WordPress Performance Guides and Reviews
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
Are visitors from a certain country prevented from visiting your website or server? (You should check!) We had an interesting problem the other day with a client’s server IP being blocked from Russia. Let’s go over how we diagnosed the issue and then how we got around it.
Head-to-head comparison between these modern panel providers! Both are incredible solutions for anyone wanting to manage their own webserver but without server configuration knowledge. Both are comparable in pricing, features, and performance but do vary enough to cater to different use cases. I’ll go over their features and drawbacks (if any), as well as my… Read more GridPane vs RunCloud – Managed Hosting Panel Review 2019
Do you really need a WordPress security plugin? My personal opinion? No, they suck. They slow down your site. They can’t secure/detect everything. They cost money. They give a false sense of security (BIGGEST OFFENSE). Don’t worry, I’ll explain.
If you’re not using XML-RPC, you should disable it from your site to prevent bots/hackers from hacking your site or slowing down your site with repeat XML-RPC attacks. Usually, the biggest problem with XML-RPC attacks is not that they get in but that they bog down your server with so many blocked requests.
Are your fans/readers angry at your new membership service? Calling you a fraud? Feeling betrayed because your services went from free to paid? Spreading negative sentiment about your true motive? Accusing you of scheming for money? Making you feel guilty about asking for money? My post was inspired by this insightful Facebook group post.
Want early access to Cloudflare QUIC protocol? Go to the Network tab, then click “Join the Waitlist”. Why is this exciting? It’s because QUIC protocol was previously not available with Cloudflare…and if you wanted it, you had to disable Cloudflare’s performance/security features. That’s it! Want to learn more about QUIC protocol? (Search it on Google!)
Don’t trust or sign up at Rocket Laywer (www.rocketlawyer.com)! I was an idiot who didn’t know any better. I signed up to get access to some free forms to use for my business and it turned out to be a total scam! They’ll collect your credit card info and promise you NOT to bill anything… Read more Rocket Laywer SCAM / FRAUD – unauthorized credit card charges
How do you raise your business prices without upsetting customers/clients? This is a great question and one that I’ve figured out very easily over the years. Raising rates is really only challenging with existing clients (as new ones never knew about the previous rates), and the best method for me was to announce the new… Read more How to Raise Prices on Customers
What are static site CMS and what advantages/disadvantages do they have to WordPress? More people have started playing around with static site CMS’s lately (like Jekyll, Hugo) and for good reason. They’re fun to use, super fast, and now have more options than ever. But does that mean I recommend them for YOU??? …it depends…
Super simple guide to quickly backup your WordPress remotely to S3 using an awesome free backup plugin. Now you have backups ready in case something ever happens to your site or web-server!
Such a popular term and yet so confusing, what the heck is “managed hosting” or “managed WordPress hosting”?! WHERE does it come from and WHAT does it mean? And more specifically for website owners, what part of the hosting is “managed”? Let’s clear up this ambiguous term once and for all!
Hate is a strong word and I shouldn’t use it lightly. And in all actuality, I don’t even “hate” pagebuilders all that much, I simply hate how they’re used and the way they attempt to solve problems. I’ll try not to offend anyone but most people don’t realize they’re not only non-coders, but also non-designers!… Read more Why I HATE Pagebuilders – WordPress Review
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… Read more How to Stand Out Among other Web Designers
Easy question for me! Load Google Analytics in the footer! Why? Because I want the best performance possible. I don’t want GA script to slow down initial rendering for things that actually appear on the screen! Because your site shouldn’t be loading that slow anyway between header vs footer items. If your site IS that… Read more Should you load Google Analytics in HEADER or FOOTER?
Have you ever wondered how all those giant super-popular blogs got their traffic? Yes, it takes hardwork, strong branding, and also a little money. But ANYBODY can grow a huge website following. I’ve actually done it myself a few dozen times. I’ve done for my personal sites and also for many clients. Yes, there IS… Read more 5 Ways to Grow Your WordPress Blog Traffic
A list of my favorite WordPress themes and why! I also include my most hated themes(for better context). If you’re looking for pagebuilders, go here. WordPress “themes” (as they are called) are individual extensions that give your site a different look. Some themes are simple and come with one standard look right out of the box.… Read more Best WordPress Themes – UPDATED 2019
99designs is one of the most efficient ways to get a great design. For a pre-determined flat rate, you can to browse through hundreds of designs and get a finished concept within a matter of days, instead of weeks or months. Why harass one designer for multiple concepts when you can harvest dozens of different… Read more How to Run a 99Designs Contest
Google AMP sucks. Creates more problems and doesn’t always solve the one it’s supposed to. My biggest issues with it are breaking your site design/functionality, still not making your site all that fast, and worst of all…it ruins your user experience. Just go install a generic theme if you love AMP so much. I don’t… Read more Google AMP Sucks for WordPress
People keep asking me if Genesis is still a good theme for WordPress. Is Genesis still a good theme/framework for WordPress? Do you still recommend Genesis? Why do you recommend it? It hasn’t added any features lately! Yes…Genesis is STILL a good great theme/framework for WordPress. And here’s why it’s STILL the #1 theme framework… Read more Genesis Theme Framework Review 2019
Swift Performance & LiteSpeed Cache are my favorite WordPress caching plugins. They work great for any site on my servers but I may prefer one over the other depending on the plugins used, and the site’s traffic. Generally speaking… SWIFT for small/low-traffic sites with less than 400 pages and 50k monthly visits. Main Swift… Read more Favorite WordPress Cache Plugins
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… Read more SiteGround vs InMotion – Webhosting Review (UPDATED 2019)
My honest review about this membership plugin from over 7 years of use (and still counting). It does some things well and lacks in others. I’ve written about DAP before here and here. Here are the quick facts, pros and cons about DAP:
SECURITY QUESTION: Should you host several sites in one hosting account? Is it insecure? Can all sites be hacked if one is hacked? Should you buy separate webhosting for each site? Is it safer? Or is it a myth?
Have you ever dreamed of landing the big web design projects worth $10k and more? Read on to learn how I did it.
Do you ever wonder why cache plugins suck? Truth is, they don’t. It’s your understanding of them ‘sucks’. Before you get all defensive and angry, please understand that some tools require a bit of skill and knowledge to use. I feel the same when I hear someone say “WordPress sucks”. No, it doesn’t. You just… Read more Cache plugins suck!
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… Read more Clean up wp_options table (autoloaded data)
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.… Read more Genesis vs Astra – WordPress Theme Review 2019
I’ve seen several “digital marketers” lately trying to do the talk-to-the-camera personal sales-video approach and felt they weren’t aware of how the camera angle affected their sales pitch. I’ll cover the 3 camera angles in personal sales videos: EYE-level TOP-level (looking down) LOW-level (looking up)
Generally-speaking, Linode is better than Vultr. And Vultr is better than Digital Ocean. I’ve used Linode in 3 continents over 10 years. Used Vultr in 2 continents for only a few years. I haven’t done exact fair-comparison testing but through just firing up servers for clients using the same stack and “feeling it” (however you… Read more VPS REVIEW – Digital Ocean vs Linode vs Vultr
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?
I saw somebody today on a FB group asking: “How do I make a web design proposal? Should I list my skillsets? Or sell the solution? Or make a custom proposal for each customer?” It’s not that hard, do this:
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,… Read more Astra vs OceanWP vs Generatepress – Best FREE WordPress Theme Review
What is critical CSS? How does it work and when should you use it? Even better…when should critical CSS not be used? Here goes another cut-the-crap WordPress performance guide by yours truly.
A2 and SG are comparable, more or less. Generally, SG a little stronger but then has annoying CPU usage issues. A2 got better pricing. I used to prefer SG but now probably prefer A2 out of the two. If you want a better deal, just go with WebHostFace.
Every now and then, you get some client that wants you to do to more, but pays you less. The worst part is when you start doubting your own rates and your own value. Makes me sad to hear entrepreneurs think this way. You are a skilled contractor. They’re not only paying you for your… Read more How to Negotiate Web-Design Prices (for designers)
Yes, it sucks. I can’t believe they get away with selling it as a “premium” service. It’s the same crappy GoDaddy shared hosting service with a cleaner/simpler UI and more expensive resource limits (imitating higher-end hosting services). Don’t believe me? Let’s go over the issues…
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!
What’s a content delivery network and why do you need (or don’t need) it? I’ll cover the basics of what it is, how it’s used, and how it may benefit or impede your website. I also explain the difference of traditional CDN’s which were made for speed and the confusing Cloudflare service which is a… Read more What’s a CDN? (Content Delivery Network) And do you need it?
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… Read more Stop Trying to Monetize off Google Ads