WordPress has risen to success and fame on a platform of ease of use and beginner friendliness (among other things). However, to truly customize your site you often still need coding skills or professional help. This fact has paved the way for page builder plugins, which have made it easier to make sweeping site changes right from the back end. When you discuss WordPress page builder pros and cons, this is usually the strongest argument for using them but there are more reasons to do so. However, page builders also come with disadvantages and don’t make sense in every scenario. […]

WordPress 5.0 is now live, which means the new block-based editor is now a fully-fledged part of WordPress’ core. As such, if you’ve not yet spoken with your clients about this update and its likely impact, you’re already late to the party. This means time is of the essence. Fortunately, there’s not too much information your clients will need to know. In fact, the process of getting them up to speed should be quite simple, especially if you take the time to help your clients test the new editor along with their plugins and themes, before updating their live sites. […]

This is the first of a two-part post that will help you understand everything you need to know to set up your blog correctly. It should be no surprise that WordPress, now almost 16 years old, continues to be the world’s most widely used Content Management System. While it has evolved well past its infancy as a writer’s tool, at its core it remains a blogging platform. However, it has been extended in ways no one could’ve imagined. Just what is blogging anyway? A blog – or weblog as it was called back in the day – is a simple […]

Sometimes, one page is all your website really needs. However, designing an effective one-page site requires special considerations – not least of which is deciding whether you should actually create one in the first place. Of course, no one format is perfect for every website, and one-page sites have many pros and cons. However, they can be very useful in the right situations and are often best designed similarly to a landing page. By thinking about how you’ll ‘funnel’ the visitor down the page, you can speak more effectively (and persuasively) to them. In this post, we’ll talk about why you might […]

One of the biggest things to happen to WordPress last year was the launch of 5.0 and Gutenberg. Since then, the community has created plugins, themes, and libraries all optimized for the new editor. London-based agency, 93digital is adding to the fray with GutenBrain. A plugin that allows you to control Gutenberg with your mind. The plugin comes with a headset that uses a brain control interface and AI to let you actually create blocks just by thinking about it. According to the press release, “WordPress users can wear the wireless headset, and after going through a calibration exercise using […]

In today’s fast-paced software development environment, it is nearly impossible to keep up without using open source components, and it is estimated that 96.8 percent of developers rely on them. As agile and DevOps increasingly dominate the tech world, software development lifecycles (SDLC) are shortening. Open source libraries offer a wide range of ready-made components that can help you cut the time it takes to develop a product. Open source software (OSS) differs from proprietary software in that it is available to everyone. You can freely copy, alter, and share the code. You must still accept the terms of the […]

No matter how large or small your site is, or what niche it occupies, it’s likely to be the target for at least a few attacks over its lifespan. Protecting it is essential if you want to avoid losing data or seeing part of your site break. This means putting some careful thought into your site’s security provision. Many WordPress users simply install a single security plugin and think that’s enough to prevent malicious attacks. However, your site’s security plan should be a little more complex. There are actually three main areas you’ll need to focus on if you want […]

A key part of any design project is to eventually strip away the dummy data and populate it with client-specific information. This can be difficult, however – especially if you’re relying on the client to provide content. The broad answer to this problem is to put a solid plan into place beforehand. This involves having a clear structure in place for the site itself, and knowing exactly what content you’re going to need. Then, you just need to communicate your requirements early and clearly. In this post, we’ll look at how to request the content you need from clients, and more […]

Any time you see a WordPress web page that loads and navigates seamlessly (or as near to seamlessly as possible) across a range of different devices, know that all of that was made possible by good responsive web design. As more and more people utilize their mobile device(s) to access and surf the internet, having a website that is easy to navigate across operating systems and screen sizes will make or break your digital success. Responsive web design is not some flavor-of-the-week web design trend, but a necessity for succeeding in the new mobile digital economy paradigm. By the year […]

Google Analytics is perhaps one of the most important tools for a website developer. Analytics is designed to give users all of the data they need to be successful and informed when working on their webpage. You’ll be able to view important data such as: Who is viewing your website Where they are coming from (link, direct search, social media, etc.) How many page views/website views you have How your A/B testing is working And much more Luckily, there is an easy way to install Google Analytics directly to your website instead of going to the official Analytics site every […]