We hear you: reporting our monthly services is important. We want to bring you clarity and offer you peace of mind about how we’re keeping your site in good health. Starting June 30th, our SiteCare Core, Plus, and Advanced clients can expect to receive a detailed Maintenance Report logging the major services we’ve provided them over the previous month. 

What Does the WordPress Maintenance Report Include?

Join us on your WordPress site’s health journey and better understand the critical work we’re doing to help your most valuable online asset succeed. Our Maintenance Report will highlight upcoming initiatives or events that could impact your site.

Each monthly Maintenance Report will provide a quick overview of your website’s health: 

• Our team will measure your website’s speed and performance using Google’s PageSpeed benchmark, awarding a score out of 100.
• We will provide a high-level performance summary, which includes additional information on your site speed score, load time, and number of requests made by your site.
• We will also record any WordPress core, theme, or plugin updates we’ve completed, so you can be confident your website is running the latest or best version of everything. 
• Backups are crucial insurance for a website. Our Maintenance Report will record the number, frequency, and size of backups taken, along with a log of backup dates. 

This valuable initiative is available exclusively to our SiteCare plan clients. Our SiteCare plans are the best WordPress maintenance and support solution for clients looking for peace of mind. They also include hands-on and rapid customer support and regular security scanning. 

If you’d like to learn more about our monthly Maintenance Reports, or if you’re interested in signing up for a SiteCare plan, complete the form via this link to contact us.

The post How Our Maintenance Reports Help Your Site and Your Peace of Mind appeared first on WordPress Support & Optimization Specialists.

These payments are often for hundreds of dollars and are phishing scams. These attacks are designed to steal personal user data and money and do the rounds so frequently that you’ll likely receive one of these notices if you own a website. So we want you to know what to look for should your contacts or you encounter such a situation. 

What is a Domain Renewal Scam? 

A domain name is your website’s unique identifier; SiteCare’s is sitecare.com, yours is likely also a variation of your company’s name. Maintaining your unique domain name is essential for your website and brand. So, how does a domain renewal scam work?

Hurry Up and Pay!

In this scam, an unscrupulous domain provider will contact you – via phone, email, or, most commonly, a letter – claiming to be your domain name provider, letting you know your domain name is due for renewal, and requesting a renewal payment.

The letter is full of high-pressure language, often stating that your domain name has expired and that this is a “last chance” to save the domain before it’s registered by someone else. The scammer also urges you to pay immediately to renew the domain – often at a price considerably more expensive than your domain renewal likely will be.

Here’s the tricky part – domains can (and do!) expire. So how can you distinguish between a genuine notice and a fake phishing scam? Here are our eight tips to follow to avoid domain renewal scammers.

1. Know who manages your domain. This way, you’ll know immediately if someone fraudulently claims to be your domain name provider. You can look it up if you don’t know where your domain is registered.
   
   You can find your domain registrar’s name and contact information through ICANN lookup. Common registrars include GoDaddy, Network Solutions, Register.com, Hover, NameCheap, etc. If you’re still unsure, our team of support experts can always help you solve the mystery. 
2. If you have multiple domains registered with numerous providers, we recommend consolidating them to ensure everything is centralized so you can easily stay on top of all the details.
3. Read the letter carefully (really carefully). Often, it will include a phrase like, “This is not a bill,” “solicitation,” or “offer.”  

THIS IS A SOLICITATION FOR THE ORDER OF GOODS OR SERVICES, OR BOTH, AND NOT A BILL, INVOICE, OR STATEMENT OF ACCOUNT DUE. YOU ARE UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO MAKE ANY PAYMENTS ON ACCOUNT OF THIS OFFER UNLESS YOU ACCEPT THIS OFFER.

Example language found on a domain renewal solicitation

4. Beware of clicking on links from emails like this or from email addresses you aren’t familiar with. You can always hover over a link to ensure it leads to the domain it says it will. 
5. Is it snail mail? Your real domain renewal notice will nearly always be emailed rather than snail-mailed. 
6. Google the company’s name + scam and see if anything comes up. 
7. Know when your domain expires. Typically, businesses register a domain for one to five years, so renewal periods are often predictable. 
8. File records and invoices for your domain so you can access them. If you lose control of your domain, you have lost a critical piece of your online presence. 

Are Domain Renewal Scams Illegal? 

Nope. It isn’t illegal to encourage website owners to transfer their domains. The sketchy part is the deceptive language used, tricking customers into accepting the offer. These companies are scraping domain information off the web and sending misleading letters to all domain owners in the hope that you’ll be fooled into paying them an inflated price for something they already own. 

If you’re worried about your domain details or a scam slipping through the cracks, contact us; we’re here to help solve the mystery, no matter how big or small. Our support team takes the “support” part of their work seriously and can answer any questions. As always, we strive to go the extra mile for our clients; your success is ours. 

The post 8 Tips to Avoid Domain Renewal Scams appeared first on WordPress Support & Optimization Specialists.

Reason #1: Security

Older versions of PHP have reached their end-of-life, meaning they no longer receive security updates. When this happens, it leaves web applications, like your WordPress installation, vulnerable to potential security threats, like cross-site scripting (XSS) or database injections. By upgrading to PHP 8.0, WordPress websites can take advantage of its enhanced security features.

Reason #2: Performance

PHP 8.0 uses a new compiler that can vastly improve the performance of web applications like WordPress. PHP 8.0’s Just-In-Time Compiler allows the server to handle more traffic and provide a better user experience.

Reason #3: Support

Supporting out-of-date versions of PHP can be time-consuming for the web host. The number of support tickets required to support older versions of PHP has caused many hosts to migrate all their hosting clients to PHP 8.0. 

Reason #4: Compatibility

As web technologies and frameworks continuously evolve, they may require newer versions of PHP to function properly. As a matter of fact, there’s an active debate in WordPress about what versions of PHP to support. Ultimately, the web host must make the business decision of what versions of PHP to support, not only for their past clients but to ensure performance for future clients. 

While the mandate to upgrade to PHP will require testing on legacy sites with custom programming, migrating to PHP 8.0 will help ensure better security, performance, support, and compatibility.

If you need help migrating your legacy WordPress installation from PHP 7 to PHP 8.0, contact the team at SiteCare for assistance.

The post My Web Host Is Forcing Me To Update my PHP version. What do I do? appeared first on WordPress Support & Optimization Specialists.

We couldn’t tell you how many web pages we’ve seen drop in search ranking simply because the title tag was missing or the page lacked a compelling meta description to entice clicks from visitors to the website.

So, if you want potential customers to find your website easily, you’ll want to check on the state of your on-page SEO. But what are meta titles, meta tags, and meta descriptions? We find out. 

What are Title Tags?

A title tag is an HTML (coding) element that specifies the title of a web page to search engines. It shows up in three key places: 

1. It appears in the clickable headline for the search engine results page (SERP).

2. When someone visits your page, the title tag is displayed at the top of their web browser window and acts as a placeholder. This works especially well when there are several browser tabs open, so your users can always find your page.

3. Social media networks like Facebook and Twitter will use your title tag to determine what to display when the page is shared. 

Top Tips for Writing Title Tags

The title tag of a web page is meant to be an accurate and concise description of a page’s content; essentially, it’s a first impression for users visiting your page from an organic search.

Title tags in SEO are as important as in titles in a monarchy. In the same way they help identify royal family members’ order and significance within a state, title tags inform search engines and potential visitors about each web page. They also tell search engines how to display web pages in users’ search results.  

While there isn’t a specific length for title tags, most browsers display 50-60 characters, meaning we try to shoot for 60 characters or fewer. Because what search engines display is based on screen width, the number of characters matters less than what “fits” on the screen.

When it comes to writing titles and descriptions, our team keeps these things in mind:

1. Writing titles that don’t truncate (get cut short on SERPs because of space) is an art form. Finding the blend of accuracy, specificity, keyword focus, and character spacing takes practice and work. 
2. Every page needs a unique title – even if you have a site with hundreds or thousands of pages.
3. Keywords must come first. We know that users skim and scan headlines, so most users will only see the first couple of words in your title tag. As a result, we want to put the most important keywords up front and center. 
4. Leverage your brand. If you have a well-known brand or are the authorized retailer of something specific, use that brand at the end of the title to get organic, brand-focused traction. 

What are Meta Descriptions?

Much like titles, meta descriptions are an essential component of your on-page SEO, although in a less direct way than your title tags. While your titles are known to be a ranking factor for Google and the other search engines, meta descriptions aren’t (an announcement from Google back in 2009 explained why). However, meta descriptions are crucial for setting user expectations and explaining what each web page is about. 

As we can see in the meta description below, readers can expect to learn about a chocolate cake recipe that only uses one bowl – a score for cleaning up afterward! – and can be made without gluten, dairy, or eggs (which will appeal to vegans or anyone with dietary restrictions).

It’s one of the primary factors influencing a page’s organic click-through rate, impacting your page rankings. Users evaluate the meta descriptions to determine if the page is relevant to their search query and if they want to visit the site. 

Top Tips for Writing Meta Descriptions

Meta descriptions can “technically” be any length, but as with your title tags, they typically can be truncated in search results snippets to about 150-160 characters. Therefore, it’s best to keep meta descriptions long enough to be descriptive but short enough to avoid truncation. 

Other things a meta description has in common with title tags: 

• It also appears in your social media shares as the description. 
• It should also include a focused keyword at the front of the phrase.
• It should leverage your brand if that provides a legitimate benefit. 
• Every page needs a unique description – even something like a “Contact Us” page. 

Those two HTML elements collectively present a vital component of your website. Still, at the end of the day, the most important aspect to remember is having high-quality content that focuses on users’ needs and satisfaction. We need titles and descriptions to entice users to get to our sites, but the relevance and authority of each page’s content establish its rankings. 

Have you checked to see if you have all your title tags and meta descriptions? If you need assistance with your on-page SEO efforts, contact our team for help.

The post What’s on Your Page: The Importance of Title Tags and Meta Descriptions appeared first on WordPress Support & Optimization Specialists.

Images

Images on your website contribute to search engine optimization by boosting user experience, but search crawlers can’t see images as humans do. Search engines have to be able to understand photos and illustrations without looking at them, so following these steps is crucial in helping crawlers understand your website:

1. File Name

Keep file names simple and descriptive, and utilize focus keywords when possible. Many images automatically save with a title of random numbers and letters, such as “T239875_82.jpg”, which doesn’t help search crawlers understand the image’s meaning. When saving images for uploading to WordPress, rename the file so it describes the meaning. For example, if you add a photo of a dog on a walk to your dog walking website, the title might be “dog-walking.jpg” or “dog-on-a-walk.jpg.”

2. File Size

The overall size of your image files impacts site speed, and search engines penalize too large files. Too large images will slow down your website’s load time, negatively impacting user experience. The ideal file size for search engine optimization is 100 kilobytes (kB). The easiest way to ensure your image file sizes are optimized for search engines is to utilize a plugin like Imagify to automatically compress images without losing quality.

3. GIFs

Since the optimal file size for website images is 70 kB, GIFs aren’t the best choice for search engine optimization. While they’re technically images, GIFs are animated to move like video. They require substantial file sizes, which slows down your website. Ultimately, Google would rather see a small video than a large image file.

GIFs can also detract from user experience; their automatic repetition distracts readers’ attention and makes a page harder to read. A better alternative to a GIF is using a video file. 

4. Video

Video files are much smaller than GIFs and less distracting for users. SiteCare’s development team usually sees about a 90% reduction in file size when converting GIFs to MP4 video, so swapping out GIFs for video hugely increases site speed.

Video quality is also exponentially better than GIF quality; GIF formats only support 256 colors, whereas video supports over 16 million. We strongly recommend using the highest-quality option if you include large media files on a site.

Optimize Your Website Media

If you’ve been running a website for a while but have never thought about aligning media with SEO best practices, getting everything optimized might feel overwhelming. Luckily, SiteCare is here to help. 
Our team of SEO experts makes it easy to audit your website’s current images and videos, then make any necessary changes for search engine optimization. Contact us today to find out if your site’s media negatively impacts your search rankings or user experience.

The post 4 Steps to Optimize Your Media appeared first on WordPress Support & Optimization Specialists.

When it comes to web hosts who provide less than the best, however, there is a lot they would prefer their prospective clients didn’t know. Our COO, Ryan, knows this, so he’s spilling the tea. Here are ten dirty secrets of the web hosting landscape.

1. Three providers make up the backbone of the web hosting industry.

There are thousands of web hosting companies, nearly all of which are ultimately served by a primary cloud provider like Amazon AWS, Google GCP, or Microsoft Azure. What most people are buying when they say “hosting” is the marketing, engineering, support, and website management software, not the server resources themselves.

2. Hosting directly with one of the “big three” is a bad idea.

Savvy buyers know that many popular brands are built on these major cloud providers, so they have the idea to “cut out the middleman” for cost savings and try to host directly on one of these cloud networks. This is a terrible idea. AWS, Google GCP, and Microsoft Azure are incredibly complex systems. And they need to be configured with the proper permissions, ownership, or optimizations to deliver a WordPress website in the most efficient and secure way. 

Unless you have a person skilled in server management minding your web servers, it’s best to sign up with a host that specializes in WordPress.

3. There’s no such thing as “unlimited” in the hosting world.

Unlimited is a marketing buzzword. Every web host monitors your resource usage and will force an upgrade or shut down your website if it exceeds certain thresholds. Read the fine print about what’s actually included if you choose a plan that claims unlimited anything (bandwidth, storage, data transfers, etc.) because it’s usually too good to be true.

4. Almost all web hosting is “shared.”

Even for high-availability plans, it’s uncommon for you to have resources dedicated 100% to serving your website. You’re almost always sharing hardware with someone else. The one exception is when hosting is explicitly called “dedicated hosting.” Even in those scenarios, you should still clarify that no other customer websites are stored on the same hardware as your server. Words like VPS, Cloud, etc., are usually positioned as a tier above Shared. They have more resources available and, usually, technologies like containerization to help solve the noisy neighbor problem, but they’re rarely your own hardware.

5. Your web host will not help you diagnose or solve website issues.

Many web hosts may help point you in the right direction regarding a potential issue with your website application (WordPress). Still, almost none of them will actually help resolve WordPress issues. Their contractual terms won’t allow it because they primarily focus on the hosting infrastructure. You will still need a developer or service like SiteCare to provide support for WordPress itself.

6. Affiliate Managers are incredibly aggressive.

When our Best WordPress Hosting article ranked on Page 1 of Google for a valuable key phrase, Affiliate Managers from popular hosting companies were constantly calling in to have the brand they represent moved higher up in the rankings. They’d offer travel, spa retreats, higher commissions, or anything else I’d request to push their position from third on the list to first. But we never changed the results for a kickback.

7. Buying Windows Server hosting if you’re running WordPress is a bad idea.

Don’t get tricked; the Windows Server operating system isn’t built or optimized for serving WordPress and will add unnecessary technical complexity to your website. Linux is the best option for hosting WordPress sites.

8. Renewal costs are often higher than introductory rates.

Research renewal fees first when signing up for a web hosting service. You may find that although you’re currently paying an attractive, affordable rate as a new user, the lower price will only last a short while. Once you’ve already been enticed through the door, some web hosts will substantially increase their rates when you want to renew your contract. If you’ve researched your new web hosting provider and are happy with their service, sign up for as long a contract as possible.

9. Many hosts store backup files on the same server, which defeats the purpose if there’s a hardware failure.

Your web host must have a fall-back plan for your backups. Check that your backups are stored on separate servers and devices, as any system failure can also result in complete systems failure for your website. Systems can fail for many reasons, including the weather, so understand how backups work to ensure your web host is prepared.

10. Hosting your emails with your website isn’t a best practice.

Having your website and emails in the same hosting package might seem logical, but it’s not a good idea. Firstly, as they are specifically web hosts, email hosting is likely outside your host’s expertise. Because of this you may receive sub-par service. Secondly, as with secret number nine, if one goes, they all go. If a server drops, you could find both your website and email crashing, as opposed to just one or the other. Simultaneously losing your communication channels and website is disastrous, so keep email and web hosting separate and sleep easier at night. With this in mind, check the fine print and ensure you’re not paying for email hosting services you’re not using.

Web Hosting Worries? SiteCare Can Help.

So, there you have it, ten dirty secrets of the web hosting landscape. Keep these in mind when you’re taking another look at your web hosting contract or looking for a new provider. We don’t want to scare you (much!), but we do want you to be aware of the risks.

Know that there are many excellent web hosting companies out there, but as with every industry, some always try to take more by giving less, and we don’t want your website to be collateral damage. 

If you’d like to speak to Ryan further about your web hosting options or concerns, he’s always happy to set up a call. 

Are there any dirty secrets we missed? Let us know in the comments below!

The post 10 Dirty Secrets of the Web Hosting Landscape appeared first on WordPress Support & Optimization Specialists.

Why? Because the web hosting ecosystem is host to less than scrupulous players who pay their way onto listicles such as ‘Top Web Hosting Platforms’ that occupy the top of your search results page’s real estate. 

The problem with these featured companies is that their infrastructure doesn’t necessarily support their claims. Too many unsuspecting customers have fallen prey to unreliable web hosting providers, and the results can be costly and catastrophic. In short, beware of those who make big promises, as they frequently provide small yields. 

SiteCare is more than familiar with the common pitfalls across the web hosting landscape. After operating in WordPress maintenance for almost two decades, there is very little we haven’t seen. So, we recently picked the brain of SiteCare COO, Ryan Sullivan, to learn how to spot the red flags of unreliable web hosting providers. 

This blog is the first in a series unearthing the dirty secrets of the web hosting world, so stay tuned as we spill more tea on the murky underworld of web hosting.  

What is Web Hosting and Why Should I Care?

In a nutshell, a web hosting service stores your business website’s or web application’s files, databases, code, and images on a server space, allowing users to access your website via the internet from anywhere in the world. A web host is also responsible for maintaining your site’s performance, security, and reliability. In essence, when choosing a hosting provider, you’re putting your website’s performance (its uptime and speed), security, and user experience (UX) in their hands. You wouldn’t ask (or pay!) a random stranger to look after your tangible valuables without thoroughly researching them first. So, it’s just as crucial that your online assets receive the same degree of due diligence.

And, if that doesn’t convince you of the value of a reliable web hosting service, then the numbers should. 88% of online visitors won’t return to a website if they have a bad experience with it, and poor web hosting can definitely impact UX. So, if ever there’s a time to choose the right hosting provider to meet your website’s performance optimization needs, it’s now.

What Red Flags Should We Look Out For?

SiteCare’s team members know the ins and outs of web hosting after decades in the industry. Here are examples of some first-hand experiences we’ve had with poor hosting providers to help you spot those red flags.

Red flag 1: inadequate server storage and backups

Have you ever considered how your website could be affected by the weather? No? SiteCare’s Digital Marketing Director, Courtney, has. 

“I once had a client who hosted locally in Tennessee, a state not known for extreme weather and freezing temperatures,” she recounted, “But when a rare but entirely possible ice storm hit, the hosting provider’s server lost power. The result? All of my client’s websites shut down for four days – imagine the loss of web traffic and business!”    

What went wrong on this occasion was that the server was incorrectly stored without adequate backup. The web host had no provision for alternative power sources, and his system remained completely shut down. 

Switching to a cloud-based hosting service would help you avoid this situation and allow for greater flexibility and reliability. In addition, your website would no longer be hosted by a single server, which will also prevent any performance issues. When choosing a web hosting provider, research where they are and where their servers are located and investigate their backup strategies. 

Red flag 2: better-for-less deals

Ryan has some equally painful stories (although he’s holding some back for our next episode!). One occasion that particularly stands out is a glaring example of the adage, “If it’s too good to be true, then it probably is.” 

Here’s his story:

“In 2016, we had a client with over 3 million monthly pageviews looking to reduce costs on their hosting bill. They reached out to a web hosting company that promised them better performance for less than 25% of what they were paying each month.

“We warned them that it didn’t only sound too good to be true, but that it was absolutely too good to be true. We pressed the host to explain the resources they were providing and how they could possibly deliver the same performance for such a large amount of traffic for such a low price. We even went as far as to purchase the plan they recommended with our own money to try and show our client why the limited resources would be a problem.

“Unfortunately, we couldn’t show how the site would perform at the scale of our client’s traffic, and the client ultimately chose to go with the web host’s recommendation over ours because the website ‘seemed pretty fast.’

“Within 10 minutes of the site being live on the new host, under the load of live traffic, the server crashed. We fully anticipated that happening, so we immediately switched back to the previous infrastructure.

“When we asked the new host to explain themselves, we were told the problem was “inefficient coding” and that “most sites with 3 million pageviews ran just fine on the same plan.”

“They could never point to a specific code bottleneck or share examples of other sites with the same traffic on the same plan. I was blown away by the casual bravado and lack of ownership from the hosting company.” 

The lesson here? Look out for those companies that promise the world for a suspiciously low fee; it’s often a case of ‘you get what you pay for.’ Plus, if the web hosting company doesn’t choose to be transparent with you regarding their backend set-up, there’s probably a reason for it, and it’s unlikely to benefit you. 

At the end of the day, research and investigation pay off

A bit of online sleuthing could reveal that a hosting provider doesn’t have the capacity to support your website’s visitors that it claims it has. Or, they don’t have a reliable backup strategy in place in case of an emergency. Have you checked how much downtime is reported by websites using the provider? These are all crucial factors to consider when choosing a web hosting service. 

So, we say leave it to the experts. SiteCare supports its clients in choosing the best hosting providers for their needs. Over the years, we’ve gathered a wealth of data on hundreds of web hosts, so we’re fully equipped to guide clients through the good, the bad, and the downright ugly web hosting providers. So, if you’d like to speak to Ryan about your web hosting options, contact him here.  

Have you had any terrible experiences with a web hosting provider? Leave your story in the comments below.

The post What NOT to Look For in Web Hosting in 2023 appeared first on WordPress Support & Optimization Specialists.

Bringing About Change, One Microbonus at a Time

Recognizing each other’s work is a cornerstone of our team’s culture. We use Bonusly, a platform that allows team members to recognize their peers by giving micro bonuses to each other for excellent work. Every team member receives a monthly stipend they can use to reward teammates for excellent work or for going the extra mile.

Over the last few months, we’ve adjusted these bonuses to incorporate a community-giving component. Each time a team member gives a micro bonus, they can also choose to support the recipient’s selected charitable organization. When a message of recognition includes the recipient’s charity hashtag, SiteCare matches the micro bonus, dollar for dollar, and donates it to the specified organization.

For example, “+20 @Byron, for setting a tremendous example of showing up every day for the SiteCare mission. #empowerothers #excellence #BigCityMountaineers,” meant that both Byron and his charity each received twenty dollars. 

Impacting Communities in Our Own Backyards

Our team members, scattered from South Africa to the Philippines, Pakistan to the United States, and beyond, chose charities that positively impact their communities.

Here’s a brief look at some of the organizations we’ve supported in the last quarter:

• Leukemia & Lymphoma Society: This society is dedicated to working towards a cure for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease, and myeloma and improving the quality of life of patients and their families.
• Next for Autism: Transforms nationally available services for people with autism by strategically designing, launching, and supporting innovative programs.
• Border Collie Rescue: This NGO is committed to rescuing and rehabilitating Border Collie dogs facing abandonment or euthanasia.
• Groundworks Collaborative: Provides ongoing support to Vermont families and individuals facing housing and food insecurities.
• iKhaya Le Themba: Offers holistic care to children and families impacted by HIV/AIDS in South Africa.
• Electronic Frontier Foundation: Defends civil liberties in the digital world, championing user privacy, free expression, and innovation.
• Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital: A cancer hospital and research center in Pakistan which provides free care to thousands.
• Protection of Animal Welfare Society (PAWS): Works to alleviate animal suffering through rescue, rehabilitation, and education.
• The Counselling Hub: Provides affordable mental health services to patients in South Africa.
• Doctors Without Borders: Delivers international emergency medical aid to people affected by conflict, epidemics, disasters, or exclusion from healthcare.
• American Civil Liberties Union: Works to defend and preserve individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States.
• Society for Protection against Cruelty to Animals (SPCA): This organization protects and enhances the lives of animals through adoption, rescue, spay/neuter programs, and public education.
• Sinag Kalinga, A Home For Those Who Have None: Aims to provide homes and basic necessities for homeless individuals and families in the Philippines.
• Big City Mountaineers: Provides wilderness mentoring expeditions for under-resourced urban youth.
• Oklahoma Humane Society: Works to enhance the well-being of animals and enrich the lives of people in Oklahoma.
• National Ability Center: Empowers individuals of all abilities by building self-esteem, confidence, and lifetime skills through sports, recreation, and educational programs.

Each micro bonus and subsequent match from SiteCare contribute to the fantastic work these organizations are doing worldwide.

Fostering A Culture of Recognition and Community Support

Since starting the program in 2022, we’ve noticed a significant uptick in peer recognition, fostering an even stronger camaraderie and team spirit as our employees go out of their way to support each other’s chosen charities. To date, we’ve contributed almost $3,500 to various charitable organizations worldwide, with each donation made in the team member’s honor.

Why It Matters

What sets this initiative apart is that it’s a testament to the power of peer-to-peer recognition for outstanding work performed. It’s a shining example of how businesses can simultaneously support their employees and the communities in which they live.

By sharing our Charitable Contributions program, we hope to inspire other companies; every contribution can have a positive impact, no matter how small. We believe that together, we can give back to our communities and take a small step toward making the world a better place.     

The post SiteCare Supports Global Charities Through Staff Recognition Program appeared first on WordPress Support & Optimization Specialists.

Regularly auditing your WordPress site’s health and the effectiveness of your marketing and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategies is essential for making the necessary optimizations to ensure growth. We recommend conducting a technical SEO audit, scheduling a competitor analysis, and thoroughly reviewing what you did in 2022 to ensure you are on track.

• Did you set SMART marketing goals in 2022 and achieve them? What were the results?
• Have web traffic and conversions increased over the last twelve months? 
• Where do you stand from a site-speed perspective, visibility in search, or share of voice on social? 
• How have your email subscriptions and engagements grown?

The answers to these questions can provide a barometer of success and help indicate your progress toward your goals and priorities in the new year.

Here are four additional steps to consider when assessing your website’s health, usability, and visibility in search.

Step 1. Ensure your site’s speed and framework are optimized

Many avoidable errors can cause your WordPress site to slip in search engine results; it’s important not to miss business opportunities because of them. For example, your website’s performance – how fast it is – is essential to your customer’s user experience (UX) and how Google ranks your site. A webpage should take no longer than three seconds to load. Any more, and you risk losing customers and revenue. Google provides grades based on webpage speed performance score, which will give you an idea of whether or not your website is achieving its peak performance. Once you have that, you can outline clear steps to resolve any issues.

Aside from speed testing, Google analyzes every element of your page’s performance, from broken URL links to missing descriptions on images. But the good news is that a technical SEO audit and WordPress health check will assess everything from your site’s loading time, security, and accessibility to where you can make essential SEO improvements. Fixes from an SEO audit will ensure that every web page complies with Google’s guidelines, so your website won’t be penalized by the search engine. 

Step 2. Optimize your site’s UX with a clean navigation menu

We see businesses make this damaging mistake all too often: having a cluttered navigation bar. With too many choices and dropdown menus nested inside other dropdown menus, visitors can be overwhelmed and struggle to navigate through your site. 

As a rule of thumb, keep your menu items at six or under, and avoid dropdown menus unless absolutely necessary. If you’re struggling to cut items from your menu, consider removing the “Home” link – most users these days know that they can click on the logo to navigate back to the homepage.

A high-converting homepage must also have a “brand bio” statement. Visitors are confused by sites that are missing brand bio statements, and they could ultimately take their business elsewhere. Plus, your brand bio is your business profile, and you never want to leave your visitors searching for that kind of crucial information.

Your brand bio is a couple of sentences that answer at least three of these questions:

• Who are you?
• What do you do?
• Who do you serve?
• Where are you located?

SiteCare’s brand bio, for example, reads, “SiteCare is the all-in-one WordPress maintenance and digital marketing solution for businesses looking to grow.”

And the best place for your statement? Above the fold on your homepage (what you see before scrolling down), whether on mobile or desktop. 

Step 3. Ensure your CTAs are correctly placed and effective

A call to action (or CTA) is a button or link on your website that prompts a user to take action. Your CTAs are important web elements because they tell users where to go next to find the information they need, get in touch with you, or make a purchase. And that’s the purpose of your website – generating and converting leads!

Some general examples of CTAs are:

• Schedule a Call
• Book an Appointment
• Shop Now
• Learn More
• Get in Touch

First, you must ensure that you have at least one CTA above the fold on your homepage. For example, that CTA can be in the top right corner of your navigation bar or under the “brand bio statement” mentioned above – or you can have a CTA on both.

There should also be a CTA button at the bottom of each page prompting users to contact you, shop your store, sign up for your newsletter, or navigate to another page with more information. Never leave users abandoned at the bottom of a page without telling them what to do next!

Step 4. Test if your site is mobile-friendly

Over half of all website traffic originates from mobile devices now. So, you could lose half of your target customers if your website isn’t optimized for mobile. If you aren’t sure how your website is performing on mobile – how “responsive” it is – try running your URL through Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test.

This free tool shows you how easily a user can navigate your website on a mobile device. It offers a screenshot of how a page on your website looks to Google on mobile. A list of any mobile usability issues your site might have gives you a clearer understanding of what fixes are needed. Simply paste your website link into the tool, and in less than a minute, you’ll have actionable steps you can take to make sure your website is optimized for mobile. 

Remember, using Google as a first step quick fix is fine in this instance, but it’s best to perform an SEO audit to ensure your site is truly responsive.

So, is your website ready for the future?

Successful websites that truly work for your business don’t happen by accident. If you’re dealing with a DIY website or one that hasn’t been updated recently, it’s time to level up and invest in your online presence. 

SiteCare has been helping companies optimize their WordPress websites through SEO audits and WordPress health checks for over a decade, and we pride ourselves on the results. If any of the above steps made you think that your website could fall short, then you’re probably right. Speak to one of our team members about an audit, and we can start the journey of taking your website to the next level.

The post How an Audit Prepares Your Website For the Future appeared first on WordPress Support & Optimization Specialists.

What is the WordPress Gutenberg Editor?

WordPress, a free and open-source content management system (CMS), is, as of 2022, used by over 42% of the internet’s website owners. The platform is home to businesses of every size and industry, from advertising agencies to E-commerce companies and beyond. The broad popularity of WordPress requires it to be flexible, as millions of users have innumerable styling and content needs. So, WordPress must provide intuitive design capabilities to allow these businesses to flourish. 

The WordPress Editors facilitate these agnostic design ambitions. An earlier iteration, which WordPress will support “for as long as is necessary,” is the Classic Editor. Unlike its antecedent, the classic version doesn’t use migratory content blocks to build websites. Instead, users view and edit content in one space. The editing options aren’t intuitive and are somewhat subject to the user’s understanding of the WordPress setup. A preview of a page’s content can ultimately differ from the live version. The Classic Editor embodies the concept that “WordPress is easy to learn but difficult to master.” 

Conversely, the new Gutenberg Editor gives users more control by allowing customization without code and providing reliable preview versions of live sites. The Editor allows users to build their pages using the pre-loaded blocks and move the content around to suit their requirements. And, if the free-range option is too intimidating or takes too much time to design, WordPress offers easily implemented pre-grouped design blocks called Patterns. The style and design flexibility provide new opportunities for website owners; to create their own gallery of web design, maintain authority over their website’s appearance, and continue to create business and SEO opportunities without much dependency on coding.

What are the Key Features of the Gutenberg Editor?

The key features that set the Gutenberg Editor apart from its predecessors are its content blocks. They represent elements essential to building a stylish and cohesive website. Simplistically named by their function so users can easily find them, there are blocks for, amongst others: 

• Paragraphs
• Media and text
• Audio
• Video
• Lists
• Images

By eliminating complicated features and sticking to simple titles, WordPress ensures that users can easily change various sections of their site, dragging and dropping blocks as they work. Blocks already have their own styles, or users can add elements of their chosen theme to the block’s style. WordPress states, “the idea with blocks is to create a new common language across WordPress, a new way to connect users to plugins, and replace several older content types.” So, the Gutenberg WordPress Editor makes its simplified block system the lingua Franca of WordPress site building. 

The new WordPress editor puts the user first. The system works seamlessly across different devices, allowing content to be easily digested across multiple screen sizes. Unlike other design elements on WordPress, the Editor isn’t a plugin, so users don’t have to worry about compatibility or updates. The focus on maximized accessibility is clear in WordPress’ best practice guides. Tips like including a clear H1 title and subsequent headings 2, 3, and 4 throughout your content improve readability for screen readers. Plus, WordPress aims to meet the color contrast accessibility requirements at the WCAG AA Level so sites will be legible for users with low vision. And while WordPress does contend that it still has some way to go for full accessibility, it emphasizes that accessibility is a critical component of its development. 

Furthermore, the new Editor allows users to customize their page build from the top down: improving accessibility through font shades and enjoying customization options ranging from line spacing to block borders, typography, and color specifications. The Editor also allows users to easily code and create HTML anchors, a unique web address that links to a specific place on the page.

What are the Differences Between the Gutenberg Editor and The Classic Editor?

Although exceedingly popular, the Classic, or TinyMCE editor, is simpler and lacks the design elements enjoyed by its replacement. Content is edited in one box, not unlike Microsoft Word, and users make edits and changes, such as style and color, via buttons on the toolbar across the top. While several styling options are available, the Classic Editor lacks the versatility of the Gutenberg editor. As all content is created within the editing box, the look and layout of the WordPress page can differ between the preview and the final result. Now, WordPress has heralded a change in content previewing, as the Gutenberg Editor allows users to see the look of their pages as they edit. 

Although not perfect, the Gutenberg Editor is ahead of the Classic Editor concerning mobile responsive design. The latter relied on plugins and heavy user input to migrate content between formats. At the same time, the Gutenberg Editor includes mobile interfaces in its preview options, and its mobile responsive blocks allow users some design freedom. Several plugins assist with creating fully mobile-friendly WordPress sites.

How to Get Started With the Gutenberg WordPress Editor

If you’re new to WordPress, the platform provides steps to walk you through an easy installation process. The Gutenberg Editor is now a default for WordPress and has been part of the core offering for every version since 5.0. The Editor can also be installed on WordPress as a plugin or as part of your chosen theme.

Tips for Using the Gutenberg Editor in WordPress

The Gutenberg Editor is ideal for first-time website builders, non-coders, and users who want a more hands-on approach to their website design. The blocks are easy to use, and shortcuts, such as hitting Enter followed by “/[the name of the block]” to add a new content block make the process even smoother. Images can be dragged and dropped directly from your computer, and options to change the Editor’s interface works wonders for the user experience.

Customizing the WordPress Gutenberg Editor

Customization and flexibility are critical tenets of the WordPress Gutenberg Editor. Users can change block positions, break them into columns for lists, and change styling and borders to suit the design. After selecting the block specific to the need, users can easily add text by clicking and typing. The background color can be changed to fit the palette, and the content can be formatted – such as a font appearance change – from the tools in the side panel. 

Other features improve productivity, such as the Spotlight tool, which grays out all the other blocks on your screen to maximize focus, or the option to customize several blocks at once from the drop-down menu in the List View. Drop an image into the Editor, and it will be automatically formatted with a line for a caption below. The Video block allows users to add self-hosted videos easily. Alternatively, embed a video in a page by pasting a URL (from, for example, YouTube or Vimeo) in the paragraph block.

The Advanced Features of the Gutenberg Editor

The WordPress Gutenberg Editor has advanced features like HTML and widgets and works well with third-party plugins. As such, the platform can support businesses in various industries, from blogging to e-commerce. 

WordPress’ updated widget editor allows users to “insert blocks and widgets into any of the Widget Areas or Sidebars” and move content blocks around them. So, an e-commerce site builder, for example, can customize their page around their widget, install plugins such as WooCommerce and enjoy a sleek design experience without impacting the functionality of their business. Build customizable forms within the WordPress Editor using the Gutenberg Forms plugin while remaining spam-free, as Google reCAPTCHA is already integrated. 

The Gutenberg Editor is an evolving product, so glitches can arise. One example lies with the Block Editor. Several factors can affect the functionality of the Editor, but before trying any fixes, ensure you have a backup of your WordPress website. So, before turning to your WordPress hosting and maintenance provider, look at these troubleshooting tips: 

• Deactivate your plugins from your site: If there is a conflict with one of your plugins, deactivate them all via the side panel tab titled “Plugins” on the main WordPress dashboard to find the source. 
• Revert to the WordPress default theme: If you think your chosen theme is to blame for an error, deactivate it and revert to the default WordPress theme. Find this via the Appearances button on your dashboard’s side panel. 
• Check your JavaScript: Check whether the JavaScript needs to be debugged by following these troubleshooting steps. This step is for coders, WordPress experts, or your WordPress maintenance support team.

Alternatively, ask the WordPress community or a WordPress support and maintenance company for recommendations on glitches and fixes.

Start Using the Gutenberg Editor

WordPress introduced the Gutenberg Editor to simplify and democratize the world of website building. We’ve given you an overview of the changes the Gutenberg Editor brings to WordPress and demonstrated how the Block Editor improves user experience with dynamic design and improved accessibility.

Don’t let this update be something to fear; instead, explore it and use it as a tool to optimize websites and businesses. Whether you’re new to WordPress, already maintain WordPress sites, or are a seasoned coder, join the community and share your insights, opinions, and experiences with the new Gutenberg Editor.

And, if you’re unsure where to begin, SiteCare‘s WordPress support and maintenance services will get you growing your website in no time. If you’re looking for simpler but secure WordPress maintenance at a low monthly cost, try Maintainn.com.

The post The Ultimate Guide to the Features and Benefits of the Gutenberg Editor appeared first on WordPress Support & Optimization Specialists.