the first thing you have to do is to install and activate the plugin. We explained in detail how to do that in this article. After you must have installed the plugin, proceed to step two.

Step Two

With the plugin installed and activated, you can now proceed to duplicate a page or post on your WordPress website.

To duplicate a page, navigate to Pages >> All Pages.

Hover over the page you would like to duplicate. Beneath it, you will see a series of links. Among these links are Clone and New Draft.

If you wish to just duplicate the page without needing to edit it, click Clone. Bear in mind that if the original post is live – that is, has been published – the duplicate will also go live.

On the other hand, clicking New Draft will duplicate the page, and then open it in editor mode. That is to say, you will get to first edit the duplicated page before publishing it.

So basically, that’s how you duplicate pages in WordPress with this plugin. To duplicate a post, follow the same steps, but this time navigate to Posts >> All Posts.

Customizing the Duplicate Post Plugin

There are still tons of things you can do with this plugin when properly customized.

To customize the plugin, you first need to open its settings by navigating to Settings >> Duplicate Post.

Upon click, you will see three tabs, namely What to Copy, Permissions and Display.

The What to Copy section is where you get to choose what to copy from the original post to the duplicate post.

If you would like the date, status, slug etc. of the original post to be copied to the duplicate, simply tick their checkboxes.

You can also uncheck items you don’t want to copy over.

In the Permissions section is where you get to permit user roles. That is, where you select which user has the permission to duplicate a post.

By default, only the Administrator and Editor have the power to duplicate posts or pages. But you can extend this responsibility to the Author and Contributor.

Also, if your WordPress site supports custom post types, in the Permission section, you can enable this feature on your duplicated post. Just ensure that Posts and Pages are checked.

Finally, in the Display section, you can select where you want the clone and new draft links to appear.

By default, they show only in the Post list, but you can make them show in other places like Admin bar, Edit screen, etc.

When you are done customizing, scroll down and click Save Changes.

How to Duplicate Posts Manually

WordPress Gutenberg has the option of duplicating a post just at the click of a button.

However, due to its limitation, it’s recommended you use a plugin rather than manual duplication.

But if you would still like to proceed manually, here’s how to:

Step 1

Log into your WordPress dashboard, navigate to Posts >> All Posts.

Step 2

In the post list, select the post you would like to duplicate and open it. With the post opened, click on the three-dot icon at the top right corner.

Upon click, locate the Copy All Content option, and click on it.

Doing this will copy all content of the post, including images and other media inserted into it.

Step 3

Create a new post by navigating to Posts >> New Posts. Then paste the content you had copied earlier. With that, you have a brand new duplicated post.

Copy and Paste Code Manually

This is a pretty simple method to duplicate your WordPress posts. All it requires is that you copy and paste the code of the post you want to edit manually.

To begin, click the edit link on the post or page you want to clone. Next, switch to its “Text” editor.

Copy the entire code shown for the page.

Next, open a new page, switch to its “Text” editor and paste the code you just copied there. Once that is done, switch back to the “Visual” editor to see the cloned content. You can now twerk the changes as you wish.

The downside to this method is that it has to be done individually for each post or page. This can take quite some time. Hence, we recommend the use of WordPress duplicate plugins to save time.

Manually Adding Code

Another way you can manually duplicate a post or page is to activate a duplication link in the post/pages sections. This can be done by editing the code in your function.php file. You can edit this file from an FTP client like FileZilla, your web host’s file manager or your WordPress editor.

For this tutorial, we will be using the built-in WordPress editor. Remember to make a backup of your website first.

To begin, head on to your Appearance >> Theme File Editor.

Next, paste this line of code at the end of the file:

/*
 * Function for post duplication. Dups appear as drafts. User is redirected to the edit screen
 */
function rd_duplicate_post_as_draft(){
  global $wpdb;
  if (! ( isset( $_GET['post']) || isset( $_POST['post'])  || ( isset($_REQUEST['action']) && 'rd_duplicate_post_as_draft' == $_REQUEST['action'] ) ) ) {
    wp_die('No post to duplicate has been supplied!');
  }
  /*
   * Nonce verification
   */
  if ( !isset( $_GET['duplicate_nonce'] ) || !wp_verify_nonce( $_GET['duplicate_nonce'], basename( __FILE__ ) ) )
    return;
  /*
   * get the original post id
   */
  $post_id = (isset($_GET['post']) ? absint( $_GET['post'] ) : absint( $_POST['post'] ) );
  /*
   * and all the original post data then
   */
  $post = get_post( $post_id );
  /*
   * if you don't want current user to be the new post author,
   * then change next couple of lines to this: $new_post_author = $post->post_author;
   */
  $current_user = wp_get_current_user();
  $new_post_author = $current_user->ID;
  /*
   * if post data exists, create the post duplicate
   */
  if (isset( $post ) && $post != null) {
    /*
     * new post data array
     */
    $args = array(
      'comment_status' => $post->comment_status,
      'ping_status'    => $post->ping_status,
      'post_author'    => $new_post_author,
      'post_content'   => $post->post_content,
      'post_excerpt'   => $post->post_excerpt,
      'post_name'      => $post->post_name,
      'post_parent'    => $post->post_parent,
      'post_password'  => $post->post_password,
      'post_status'    => 'draft',
      'post_title'     => $post->post_title,
      'post_type'      => $post->post_type,
      'to_ping'        => $post->to_ping,
      'menu_order'     => $post->menu_order
    );
    /*
     * insert the post by wp_insert_post() function
     */
    $new_post_id = wp_insert_post( $args );
    /*
     * get all current post terms ad set them to the new post draft
     */
    $taxonomies = get_object_taxonomies($post->post_type); // returns array of taxonomy names for post type, ex array("category", "post_tag");
    foreach ($taxonomies as $taxonomy) {
      $post_terms = wp_get_object_terms($post_id, $taxonomy, array('fields' => 'slugs'));
      wp_set_object_terms($new_post_id, $post_terms, $taxonomy, false);
    }
    /*
     * duplicate all post meta just in two SQL queries
     */
    $post_meta_infos = $wpdb->get_results("SELECT meta_key, meta_value FROM $wpdb->postmeta WHERE post_id=$post_id");
    if (count($post_meta_infos)!=0) {
      $sql_query = "INSERT INTO $wpdb->postmeta (post_id, meta_key, meta_value) ";
      foreach ($post_meta_infos as $meta_info) {
        $meta_key = $meta_info->meta_key;
        if( $meta_key == '_wp_old_slug' ) continue;
        $meta_value = addslashes($meta_info->meta_value);
        $sql_query_sel[]= "SELECT $new_post_id, '$meta_key', '$meta_value'";
      }
      $sql_query.= implode(" UNION ALL ", $sql_query_sel);
      $wpdb->query($sql_query);
    }
    /*
     * finally, redirect to the edit post screen for the new draft
     */
    wp_redirect( admin_url( 'post.php?action=edit&post=' . $new_post_id ) );
    exit;
  } else {
    wp_die('Post creation failed, could not find original post: ' . $post_id);
  }
}
add_action( 'admin_action_rd_duplicate_post_as_draft', 'rd_duplicate_post_as_draft' );
/*
 * Add the duplicate link to action list for post_row_actions
 */
function rd_duplicate_post_link( $actions, $post ) {
  if (current_user_can('edit_posts')) {
    $actions['duplicate'] = '<a href="' . wp_nonce_url('admin.php?action=rd_duplicate_post_as_draft&post=' . $post->ID, basename(__FILE__), 'duplicate_nonce' ) . '" title="Duplicate this item" rel="permalink">Duplicate</a>';
  }
  return $actions;
}
add_filter( 'post_row_actions', 'rd_duplicate_post_link', 10, 2 );

This code can also be used to duplicate a page. You will only need to replace the last line of code with this:

add_filter('page_row_actions', 'rd_duplicate_post_link', 10, 2);

Afterwards, click on the Update File button to register your changes.

Next, head back to your WordPress Dashboard. A duplication link should now appear when you hover over a page or post you want to clone.

Other Plugins for Duplicating Posts and Pages

The Duplicate Post plugin isn’t the only plugin that can get the job done, there are a slew of others. Let’s look at a few.

Duplicate Page

The Duplicate Page plugin is a simple and lightweight tool that simplifies the process of duplicating pages and posts in WordPress. With a single click, you can easily clone your posts or pages. This makes the process quick and efficient.

With this plugin, you get the option to duplicate your posts/pages as draft, private, public and pending. It also allows you to duplicate various types of contents, including custom post types, making it a versatile plugin.

The Duplicate Page plugin comes with a user friendly interface, making it easy for users of all skill levels. Further, being lightweight, the plugin has minimal impact on site performance. It also ensures a smooth user experience.

Overall, the plugin works to save time and effort while providing users with the needed functionality to manage their contents.

Post Duplicator

Post Duplicator plugin is another tool that can be used to duplicate WordPress posts, pages and custom post types. The plugin is flexible as it supports various content types. This includes custom taxonomies and custom fields.

The Post Duplicator plugin handles bulk duplication. So you can duplicate multiple posts or pages at once. This makes it easy and efficient for users that handle large volumes of content. Further, you get to choose the elements of the content you wish to duplicate.

The plugin comes with a friendly user interface, ensuring a seamless integration with the WordPress dashboard.

Yoast Duplicate Post

Yoast Duplicate Post is a simple and straightforward plugin. With a single click, you can duplicate posts, pages and custom post types.

The plugin supports bulk duplication. So users can duplicate multiple posts, pages and custom post types simultaneously. The plugin is also flexible as it allows you to duplicate contents as drafts, private posts or published posts.

In addition, Yoast Duplicate Post comes with customizable settings. So users can customize their post status, title format, taxonomies and more. Further, the plugin provides a prefix and suffix option. This is to enable you to differentiate the original post from the clone.

The Yoast Duplicate Post plugin provides a selective duplication feature. This gives users the chance to choose which elements of their content to duplicate, thus, giving users control over the duplication process. The plugin is a useful tool for bloggers, content creators, and site administrators who need to quickly replicate existing content.

SEO Points to Remember when Handling Duplicate Contents

Duplicate contents, when done wrongly, can negatively affect your site’s seo. To prevent this, here are some seo points you should keep in mind when duplicating contents:

Implement Canonical Tags

Canonical tags are HTML code snippets that tell search engines the version of a url that is original and you want indexed. Doing this helps to avoid duplicate content issues and secures your ranking signals.

Use 301 Redirects

This is important as 301 redirects help to guide users and search engines to the from the duplicate URLs to the correct URL.

Update Content

It is vital to update duplicated contents to ensure your users are provided with unique and valuable contents.

Monitor Regularly

Make sure you regularly monitor for duplicate content and seo issues. This helps you to detect any issues early on and maintain your site’s seo health. One of the tools you can use to monitor your site’s seo health is the Google search console.

By applying these strategies, you will be able to manage possible SEO issues effectively. Further, you will be able to maintain your site’s visibility and ranking in search engines.

Conclusion

Duplicating posts and pages is a great way to save time when working on a WordPress web design project.

If you manage several websites for a client, for instance, you will better appreciate what duplicator plugins can do.

We have shown you three different duplicator plugins that work pretty well.

Do bear in mind that these plugins may not work if the pages you want to duplicate were created with page builders like Divi, Elementor, etc. Some page builders give you the option of duplicated designed pages. It’s best you use them rather than duplicator plugins.

WordPress Gutenberg gives you the option of duplicating your pages manually, and we showed you how to go about it in this article.

If you found this article useful, do share.

More Resources:

• • How to Create and Manage Custom Navigation Menus in WordPress
  • Copy link9 Best WordPress Migration Plugins On The Market
  • How to Use the WordPress Image Editor

The post How to Duplicate Pages and Posts in WordPress appeared first on FixRunner.com.

Do you receive unwanted comments and unwelcomed emails from some visitors on your site? Or do you notice a delay in page load time of your site? If yes, it could mean some users are trying to gain unauthorized access for some illicit purpose. However, dealing with this kind of activity may be a cause for concern as the security of your site is your top priority. Therefore, blocking the incoming IP addresses, known for carrying out such activities, from accessing your WordPress site, could be one great way to secure it.

In this article, we’ll certainly show you how to do this. Learn how to get rid of intruders accessing your website and improve your site’s security overall.

Content:

1. What IP Addresses are
2. Reasons for Blocking an IP Address
3. Ways to Block IP Addresses
   1. Through WordPress Admin Dashboard (Block Comments)
   2. Use of IP Blocker on Cpanel
   3. Htaccess file directive
   4. Automated block through Plugin
4. Conclusion

What IP Addresses are

IP (Internet Protocol) address is a unique string of numbers that identifies a particular internet connection. It comprises four sets of numbers and a dot separates each set. The IP number remains the same because it is specifically tied to a particular computer.

Therefore, WordPress records all IP address that access your site in the access log files of your website. In addition, IP addresses help you identify visitors and their activities on your site.

Reasons for Blocking an IP Address on WordPress Site

Blocking IP addresses is a crucial security measure for any WordPress website owner. It’s not just about keeping your site tidy; it’s about safeguarding your digital presence against a range of malicious activities.

Therefore, let’s delve into the primary reasons why blocking certain IP addresses becomes necessary.

Combating Spam Comments

One of the most common nuisances for website owners is spam comments. These aren’t just annoying; they can clutter your site with irrelevant content. Therefore, they can make it look unprofessional and deter genuine user engagement.

Spammers use automated bots to post these comments, and by identifying and blocking their IP addresses, you can significantly reduce the influx of such unwelcome content.

Thwarting Hacking Attempts

The digital landscape is fraught with threats, and hacking attempts are among the most severe. Hackers often probe websites for vulnerabilities, using various IP addresses to execute their malicious intents.

Whether it’s trying to gain unauthorized access to your admin area or injecting harmful code, blocking suspicious IP addresses can serve as an effective barrier against such breaches.

Preventing Brute Force Attacks

Brute force attacks are another critical concern, where attackers use trial-and-error methods to crack passwords and gain entry into your site. These attacks are not only a threat to your website’s security but can also consume significant server resources, slowing down your site for legitimate users.

Blocking the IPs involved in such persistent attempts can help protect your site’s integrity and maintain its performance.

Safeguarding Against DDoS Attacks

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks aim to overwhelm your website with a flood of traffic, rendering it inaccessible to real users. These attacks can originate from a range of IP addresses and can be devastating for your online operations.

Identifying and blocking the IPs contributing to such attacks is essential in mitigating their impact and keeping your site available to your audience.

Ways to block IP Addresses on WordPress site

You can ban suspected IP addresses from accessing your sites. Depending on the type of attack, here are a few things you certainly need to do to block culprit IP addresses.

Through WordPress Admin Dashboard (Block Comments)

Firstly, go to the comments section of your site through the Admin Dashboard. All the users who have commented on your site will be visible. The IP address will be right under the user’s profile.

Secondly, copy the specific IP address of the user who posted a spam comment.

Thirdly:

1. Go to “Settings > Discussion” section.
2. Scroll down to the “Comment Blacklist” section.

4. Type in or paste the IP address you want to block in the text box.
5. Save your settings.

This will surely prevent the user with the specific IP address from accessing “comments” on your site.

Use of IP Blocker on Cpanel

This method is the best way to block IP addresses of site invaders and DDoS attackers.

Firstly, login to Cpanel of your site, scroll to the “Metrics” menu and select “Raw Access”.

Two different access logs will be displayed:

1. Current Raw Access Logs
2. Archived Raw Logs

In the “Current Raw Logs” section, the system stores only a few hours worth. Meanwhile, the “Archived Raw Logs” keeps “Raw Logs” data.

Each logged visit includes your site visitor’s IP addresses as well as the time and date of each visit. All you need to do is click on the link to download all the information. You can also extract the IP address using any zip folder application like Express Zip or WinZip. You can then view the information by using any modern text editors like Notepad, or Notepad++.

Be sure to look up the extracted IP addresses through an IP lookup tool such as this one by mxtoolsbox. This will help you identify the IP addresses that you would want to block traffic from.

Next, scroll to “Security” section of your Cpanel, and click on IP Blocker.

1. Type into the text box the IP address you wish to block. You can type in a range of IP addresses you wish to deny access to your site.
2. Click Add.

These IP addresses will surely no longer be able to access your site.

Htaccess file directive

Now, we’re going to explore two ways you can block IP addresses through the htaccess file, in particular.

Firstly, login to your site’s cpanel, scroll to “Files” and click on File Manager.

.htaccess and other dot files are hidden by default in the root folder. To be able to view this file, click on Settings at the top right corner of your screen.

Secondly, check “Show hidden files(dotfiles)”, and click on Save to save the changes.

To block IPs:

1. Locate and select the .htaccess file
2. Next, click on Edit.

Add this rule

order allow, deny
deny from 111.112.13.15
allow from all

Remember to replace sample IP with the one you want to block.

Click on Save Changes.

Block selected IP Addresses on your WordPress site

The steps above, however, will only block one IP address. If you would rather like to exclude more IP addresses, add them in new lines.

Add these rules to your .htaccess.

order allow,deny
deny from 111.112.13.1
deny from 111.112.13.18
deny from 111.112.13.122
deny from 111.112.13.149
deny from 111.112.13.155
allow from all

Click on “Save Changes”.

Block a range of IP Addresses on your WordPress site

You can also deny access for a range of IP addresses, for instance, 111.112.13.1 to 111.112.13.155

Add this rule to your .htaccess.

order allow, deny
deny from 111.112.13.1.
allow from all

Click on “Save Changes”.

Similarly, if you have Yoast SEO installed, you can edit your .htaccess file from your WordPress Admin Dashboard.

Firstly, click on “SEO” on the left panel of your dashboard, and then select “Tools” > ”File editor”

Next, edit the content of your .htaccess file, and click “Save Changes”

Automated block through Plugin

While manual methods of IP blocking offer a level of control, they can be time-consuming and might not always provide comprehensive protection.

So, this is where the power of security plugins comes into play. They offer an automated as well as sophisticated approach to safeguarding your site.

The Role of Security Plugins

Security plugins serve as vigilant guardians for your WordPress site because they continuously monitor traffic and analyse visitor behavior. Also, they automatically block IP addresses that exhibit suspicious or malicious patterns.

This automation not only enhances your site’s security but also frees up your time. It allows you to focus on other aspects of your website management.

WordFence: A Comprehensive Shield

WordFence is a widely respected security plugin known for its robust firewall and malware scanner. It actively scans your site for vulnerabilities and malicious code and therefore offer real-time protection.

One of its standout features is the ability to automatically block IP addresses associated with failed login attempts, known malware sources, and brute force attacks. WordFence’s live traffic view also allows you to monitor visits and hack attempts in real-time, giving you a clear picture of your site’s security status.

Sucuri: Beyond IP Blocking

Sucuri is another heavyweight in the WordPress security arena, offering a suite of features designed to protect your site from a variety of threats. While it excels in malware detection and removal, Sucuri’s firewall is particularly effective at preventing DDoS attacks, XSS attacks, and brute force attempts.

By deploying a cloud-based firewall, Sucuri filters out bad traffic before it even reaches your site, ensuring that only legitimate visitors gain access. The plugin also maintains a blacklist of known malicious IP addresses and automatically blocks them, providing a robust layer of defense against potential threats.

Automating Security: The Way Forward

Using security plugins like WordFence and Sucuri for automated IP blocking is akin to having a dedicated security team watching over your site 24/7. These plugins not only react to threats but also use advanced algorithms to predict and prevent future attacks.

By leveraging their capabilities, you can significantly enhance your WordPress site’s security posture, ensuring peace of mind for both you and your users.

To learn how to install and use these plugins, please read our WordPress Security guide.

Conclusion on How to block IP addresses in WordPress

Keeping your site spam free and reducing hack attempts to a minimum is by all means important to a good online presence. Whether you manage security yourself or rely on private-label WordPress maintenance, these protective measures are crucial.

We hope this article will help you rid your site of unwanted visitors, as well as spam comments and emails. By blocking suspicious IP addresses from accessing, you will also be able to prevent malicious users from accessing your site.

More Resources:

• WordPress two factor authentication
• Vary Accept-encoding Header Error: How to Fix in WordPress
• How To Find, Create And Use htaccess File In WordPress

The post How to Block IP Address in WordPress appeared first on FixRunner.com.

So, you got this far making your site great. We showed you some of the basic and advanced stuff. We also presented you with solutions on how to fix certain errors. Today, we will change the topic a little, and talk about a technique that can help you with your page ranking. Have you heard anything about nofollow links in WordPress? No? That’s totally fine. That is why we are here to show you how to add nofollow links in WordPress! This tutorial works on any WordPress theme.

In this article, you can find out:

1. What is a nofollow link?
2. What are the basic examples of the nofollow links?
3. Google’s Evolving Stance on Nofollow Links
4. SEO Implications of Nofollow Links
5. How To Add Nofollow Link Manually or via Plugin?
6. Conclusion
7. FAQ

In short, a “Nofollow” is a part of the HTML tag (specifically, an attribute). It is used as a virtual note on our door (link) saying “search engines are not welcome here“. It tells Google not to go further than the line we create. When your site has an external link pointing to a potentially harmful site, you lose both the “link juice” and Google’s trust with it. Link juice is essentially a value divided among pages and sites linked from your site. It works as a measure that adds or detracts from your page ranking score. So avoiding problems like the one we just mentioned is a priority. There are 2 types of links – dofollow and nofollow.

To explain “nofollow tags” in more detail we will present some of the situations you would want to put this attribute on.

Links we are not fully confident about (untrusted links)

As described before having a link that refers to a site with suspicious data will directly hurt your site. Sites that look too good to be true are usually the ones you should stay away from (e.g. “get-a-small-loan-of-1000000-dollars-in-just-one-click.com”). To be safe, you should avoid linking these in the first place, but if you must, absolutely use the nofollow attribute!

Comments on your blog 

Yes, a big part of your audience will comply with your rules, and love you unconditionally, but, there is always that other side of the internet. The Dark Side! Some of the people will intentionally link spam or untrusted links. In this instance, you should use nofollow links in WordPress in all of the comments. Nevertheless, you are in luck. WordPress already does that automatically, so you just need to worry about links you post (since they are by default a dofollow link). As a bonus tip, we think the best practice is to just turn off links in the comments completely. This way you are protecting both your site’s score and your users.

Sponsored Content And Affiliate Links

This is another thing you should remember. Google likes to connect related content and promote sites that are based on a particular thing. However, in some situations, sponsored posts/links don’t follow this logic. If you link a sports magazine to your wedding gowns store site, Google may think you are trying something fishy (though it would definitely be great for a sport that somehow incorporates wedding theme). We all know money makes the world go round, but you should absolutely use nofollow attribute here. It will make the site you are referring to not interfere with your page ranking.

Posts or Sites Outside Of Your Niche

If you are trying to make a brand and make your site associated with a distinct subject or theme, you should avoid experimenting. The problem is not that this is going to create concern among your viewers. You should make all of the links on your site revolve around a brand you chose because it will increase your score. For other subjects/posts use nofollow technique!

Links that appear on every page

This is one of the huge minuses. If for example, you link your homepage (or any page) in all your other pages (in the footer, a sidebar or somewhere similar) every time there is an update on your site a backlink will be generated, making your site fall lower in page rankings. To fix this, just use nofollow links in WordPress and there will be no problems.

*Note that this attribute doesn’t block any user activity, so no worries there! The only things getting blocked are google bots.

Will Nofollow Link Always Be Respected By Google?

Google’s algorithm uses these things called crawlers or crawler robots to gather as much information as it can about stuff on the internet. Sites that are found are then indexed. Sometimes, the page with nofollow link will be indexed in search engines. However, Google bots won’t really search through the content and that link won’t affect your score!

Google’s Evolving Stance on Nofollow Links

As the digital landscape evolves, so does Google’s approach to nofollow links. Initially introduced in 2005 to combat spam and control outbound link quality, the nofollow attribute (rel=”nofollow”) has been a staple in the SEO toolkit.

However, Google’s perspective on nofollow links has undergone significant changes, reflecting its continuous effort to better understand and interpret web content.

From Directive to Hint

In the early days, a nofollow tag served as a strict directive to Google: “Do not follow or pass authority to this link.” This was straightforward but somewhat rigid. Recognizing the need for more nuanced link analysis, Google announced in September 2019 that nofollow would be considered a “hint” rather than a mandate.

This shift allows Google’s algorithms to decide whether to consider a nofollow link for crawling and indexing based on the link’s context and other signals.

Introduction of rel=”sponsored” and rel=”ugc”

Alongside this shift, Google introduced two new link attributes — rel=”sponsored” for paid or sponsored links and rel=”ugc” for user-generated content, such as comments and forum posts.

These additions offer webmasters more granular control over signalling the nature of their links to Google, enabling a more refined interpretation of the site’s link structure and intent.

Strategic Adaptations

For webmasters and SEO professionals, adapting to these changes means reassessing link management strategies. The use of rel=”sponsored” and rel=”ugc” should be incorporated into the site’s SEO practices, ensuring that links are appropriately tagged based on their origin and purpose.

This not only aligns with Google’s guidelines but also enhances the site’s integrity in the eyes of both search engines and users.

SEO Implications of Nofollow Links

Understanding the SEO implications of nofollow links is crucial for any website owner or content creator aiming to optimize their site’s search engine performance.

Nofollow links, marked with a rel=”nofollow” tag, instruct search engines not to follow a particular link. This simple directive has nuanced implications for your site’s SEO strategy and link juice distribution.

Link Juice and Its Distribution

In the field of SEO, “link juice” refers to the value or equity passed from one page or site to another through hyperlinks. Typically, this value contributes to the linked page’s ranking in search engine results.

When you apply a nofollow tag to an outbound link, you’re essentially telling search engines not to pass on your page’s valuable link juice to the linked page. This decision can be strategic, especially when linking to external sites that you may not fully trust or when the link doesn’t add direct value to your content’s authority.

Influencing Your Site’s Ranking

While nofollow links do not directly contribute to the linked page’s search engine ranking, their strategic use can impact your site’s overall SEO health.

By selectively determining which links to nofollow, you preserve your site’s link equity, ensuring that you’re not inadvertently boosting the rankings of irrelevant or low-quality external pages. This careful management of outbound links enhances your site’s credibility and trustworthiness in the eyes of search engines.

Strategic Use in Content

The strategic use of nofollow tags is particularly relevant in certain contexts, such as sponsored content, affiliate links, or user-generated comments.

In these cases, nofollow external links is a best practice, helping to maintain the integrity of your site’s link profile and preventing any potential penalties for perceived manipulative linking practices.

Balancing Nofollow and Dofollow Links

Achieving a healthy balance between nofollow and dofollow links is key. While it’s important to be cautious with your link juice, excessively nofollow links can make your site appear guarded or unhelpful to search engines.

Offering some dofollow links to reputable, authoritative sites can enrich your content and reinforce its relevance and value in a particular subject area.

There are two ways you can do it. The manual way, and using WordPress plugins. Each way is as easy and efficient as the other, so choose whichever you like. You can also do this with robots.txt. If you want to know more about this specifically, you can check our robots.txt guide.

Manually 

To make a nofollow link with WordPress all you have to do is:

1. Make a link by pressing on the “Insert/edit link” button.
   
2. Change the mode from Visual to Text.
   
   
3. Add the “rel nofollow” attribute so it changes from this:
   
   to this:
   
4. And you are done!

Using The Plugin

We first need to install the plugin. To do this you need to:

1. Go to Plugins.
   
2. Click on “Add New“.
   
3. Find nofollow plugins you need (we will be using the “Title and Nofollow For Links” plugin)
   
4. Press “Install Now” and then “Activate“

Once you install and activate, select the text you want to make a link out of. Click on the “Insert/edit link” button and press this little gear button to configure the link.

Check the “Add rel=”nofollow” to link” option and press “Add Link”.

That’s it. It wasn’t so hard, wasn’t it!

Plugins can simplify the process of adding nofollow links, but keeping plugins updated and ensuring they don’t cause conflicts is crucial. With our WordPress site maintenance services, you can ensure that all plugins are regularly updated and functioning without disrupting your site’s performance.

Conclusion

In your pursuit of making the Greatest Site In The World, you must’ve come across at least some of the basic knowledge about Google’s algorithm and page ranking system. Thus, we have shown you one of the ways to play on their terms and now you know how to add nofollow links in WordPress. Use it wisely! For more step by step WordPress tutorials follow our WordPress blog.

FAQ Section on Nofollow Links

What is a nofollow link?

A nofollow link is a type of hyperlink on a webpage that tells search engines not to pass any credit or “link juice” to the linked page. It’s achieved by adding the rel=”nofollow” attribute to the link’s HTML code.

When should I use nofollow links on my website?

You should consider using nofollow links in several scenarios, including:

• Links within user-generated content like comments and forums to avoid associating your site with potentially untrustworthy content.
• Affiliate links or paid sponsorships to comply with search engine guidelines and maintain transparency.
  Links to login, registration pages, or internal administrative links that don’t need to be indexed by search engines.

Do nofollow links affect my site’s SEO?

Nofollow links primarily affect the distribution of your site’s link equity. They do not pass on link juice to the linked page, which helps you maintain your site’s ranking power. Strategically using nofollow links can help protect your site’s credibility and prevent potential negative SEO impacts from linking to low-quality or unrelated content.

How can I add a nofollow attribute to links in WordPress?

You can add a nofollow attribute manually by editing the HTML of your link to include rel=”nofollow” within the anchor tag. Alternatively, you can use WordPress plugins like Yoast SEO or All in One SEO, which offer options to easily add nofollow tags to your links.

Can I apply nofollow tags to internal links?

Yes, you can apply nofollow tags to internal links, but it’s generally not recommended unless there’s a specific reason, such as directing search engine bots away from unimportant pages. For most internal linking, allowing search engines to crawl and index your pages freely is beneficial for your site’s SEO.

How do nofollow links differ from dofollow links?

Dofollow links are the default state of a link without any rel attributes specifying otherwise. These links pass link equity and can influence the search engine rankings of the linked page. In contrast, nofollow links do not pass link equity due to the rel=”nofollow” attribute, and they have less impact on the linked page’s search engine ranking.

Are there other link attributes similar to nofollow?

Yes, Google introduced two additional link attributes in 2019:
rel=”sponsored”: Used for links created as part of advertisements, sponsorships, or other compensation agreements.
rel=”ugc”: Stands for User Generated Content and is used for links within user-generated content, such as comments and forum posts.

Will using nofollow links protect my site from spam?

Using nofollow tags on user-generated content can help protect your site from linking to spammy or malicious content, which could potentially harm your site’s reputation and SEO. It’s a common practice to automatically add nofollow tags to all user-generated links.

How do search engines treat nofollow links now?

As of a recent update, Google treats the nofollow attribute as a “hint” rather than a strict directive. This means Google might choose to crawl and index a nofollow link if it believes the link adds value, but it typically won’t pass link equity through these links.

Can I mix nofollow with other link attributes?

Yes, you can combine rel=”nofollow” with other link attributes such as rel=”sponsored” or rel=”ugc”. For example, rel=”nofollow sponsored” is valid and indicates that a link is both sponsored and that you prefer not to pass link equity to it.

More Resources:

• How To Easily Clean Up Your WordPress Database
• The Fastest WordPress Themes Of 2019
• WordPress Meta Description

The post 2 Easy Ways To Add Nofollow Links in WordPress appeared first on FixRunner.com.

Setting up your site to run regular WordPress Backups will take you a few minutes of work, but it can save you a ton of trouble.

Sadly, many WordPress users learned this the hard way. As a result, when their site goes down, what seemed like a temporary glitch, turns out to be an all-out data loss situation.

Since it is now so easy to backup WordPress website, there is no reason why you shouldn’t. But why is WordPress backup so important? Do not web hosting companies swear to take care of this?

Table of contents:

• Why Should You Run Regular WordPress Site Backup?
• Security Practices for Backups
• What Method Should You Use For WordPress Backup
• How to Backup your WordPress Website
  • Backing up your WordPress site with UpdraftPlus
  • Manually Backing Up Your Files And Database To Your Computer
• Cloud Storage Options for WordPress Backups
• How Can You Use This Information?
• FAQ

Why Should You Run Regular WordPress Site Backup?

There is a long list of things that could bring down your website. Data loss in your WordPress hosting, a malware infection, your files getting hacked, etc. Sometimes, you may even install a plugin or theme that takes down your site.

Many web hosts promise regular backups of your data. But we (and many others) have found you cannot fully rely on these. Even when they do a complete backup, it is jumbled up with the data of several other websites.

In many cases, when you do a restore from WordPress hosting backups, you still loose weeks or even months of work. And even then, you should be happy you were able to restore your site. There have been cases where a website gets lost and no one could do anything to get it back. Not the webhost, not the site owner.

Since it is now so easy to run regular WordPress site backups, it makes sense to secure all the effort you put into creating your website by running regular backups and storing them away from your server.

Security Practices for Backups

When it comes to WordPress backups, ensuring the safety of your backup files is just as crucial as creating the backups themselves. Secure backup practices protect your data from unauthorized access and potential cyber threats, safeguarding the integrity and confidentiality of your website’s information.

Here are some essential security practices to consider for your WordPress backups.

Use Encryption

Encrypt your backup files to add an extra layer of security. Encryption converts your data into a coded format, making it unreadable to anyone without the decryption key.

This step is vital, especially when storing backups on cloud services or external drives, as it protects your data in transit and at rest.

Secure Storage Locations

Choose secure storage locations for your backups. Whether you opt for cloud storage solutions like Google Drive, Dropbox, or Amazon S3, ensure that you understand their security features and use strong passwords and two-factor authentication (2FA) to protect your accounts.

For physical storage devices like external hard drives or USB sticks, keep them in a safe, controlled environment to prevent theft or damage.

Limit Access

Restrict access to your backup files. Only trusted individuals within your organization should have the ability to retrieve or restore from backups.

Implement role-based access controls (RBAC) and audit logs to monitor who accesses your backup files and when ensuring accountability and reducing the risk of internal threats.

Regularly Update Security Measures

Cyber threats are continually evolving, and so should your security measures. Regularly update your backup and security software to the latest versions to benefit from enhanced security features and vulnerability patches.

Stay informed about new security threats and best practices to ensure your backup strategy remains robust.

Verify Backup Integrity

Periodically verify the integrity of your backup files. Ensure that backups are complete, uncorrupted, and free from malware.

Regular integrity checks confirm that your backups are reliable and usable when needed, providing peace of mind and swift recovery in the event of data loss.

What Method Should You Use For WordPress Backup

There are many who still prefer a manual backup process, where you download your site files and database to your computer from time to time.

At FixRunner, we prefer automated backups. This way, you can use WordPress backup plugins to backup your WordPress database and files according to a schedule you set.

In this guide, we will show you how to use the UpdraftPlus plugin (which we highly recommend) to run automated backups to a remote location.

We will also show how to backup WordPress manually to your computer, for those who prefer this option.

How to Backup your WordPress Website

Your files, which include your themes, plugins, uploads, etc; and your database, which is used to store posts, pages, comments, users, etc are what make up your WordPress website.

A full backup of your WordPress site involves keeping a copy of both your files and your database in a remote location. In this guide, we will show you how to do this using two methods:

1. Using the UpdraftPlus backup plugin.
2. Manually backing up files and databases to your computer.

Backing up your WordPress site with UpdraftPlus

Using UpdraftPlus, you can easily backup your WordPress site to remote locations such as Google Drive, Dropbox, Amazon S3, etc.

The free version comes with ample features to help you run WordPress backups. However, you would only need the paid version if you need special features like encryption.

UpdraftPlus creates backups of the files in your wp-content folder, which is the only folder you really need to backup. This folder contains your themes, plugins, uploads, and other files unique to your website. The other folders contain WordPress core files which you can always download from WordPress.org.

UpdraftPlus can be set to automatically backup your site according to a schedule, or you can directly run a backup using the interface.

Automatic Backups With UpdraftPlus

In this section, we will show you how to set UpdraftPlus to backup your Website to Google Drive once every week. Depending on how busy your site is, you may decide that backups should run more often. For example, if your site gets 20 new posts daily, you may choose to set the daily backups.

For someone who adds two posts per month, setting the schedule to monthly might just be good enough.

Here’s how to set up scheduled WordPress backups:

Firstly, you need to install the UpdraftPlus plugin.

To do this, login to your WordPress dashboard and go to Plugins > Add New.

Secondly, search for “UpdraftPlus” and click Install Now.

When the installation completes, click Activate.

Next, go to Settings > UpdraftPlus Backups.

Switch to the “Settings” tab.

Set the “Files” and “Database” backup schedule to weekly, and leave the number of backups retained set to 2.

Scroll down to the “Choose your remote storage” section and click on Google Drive. When it expands the Google Drive options, right-click on “Follow this link to your Google API console…” and select “Open in new tab”.

Next, click on the My Project dropdown and click the plus button to create a new project.

Name your project and click Create.

Click on the My Project dropdown and click the project you just created.

Click Enable API at the top of the screen. When the API library opens, click Drive API.

Next, click Enable.

WordPress Backup – Creating Credentials

To use the API you just enabled, you have to create credentials for it. These credentials are the actual information used to connect UpdraftPlus to Google drive.

To start this step, click on the Credentials tab on the left, click the Create Credential dropdown, and select “Help me choose”.

Select “Google Drive API” as the API you are using, select “Web browser (JavaScript)” as the place you would be calling the API from, select “User data” as the kind of data you would be accessing, and click What credentials do I need?

Next, enter a name you choose for your OAuth client. Under “Authorized Javascript origins”, enter the URL of the site you want to backup with the updraft.

To get your authorized redirect URI, switch to the tab where UpdraftPlus is open. You will find this in the Google Drive section. Copy this URI and paste it into your credential setup page.

After pasting the redirect URI, click Create client ID.

In the next step, enter a product name and click Continue.

Click Done to complete the creation of your credential. You will be taken to a page listing your credentials.

Click on the credential you just created to reveal your “Client ID” and “Client Secret”.

Copy the Client ID into the “Google Drive Client ID” input box in your Updraft Settings, and copy the Client secret into the “Google Drive Client Secret” input box.

Scroll to the bottom of the page, check the box to enable email notifications and click Save Changes.

Authenticate Google Drive

You will be prompted to authenticate Google Drive. Click on the authentication link.

If you are taken to the Google login page, select the account you set up your credentials with. Next, click Allow to authenticate UpdraftPlus.

After authenticating, you will be taken back to the plugin page and an authentication success message will be seen at the top of the screen. Also, your first backup would begin automatically.

And that’s it. You’ve successfully set UpdraftPlus to backup your WordPress files and database once every week.

A note about authentication: In some cases, when you try to authenticate, you get an error message like the one below.

To resolve this, click the Learn More link. On the next page, scroll to the “Apps for testing or personal use only” section and click the “Risky Access Permission By Unreviewed Apps” link. Lastly, click Join Group.

You can now go on to authenticate UpdraftPlus to use Google Drive.

Running a One-Time Backup Using UpdraftPlus

Beyond setting up a backup schedule, you may sometimes need to run a one-time backup of your WordPress site. For example, this would be necessary if you are about to make changes to your site that can break it.

To run a one-time backup with UpdraftPlus, go to Settings > UpdraftPlus Backups

Click Backup Now.

Leave all items selected to backup everything in your “wp-content folder” and your database, and click Backup Now.

If you however decide to make changes to what is backed up, note that you can expand each section by clicking the dotted lines.

After, clicking Backup Now, you will see a backup progress report indicating the backup has started. Depending on the size of your website, this might take a while.

When the backup completes, you will see a message in the “Last log report” like the one below.

That’s it. Your backup is complete!

Manually Backing Up Your Files And Database To Your Computer

Another way to backup your WordPress files and database is by storing them locally either in your computer, or in other physical media like an external hard disk, or a DVD.

To use this method, you would need to download your WordPress files and export your MySQL database.

As we already mentioned above, the main folder you would need to download is your “wp-content” folder. All other folders can simply be re-downloaded from WordPress.org.

However, you may also choose to download your “wp-config” file, especially if you have made many custom changes to this file.

Downloading WordPress Files using FTP

To download and backup your files using this method, you would need to connect to your web server using FTP. Read this guide to learn how.

After connecting to your server using FileZilla as explained in the guide, your website files will be displayed on the bottom right, while your computer files will be displayed on the bottom left.

In the computer files area, double-click Desktop to open the desktop folder. This is so you can easily find the folder we are going to download to your desktop.

In the website files area, search for the folder that contains your WordPress files (usually the “public_html” folder) and double-click to open it.

Next, search for the “wp-content” folder, right-click on it, and click download.

Depending on the size of your website, the download may take a while. Wait for it to complete.

When the download completes, look at the transfer count section in the bottom left.

If the download was successful, “Queued files” should be empty, “Failed transfers” should be empty, and “Successful transfers” should show a high number.

Also, on your desktop, you will see a “wp-content” folder.

Next, you may decide to also backup your wp-config file. To do this, scroll down to find this file, right-click on it, and click Download.

This download should only take a moment. When it completes, the wp-config file will also be seen in your Desktop.

Now, create a folder named WordPress Backup and move both the “wp-content” folder and the “wp-config” file into this folder.

Manually Backing Up Your Database

You can easily backup your database with PhpMyAdmin.

This guide will show you how to do this using cPanel as your web admin panel, but the process should be very similar in other admin panels.

Firstly, login to your cPanel account. The login details are usually the same as you used in accessing your server through Filezilla, but you may ask your hosting company for the login link if you do not have that.

In cPanel, scroll to the “Databases” section and click on ‘phpMyAdmin‘.

In phpMyAdmin, click on Databases to view all databases in your account.

However, if you do not know which one is your WordPress database, you can find it in the wp-config file we downloaded in the previous section.

Open this file and search for the line that looks like this:

define(‘DB_NAME’, ‘Database_Name’);

The part “Database_Name” will contain the actual name of your database. Find this database in phpMyAdmin and click on it.

When this database opens, click Export.

Leave “Export Method” set to Quick, and “Format” set to SQL. Click Go to start the export.

Your database SQL file would begin to download shortly. When this download completes, you have backed up your database.

Move the downloaded SQL file to the WordPress Backup folder which already contains your WordPress files. You may now decide to burn this folder to a DVD or store it in an external storage device.

If you are using this backup option, you have to repeat this process often. Depending on how busy your site is, you could do it daily, weekly, or monthly.

Cloud Storage Options for WordPress Backups

In today’s digital age, cloud storage has become a cornerstone for securely managing and storing vast amounts of data, including WordPress site backups.

With several cloud storage services available, it’s crucial to understand the distinct features, benefits, and limitations of each to make an informed decision that best suits your backup needs.

Let’s explore some of the most popular cloud storage options: Google Drive, Dropbox, and Amazon S3.

Google Drive

Pros:

• Generous Storage: Google Drive offers 15 GB of free storage, which is ample space for small to medium-sized WordPress sites.
• Seamless Integration: For those already using Google Workspace services, integrating Google Drive for backups is straightforward and adds to the ecosystem’s convenience.
• User-Friendly Interface: Google Drive is known for its simple, intuitive interface, making it easy to manage and access backup files.

Cons:

• Privacy Concerns: Some users might have reservations about Google’s data privacy practices, given its extensive data collection across services.
• Limited Free Storage: For larger websites, the initial 15 GB might not suffice, necessitating a paid upgrade for more storage space.

Dropbox

Pros:

• Easy Sharing: Dropbox excels in file-sharing capabilities, allowing users to easily share backup files with team members or across devices.
• High Security: Dropbox offers robust security features, including file encryption and two-factor authentication, ensuring your backups are well-protected.
• Version History: It keeps versions of your files for up to 30 days, enabling you to revert to earlier versions of your backups if necessary.

Cons:

• Smaller Free Storage: Dropbox offers only 2 GB of free storage, which is on the lower side compared to its competitors.
• Bandwidth Limits: There are limitations on the bandwidth for file sharing, which might be a concern for those needing to access backups frequently or share them extensively.

Amazon S3

Pros:

• Scalability: Amazon S3 stands out for its scalability, making it an excellent choice for websites of all sizes, as you pay only for the storage you use.
• Reliability and Availability: Backed by Amazon’s massive infrastructure, S3 offers high durability and availability, ensuring your backups are safe and accessible.
• Advanced Features: S3 provides a range of advanced features, including detailed access controls and integration with other AWS services for more complex backup strategies.

Cons:

• Complexity: Amazon S3’s wide range of features and settings can be overwhelming for users unfamiliar with AWS, making it less user-friendly than some alternatives.
• Cost Predictability: While you pay for what you use, the pricing structure can be complex, and costs can escalate as your needs grow, making it challenging to predict expenses.

How Can You Use This Information?

We cannot stress enough how important it is to run regular WordPress sites backup. If this was not a practice for you, please use the steps covered in this guide to set up a reliable backup process.

Also, we would recommend that you utilize the scheduled backup option using UpdraftPlus. This method is simple, works well, and is being used in millions of WordPress sites.

You may also add an extra layer of safety by performing manual backups every once in a while in addition.

If, on the other hand, you prefer only manual backups, go ahead and use the steps covered, but remember to do it often.

As a reminder, do not store backups within your server. It should always be in a remote location, such as in cloud storage (Google Drive in our example), or in your local computer.

Also, another thing you need to address to improve your site safety is to secure it against hackers. Read this article to find out how best to do this.

FAQ Section for WordPress Backups

Why is it important to regularly back up my WordPress site?

Regular backups ensure that you have a recent snapshot of your site, which is crucial for restoring your website in case of data loss, hacking, server failures, or accidental deletions.

Backups act as a safety net, allowing you to recover your site quickly and minimize downtime.

How often should I back up my WordPress site?

The frequency of backups should align with how often your site’s content changes. For dynamic sites with daily updates, daily backups are recommended.

For less frequently updated sites, weekly backups may suffice. Consider real-time backups for e-commerce sites or sites with high transaction volumes.

What’s the difference between manual backups and using a plugin?

Manual backups involve manually exporting your site’s files and database, typically using FTP and a database management tool like phpMyAdmin.

Plugin-based backups automate this process, allowing you to schedule backups and store them on cloud services easily. Plugins offer convenience and consistency, while manual backups give you more control.

Are cloud storage services safe for storing WordPress backups?

Yes, reputable cloud storage services like Google Drive, Dropbox, and Amazon S3 offer robust security features, including encryption and access controls, making them safe options for storing backups.

Ensure you use strong passwords and enable two-factor authentication for added security.

Can I store my WordPress backups on my hosting server?

While you can store backups on your hosting server, it’s not recommended as your primary storage method due to the risk of server failures or hacking incidents affecting both your live site and backups.

Offsite storage, like cloud services, provides a safer alternative by keeping backups separate from your live environment.

How do I restore my WordPress site from a backup?

Restoring your site depends on how the backup was created. For plugin-based backups, most backup plugins offer a restoration feature within your WordPress dashboard.

For manual backups, you’ll need to upload your files via FTP and import your database using phpMyAdmin or a similar tool. Always test backups and restoration processes periodically to ensure they work as expected.

Do WordPress backups include my posts, images, and plugins?

Yes, a complete WordPress backup includes all your site’s components, such as posts, pages, images, plugins, themes, and the database, which contains your settings and content.

Ensure your backup method is configured to include all necessary files and directories.

What is the best WordPress backup plugin?

The “best” plugin varies based on individual needs and preferences. Popular options include UpdraftPlus, VaultPress (Jetpack Backup), and BackupBuddy.

Each offers a range of features from automated scheduling to cloud storage integration. Evaluate your site’s specific needs and choose a plugin that aligns with those requirements.

The post How To Perform Regular WordPress Backup appeared first on FixRunner.com.

WordPress push notifications have risen in popularity over the years, and chances are you have come across them severally. Most modern websites have them.

Have you ever seen a popup box, asking your permission to send notifications? Those are web push notifications or WordPress push notifications as we will refer to them in this article. Browsers like Chrome, Opera, Firefox and Safari, support them both on mobile and desktop.

The idea behind WordPress push notifications is to encourage repeat visits from your visitors. To achieve this, it sends push alerts to subscribers whenever you publish something new on your website. The end goal, of course, is to drive more website traffic.

In this article, we will look into what WordPress push notification is all about. Not only that, we will also walk you through how to set it up on your WordPress website. You don’t have to write any code – WordPress push notification plugins will do the work.

In this article:

• What is WP push notification?
• Benefits of adding push notifications to your WordPress website
• Times when you need push notification
• Implementation Challenges and Solutions for WordPress Push Notifications
• How to add push notifications to your website
  • How to setup Pushcrew
  • Other push notification plugin solutions
• Performance and Optimization for WordPress Push Notifications
• User Engagement Strategies with WordPress Push Notifications
• Conclusion

What is WordPress push notification?

This is how WordPress push notification looks like:

Push notifications are popup prompts that appear whenever a visitor lands on a website. If the visitor clicks Allow, he/she will get an automatic notification any time new content is published on the website. Even if the visitor isn’t currently on the website when new content is published, he/she would still get an alert. However, if the visitor clicks Block, no notification will be sent.

Basically, that’s how push notifications work. They work well both on desktops and mobile devices.

Benefits of Adding Push Notifications to Your WordPress Website

Building loyal, enthusiastic followers to your website is no easy feat. This is because most people visit a website once, never to visit it again. Your biggest challenge is converting these once-in-a-while visitors to repeat visitors.

Thankfully, there are a couple of marketing channels you could use to overcome this challenge. Email marketing, social media marketing, and web push notifications are the most common.

Email marketing works, for one thing. No doubt about that. What you may not know is that push notification, if done right, is as effective. Any visitor that permits your notifications has an interest in your website. They will likely come to your site when they receive a notification. That means very little marketing effort on your part gets you more engagement.

Other benefits of adding push notifications to your website include:

• Very little upfront investment of time and money
• Effective for driving real-time traffic. Let’s say you are offering a product on your website, and visitors have limited time to make a purchase. With push notifications, you can drive traffic quickly to your website.
• You can get it up and running quickly, and see results immediately. Email marketing, on the other hand, requires a long-term approach.

Times When You Need Push Notification

Here are the best instances when web push notifications will be of great help:

• You run an eCommerce store and want to send out coupon deals from time to time.
• When you are about to launch a webinar and want to alert your visitors about it.
• You just made a social media update, and wish to get many eyes to it.

It’s important, however, that you use push notifications moderately. Otherwise, you risk annoying your visitors.

Implementation Challenges and Solutions for WordPress Push Notifications

Implementing push notifications on a WordPress site can be a straightforward process with the right tools and plugins. However, like any website feature, you might encounter a few challenges along the way.

Below, we’ll explore some common obstacles website owners face when adding push notifications to their WordPress sites and provide practical solutions to overcome these hurdles.

Browser Compatibility Issues

One of the primary challenges with push notifications is ensuring they work seamlessly across all popular browsers your audience might use. To address this, choose a push notification service that offers broad browser support.

Regularly test your push notifications on different browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge, to verify they’re being delivered as expected. If issues arise, consult your push notification service’s support documentation or reach out to their customer service for browser-specific troubleshooting advice.

User Opt-In Rates

A low opt-in rate for push notifications can limit your ability to communicate with your site visitors. To improve opt-in rates, customize the prompt message to make it more engaging and clearly communicate the value your notifications will provide.

Consider the timing of the opt-in prompt as well. Allowing visitors to engage with your content before prompting them can lead to higher acceptance rates. A/B testing different messages and timing can help identify what works best for your audience.

Notification Overload

Sending too many notifications can overwhelm users, leading to higher opt-out rates. Develop a strategic notification schedule that balances keeping users informed without bombarding them.

Segment your audience to ensure that notifications are relevant and targeted, which can reduce the likelihood of users disabling notifications. Monitoring engagement metrics will also help you adjust frequency and content based on user preferences.

Ensuring GDPR Compliance

Compliance with privacy regulations like GDPR is crucial when implementing push notifications. Ensure your push notification service offers features that support compliance, such as easy opt-out options and transparent data usage policies.

Include a section in your privacy policy that explains how and why you use push notifications and how users can manage their preferences. Regularly review your push notification practices to ensure they align with the latest privacy laws and guidelines.

Technical Integration Issues

Integrating push notifications with custom themes or plugins can sometimes lead to technical challenges. If you encounter conflicts or issues, start by deactivating other plugins temporarily to identify any incompatibilities.

Consult the documentation of your push notification service for integration tips, and consider reaching out to the support teams of both the push notification service and the conflicting plugin or theme for assistance. In some cases, custom development may be needed to ensure smooth integration.

With that said, let’s see how to set up push notifications on your WordPress website.

How to Add Push Notifications in WordPress Website

Push notifications are quite easy to set up, and just about anybody – developer or non-developer – can set it up.

An efficient push notification plugin solution is all you need, and there are a couple of them out there. The popular ones include:

• PushCrew
• Push Engage
• OneSignal
• PushAssist
• Pushalert

Most are free, but there is a catch: you get to pay once your subscribers exceed a certain number. PushCrew, for instance, is free, but once your subscribers exceed 2000 you start paying.

Let us walk you through the process of setting up push notifications via PushCrew.

How to Setup Push Notification via PushCrew

PushCrew offers a 14-day trial on all its plans, after which you can decide to continue or discontinue. To test the waters, start with their Startup Plan – it’s free.

Step #1: Create a PushCrew Account

First things first, head over to PushCrew website and create a free account. Not to worry, you won’t be asked for your credit card details.

When creating an account, be mindful of the format of your domain – HTTP or HTTPS. Once you have typed in all the needed information, click Create Free Account.

Next, fill out the required information in the popup box.

Note: The name of the company can’t be changed once you click the save button. Also, in the Subdomain field, type in your website’s domain. Say your website domain is mytestwebsite.com, type in “mytestwebsite” in the subdomain field.

Step #2: Customize the WordPress push notification popup box

PushCrew lets you add a custom logo and message to the popup box. While still signed in to your PushCrew account, navigate to Settings>> Opt-in.

From here, you can add a custom logo and change the title as well as the subtitle. You can use different messaging for the title on mobile devices if you wish to.

Don’t forget to click the Save button at the top right corner once you are done.

Step #3: Add PushCrew to Your Website

There are two ways to add PushCrew notifications to your website: one is adding a snippet of code between the <head></head> tags on every page of your website. The second is using a plugin. Since the latter is a lot simpler, it makes sense to go for it.

While still logged in to your PushCrew account, click the Account button at the top bar. Here you will see your account’s id, copy it.

Now log into your WordPress dashboard and navigate to Plugin >> Add New. Search for PushCrew, install and activate it.

Once installed and activated, navigate to Settings >> PushCrew. Next, paste your PushCrew ID in the given box and save the changes.

Step #4: Send Notifications

If you’ve followed the steps so far, you should have a notification popup on your website that looks like this.

Now you surely have the push notification up and running. It’s about time you send out your first notification.

Head back to your PushCrew account, and click the One-Time button in the dashboard panel.

Set the title, message and landing page of your notification. Click Next. On the next page, configure your notification and click Send Now.

That’s it, you are done!

PushCrew is quite easy to implement. You can always upgrade your plans at any time. Check out PushCrew’s pricing page for more.

Other Push Notification WordPress Plugins You Could Try

You are not limited to using PushCrew – there are other plugin solutions that work pretty fine. Let’s see some of them.

Push Engage

Push Engage has a free plan which you will only have to upgrade once your subscribers exceed 2500. Their business plan starts at $29/month and can be used on up to 3 multi-sites.

Push Engage supports all major browsers, including Microsoft Edge. They offer a 15-day free trial period.

OneSignal

OneSignal really went up and above with their free plan. Their free plan has a bandwidth of 30,000 subscribers on desktop and unlimited on mobile. That’s huge! Excellent solution if you have a large following, but don’t want to make any upfront financial commitment.

In addition, you can use OneSignal to set up an email campaign. That’s the price of two for one!

You can get started right away for free. However, their starter plan starts at $99/month and the Pro plan is $600/month.

PushAssist

PushAssist, just like its predecessors, has a free plan which accommodates up to 3,000 subscribers. There is no limit to the number of notifications you can send, both on mobile and desktop.

Their Starter Plan has a price tag of $9/month, Business Plan starts at $25/month and Elite plan starts at $299/month. Though seemingly cheaper than the rest, you are restricted to 3500 subscribers in the Starter and Business plans while the Elite plan is 75,000. So, look before taking the leap.

Pushalert

The last on our list is Pushalert. Pretty much similar to other plugin solutions – a 15-day free trial period, a free plan with a bandwidth of 3,000 subscribers.

Performance and Optimization for WordPress Push Notifications

While integrating push notifications into your WordPress site can significantly enhance user engagement, it’s crucial to ensure that this feature doesn’t detract from your site’s performance or user experience.

In this section, we’ll cover essential tips on optimizing push notifications to maintain a swift, seamless website while delivering value to your audience through timely updates.

Optimize Loading Times

Push notification plugins or scripts can add extra load to your website, potentially affecting page loading times. To mitigate this, select a push notification service that loads asynchronously, ensuring that the loading of notifications doesn’t block or delay your website content from rendering.

Additionally, review the plugin’s impact on your site’s performance using tools like Google PageSpeed Insights, and consider leveraging caching solutions to further enhance loading times.

Streamline Notification Delivery

The mechanism behind sending push notifications should be as efficient as possible. Opt for a push notification service that offers an optimized delivery system, capable of handling high volumes of notifications without causing server strain.

Implementing a Content Delivery Network (CDN) can also distribute the load, ensuring that notifications are dispatched promptly without affecting your server’s performance.

User Experience Considerations

The frequency and timing of notifications are critical to maintaining a positive user experience. Bombarding users with too many notifications can lead to annoyance and opt-outs.

To prevent this, strategize your notification schedule based on user behaviour and preferences. Employing user segmentation allows you to tailor notifications to specific groups, increasing relevance and reducing the likelihood of users finding them intrusive.

Mobile Responsiveness

With a significant portion of web traffic coming from mobile devices, ensuring that push notifications display correctly and unobtrusively on smaller screens is paramount.

Test your notifications on various devices and screen sizes to ensure they are clearly visible without obstructing content or navigation. Responsive design techniques can help achieve a seamless experience across all devices.

Prioritize Consent and Customization

Respecting user consent is not only a legal requirement under regulations like GDPR but also a best practice for maintaining trust.

Provide clear options for users to opt-in or out of push notifications and offer customization settings where users can choose the types of notifications they want to receive. This approach respects user preferences and can reduce the likelihood of users disabling notifications entirely.

Monitoring and Adjusting

Regularly monitor the performance of your push notifications in terms of click-through rates, opt-in/opt-out rates, and user feedback. Use this data to adjust your notification strategy, fine-tuning the frequency, content, and targeting to better meet your audience’s needs.

Continuous optimization based on real user data will help you maintain an effective push notification strategy that enhances user engagement without compromising site performance.

User Engagement Strategies with WordPress Push Notifications

Leveraging push notifications as a pivotal component of your broader user engagement strategy can transform how you interact with your audience on your WordPress site.

This section delves into the art of crafting compelling notification messages, the science behind timing your notifications for maximum impact, and the analytics behind measuring the success of your push notification campaigns.

Crafting Compelling Notification Messages

The key to an effective push notification lies in its ability to grab attention and prompt action. Keep your messages concise and focused, ensuring they convey value within the limited space.

Use action-oriented language and personalize the message to resonate with the recipient. For example, “Hey [Name], your favorite blog just updated! Check it out now!” is more engaging than a generic “New blog post published.” Testing various messages can help identify which ones resonate best with your audience.

Timing Your Notifications for Maximum Impact

The timing of your push notifications can significantly affect their effectiveness. Analyze your audience’s online behavior patterns to identify peak engagement times. Many push notification services offer scheduling features that allow you to deliver messages at the optimal moment.

For instance, sending a notification about a new blog post in the morning might catch your audience during their daily routine checks, while an evening schedule might work better for promotional content.

Segmentation and Targeting

Not all notifications will be relevant to your entire audience. Use segmentation to categorize your users based on their interests, behaviour, or demographic data. Tailored notifications to specific segments can dramatically increase engagement rates.

For example, notifying users about a discount on a product they’ve viewed on your site can be more effective than a generic sale notification.

Interactive and Rich Notifications

Modern push notification services allow for richer content, including images or action buttons. Utilizing these features can make your notifications more interactive and engaging.

For example, a notification about a new fashion blog post could include an image from the post, along with buttons like “Read Now” and “Bookmark for Later.”

Measuring Success and Analytics

To continually refine your push notification strategy, it’s essential to track their performance. Key metrics to monitor include click-through rates (CTR), opt-in rates, and conversion rates.

Most push notification services provide analytics dashboards to help you track these metrics. Analyzing this data will help you understand what works and what doesn’t, allowing for data-driven adjustments to your strategy.

A/B Testing

A/B testing, or split testing, is a method to compare two versions of a notification to see which performs better. By changing one element at a time, such as the message, timing, or imagery, you can determine which variations yield the best results. This continuous testing loop can significantly enhance the effectiveness of your notifications over time.

Feedback Loop

Encourage and monitor feedback from your audience regarding your push notifications. This can be done through direct feedback channels on your site or by analyzing engagement trends.

User feedback is invaluable for fine-tuning your approach and ensuring your notifications remain a welcome touchpoint rather than an annoyance.

Conclusion

All the push notification plugin solutions we looked at in this article generally work fine – it just depends on what you are looking for. Some allow you to schedule notifications while others let you run email campaigns from the same dashboard.

Integrating any of these plugins is quite straightforward. We already showed you how to integrate PushCrew into your WordPress website. Other platforms and even custom sites basically follow a similar process.

We hope you found this article helpful. Should you run into hiccups in the process, don’t hesitate to reach out and get WordPress help. If you found this article helpful, kindly share. You might be helping someone.

More Resources:

• Professional WordPress Assistance
• Vary Accept-encoding Header Error: How to Fix in WordPress
• How To Find, Create And Use htaccess File In WordPress

The post WordPress Push Notifications: How to Set Them Up appeared first on FixRunner.com.

Are you considering converting your rather static HTML site to a more dynamic WordPress site? Certainly, that is good thinking! WordPress currently powers 35% of all websites on the internet and has surely grown to be the most popular among other website builders.

Converting HTML to WordPress may seem like a very daunting task. However, we’ll teach you how shortly.

In this HTML to WordPress tutorial, you’ll definitely learn two (2) ways of doing it. Firstly, it is the manual method. Secondly, it is the child-theme method.

Feel free to try any of the methods depending on your coding skills, time, money, as well as personal preference. So, let’s go.

Content

• WordPress vs HTML
• Before you convert HTML to WordPress
• First method: Convert HTML to WordPress with a theme
• Second method: Using a child theme
• Completing your site
• Technical Aspects of Conversion: Navigating CSS, JavaScript, and Images
• Troubleshooting and Common Errors
• Finally

WordPress vs HTML

Before we go into how to convert HTML to WordPress, let’s first make a brief comparison between them.

Coding skills

To begin with, anyone can use WordPress. Yes, definitely anyone. Important to realize, it requires little or no coding skills. HTML sites, on the other hand, require an in-depth knowledge of coding. If you love to code and are willing to spend time making every change, then using an HTML site may be a good option. Otherwise, save yourself some stress and use WordPress.

Ease of Usage

To point out, WordPress uses an easy drag and drop interface. As a result, this makes content creation and management a walk in the park. However, we can’t say the same thing about an HTML site. So many lines of code aren’t so easy to handle, especially for a beginner.

Flexibility

There are thousands of WordPress templates to choose from – free as well as premium. Furthermore, with just a few clicks, you can give a WordPress website a new look. The case is rather different with an HTML site.

Functionality

For the most part, with WordPress plugins, you can add more functionality to your WP site. Altogether, no coding is required. Just search for the plugin, install, and then activate it. Improving the functionality of an HTML site is also possible. Though, it’s just more difficult to achieve.

Additionally, WordPress sites have great SEO and Security features.

Before you Convert HTML to WordPress

So far, we have dealt much on how beneficial WordPress is over a static HTML site. But before you move to WordPress, you need the following:

1. Web Hosting provider

   First thing to remember, you need a hosting service for your new WordPress site. Take note that your website’s stability, speed, as well as security largely depends on your web host. So, be sure to go for the best. We have made a list of the best WordPress hosting providers in order for you to make the most informed decision. On the other hand, you can install WordPress on localhost and then go live later on.

2. WordPress installation

   If you haven’t installed WordPress yet, do so. At the same time, read our WordPress resource on how to create a WP site in three easy steps.

3. Code Editor

   To point out, this will be useful for handling your HTML codes. Notepad++, Sublime, as well as Aptana Studio are great examples.

We’ll be explaining how to convert HTML to WordPress using 2 methods, viz Manual and Child Theme. For many users, however, the child theme method will be easier to follow. But if you have WP experience, you may prefer the manual method.

Side Note: In case you do not feel comfortable working with codes or WordPress, you can hire an expert to do this for you. Otherwise, roll up your sleeves and let’s get to work.

First Method: Convert HTML To WordPress With A Theme

For the most part, you may decide to retain the design on your HTML website. That’s often because you want your site visitors to have the same experience as they did on your HTML site. If that’s so, follow this procedure.

As we mentioned, this method requires more experience, and more work to make complete. That means you do not get the full features of a WordPress theme unless you code them in one after the other later on (info that cannot be covered here).

On the plus side, this option gives you full customization of your theme as you will be putting all parts in there.

Ideally, only use this option if you are quite confident in coding, or if you want to get a developer to help you with it.

Ready to start? Let’s go.

Step 1: Create a theme folder to hold your theme files

Firstly, create a new folder on your computer and give it a name such as my-theme. Then, open your code or text editor and create five (5) files namely;

• style.css
• header.php
• sidebar.php
• Footer.php
• index.php

We’ll work with these files one after the other, starting with style.css

Step 2: Create a WordPress Stylesheet from the Existing CSS – HTML to WordPress

The style.css file we created in the previous step is indeed our WordPress style sheet. Since we intend to maintain the style of the existing HTML site, we’ll use its CSS code. CSS is in fact what determines how your website looks. So, open your style.css file and paste the following header code:

Say, we’re creating a theme for FixRunner. Therefore, the header would look like this:

Afterward, copy and paste the existing site’s CSS in the WordPress style sheet. Then save the style.css file and close it. Easy, right! Let’s move on.

Step 3: Create your header, sidebar, and footer from existing HTML

As you recall, we created four .php files in the first step: header.php, sidebar.php, footer.php, and index.php. WordPress uses the first 3 PHP files to determine which part of the code is the header, sidebar or footer.

This method certainly makes managing your code easy. As you know, every page on your site must have your header items, such as the navigation menu. The same goes for footers. Furthermore, these parts do not change from page to page. Hence, it makes sense to keep them in their own file and pull them into pages.

That way, if you need to adjust your nav menu structure or something else in your header, you edit just one file (header.php), and that does it for your entire site.

With that said, we’ll now show you how to divide your HTML code into parts (header, sidebar, footer).

Let’s see an example using the following code (you should use your site’s HTML in your index.html file for this).

HTML Code – HTML to WordPress

Now it’s time to divide the codes into parts for HTML to WordPress

• Header.php file:

Paste everything from the beginning of the code to the start of the main content area (that’s the section from the start to the end of the yellow highlights). In addition, you should add this line of code: <?php wp_head();?> right before the </head> tag. The purpose of this action is to ensure that WordPress plugins work as they should.

• Sidebar.php file:

Then copy and paste the section that starts with <div id=”rightcol”> into the sidebar.php file (the section from the start to the end of the green highlights). This section is what displays the sidebar (or in this case, right column) of your HTML site.

• Footer.php file:

Further on, copy all lines of codes from the end of the sidebar to the end of the file and paste in the footer.php file (the section from the start to the end of the blue highlights).

Also, add this line of code <?php wp_footer();?> right before the </body>  tag. This will ensure that your WordPress plugins work as they should.

That’s all for step 3. You can close all other files but we still have some work to do in header.php and index.php files.

Step 4: Edit the Header.php – HTML to WordPress

Look through the header.php file, as you’ll come across this line of code within the <head> section:

Now replace it with the following:

That’s great! We have successfully converted the ‘call for style sheet’ from HTML to WordPress format. We are done with the header.php file so you can save and close it now.

 Step 5: Edit the Index.php files

Next, copy and paste this code on top of the index.php:

Leave a space, then paste these lines of code.

As you may be able to tell already, the first one (get_header) pulls in the header.php file into the index.php file we’re editing. Likewise, the next 2 pull in the sidebar and footer.

All your main content is generally placed between the header and sidebar (the space we left above).

For index.php, we will next paste the Loop within this space. The loop is a PHP code snippet that displays your posts.

So, paste the following after <?php get_header(); ?>

All in all, save the index.php file. Now, to the final step.

Step 6: Upload theme

Now that we have successfully completed the theme folder, it’s time to upload it to WordPress. To do this, paste or upload the theme folder in /wp-content/themes/ (in your WordPress folder). Now go to your WordPress dashboard and open Appearance >> Themes.

If you have followed our steps accordingly, your new theme will appear in the list of themes. Since that’s the case, go on to activate it.

If you are not comfortable with the amount of manual work involved in this method, the next method is surely less daunting.

Second Method: Using a Child Theme

In this method, we’ll be using a WordPress Child Theme. A child theme is one that exhibits the styling and functionality of another theme (parent theme).

Aside from being easier, you also end up with a more robust theme with important functions like controlling menu items from the “Themes” menu.

Without delay, let’s see how to convert your static HTML site to WordPress via a child theme.

Step 1: Choose a theme

First, select a theme that is similar to your existing HTML design. In order to see your options, check our list of the top 10 free WordPress themes. Then again, you could go for a paid theme. Once you have made a choice, install the theme but don’t activate it. This theme only acts as a base as we will work more with the child theme.

Step 2: Create a theme folder

That is to say, the theme folder will contain files relating to the child theme. Give the folder a name that is related to the parent theme (e.g. “parent theme’s name-child”). Assuming we’re creating a child theme for the Twenty Twenty WP theme, the folder should rather be named twentytwenty-child.

Within this folder, we will be creating our style.css as well as functions.php files.

Step 3: Create a Style Sheet – HTML to WordPress

Open a new file in your code editor and save it as style.css. Then copy and paste the following lines of code (edit as required).

To illustrate this section properly, we will assume that we want to create a child theme for Twenty Twenty WP theme. In that case, here’s how this header would look:

Of all these, take special note of the template item. The value must be the folder name of the parent theme, otherwise, your theme won’t work.

With this part added, copy and paste all your site styles from the HTML site. Then save this file.

Step 4: Create functions.php file

It’s time to inherit the styling of the parent’s theme. To do this, create a new file and name it functions.php. Then, paste the following code into the file.

By pasting this code, the child theme automatically inherits the styling of the parent theme.

Step 5: Activate the Child theme

Now it’s time to activate your child theme. Simply add the theme folder to /wpcontent/themes/. Then, visit your dashboard and activate the theme.

Completing Your Site

Whether you choose to use the manual or child theme method, you would need to move over the rest of your content when done.

Since you are now in WordPress, they will be done via the dashboard.

For example, to create a page, go to Pages > Add New in your dashboard.

Next, enter your page title (e.g. About Us), and begin creating your content.

Alternatively (and often easier), you can switch the content editor from  Visual to Text. Then copy the About Us code from your HTML site to this page, taking care to ensure you exclude the header, sidebar, and footer parts (as these are already in your theme).

As you do, some things like images will become broken links, for these, switch back to the Visual editor and upload these images in the right places.

Note: If you are using Gutenberg editor (which will be the case if you just installed WordPress), you cannot switch from Visual to Text. Instead, add a new “Custom HTML” code block and paste in your HTML.

As you follow these steps, it’s essential to keep your site’s long-term maintenance in mind. Enrolling in a WordPress care plan can provide ongoing support to handle any issues that may arise during and after the conversion process.

Technical Aspects of Conversion: Navigating CSS, JavaScript, and Images

Embarking on the journey from a static HTML site to a dynamic WordPress platform encompasses more than just transferring content. It’s about ensuring your website’s aesthetics and functionality transition seamlessly.

Let’s dive into the crucial technical elements, CSS, JavaScript, and images, that play pivotal roles in this transformation.

CSS: The Style Behind the Substance

CSS, or Cascading Style Sheets, is the backbone of your website’s design, dictating everything from layout to font styles.

When converting your site, it’s essential to integrate your existing CSS into WordPress to preserve your site’s unique look and feel. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

• Preserve Your Style: Begin by locating your HTML site’s CSS file. This file contains all the style rules for your website.
• Incorporate into WordPress: Create a new file in your WordPress theme directory named style.css. This will be your primary stylesheet in WordPress.
• Transfer Styles: Copy the contents of your original CSS file into the newly created style.css file within your WordPress theme. This action ensures that your site retains its original styling post-conversion.

JavaScript: Enhancing Interactivity

JavaScript adds interactivity and dynamic content to your site, from simple animations to complex user interfaces. Integrating JavaScript into your WordPress site involves:

• Identify JavaScript Files: Locate the JavaScript (.js) files used in your HTML site. These might include custom scripts or libraries such as jQuery.
• Upload to Your Theme: Place these .js files within your WordPress theme folder, ideally in a subdirectory named js to keep things organized.
• Link Scripts in WordPress: Use the wp_enqueue_script function within your theme’s functions.php file to properly link these JavaScript files. This ensures they are loaded correctly on your site.

Images: Visual Continuity

Images are the visual pillars of your site, and maintaining their quality and placement is crucial. To manage images during the conversion, do the following:

• Gather All Images: Collect all images from your HTML site. This includes icons, backgrounds, and content images.
• Upload to WordPress: Within your WordPress theme directory, create an images folder and upload all your images here.
• Update Image Paths: Ensure all image paths in your CSS and HTML (now PHP) files point to the new locations within your WordPress theme. This might involve updating URLs to reflect the WordPress structure.

Troubleshooting and Common Errors

While converting HTML to WordPress offers a plethora of opportunities to enhance your website’s functionality and user experience, the path may occasionally present obstacles.

Here are some common hurdles you might encounter, along with practical solutions to overcome them.

File Type is Not Permitted for Security Reasons Error

This error often occurs when trying to upload custom HTML files directly into WordPress. WordPress restricts certain file types for security reasons.

To avoid this, you can insert your HTML code into a WordPress page using the ‘Custom HTML‘ block in the Gutenberg editor. This method allows you to safely include custom HTML without altering the core files or compromising security.

CSS and JavaScript Not Loading

After migrating your HTML content, you might notice that some styles or scripts aren’t functioning as expected. This issue usually stems from incorrect paths to CSS and JavaScript files.

Ensure that these files are correctly enqueued in your WordPress theme’s functions.php file. Utilizing the wp_enqueue_style and wp_enqueue_script functions allows WordPress to manage these resources effectively, ensuring they load in the right order and only when needed.

Broken Links and Missing Images

Links to internal pages or images might break during the conversion process, leading to 404 errors or missing media. This typically happens due to absolute paths in the HTML that no longer align with the WordPress structure.

To fix this, update all links and image paths to reflect their new locations within the WordPress directory. Plugins like ‘Search and Replace’ can automate this process, helping you update paths in bulk.

Theme Compatibility Issues

Custom HTML elements might not display correctly with your chosen WordPress theme. If you encounter layout breaks or styling issues, consider creating a child theme to implement custom templates or styles.

This approach preserves your modifications and ensures compatibility with future theme updates.

Plugin Conflicts

Plugins enhance WordPress functionality but can sometimes conflict with custom HTML or scripts. If you notice new issues after installing a plugin, deactivate it temporarily to see if the problem resolves. Identifying and replacing conflicting plugins can restore site functionality.

Finally – HTML to WordPress

In the final analysis, converting an HTML site to WordPress seems like a daunting task. However, with some work and dedication, you can migrate your site from HTML to WordPress without issues.

As you move to WordPress, you will need to get up to speed with the WordPress platform. Without delay, check our WordPress tutorials to learn more about WordPress.

Equally important, you can extend your site’s functionalities by installing and activating WordPress plugins.  Wondering which plugin to download? Read our list of the best WordPress plugins every site should have.

Did you have any issues while converting from HTML to WordPress? Let us know in the comments below.

The post HTML to WordPress – How to Convert a HTML Site to WordPress appeared first on FixRunner.com.