Tag: Wordpress

  • 4 Essential Features to Look For When Choosing the Best Web Hosting Solution for WordPress

    4 Essential Features to Look For When Choosing the Best Web Hosting Solution for WordPress

    Your web design and content are finally ready. Your brick and mortar business took off, so you’re looking to build a WordPress website to establish your online presence.

    Before you can even start developing your website, however, you need to find a good hosting for your site first. Otherwise, if you use a poor-quality website host, you could run into all sorts of trouble in the future, such as your site loading slow, getting hacked, etc.

    There are countless WordPress hosting providers in the market right now. And, choosing the right one that fits your business can be confusing. If you’re wondering which website hosting you should choose, Neil Patel wrote a review to help his readers narrow down their options for a dedicated WordPress hosting solution.

    If you’re wondering what features to look out for when choosing a WordPress hosting, then you’re in the right place.

    This article covers the crucial features your WordPress web hosting should possess.

    1. High Server Uptime

    A great web design is only the beginning of developing and launching a website. You need to ensure your customers can access the site anytime.

    Remember the times when you click on a link only to see “503 Service Unavailable”

    Frustrating, isn’t it?

    Several minutes of downtime can drive away potential customers, which means losing business. 

    Uptime refers to the amount of time your website is available as intended. On the other hand, downtime means your site is inaccessible due to server issues and related problems.

    There are two things that you should consider when comparing server performance:

    • If your website is not big yet, consider shared hosting. While it does not give you 100% uptime, you should expect at least 98%.
    • For big websites or web applications, choose a dedicated hosting with the highest server uptime. Providers will usually state 99.9999% uptime. The six digits represent the best uptime performance. 

    It’s worth pointing out that there are several types of WordPress hosting. The most common are free, shared, virtual private servers, cloud hosting, and dedicated server plans. 

    Depending on which stage your website is right now, the amount of content your site has, the number of monthly visitors it gets, etc., you’ll be better off using one WordPress hosting type over the other.

    2. High Disk Space and Traffic Allocation

    Disk space is the amount of storage that your WordPress site takes up on the server.

    Your website is composed of database files, web pages, and other assets.

    As you add more content to your website through blogging or other pages, it consumes more space. 

    Traffic works the same way. It requires computing power from the server to deliver your site to your visitors.

    For small websites, traffic allocation may not be an issue. However, if you expect your website to gain more audience, consider looking into each hosting package’s allotted traffic. 

    Providers often put a cap value over the traffic. When the number of visitors is maximized, your website will stop responding. 

    Unlimited disk space and unlimited traffic are usually available on expensive hosting packages. It can be costly when you are just starting out.

    You can choose a plan with smaller disk space and traffic allocation. However, your service provider should have an easy upgrade option so you can quickly increase them in the future.

    3. Website Analytics

    Whether you are running an online shop or offering your services online, the goal is to increase your audience.

    As such, website analytics is an essential feature that you should check out when shopping for a hosting plan. 

    Most providers include analytics tools for free. If possible, ask for a demonstration of its functionalities.

    Make sure the user interface is intuitive and easy to understand. Some providers only offer limited analytics features, with its advanced features only available for extra bucks.

    At the very least, you should see how much traffic your website generates at a given time. You should also see the amount of space you have and how much your current site is using. 

    The hosting plan should support the installation of third-party web analytics tools without extra charges. Among the most popular are Google Analytics, Hotjar, and Kissmetrics.

    4. WordPress Updates and Website Security

    WordPress powers around 38% of all websites on the Internet. Its popularity, coupled with countless themes, extensions, and plugins, create vulnerabilities in the system that hackers and malicious programs can exploit. Even a minor security breach can affect your website. 

    Fortunately, WordPress developers are continuously working to improve its security. As such, your hosting plan should include automatic WordPress updates.

    This makes it easy to keep track of the latest releases. Updates ensure that you have the latest protection against new threats.

    Some providers even include an update scheduling functionality, so you know when your website is due for maintenance. 

    The host’s servers should also include a firewall that prevents malicious attacks such as SQL injections and data theft.

    Other popular security measures include anti-vulnerability, anti-malware, and more. 

    Other Features to Take Note

    Aside from the essential features above, you should also explore advanced functionalities such as:

    • Email accounts – Some hosting packages include professional email accounts that carry your domain name.
    • Advertising credits – Most plans include advertising credits up to $50. You can spend it on Google Ads or other online advertising services to drive traffic.
    • Content Delivery Network (CDN) – Depending on the host’s servers, CDN allows visitors to access your website much faster, which significantly improves user experience.
    • Service support – It will be hard to keep track of your server’s health, WordPress updates, and security without experts. Most hosting providers offer 24/7 support through email, chat, or phone.

    What’s next?

    Remember, don’t settle for crappy hosting. With low-quality hosting, you put your business at risk. What’s more, you lose tons of sales potential, which could easily hurt your bottom line.

    Now that you know the essential features that your WordPress hosting solution should have, you should be ready to set-up your website in no time.

  • 6 Important WordPress Skills You Need to Master

    6 Important WordPress Skills You Need to Master

    Regardless of whether you are a tech genius or just an enthusiast, you are in for a treat! Since almost all people use the internet whether for regular navigation, social media, business, or just for fun, some would think to launch their own website either to sell products or share their experiences. Thanks to the ease of creating websites without the need for expert help, WordPress has always pioneered in the field of content management systems. 

    It has an extensive range of features and plugins, facilitating the process for its users. Trends change, and so does WordPress. This is why having certain skills is a must if you want to become a developer to easily manage your blog or website. This article explores 6 essential skills needed for WordPress development.

    1. Information About Content Management Systems

    It is undeniably beneficial to be aware of the content management system (CMS) software; knowledge comes first. Such systems are the tools helping you establish a website without having to write all codes of the digital platform initially or knowing how to code from the first place. Although WordPress is considered one of the easiest and most suitable systems to use in content management and web development, there is no harm in getting to know other similar platforms as well. The templates in other CMS can be just as decent as those of WordPress. This is why it would be a brilliant way to sketch and devise in these as well. As you are using various programs in CMS,  you can certainly learn some new skills that would aid you in easier and better administration of the WordPress website you launched.

    2. Good Command of Plugins

    You will typically be dealing with online platforms and software programs. This includes getting to know some tools, languages, and more importantly plugins. The wide ecosystem of plugins offered in WordPress grants you numerous features that will help you a great deal on your website, such as increasing site speed, enhancing SEO, creating online stores, creating booking sites with WordPress booking plugins, displaying data with WordPress table plugins, or providing email opt-ins.

    Usually, coding skills would come at the forefront of your to-do list, but with WordPress, the procedures are much easier. WordPress offers handy plugins that make the process go smoothly. You would need no programming skills for duplicating posts or pages in WordPress, you can just install it onto your software. Making many duplicates for your website is beneficial for several purposes. Duplicates made will be useful for your website to use as templates or references for posts.

    3. Smart Marketing

    The main aim of creating a website is to have a lot of people checking it out, where the services, products, blogs, or content are proliferated. Only then will your hard work truly pay off. So the need for having smart marketing strategies is highly important for web developers. Whether you offer your website’s theme or plugin for free or for pay; marketing yourself is the way to go.

    A good way to begin is through specifying what you wish to achieve with the development project and visualize those who might make the most benefit out of it. While the matter is not necessarily right out of a textbook, it can be practically devised by a blend of knowledge of the customer, the product, and the ways such a product fulfills the customer’s needs. By doing so, such strategies will aid you in determining what the most appealing images are to your targeted customers.

    4. Adapting to Change

    The virtual world is constantly going through upgrades and new changes. So it is always better to know what the new trends are, what kind of websites customers visit more frequently, and what content they find more appealing. The versions of WordPress go through a lot of changes, and the atmosphere it exists does so as well. For instance, it is beneficial to consider the website design and how modern it should look. Keeping up with the latest features and technology used in web designing will help your website grow faster. Besides, taking into account the threats to the security of the website and its data is essential in the days where cyberattacks have become a normal occurrence. In a nutshell, you need to have a capacity for continuous learning to grow your skill set. 

    5. Strong Planning Skills

    Before initiating any project, mapping out and planning take place. Devising a solid plan and recognizing likely issues and red flags are the optimal approach to prevent any obstacles that may affect deadlines and budgets. Web developers should always have an ambitious mindset about their websites. It is fruitful for them to think of the goals, their target audience, and most importantly, the main content of the website they are to launch. Besides, there are other aspects to consider, such as the competitors, needed site features and options, and social media assessment, among other things.

    6. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Knowledge

    The key benefit of dealing with WordPress as the development tool is how compatible it is with SEO. You don’t need to be an SEO professional to acquire such knowledge; some simple and fundamental aspects are enough. It is rewarding for developers to learn more about SEO because it typically has many benefits, on top of which attracting clients or audiences to their website. Not only does the SEO improve user experiences and gain their trust, but it can also help run things smoothly while managing the content. Besides, it helps in making your website stay ahead of the competition. 

    In the modern digital world, launching a website is something we see every day, but the process consists of intricate steps. Thankfully, programs of content management systems such as WordPress have made it easier and simpler. Naturally, creating a website from scratch has a lot of procedures to be taken, and more importantly, the skills that need to be honed to cope with the changing market. With the previous guide, you can learn more about some of the most important skills necessary for being a successful WordPress developer.

  • Best WordPress Lifetime Deals, Lifetime Licenses And Unlimited Usage [Updated for 2020]

    Best WordPress Lifetime Deals, Lifetime Licenses And Unlimited Usage [Updated for 2020]

    I don’t really talk about WordPress lifetime dealfor themes and plugins is simply because not all lifetime deals are worth the money. More importantly, there is no point for us to invest into a theme or plugin (for a decend amount of money) and get burned in the end.

    But, apart from all the bad things that may happen, there are also some great WordPress lifetime license for themes and plugins that I would personally recommend.

    These tools had become apart of my daily routine in crafting the best WordPress experience for my readers (that’s you).

    What you will find next are the lifetime license for themes and plugins that I recommend you to get it right now.

    Table of Contents1 WordPress themes with lifetime licences1.1 Divi Theme1.1.1 1,000+ premade elements1.1.2 Mobile-friendly1.1.3 Point and click1.2 Thrive Themes1.2.1 Complete everything1.2.2 No coding skills required1.2.3 Conversion-focused1.3 Oxygen Builder1.3.1 Gutenberg ready1.3.2 Clean and bloat free1.3.3 Coding skills are bonuses1.4 Astra Pro1.4.1 Gutenberg ready1.4.2 Lightweight1.4.3 Great community2 WordPress plugins with lifetime licences2.1 Thrive Architect2.1.1 Great pricing2.1.2 Conversion-focused2.1.3 Drag and drop2.2 Thrive Leads2.2.1 Great pricing2.2.2 Compatible2.2.3 Drag and drop2.3 SEOPress2.3.1 Reliable2.3.2 Compatible2.3.3 Easy to use2.4 Fluent Forms2.4.1 Reliable2.4.2 Compatible2.4.3 Easy to use2.5 WPvivid2.5.1 Simple pricing2.5.2 Compatible2.5.3 Easy to use

    WordPress themes with lifetime licences

    There are quite a few WordPress themes that come with lifetime license. These are great themes that I personally use for my personal business, marketing agency and my reseller hosting business.

    Divi Theme

    There is no better lifetime WordPress theme than Divi. Comes packing with all the tools you need to start your WordPress blog, Divi is very affordable even for complete beginners.

    1,000+ premade elements

    Never get struck in web development with Divi premade templates and website layouts.

    Mobile-friendly

    Divi is mobile-optimized right out from the box, so you don’t have to crack your brain for that!

    Point and click

    Intuitive and precise point to click helps you to build content layout visually and frontend.

    Thrive Themes

    Conversion focused WordPress themes and plugins is what make Thrive Themes an excellent choice for WordPress website owners.

    Complete everything

    Thrive Themes comes with website builder and plugins to build a compelte WP site.

    No coding skills required

    Change anything and everything with drag and drop builder. Yes, no coding skills required.

    Conversion-focused

    Build an email list faster or convert cold visitors into potential buyers easily.

    Oxygen Builder

    A lightweight WordPress theme builder that allows you to transform a boring layout into a clean, well-coded WordPress theme.

    Gutenberg ready

    With Oxygen, you can use Gutenberg and build the website that you love.

    Clean and bloat free

    Oxygen build is lightweight and loads fast on the Internet because it has zero bloat.

    Coding skills are bonuses

    Coding knowledge is always an additional when you are using Oxygen builder.

    Astra Pro

    One of the best WordPress theme that offers simplicity, ease of use and powerful builder all under one roof.

    Gutenberg ready

    Astra works well with Gutenberg and you can easily customize anything with Astra

    Lightweight

    Astra is lightweight and doesn’t use jQuery. With minimal optimization, Astra loads fast.

    Great community

    Astra support team is rather supportive. They provide decent support when you need.

    WordPress plugins with lifetime licences

    Finally, WordPress plugins — I use WP plugins to speed up my website development projects on WPMaven.net and some of these plugins below are the best in kind.

    Seriously, you can’t go wrong with them!

    Thrive Architect

    Conversion-focused WordPress page builder, minus the coding skills. Thrive Architect is my go-to WP plugin when it comes to creating blog posts.

    Great pricing

    Pay once and ever pay again is what makes Thrive Architect unique and best for beginners.

    Conversion-focused

    Thrive Architect is focused entirely on building great content for conversion.

    Drag and drop

    Pin point accuracy helps you craft blog posts without using any complicated codes.

    Thrive Leads

    If you are tired of paying lead generation tools on a yearly basis, Thrive Leads is a must-have lead generation plugin for WordPress.

    Great pricing

    Pay once and ever pay again is what makes Thrive Leads unique and best for beginners.

    Compatible

    Thrive Leads is highly compatible with all major WordPress themes.

    Drag and drop

    Pin point accuracy helps you lead generation forms without using any complicated codes.

    SEOPress

    SEOPress is not entirely a lifetime license, but it offers one yearly payment for unlimited number of website usages (which is really awesome).

    Reliable

    Reliable WP SEO plugin for unlimited domains usages with one simple pricing.

    Compatible

    Migrate from any major SEO plugin to SEOPress in just a few clicks.

    Easy to use

    No SEO knowledge is required to manage SEOPress. It is easy to use and can be configured easily.

    Fluent Forms

    Looking for the best lifetime WP form builder? You can’t go wrong with Fluent Forms (ever).

    Reliable

    The only WP form builder that is on lifetime. Unlimited domains + lifetime is best for web dev!

    Compatible

    Fluent Forms is compatible with all major WordPress themes and plugins.

    Easy to use

    Conditional logic, payment gateway and webhook integrations are included!

    WPvivid

    Backup and restoration plugin that offers lifetime usage on unlimited domains (definitely a no-brainer).

    Simple pricing

    The lifetime license is very affordable and best for WordPress developers.

    Compatible

    This plugin is compatible with all major WordPress themes and plugins.

    Easy to use

    Easily perform backup and staging in just a few clicks with WPvivid LTD.

  • OptimizePress vs Thrive: Which is better?

    OptimizePress vs Thrive: Which is better?

    Thrive Themes and plugins have long been a long standing top-tier player in the WordPress development industry. Age-old players such as OptimizePress, Divi and X Theme have lost their spots especially with the highly competitive market. However, things are about to change as OptimizePress has just released an all-new version and update which makes it on par with Thrive.

    As a matter of fact, that’s what this blog post is all about—let’s discuss the differences between OptimizePress vs Thrive.

    OptimizePress—New and improved gamechanger?

    OptimizePress Review 2018

    The update on OptimizePress came at a very timely moment. It has long lost its market share in the competitive edge especially when comparing to Thrive. With the new update, it is said to be much different from any of the previous updates. These includes (but not limited to):

    • More flexible and intuitive drag and drop builder
    • Introduction of elements to increase conversion (newsletters, sign ups and sales)
    • Sales funnel creation with advanced modules and features
    • check More than 300 templates to choose from (along with an active OptimizePress market place to scout and purchase premium templates)
    • check Highly customized opt-in forms to increase conversion rates and getting more leads
    • check Ability to sell everything under the roof—from eBooks to digital products, from seminar and event pages to book launches
    • check Integration with major third party tools and plugins such as email marketing, lead generation and CRMs

    Still not convinced?

    Click on the button below to see OptimizePress in action now!

    Thrive Themes—An all in one marketing toolbox for serious website owners

    is thrive themes worth it

    Thrive Themes is the God when it comes to website customization. Easy to use with round the clock support on forum and email, Thrive Themes has long been the ‘family favorite’ for big names such as John lee Dumas (founder of Entrepreneur On Fire) and Jeff Sauer (frounder of Jeffalytics). When comparing OptimizePress vs Thrive, there are several features which both of them are similar and some which Thrive prevails such as:

    • 10 premium WordPress themes and 10 Thrive plugins
    • Powerful Thrive plugins such as Thrive Architect and Thrive Leads sweeten the deal multiple folds
    • Fast loading website which not many website builders could offer
    • check The most intuitive WordPress website builder in the market (that is constantly updated)
    • check Works well not only for bloggers and small business owners, but as well as digital marketing agencies and business consultants
    • check Simple pricing structure that is easy on the wallet
    • check Your website will not be broken shall you decide to uninstall Thrive plugins (which is a killer advantage!)

    Is Thrive worth it?

    I’ve been using Thrive for over 4 years now and that is single-handedly the best investment I’ve done (for myself and business). Don’t just hear my word for it, try it today!

    OptimizePress vs Thrive—The Recap

    When it comes to comparing OptimizePress and Thrive, it is true that both of the tools are pretty similar. The only differences between OptimizePress vs Thrive is that OptimizePress works under one plugin while Thrive works with multiple plugins.

    Having a single plugin allows you to do everything under one roof but at the same time, unused features will be redundant. This is where Thrive shine where you can only choose the type of plugins or addons you want to use—thus speeding up the website loading speed.

    What do you think when it comes to OptimizePress vs Thrive? Which will you choose?

  • Gutenberg vs WordPress Builder: What are they and how they work?

    Gutenberg vs WordPress Builder: What are they and how they work?

    You heard about Gutenberg months ago. Gutenberg is powerful and more importantly, it is a facelift for WordPress. For years, WordPress has been sitting on the back seat allowing third party tools and plugins to take charge in visual building.

    In this post, let’s talk about Gutenberg and WordPress builder, shall we?

    What is Gutenberg?

    Gutenberg is a take on a new editor for WordPress. It is named after Johannes Gutenberg, who invented a printing press with movable type more than 500 years ago. The current visual editor requires a lot of us to utilize shortcodes and HTML to make things work. Their goal is to make this easier, especially for those just starting with WordPress. They are embracing “little blocks” and hope to add more advanced layout options. You can check out the official example.

    To be fair to the developers and the team working on this, it is important to note that this is currently in its beta and testing phase, it’s not ready to run on production sites yet. But we wanted to dive in and see for ourselves what all the hype is about. We will make sure to keep this post updated as improvements and changes are pushed out. It appears that before this will be officially merged into WordPress core that Matt Mullenweg (the founder) is hoping to get 100,000 active installs. Which makes perfect sense, as this will work out a lot of the bugs, issues, and allow them to process new ideas and feature requests.

    Gutenberg is all having a built in WordPress editor within the WordPress core itself. Thus, eliminating the needs to have a seperate tool or plugin.

    Advantages using Gutenberg

    • Free to use
    • Intuitive editor (better than stock WordPress editor

    Disadvantages using Gutenberg

    • Still in beta stages
    • A lot of bugs
    • Doesn’t come with much features compared to other WordPress builders

    What is a WordPress builder?

    WordPress visual editor or WordPress builder are tools that we use to build WordPress websites fast and without using a single line of code.

    There are many reasons why bloggers and website owners use WordPress builders. For me, it is simply because it is easy to use and allows me to create website fast. As a blogger and website owner that don’t love coding, using WordPress builder definitely saves me a lot of time (to say the very least).

    Third party WordPress builders have issues just like Gutenberg. For example, some WordPress builders are known for being slow and high learning curve. Some are known for its high price tag.

    Advantages using WordPress builders

    • Many third party tools to choose from
    • Low learning curve
    • Highly affordable for beginners and advance WordPress users

    Disadvantages using WordPress builders

    • Comes with a price tag

    Recommended WordPress builders

    My top favorite would be Thrive Architect and i pick it because it is extremely versatile. As a website owner, I don’t have the luxury of time and yet, I need to create a website fast without spending too much money and effort.

    Using Thrive Architect, you can do a lot of customization such as these:

    thrive architect font customizationthrive architect customize widththrive architect attention grabbing elementsthrive architect column layoutthrive architect hover effectcustomize buttons using thrive architect

    If you want to read more about WordPress builders such as Thrive Architect, here’s a great article to start with: Drag And Drop Website Builder 2018 — Comparing The Top 5 WordPress Editors

    Tell me what you think in the comments below!

  • How To Manage A Blog To Success

    How To Manage A Blog To Success

    Are you ready to manage a blog to success?

    Starting a blog is more than just talking out your credit card, installing WordPress and publishing blog posts on a regular basis. It requires a lot of work especially in managing the blog and making it a huge success.

    How to start a blog fast?

    Starting a blog is always the first step and it is often the step which is overlooked by many beginners.

    Most of them start with free blogging site such as Blogspot only to discover that their blogs are deleted without notice after 6 months of hardwork.

    If you want to manage a blog like a professional, then here’s what you need to do.

    The last step involves installing WordPress, a good WordPress theme like this one and essential plugins for SEO and email list building.

    The process of starting a blog is very short and it doesn’t take long. With this guide, you can easily start a blog under 5 minutes.

    Manage a blog: Traffic versus conversion

    In blogging, I am a huge believer that conversion matters the most. You may have 10,000 visitors a day but if you are not converting them into sales, you are not getting any richer (anytime soon).

    When it comes to managing a blog, focus on conversion because conversion is going to help you make money and fast.

    When you manage a blog and aims for success, always focus on conversion as this will help you drive more sales and help you grow your blogging business.

    What type of content should I be publishing?

    how to manage a blog

    I love to answer this (even though I had answered this probably thousands of times). There must be a healthy mix of self-promotional, knowledge/information and comparison posts.

    Self-promotional blog posts can be considered as sales posts. These content are focused heavily in closing sales and selling the benefits of a single product. Here’s a sample of a self-promotional blog post: Thrive Themes Review

    A knowledge and information blog post is slightly different where it is meant to share information and provide education. Affiliate links are located within the blog posts to encourage readers to click on and with the hope of getting some commission generated from the sales. Here’s a sample of a knowledge and information blog post: How To Start A Web Design Business With No Experience (And From Home)

    Comparison posts involve comparing two or more products of the same nature. As buyers, we are often making comparison before making a purchase. Thus, publishing comparison posts allow you to have a better chance of converting website visitors into paying customers. Here’s a sample of a comparison blog post: Beaver Builder vs Divi vs Thrive Architect: Which is the best site builder for you?

    Are you ready to manage a blog to success?

    As a recap, managing a blog to success is simple and comes with these several steps.

    Always remember that the success of a blog is measured through the revenue generated from it and not through the traffic alone.