…restart reset LS console password – cd /usr/local/lsws/admin/misc navigates to LS directory, then run ./admpass.sh adding new PHP handlers via LS console – first add External App then Script Handlers. copying config from existing ones. Un-common issues (and fixes) Can’t create/transfer new user account because of existing user data, check for cruft left behind by old users/domains /usr/local/cpanel/3rdparty/bin/perl <(curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/CpanelInc/tech-acctinfo/master/acctinfo) domain.com –cruft (replace “domain.com” with your domain)…many places will be listed, check all carefully…you many have many entries under many hostnames, etc. Account transfers stuck on “receiving incremental file list”? Check out this guide….
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The Ultimate WordPress Speed Optimization Guide
…cache how each user sees the page differently AND (preferably) not wasting so much space resaving mostly similar pages over and over in cache. Some private pages are easy – same content for all logged-in users, but something else for users not logged in. Some private pages are harder – shows mostly same content but also custom data depending on the user (like their name/username). Other private pages are tricky – shows completely different content to each user. The easiest way to deal with private pages is to use object caching instead of page caching….
Protect your EBOOKS with a PDF Stamper plugin (WaterWoo)
…but just simply aren’t well known. I was really surprised and thoroughly impressed to find Caroline’s plugins. She has about 6 PDF stamper plugins, each fitting a specific use case. It’s obvious she took her time researching every detail of PDF-stamping and also to provide every possible feature you could ever want: positioning where stamp appears (offset from page edges) size and font which pages to show (every page, every other, etc) many more features/options I’m too lazy to list There are a hundred more details and factors to consider when using PDF stamper plugins….
Why Google Pagespeed, Pingdom, and GTmetrix scores don't matter
…2. Speed tests encourage OPTIMIZING FOR SPEED SCORES rather than for USERS. The #1 death trap of speed tests. It’s that you end up optimizing your site for speed tests rather than for actual users. What a terrible choice to make! It’s the equivalent of writing content for SEO rather than writing content for humans. You would imagine it’s logically harmonious to appease both but it isn’t always the case in reality. Same goes for speed tests and user experience. What is “fast and useful” for a speed test crawler may not particularly be “fast and…
Best WordPress Cache Plugins Review - GIANT ROUNDUP
…review notes on each. APACHE (no cache – busy 3.00s/2.10s, simple 1.00s/597ms): Swift Performance Lite (free) – busy 1.04s/890ms, simple 768ms/570ms. Swift Performance (paid) – busy 911ms/900ms, simple 644ms/453ms. WP Rocket (paid) – busy 1.05s/1.02s, simple 659s/426ms. Simple Cache (free) – busy 1.07s/993ms, simple 498ms/458ms. LiteSpeed Cache (free) – busy 982ms/1.02s, simple 569ms/532ms. Breeze (free) – busy 1.35s/1.04s, simple 528ms/496ms. Comet Cache (free)- busy 1.21s/955ms, simple 557ms/460ms. Powered Cache (free) – busy 1.28s/938ms, simple 748ms/680ms. WP Fastest Cache (free) – busy 1.30s/963ms, simple 573ms/527ms. Borlabs Cache (paid) – busy 1.19s/1.04s, simple 919ms/723ms. Yasakani Cache (free) – busy 1.30s/1.07s, simple 851ms/568ms. Swift leads the way easily; incredible free & paid…
To WWW or not to WWW
…by its own sub-domain. mail server was “mail.domain.com” FTP server was “ftp.domain.com” print server was “print.domain.com” Johnny’s computer was “johnny.domain.com” main server was “server.domain.com” nameserver was “ns1.domain.com” and “ns2.domain.com” Guess what the web server was called? …yes…”www.domain.com” (the “www” stood for WORLD WIDE WEB) Of course, we could have called it web.domain.com or site.domain.com or whatever else. But like with many things everybody used what was standard. And therefore everybody called their web server “www” because that’s what everybody else did. What the bare domain (domain.com) was reserved for. The naked domain “domain.com”, if I…
LiteSpeed Cache WordPress Plugin – UNOFFICIAL GUIDE
…back to a previous version if the new ones are giving problems. Use latest GitHub commit – click this to try the latest GitHub version. Use latest WordPress release version – click this to use the latest STABLE version of LSC. STEP #3 – Check if LiteSpeed Cache is working Open up your site on a browser (not logged in). Load and reload a few pages. Then view source, scroll to the bottom and see if the LiteSpeed Cache comments show at the bottom. Naturally, the page may be a little slower on initial visit…
Swift Performance WordPress Cache Plugin - UNOFFICIAL GUIDE
…Exclude User Agents – prevent certain devices from seeing cached pages. Exclude Crawlers – prevent specified search engines or crawlers from seeing cached pages. They see uncached pages showing most recent content, but can also increase server load if they visit often. Exclude Author Pages – I check this. Author pages aren’t visited often, so focus your caching mechanism on other pages. Exclude Archive – I prefer UNCHECKED. Blog category pages are visited often and do run slow if not cached. Not caching them ensures they show the latest posts but it’s unnecessary as Swift…
How to optimize for Google Pagespeed, Pingdom, and GTmetrix
Learn how to optimize your website for the popular page speed tests! Do you want the fastest site possible? Do you want the best website functionality and SEO? Are you overwhelmed and don’t know what you’re doing? Read on as I go over the most common speed test recommendations and tell you which ones to optimize and how to do it! Want to skip ahead? Optimize for Google Pagespeed Optimize for GTmetrix Optimize Pingdom The truth about speed scores In all honesty… There’s nothing wrong with using speed tests. They work fine and are helpful…to…
WP Fluent Forms - WordPress plugin review
…you’re building fancy forms and need to duplicate them across your sites. Conversion rate – hahaha, so simple and yet I think it’s useful. FF shows you a quick conversion rate on all your forms. Just good to know. Combined entries page – there’s a page where you can see a list of entries from ALL your forms. This is more convenient than clicking entries for each form. I only wish they showed the name and email on that central entries page. PDF generation – use this to generate PDF from form or payment submissions….
Linux Server Commands CHEATSHEET (for newb admins)
…cd [directoryname] is relative whereas cd /directory is absolute cd .. – goes up to parent directory cd – – goes to previous directory pwd – shows path to current directory clear or CTRL+L to clear the screen Files & Directories (create, delete, move, copy, archive): mkdir test – make directory called “test”, rmdir test removes it rm test – delete file or directory called “test” rm -rf test – deletes “test” directory without prompting you for every file rm -rf *test* – deletes all files/directories with the string “test” in the name. rm -fv…
301 Redirects to HTTPS (with and without WWW)
…# 301 redirect to www RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^www\. RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://www.%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301] # 301 redirect to https RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301] # END Redirects Other ways to redirect? Some people complained my examples used too many redirects. In that case, you’re welcome to research on your own and try other methods of redirection. Read below and see which one you like best (beware, they all have their implications): https://simonecarletti.com/blog/2016/08/redirect-domain-http-https-www-apache/ https://www.codexworld.com/redirect-non-www-to-www-http-to-https-using-htaccess-file/ https://www.digitalocean.com/community/questions/redirect-http-https-www-to-https-non-www https://stackoverflow.com/questions/13977851/htaccess-redirect-to-https-www https://serverfault.com/questions/523199/redirect-all-http-and-https-non-www-urls-to-https-www-example-com-via-htaccess NGINX? – try this. And in case you need to do regular 301 redirects for new page or address…
Nerd Guide to WordPress Firewall Security
…(stateless) network firewalls that already come with your Linux operating system. Unless you’re a command-line junkie (and I assume you’re not if you’re reading this), you should never have to think about or deal with any of these. Iptables was traditionally built into every Linux server already. Settings were configurable through config file or iptables commands from CLI. But the commands were so complex…for example iptables -A INPUT -p tcp –dport 22 -m conntrack –ctstate NEW,ESTABLISHED -j ACCEPT. Thankfully, there are much friendlier firewall management tools from the command line. CentOS uses firewalld (example command:…
Why You SHOULDN'T Combine CSS & JS (performance reasons)
…ajax function. There’s a myriad of possible conflicts that can happen when you merge JS. Reason #3 – it adds unnecessary page load This is one of the funniest aspects of CSS/JS merge. Many people think doing it will decrease their page requests and page load but it often does the exact opposite. Merging CSS/JS combines all your stylesheets into one file and all your javascript into one file. This is a huge problem if you have a busy site with many different kinds of pages. For example: Plain pages will load your pagebuilder. Pages…
WordPress SPEED OPTIMIZATION Service
…1-PAGE $500 ~500ms page loads I use Gutenberg blocks to duplicate your existing design/function. Some manual coding and add-on CSS may be necessary. If certain visual effects or functions are difficult to reproduce, I’ll recommend quality alternatives. I remove your bloated pagebuilder from (1) page on your WordPress site. You can choose any page, but most people choose their home page since it’s usually the heaviest one. Removing pagebuilders can speed up your entire site (both frontend and backend), not only on the pages where it’s removed. Order Now PAGEBUILDER REMOVAL 3-PAGE $1000 ~500ms page…
Stock & Crypto Investing Advice from a NOOB
…Netflix, Amazon, their car manufacturer, etc. Since if you’re a consumer of a brand, you’re more likely to know whether their product is any good and where they stand against competitors. How to research companies? This is a tough one. Because every company is going to do aggressive marketing and PR. Promising you all kinds of things so you’ll invest. They’ll say they’re coming out with the best new electric car. Or that their crypto-projects are gonna release a new game-changing technology soon. …and then they don’t. Maybe they’re late. Or it’s just empty promises….
WPJ Plugins
…precious seconds. Download WPJ Reports for MemberPress Show MP reports with more date-ranges and individual product sales data. Download Facebook Open Graph Set default Facebook Open Graph image for all pages without an assigned image. Download Admin Expand Image Widgets Auto-expand image widgets in Dashboard Widgets page. Download Comments Sticky Moderate Move moderation options above comment to speed up manual approval. Download PREMIUM PLUGINS These plugins cost money. But they do very special tasks. External Tracker for AffiliateWP Track conversions, visits, and referring urls from external landing pages. Download WPJ Reports for MemberPress (PREMIUM) Get…
WPJ Reports for MemberPress (WPJ plugin)
…of students who already started a course page. Calculates for all-time regardless of date period chosen. Completed (chart) – number of students with completed status during report period. Registered (chart) – number of registered students during period. Active (chart) – number of students (with access) during period. Inactive (chart) – number of students (with expiring access) during period. Category – user defined on course creation page. Tag – user defined on course creation page. Not started – number of students who didn’t yet open course page during period. Studied (period) – number of students who…
Guide to Security Headers
…engage with) the content. The “security” that they provide (to visitors) is by telling the browser to limit how the webpage is displayed or engage with. Examples of things a security header can restrict: Don’t show content (or display a warning) if the request is sent via http:// instead of https://. Don’t show content or load a request if it’s sent from an external url (different from the original url). Such as your user is loading https://yoursite.com/yourpage but your page has external asset requests like https://othersite.com/sneakyscript.js. In this case, the browser won’t load that external…
Design logic behind the WPJohnny custom theme
…pages so that you know right away they are other posts. The idea is simple…people keep clicking on these to explore more content, much like how people browse Youtube. Last is the comments. If you notice, my comments are very simple compared to other sites with lots of colors and info. I do this by not creating so much color distinction between comment comment author, time and date. Other sites do it make the hyperlink aspects more clear but I don’t. My spacing was also perfected from years of doing this on my other sites….
Digital Access Pass (DAP) vs DLGuard Review
…pay to access certain pages of the site. Super Easy Setup – I see endless reviews and reports of users on forums saying it was the easiest setup they’ve ever done. Digital Access Pass review: I purchased Digital Access Pass so I can tell you much more about it. Secure Download Link – there’s no options to set expiration time or anything like DLGuard. Your users have to be logged in to download the product or access the “protected pages”. It’s very simple and easy to setup but not as many security options or…
10 Best WordPress SECURITY plugins review
…simple page where you could see all the options to enable or not. The sad part is that if you know what you’re doing, you’ll quickly realize many of these “security features” are simple htaccess rules, nothing more. Then again, maybe it’s unfair of me to say that since newbie users do find tremendous value in it and it’s great that they aren’t over-cluttering their plugin. 5. MalCare Security (FREE & PAID) https://wordpress.org/plugins/malcare-security/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeVywcPiGuo Many people love this one but I wasn’t such a fan. Don’t like the UI taking over my screen and looking…
Cwicly - WordPress Gutenberg pagebuilder review
What makes this WordPress pagebuilder different from all the other ones? What’s the UI & workflow like? What features does it have? Is it worthy of taking market share from the competition? What’s the pricing? I run this recently-released Gutenberg sitebuilder through my gauntlet of skepticism. https://youtu.be/SMA6KutiRyg Who is Cwicly? Their CEO is Louis-Alexander Désiré. I tried to do some research and couldn’t find him anywhere. No public history in WordPress commercial development or any WordPress development. No company page in LinkedIn. I don’t know who he is or what he’s done. I also don’t…
NitroPack - cloud caching and CDN service review
…(5.3mb) but GTmetrix only showed 19 requests (246kb). Congrats. They found a way to cheat the page score…but you can’t cheat the user experience. If all you care about is the number…then stick with it. But if you want to know how many MPG your car actually gets, then be cautious. UPDATE JAN 16, 2021: This has since been commented on by Deyan (NitroPack CEO) that it only seems that way because NP moves certain processes off the CPU main thread and some page tests don’t report that. So while NP doesn’t cheat the scores…
IGNORE Query Strings when Caching
…you had 3 pages…. https://domain.com/page1/ https://domain.com/page2/ https://domain.com/page3/ Your cache plugin would save one copy of each page and serve that copy to visiting users (instead of regenerating the page from scratch). And it only makes sense as each page needs its own different cached version since it’s entirely different page (different content, maybe even different design). Now the thing is…cache plugins also see query strings as unique pages! So for example… https://domain.com/page1/ https://domain.com/page1/?abc https://domain.com/page1/?fbclid The cache plugin sees those 3 pages above as all being unique from each other. And that’s a problem because some…
BEST Gutenberg Pagebuilders for WordPress - UPDATED 2024
…comprehensive Gutenberg pagebuilder on the market. Very active developers and community. (RECOMMENDED – most comprehensive set of blocks and features, strong and matured community) Spectra (FREE, PRO) – many blocks, nice UI, nice global control for spacing and block enabling, awesome template library. A great product all around. Nice support docs and community. Built by the same team behind Astra, one of the most popular WordPress themes ever (despite several controversies in the WP community). Definitely a good option for newbies and pros alike. (CAUTION – comprehensive block library, large community, clean UI and simple…
How to Crush Your SEO Competition (like a pro)
…from just hearing your description on the phone. STEP 5 – content creation And the madness begins. 100 pages is the goal. Without knowing the keywords or having previously researched the niche, I blindly prescribe 100 pages for everyone. You sell dog toys? 100 pages. You blog about home decor? 100 pages. You teach little girls ballet? 100 pages! And when I say 100 pages. I mean that as the minimum. If you don’t got time to do that, or don’t want to pay for that…I’m probably not the right SEO guy for you. Maybe…
Wordpress Multilingual Guide 2016 - Plugin Review, Language Translation Strategy, and WPML Tips
…isn’t exactly a component of translating but it is often done when you want to share your videos with another audience. You’ll use a translator to make subtitles for your videos so that other people can understand them. What are the technical implications? What is your website structure? Domain vs sub-domain vs directory How do you plan to manage your translated site? Will you have each language on a separate domain (.com, .es, .fr)? or will you have it in a separate sub-domain (es.domain.com, fr.domain.com) or even in a separate directory (domain.com/es, domain.com/fr)? To…
Ultra-fast server file transfers with WGET
…takes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObsTmuUM5yk Steps to using WGET: 1. Make file publicly available on source server Which means placing somewhere within public_html (RHEL/Centos) or www (Debian/Ubuntu). Placing it in a public directory makes it available from frontend url (e.g. https://domain.com/backup.tar.gz). 2. Download file from destination server. From receiving server, navigate to the directory you’d like to download it to. Type wget https://domain.com/backup.tar.gz – to download external file to your current directory. (Of course, your file path and filename may vary.) Wait for it to finish transferring. Should be super quick. 3. Change file ownership to match correct…
Recovering from a HACKED web server (Linux)
…midst of complicated server jargon guides out there, I figured to help the community by writing something more actionable for real-world use.) The only requirement of this guide is that you know how to get to the command line. Also, I don’t cover all nuances of server security here or list every command for every linux distro. I’m more often using CentOS (RHEL) rather than Ubuntu (Debian). It’s up to you to look up alternative commands if that’s what you need. First thing to do when your server gets hacked… OH NO! YOU JUST GOT…
How to HARDEN a Linux web server
…Good to learn how to configure and manage. Opening and closing ports. Allowing and deny IP’s. That kind of thing. I call them “dumb” firewalls because they’re completely manual. They only do what you say. They aren’t smart enough to analyze incoming traffic and intelligently ban repeat offenders or abusive visitors that hog resources. By default, all Linux distributions come with iptables to manage firewall. And all other firewall tools are simple easier ways of managing iptables. CentOS typically comes with firewalld to manage firewall (in easier manner). Ubuntu typically comes with ufw to manage…
Should you pick MEMBERSHIP plugin or LMS plugin?
…And of course, there are many pros and cons to each. And also how they compliment other products and services you might have. How do you envision users enjoying your content? What is the experience you want to give them? Membership systems favor info-based products: Users see a list of downloadable content (ebooks/videos), and download it to their personal device to consume later. Users get quick solutions, and move on with their lives. Users skipping to only the content parts they really want/need. You tend to sell access to all content, or even different levels…
WordPress security plugins SUCK!
…bullshit. Almost all of them are not used anymore. Hackers are always coming up with new hacks to exploit new vulnerabilities! So don’t waste your time with scanners slowing down the server and still not detecting the latest attacks. ARGH, I’m so impatient explaining all this! They slow down your site. How annoying, right? They can’t detect the latest stuff AND they slow down your site? What’s the point anyway?! NOTE: if you get hacked, you’re welcome to run a security plugin just to help repair/remove the most obvious hacked files but you still need…
Best WordPress Plugins - UPDATED 2024
…then also options on how they are displayed. Very lean and when combined with other plugins, are great for getting rid of pagebuilder reliance. 🙂 Lightweight Grid Columns – let’s you create columns, however many you want, whichever size you want. So that you can push your page layout around without having to use a pagebuilder! Genius! Smart Content Filter – great way for users to filters posts on busy pages. Caching (detailed review): WP Performance (FREE) – awesome free cache plugin. Solid, reliable, many features, amazing UI, and super unique simple way of granularly excluding/disabling…
Why LiteSpeed Cache is the #1 cache plugin for me
…CDN security – protects your site against brute-force attacks, also recaptcha security for repeat offenders. Critical CSS optimization – generates critical CSS. Static content – also has the traditional CDN function which is caching and serving static content like images, CSS, JS, fonts, and other static files. What’s crazy is QUIC.cloud is totally free! Their CDN functionality is free. The LiteSpeed Cache plugin is totally free. Their image compression is totally free. Their CDN-level security protection is free. Generate critical CSS. Use the fastest HTTP/3. Play with LQIP…which nobody else offers! ALL FREE! It’s really…
Best WordPress Hosting Reviews (UPDATED 2024)
…have any concrete opinion of their service yet. BunnyShell – reminds me of RunCloud. I like their polished website. Their vibe feels really professional. 10Web – can’t they get rid of that FOUT issue on their website? It looks so unprofessional. How to Research Webhosts Looking up establish webhosting companies Check out the sites below to see what systems techs are saying about them. www.webhostingtalk.com – lots of webhosting reviews, Q&A www.lowendtalk.com – many sys-admins and webhosting experts, many new company deals Looking up new webhosting companies How do you research a new hosting company? With new…
WordPress Membership Plugins Review 2022
…certain countries, etc). ADVANTAGES OVER OTHERS: Shopping cart – users can buy multiple items at a time. File download logs – can see when and by which IP when items are download. Tons of extensions – all the ones you need and many cool ones I never thought of. See available extensions. EDD is an entirely different kind of plugin. More like download management than membership management. But being that many membership sites sell downloadable content rather than access to hidden posts, EDD might fit your business model better. UPDATED – EDD is now bought…
Mobile menu design RANT
…off your Google Drive. COME ON!!! In all honesty, all designers have to do is actually look at their work in mobile and see how it repaints. One look alone would be able to tell you what needs to be changed. Look at this abomination below: Giant waste of vertical space. Horrible sticky header. Where is the logo contrast?! Those vegetarian “VG” initials could have easily been little tags next to the item name. Or in parenthesis at the end of the item description. Example of poor mobile menu design. Giant waste of space. EWWW!…
What are HTTP headers? (and why they're useful)
…like: What URL you’re requesting (duh!) – https://somesite.com/somepage If your visit is referred from another page. What browser you’re using – Chrome, Firefox, etc. What language set in your browser – English, Spanish, etc. What things your browser can cache – css, images, etc. See full list of HTTP request fields. In short, request headers give the server useful information about yourself (your computer, your browser, what info you want, and how you’re able to process it). When your server returns the website…it sends an HTTP response to your web client (browser). Which includes HTTP…
WPCloudDeploy - WordPress hosting plugin review
…MariaDB, latest PHP Multiple caching levels – NGINX page cache, Redis & Memcache object cache SSH root access Email relay Server firewall security Server-sync for High Availability Deploy from popular VPS providers – DigitalOcean, Linode, Vultr, AWS EC2, AWS Lightsail Custom server deployment scripts Site management features: Deploy/remove WordPress sites – just 1 click Disable sites – just 1 click (would be so cool if there was a maintenance-mode option) Caching – enable with just 1 click Local and remote backups Staging and site-cloning – even across different servers Move sites between servers Free SSL…
Changing your WordPress site domain name
…Make sure it’s a 301 permanent redirect for anything from old domain to new domain. For redirecting from your webhost (with htaccess): Redirect 301 / https://newurl.com/ <IfModule mod_rewrite.c> RewriteEngine On </IfModule> RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^oldurl\.com$ [OR] RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^www\.oldurl\.com$ RewriteRule ^(.*)$ “https\:\/\/newurl\.com\/$1″ [R=301,L] For redirecting from Cloudflare page rule: Create page rule, putting *oldurl.com/* for url match field Pick “Forwarding URL” for setting. Choose “301 – Permanent Redirect” and https://newurl.com/$2 for destination URL. (My example assumes you want the new url without “www”.) STEP 9 – check for errors Check for broken links – there are…
The WordPress Open-Source Conundrum
How can developers contribute to open-source without the expectation of free support? I’ve had this feeling for so many years and hate how trapped and restricted it makes me feel. There is so much (free code) that I want to share but I don’t because I’m afraid of how my name and reputation will be affected. You can see other guides speaking on this open-source issue. The WordPress Support Conundrum – iBrain Is the WordPress Plugin Repository Worth the Hassle? – freemius THE PROBLEM – users expect amazing support and updates even on free plugins…
How to become a WordPress coder
…devs like this. Other workflow tools: GitHub – get familiar with this. It serves 2 main functions…one is allowing you to push code to a central repository which can then be managed there (track changes) and also contributed to by other team members or contractors. Local by FlyWheel – awesome super simple desktop app for serving WordPress locally off your computer. Also provides an external URL if you want to share with clients. hosts.cx – allow you to (test) point any domain to any IP for testing purposes. 5. Common tasks for beginner WordPress coders….
Skills you need to manage a (Linux) web server
…in the guides. This can be for a number of reasons. But the most common beginner issues are listed below: You’re on the wrong distribution (following a Ubuntu guide while on CentOS server, or vice versa). Your VPS or server company has pre-configured firewalls that need to have ports opened. You’re using the wrong kernel version (like following a guide for CentOS 6 while using CentOS 8). The commands you want to use need another package installed first. (And quite often, that package you need to install depends on other packages as well.) The commands…
Cache warming with Optimus Cache Prime (OCP)
…Test it with /path/to/ocp -v https://yoursite.com/sitemap.xml and see if verbose output is correct. If working, you can set a cron job for it to /path/to/ocp https://yoursite.com/sitemap.xml If you’re curious, try tail -f /var/log/cron to see if it’s runs. I was using CentOS 7, WHM/cPanel. Fabio was on Ubuntu and using something like cd /var/www/ocp/; ./ocp -v=true https://yoursite.com/sitemap.xml but I found it unnecessary that way. FYI: the commands above are only possible for those with SSH access to the server. If you don’t have SSH access, you can still use this script as a cron job. Running…
Migration tactics for LARGE WordPress sites
…– either through phpmyadmin, or use a backup plugin to get it from WordPress backend FTP/SFTP access – or use a backup plugin to get the files from WordPress backend SSH or command-line access – really helpful if you want the fastest way to send files, but some webhosts don’t allow it 2. DNS preparation I assume you want to migrate with as little downtime as possible. If so, go to your DNS settings and decrease the TTL for your domain and “www” DNS records down to the lowest setting possible. 2-5 minutes would be…
Why You Should (almost) NEVER Use Lazy Load
…So there you go, a few instances where I would recommend lazy load. But other than these few scenarios, it’s best to get a CDN and let all your image assets load naturally! The last say on lazy load Ultimately, lazyload should only be used to speed up page load or decrease server use. And NOT to compensate for poor web coding or underpowered web server. When used correctly, lazy load should have no visual impact on your web pages. Used incorrectly, lazy load affects user experience. Want to argue more about lazy load? https://www.facebook.com/groups/SwiftPerformanceUsers/permalink/395645521202893/…
Best Video-Hosting Service for Membership Site (Vimeo, Youtube, Wistia, Amazon S3, etc)
Which video-hosting service should you use to host your videos on your membership site? It comes down to a matter of features, cost, download-protection and of course “personal preference”. I’ll go over the best video-hosting options for your WordPress membership site and break down what I like about each one. 1. Vimeo Hands down my favorite option. Familiar, easy-to-use, tons of features. Pretty much everything you need, all at a convenient price. Video download protection Limit video embeds by domain Uploading features – easy to use, stores original file quality Multiple quality settings depending…
WordPress vs WP Engine - community drama 2024
…Many others have used this opportunity to repeat their long-entrenched hate and distrust for Matt over unrelated matters. Things like “oh he’s gone crazy like that in the past” to “I hate him cuz he forced Gutenberg on everybody”, or “remember his insistence on WooCommerce?”. Lots of comparisons about him being a tyrant forcing a close-minded view on an open-source community. Somebody even made a Google doc listing Matt Mullenweg’s controversies over the years. Many noticeable patterns here…mainly being overly-protective of the WordPress trademark, and being anti-competition using the free (open-source) WordPress platform to push…
Cloudflare settings guide (best performance)
Configure your Cloudflare account for the best website performance (full explanations provided). If you’ve ever wondered what settings to choose or why someone would chance from the default options, this guide will explain it all for you. (QUICK NOTE: all you need is the FREE plan.) Cloudflare settings (video guide) Can watch either the short (quick settings only) or long video (detailed explanation). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1VaIFRUexg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caqf3K13l1c QUICK Cloudflare settings guide Leave everything on default and check/change the following settings: DNS – if enabling proxy, do it only for your domain name and WWW record. Can also…
How to MANUALLY Clone or Create a Staging Site
…pick the database plugin you installed from previous step. If using BSR: put “//oldsite.com” in Search for and “//newsite.com” in Replace with. Select all tables, and uncheck “Run as dry run”. Then click Run Search/Replace. If you have page errors, try selecting fewer tables at a time. If using Migrate DB: select Find and Replace. Put “//oldsite.com” in Find and “//newsite.com” in Replace. Delete any other Find/Replace rows and click Export. Congratulations, you are done! You can use these same steps to migrate sites. If migrating, you don’t need to do the last step (#8)….
Thoughts on Google Web Vitals (web.dev)
…satisfy all those recommendations. But you’re welcome to follow your fears anyway you want. Will getting higher page scores help differentiate ranking between 2 similar sites? In my experience, no. But you’re welcome to do your own independent testing. Try searching up keywords for any niche and compare their SEO ranking with page scores. What should most users do? Follow or don’t follow Web Vitals? Most users aren’t experienced enough to interpret these tools correctly. Whether they follow or don’t follow the tool won’t help them much either way IMO (for performance or SEO). They…
LittleBizzy REVIEW by WPJohnny - Jesse Nickles (fraud / slander alert)
…uses this forum to slander) LittleBizzy.com – his main business where he sells plugins and webhosting. littlebizzy.com/directory – slander directory hucksters.net – another slander directory site of his he’s got so many more hate sites, I can’t keep track of them all Jesse Nickle’s racist comments… If you haven’t already heard of his troubled personality…you’ll be shocked when you do. Up until I met him in WordPress Hosting Facebook group, I thought he was an awesome community developer and an asset to the WordPress community. But then… He (Jesse Nickles) made some racist remarks on…
What's a CDN? (Content Delivery Network) And do you need it?
…faster to visitors all over the world. This is extremely helpful for speeding up download times for images, CSS, JS, fonts, and other media used to load your website. The end result is your will provide a much better experience for users all over the world instead of only the users closest to your web-server. Without a CDN: You have one web-server, let’s say in USA. All website visitors connect to your USA server. USA-visitors experience fast pageload times. Faraway visitors (like in Europe or Asia) experience slow pageload times. In case you’re wondering, the…
MainWP vs ManageWP - best WordPress management plugin
…their free plan). So it ultimately comes down to deciding if you’re a FREE or PAID user, and then to compare the features you want. Extensions ManageWP – is a closed-source commercial SaaS…so only they can make extensions. MainWP – is open source software. So tons of extensions available (both official & 3rd party). ManageWP is like Shopify, and MainWP is like WordPress. So basically…you’ll have way more options and flexibility with MainWP. User experience (UX) The more I watch people manage their websites, the more I realize how different I am from everybody else….
LiteSpeed vs NGINX - performance comparison and history
…figured it out but with the time I spent I can assure you most newbies won’t have been able to. So too bad! Stack configurations – all running the latest version of PHP 7.3, mariaDB, blah blah blah. RunCloud had a months-older PHP 7.3.4 (instead of latest PHP 7.3.8). I used out of the box configurations without trying to tweak or tune anything to their best settings. Whatever they came out of the box with is what they get. Caching configurations compared – OLS, I tested with LS cache on and off. NGINX, I compared…
Oxygen Builder ISN'T a pagebuilder (and that's why it's great)
…Theme preservation – you like your theme and only wanted Oxygen to build some content layouts. (It’s ok, use 3rd-party blocks in this case.) Gradual conversion – you want to switch from one pagebuilder to another or remove it entirely. With other pagebuilders, you can slowly remove your pagebuilder reliance one page at a time. You don’t have to do it all at once. Testing purposes – you want to test Oxygen on certain pages before enabling it globally. With Oxygen, the only way to test is to rebuild your entire theme (content areas AND…
SEO vs PPC - which is better for getting web traffic
…claim that you have any fool proof system is false.”Ok, you’re obviously speaking for yourself here. You’re speaking from your lack of knowledge and your lack of comfort with the system. No. I am speaking from almost 20 years of practical hands on experience. It has nothing to do with comfort. It has everything to do with building genuine businesses based on things I dictate and control. Depending on a 3rd party for free blessings is foolish. Even though rankings have worked out for 5 years or so, that doesn’t mean it’s a smart way…
Why I HATE Pagebuilders - WordPress Review
…changes? Want to move/copy templates from one site to another? It’s much easier with pagebuilders than with child themes. If you’re a high-volume development shop building generic sites for low budget clients, pagebuilders are fantastic! BENEFIT #3- Easy for clients to use. Common sense UI. Many clients find it easier to edit content in pagebuilders than to dig through php template files custom theme settings UI. Why? Because pagebuilder content is usually edited right from the page in the backend. For example, editing the home page simply requires clicking “edit page” for the home page….
Webhosting Control Panel Review - UPDATED 2021
…to do most things from a command line and need the GUI only for the common tasks. But then again, many other admins like being able to see every feature in GUI. Webmin interface definitely has the most “features” of any control panel I’ve ever seen. (Imagine comparing a dictionary to a comic book, lol). CloudPanel I’m really liking this one. It’s new, very light, clean interface that has enough advanced features for admins but still easy enough for end-users. I like the UI a lot. And it’s single-user design makes it super simple. Common…
Replace BLOATED PAGEBUILDERS with Gutenberg blocks
…a list of all the pages using pagebuilder. If you have a big site (hundreds of pages, many post types) – start by making a list of all the post types using pagebuilder. And from there, start making a list of which ones Some pagebuilders have convenient ways of showing you which pages and post types are using them. 2. Convert all pages using pagebuilder to a non-pagebuilder layout. Now we start converting all pages using pagebuilder, one-by-one to just using only the default WordPress editor. Obviously, you should start from the pages with the simplest…
AUTOMATE your Social Media Posting (how to)
…find your Youtube RSS feed url.) Social media feeds – send a weekly email of the latest social media discussions/posts to your subscribers. You can really put whatever you want. So freaken powerful! I no longer manually send out email newsletters. It’s a thing of the past. I still kick myself for not doing this years ago. (What a lousy “tech guy”, I am!) 5. Create Zapier automations for social media This is where the magic happens. If you thought the previous step was life-changing, this one is gonna blow your mind! Example Zaps to…
Difference between CLOUD vs VPS vs MANAGED Hosting
…for noob users and also don’t have any support for totally non-techie users. Notable Control Panel services: EasyEngine (free) – free and community-supported but then rumored to be abandoned and very recently rumored to be alive again. Formerly very popular until the abandonment rumors came around. Laravel Forge (paid) – no free plans, and not as popular as the other options. RunCloud.io (paid)- considered to have better features, service, and pricing than ServerPilot. Has a functional but limited free plan. Only $10/month for unlimited servers! ServerPilot (paid) – was considered the most popular premium option…
BEST PLUGINS for WordPress developers & reviewers
…access without having to deal with passwords. User Switching – to test how things look/function from another user’s POV. Login as User is another alternative. WP Dummy Content Generator – create dummy content to help you simulate a busier site to test the site’s design or performance. It can even create CPT content. Duplicate Posts – quickly duplicate posts with 1-click. (Alternative: NS Cloner copies entire sites on multisite setups.) Multiple Themes – simultaneously activate multiple themes on your site, choosing which themes to activate on which pages. Useful to compare different themes, or different…
WPJ Reports for MemberPress (PRO)
…you, do not buy. Please contact support first with your inquiries before purchasing! FREE version – yes, we already have a free version of this plugin publicly available on the WordPress repository. (download link) SOLO (1-sites) – $195.00 DEV (2-sites) – $295.00 AGENCY (5-sites) – $495.00 LIFETIME (unlimited sites) – $595.00 Purchase Checkout Added to cart Pro features More Data tabs: Sales (free) – product sales info, payments, coupons, revenue, refunds. Churns – churn rate, churn revenue, churn revenue rate. Monthly and annual churn rates, show members and dollars lost. Subscriptions – subscriber sign-ups, active status, payments, sales. Members – member status, payments…
Swift Performance vs WP Rocket - WordPress Cache Plugin Comparison
…“Merge Styles”. Same goes for the people complaining about WP Rocket. If there’s one final thing I can say…since seeing these plugins side-by-side for the past 2 years…I can tell you that I see Swift coming up with more and more new innovative features while Rocket is just now starting to copy features that Swift came up with first. Swift Performance – get free version or buy premium version. WP Rocket – only paid version. User comparisons between Swift & Rocket (I do realize these comparisons are biased and need to compile more images of…
10 BEST Gutenberg block libraries for WordPress
…my opinion more flexible than pagebuilders and much more lightweight than pagebuilders. Intro to Gutenberg blocks The new WordPress editor builds content in blocks. Previously, you were mostly typing into a text box and attaching images/embeds for media. And then for other special functionality on the page, you either had to add shortcodes or use a custom page template or hack widgets into your pages. With Gutenberg, everything is added in blocks. You want text? That’s a block. You want images? That’s a block. But there are many more possible block options than just text…
WordPress Performance Guides and Reviews
…(WordPress marketing tips. SEO, content marketing, social media, PPC.): How to CRUSH Your SEO Competition Difference between Marketing, Advertising, and Branding Never Promote Discounts! (pricing strategy) Pricing Psychology – $95 vs $97 vs $99 vs $100 Good CONVERSION RATE for online sales? Expected conversion rate for membership sign-ups? Do you REALLY need an email list? Is EMAILING still the best marketing? AUTOMATE your Social Media Posting Plugins See all WPJ Plugins. Most are free and listed on WP repo. Comment Reply Email Commenters receive an email when someone replies to their comment. Download WP Featherlight Disabled…
Why Shared Hosting Sucks
…server more vulnerable to hackers. Guess what happens when these neighbors run amuck….the webhosts mitigate this by putting cages on everyone’s account, throttling back their performance. OUTDATED hardware & software For the pennies you pay, you really think that server is gonna have the latest and greatest CPU/memory/hard-drive, software, latest php, latest Apache modules, and convenient 1-click solutions for all your needs? Of course, not! Most shared hosting servers are like 2 iPhone models behind the top guys. Sure, if you’re lucky and just found a company starting out, they’ll be more updated than the…
MaxMind fraud prevention review (WHMCS + minFraud)
…provide useful information in real-time that doesn’t yet exist in their database. My minFraud service review: It was a great experience. I was afraid it would be some overly technical process and learning curve to overcome, but nope–it was simple! You can sign-up for the free demo and they respond within 1 business day with $5 credit in a starter account. Or if you need to stop the fraud NOW, you can just sign up for an account immediately and put some money in it. Go to your WHMCS security settings, activate MaxMind, and enter…
WP Rocket WordPress Cache Plugin - UNOFFICIAL GUIDE
…FOUT) – don’t combine CSS or optimize CSS delivery! Broken visuals or functions – try not combining CSS or JS. Or you can use my diagnostic steps for excluding problematic CSS/JS below. Contact forms not working – if you can’t get the contact forms to work, the easiest fix is to exclude the page entirely. Another idea is to make sure you exclude the contact form CSS/JS from combining. (I also recommend not to use Contact Form 7.) WSOD or error 500 – it’s unfortunate but not every plugin is compatible with others. You can…
Speeding up WordPress (wp-admin) backend
…you have more things. Databases take longer when you start looking for very complicated data that’s buried or organized in complex and/or inefficient ways. Knowing this…let’s see how we can optimize these dynamic backend requests to speed up your WP-admin experience. 1. Audit your plugins Anytime someone comes to me for help with a slow backend, they are immediately “guilty until proven innocent” to me. Check all your plugins and see which ones are contributing to this god awful slow-ass backend load. “But how?!” Like this… Deactivate some non-essential ones to see if it runs…
WPCloudDeploy custom hacks and fixes
…changing how it looks. Hardcode page templates and CPT’s – this is the top strength of WPCD, also best way to customize and fastest performance. But you already knew this! 2. Text string translations There are tons of text all over the place that could be re-written better. I suggest using Poedit to rewrite them. But there are many other code ways you can go about it to get rid of unnecessary text blocks. Good luck. 3. Generate SSL’s for www-domains. WPCD’s current way of enabling/generating SSL for “www” domains is really hacky and clumsy….
Bricks WordPress theme and pagebuilder review
…come in your traditional pagebuilder. There’s also the added benefit of the theme being easier to build custom page templates for, and a more harmonious full-site-editing (FSE) experience. What’s the problem with current theme and pagebuilder solutions? Themes – don’t integrate so seamlessly with pagebuilders. Awkward or overly technical way of building custom page templates. Pagebuilders – slow, bloated, horrible speeds and page scores. Built for newbies. Gutenberg – not such a rich visual-editing experience. Hard for people who are accustomed to traditional pagebuilders. Gutenberg 3rd party blocks – they improve Gutenberg a lot but…
How to Move Your WordPress Site from HTTP to HTTPS
…and you are done!!! WOOHOO! (Don’t have htaccess or you’re not on Apache/LiteSpeed? You probably don’t have to worry about this, but do ask your webhost.) WITHOUT www (all visits go to “https://domain.com”): RewriteEngine On RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301] WITH www (all visits go to “https://www.domain.com”): RewriteEngine On RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off RewriteRule ^ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [R=301,L] STEP 6 – Resolve any problems (if needed) Everything should be working. But just in case, here are a few diagnostic steps you can do if the HTTPS doesn’t show green of you don’t get that padlock….
What is WordPress (and why you should use it)
…investment. You can try it yourself, then try it for a friend, use it for a temporary project. Or start off a small project with it and then grow into paid solutions if needed. The cost of free is especially convenient for beginners who don’t know what they’re doing and don’t know what they want. The other benefit of free is that because it’s free (and open-source), many people use it and contribute to it. Many users and support forums and free guides and tips everywhere. Free themes and plugins. It’s a thriving community full…
How to Run a Successful Membership Site
…quitting in 3 months. Short-term pricing if they’re gonna stay awhile. 4. Designing your “FREEMIUM” experience Every membership site (or business) uses the freemium model. This is true whether you know it or not. Even Ferrari uses the freemium model. And the freemium model is this. Users who don’t pay get a certain level of free product or service. And the users who do pay will get “the good stuff”. Most premium products and businesses out there use the “freemium” model in an interesting way. Let’s take GUCCI for example. Their freemium experience is you…
MemberPress WordPress Membership Plugin Review - UPDATED 2021
…I love it. It’s great for simple content that doesn’t need a full blown “learning management system” with quizzes/tests/points, etc. I never thought I needed an LMS and I still don’t…but putting my content up for downloads in regular WordPress pages was tedious to design and set up. It’s also annoying if you want the content to have a multi-page flow. This is where the MemberPress Courses addon works perfect. I can split my content up into parts and setting them under “Courses” really adds value and clarity to my users. It’s a great implementation….
CyberPanel OpenLiteSpeed high performance web server for WordPress
Create your own HIGH PERFORMANCE CyberPanel-OpenLiteSpeed web-server in just 10 minutes (with $10). Want your own super fast web server? Don’t want to pay for a control-panel or managed sys-admin support? Want a full-functioning control panel? Want enterprise-grade caching? Want to manage all this (almost) without messing with the command line? You’ve come to the right place! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WT1u83jP51U 1. Get a VPS account If you want to copy me exactly in this video, go open a Linode account. Here’s my Linode referral link (if you’d like to support). You can totally choose any other VPS…
Best WordPress Themes - UPDATED 2024
…really support newbies. Astra – very customizable free theme, lightweight and runs fast, good for those using pagebuilders. The most popular free theme at the moment. Every time I want to give this theme a chance, I keep seeing that their team cannot create a bug-free theme. Over the years, despite it’s “maturity” I keep seeing issues with many bugs, slow support, autoloads in their other plugins! OceanWP – free starter theme, beautiful and comes with a pagebuilder. I like their area where you can granularly disable all scripts/styles (but I wish it had more…
MailOptin Email Lead - WordPress plugin review
…user leaves your site) Timed display (shows after set number of seconds) Scroll trigger (shows after page is scrolled a certain %) New vs Returning visitors (target the one you want) Referrer detection (show to users referred from certain page) …and more! 5. Simple statistics (reports) I enjoyed the simple statistics page. It shows the basic stuff like number of impressions, subscribers, and conversion rate. But you can also see which campaigns and pages are generating the most subscribers, which then gives you ideas to go back and do specialized campaigns for those pages. You…
FlyingPress cache plugin - UNOFFICIAL GUIDE - UPDATED 2022
…intervals. For example if you update your site every day, then use the 24-hour option. Exclude Pages from Caching – list any pages that have dynamic info based on different user or user session. For example…cart, account, checkout, or any page that you don’t want cached. Ignore Query Strings – useful to avoid unnecessary page-caching for query strings. Some query strings cause content changes (e.g. language, currency, etc) and should be treated or cached as separate pages. Other query strings don’t cause content changes (e.g. FB/Google trackers, affiliate cookies) and are only used for tracking, so…
The BEST WordPress theme (for non-coders) - GeneratePress
…a really simple (graphical) interface for hooks and filters. For those who don’t know…”hooks” refers to page location (above header, below title, footer, etc) and “filters” refers to pages (posts, pages, contact page, home page, etc). So let’s say you wanted to stick a countdown timer BELOW PRODUCT TITLE but only on SALE PRODUCT PAGES, or how about RANDOM X WIDGET placed ABOVE TOP MENU…how easy would that be? I’d bet you most themes wouldn’t be able to entertain all your random content-placement combinations. And you’d end up having to ask your programmer to do…
Redefining WordPress content with Gutenberg
…layouts – Gutenberg opens up a world of possibilities for your content layout and design. You can design your content in much more different ways with only the standard WordPress editor. Time to unleash your creativity. Phase out unnecessary themes/plugins – you no longer need bloated themes and plugins to have custom layouts/designs. Phase out your pagebuilder – you don’t need a whole pagebuilder just to have colored background sections and a slider on the homepage. There are smaller separate plugins that can give you each specific feature using far less code (and page weight)….
WishList Member - membership plugin review 2020
As requested by readers, here are my thoughts AFTER trying the latest version. I’ve written off this plugin time after time for the past 5 years. It’s become one of those plugins that I don’t even check the latest version before writing it off. Naturally, that kind of automatic dismissal doesn’t sit well with some readers. And so I gave the latest version a try to see if I still felt the same about it. Did I actually deploy it and test with real members for months? No. I only clicked around for a good…
The most elegant WordPress theme - Artisan Themes review
…look like anybody else. Unique header layouts. Unique footer layouts. Many page layouts. Many “modules” for your custom pages. Can still make regular pages (with Gutenberg or Classic Editor). No pagebuilder necessary! Who is Artisan NOT meant for? Anybody wanting 500 silly effects and animations, bloated sliders and menus. Anybody deadset on a pagebuilder (defeats the point of Artisan IMO). Anybody coding super-customized designs from scratch. Try the Pepper+ Artisan Theme The best Artisan Theme is their latest Pepper+. It’s got the cool unique unboxed designs that I love. It’s one of those, “Wow, is…
How to migrate ANY type of website (to new webhost)
All websites can be easily migrated to another webhost or webserver. I see people freaking out all the time when they’re forced to migrate non-WordPress sites. They don’t know how to do manual migrations (without easy plugins). But trust me, it’s easy! STEP #1 – copy the files Copy from old server to new server. It’s helpful if you compress the files into an archive first. STEP #2 – copy the database Export from phpmyadmin. If it’s too big, use the compression option. If it’s still too big, export only a few tables at a…
Open-Source vs Proprietary (closed-source)
Which is better? The free-for-all community driven software or mature enterprise-grade production-ready commercial software? Those supporting open-source software claim it has the obvious advantage of being free but more importantly, is developed by more community experts with more contributing hands. It’s likely to grow and fork faster into more exciting projects. Those support proprietary software claim it’s more mature, secure, has more consistent support, and far more likely to stick around when there’s money in it to pay for top-level developers. IMO, the answer is both. Having both open-source and proprietary around forces both of…
How to get FREE STUFF on Amazon
…That’s where you come in. These companies are happy to send you the product for free if you write them a review. So what are the requirements/restrictions? You have an Amazon account – it’s preferable if you have Amazon Prime but it’s totally fine if you don’t. The reason why is because they (usually) don’t refund shipping. Amazon Prime gives free shipping no matter what, but if you don’t have Prime then just order more stuff to get free shipping. They will ask you to send your Amazon profile link for proof. (Mine looks like…
External Tracker for AffiliateWP
…and AffiliateWP versions? Yes, this plugin works perfect with the latest version of WordPress and AffiliateWP! It probably works with older versions as well but you should always run the latest WordPress and PHP version for best security and performance. This plugin is used in my critical sites so you can be assured it works perfect. Will this plugin slow down my site? No. It’s coded extremely lightweight. It does only the essential function and nothing more. Very lightweight. No heavy PHP processing or database queries. I’m an absolute speed fanatic. What conversions does this…
WP Engine SUCKS! (bad webhosting review)
…almost every blogger out there…their massive affiliate commission ($200 per sale). It does bother me when a company’s frequent referral via word-of-mouth is tainted by high commissions. 8. Slow file download Yeah, I’m serious. I don’t get it. It’s like their drives are slow or maybe some annoying security scanning on each uploaded/downloaded file? Either way, it’s annoying! 9. Flakey backup generation/download I don’t know what the heck is going on and I’m actually baffled a company of this magnitude can’t get backups working right. Sure, they might work if your site is only 100mb….
cPanel vs Plesk - Webhosting Control Panel Review 2020
…by far the most popular control panel in the world and especially popular in America. Just about everyone who has ever bought webhosting in the past 15-20 years has probably seen it. Compared to other existing control panels, cPanel feels much more polished, user-friendly, and reliable. And despite what many users like to complain about cPanel, it’s still a very solid choice for webhosting and has a huge advantage of being familiar. There’s something to say about cPanel still being the most popular despite many complaints over the years about it’s supposed clunky interface, resource-hog,…
NGINX vs OpenLiteSpeed (OLS) honest speed comparison 2022
…to release a free open-source version called OpenLiteSpeed (2013). Which takes us to today’s webhosting landscape: Many traditional hosts still offering Apache. Newer modern hosts offering NGINX. Boutique hosts (both traditional & modern) offering LiteSpeed. Ultra-modern trendy hosts offering NGINX & OpenLiteSpeed (OLS). NGINX vs OpenLiteSpeed (OLS) So now we realize where the battle is really at. It’s free open-source OpenLiteSpeed taking on the powerhouse free open-source NGINX. Questions the noobs asks: Is OLS really faster than NGINX? – that’s what my post will answer. Is OLS newer/cooler than NGINX? – yes, it is. Is…
WPJohnny WordPress theme roundup 2023
…but I’d consider them with the most dev features (or most dev-minded approach) than all competitors. Most granular setup for HOOKS & FILTERS features. Has GenerateBlocks – Gutenberg block library and pagebuilder built by same company. Nice site library with few designs but well-polished and modern hip vibe. Solid community with good dev experience and design sense. Been around a long time (longer than anybody else). Very mature product and community. Lacks a drag-and-drop menu builder (in case you really wanted this). All other competitors have it. Get GeneratePress theme or see my GeneratePress review…
How to Make Subtitles for Your Videos
…text and duration out. Like I said, it’s too much work. So I found another option that’s much faster. Load your video onto youtube (put it in private if you don’t want people to see it) go here and enter in your youtube video address: https://www.serpsite.com/youtube-subtitles-download-tool/ Download the transcription as SRT file Now open up the SRT file in a text editor and fix the words to match what’s being said in the video. Get a translator to edit and save the SRT file into other languages. That’s it! How easy was that?!…
Telltale signs of a GOOD DEVELOPER
…them as well. Does it mean an open project on GitHub will always get more community contributions/improvements than a privately-managed one? Ehhhh…not if the private one is a large company with dedicated full-time devs. But still, it’s nice to see. 10. What other devs are saying about the code This is most easily seen if you’re in online dev communities that freely voices honest opinions. In some communities, it’s hard as devs are scared to (publicly) crap on another dev’s commercial work. Another easy way is to lookup the theme/plugin’s 1-star reviews on the WP…
CyberPanel cheatsheet (configs, commands, fixes)
A handy reference page for common CyberPanel commands and configurations. I made a list of the most common configurations and issues that I deal with on CyberPanel servers. If you don’t find what you need here, check on CyberPanel documentation or forums. Install (CentOS): yum update, press “y” when asked sh <(curl https://cyberpanel.net/install.sh || wget -O – https://cyberpanel.net/install.sh) (official link) To update (when new versions are available), sh <(curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/usmannasir/cyberpanel/stable/preUpgrade.sh || wget -O – https://raw.githubusercontent.com/usmannasir/cyberpanel/stable/preUpgrade.sh) (official link, for most recent update instructions and quick fixes if you see errors) Usual configs after installation: after finished,…
Why are MANAGED VPS Servers so Slow?
…AND support). Pay close attention to the middle plan…. 4 vCPU, and 4 GB RAM. Now ask yourself: what is a vCPU? Well, I can only assume it stands for VIRTUAL CPU…which means it’s probably not 4 CPU cores at all. Is it even an equivalent of 2 CORES?! From my experience…a $20/month VPS server from Linode or Digital Ocean will easily blow that that $119/month LiquidWeb VPS out of the water. Yes, my comparisons are current and yes, I’m 100% dead sure of it. Whatever hardware they’re using, it’s sub-par compared to true VPS…
Why MARKET RESEARCH for new products is stupid
Why I think doing market research for new products is…the dumbest thing ever. All those surveys, polls, asking around to friends/colleagues. All silly. If I ever see a company doing it, they have officially decreased the chances me of ever taking them seriously. Here’s why… 1. The best “research” comes from experience. Comes from working in the industry. Dealing with operations, vendors, clients, and coworkers day in and day out. Doing things (and having done them in many ways) for many years is what gives you the most valuable experience. Could it be that an…
Which WordPress "experts" should you trust?
…also written by some inexperienced people. It seems no one can tell the difference between an honest expert… and a shady, lying, sack of affiliate-crap selling conman. I’ll help you sniff out the difference. Affiliate Marketer vs Product Advisor vs Web Developer These are the 3 most common influencer roles among WordPress review sites today. I’ll go over their distinct traits, values, and how they operate. Affiliate Marketers Affiliate marketer STRENGTHS & TRAITS: They follow trends and the latest “cool” things on the market. Detailed comparisons like “this product can do this” and “that product…
WP Compress vs ShortPixel - WordPress Image Compression Comparison
WP Compress challenges the current WordPress image compression king (ShortPixel) with never-before-seen features and shockingly size-efficient algorithm! And here, we have yet another image compression plugin review! I wasn’t expecting it, but WP Compress really stood out. Let’s get straight to the details: what I like, don’t like. And why WP Compress should definitely be on your radar! Compared against ShortPixel (the current WordPress image compression king) I’ve tried them nearly all the image compression services out there…see my review on Best WordPress Image Compression Plugins. Up until now ShortPixel was the best image compression…
The MONSTER GUIDE to WordPress Image Optimization
…website and all its pages are Facebook Opengraph ready. Prepare square images if you want them to look nice for social media. 3. IMAGE COMPRESSION (quality and sizing) Manual compression: Use Photoshop’s Export or Save-to-web feature to manually decide the exact quality and sizing you want. Can also use Lightroom or other photo-editing apps as well. JPEG’s are typically adjusted by quality. PNG’s are typically adjusted by # of colors, and whether or not there’s transparency. You could also use a free online compression tool like on the ShortPixel site or various other sites out…
Breakdance - WordPress sitebuilder review
…pagebuilders (Stackable, Qubely). Faster frontend & backend performance (clean lightweight code), faster design-building, more fun to use. Breakdance is easier to use. Feels like much less friction to start. Easier distinction between what is design and what is content. The company said Breakdance was meant to compete with traditional pagebuilders, and Oxygen was for devs (competing best with Bricks, although Bricks wins). Breakdance vs Oxygen: Let’s not play around with Soflyy’s claims of Breakdance and Oxygen being 2 separate tools (marketed to 2 separate types of users). Breakdance is for me simply superior for the…
Digital Access Pass (DAP) WordPress Membership Plugin Review - UPDATED 2019
…click back and forth between numerous pages. First, you have to read a page to figure out what version you’re using, then you’ll have to update to the next major version, then update to the latest minor version. I wouldn’t mind clicking around if the documentation was laid out nicely, but instead it’s more like a giant page with endless links and buttons and looks like it was designed in the 1990’s. (This is the improved version, mind you.) PROBLEM WITH FOREIGN CHARACTERS – this is one of the most frustrating issues and quite ridiculous,…
WordPress Backup Plugins Review (UPDATED 2022)
…etc). Honestly, I don’t recommend this plugin considering there are free ones out there with a cleaner interface and more features. Their free version is too neutered for me! FREE version can backup off-site – I like it if you want a free version that backs up offsite, just beware that it can’t back up non-WP directories though! Many options – has all the premium options like scheduling and exclusions and what not. Granular backups – great if you like to back things up in bits and pieces. But horrible for if you just want a…
Genesis Theme Framework Review 2021
… Genesis is the BEST-CODED The code is clean, configurable, and complete! Pick up any other WordPress theme out there and most likely, it’s either: Super clean and lightweight but it isn’t “complete” and requires extra plugins to do basic things. Sometimes needs extra plugins to work with other plugins, hahaha! OR maybe it’s “complete” and has tons of features but it’s bloated as hell. OR maybe it’s clean and complete but it isn’t easily customizable into different layouts and different functions. The list goes on and on. Genesis strikes a nice balance for me….
MemberPress vs MemberMouse vs DAP - Wordpress Membership Plugins Review (2018)
…dated in comparison to the competition. To be fair to DAP, it still does one thing well…which is it allows you to checkout super-fast without redirecting you to checkout pages. If you use their cart plugin, you can even have the credit-card form right on your sales page. So this way you can have a very minimal appearance in the front-end but still a full-featured system in the back-end. 2018 update – it has since improved their design aesthetic but not necessarily the user interface. Things are still organized the same but looks “prettier”. I…
Noob Guide to Gutenberg
…old posts but it’s a good idea of you want Gutenberg benefits on that specific page (faster speed, ability to use Gutenberg blocks, or simply removing dependence on pagebuilder). 2. Default Gutenberg blocks https://youtu.be/WEpzqQ6yts4 Now, let’s learn how to use the default Gutenberg blocks that come with WordPress. There’s actually about 30 of them or so but I go over only the main ones for you to get started. Let’s play! Text – paragraph, list, heading, quote, classic Media – image, gallery Design – columns, buttons, spacer, more Widgets – custom HTML, latest comments, latest…
Swift Performance Lite - WordPress Cache Speed Plugin REVIEW
…many of the smaller names. If you really really have to know (W3TC, Super Cache, Fastest Cache, Hyper Cache, Simple Cache, Comet Cache, FOCUS Cache, etc.) and also a million other non-cache related plugins that minify/combine/concatenate/defer/re-organize asset delivery. I initially installed Swift Performance Lite on my shared hosting server and then stopped setting it up because it wanted my email address (to spam me, of course!). I made a complaint on a FB group and the owner (god bless him) assured me the emails were few and far between and that the free plugin was…
Core Web Vitals - score optimization tips
…The ones that can’t will require a developer to hack things for you. 4. Image optimization Let’s go in order of how to do this, ok? Don’t use so many images. You can create visual effects using just CSS or clever use of color. Without having so many images, you don’t have to worry about optimizing them to the right format, size, compression, and lazy load. Use the right image format. Please don’t use PNG when you should have JPG. Image compression can be whatever the page scores recommend. Compress more if you want to…
Enable GZIP for faster page loads!
…there’s a trade-off in processing time vs downloading time. GZIP can compress 100KB of data down to 20KB. So you have to consider what’s faster….the time it takes to compress or the time it takes to download 80KB? On super fast connection, you might just say fine, skip compression and download full size. But on mobile connection, you will always always prefer compressing first and send less data. Anyway, just my 2 cents. Check if your site is GZIP compressed – https://checkgzipcompression.com/ Want better compression than GZIP? (Go with Brotli; I like compression level 4.)…
The BEST WordPress theme (for coders) – Genesis
Genesis framework is my favorite theme for developers and professional sites. Lightweight – not a single wasted line of code Developer-friendly – clean structure, tons of hooks & filters Experienced community – largest theme community of respected developers (not newbies) Mature theme market – clean, professionally-designed child themes (unlike typical generic stuff on Envato market) Many 3rd-party plugins – lots of compatible plugins built just for Genesis Let’s break it down… Already convinced? Download Genesis now. Genesis is the MOST PROFESSIONAL WordPress framework If you didn’t already know, I’m a diehard Genesis user. I absolutely…
Totally biased review of FlyingPress cache plugin
…Locally-load Google webfonts Preload links upon hover or browser-initiation Can exclude images above-the-fold from lazy loading 4. Responsive bug-squashing. Does FlyingPress have bugs? Yes, it does. I found several during beta testing even on a super simple site. Gijo responded quickly and squashed them without any issue. Are there still bugs? Yes, new ones. I see little posts here and there on Facebook groups. Most of them seem to come from people with WooCommerce or uncommon setups/plugins. In all cases Gijo was highly-responsive and came out with a fix almost immediately. 5. FlyingPress is exciting….
Greenshift - Gutenberg pagebuilder blocks (with animation)
…their biased comparison page, showing how they have faster page scores than everybody else. They didn’t even show what the pages looked like. It’s not a very good or very fair comparison. And looks shady to do comparisons this way. Faceless company Their about page doesn’t feature any face or personal name. Feels very unprofessional and perhaps not trustworthy. Is this a new-and-shy developer? Or perhaps someone not proud of their work to claim it? What problem are we really solving? My biggest issue, and this is really only just for me personally, is that…
Marketer's Delight - WordPress conversion theme
…Share buttons (super lean and don’t slow down your site) Edit Share buttons and icons order Corner notes (coming soon) Other MD integrations: Email marketing – AWeber, MailChimp, ConvertKit, ActiveCampaign, MailerLite, Drip Custom HTML Forms Google Analytics WooCommerce …more coming soon! “Dropins” available (these are CPT’s): Stream Bookshelf Videos Glossary Testimonials Beacon Related Posts Gallery Blocks Page Blocks 4. Lightweight MD as is the case with many conversion themes is ultra-lean. It loads as fast as static HTML because there aren’t any big CSS or JS scripts. If you’re sick of conversion themes inching towards being more and more…
CloudPages managed WordPress hosting - INITIAL REVIEW
…click on Summary page they come right back. Just a minor thing but slightly jarring user experience. I’d prefer the sidebar options stay the whole time like they do for all other side bar options. 5. Finding phpMyAdmin is confusing. I don’t even remember how I did it or found it. It was by accident after clicking around randomly. When I check the CloudPages documentation, I see a whole list of instructions for installing it manually. Ewwww…not sexy. That’s DEFINITELY gotta be improved upon. (If it’s gotta be installed, give us a 1-click option or…
Cloudflare DNS/CDN service review - Do you need it? (pros and cons)
…UI and ability to invite others to manage your DNS records. Performance (their “CDN” component) – can cache static site assets (such as images, CSS, JS, fonts, etc) and serve them from proxy servers closer to visitors, apply intelligent page rules at the DNS level (imagine a faster/more-powerful but also less-techy version of htaccess redirects), optimize site assets (compress, minify, etc), and even do full page caching. Security – intelligent firewall to block bots and hackers from attacking your sites. Also SSL management and other security configuration options. As a quick note, their core service…
What are ACTIONS, HOOKS, and FILTERS in WordPress?
…and when things appear. Examples of typical “filters”: Show SLIDER header only on home page. Show BREADCRUMBS only on blog posts. Hide COMMENTS on pages. Show COUPONS on product pages. Show LATEST content on older blog posts. Hide SIDEBAR on all blog posts. Do/Don’t show some specific thing on just one specific page. Do/Don’t show some specific thing on just one specific blog category. Although “filters” act like a typical IF-THEN statement in programming, users can just think of it as “custom page layouts” in the WordPress world. Think of it as showing different page…
Fastest ways to load Google Analytics JS on WordPress
…settings are available. Not all cache plugins handle GA caching. I use Swift Performance Lite. (Here’s the premium version with more features). Just make sure you don’t forget to re-enable GA if you decide to disable caching. METHOD #2 – Using a GA plugin (2nd fastest) Complete Analytics Optimization Suite (CAOS) – nice plugin that saves the latest GA.js file on your server and loads it locally. The file is synchronized with the latest GA from Google servers and updated periodically. You save one request and speed up page load times. Works well, very…
Google AMP Sucks for WordPress
…load, faster content digestion…all equals better rankings more traffic – better rankings equals better traffic better user experience – I’m not sure how this works, unless your site is so terribly designed and coded that using AMP is somehow considered an upgrade?! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hF4qKmrrgEs REALITY? easily broken site – one little weird design or coding mistake and your site falls apart limited compatibility – only works on mostly static blog sites. All other sites aren’t compatible because their fancy effects or features stop working on AMP. limited SEO/traffic benefit IMO – here’s the funny thing, blog…
Predicting the death of ALL pagebuilders (except ONE)
…section. Currently, it’s all-or-nothing.) Pagebuilders are basically a smaller CMS hacked onto a larger CMS. They have their own settings. And lots of function conflicts over what should be controlled by a theme or a plugin. Truth be told…pagebuilders act somewhat like both. Developers have long complained they aren’t coded in a WordPress way…and definitely not in an efficient way. Beginners have long complained they aren’t easy to use. But sure…some pagebuilders will be easier than others, and even the worst pagebuilder out there is infinitely more empowering than planting code snippets around your site…
Minify strategies for HTML, CSS, JS
…power for something else, like processing dynamic php and making DB queries. If you really want to minify still: Let your CDN (like Cloudflare) do all the minification work. Pre-minify your files ahead of time. (Usually done with a caching mechanism.) How your number of pages affects minification… If you have only a few pages (like say 20 or even 50 pages, heck, even 300-500 is manageable)…it shouldn’t be too much problem pre-minifying everything ahead of time. The problem is when you have say 1-2 thousand pages. Are those are going to be pre-cached and…
ScalaHosting review - traditional shared hosting (custom panel)
…UI might appear “messy” compared to modern panels but it’s easy to use and arguably faster to use (since all features can be reached from the main page)…whereas other panels have more settings screens and tabs to click through. LiteSpeed/OpenLitespeed web server – depending on which options you choose. I love LiteSpeed because of its performance gains and compatibility with my favorite WordPress cache plugin (LiteSpeed Cache). Backups – daily scheduled backups. Free SSL – standard feature. SShield Cyber Security – not sure if this is their WAF or malware scanner or maybe both. But anyway, they have…
Plesk (Obsidian) Control Panel Review 2020
Are you curious how the new Plesk Obsidian version works? I’ll tell you! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAe6fZrjnEM Watch this video to see the new UI. You can compare to the older Plesk Onyx. I’m a WHM/cPanel guy but still use Plesk for some clients. It works great. User-friendly for non-admins. Mature, stable, has many helpful extensions. Easy enough to figure out how to do most webhosting functions without having to read documentation. In the few moments that I had issues, Plesk documentation was simple enough to understand and/or Plesk support was extremely helpful to resolve the issue immediately….
SpinupWP - WordPress server panel review
…me very long to review these companies. I’ve probably tried over 100 webhosting companies by now. Competitors The major competitors in this market are: Cloudways, RunCloud, GridPane, and a bunch of other similar copycat ones I don’t bother mentioning. I’ll do a full review comparing them together later on. Marketing SpinupWP’s marketing is pretty good. The design and copy makes you feel anybody can start running their own little web server and all issues will be resolved. They position their product as the perfect answer to MANAGED (SHARED) HOSTING and UNMANAGED VPS HOSTING. There are…
Why use cPanel in 2021
Why I still love using cPanel. Despite all the new panels popping up. And even with cPanel’s massive price hikes. Yes…maybe some of you are shocked to hear this. Since I’m known as a new-school tech enthusiast and always reviewing the latest and greatest. How can it be that Johnny still likes the old-school cPanel?!! My cPanel use case End User, Developer, Server-Admin, Webhosting Business I am all four of these things! Please keep that in mind when you read this post. Because many of you will try arguing with me that such and such…
Prioritize your website NEUTRAL color, not primary color
…drawing attention. Other colors feel repetitive immediately. The secret to the (secondary) neutral color. Quite often, you’re going to realize that your logo (accent) color and neutral (background) colors do not go together. One demands has too much personality and the other has so little of it. And that content might look good next to one of them of but not both. In moments like these, the design secret is having another neutral color to come in as your silent hero. There are a few principles to using this secondary neutral color. It can be…
AVOID - Astra theme and Brainstorm Force plugins (are bloated)
…2020: I find another client site using Convert Pro that had 125K autoloads. Anyways…I’m getting too lazy to report each and every instance of high autoloads. 3. Astra theme has too much autoloads Yeah, this is my replacement #3. I see 800kb worth of autoloads in the wp_option table, many rows called “astra-sites-and-pages-page”. It’s just a common theme with anything made by BSF. 4. Some of their plugins (I can’t remember which one) have a lot of inline styles. Blah blah blah, more ranting here. Too lazy to even write it out. 5. They deleted…
WPJ Plugins Download
You can download your purchased WPJ plugins here. Click “View Licenses” to get your license key….
NitroPack cloud-caching service review - UPDATED 2022
…So why is NitroPack so popular? To be honest…it’s because it does a good job. It very easily speeds up sites with very minimal effort (or technical skill required), and produces better page scores on GTmetrix, Core Web Vitals, etc. It’s really one-click touch and go. You don’t have to read instructions or Google search for guides online for “best cache configurations” and read dozens of arguing comments back and forth about which optimizations methods are necessary or not. You could be a bonehead monkey, click one button, and immediately show off to your client…
How to Find a (Good) Translator
…you will almost always regret this if you don’t know what you’re doing. Suppose you have a 20-page website, do it like this: Hire 5 translators, let each of them translate just one page. Pick the best one and have them translate the rest. I know what you’re thinking…what’s the point of hiring multiple if you already did your audit?! The reason is because many of them will not work in the manner that you like. They respond fast to get the job. Once you pay the deposit, they say they’re available to start “next…
FREE Web Hosting Control Panel Review
…are also those who just love the idea of open-source everything and love playing with new/experimental technologies. I think it’s fine if you’re not on a critical production server. Do keep in mind that while open-source software may have the advantage of being developed by more community experts and more hands, it may lack the maturity and consistent support of commercial software. Communities may change as other software becomes more popular and developers fork their efforts away leaving you with unsupported/unsecured software. Migrating to different software every few years is an absolute hassle and costs…
Best Linux distribution for web servers - CentOS vs Ubuntu
…the webhosting market uses it. You only use something else for very specific reasons. Ubuntu is a popular choice for single users. Are you the only one managing this server? Then Ubuntu (based off of Debian) may also be a good pick. Can be considered higher performance and more updated since it uses the latest software but at the same time can be seen as slightly less stable and also more buggy. Personally, I’ve 0nly used Ubuntu for desktop use (it’s very popular there) and never for web-servers although many have and prefer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hyLt_nWItQ…
SEO TIP - Create the Keyword
…to stay several steps ahead of my competition. By the time they catch on to it, my site outranks them easily because I’ve had the keyword on my site for a long time before theirs. But it’s more than just SEO. It’s about really knowing your shit and like I said…REALLY KNOWING YOUR INDUSTRY. It’s just about knowing the latest keywords. It’s about knowing the latest concerns, things that TODAY’S customer cares about, what people are talking about. And if you don’t even know these things…then is your business truly qualified to even succeed? https://www.warriorforum.com/search-engine-optimization/1082472-seo-tip-create-keyword.html…
Disable WP-Cron and use real CRON JOB
…functions you might find in a typical WordPress site: Comments automatically emailed to commenters. Backup plugin running every night. Scheduled posts publishing live when it’s time. Widgets updating to show the latest data. How do you think your site “automatically” handles these functions? It does it using the WP-Cron function (which is built into WordPress and runs from the wp-cron.php file). And is triggered every time the website is requested. This means…every time someone (or a crawler) visits your website…your site runs the wp-cron.php file. ….this can be bad for 2 main reasons: If your…
Rocket Laywer SCAM / FRAUD - unauthorized credit card charges
…you’ve signed up for Rocket Laywer!) Good luck trying to cancel from their website. When you log in, there’s no charges shown anywhere or any place to cancel. I had to complain on their Facebook profile page and threaten to leave negative reviews everywhere. That’s when one of their people contacted me and refunded my money. They’ve been doing this for a while, too. See all their complaints from other sites: PissedConsumer.com Their official Facebook page Complaints at Consumer Affairs BiggerPockets BBB BestCompany.com – HA! TrustPilot – don’t be fooled by the good ones, pay…
Dealing with Pushback against PAID Memberships
…grown to a point that you can no longer sustain it. Some free resources will always be available but you also have paid services in place for those who need extra support. If you had some formerly free services that are now paid, simply explain that you cannot help everyone over the internet for free. Thank them graciously for their feedback and point them to your competitors or other places where they can find free information. It might also help to do some qualifying here. Explain the type of users you are most able to…
Awesome Motive isn't awesome
…AM couldn’t be any further from. As much involved as AM is in the open-source WordPress space, I feel they couldn’t possibly be any further from these core principles. They aren’t innovating shit. That’s something more commonly done by lone programmers or business owners with a unique problem they have to solve on their own…for their OWN needs. AM isn’t a lone programmer or business owner, they’re just a copycat business ripping off competitor ideas or buying out companies outright. (A more successful version of WPMU DEV, a notorious “me too” conglomerate in WordPress history.)…
Removing WordPress user registration spam
…And open it with any text editor. (Code editor is probably better and less likely to crash your computer.) Search for the user name or email, you should see in 2 places of the restore file. Now open up your webhosting phpMyAdmin, and click on the [SQL] tab. Now you’ll copy off the instances of the user records into the SQL tab. The first instance is a full line, paste it and hit ENTER to drop to the next line. The second instance should be a whole bunch of rows with the same user ID,…
Neve review - fun cloud theme for WordPress
A new cloud theme for WordPress…built by an A-grade development company. And now compared against the big 4 (GeneratePress, Kadence, Blocksy, Astra). It’s my honor to present Neve to you for several reasons. One is because I’ve followed their work for a long time. But another is because I got to see my feedback come to fruition in this theme. Neve was a theme I used for the past 2.5 years and just now finally reviewing on my site. Why? Because it didn’t do anything too unique from my existing theme-stack (GeneratePress, Kadence, Blocksy). I…
WPJ Webhosting Listing
Are you looking to get your webhosting listed on a popular and unbiased review page? BEST WordPress Hosting Reviews If yes, you’ve come to the right place. All my reviews are 100% unbiased reflections of my personal opinion (most of them from firsthand experience with each service). Due to the growing popularity of my site, I can no longer keep up with free review requests. If you want to be listed, there are only 2 ways: METHOD #1 – your service is so amazing that credible users rave wildly about you. And I somehow hear…
Astra vs OceanWP vs Generatepress - Best FREE WordPress Theme Review
I get asked about these 3 popular free WordPress themes just about every week. They are pretty solid options. They’re basically really clean, lightweight, and the free version is functional enough for most folks. Pay a little more and you get access to all their functionality. Let’s go over my quick comparison between Astra, OceanWP, and GeneratePress. 1. GeneratePress GeneratePress is the best coded of these 3, most mature and full-functioned from my point of view. It’s also used by not only newbies but also seasoned developers. For this reason, it is easily my favorite…
DNS Basic Info & Troubleshooting
…in the server config (htaccess file), or DNS proxy level (e.g. Cloudflare page rule). DNS issue from local ISP – more common than you’d expect. Website can’t be reached and you immediately blame your own server/hosting. Testing from another computer or friend (from your same ISP) or even mobile doesn’t work. But when you ask a far away relative or friend to test, it works. It probably means your local ISP has DNS issues (unable to reach the site) or might be blacklisting your webhost datacenter’s IP range or blocking your domain (for spamming?). DNS…
Best WordPress Cache Plugins 2020
…PRO? Start with FREE. If it does what you need and you like the results, don’t upgrade. Get PRO if you have over 300 pages, the compute API really speeds up the cache prebuild. PRO also comes with many other useful advanced features…but some do need skills to take full advantage. My Swift guides: Swift Performance WordPress Cache Plugin – UNOFFICIAL GUIDE Swift Performance Lite – WordPress Cache Speed Plugin REVIEW Try Swift Performance: WP repository (free) Website (pro) LiteSpeed cache plugin (FREE but you need LiteSpeed server) LiteSpeed is best for ENTERPRISE CACHING Many…
Best WordPress Image Compression Plugins - UPDATED 2021
…First choice – ShortPixel (PAID, but free for 100/month) Better compression rates, offers WebP format, offers GLOSSY format (high quality compression for photographers), good pricing. This is my default go-to if you need serious compression. Try their (free) compression test. Get ShortPixel Second choice – WP Compress (PAID) Excellent ratio, super small file sizes, and very sharp. If anything, sometimes even sharper than the original. Get WP Compress Third choice – LiteSpeed Cache plugin (FREE) Super awesome free service. Can do unlimited images but your available quota starts small and increases slowly with each (batch)…
Get Rid of Jetpack Plugin - Why and How
…don’t trust Jetpack. Honestly, I just don’t trust many things from Automattic, Matt Mullenweg, and their other associates. I’ll let you guys research for yourself. Secretly, I think they’re steering WordPress more and more away from actual open source mentality and into a commercialized direction. They are gonna cash out on this thing as best as they can. I don’t have any problems with capitalism or commercialism so much; but I do have strong feelings about transparency. The way they’re promoting this is manipulative—monopolizing their position as the actual WordPress creators, stifling healthy market competition,…
BEST WordPress Cache Plugins 2022
…it! (now stop asking me this question over and over) WP Performance – cache plugin review Recommended settings (coming soon when I’m not lazy) 2. Swift Performance (FREE & PAID) https://wordpress.org/plugins/swift-performance-lite/ Tons of caching features and low cost! Swift FREE is the most full-featured free cache plugin out there (along with LiteSpeed Cache). Tons of features, a bit complicated for newbies and risky since they enable stuff that break or slow down their site. I feel Swift has somewhat become 2022’s W3TC (of course, not literally). Their UI could use another overhaul to make it appear…
Comment Reply Email (WPJ Plugin)
Just released Comment Reply Email…another free WPJ plugin! Plugin Description: Commenters can receive email notifications of replies to their comments. This simple plugin automatically sends a notification email to commenters when someone replies to their comment. This feature can be enabled automatically by the site admin, or through an opt-in/opt-out checkbox below comment section on frontend. It’s best to use it with an email-sending plugin like WP Mail SMTP, and with SMTP or transactional email service like SendGrid or Mailgun. Sending from your server via PHPmailer can cause deliverability issues (email notfications caught in spam)….
The ETHICS of WordPress GPL
…free-version ripoff of paid Genesis. And while Blocksy may not be a blatant ripoff of another existing theme, there’s no doubt that it borrows upon innovations made from previous themes. But is copying bad? And how much of it should be allowed? The GPL debate all over again The nature of open-source protects innovation by allowing it to be freely copied at will (whether for personal or commercial use). The General Public License (GPL) is an open-source license and applies to WordPress core and any 3rd-party theme or plugin operating in the WordPress eco-system. It’s…
Getting the most out of your graphic designer
…million revisions. 2. Choosing lookalikes A common request from designers is to ask you for examples of what you like. What other designs and sites you like out there. Most clients screw this part up in 2 ways: They send over multiple examples of the same exact generic look – and they get a generic look in return that doesn’t have any unique personality. They send over a wide range of examples – but aren’t clear which aspects they like and don’t like about each. So they get a design that indeed has elements from…
Elastic Hosting for WordPress - PROS & CONS
…future technology may evolve towards. Serve larger clients (with more complex needs) Being able to easily scale instances up or down allows providers to handle much larger websites and web applications. No more restrictions within the limits of defined resources. Clients are now free to grow as big and as erratically as they need. The cloud host will instantly react to their traffic loads. And of course, having bigger clients means bigger paydays. Decreased management Hosting businesses can now offer more complex solutions without increasing workflow complexity. Their devs aren’t slaving hours away to fragile…
The BUSINESS BENEFITS of Blogging
…collecting Were you hoping to collect customer emails for marketing purposes? I can’t think of an easier way to do that than by offering FREE valuable information to them on a regular basis. Blog posts are events! And the more shit you have going on, the more they want to stay updated on you! BENEFIT #7 – collaboration opportunities Blogging makes your company a much more accessible figure. People feel like your company has a face and a name. A person who can be reached and connected with. You’re not just some “other competitor”. This…
WordPress Speed Optimization Courses
…Easily digested for quick learning. New lessons and topics will be added to over time, as decided by me and/or requested by members. You’ll receive email updates when lessons are updated or added. Anyone finishing all 3 courses will be given a WPJ Certification and listing on the WPJ-Certified Speed Specialists page. Print it out, show your children, or post on your website. (I also reserve the right to de-list you from that page for any reason.) UPDATES: ADVANCED course is now released! Comments now activated on all lessons, so you can ask questions or…
Apache performance tip - switch to MPM Event!
…MPM Event first. You can switch over to it easy. A few command line entries or also a simple switch in EasyApache if you have WHM/cPanel (show in the image above). If you have problems, then try Worker and that last is Prefork. Some people noticed faster performance with Prefork or Worker. It can depend on the type of website you have, CPU, ram use, etc. But generally with a high performance server looking to serve many visitors fast, I always recommend MPM Event. Other reading for you: https://httpd.apache.org/docs/current/mpm.html https://httpd.apache.org/docs/current/mod/ https://www.liquidweb.com/kb/apache-mpms-explained/ https://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=1674888 https://serverfault.com/questions/310937/setting-up-apache-to-use-multiple-cores https://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.4/misc/perf-tuning.html https://forums.cpanel.net/threads/why-does-mpm-prefork-faster-than-any-other-mpm.596455/…
EASY Gutenberg Development Resources
…layouts. You can use these to create your own custom block or even your own custom block plugin (and re-sell/re-brand) for your own usage! https://gutenberghub.com/blocks/ A directory of (nearly) all existing Gutenberg blocks out there. Search by whatever type you need. More convenient than the WordPress repo because that seems to only list the block developer’s name rather than all the block types in it. Bill Erickson https://www.billerickson.net/ Awesome developer from the Genesis community who always makes helpful blogs. Great stuff for developers and non-coders alike. If you want to learn about development for WordPress,…
Should you use Critical CSS?
…tactic now coming back in popularity cuz of bloated pagebuilders. You don’t have that problem.” And not long after I broke down the reasons why, I felt the need to share them on my blog… How does “Critical CSS” work? Critical CSS is when your site initially loads only the CSS used for ATF (above-the-fold) content at the top of your site, instead of loading the entire CSS for the whole page. The idea is that by loading only this “critical CSS”, your page would appear to render faster for users while the rest…
BEST WordPress Cache Plugins 2021
…(FREE) https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-performance/ If you don’t know what you’re doing, start here. Very easy to use. Safe to play with caching and won’t break your site. Please don’t try to enable every feature. Works well for all types of sites. Recommended settings (coming soon) 2. Swift Performance (FREE & PAID) https://wordpress.org/plugins/swift-performance-lite/ FREE free is the best free cache plugin out there (along with LiteSpeed Cache). Tons of features, a bit complicated for newbies and risky since they enable stuff that break or slow down their site. PAID version has even more incredible features. Works great. I…
WordPress vs STATIC CMS
…free options and plugin options. Fewer developers who know how to work with it. 3. WordPress is LOWER COST WordPress has tons of free options and free help already. If you need to hire a developer, there are many developers all over the world. If you use a static CMS, fewer options are available and fewer developers who can work with it. 4. WordPress is really NOT that slow or insecure Don’t want a slow/insecure WordPress site? Then use high quality themes and plugins from respected development teams. Don’t weigh down your site with cheap…
Should You Trust a Small Webhosting Company?
…large hosting companies have tons of servers with only a few “skilled” staff. They might have as few as (ONE) level-3 tech for anywhere from 1-10k clients. Do you really think your server will be tuned for the latest and greatest software and performance tweaks? Nope, when a company deals with high volume…it needs to optimize for maximum compatibility. This means running older software that allows outdated websites to run. This also means not updating the server as much and almost not even maintaining the server besides a few restarts every year. And most of…
How to Optimize/Compress Your Website Images
Three ways to optimize/compress your images to improve WordPress load time: Open up Photoshop, export to Save-for-web, JPEG 50%. Save your image in the highest quality possible, go to ShortPixel’s online compress tool, and simply upload there. Download an image compression plugin that does it automatically from WordPress. I like ShortPixel but there are many others. They vary between free, paid, or freemium models. Again, I like ShortPixel. A few notes about picking the right format: Photographic images and product images should always be in JPEG format. Avoid PNG format if you can since it’s…
Blisk - multiple screen development browser
…common devices. Pick portrait or landscape mode. Take snapshot or record video of entire screen (including multiple devices). Can enable auto-refresh so the page updates as soon as the code updates. Chrome developer tools built-in. Convenient toolbar buttons for Inspect, DevTools, Errors, and more. There’s other features as well but these are the main ones for me. Quick breakdown of features and how to use them. Anyway, I think this browser is so helpful if you’re ever doing web development or tweaking your site and need to check that nothing broke. Get Blisk for free…
nSphere.net is a Scam
…After emailing the AM again, she promises to have a check sent out asap. Well I DID receive a check but weeks after I deposit the check I find out it BOUNCED. What a freaken scam. On a side note, I should add that the sub-domain directory thing they put on your site isn’t effective. The latest Google update doesn’t send much traffic to those kinds of sites and I would advise against having that on your domain. If this company contacts you, well at least you know what happened to me. Avoid these guys….
Linux Admin Courses
…things you can (or have to) do. So I laid out commands in a manner that’s easy to learn, easy to understand, and easy to remember. The ultimate goal is to get you comfortable swimming in the command line in the shortest time possible! I assume you’re not here because you’re a GUI-hating Linux g33k. You’re here because you want quick actionable real-world skills that can change your life as a web developer. Possibly even open new doors for your business managing your own servers. The other side benefit too is you learn how to…
MXroute email hosting review
…around. Services like MXroute make you believe again, that 1 or 2 determined people can do a better job than entire companies with massive budgets (but no soul). Are there any “catches” or limitations? Not really. If you wanted, you could argue that they don’t give such crazy amount of space like G-Suite does per email account, or doesn’t come with other cloud-based services like documents and what not. But really…when it comes to essential email function, MXroute is the cheapest (and arguably the best). To the people arguing their lifetime plans aren’t sustainable, you…
History of web servers (and transition from Apache to NGINX/LiteSpeed)
…really cared to compare NGINX and LiteSpeed. They were different enough not to overlap in preferred use cases: LiteSpeed was a commercial product (costs money), compatible with Apache/htaccess. Great for shared webhosting scenarios where newbie users relied on Apache-friendly control panels and Apache configurations (htaccess), or large high-traffic websites supported by experienced Apache admins/engineers. NGINX was a free product, simple to install and run. Great for quick command line deployment for small sites, or large high-traffic websites supported by experienced NGINX admins/engineers. Apache still not dead Meanwhile, the old champion is still trucking along…
CWICLY's demise - a lesson in specialization
A looking-back at the highly speculated (and shocking) announcement of CWICLY’s sudden abandonment in the past week. It was a shock to many WordPress developer circles because of how personal it felt to everyone. Whether or not you’ve even tried CWICLY, a modern Gutenberg pagebuilder only several years old, you could still relate to its personal challenge in today’s WordPress workflow. One of wrestling between pagebuilders and Gutenberg, and page load and page scores. An elusive (if not mythical) balance hunted for by all WordPress developers. CWICLY was trying to do what we were all…
Are static CMS sites a good alternative to WordPress?
…you realize you need a developer to anything custom. Not free – many people love WordPress for its massive amount of free options. Free themes, plugins, and even the core CMS itself is free. Not so with static sites, you’ll find many things that would normally come free in WordPress will cost you. Even the core CMS itself can cost you a monthly fee. My final say on static sites Most people considering static sites over WordPress are concerned about performance and security. Both of which WordPress does VERY WELL with. WordPress can manage…
How to Run a 99Designs Contest
…10 years and find the service to be just as fantastic today as it was before. It’s a great market to find talented designers from other countries for relatively low cost AND get great concept ideas for your domain name. It’s not only a great way to do branding design but also to get free market research and understand how others perceive your brand name. Within several projects, I was able to create A-level designs at much lower rates. Here are the tips to make your design contest worthwhile for all parties! 1. Preparing…
RunCloud hosting panel 2020 review
RunCloud is still the #1 cloud panel for developers, and now even faster! A quick breakdown of what I like about the latest RunCloud (with RunCloud Hub caching) and how it stacks up against other cloud panels like GridPane and Cloudways. RunCloud has always been one of my favorite panels. It’s one of the best designed, very intuitive, performance is good, and the pricing is very reasonable (CHEAP). But I don’t recommend it for everyone. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpAN4q1Z3SM RunCloud PROS Great UI As I’ve said it has a great UI. But for doing what, exactly? It’s got…
WPMU DEV sucks - don't use their plugins
…plugins cheaper and that’s it. Hey, if you like the cute superhero branding and low pricing, give WPMU DEV a try. But if you want serious plugins developed by people who actually care and passionate about providing solutions…try out a real development company. How recent is this review? I know many of you reading this might be reasonbly skeptical. Maybe you think I haven’t tried the absolute latest new-and-improved versions of WPMU. (And you’re right.) But my clients and other developers I know have. And the complaint is still a lot of the same. Bloated…
LiveCanvas HTML/CSS pagebuilder for WordPress - REVIEW
…I suspect many will complain that it lacks features or doesn’t have the cute blocks and fancy features to click on. If it were up to me…LiveCanvas could have also been called the “static site pagebuilder” or “hardcode pagebuilder” or just “page-coder”. Because that’s what it really is. With so many people tempted to try static sites…marketing from that angle would more attractively clarify what it is and its unique benefits against other pagebuilders. Simply put, LiveCanvas lets you hardcode WordPress content and theme areas from scratch. Letting coders return to the simplicity of Dreamweaver…
Not a fan of Pinegrow for creating WordPress themes
…should have FRONT PAGE, ARCHIVE, SINGLE, SHOP, etc. I didn’t see page templating broken down or described in that manner inside Pinegrow. It looked more like an empty graphic design canvas where you just draw your site without any WordPress-layout or hierarchy in mind. It also doesn’t look like a native WordPress theme builder. It reminds me of a typical website builder program (like Dreamweaver), and then hacked to add WordPress compatibility. Pinegrow is still a great design tool There are things I like about Pinegrow: Professional – looks well built. Very fast and smooth,…
BEST Wordpress SEO Plugins 2018
…free plugin trying to gain market share. Even today, many people claim All in One SEO is better and faster, and that’s good enough for me. https://wordpress.org/plugins/all-in-one-seo-pack/ Pro version: https://semperplugins.com?ap_id=treeflips 3. YOAST SEO The de facto standard! YOAST has grown through the years and now matured into this giant commercial behemoth of an SEO plugin. It’s prettiness and millions of features won over it’s public support and current mainstream position of being the #1 WordPress SEO plugin. Just about all levels of users, amateur and pros alike, will look to install YOAST as their preferred SEO plugin…
Restrict Content Pro - WordPress membership plugin review 2020
…dammit! Ok sorry…more explanation needed. WHAT exactly makes RCP so clean? One settings panel, with only 10 pages or so whereas other plugins have a main settings panel AND many sub-panels. They overwhelm you with 30 pages of settings to configure. RCP cleverly combines settings together and through clever use of checkboxes, you only see stuff that matters to you. Compact setup forms For example: when I enter new memberships, customers, or payments in admin…I see a simple page with only a few entry fields stacked neatly on top of each other. It looks like…
Local-load Google webfonts in DIVI (in just 5 minutes)
Load Google font calls faster and with better page scores in DIVI pagebuilder. Pagebuilders often load too many webfonts (even styles/sizes you don’t use) and make slow 3rd-party request that slow down your page loads and impact your page scores. So I show you how to manually load from your server only the Google fonts you need, and disable Google webfont load from DIVI. Super quick tutorial. But easy enough for anyone to do. https://youtu.be/JkF0KU-35DQ Step #1 – make a list of all Google webfonts used on your site. Check different pages (ones with different…
WPJ-Certified Speed Specialists
Here are a list of people who completed my WP speed optimization courses (I assume) with great enthusiasm. But does this cartoon seal guarantee any level of quality? No, because I didn’t check their work personally. But it does guarantee they cared enough about speed to seek me out, join WP speed communities on Facebook and at least attempt self-growth. This curiosity in and of itself is worth something. Marc Hindley https://canarydwarf.co.uk https://fastestwp.uk Adrien de Montalembert https://ecomturbo.net Mehmet Koçali https://www.focalhaus.com Paka Monette https://shakapaka.com/ Ryan McCain https://norzer.me Jimmy Lam https://acres-media.com https://digitiv.co.uk/ Christian Coulson https://blogstalgia.com/ Steven Orechow…
How to pick a good MEMBERSHIP platform
…and easier to work with since you can style them however you want without having to battle with default styles. The more established your business, the more you’ll want a developer-grade membership plugin with limitless flexibility. It’s the only way IMO to create a truly unique user experience. Want to try my favorite membership plugin? It’s MemberPress! Super easy to use, really flexible (for both non-technical users as well as developers), cheaply priced IMO, and with tons of features. Read my MemberPress review. You can check it out using my affiliate link – www.memberpress.com…
What are Custom Post Types (and why do they matter?)
…Can show bulleted lists in widgets. Can also show random or related posts at end of other posts. Can also show comments in widgets. TESTIMONIALS – shown on home page using rotating carousel. PRODUCTS – shows on store and category pages by default, but also featured on home page. Shown on other product pages in the “Related Products” area. Now let’s come up with ideas for your fitness trainer site… What if you wanted your site to feature different trainers randomly on the home page? (like those testimonial boxes) Or maybe you just a big…
WooCommerce (WordPress) vs Shopify - Ecommerce Store Comparison (2020)
…other information pages, both can do the same task. 2. Budget – HIGH or LOW? Both options can cater to high and low budgets, but how they do it is different. WordPress/WooCommerce (LOW) – both WordPress & WooCommerce are free and so are the many plugins they come with. But can you truly stick with only free themes and free plugins? You can but at some point, you’ll probably have to pay for certain premium features. At the very least, you’ll have to pay for webhosting which is $5-12/month for the cheapest plan. Throw in a…
DNS hosts website preview
Simple list of ways to test a website from different servers. Sick of editing your hosts file? Need to compare 2 versions of your website on different servers? Want to see a website function live from a domain of your choice? Well here are some ways to get the job done. 1. Hosts preview site There are many sites offering this server: skipdns.link hosts.cx (no longer working) In case you ever forget these sites, search “website hosts preview” on Google. 2. GasMask Install an app on your OS X desktop computer, and manage your hosts…
Couchsurfing B-Corp Is a Good Thing
…this? Why didn’t Casey do that?”, Casey made the best decision to benefit the corporation as well as the community. He didn’t need to ask the CS community because he had the support of some of the world’s smartest and most experienced. And yes, they’re going to make a shit-ton of money. We [Americans] still live in a world where things cost money and those who have more will live more comfortably than those who don’t. Having money doesn’t necessarily mean your quality of life is better. You might be just as stressed out and…
Cloudways Managed Hosting Review (2019)
…stack is generally good performance, although not the fastest VPS. (Apache with Nginx/Varnish as reverse proxy, pre-configured VCL and custom setup for maximum speed. Also perfect with their proprietary Breeze Cache plugin.) Most people coming from shared hosting will appreciate the speed boost. Apache & NGINX is not my favorite – but it works well and htaccess-compatible. It’s a great solution for people coming from shared hosting. Other hosts may be faster but harder to configure if you’re coming from typical shared hosting with cPanel. Lighter websites will feel like Cloudways is fast. Heavier sites…
How to Use Public DNS Service (Google, Cloudflare, etc)
…certain sites or IP ranges. They’re also useful for “privacy” reasons when you don’t want your local ISP to track you. But then again, your traffic would be routed through Google or Cloudflare DNS proxies and certainly they could theoretically sell your info as well. In case you care…I trust Cloudflare over Google. Anyway, making the change is really easy on your computer. Let’s get to it! How to do it on Mac OS X https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McTn2SA0H7U If using Cloudflare, put “1.1.1.1” instead. How to do it on Windows/PC https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0VJCRyvPBs If using Cloudflare, put “1.1.1.1” instead….
GridPane vs RunCloud - Managed Hosting Panel Review UPDATED 2020
…which all managed hosting panels are judged today. Everyone else is compared to them, maybe different in features or in the stack or in the pricing. They’ve got a great team and again, I love their community vibes. GridPane – company background An American grassroots hosting company that I first noticed on Facebook Groups for hosting experts. It’s inspired by Webinoly, one of the many performant community-driven stacks available, but wrapped in a dead-easy-to-use UI. Its pricing, features, and UI were very much comparable to other existing options on the market if not better. Upon…
How to COPY-PASTE Gutenberg blocks
…this simple feature but also the many others he has in there. This plugin has definitely saved my ass a couple times when trying to moved custom blocks with tons of info in them. Workaround #4 – Duplicate page https://wordpress.org/plugins/duplicate-page/ You can use any of “duplicate page” plugins (there are many) to quickly copy any existing page you have. Then go edit your copy and change what you need. Super quick solution but meant only for copying entire pages rather than individual blocks. Workaround #5 – WordPress export/import Simple export and import into another site….
How to Make a UNIQUE Web Design
This is one of my strengths having messed with web design for so many years. It’s my secrets and I shouldn’t be teaching it for free but the community needs it. Seriously…you would think in this day and age, with all the FREE easy-to-use tools out there that we would have finally have great web design as the standard, but we don’t. In fact, I think we’ve actually taken a step back from what it was 5 years ago! All the sites today look the same now! Some kind of header menu fade, big hero…
10 TRUTHS about running a webhosting business
…if it’s not technical issues, it’s something else. Someone will have a billing problem. Credit card doesn’t work, or they paid with the wrong method or to the wrong account and now want a refund. Or you have people clogging your support channels with unrelated requests. 6. Marketing pressure Regardless if you’re an aggressively marketed brand or a lowkey under-the-radar brand, your company will still be subject to your competitor’s extraordinary claims regardless. Your competitors will be constantly pitching their service as offering all the latest features. And if you are LUCKY, your clients will…
5 Ways to Grow Your WordPress Blog Traffic
…of having to pay for something that should come free. IMO, your best and most loyal traffic will come from organically-grown followers. Your best fans don’t need to be bought or reminded. You don’t need to persuade them to visit your blog. Heck, if anything, THEY’RE the ones to persuade YOU to visit your own blog. They’ll be the ones to write comments asking questions, demanding new guides, asking where you’ve been. But paid traffic does have its place. It can speed up time-sensitive messages. It can airdrop your brand into places that would have…
CloudPanel - server control panel review
…Will add more to this as I get more familiar with CloudPanel. Who should use CloudPanel CloudPanel is best for admins wanting a clean solo-user control panel, and don’t need email or file manager. It’s beautiful, fast, it’s free! What else do you want?! You can’t have end users on here so kiss your low-cost reseller dreams goodbye but it’s fantastic for running a lean clean BS-free NGINX server. Extremely admin-centric. Auto-login for phpMyAdmin (root pass not required). No file manager, email or end-user login. Try CloudPanel (it’s free and installs in only 5 minutes)…
PREMIUM PRICING sells to all customers
…a $50 item is better than a $100 item. It can’t. Even if the $50 item was better looking, had more features, and even better reviews…people are still drawn to the more expensive option AS LONG AS IT’S SOMEWHAT JUSTIFIED. Look at the success of Apple, their iPhones and Macbooks. Premium pricing (and even premium demand) yet being sometimes behind their competitors, no? This same logic echoes for many brands in many other industries as well. An inferiorly-equipped Mercedes commands a higher price tag than a more upgraded Honda Accord. We don’t argue why that…
Don't use CSS frameworks with your custom WordPress theme
…and all kinds of junk. Here, see for yourself: Click this link, it’s a demo product page “showcasing” the Bootstrap CSS framework. Check out the CSS loaded on that page. That bootstrap Now copy-paste that URL over to the UnusedCSS site. Run it and see what you get. That’s right…78% waste on their main stylesheet. You can even test my site (https://wpjohnny.com) and see what you get. It should only be 50% unused styles (actually less if minified) and keep in mind my stylesheet is much smaller to begin with…so my waste is only like…
About Johnny
…maybe go to the gym or out dancing. Come home, answer some comments, go to sleep. …typical day when traveling: Go out to town. See some stuff, take pictures, eat stuff, come home exhausted. Check my email and answer comments on my sites. Other sites I like that may or may not fit my ultra-biased opinions on tech matters: https://haydenjames.io/ https://pagepipe.com/ https://wpspeedmatters.com/ Butterick’s Practical Typography http://webtypography.net https://ma.ttias.be/ Other hobbies (boxing & tango): I’m also a boxer and boxing trainer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R00HWKt3icY I’m also a semi-professional tango dancer; also teach and compete. Got 3rd in USA 2015….
Fastest Social Sharing plugins for WordPress
…style them, animation timing. The fonts, the icon fonts being loaded. So much crap! UGH! It makes me so exhausted just thinking about it. And what else do you expect? They’re designed and marketed towards newbies who fall for flashy gimmicks. “Features” and “ease-of-use” are pretty much the perfect combination for a bloated plugin. REASON #2 – lack advanced features What advanced features you ask? How about being able to count (and combine) older versions of the URL with the new one…for example, combining the counts for your old HTTP urls with your recent HTTPS…
GeneratePress vs Genesis - WordPress Theme Review
…What else? Great community of respected and senior-level developers. If you want great code and to work at the level of the largest companies, Genesis is for you. You can read my full Genesis Theme Framework Review. + Well-coded + Fast + Polished child themes + Many 3rd-party plugins + Big community of experienced users/developers GeneratePress – the #1 freemium theme for non-coders/coders GeneratePress created to fit the free theme market around 2014. A desire for a clean free base theme that newbies and non-coders could use to start their WordPress site without any cost….
How Important Is Your Website Design?
…your website is a simple blog intended to look like an honest one-man-show posting affiliate links for marijuana periphernalia, that’s going to have a very different design requirement than one intended to sell wedding photography. Design = communication, not flash. Therefore…Amazon, Reddit, Facebook, and whatever other sites the commenters mentioned are actually VERY WELL DESIGNED. It’s too bad most clients and low-level freelance designers are wasting their time copying the latest design trends instead of actually understanding what design really is. True quality design more closely follows timeless UI/UX principles, not latest graphic design trends….
How to Buy a Leather Jacket in Italy
Bought my first leather jacket in Florence (2014) after checking out 30-50 stores. I loved his jackets the most because: high quality, they were very nice looking (not too trendy or out-dated), reasonably priced, great customer service (without any of the annoying sales tactics listed below). He passed my stringent test with flying colors. I’ve repasted my forum comment from TripAdvisor below: I went to Italy in 2014, wanted to buy a leather jacket. Read ALL the reviews and pages online, and forums, and then checked out about 30-50 stores. There are really only about…
CyberPanel server commands and important directories
A quicklist guide of useful server commands for CyberPanel web server control panel. Installation (on CentOS): yum update, y and [ENTER] key when prompted. Change LS console pass with cd /usr/local/lsws/admin/misc and ./admpass.sh, and follow prompt. Can follow my CyberPanel install guide if needed. Need to upgrade CyberPanel? Follow the latest instructions. Recommended configurations after installation: Go to CP security/firewall page, and open port 7080 for LS console. Get mysql root password with cat /etc/cyberpanel/mysqlPassword (required for logging into phpMyAdmin later). Increase php.ini limits for PHP 7.0 (from CP > PHP > edit PHP configs)….
The magic of custom Gutenberg blocks
…content plugin being created now will be enabling its functionality via custom Gutenberg blocks (e.g. Atomic Blocks) . For example, maybe you want to have a image slider. With the OLD WordPress way – your slider plugin created a shortcode for you to paste into the page where you wanted the slider to appear. Or added to a theme position using a widget. With the NEW WordPress Gutenberg way – your slider plugin creates a custom Gutenberg block to add into the page where you want your slider to appear. And again, also possible via…
HestiaCP - server control panel review
…a free simple control panel, with options for email hosting and end-user accounts. Is it the fastest thing in the world? Not with the hybrid-setup, probably not. But it’s more than fast enough. It’s lightweight and free! C’mon! The UI is admin-centric and probably won’t be as simple to end-users as it is for admins. Has email features, since most free panels don’t allow that. Allows end-user accounts, many panels are solo-admin only. While organized more for admins, it’s still simple enough for end users. Try HestiaCP (it’s free and installs in only 10 minutes)…
Is Cloudflare Argo routing-service worth the cost?
Cloudflare’s Argo feature claims: Speed up average network latency by 35%. Decrease connection errors by 27%. Let’s see how much of a difference that even makes! About network latency and connection errors Network latency is just the DNS part of your pageload time. It’s only a sliver of the actual pageload process. Usually there are multiple steps, the DNS connection, the SSL handshake, the WAIT for the request, then the DOWNLOAD. I wasn’t so exact but it’s pretty much that. So this Argo stuff only speeds up one tiny aspect of your page load. Connection…
How to Write Your Web Design Proposal
…developer]. We’re a high-end design shop specializing in web designs for small businesses. We love creating exciting brands that stand out in today’s cluttered internet. We see that you’re in [this] niche and want you to know we’re very familiar with it. We’ve done something similar and familiar with what it takes to stand out, attract customers, and convert visitors to buyers. Please see a list of our past work below: website1.com website2.com website3.com website4.com website5.com Thanks for reading my proposal and let me know if you have any questions. Regards, Billy the web-designer expert…
LiteSpeed Cache vs Varnish Cache
…even discussions about whether or not NGINX is even any faster with Varnish. I also like that LiteSpeed cache functions directly from the web server core whereas Varnish has to be added as a separate layer to your stack. That’s one more proxy, one more channel of communication to process in both directions, on more layer of complexity. I still like Varnish Don’t get me wrong, I still like Varnish for its hacky open-source vibe and well aware of the many more companies using it over LiteSpeed. It’s fun to use…free, quick to setup, and…
Kadence WordPress theme review
Is the hype behind Kadence themes justified? Are they the next great theme? Or just a copycat? How is their code quality? How are the features? How are their designs? I share what I feel about Kadence Themes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43DByg5EItk Kadence WordPress theme gets a THUMBS-UP from me Kadence is American-made. I like that it’s made in the US. I feel US coding is a safer bet than some of the coders in other countries that take on too many projects and chasing every random WordPress business idea. Kadence is coded well enough. The Kadence theme…
Jelastic multi-cloud hosting platform review
…providers can also manage both cluster-server and single-server environments from one panel. 5. COMPETE WITH AWS/GCP This is definitely a massive hurdle for many webhosts and datacenters. AWS and GCP, despite high cost-to-performance ratio, are commonly used by many companies because they have so many services integrated. You can get a web server, database server, CDN, external storage, and API after API…all conveniently in one place. Not only that but they have datacenters all over the world and also in uncommon regions. Thanks to Jelastic, any datacenter or webhost can easily compete due to the…
Is it worth blogging on 3rd-party platforms? (Medium, Tumblr, etc)
…the past decade. I’ve been there and done that. Let’s get to the reasons why you shouldn’t publish content on 3rd party platforms: REASON #1 – you can only grow your voice, not your brand The most alluring thing about these platforms is that they’re full of people on there already. With starting a new site, you never get any traffic until you somehow go viral or boost your SEO rankings. But with these sites, you could be a nobody with no tech skills, open an account and immediately have people reading your posts….
EASY WordPress Security Tips WITHOUT Slowing Performance
…Protect wp-admin from brute force METHOD A) Use a security plugin to protect against brute force Something like WordFence. METHOD B) Set-up HTTP AUTHENTICATION for your wp-admin login Very simple tactic that locks down your admin page. They can’t brute force it if they can’t get in! This is simple tactic that keeps your server from being slowed down. https://www.wpwhitesecurity.com/wordpress-security-hacks/securing-wordpress-wp-admin-htaccess/ 3. Block XML-RPC protocol (if you’re not using it) This protocol allows you to log into your WordPress from other apps like on your phone, desktop, etc. If you’ve always logged into your WordPress site…
Apache vs NGINX Comparison - use either but NOT BOTH!
…of caching needs ram. The fastest type (static page caching) needs only fast disk space which is perfect for the SSD-era that we live in now. Apache has htaccess compatibility – this is nice for folks migrating over from shared hosting and not yet comfortable with NGINX commands and don’t have a sys-admin around to help them. Apache can be easily replaced by LiteSpeed – LiteSpeed works faster while using less resources (like NGINX), has built-in caching mechanism, and also htaccess compatible. Apache uses more resources than NGINX – but it’s only a bit more,…
Content Control plugin - for user content restriction
…permission to view the content Redirect users who do not have permission to view the content to login page (redirects back to page/post after login), website homepage or custom URL Display certain content on a page/post to logged in users only Display certain content on a page/post to specific user roles Display certain content on a page/post to logged out users Apply custom CSS classes to on page content restriction shortcodes Control the visibility of each sidebar/footer widget by selecting who can view each widget (everyone, logged out users, logged in users, specific user roles)….
WP Featherlight Disabled (WPJ plugin)
…Featherlight since the lightbox CSS/JS is not loaded automatically. Manual activation – to enable lightbox functionality, simply click the checkbox in your post settings. Retains WP Featherlight features – has all the same features and filters as the original WP Featherlight plugin (up to version 1.3.3) Support: The plugin is free for your personal/commercial use, but do buy me a beer if you like it. Enjoy! 🙂 I’m not responsible for what you do with it. If you have issues, you can ask for support on the WP.org repo. Download WP Featherlight Disabled: WordPress.org repo GitHub repo…
Dashboard Search for MemberPress (WPJ plugin)
…> Members, then click. Move your mouse over to search to type in information. Then move your mouse to the “Field” dropdown, and choose a field. Then click “Go”. As you can see, the process was inefficient/cumbersome. So I tried to speed it up with my simple plugin. There’s a blank field right on your dashboard. You enter whatever info you want, and hit the [ENTER] key. DONE! PS: the plugin also allows you to use the [ENTER] key from the MemberPress Members page. (No clicking required!) Download Comment Reply Email: WordPress.org repo GitHub repo…
WordPress documentation plugins - fast review
…your thoughts in the comments. I’ll update this lazy review as I try more. 1. BSF Docs (FREE) https://wordpress.org/plugins/bsf-docs/ The only one I’ve really tried and used. Made by Brainstorm Force (aka “the Astra guys”) and probably the only plugin I like and use from them. It’s clean, simple, and gets out of your way. Has a basic layout and AJAX search. Great if you want to get up and running fast and want to style your own thing. If it matters to you, this plugin is not popular. I think many people see it…
Affinity design software review
Quick thoughts on the Affinity software and how it compares to Adobe! If you’re a graphics designer and haven’t heard of Affinity before, you’re totally missing out. Their software looks and functions like Adobe, also compatible with its file formats, and much cheaper! Affinity made waves as a super cheap Adobe-clone. I don’t think that’s how they wanted to portray themselves. Their website verbiage describes themselves as passionate software-makers for creative artists. But what the design world knows them as…is Adobe-compatible designer software that’s affordable. But for a long time, that didn’t matter since Photoshop…
How to Backup Your WordPress Site (using BackWPup plugin and Amazon AWS S3)
…of the AWS management console and click on “My Security Credentials”, then click on “Access Keys” and copy/save them to your computer somewhere. (You cannot view them again later!) Create S3 bucket – from menu top-left click on Services > Storage > S3. Then create bucket in the region closest to your server (although any will work). Use all the default settings for the bucket. You can have all backups go to one bucket or putting each one in their own. STEP #2 – set up BackWPup plugin: Install BackWPup plugin (it’s free). You can…
Why WordPress SUCKS (and how it could be better)
…Through a careful mix of plugins, you can transform your WordPress site into anything you want…a blog, store, gallery, community site, and more. Working with WordPress is easy enough for anyone to learn, but you can also find support from a large network of community developers. Most programmers around the world today can easily assist your WordPress needs. – Johnny Nguyen, WPJohnny 2. Admin side-menu (re-organization) I hate how the left side-panel looks different with each site depending on what plugins you have installed. It’s harder for me (an experienced user) to find stuff, and…
Redis vs Memcache vs APCu - object cache comparisons
Yes, you should definitely use object caching for your webserver…especially for dynamic page generation. It speeds things up incredibly and can do wonders for page speed performance. Redis and memcache are more or less interchangeable. Redis is considered the newer/faster option but real world performance hasn’t always reflected that sentiment. I naturally would try Redis first and see if it’s super fast, no weird issues. If Redis isn’t totally smooth, go straight to memcache. (Or for a totally hassle-free option, just go memcache first.) And then if you want to venture further, go with APCu….
WP Performance - cache plugin review
…cache the site accurately and in order of most important to least important pages. It’s also less likely to eat up too many resources preloading internal CPT urls like how other cache plugins typically do it. CSS/JS optimization – it can minify and combine and disable. The UI is so awesome! It allows you to easily exclude specific assets from combination, and also choosing which pages to disable certain assets. HTML optimizations – minify, remove comments/attributes/quotes. MEDIA optimization – lazy load for images & videos. Also simple settings to exclude images from lazy load by…
Why I don't recommend FREE membership plugins
I don’t care what your reason is. FREE membership plugins are a bad idea and here’s why. Inevitable software lock-in If only I got a nickel for every time someone told me they wanted a free membership plugin just to see if their business idea would work and then they’d upgrade to a paid plugin later. Except only…you lose (in the long-run) regardless if your business succeeds or not. If your business succeeds, you pay a lot of money in the long run to convert to a real membership plugin. Not only is it oh…
Amazon-AWS/Google-GCP vs Traditional VPS (Linode, Digital Ocean, Vultr)
Curious to know if you should go with the big name Google/Amazon or traditional providers (Linode, DO, Vultr) for your VPS? I’ll break it down for you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2iXIPxzS5s Which is better? If what you need is a high-performance/low-cost VPS… Stick with the traditional VPS providers (Linode, DO, Vultr). They offer better performance at lower cost. Presumably, it comes from their long datacenter experience. If what you need is simple integration with other cloud services (storage, remote database, etc)… Go with the big name cloud services (Google, Amazon, or even Azure/Alibaba). The tighter integrations with all…
HappyFiles media management plugin review
A quick review of this awesome little media management plugin. I loved it the moment I saw it, and enjoyed it so much more once I installed it. It’s one of those clever little plugins that I think would be useful for many sites. Especially ones with tons of images and need better ways of organizing them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efdMd_dOgDY What does HappyFiles do? Basically, HappyFiles allows you to manage WordPress media library in a better way. You can create your own category system instead of using the default WordPress year/month. You can tag and place your…
Adventures with Amazon managed databases (Lightsail, RDS, Aurora)
…houses down the street? Walking is probably faster in that case. Even if you’re a super slow walker. If you’ve got that many queries and really long complex ones, and millions of traffic…ok, you might start to see performance gains otherwise, it’s not worth the hassle for common folk. Some things I noticed: Lightsail DB – kinda slow. It’s supposedly built on RDS but it feels slower than RDS, that’s for sure. It’s very easy to set up and cheap. RDS – faster and with tons of options. Can upsize or downsize. There’s performance monitoring,…
How to Run a LOW-MAINTENANCE Blog
…Later on, you can always circle back and give each a paragraph if you want. You can alway expand later. But post now! 4. Share thoughts and questions So often bloggers feel the need to answer all the world’s problems, or else we aren’t offering value. But this really isn’t the case. There is much value to be had in simply having an (open) conversation. Instead of having answers, we ask questions. We share some inner thoughts and opinions and we leave the mic open to see what others are feeling. It’s a great way…
How long does it take to copy another website?
…repeating this process a couple hundred times. There’s no way you can get this done WITH quality in 6 months. To develop a site of similar complexity to quidco.com CUSTOMIZED TO YOUR NEEDS will probably take you $20,000 and 1 year (and that’s assuming you have experience in developing websites and KNOWING WHAT YOU WANT). That’s my opinion. It’s possible to do it for less but then you’d be suffering somewhere. Maybe the design will suck, or the programming will be done in a way that’s very ineffective, slow-loading, or hard to alter later on….
Blocksy WordPress theme review
My positive first look at this new theme by 2 Romanian developers (Sergio Radu & Andrei Glingeanu). Yes, it’s built well. Yes, you can use it. Yes, I think the built-in features are cool. Here are the exact things I liked: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM72sObCvfE 1. Quality code Because if you guys know me, you know I won’t even look at it if it’s coded like crap. Blocksy seems clean, no bloat. All template files and partial files are methodically-placed. Very respectful to WordPress coding standards and common theming logic. Thank you! 2. Just the right amount of…
Custom Post Types (CPT) vs custom Gutenberg blocks
…blocks. (For example, a being used for some random visual effect vs “review” blocks that have their scores calculated out elsewhere). Nothing else is needed from this custom Gutenberg block except for a specialized display on frontend and easy-editing on the backend. Choose Custom Post Type (CPT) if… You need entirely different page layouts. You need the content to be organized in a custom way. You need to calculate data from this content and/or want to show it in multiple places on frontend. (E.g. having reviews on different pages but also a list of popular/recent…
GeneratePress vs Astra vs Kadence (2020 comparison)
Quick comparison review of these 3 popular freemium WordPress themes as of 2020. I’m getting tired of being asked which of them I’d rather use and why. So this guide is to explain once and for all. I compare their pros and cons, and what unique things they have the others don’t. Which theme would Johnny choose?!! GeneratePress: My favorite of these 3. Most mature – been around much longer than the others. Biggest user base – more support, tips, and integrations available. Caters well to both regular users and coders. (The other 2 don’t…
Affiliate Royale to AffiliateWP (migration script)
This (free) simple php script migrates your affiliate data from Affiliate Royale to AffiliateWP. I developed it since I was unhappy with the neglected Affiliate Royale plugin that came with MemberPress and wanted to migrate to something with more features like AffiliateWP. Credits to Yin for pulling out his hair over this. If you want to see what is migrated, you can read through the plugin. It’s not too long. 😉 Download it here: Affiliate Royale to AffiliateWP migration script (GitHub) Instructions: It’s very easy to use…check the readme.txt…
Always use a CHILD THEME
…“parent theme” as a complete theme, complete with all the coding and styling files needed. And a “child theme” as an addon to the parent theme, that has only the extra styling and functions that apply specifically to that child theme. Child themes are useful because you can put all your customizations into the child theme, and then the parent theme is free to update often and you never lose your modifications. Child themes are also useful for developers to sell their own pre-made theme designs without having to code a brand new theme from…
Code Click-to-Copy (WPJ Plugin)
…it’s about time somebody made a plugin to save us all a little time from having to highlight and copy-paste bits of text back and forth. It’s especially time-saving when trying to copy large globs of code that scroll off-screen or trying to manage on your mobile phone. The plugin is free for your personal/commercial use, but do buy me a beer if you like it. Enjoy! 🙂 I’m not responsible for what you do with it. If you have issues, you can ask for support on the WP.org repo. Download Code Click-to-Copy: WordPress.org repo…
MANAGED WordPress Hosting - PROS and CONS
Managed WordPress hosting seem to be all the rage nowadays but are they the best webhosting option for you?! Let’s compare their advantages and disadvantages against other popular webhosting options like: Shared hosting Managed control panel VPS hosting Dedicated server PROS of Managed WordPress Hosting WordPress-specific – friendly UI and support specifically catered to WordPress. This is refreshing compared to those old-school cluttered webhosting panels full of options you never use. Good performance – much faster pageload speeds for frontend users and also backend admins. Many of them come with server-side caching already enabled…
Why I don't use SEO plugins (ever)
…can guess what your page is about, and find its links quickly, and show the most relevant information. They already know how users find you, and what things users interact with the most on your site. They don’t need help. If anything, SEO tools are for you more than for Google. The history of SEO plugins Let me go over some WordPress history for y’all. If you haven’t noticed, the current trend for today’s WordPress themes is SPEED. All of them are advertising themselves to be the most fastest and lightweight theme ever created. Well…
Escaping the Content Network MONETIZATION TRAP
…extensive knowledge to help other people build their brands online. All those skills of how to create content, growing traffic, and brand marketing…feel useful again. ROUTE #2 – direct advertisers Reaching out directly to companies pays off. You’ve made contact with the big companies that want to reach exactly your reader demographic. They shower you with big money, free products, and brand exposure that a content site could only dream of. In return…they ask for your soul. Your site now looks like a grocery store magazine full of ads and no longer the independent column…
How to Choose a Good WordPress Theme
…i.e. inexperienced crowd). The only popularity I care about is if the theme is popular with true WordPress experts and developers. 5. Great customer support It’s not that this isn’t important but its that this feature is marketed to newbies and non-coders who think “great customer support” means the company will tell you how to do everything with your theme. I think a theme company should spend their time actively developing the theme to make bug fixes, increase compatibility with plugins, and finally…add features if necessary. What I don’t like to see is a theme…
BAD IDEA - Translate website content for increased traffic
…in the same way that you are. Otherwise, you’ll have compatible language but not truly compatible interest and nobody will care to read it! Trying to choose languages randomly just because you think it’s an easier way to get traffic (or make money), and not factoring in their cultural compatibility with your topic is a great way to waste lots of time. More so than the language itself, you have to absolutely make sure that your content is relevant to them! 6. Strengthening your presence in other languages doesn’t help your main language I think…
Open-Source FILE MANAGER script comparison
My comparison of different (free) file manager scripts out there. Useful if you want a “file manager” feature for your sites or web server (and your webhosting stack doesn’t have one). Or if you’re like me and building your own webhosting panel. I was just shopping around different scripts and these were what I found. Hope it helps ya! Things I cared about: Clean UI – minimal, don’t wanna see lines all over and waste of vertical space. Easy to navigate. Shows useful info – file/folder sizes, permissions, ownership. Full featured – especially archiving! It…
WHY your new business isn't making money
…Increase your brand impact. Better design that speaks to people’s needs. Explain what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. Explain how you’re different from everybody else. Testimonials are nice. Fun social media stuff is nice. A lot of my marketing experience has ultimately come down to learning how to speak to the unconscious mind. Most buyers don’t really know why they choose product A over product B. Why does Nike outsell Adidas? Why does Coke outsell Pepsi? Or McDonalds over Burger King? When you figure that out, you won’t need my common-sense advice anymore….
Should You Offer Refunds (Policy) on Digital Products or Services?
…do what I did…try every refund policy ever known over a period of 10 years and see for yourself. 364 day no questions asked policy prorated policy 30 day policy 30 day discretionary policy 30 day exchange-only policy 50% moneyback AND they keep the product DOUBLE moneyback policy FREE upgrade policy (implemented only internally, it’s not publicly stated) 14 day 7 day 48 hours 24 hours 5 logins 3 logins 1 login Also placed the policy in different places: right under the purchase button in the footer at the top of the page super visible…
HostArmada review - old school shared hosting (with a twist)
…also like to report that navigating around the control panel and billing area backends were also pretty responsive. I remember other companies like Cloudways and GoDaddy being unbearably slow to get around. Each settings page click was like a 5-second wait. SiteGround can be a little slow too…2-3 seconds sometimes. Support Skilled, friendly support…and available 24/7. I felt absolutely ridiculous the whole time I tested this. I purposely broke the site in 2 places, and then jumped onto chat support pretending to play dumb like I didn’t know how my site broke. The chat support…
Where to get a great logo
…a nice brand story. After client chooses one concept, refine it with a couple adjustments. (Or come up with more concepts if the client hates them all.) Prepare the logo for use in different formats (rectangle spacing, square spacing, tiny spacing). Also contrasting light on dark, and dark on light. Also swapping colors if need be. Provide color sheet and style guide (only ultra-professional companies do this). As you can see, a totally comprehensive job like this will take a lot of time. And you must know that your designer will have to come up…
Block WordPress comment spam (easily) via blacklist
Easy way to block your most repetitive WordPress comment spam using the default spam blacklist function. Here’s how you do it… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2C9BN_3PR8 Go to your Comments page and look for all the most repetitive spam comments. The ones that comment the same phrases or string of text. Then go to Settings > Discussion and scroll to the Comment Blocklist box. Paste those phrases in here, putting different ones on its own line. Why is this the best way to block spam? REASON #1 – It’s not annoying. Doesn’t harass users with captcha, math questions, checkboxes,…
Checking your WordPress site for BROTLI or GZIP compression
There are 2 methods: either do it from the NETWORK tab in your browser’s developer tools, or use one of the free compression check services out there. (Video explanation inside.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHmu983e-Lc…
Linode has the best cloud manager UI
…Linode UI so great for me? Compact – fit more items on screen. So you don’t have to scroll forever on accounts with many servers. Clever screen layout (for each server) – critical server info shows on all screens, so you can immediately jump into CLI or copy-paste out things without having to click back to the main page. Clean – such a mature looking panel. Looks like it was built for professionals. Everything you need sensibly shown. But how much does cloud manager UI really matter? Well…if you have only one server, it doesn’t…
Plugin Script/Asset Organizer Review
A quick rundown of the asset organizer plugins I’ve tried for WordPress. I’ve had a ton of sites that were loading slow because of unnecessary plugins loading on certain pages. Normally, this wouldn’t matter so much as you can always cache the page but in these instances, the pages weren’t cacheable. I wanted to prevent them from loading to speed up the site so I went around trying different plugins. Here are my quick rundowns on: WP Gonzales (paid) Plugin Organizer (free) Plugin Load Filter (free) Plugin Logic (free) WP Asset CleanUp (free) WordPress Assets…
Comments Sticky Moderate (WPJ plugin)
DOWNLOAD LINK WordPress.org (repo) FUNCTION Move moderation options above comment to speed up manual approval. DESCRIPTION By having the moderation options bar on top of each comment, you can leave your mouse in one place and keep clicking. It allows you to manually prune your comments quicker and (hopefully) save false positives. FEATURES Moderation options on top instead of below the comment. Now you can leave the mouse in one place and keep clicking “Delete”….
SIMPLE FIX - Windows 10 Creators Fall Update 1709 Failed to Install Error Code 0xC1900101 0xc1900107 0xc1900208 0x30018
…WINDOWS UPDATE SERVICE (from services.msc) Clean boot (disabling non-Microsoft items from starting up with Windows) Disabling Windows Defender & Windows Firewall Deleting the “SoftwareDistribution” folder Downloading and running the Windows Upgrade Assistant tool Downloading and running the Windows Update Troubleshooter tool Downloading and running the Windows Media Creation tool Updated my bios as well as motherboard chipset drivers. Anyway, you get the point. I’ve tried everything and no matter what, the update would fail in the same spot (at 45%) every time. Thankfully, it recovered successfully. Here’s the thing that worked for me: Run the…
Use a REAL Email Hosting Service (not your web server!)
…EVEN HAPPEN?!) Oh yeah. They get around your server spamblock by making it look like it’s even coming from your own server. Are there ways to block most common spam tactics? Of course, but can the average cheap webhosting server do it? NOPE! Think about it this way. If even Google and Yahoo’s billion dollar email service can’t block spam, what makes you think your little $20 web-server can? And on a more cynical conspiracy-theorist thought, what makes you think they even want to? After all…if you use up your space allotment, you’d have to…
Flywheel WordPress hosting review - IT SUCKS
…ask support to do it. I’m sorry but that’s a really dumb limitation especially in this age of virtual technology and available site isolation. Flywheel is ok if you have one tiny site and that’s it. Otherwise, get another webhost! Oh yeah…and I almost forgot. Their CDN is lame. They don’t have enough mirror servers. I had a client on the USA east coast download assets from their CDN server on the west coast. That’s so lame! What’s the point of CDN then?! I’m starting to get second thoughts about their UI as well. Yes,…
VPS vs DEDICATED (bare metal) - Which server should you choose?
…modules or particular configurations are not allowed because they use too much resources or are “insecure” on shared hosting environments. With your own server, you are free to configure it exactly as you please. DEDICATED (bare metal) server + Cheap at the high end (compared to VPS) + Super fast TTFB (on a fast-enough machine) + Lots of bandwidth + Can have multiple IP’s – Expensive at the low end (compared to VPS) – More prone to hardware issues (compared to VPS) I have to list dedicated servers first because they came first. All…
Avoid Dropdown/Hamburger Menus (Bad Web Design UI)
…you can probably decrease the number of links you have on your site. Most sites have 10 options when 4 would have done just fine. Instead of: Home / Services / Testimonials / About / Contact Try: Services / About / Contact What about HOME and TESTIMONIALS, you wonder? Easy…just use your logo as the “home” button and sprinkle the testimonials throughout the homepage, services page, and even about page! Seriously, dropdown menus are usually a reflection of poor UI and lack of design clarity. And the common habit is to try and sneak in…
Optimizing Javascript Load from WordPress Plugins
Having many javascript files loading will slow down your page load! For that reason, I cover the 2 most common optimization tactics below: Defer them if they aren’t critical for initial page rendering. On pages where they aren’t used, disable them from loading at all. How to defer javascript? You can use one of those javascript merge or aync javascript plugins. They defer to the end of page load. Again, don’t defer any javascript that’s needed for initial page rendering (for example: JS related to sliders at the top of the page). How to disable…
Pagebuilders are always a LONGTERM mistake
…gets up to 20-30 pages on the pagebuilder, you need to stop digging that hole. I’ve seen clients with 200-300 pages on the pagebuilder and absolutely in tears. Everything slow. Everything breaks. Everything sucks. Do you want your site to suck? If not, then stop putting sucky solutions on it. Using a pagebuilder might “save money” on a cheap site. But cost you LOTS of money later down the line if your site ever becomes successful and grows into many pages. My advice? Use Gutenberg blocks. (Guide coming soon.) Use dev-level pagebuilders (Oxygen Builder, LiveCanvas)….
Attracting TALENTED Developers to Your Project
…you’re going to come in with numbers and terms and expect them to bend over backwards to accommodate your mediocre project, that’s not gonna work. The top developers in the world are ALWAYS BUSY. They are never available. Before they’re even done with one project, they have offers for 5 more. This means they allow bidding, not haggling. When I’m hiring A-level devs…I find the exact person I want and pay whatever they ask. Simple as that. Sure, there’s an estimate range and but I leave the costs open-ended. Should there ever be a time…
Linux Admin - Server Management
Learn how to manage (build, configure, maintain, repair) your own Linux server. Course not finished recording. Once finished, price will be $300. Managing Linux servers, and the routine tasks of server management (build, configure, maintain, repair) Course assumes you already know basics of moving around the command line and making edits This course will teach you the majority of typical day-to-day Linux management tasks. Learn how to deal with common server issues on your own, understand online Linux guides, and be more helpful when hiring someone to fix for you. I break down the general…
WordPress is (slightly) losing market share because...
…because web users are getting dumber. Hahaha, now that we’ve gotten the usual inflammatories out of the way…let’s put out some genuine theories backed with daily insight. WordPress along with the world it operates in…are both changing. WordPress used to be the simpler option for experienced developers. Back in the days (I get 2 years older every time I say this), the only people messing around with websites had to know minimal HTML and CSS, and basic webhosting tasks like buying a domain, repointing DNS, signing into cPanel, logging into FTP, uploading and downloading files….
Genesis vs Thesis - Theme Framework Review 2017
…framework that could be easily customized and designed a thousand different ways using the widely available documentation provided by the theme publishers as well as 3rd party. Their theme was coded to be clean, fast-loading, easy to work with, and optimized for SEO. They had many raving fans and their users had plenty of support in the community. Their promise at the time was “Thesis is a great theme for beginners AND developers because it’s coded well and easy to customize.” Other competitors like Genesis framework and Headway Themes started to come onto the scene…
Betrayed feelings about Frost theme
Here we go again with another WP theme threatening to “change the world”… *massive eye roll* Like with crypto, I once again make predictions without knowing anything about the project. What do we know about Frost and Brian Gardner? Frost is Brian Gardner’s latest premium WordPress theme project/business. It’s fucken sexy. The design work is A-level. Maybe some of y’all like those garbage pagebuilder demos but I don’t. They look cheap (and over-designed) to me. Brian Gardner is also the founder/co-founder of Genesis…which was my favorite premium WordPress theme for a lonnnnnnnnggggg freaken time. It…
Sendy self-hosted email software review
…fast. Whereas with MailChimp and even MailerLite, sending an email requires many confirmation pages and each page load takes 5 seconds. With Sendy, it’s like one page and 2 instant clicks and your email is sent. The biggest drawback for me (and really not that big of a deal) is that Sendy doesn’t have any email templates. I wish it at least had a link to resources for users to choose from. Or at least SOME templates. Even very basic ones to start with. Best users/use-cases for Sendy… You have many subscribers and/or send tons…
HARDCODING your (pagebuilder) header and footer
Some pro tips when manually-coding your bloated custom pagebuilder header and footer. This post was inspired by the work I did last night for a client site. He was sick of his pagebuilder slowing down his site speed and wanted to move away from it. The very first obvious step for me was getting rid of the Elementor custom themebuilder function used to override his theme header & footer. Once that’s gone, the pagebuilder and theme are truly decoupled and you’re free to switch out the theme first or pagebuilder first (your choice). For those…
The Lazy Man's guide to SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING
…reply to fan comments. The worst thing you can do is pick all of them. STUPID IDEA. You’ll hate yourself and those abandoned pages will only reflect poorly on your company making visitors think your company is dead. The idea of social media is a way for people to keep a pulse on where you actually hangout. If you don’t actually use social media…I probably wouldn’t even start now. I mean it. You can just close this stupid guide and call it a day! 2. Create (or gather) base content Blogs – write a blog…
How to Stand Out Among other Web Designers
Yeah yeah, there’s tons of great web-designers out there. What can you do to stand out? No need to get overwhelmed or feel like the market’s over-saturated. There’s a million web designers out there because there’s a million jobs for them out there. There’s basically 2 ways to stand out and win web-design jobs. The “professional way” and the “personal way”. Or as I like to say…the “super-hero way” and the “real-world way”. The SUPER-HERO way Get some agency experience. Or as I like to say, “work with talented professionals”. Working in a big…
How to Set a Sales Meeting
If it matters, I would suggest to make sure that it feels more like a free consultation rather than a sales pitch. Everyone always seems too busy unless you’re there to help them or do something for them. Instead of asking for “Just 15 minutes of your time”, it could be more like, “Let’s talk more about your business on Monday!” It’s important to let them know that you’re just there to give free tips and suggestions for their business. Things they can do on their own (small businesses love to hear this) and that…
How to Hire Remote Employees
QUESTION: How do I find a low-cost, reliable, AND trustworthy remote employee? There are numerous methods. Some business owners will try to find a remote staffing agency that vets all their employees. Others will try to hire directly via freelance sites like UpWork. Others prefer to search from word-of-mouth asking other friends in online communities. I’ve used all three with varying results. And have found the ultimate method that I use today. ENGLISH-SPEAKING remote employees, also known as VA (virtual assistant) or “remote contractors”, can be found in South America, Asia (especially Philipines), and Eastern…
RSS output hacks - exclude categories, add spacing
…didn’t want. It showed the categories. (Again, I didn’t want to show this.) It put commas between each category/tag. (Wasting space.) There was no space before the tags, making them unclickable in Twitter. Title of my stock post https://mysite.com/posturl CAT1,CAT2,TAG1,TAG2 Walter’s code fix below: Declare a namespace to avoid code conflict. Output RSS category element to show categories without commas and with a space between each one. Disable categories from showing in feed output. (Now shows only tags.) Put this snippet in your theme functions.php file. /** * Add <yoursite> namespace to RSS2. */ add_action(…
Custom LOG OUT link without WP-nonce confirmation
…child theme). The fix Paste this snippet into your functions.php but replace yourdomain.com. And now you can create your own users logout link anywhere you like! add_action(‘check_admin_referer’, ‘logout_without_confirm’, 10, 2); function logout_without_confirm($action, $result) { /** * Allow logout without confirmation */ if ($action == “log-out” && !isset($_GET[‘_wpnonce’])) { $redirect_to = isset($_REQUEST[‘redirect_to’]) ? $_REQUEST[‘redirect_to’] : ‘https://yourdomain.com‘; $location = str_replace(‘&’, ‘&’, wp_logout_url($redirect_to)); header(“Location: $location”); die; } } What about other fixes? Long story short, I wrote this guide because the other fixes didn’t work. If you have other solutions to share, let me know in the comments….
Builderius - initial thoughts and respect
…be done by code. I imagine it ultimately comes down to the 2 all-or-nothing use cases: OPTION #1 – use Builderius everywhere and go crazy hardcoding your entire WordPress site as if it were your own hacky CMS. OPTION #2 – use Builderius very selectively on pages where you want something custom but didn’t want to install Oxygen or a whole pagebuilder just for one page. Ready to try Builderius? Get (free) Builderius now… While I won’t be using it, I think Builderius is truly awesome and worth a look for any diehard coder. You…
How do you land the big web development clients?
…will make money. Or showing them why this is needed, or why that is better. I don’t bother showing value. They see our quality of work and they pay. All large $10k deals and up were closed in 10 mins or less. It’s the $2-5k clients that ask a million questions and then go next door for someone else charging $500 less. User experience in negotiations The secret to selling is never about logic. Never waste your time with… This costs you $10k, but makes you $50k! Your competitors website is so amazing, so yours…
Facebook PAGE vs Facebook GROUP
…listener or commentator…like hero + fans. Facebook group makes admin and users almost same level. Where every person’s post gets the same priority. Great for discussions and community building…like a leader + trusted advisers in a conference meeting. Brands or business that operate on numbers and constantly come up with new products and services will prefer a page. Brands or business that operate on high trust and community will be more effective with a group. With that said, ALL brands should have a Facebook page…and for the ones that want/need, can have a Facebook group….
Get WordPress admin access through database
…database uses a custom prefix, make sure you replace all the “wp_” with your prefix. After you run this SQL command, it’ll show you the admin users. Then you can go back to the users table, sort by name or email, and edit one of them to gain access. METHOD #2 – create new user (takes 5 minutes) This method gains access by adding a new admin user. Open up phpMyAdmin or whichever MySQL administration tool you have, click “SQL” and paste the code below. Make sure you change the name, username, mail and password…
Typography is king (in web design)
…most important areas, and slightly smaller to signify subtitles. The subtitle version can vary from the bigger title version, usually in the form of ALL CAPS and/or with extra letter-spacing or even tighter letter-spacing. Or yes, you could use different font-weight as well…either thicker or thinner. You could also use an accent color for your title or subtitle font, but be careful to keep it clean! I won’t explain the personality of different fonts here, it’s too much work. But you can find great examples on Typewolf.com. Explain your site hierarchy through font sizing and…
External Tracker for AffiliateWP (WPJ plugin)
…quick settings and that’s it. That’s it! You can now enjoy the extra affiliate stats. 🙂 Technical Details: You don’t have to read this but it’s useful if you’re curious of what to expect. MAIN site – with AffiliateWP and External Tracker for AffiliateWP installed. EXTERNAL site – with only External Tracker for Affiliate installed. Now go to the AffiliateWP Visits page (https://yourmainsite.com/wp-admin/admin.php?page=affiliate-wp-affiliates)…and there you will see visits to your external site showing up in the “Landing Page” column, and on the right side which ones converted or not. Buy External Tracker for AffiliateWP: BUY…
Best CDN Providers for WordPress - Speed Review 2020
…much bandwidth you need) what you want to cache (small static assets vs large assets vs dynamic pages) coverage (POP locations in the world, and proximity to your visitors) quality of service (speed/reliability) If all you need is static assets (images/css/etc), CloudFlare free plan should be just fine. If you want to have the fastest page loads (caching pages as well as static assets), it’s best to have a CDN with lots of configurable page rules. Those caching big items will prefer fast bandwidth. Those caching small items (images, css, js) will prefer fast DNS times….
Best WordPress Pagebuilders Review - UPDATED 2022
A list of my favorite pagebuilders and why. I also include a list of my non-favorites for comparison reasons. I compare them on features, ease-of-use, speed, clean output code, and compatibility. For those who keep asking, I don’t like pagebuilders! This list exists only for people who insist on having one. Best pagebuilders for WordPress: Elementor – the most popular, and powerful free-version. Cutting-edge pagebuilder with all the trendiest gimmicky effects/features. Newbies and non-coders should start here. BeaverBuilder – 2nd best, most stable and reliable. Preferred by more serious tech-savvy folks who prefer stability over features….
Tony Hawk - first man to land the 900
Watch this warrior succeed when he’s been down 10 times and out of energy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4QGnppJ-ys…
Should You Build a Forum?
I used to do that with every website thinking I would somehow magically capitalize on site traffic but it never turned out that way. It turns out I missed one simple detail: ONLY BUILD ONE FORUM! That’s like the golden rule of starting a forum. I got it from reading this: https://www.affiliatebible.com/general-seo/building-a-profitable-forum.php awesome guide for building a forum! The key question you should ask yourself is: Can I build a profitable forum? Forums take time and money to run so if you’re not going to be profitable, it’s quite difficult to have a…
There's An Expression In All of Us
These photos really spoke to me. There’s a winner, an expression, an entrepreneur…a great personality within all of us: https://www.dancersamongus.com/photos/Towson-MD-Rachel-Bell…
The Best Copywriting is probably NATURAL
In this day and age, you definitely want natural-sounding copy on your website and other company-branded marketing materials. Sounding too professional might not be the best way to go about it. I totally agree with the original post in this link and enjoyed how he explained it. Here it is: https://www.warriorforum.com/copywriting-forum/874692-youre-trying-too-damn-hard.html…
Your Calling VS Your Ego
Great article. Learn the difference: https://www.inc.com/shelley-prevost/5-ways-to-distinguish-your-calling-from-your-ego.html…
Helpful links for new copywriters
I saw this link posted on WarriorForum and loved it. So many great resources in here. Read this if you really want to get your feet wet in copywriting. https://www.warriorforum.com/copywriting-forum/729604-1000th-post-quick-links-new-copywriters.html…
How to Write an Interesting Story
…storytelling because they don’t pick an interesting part of the story. They focus on the part of the story that’s all too familiar, all too predictable. Or they pick the part of the story that is more the most incredible and accomplishing but isn’t interesting at all. And lastly, they fail to really inject emotion into it. Learn how to connect emotionally with your readers and you will have made one of the most powerful connections possible. Here is one of my favorite explanations of all time on how to tell a captivating story: https://www.copyblogger.com/start-with-a-story/…
Self-Discipline - understanding the true rewards
A beautifully written article on the benefits and rewards of self-discipline! https://www.raptitude.com/2013/10/the-elegant-secret-to-self-discipline/…
DigitalAccessPass hacked - and changed address (PayPal IPN hack)
…is DAP or not, I can definitely see that their support will not help me troubleshoot should I ever get hacked again in the future. It was at this moment that I decided to take the plunge and look elsewhere and man…I found there were so many new membership plugins nowadays. If you’re just starting to look around now, I would like to suggest to you the best one. It’s called “MEMBERPRESS”, you can see my review on it here. Purchase it here through my affiliate link – www.memberpress.com Or read more complaints about DAP….
Block XML-RPC protocol in WordPress
…Block WordPress xmlrpc.php requests <Files xmlrpc.php> order deny,allow deny from all allow from 123.123.123.123 </Files> Quick note…if you need to leave it on for certain IP, you can whitelist your IP and also Jetpack IP’s (if you use it). Nginx servers can paste the following code into the functions.php (submitted by Regev): // Disables XML-RPC add_filter( ‘xmlrpc_enabled’, ‘__return_false’ ); function disable_x_pingback( $headers ) { unset( $headers[‘X-Pingback’] ); return $headers; } add_filter( ‘wp_headers’, ‘disable_x_pingback’ ); add_filter( ‘xmlrpc_methods’, function( $methods ) { unset( $methods[‘pingback.ping’] ); return $methods; } ); Reference link to learn more about XML-RPC: https://www.wpbeginner.com/plugins/how-to-disable-xml-rpc-in-wordpress/…
RunCloud cloud-based VPS webhosting control panel 2019 review
A quick run-through of RunCloud’s cloud-panel service. See what things I liked about it, what things I didn’t. And of course, there’s a beautiful video included for you to appreciate their comprehensive UI. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpAN4q1Z3SM About RunCloud RunCloud (started by a small Malaysian company) is my current favorite cloud control panel. It’s fast, stable, and has a really mature interface. The pricing is very fair (cheap) and the product feels truly refined all around. You can have a pure-NGINX stack (better performance IMO), or a hybrid Apache+NGINX stack (for Apache/.htaccess compatibility). Their performance is above average…
How to customize WordPress admin CSS
Want to adjust how your WordPress dashboard looks? Maybe you want things sized differently or in different colors, or different fonts, etc. Whatever the reason…it’s possible! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yk6i93JpeJA METHOD #1 (easy) – install plugin Add Admin CSS by Scott Reilly Simple enough, install plugin and then paste in whatever CSS styles you want in there. METHOD #2 (manual) – add code snippet to functions.php This way is more manual and does pretty much the same as the plugin but without actually installing a plugin. Instead, you’re hooking the function into your theme functions.php file. Copy the…
Exporting databases using WP-CLI
…A directory path for a site on Ubuntu server might be more like /var/www/domain.com/html. 3. Export DB using WP-CLI command (to user home directory) wp db export dbname.sql –allow-root The command above is if you’re using “root” user. For non-root users, you can leave out the –allow-root at the end. You can choose whatever exported filename you want. It doesn’t have to match the database name. You can also specify an exact directory if you prefer. Put an absolute directory path like /somewhere/somewhere/dbname.sql. Can also specify a different exported DB name. 4. Navigate to home…
Cloudways is cashing out (acquired by Digital Ocean)
I’d guess Cloudways is cashing out. It’s too big to evolve with the times and I assume not much market share left to conquer. Instead of spending big money to improve, they sell off their current work for big money…and start a new business elsewhere. Digital Ocean picks this one up as a lead generator. Much in the same fashion that WP Engine acquired StudioPress. https://www.cloudways.com/blog/cloudways-joins-digitalocean/ It’s a smart move IMO. Cloudways had to exit at some point as they can’t possibly grow any further and rewriting their whole product (and code base) would probably…
The FASTEST Lightweight WordPress Themes Review - UPDATED 2019
…run into issues without any solutions and won’t be as inspired to evolve your theme regularly. I feature my favorite 3 lightweight WordPress themes, from fastest and lightest to most “full-featured” (but still light): 1. GeneratePress Probably the best choice for most people. Super lightweight, great community, dedicated developer. Not only lightweight but full of hooks and hacks for every possible little customization you’d like. It has many built-in features, yet friendly enough for both non-coders and coders alike. RECOMMENDED for: seasoned WP experts who like tweaking everything little snippet of code, feature, and aesthetic….
Repairing a HACKED WordPress site
…then delete all of them.) Yes…it’s like sniffing out a f**king rat nest of hacked files. STEP #3 – check theme files The next obvious place to look for hacks are in your theme. Go to your theme directory and check the usual places: index.php functions.php header.php (or whatever the header template part files are called) page template files (pages, posts, CPT, etc) If you see weird things in weird places, get rid of them. Don’t know what’s weird? Compare with your backup! STEP #4 – check site address in database Reset your site url…
Pricing strategy for the LONGTERM
…*screaming NOOOOO!!* Basically, you shot your own f**ken foot in the beginning by giving everything away for one low price. This is why I sincerely believe the best way to be competitive as a new market player…is to offer LESS FEATURES (choose only essential ones). Then add more over time (evolving in the direction of your brand positioning and strengths, unique viewpoints). The worst way to be competitive…would be to have all features in your product, and then at a lower price than your competitors. This sets the bar too high and now puts this…
How to Socialize (Network) in Person
…Shy people are going to come up to you because you look more approachable than anyone else in the room. New people will be sent/referred to you by others you already met. Because you share a common hometown, job, hobby, whatever. People bored by their other conversation will gravitate to you because you seem chill. Even if they don’t want to talk to you, they enjoy sitting nearby you. You should think of yourself as a host. Anybody nearby…greet them! Hey, what are you up to? Come on over! Have a drink with us! Come…
Website Design Workflow Tips - Avoid Endless Revisions
…until you settle on the general style you like. 3 revisions max – do the best you can with 3 revisions. All the little tweaks and fantasy requests you want, but all within 3 revisions! Go live! – stop adding extra revisions, go live immediately! Collect more ideas – this is the best time to get ideas when the site is being used live! Repeat the cycle as often as you wish. You’ll find that you get way better ideas this way, faster design-development cycles, lower cost, and much less stress for all parties involved!…
Why is Gutenberg being pushed now (when it's not perfect)
Why is technology being forced upon us when it’s still buggy and not yet fully supported? It’s how I’d sum up all the ranting done about the latest WordPress Gutenberg block editor. Gutenberg sucks! It’s buggy! Too hard to use! Doesn’t work! Can’t do fancy things like my pagebuilder! Yes, I’ve heard it all. And despite all the technology advancements we’ve had in the past decades, it seems people (once again) forget how technology works. The chicken-and-egg analogy What comes first? The chicken or the egg? Or in tech-speak, what comes first…the format or its…
Ignore Tai Lopez and other MAKE-MONEY Scams
…rather wish to have the item than to have the money you paid for it. No buyer’s remorse whatsoever. THAT’S what value looks like. You know what value doesn’t look like? When you have a crappy business built on marketing promises that you have to lie to new unsuspecting customers to get the first sale. And after that first sale, they never come back. 3. Create a repeat-customer business. Yeaup, real businesses are built on REPEAT customers who keep coming back. They buy again and again, they tell their friends, they bring you business without…
Stop Trying to Monetize off Google Ads
It’s 2018 and I’m still surprised to see how many people are relying on this outdated tactic of generating income. I still have clients today with heavy ad networks being punished yet again by the latest Google algorithm. Many of them have lost either 30-60% of traffic or the same amount in ad revenue. I feel bad for them and told them to move on and more money can be made elsewhere, even off ads again if they insist. Google Adense was the thing maybe 10 years ago. Then totally died around 6 years ago….
What is "Managed Hosting" and where did it come from?
…off other operating systems. For example, creating a virtual “fake” Windows environment on your OS X so that you can run a program/game made only for Windows. Testing/using different environments without requiring another physical machine for them. FUNCTION #2 – Simulating multiple computing environments: Having one physical machine acting as multiple machines. Allowing multiple users to log into their own “virtual space” off the same server. Allowing multiple “computers” or “servers” while only having one physical machine. As you can see. This virtualization was the very thing we needed in the webhosting industry! Thanks to…
Expected conversion rate for membership sign-ups?
How many sign-ups should you expect for your membership program? Memberships are all the rage lately. It used to be a complicated ordeal to create one but now there’s a hundred plugins/services out there catering to this latest money-making trend. The problem is that many people are spending thousands of dollars to create their membership program only to get sad when they don’t get as many sign-ups as they thought they would have. Is it really failure? Or just unrealistic expectations of membership sign-up rates? Here’s a realistic sign-up conversion rate for memberships: Targeted lists:…
WordPress SEO Tips for 2020
…means to outdo them. Quite often, I see people following SEO recommendations to the tee and then wondering why they still haven’t ranked on the first page. Haha…it’s because you didn’t outdo your competition. If your competitor’s “camera review” guide is 8,000 words long and yours is only 2,000….who do you think is gonna win that one? At the end of the day, your minimum effort for success has to go beyond your competitor’s. I know…I wish it was easier, too. What HAS changed? 1. No more “word optimization” Google has done a great job…
The Most Difficult WordPress Speed Optimization Clients
These clients will NEVER reach their dream website speeds for these reasons: 1. LOW BUDGET They have a $200 budget, using tons of crappy bloated plugins running off a crappy $5 shared hosting plan. But they want their site to be as fast as their competitor’s site…which was professionally built for $5-10k, has a custom theme, and much faster webhosting plan. 2. NO COMPROMISE They tell me they “absolutely need results!” but when I tell them exactly what’s causing the biggest slowdowns. They come back with “but I can’t get rid of that…can’t we do…
Mailchimp vs Mailerlite - email newsletter service review
…They started doing a things that alienated their userbase. One was that they felt they weren’t allow enough complex features, so they started adding all kinds of conversion tracking features and all that to compete with the likes of more full-featured email services (ActiveCampaign, ConvertKit). And the other was that they raised their prices. Both of these made their once-perfect service now feeling too complicated and also too expensive for the new small businesses. Not only that but Mailchimp emails were starting not to deliver as well as they used to. They were often getting…
Are plugin acquisitions bad for WordPress users?
…dev yourself, help contribute to the project…yes, for free! Ideas for once a plugin gets sold: FORK – if you’re a dev (and the plugin is simple enough), fork it. SUPPORT COMPETITORS – even if the plugin is absolutely essential to you, switch over to a smaller competitor and beg them to implement your most critical features. Once they do, work your ass off to promote them. It’s the only way to prevent plugin monopolies. Who else got ideas? Cuz we sure need them in a time like this. (Drop them in the comments below.)…
10 Important METRICS to track with Google Analytics
…(popularity, and flow) Know exactly which pages of yours are the most popular. Then use that to your advantage however they like. Maybe redesign your busiest pages to funnel traffic onto other pages. Or readjust your business offerings to cater to a more profitable niche. You may be shocked to find out why some of your visitors are seeking you out. Next, find out how traffic usually flows within your site. Again…adjust your web design to funnel if you don’t like their usual page-flow. Want more hits to a certain page? Alter your design to…
Should you offer FREE CONSULTATIONS on your website?
Here’s the chat script from a friend asking me this…. FRIEND Hey! have you ever done a free consultation on your website? debating on if I should put that or not on my new website as a call to action i have people signing up for my newsletter. basically so I can get their email. but I have noticed a lot of people offer free consultation. this way they can talk to you, find out your needs and get your email. I am debating on that. it won’t be me talking to them lol, but…
Do you really need a fast website for SEO?
…rank higher on Google and that’s not true. Tons of top-ranked sites are slow as heck. Google penalizes you for being very slow, they don’t reward you for being fast. They also don’t penalize you for being a little slower than your competitors. HOWEVER….your site speed will affect your user experience and that certainly affects Google rankings somewhat. If your site is so slow that users leave often or don’t click through as many pages, that will reflect on your SEO a little bit. Ultimately…site speed affects user experience and sales, more so than SEO….
BEST and WORST reasons to learn server-admin
…it because you don’t use it enough. Linux commands are certainly that way. So you’re blowing at least 1-2 years to become proficient and comfortable. You learn the commands, learn the command options, learn the locations of key files/directories. And then what? If you’re not poking inside that server and running those commands constantly every week, you’ll forget every single one of them. And have to relearn them each time. I’m in and out of a couple dozen servers every week (for years) and I still have to look up commands from time to time….
Logos are not PICTURES, they are FEELINGS
…Oh and don’t get me started on those silly $50 logo design sites. Hahaha…all of them are exactly that. The same cheesy combinations of text and images. Oh and sometimes it’s not only one image but TWO images. Like a horse AND a house. Or a light AND a carrot. Or some lame word with the “O” turned into a basketball or the dot of the “i” turned into heart or a flower. Etc and etc. ^—– [BOOOOOORRRRRIIINNNGGGGG!!!] And please don’t get me wrong either. Those combo-images are pretty cool. I do think they’re clever…
Hire Me
…coolest designers on our team. You know those super-fancy million-dollar designs? We can do it. 😉 Web development – DISCLAIMER: we are pricey! Guaranteed, we will cost you more than other companies. You can check out my full services page (coming soon). My tech skills: web development & online marketing traditional marketing/branding, ad campaigns SEO, PPC (Google Adwords, Facebook ads) Social media marketing (Facebook, Twitter, Youtube) design UI/UX direction content marketing, SEO, copywriting web server management & speed optimization WordPress design, development, maintenance, and [speed optimization] E-commerce (WooCommerce/Shopify) Amazon Affiliates, Ebay network Newsletter management (Mailchimp,…
Genesis vs Astra - WordPress Theme Review 2019
Sick of hearing misguided information from newbies who don’t have much experience with both. I use both Genesis and Astra. Genesis is clearly miles ahead, way more senior developers and higher level community on it. It’s not even a fair comparison. Astra is like a kitchen table with the option to add your own chairs. Genesis is the entire house (but without furniture). Genesis code is more complete and with better logic. On completeness alone, it will be faster as you wouldn’t have to add extra plugins (code) like you do with Astra. Not only…
Other WordPress Experts
…in admin community. WordPress developers: Sridhar Katakam – runs a massive membership tutorial site for Genesis, also another one for Oxygen pagebuilder. Awesome guy but probably too busy to do side projects. Christoph Herr – another awesome WordPress/Genesis developer. I used to use him for our “code laundry” but he’s probably too busy now. Seekmid – plugin developer who loves doing complex computations. Yin – one of our internal developers. Travis Smith – A-level developer and former WP theme/plugin repo team. $150/hr. Web designers: Swoon & Creative – nice gal who’s done work for some…
WP Interview - Daan van den Bergh (of WoOSH.DEV)
…Google Fonts, etc.) Google tends to force their way upon us. While promoting performance (Google Pagespeed Insights) they don’t really keep in mind that some of their services actually lower performance. One example is Google Analytics with Enhanced Ecommerce enabled; have you ever noticed that after analytics.js is loaded, about 4-6 round trips are made to other servers? Although it’s all loaded asynchronously, that nagging loading icon in the browser’s tab, will definitely annoy some users: What’s this page still doing, everything seems ready? With my plugins I try to walk that thin line: maximize performance,…
Social Media Marketing on LinkedIn (tips and tricks)
…about LinkedIn. There’s no stigma or weirdness about adding complete strangers. Just go crazy and add away. Of course, you’ll probably get better results adding all the people you know first and then working your way through the strangers that you have mutual connections with. 3. Post on your personal profile LinkedIn gives you various options: Personal profile – the default profile that you get when signing up. Company page – this is like Facebook pages, that you can create for your company. Showcase page – used to showcase smaller subsections or specific products/services for…
DIY Mattress review and buying guide
…actually just a combination of different layers to help support you (and the layers itself) in various ways throughout your sleep. But of course the industry makes it as confusing as possible to make you overpay for it. As the saying goes, “Knowledge is power.”…which of course means that whatever you don’t know/understand, you will pay dearly for that! Mattress layers from top-to-bottom: COMFORT layer/s – usually soft foam, wool, or other padding and textures to give you nice feeling against your body surface. SUPPORT layer/s – usually medium foam, softer coils, or combination of…
Fix "Better Search Replace" plugin "Max Page Size Error
An error occurred processing your request. Try decreasing the “Max Page Size”, or contact support. Are you getting this annoying error? (Happens often with big database tables.) I’ll show you how to fix it! I don’t even waste my time messing with the Max Page Size setting anymore (it doesn’t work), the only way to fix is to increase your PHP memory limit as high as you can. How high you have to go depends on how heavy your website is. For some, 512MB is enough. For others, you may need more. It helps…
WPML Speed Optimization Tips
…their development team really listened to the complaints and the 3.X versions sped up incredibly. Aside from that, I also learned that the plugin CAN indeed run pretty fast. YOU JUST HAVE TO FOLLOW SOME INSTRUCTIONS. My 6-language site with tons of articles and images loads in 1 second. Before you give up on WPML, give these things a try. 1. Disable auto-register strings for themes/plugins It’s on the string translation page. DISABLE IT! Otherwise, every extra plugin/theme you add will add a thousand strings. Don’t worry, you can register them manually later! 2. Delete…
Contact
Contact form ONLY for official business and paid WPJ plugins. Do not ask me for free help! Free WordPress help – post in my WPJohnny Facebook group. Free WPJ plugin help – post in the WP plugin repo. Speed optimization – I only do speed consultation & courses now. I’m super busy, expensive, and don’t like difficult clients. Please try other experts & speed specialists. Partnership requests – offer to pay me money upfront (like my clients are), or I have no time for you. I didn’t create this site to be an affiliate marketer….
WPJ 2020 review - uncharted territory
What a wild year…full of drama, thrills, and excitement. I can honestly say I didn’t see it coming. WPJ website visits grew 300% – 300k visits this year compared to 100k last year 160 posts written, about 90 published – basically one every 3-4 days Released 7 free WPJ plugins (and 1 paid) – used in over 250+ active sites. Released the WP Speed Optimization Courses (originally to help Walter) – but it’s now grown into a massive faction of its own. Raised $8k for HelpWalter.com – thank you for all that supported! Built many…
Hosting Services Breakdown - domain registrar, web hosting, email hosting, DNS
…(obviously) wouldn’t be worth the effort. Features – they want their own configurations and features. And/or need something better or different from what exists in the market. Sell their own service – doing their own thing to resell it to clients. This can be as simple as combining different 3rd-party services, or as complex as configuring their own clusters for each service. Examples of server cluster configurations: Domain registration – ok, almost nobody builds their own registrar. They will use an existing one. I like Whois.com or Cloudflare (which is a DNS service provider but…
How to Know if BLOGGING is Your Destiny
…others. 3. You like connecting with people You have to be serious about this. It can’t just mean only in the sense of making business transactions. I mean talking to people even if you make no money and get no benefit from it other than having connected and shared thoughts with someone. Blogging is an incredibly powerful way to open yourself up to the world, let others peer into your soul. Which in turn opens others up to you. If you care about having this ability…blogging is truly incredible for that. 4. You prefer blogging…
The new Safari is NOT faster than Chrome
…not faster on it. I clicked around on several sites and the difference is noticeable enough for me. Chrome isn’t just faster for browsing speed, the actual application itself feels lighter than Safari. Maybe it’s the lighter frame UI design or my own mind wanting to believe whatever I want. But I certainly feel Safari is “heavier” somehow. Sure, I guess you could argue Chrome uses more memory and THAT results in slower speed if you have many tabs open. But raw speed vs speed, Chrome is faster. Safari wins on resource efficiency at best….
Difference between STATIC vs DYNAMIC website - also what is HTML, CSS, PHP, MYSQL
…page. If you had 10 pages, that was 10 HTML files. The problem was that when you had many pages, and you wanted to change their styling…you would have to edit the code on all pages. As you can see, it gets very tedious very quickly. This led to CSS which now meant all websites were a combination of HTML & CSS. All data was still stored on separate HTML files but instead of having to style every element and on every HTML page, you had one universal CSS to style the entire website (how…
How to NOT get destroyed by Google algorithm updates
…you using contract writers to “research” and copy other sites. Tsk tsk…how do you ever hope to outrank the sites you copy?! 3. Make your site load fast in mobile Let’s be clear…I don’t care about page scores, I care about how long your eyeballs wait before the content shows. 1 to 2 seconds is good. (Ideally, it really should be 1 second.) And if you have any stupid gimmicky effects that lag your site, get rid of that shit. Get a good webhost. Get rid of pagebuilders. Get rid of annoying page-lagging asset requests….
Should you load Google Analytics in HEADER or FOOTER?
…page-render and that the script will load alongside all other JS scripts. That may be so but the still has to be read and processed and who knows what else is going on. I also like what the PagePipe guys had to say on the matter. Don’t be silly. Load GA in the footer and get on with your life. Serve your users, not Google! Which plugin to load Google Analytics? I use CAOS plugin – it saves and serves the file locally from your web-server to decrease external requests from dragging down your pageload….
Cache plugins suck!
…– perhaps you should disable some of the features. Might also help to exclude certain elements from caching. “Cache plugins didn’t improve my pagespeed score!” Believe it or not, pagespeed scores are one of the most commonly misinterpreted things on the internet. They’re actually only a guideline for ideal web performance, not the rule. (Basically, you can have an incredibly fast website and still horrible scores. The biggest mistake would be optimizing for scores, and not for real users.) Are the complaint metrics related to 3rd party requests? (Loading from other domains like Google, or…
How to Make Money With a Blog
…Don’t start writing anything yet, just come up with the titles for now 4. Research all the most commonly used keywords in your niche use Google Trends, Adwords Tools, Youtube Keyword (all free) if you don’t know how to do keyword research, look it up 5. Start writing your 10 or 20 super-informative posts! put the keywords into the title and body content (don’t over-do it!) release each post as you finish share casually on other websites, community pages, etc (the links better be so damn good that it goes viral without you having to…
WPJohnny WordPress theme roundup 2021
…being linked to Adam Preiser (WPCrafter), who I can’t help but see as an affiliate-marketer dude more focused on his bottom-line than anything else. However, there’s no denying that Kadence has a strong following, strong community, and still a solid theme. I also like the KadenceBlocks plugin a lot. It’s a nice set of Gutenberg blocks that aren’t overly-designed. 5. Bricks Very cool new workflow for WordPress themes and pagebuilder-users. Has a unique pagebuilding interface that actually utilizes the native Gutenberg blocks. Basically allows you to create custom layouts in pagebuilder manner but outputs super…
Bill Waterson - a life worth living
https://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/05/20/bill-watterson-1990-kenyon-speech/ I absolutely love these words and so proud to have aligned my life along these values. Forever working harder, and happier. 🙂…
Best Microphones for Online Streaming or Podcasting
…never sound as good as a solid XLR mic with $200 preamp. With that said, USB mics keep getting better and better. Every year, I feel more pros are willing to settle for convenient USB setups. Make sure your condenser mic either comes with a pop filter, or you buy a compatible one for it! OPTION A – Blue Yeti: Blue Yeti Nano – $99 (compact) Blue Yeti – $129 (standard) Blue Yeti X – $169 Blue Yeti Pro – $249 This so-called “World’s #1 USB Microphone” is what most people have. Easy to setup,…
How to STAY IN SHAPE as a Tech Worker
…completely focused on all my technique. Actionable fitness tips 1. Pick only exercises you like doing. “No pain, no gain” isn’t true. Cut out the stupid tough-guy motivational quotes. Fitness doesn’t have to be painful. And you don’t have to chase down more painful exercises to feel productive. That’s certainly not how you do your tech work, right? You ever notice how kids are so easily in shape? It’s because their physical activity is all PLAY, not PUNISHMENT. For god sakes, you’re not a pro athlete (with a competition date). Start off with only exercises…
The origin of WordPress plugin bloat
Where does it really come from? Why are commercial themes and plugins so bloated?! Full of crap (you mostly don’t use) that slows down your site. Why can’t they just stick to essential functions? The more I custom-develop plugins, the more I start to realize the sad truth. It comes from the commercial plugin business model. It’s because of how plugins make money. They’re forced to create value to customers and compete against other plugins. And so we know what that means. It means you’re gonna have a crap ton of unnecessary features added into…
Is SEO worth it anymore?
…times harder than PPC but yes, it’s worth it. I mean, who wouldn’t want all those free hits? Certain keywords can cost you $1/click with PPC but with SEO, it’s totally free. Everyone complaining about Google being hard to predict or having algorithms that don’t support the little guys doesn’t know what they’re doing. Yes, it’s true in SOME cases, but not all. Many of my websites have not been altered for years and they still rank well. The bottom line is, if you’re going to game the system instead of doing truely organic SEO,…
How to Get an IM Mentor - help us help you
…into your idea…and thus be spending more time executing on it than even you are doing. And to do that for free (without any commitment cost in time/money from your part)…not good for any mentor. 3. The very mentors who are excited to help you for free….will be excited because they see that you’re already well on your way to success and their reward is that they get to be a part of it. So if you want to motivate people to work with you, you have to give them something to be excited…
DISRUPTING a WordPress plugin market
…GeneratePress when it was originally being built was targeted for developers…things like hooks and filters, sections and elements, then later had customizer settings and such. Astra however started right off the bat branding itself for speed and pagebuilder-compatibility. That pagebuilder aspect alone really set it apart from GeneratePress even though it’s very similar in many ways. STEP #4 – Declare your brand position. Now that you’ve got a big user market and a clearly differentiated plugin, it’s time to stake your place in the market. Say it loud and proud. “WE ARE XYZ PLUGIN and…
Spark Mail vs Mailspring (OS X email client review)
My personal review of the 2 best free email clients for OS X. I’ve used Mailspring for nearly 2 years. And Spark for a few months. Spark is the easy winner for me. You can stop reading this guide, stop wasting your life, and just get Spark right now. What? Still don’t believe me?! Fine, then continue wasting your life and read more… NOTE: I’m only comparing their free versions! Similarities between Spark Mail & Mailspring Both are free, full-featured email clients. Both are easy to use, have clean minimal interface. Both feel lightweight and…
Where to buy cPanel licenses
So I went around looking for places to buy cPanel licenses last night. I found different rates and different options: BuycPanel.com – popular cPanel reseller. Nice site filled with many options and allows you to pay for a monthly license (instead of paying the yearly price). They will even install cPanel on your server for you free of charge! Directly from cPanel themselves – it’s the most costly option because they make you pay upfront for a yearly license. I also didn’t see any options for add-ons (Litespeed, Softaculous, etc). cpaneldirect.net – another popular site…
Do you need a dedicated IP for webhosting? (debunking myths)
…and how they relate in the world of computer networks. What is an IP? An IP is a like a computer network version of a phone number. Each IP points to a computer, or actually a “server” in the world of webhosting. So imagine that if one computer was to make a connection request to another computer, it would make the request using it’s IP. Think like someone making a phone call to another person using their phone number. What’s a domain name? A domain name is like a human-friendly address that point to an…
Choosing a (good) domain registrar
What makes a good domain registrar? I like Whois.com, Cloudflare, and maybe GoDaddy for difficult foreign TLDs (that require proxy service). All I care about it: Good UI – easy-to-use interface that isn’t bombarding me with web and email hosting ads! (Hahaha) Domain selection – provides many TLDs. This way you don’t have to register at multiple registrars. Can get them all conveniently in the same place. Free privacy – this is especially important if you have busy sites/domains. Without the privacy options, your emails and home mailbox will be bombarded with spam. Provides proxy…
Best (FREE & PAID) Remote Desktop Software
…great if your computers/IP are flagged by Team Viewer for commercial use. But why not the others? (Ammy, GoToMyPC, Microsoft Remote Desktop) Yes, I’m aware there are many others but they come with either of these shortcomings making them unsuitable for me: Don’t allow unattended access – you need to have someone at both computers to initiate connections. Don’t work for both PC & Mac – I have both so I need compatibility with both. If you only have one, your life will be easier. Doesn’t have file transfer – I really need this. So…
The FASTEST Way to Learn SEO
…nice for people to tell me what to do. Knowledge is good. But it’s best to know what works right from the beginning, so you can make money while you learn about other possible methods. Lesson 1 – identifying hot keywords in your industry (keyword strategy) Lesson 2 – organizing your website design and coding for search engines and visitors Lesson 3 – creating and optimizing content (on-page optimization) Lesson 4 – backlinks, sharing, and social media presence (off-page optimization) Lesson 5 – analyzing your rankings and comparing your progress to competitor sites AND DONE!…
Speed-Up Consultation
…Audit theme code, page templates, and functions.php – suggest refactor or theme switch. Plugin audit – suggest replacements as needed. External service audit – suggest replacements or localization hacks to avoid 3rd party requests. Pagebuilder removal strategy – granular steps to wean off pagebuilders. Contractor referrals – can suggest developers for you if you don’t have one. NOTE: I do not teach you how to do it. I simply explain what things to do and *generally* how I would approach it. My speed optimization course can teach you how to do most things, but not…
WPCloudDeploy unofficial setup guide
…– done from WPCD general settings page. These steps alone should be enough to get up you up and running, and ready to setup servers. Other suggested settings: Cloudflare DNS – to automatically configure your subdomains or staging sites. Hide DigitalOcean from provider list – useful if you don’t use DO. Do this from the “Misc” settings page. Troubleshooting (random issues I had): Because sometimes things don’t work and you start randomly flipping things all over the place. Incorrect SSH paste – cuz I pasted badly from terminal with extra spaces. Misc settings – increase…
The Secret to Helping Others
So you’re out to save the world. You’re a super-hero, creating a super-hero organization, out there to save the people who can’t save themselves. You have the time, money, and resources to do for others what they could never do for themselves. You’ve got the experience and heart to do it. I won’t be the first to tell you it doesn’t work that way. Nobody wants to be helped. People don’t want you to do anything for them, they want to do it themselves. They want to live their lives to the fullest of THEIR…
How easy is it to make money online?
…will push you further down the road. And once you get far enough, you’ll start making money. Never listen to the “easy money”, “overnight success” stories. Those guys have usually had many failures and much “experience” before hitting a home-run. Take your time, do your work, you’ll get there. Keep trying, testing, experimenting, exploring. Discussing, sharing, pushing, pulling. If you don’t know what to do. Learn from one school of thought and keep with it. Stop jumping ship every time it gets difficult. Overcoming the difficult parts is what it takes to finally be successful….
Should You Quit College?
…and experience than being in college the career you want to be in does not require or value a college degree you are extremely self-motivated and know how to learn (through books, internet, friends, etc) on your own you’re lazy – if this is the case, you should quit ASAP because no professor or fellow students should spend energy on you when you don’t even care to invest in yourself While I do feel college is in many ways overrated, it does come with many benefits: opportunities to socialize and meet people in a…
AVADA vs DIVI vs X Theme - Premium Wordpress Theme Framework 2016 Review
AVADA is the clear winner for me. I’ve read reviews on both AVADA, DIVI, and X theme. I installed both AVADA and DIVI and played around for 15 minutes. My experience is mostly with Thesis but I do understand the idea of frameworks. DIVI for me is the weakest choice out of those 3, many people complaining about styling limitations or hard to deal with if you want make a large site. AVADA and X Theme are the best. Why I like AVADA best: – Easier to use and understand than DIVI or X. –…
How to Find Writing Consistency and Motivation for Blogging
…like the way it tastes. And you can’t just be about the money, that’s just not enough motivation (even money can’t make lawyers love their jobs). Those who write only for the money, will never last long. Just my two cents. The 2nd part is that you have to write from the heart and write from what you know. Most bloggers I see don’t have enough experience about the thing they’re trying to write about, they don’t have any strong opinions or knowledge about it to share with the world. Imagine trying to write a…
SiteGround WebHosting Review - UPDATED 2017
…exactly as they said. It’s fast, comes with a built-in server-layer cache (which is nice) as you don’t want to set this up yourself. Comes with a cPanel which is nice when you don’t have to pay for it. I did experience ONE DOWNTIME…the server was down maybe 2-3 hours. But other than that, it was rock solid and an absolute joy to use. So for only $11.95/month…you get a server that’s stronger than a typical VPS, comes with cPanel so you can manage everything easily, easy to set up SSL, comes with tech support…
Pricing Psychology - $95 vs $97 vs $99 vs $100
…looks great against $45, $47, $60. If you’re intending to offer discounts, $99/$100 can be easily discounted since they look like “regular prices”. If you’re intending to make this your CHEAP product, $97 looks great against $160, $164, $168. If you’re intending to make this your PREMIUM entry-level product, $95 looks great against $495. Again, my point is to compare this price against your other prices, not necessarily just against the possible options of only that product itself. There are far more examples that I’m not putting here but I’m think you get the idea….
The NUMBER ONE SEO Tip - create the keyword, don't copy!
I can’t lay down everything I know in one comment but my advice is to have a ton of content that you write from your own head, from your own knowledge/experience. Too many people SEO by copying existing content and it’s hard to outrank competitors that way. When YOU write the first article, pen the first use of a new keyword or term in your industry…it sets the tone for everyone else to use the same word you use and it’s so much easier for you to be first place that way. In a nutshell….copying…
What's a Good Conversion Rate for Online Sales?
I’ve had many online entrepreneurs ask me what they think is a good conversion rate for online sales. From my experience, to get even 1% is really difficult (that’s 1 buyer for every 100 visitors). I imagine the highest in any industry is like 3-4%. If I got 1%, I’d be a gajillionaire by now. I think 1 out of 1,000 (or even 1 out of 10,000) is more realistic and I do mean exactly that. I’d probably break it down this way: 1 out of 1,000 are willing to buy something ($25-300 range) 10…
GoDaddy Managed WordPress Hosting SUCKS
…for sure. I saw a client on php 5. If you don’t mind your website taking more seconds to load, then by all means use them. But at least we can agree PROBLEM #2 – php 5 SERIOUSLY?! This is 2018. They’re selling managed WordPress hosting with php5?! It would be like buying a new car that didn’t come with air conditioning. PROBLEM #3 – slow file transfer They use SFTP, sounds like a cool security thing, right? WRONG! SFTP is slow as heck. 1gb of files took me several hours on a FIOS connection….
Is WordPress insecure? (no, it isn't!)
I think it’s a silly question and often misinterpreted by newbies/non-coders for all the wrong reasons. If you even had to ask this question, I would say WordPress is more than secure enough you! But first off, what IS “security” anyways? The word “secure” means different things to different people. To an average person – “secure” means that it’s hackproof and your sensitive data is safe from thieves/bad-guys, also very low instances of ever getting hacked. To an experience developer – “secure” means that it’s coded to best practices, commonly-used and updated often. If you…
SiteGround vs InMotion - Webhosting Review (UPDATED 2019)
My PERSONAL EXPERIENCE comparing SiteGround to InMotion – both their shared hosting as well as VPS hosting services. People are always wondering which is better and in what ways? People are also confused about why SiteGround seems to have tons of complaints yet InMotion seems to have great reviews on the internet. Which one is better? And are the negative reviews reflective of their shared hosting or their VPS hosting? SiteGround is better than InMotion…PERIOD! I’ve used both. I’ve assisted dozens of clients on both. SiteGround is by far the better quality hosting service…
RO Water Filter (Reverse Osmosis) Reviews and Setup Tips
…and then a bunch of little canisters next to it. Proprietary kind – several companies (Culligan, Puronics, etc) will have their own models each with their own distinct designs. A different shape tank and filter canisters. Generic RO water filter Proprietary RO water filter Want my advice? BUY THE GENERIC KIND! Because you’re not locked into one company, forced to pay extra for their specific filters and specific parts. Also not forced to use only their distributors. The generic ones IMO are just as good, so much cheaper, and likely better quality and…
WebP image format in 2020 - is it global yet?
My short answer: no, WebP ain’t ready for primetime yet. It’s not used everywhere, not compatible with every device. And if you stick that image in that format, you risk a small percentage of people/devices not being able to see it. The benefits are what…15-20% space savings? But in reality, that’s zero space savings because best practices require you to still have jpeg/png fallbacks in case the visitor isn’t WebP-compatible yet. This means webp would double your media storage use. Do you think you’re saving on speed? Because the answer is NO on that as…
Don't use INCREMENTAL backups (if you can help it)
…through the risk of incremental backups. They will be a pain in the butt to restore or have clean version-compare later. You have been warned! What about plugins that handle all incrementals for you? I’m aware of WPTimeCapsule. It looks great. But what happens if the site is broken and you can’t even get into the WP-admin? If these incremental backup plugins can use a cloud service that OUTPUTS a full backup archive based on your incrementals…that’s the only way I would ever consider it. And I’m speaking from experience of doing many emergency restores….
Akamai's Linode acquisition - initial thoughts
Thoughts right off the top of my head surrounding this surprise news. In hindsight, I could have totally seen this coming. All the right pieces were in play. Every hint and cue was there but I didn’t suspect it because of my blind faith in Linode. But push that personal bias aside and what do you see? A company going stagnant compared to its competition. A company promising to expand service coverage but moving slowly (or not really moving at all). A company hinting at new products and services (for years) but never delivering. A…
Clean up wp_options table (autoloaded data)
My favorite commands for cleaning up autoloaded data from your wp_options table. Why should you remove autoloaded data? It’s because this type of data is loaded on every page load and often contains data that is no longer used (left behind by already deleted themes/plugins) or left behind because WP-cron wasn’t working and some plugins didn’t clean up after themselves. Get into your phpmyadmin tool from webhosting control panel (cPanel, Plesk, etc) and follow the commands below! How much difference can autoloads make? HUGE! Freaken huge! I’ve seen awful bloated sites with many MB of…
Putting social share buttons at TOP vs BOTTOM of posts
…What most sites do (top, bottom, everywhere) Most sites are annoying and spammy as heck. They place social share buttons everywhere; sometimes even with a sliding button rack that follows you along the page when you scroll down. As if readers are more likely to share because a convenient share button was placed there. That might work for a Facebook post but not for a real website in my opinion. C’mon now…we both know that isn’t true. When was the last time you shared anything from a website? And when was the last time you…
Clone database in phpMyAdmin (easy way)
This is the fastest hassle-free way to clone your database in phpMyAdmin. Log into your webhosting and phpMyAdmin. Click on the database you want to clone. Click on the Operations tab. (Usually something like “username_wp”.) Scroll down to Copy Database to text field, and enter in the new database name. (You only have to put the last part of the name, not the username prefix in front of it. I also like to put “dev” at the end of it to know what it’s a clone of. So I might put in “wpdev” to end…
AffiliateWP plugin review
…is the best by far. Best code, cleanest looking, tons of features and integrations. Great support and ongoing development. Don’t worry, I made sure I liked the plugin by testing with the single-site $99/year license and then paid the difference to upgrade to lifetime after 5 months. One of the best decisions ever. Try AffiliateWP today (affiliate link) I like AffiliateWP so much I built 2 addons for it: A (free) migration script to go from Affiliate Royale to AffiliateWP. A (paid) addon to track conversions and visits from an external site. Details coming soon….
FINDING SUPPORT for any theme or plugin
…I can’t use it anymore. Please don’t make me go back to [insert competitor name].” 3. Find the Facebook group Maybe the theme/plugin has a community Facebook group. Join it and ask for help. Sometimes they may not have one for their smaller plugins…so you have to join their overall brand community. I suppose you could also join broader Facebook groups that cover or have many users of your theme/plugin. 4. Pay someone else Sometimes on support forums and Facebook groups, you still won’t get support….BUT, you can see replies of other users and it’s…
Affiliate Terms & Conditions
To be an WPJohnny affiliate, you must agree to the terms below: WPJohnny reserves the right to withhold earned commissions at any time for any reason. I don’t plan to cheat anyone but will withhold commission if I suspect your referrals were earned in some shady manner or otherwise exploiting a loophole not covered below. You cannot purchase from your own affiliate links. If the purchase seems too close in personal relation to you, the commission will be void. You cannot compete with “WPJohnny” keywords, product names, or other phrases associated with WPJohnny on search…
WordPress Migration Plugins Review (UPDATED 2018)
…really like it! Getting around the 500mb size limit – easy, simply exclude the “wp-content” from your export (that greatly keeps the size down), and then just compress and extract yourself using cPanel’s File Manager. Tips – if your database fails to import, exclude that as well and import it manually. Check out All-in-One WP Migration 2. Migrate Guru – the fastest way to migrate a site! Duplicator used to be my favorite until this one came along. It’s so easy to use! It really is the fastest way to move a site and…
WHY to always use a Transactional Email Service
Tired of your system emails getting caught in the spam folder or never arriving at all? Examples of transactional emails: New user welcome email Login/password reset email Order confirmation Comment or forum replies Or any WordPress system notification, really If you’ve ever had problems with them getting delivered (and even if you don’t), you probably need a transactional email service! The problem with emails Many people with WordPress sites don’t set up any email plugins or use a transactional email service. They simply use the built-in phpmailer function with WordPress. Others may even use an…
GeneratePress vs Astra (WordPress theme comparison)
…has done more than just GeneratePress. He’s built some really awesome plugins that are available free to the community. Check them out: GenerateBlocks, Social Icons, Simple CSS, Grid Columns, WP Show Posts. Incredible work. And please keep in mind that I’m a diehard Genesis guy and yet still won over by GeneratePress. Those 2 themes are similar but completely different in user demographic and community culture. “But isn’t GeneratePress made by only one guy, while Astra is backed by a whole team?“ Honestly, I feel like I trust it even more for being made by…
Private consultation
You can look up answers to all technical questions free of charge on Google. You can also use my WPJohnny Facebook Group for free community help. But if you’re really that shy then fine, you can consult with me privately. $200/hr or $100/half-hour. Private Consultation Δ Name: Email: Desired day/time of consultation: Payment method: Credit/Debit Card PayPal Payment amount (USD): Confirm…
VPS.net Hosting Sucks! - Bad Review
Here goes my bad review of VPS.net (owned by UK2 group). I use to be a shared hosting customer of ANhosting.com for several years — which I still am. They offered good service and good support which was far better than Dreamhost. ANhosting was my savior when one of my websites got popular and I matured to VPS. Who better to trust than the company that offered me the best shared hosting I could find? And so I opened an account at VPS.net. I went with their un-managed VPS hosting (which was surprisingly affordable), purchasing…
Easy Headline Formula
Learn the basics…and then break all the rules. https://blog.crazyegg.com/2015/06/05/10-fill-in-blank-headlines/…
MacSales battery replacements review (not good)
I bought a Macbook Air battery replacment here at https://eshop.macsales.com and it didn’t work very well at all. Just take it from me and don’t waste your time. Try sticking with Apple-brand replacement batteries only. Two main issues: I had longer charge for about 1-2 months. After that, the battery life was just as bad as the one I replaced. I secretly wonder if Apple products are programmed to decrease battery life at some point. I lost the ability to see how long it would take to charge. Side note: My iPhone 6s which had…
Tesla guides and reviews
I bought a new Teslas months ago and very happy with it. Thought I would share all my research and findings all on a new little site just for Tesla stuff. There will be guides, reviews, DIY hack projects, and all kinds of things related only to Teslas. https://jtesla.com…
GADWP Plugin is now GAinWP (SCREW ExactMetrics)
If you’ve been a former user of the classic Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (GADWP) plugin, there are now 2 community forks in its place! This is a public service announcement. For those who don’t know….the beloved GADWP plugin was recently taken over by and disgustingly commercialized by ExactMetrics (it’s new name), which turned it into an expensively-priced plugin. What used to be such a great simple little plugin to show Google Analytics stats from your Dashboard and had nearly a perfect 5-star rating suddenly tanked to 2 stars overnight due to hundreds of 1-star…
Github cheatsheet
Because I’m tired of relearning how to use Github and looking up long boring videos full of commands I’ll never use. This simple cheatsheat is pretty much all I ever do for git commands. Pulling/cloning a GitHub repo to your local computer: Can do it from VScode terminal or with OS terminal. Make sure you’ve navigated to the right directory you want to work in! git init – initializes Git session. git clone git@github.com:your-repo-ssh-address.git – clones that repo to your local environment. Push or update to GitHub repo: git add . will automatically search for…
STUPID WEB UI - using icons instead of text labels
…JohnnyVPS.com, where the blogger/business/agency cards have 3 icons, and beneath that the Features section has icons for each text block. The icons may look pretty but nobody “reads” them. They’re just there to help add relational context to the blocks of text. PRINCIPLE #2 – use icons as images, but never next to images It’s common to see blocks of content designed with a mix of TEXT & IMAGE. Sometimes big text, small image. Other times big image, small text. But what you shouldn’t ever do is put ICONS next to IMAGES. The images add…
GiveWP fundraising plugin review
…the WordPress community. I really enjoyed using his plugin and can seeing it being super useful for all crowdfunding purposes (not only for donation causes). How does GiveWP compare to other donation plugins? I’ll be honest, I haven’t tried the rest but they don’t look anywhere near as polished. Not in their website professionalism. Not in their features. Not in their integrations. If I wasn’t using GiveWP…I might do a custom form with FluentForms instead. I have zero interest in other donation plugins. Try GiveWP today. You can also see how we used GiveWP over…
Selling Ebooks vs Videos (the better info-product moneymaker?)
Some people haven’t decided between the two as a source of income. Here are some comparisons you can make for ebooks vs videos: VIDEOS + cheaper faster to make + can seem more valuable and personal to prospective buyers + can be edited to make a highlight reel – require costly cameras, videos, lighting equipment to look professional – harder to send to your customer whether online or offline (files are big, hosting space, transfer rates, etc) EBOOKS + doesn’t require special tools to make (just a computer) + can be distributed through many…
WordPress Redirection Tips - HTaccess vs Plugins
…need one of those solutions, and preferably in that order. 1 is ideal if you have VPS and direct server access since it’s the fastest. 2 is for most people on a shared hosting account with htaccess. 3 is the slowest and only recommended if you don’t have access to 1&2, ORRRR you want to track stats. If you DO want to track stats, my advice is: Make sure it’s really worth it to you because redirect plugins that track stats will slow down your web page load a lot (even on VPS server). You…
Testimonials
…I was using, my load times went from 3-5 seconds to under 1 second, and that was without caching. Once we stabilized, he added caching back in, and wow! My load times dropped to under 800ms consistently for my main page and for my store it fell to 650ms. I am completely blown away by the performance and support offered by his service. When you need help, he is there for you when you get stuck. If you want someone that knows what they are doing inside and out, and that can take your site…
Worst WordPress Plugins Ever - AVOID THEM
…They only add “features” to it to justify you having it installed. Every feature it has you can find elsewhere for better performance. Want stats? Go with Google Analytics. Want image compression? Go with ShortPixel. Want related posts or content embeds, there are plugins for this! Want security features? Look elsewhere! (You can also check Toolbelt which is inspired by and similar to Jetpack, but better!) Slider Revolution (REV Slider) – awful bloated image slider plugin that comes bundled with many bloated themes. You can always take it out and replace with Metaslider or Smart…
Can you compete in a busy niche?
…but think all these articles I’m writing are not actually going to make much difference simply because of how many other blogs/sites are out there in this massive niche. Valid, real concern that I just feel I could spend 3-6 months doing SEO & articles and not even make page 250 on Google because of the amount of competition. Who else is in the same boat here? My immediate thoughts: This is probably the easiest part of your business…when you’re small and agile and can succeed by copying or learning from others mistakes. If you…
Don't use WordPress Redirection plugin - use htaccess instead!
…using a graphical interface with handy dropdown selections. Reports your 404 page requests (when visitors access unavailable url’s). So what’s the problem with Redirection plugin? The “problem” is that way too many people use it when they don’t have to. And that the Redirection plugin redirects users via slow PHP rather than from the server. Install redirection plugins are like putting a [slow] bouncer in front of your webpage checking everyone’s destination URL before you let them in. If you need it for redirects, please use htaccess (if you have access to it). Not only…
Which is the fastest WordPress theme?
…for different types of pages (like company pages, contact pages, then blog pages, store pages), options for text and color. Images and headers and footers, etc. But then what else? People want customized home pages with irregular layouts, multiple column, multiple cards/sections. Different background areas even on the same page. People also want different layouts or conditional layouts. For example…store pages have discount notices but blog pages have newsletter signups. The possibilities are endless. The problem is how people enable those options: They usually do it by installing a pagebuilder. I’m sorry but these are…
Why Websites Should Be Designed like VIDEO GAMES
…are made to be pretty, GAMES are made to be addictive Yeaup…think about all the websites you’ve ever made. And see if you can remember their most important objectives: look pretty be organized easy-to-use informative MAKE MONEY For a game design, that’s low-level shit. Every freaken game is PRETTY, ORGANIZED, and EASY-TO-USE. There’s thousands of games out there right now that have all kinds of complicated user actions and complex screenflow…and yet being played by 10-year olds! You know what game design focuses on? BEING ADDICTIVE! Visuals and audio that draw you in, immerse you…
"PLANS" vs "PRICING" - verbiage comparison
Confused which label to use for your business pricing page? I’ve spent many nights wasting time on small details like this. Driving my entire team crazy as I switch back and forth between what I want. Does it even matter? (And even more so, why do I care about this crap so much? ARGHHHH.) My thoughts inside… “PLANS”: Sounds friendlier or less cost-friction than displaying dollar signs. Great for products/services that either have or want to sound like they have many aspects. (e.g. “The EXECUTIVE PLAN comes with this, and this, and that, and that.”)…
QUICK Speed-Up Package
QUICK SPEED-UP PACKAGE ($195) ~1-2 second loads Cache plugin configuration Theme configuration Suggest other optimizations you can do. Contact me if you have any questions. Previous clients, please login before ordering. WARNING: I optimize for human visitors, not page scores. If you want A+/100 scores…I am not your guy! Why Google Pagespeed, Pingdom, and GTmetrix scores don’t matter…
Stylus browser extension - custom style other websites
A fun way to use your CSS bias to make your everyday websites more useable. This guide is for CSS-junkies only. I don’t think it’s necessary for the average person but allows you to creatively improve usability on other websites. Even though I don’t personally use it much, I still it’s fun and opens up many possibilities I probably haven’t thought of yet. https://youtu.be/dXTU15EAcCI How to use the Stylus extension: Install the extension on your browser (Chrome, Firefox). Then go to any page, click the Stylus icon and click to “write the style”. It’s probably…
Affiliate Area
Interested in being a WPJohnny affiliate? (And getting commission rewards?) You can sign-up using the form below. Do tell me what website or methods you will use to promote WPJ products. Affiliates make 25% commission on each sale (of speed optimization, courses, or paid plugins). Commissions are earned 30 days after customer payment. Minimal payout is $50. For payment email, please use your PayPal email address. Please promote only to users you think would benefit most. Rules: You cannot purchase from your own links. (Obviously) You cannot put my brand product name and keywords on…
Speed Optimization Course (ADVANCED)
…for many images – storage and complexity. Hosting strategy for large files – storage, CDN, and protection. Advanced caching strategies Speeding up WP Dashboard (admin area). Speeding up dynamic pages. Object-caching tactics with Redis/Memcache. Private caching (backend & logged-in users). LiteSpeed ESI (“hole-punching”) and Nginx Micro-caching. Diagnosing admin-ajax slowdowns. CDN & edge-caching Push vs Pull CDN. Integrating large files with CDN. Cloudflare apps. Page-caching at the edge. Aggressive font optimization Locally-loading webfonts. Font subsetting – removing unnecessary glyphs. Removing or optimizing icon fonts (e.g. FontAwesome). Server security & Hack recovery How to detect attacks (inbound…
Hardcode Header & Footer
Hardcode Header & Footer ($1000) I hardcode your header and footer in the theme. Are you using a lame ass pagebuilder or a bloated “mega-menu” just so you can have a custom header & footer? Well those days are over! I’ll hardcode the design directly into your theme so you can still have your custom look AND super fast page speeds & scores! Header menus will still be editable by WordPress menu system. Footer content will be added as widgets so you can still edit content. Please be reasonable. If you have multiple header menus,…
Custom Gutenberg Blocks
…theme, and included into your theme CSS. (If you want blocks created as separate plugin, that’s extra but can install onto many sites.) Some layouts may cost more or less. Show me your site for exact quotes. Contact me if you have any questions. Different uses for custom Gutenberg blocks Create custom content layouts that were previously only possible with pagebuilder. Custom layout that allows only text-editing, so styles don’t break when clients make changes. Reusable layout that can be used across different pages, but allows different content. Decrease reliance on bloated plugins (like pagebuilders)….
Appreciation post for WP Migrate DB
If you ain’t using this, you ain’t a pro! It’s super useful for managing databases and large site migrations. I really enjoy it so much. The more often you’re working with complicated or super large websites, the more likely WP Migrate DB was the tool you never knew you needed. https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-migrate-db/ What can WP Migrate DB do? Find and replace data. (Like Better Search Replace, but without that annoying page size limit.) Exporting the database (conveniently from WP backend instead of logging into phpMyAdmin). Import databases. Basically…a bunch of stuff, and I don’t even use…
Support Tickets
Please login or create an account to access the Customer Support Portal Username or Email Address Password Remember Me Not registered? Create an account Forgot your password? Reset password First name Last Name Username Email Address Password Signup Already have an account? Login Email Address Reset Password…
Mounting Linode storage volumes
…like maybe backups or media (images & videos). It’s a good option for when you need more space but don’t want to upgrade or pay for a bigger server. First go to your storage volume page, then click [Show Config]. Follow the steps with my notes: mkfs.ext4 “/dev/disk/by-id/scsi-0Linode_Volume_demo25-blockstorage” – enter this line exactly as given by YOUR CONFIG (not my demo one). mkdir “/mnt/demo25-blockstorage” – you can skip this step if you’re mounting the space to an existing directory. (Which IMO is more likely to be the case.) Otherwise, create the exact directory where you…
WP Admin Dashboard - UI design fantasies
…users don’t understand what things are what. And what relationships things have with other things. Side tool bar suggestions: Post types – posts, pages, media, links, comments, CPTs, etc. Design – customizer, widgets, menus. Plugins – add, edit, also plugin settings/options go here. Allow users to re-organize items as they like. Settings – default WordPress settings here, can put WP default Tools here as well. Favorites – this area goes beneath settings. Users can add links here to whatever backend or settings page they like. Can be shortcut to plugin settings, design settings, post item…
WPJ Plugins Login
Special login page for customers of WPJ plugins. Username or Email*Required Password*Required Remember Me Lost Password?…
How to Find an Affordable Programmer
Finding a good coder can take a ton of time and money. The problem is not so much about getting the job done but finding a good coder. For the first job you ever post…always offer based on a fixed price. Over time after you’ve tried out many different coders. Just come back to the same one….and pay him his hourly rate…but have him give you an estimate number of hours beforehand. That way he feels free to get compensated for doing a quality job but he suffers if he ends up going over his…
How Do You Stay Motivated?
…stood out more than most other things I’ve tried. Believe me, the excitement of making money online wears off once you actually start making it. For those who wonder: but who gets tired of making money? Well, some people are really in it to pile up a bunch of money. But others, like myself, just want free time or freedom to travel and work remotely, quit our jobs and that sort of stuff. And once you have enough money to stop working and travel…you’re going to start scheming how you can do even less! It’s…
The EASIEST WAY to Find Clients as a Freelancer
Jump on forums and start helping a bunch of people for free (the harder the task, the better), and at some point someone will hire you to handle their project for them.
WordPress Backup Plugin Review - BackupWordPress vs Updraft
I made a long explanation about it a long time ago but can’t remember everything I said. Basically, BackupWordpress has all the features I need for free and doesn’t nag me at all like UpDraft. Off the top of my head, Updraft: Doesn’t back up the entire root directory unless you pay for premium (so it misses my secret directories or files that I or clients may have placed in unconventional locations). Many unsuspecting clients use it not realizing this until it’s too late. Leaves orphan data in database when you uninstall it (probably trying…
ShortPixel is the BEST Image Compression Plugin for WordPress
Yeaup, it’s still the best. And I keep getting asked everyday by clients, “Why?…why do you like ShortPixel so much?” ShortPixel’s advantages – IMAGE QUALITY AND FEATURES! I love its algorithm…LOSSY is really small and still great quality…GLOSSY is great for high quality images. The plugin is fast, doesn’t slow down WP admin (like other image compression plugins). It also has a convenient server function where you can batch compress by FTP folder—basically allowing you to optimize all images on your server (even if they aren’t added to media library). Really nice comparison tool…
How to Create a Successful Blog
…only comes from the publisher. In web 2.0, any random person could generate content or add to the content. Blogging is a form of web 2.0 since any user can blog but also other users can leave comments which in turn contributes to the original content. My point is…reply to your reader’s comments. Talk to them. Agree with them. Disagree with them. Thank them for sharing. Ask them questions. Encourage them to share more. Use their comments, or your replies to their comments, as material for new blog posts. Just like you like your material…
How to get BEST PRICING on a Apple MacBook Pro
…about 10-15% cheaper than retail AND comes with some freebie (like Beats by Dre headphones). In my case, the configuration I wanted (2019 15″ Macbook pro with 512gb SSD storage upgrade & 32GB ram upgrade) was about $3200 + tax for full retail. The discount price brought it down to about $2950 + tax and includes free Beats by Dre headphones. STEP #2 – figure out the “common configuration” This is my own made up term. Basically, you have to figure out the most common spec configuration that people buy the most. Usually it is…
How to FINISH your web design project (without delay)
…designer is experienced, they budgeted correctly for it and finished on time. PHASE 3 – customization (hourly budget) Now the client gets to make a round of tweaks. One to three rounds of customizations (and within reason) should be free. Anything else after that is set on an hourly budget. Where many projects go wrong Indecisive (client fault): Client unhappy with certain aspects and project is stalled indefinitely. This could be from a matter of poor designer skills. But most often due to a client that doesn’t know what they want. Or married to…
Easiest image gallery plugin for WordPress
…try my forked WP Featherlight Disabled plugin. It’s kind of funny but it’s been a while since I’ve done any image galleries but needed one the other day. After wasting time reading silly reviews of bloated image gallery plugins (trying to do fancy tiling effects, and every which option for animations and navigations), I resorted asking one of my Slack groups. The top 2 answers: Just use Gutenberg Image gallery with WP Featherlight – oh yes, it really works! Beautifully simple and easy. Bloat-free. Use MEOW Gallery plugin – if you need more advanced features….
Email Pop-up Plugin Review
…to avoid that cost. The UI can also be annoying/naggy. However, it’s a mature plugin and works! Convert Pro – an attempt at the email plugin market by the guys behind the popular Astra theme. It’s the new kid on the block and very attractive for its low pricing (lifetime available) and features. Some love it. Some complain that it’s still buggy, bad designer, or lacking features they need. Bloom – made by the folks behind DIVI theme/pagebuilder (which I absolutely hate). Sorry, I can’t recommend them based on that alone. Sumo – seems ultra-professional….
Responding to potential clients saying "your price is too high"
I give them free tips and point them to competitors with lower rates. Or let them know what things I can chop out to give a lower price. Don’t even waste your time. Don’t bother trying to justify value, ROI, benefits, blah blah blah. If they don’t see your value now, they certainly won’t see it later when you raise your rates and offer even better service. After all my years of running a business, I know not to waste any time convincing people on my price. I’m doing exciting things. I’m passionate about my…
Reduce Macbook fan noise
…coming from the back) but they still picked up the sounds…how annoying! The fan control app is great but I wouldn’t completely shut the fans off. I think you can still run them around 4k rpm and have some critical cooling during CPU-intensive tasks like recording. And they won’t be audible at that rate. If you don’t want to spend any money, the fan control app alone should be able to do it for you. Buying a quality dynamic microphone would be great to have better audio quality but will cost more and maybe some…
Are you selling price DISCOUNTS or INCREASES?
How you answer this makes me judge you as an amateur or a pro. I come from a long marketing background, and absolutely will make fun of you in private. I guarantee it! What happens when you DECREASE PRICE? Here’s what price decreases communicate: Your product isn’t worth a higher price. Your product isn’t as good as other products at the higher price. You might decrease price again later. You really want sales/users. Quite simply, decreasing your price communicates a lower value. And you know what really sucks? The value decrease doesn’t affect only your…
LiteSpeed (Enterprise) vs OpenLiteSpeed
LSWS vs OLS. Which LiteSpeed web server version should you get? Ugh…stop asking me this question, people! If you’re broke…get OpenLiteSpeed because it’s FREE, FAST, compatible with LiteSpeed cache plugin and htaccess, and has crawler (pre-caching) capability. Otherwise…spend money and get LiteSpeed Enterprise. It has extra features like WP-admin brute force protection, ESI-caching functionality to cache logged-in users or dynamic pages. Note about .htaccess: although OLS is compatible with htaccess, you have to restart PHP on every change (not a big deal). But LS enterprise will read updates right away; no restart required. Is there…
Getting rid of WordPress form spam
Are you tired of spam submission in your WordPress contact forms? This is the easiest way to do it…just use Fluent Forms plugin (FREE or PAID). I keep seeing annoying ideas on Facebook groups. Mostly from people using built-in pagebuilder (Elementor) forms functions, or other inferior form plugins. And they try to solve their form spam issues with even more convoluted ideas like: install another plugin for spam protection hacky recaptcha integrations custom urls paid services (I don’t know what they do exactly) honeypot using security plugins WAF blocking (lol) …and on, and on, and…
BEST WordPress SEO plugins 2021
From the guy who doesn’t use SEO plugins…comes a list of his supposedly “best” SEO plugins. Read this for what it’s worth. Just a mixed bunch of passing first hand experiences, along with second hand engagements on client sites. I am far from an “expert” SEO plugin user. But you guys keep asking for my opinion so here goes! 1. The SEO Framework I like their features, UI, and overall vibe the best. Just the right amount features for devs and none of the newbie stuff for people with crap sites and crap themes. https://wordpress.org/plugins/autodescription/…
LTD suspicions - deal or desperation?
…buy an LTD? Don’t buy an LTD from a company you haven’t used before. It’s as dumb as buying a car you’ve never driven before. Try things out as much as you can before you make longterm decisions that affect your business! Try out all competitors before buying an LTD. No matter how much you think one company is the answer to all your problems, there’s a good chance another one can do similar things and possibly even better or at a better price. You really never know. Things change fast. That one company that…
Linux Configs - Software Installs & Configurations
Walk-though and recommended configurations. None of these are confirmed at the moment (but feel free to suggest ideas). Just outlining some ideas for the 3rd course. Course not finished recording. Once finished, price will be $300. Control panels cPanel CyberPanel DirectAdmin Plesk Software packages GZIP, Brotli CSF Nano f2B Redis Memcache Monitoring installs Monix New Relic WordPress CLI GitHub Sendy, Mautic…