WordPress articles
-
Pros + cons of automatic WordPress updates
Automatic background updates have been introduced in WordPress 3.7. Since this moment it is possible to receive minor + security updates automatically because this feature is enabled by default. Additionally, managed hosting providers have their own update policy, updating websites themselves if you don’t do it yourself within days from the release of a new version. There are many benefits, but also a few drawbacks of this situation. Advantages of WordPress auto updates Let’s start with the positives. Here are a few reasons why enabling automatic updates for your website,…
-
Don’t skip these pages during your next product launch
But if you are tackling your launch on your own, I want to make sure you add these 3 pages to your master list + take care of them when you have time to. not minutes before your cart opens + you are feeling more frazzled than you have in your whole life. Privacy policy This overlooked page isn’t just for your next product launch, it’s for any website you have under your business. If your product has its own URL with a separate install of WordPress, you want to get…
-
Add branded social sharing icons to your WordPress site
Install Jetpack on your site First things first, you’ll need to install Jetpack on your site. (If you already have it installed — check by going to Plugins > Installed Plugins — you can skip to the next step.) I use + recommend Jetpack for a number of reasons. One, it’s built by a great team + constantly being updated. Two, it offers a variety of useful features meaning you can install one plugin + likely remove 3 others that were single purpose. (Need to spring clean your site?) And…
-
Your site speed matters
Slow + steady wins the race works for a number of things in the online world, but not your website. It’s a fact that users have painfully short attention spans + are more likely to leave a slow loading website than wait around for it. As much as I’d love to focus on other things, your site speed matters. Even if you want to curate a fan base of followers who love you oh-so-much that they don’t care if your site takes 30 seconds to load, you have to first…
-
Spring clean your WordPress site
As hard as we may try to keep our sites free of clutter, shit happens. You might try out a few plugins for social sharing + forget to remove the extras. Or perhaps you are giving a new theme a try but it didn’t make the cut. It’s always a good idea to spring clean your WordPress site now + then. Not only for your own sanity, but also for your site speed + security. Spring clean your WordPress site + remove inactive plugins One of the easiest ways to…
-
Keep your site from crashing during your next launch
If you didn’t know, Beyoncé announced a world tour nonchalantly after her Super Bowl halftime performance with a 15-second ad. And for the last 15 or so hours, her site has been taken down repeatedly — more than likely by the mass amounts of traffic it’s getting. You may not be getting Beyoncé sized waves of site visitors, but that doesn’t mean your latest launch isn’t capable of taking down your entire website. Sometimes the situation is one you can’t see coming or haven’t prepared yourself for, but if you…
-
Don’t let your design limit your client’s growth
Design for text instead of images Images + graphics are great tools for designers to use on projects. But when it comes to designing for web, you are better off making sure that your developer (and your client) can use text as much as possible. I know, that means you can’t perfect the kerning on each word individually or apply some wicked font stylings using a typeface that isn’t web friendly, but at the end of the day, the final product — the website — is for your client’s clients,…
-
Are you about to be blindsided?
What do many small business owners that I work with have in common? They’re all hacked without warning. Because hackers don’t give warnings. They don’t wait until your to-do list is down to 1 item to wipe your entire site from existence. They don’t wait until it’s a “good time” for your site to be banned by your customer’s computers. They don’t wait until you’ve had plenty of notice to get your site protected before trying to hack it. Dramatic? Yes. Tough love? That too. As an online business owner,…
-
What makes a good host
Customer support When you arrive at your annual ugly Christmas sweater party, would you be happy if the host wasn’t around to ask questions, told you where the bathroom was 2 hours after you asked or invited more people to the party than they had room + food for? Of course not! Your hosting company shouldn’t be any different. First and foremost, they should have a customer support team in place. It’s up to you if having that support team based in your country is important or not. To me,…
-
3 tips for keeping your WordPress site safe from hackers
#1 – Secure your login screen Sometimes I feel like a broken record, but the reality is that making sure your username + password are secure is a great weapon in the fight against hackers. It doesn’t mean you have to use a 36-digit password that’s a random string of characters, numbers + letters like I do (although it certainly isn’t a bad idea.) Picking something that WordPress labels as strong is a great choice + will only set you up for success instead of heartbreak. #2 – Create a…
-
Why you need a staging site
Staging vs production – what’s the difference Let’s get nerdy for a second, shall we? In development, the live site (what your customers use + visit) is called production. And a test site (one that your customers do not have access to) is called staging. Just like staging a home, this is a great place for seeing what the final result could look like. Perks of not working in production While it’s fun to be able to make changes to your WordPress pages + menu then instantly see those tweaks…
-
WordPress Usernames: The good, the bad + the ugly
The good WordPress usernames In the decade I’ve been managing websites, I’ve seen plenty of WordPress usernames that could be better. One of the username trends that I’d love to see go is simple to guess options. Because variations on your business name or your first name don’t leave much guesswork for hackers. Which is why I don’t use tinyblueorange or alison as my WordPress usernames. They are easy enough options for someone to quickly try when breaking into a site. And I don’t know about you, but I hate…