Don’t Let Your WordPress Website Efforts Go Unrewarded!

There is a reason why WordPress powers nearly a quarter of the websites online today. WordPress is easy to use yet powerful enough to manage the largest websites. It is this ease of use, however, that makes too many WordPress websites less successful than they could be.

I am a big supporter of do-it-yourself website building. But it pains me to see so much work go into a website only to have the creators’ efforts go unrewarded because important elements of a healthy and successful website are overlooked.

In anticipation of my upcoming, comprehensive WordPress course, I plan to address many of these overlooked issues. This first post covers some of my personal peeves.

Is Your WordPress Website Mobile Ready and Mobile Friendly?

I have written before about how to be “really” mobile ready. Your website is one of the most important areas you should make sure is “really” mobile ready.

Most WordPress users opt for responsive themes when making their site mobile ready. I agree that this is a great solution; but I encourage you to test your theme on as many devices as you can. You can use a mobile device emulator if you don’t have devices available. When testing, make sure your site is more than mobile ready. Make sure it is also mobile friendly.

Mobile Device Emulator

Don’t assume that just because a theme is responsive it offers a good user experience. Test your theme as if you were someone who had never visited your website, and who may lose interest in a matter of seconds if the experience is not a good one. Better yet, send a link to some friends and family and have them give you feedback about their experience.

In some cases, you can find an additional solution to elements of your theme that are lacking. In my case, I was not happy with the navigation my theme offered to mobile users.

Mega Menu on Mobile Device

To solve this issue, I added the UberMenu Mega Menu plugin to improve the navigation of my theme for both mobile and desktop users.

In my new comprehensive WordPress course, I explore many mobile solutions for WordPress websites, as well as work arounds for common issues.

Is Your WordPress website Search and Social Media Optimized?

There has always been a lot of attention paid to optimizing WordPress websites for search engines – as well there should be. However, how much attention are you paying to optimizing your website for social sharing? Have you tested how your site content looks when it is shared to social media sites?

For instance, when someone shares one of your pages or posts, is the title and description representative of the content? When allowed, does the social media site present the image you want it to? All of these things can be controlled with the right plugins.

Title , Description, and Image Choice for Social Sharing…

I recommend the Yoast SEO plugin for both search and social sharing optimization of your site. Using Yoast SEO allows you to control what shows up as the title and description when shared to Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Google Plus, and more; as well as which image should represent a post or page.

This attention to detail helps your site get the exposure it deserves, and shows your visitors that you take pride in how your brand is represented.

These are the types of topics we address in my upcoming WordPress course: topics that go well beyond just building a website – topics that address issues to help you really get noticed!

WordPress Website Security and Site Performance

A slow loading website can put a damper on your search engine placement, your site’s mobile readiness, and your site users’ experience. And WordPress sites – if not managed properly – can be very slow loading!

I recommend regularly testing your site using Pingdom’s Website Speed Test tool. You may need to run the test a couple times in a row to get a more accurate report.

Pingdom Website Speed Test tool

One of the main things that can help speed up your WordPress website is to cache resources – like images – so they don’t need to be loaded every time your site is visited. There are some good caching plugins that can help with your site performance and speed; but I prefer to use a CDN (content delivery network) like Cloudflare.

I especially recommend using a CDN if you have many videos or other robust functionalities running on your website that require a lot of bandwidth. CDNs can also help keep your website secure.

Speaking of security: WordPress sites are notorious for getting hacked. Fortunately, there are measures you can take to avoid most attacks.

Here are some tips that can help with both speed and security:

• Research every plugin you install on your site – making sure they do not have vulnerabilities
• Plugins and themes should be updated to match your current version of WordPress
• Keep your WordPress install updated to the latest version
• Remove any unused themes and plugins from your site
• Use a good hosting service: I use Siteground since they specialize in WordPress and are vigilant about security
• Utilize plugins that test your site for vulnerabilities – but don’t completely rely on them

There are many more precautions you can take. WordPress has a “Hardening WordPress” guide worth checking out to help you make – and keep – your website more secure.

In my new WordPress course, I delve deep into site performance and security issues – focusing on affordable and effective ways to keep your website safe and secure, in language you can understand.

A WordPress Website Clutter Free and Ready to Convert

And speaking of plugins…

There are so many amazing, functional, and fun WordPress plugins and widgets out there, it is difficult to resist the urge to install way more than we actually need!

WordPress websites can start to look cluttered and unfocused if too many widgets or plugins are in place. And keep in mind that each plugin you install adds to the possibility of attack, and puts more bandwidth on your site.

When considering adding a plugin or widget to your website, ask yourself:

• Does it add a necessary function to my site?
• Does it improve the user experience of my site?
• Does it add value for my site visitors?
• Does it align with the goals of my site?

And probably the most important thing to ask, is whether a widget or plugin is actually pulling attention away from your website’s intended message. Research confirms that if you offer visitors too many choices they are less likely to choose anything at all.

Each page or post on your site should have only one main CTA (call to action). Secondary and tertiary CTAs are fine as long as they don’t take too much attention away from your main focus.

Below is a shot of one of my best converting pages. The “buy now” button is the main CTA, the email sign up is the secondary CTA, and the alternate places to take the course is the tertiary CTA.

Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary CTAs

There are many more factors that contribute to successful webpage conversion, like the right buttons, good sales copy, and proper follow through. I explore these topics and many more in my new course.

Only the Beginning

Believe me, I have much more to share on all of these topics and more; but this is a good start. Do you have anything to add to this initial list – important things you think most DIY website builders are missing? Is there anything you want to know more about?

Why Everyone Should Be Moving To HTTP/2:

Fast-loading websites have always had an advantage over their slower-loading counterparts because people don’t like to wait. If a site is too slow in delivering information they will simply bounce away. Site speed has also become a ranking factor and the Great God Google can deliver some pretty harsh judgements when websites fail to comply with its ever-changing list of rules, so anything that can provide sites with more speed is a blessing too important for webmasters to ignore—enter HTTP/2.

Source: Search Engine Land

HTTP/2: A Move for the Better

When a Google representative recently revealed the Big G’s plans to make GoogleBot HTTP/2 ready; even some members of the SEO community failed to grasp the associated implications. As usual though, Search Engine Land was ahead of the game and columnist Patrick Stox got to work on an in-depth article explaining the various whys and wherefores of HTTP/2 and the changes it will bring. One word turns up in Stox’s article time and time again and that word is “speed.”

Faster loading websites provide a better user experience and a switch to HTTP/2 can provide a massive speed increase. This alone is reason enough to make the switch sooner rather than later, but there are also numerous other benefits. For example, HTTP/2 websites require fewer resources and can handle multiple requests made at the same time on the same connection.

If you want to get a better idea of the full range of benefits HTTP/2 brings, Search Engine Land is the place to go because I have other fish to fry.

HTTP/2: Good for You and Good for Your Business

Although some learning curve may be involved, and making the change to HTTP/2 may take a little time, small businesses need to take action sooner rather than later in order to avoid losing out to their larger competitors who will, no doubt, be eager to stay ahead of the game. There will always be those who leave it too late of course, but it is quite feasible that small businesses that implement the changes in a timely manner could start to outrank the big boys and begin stealing their traffic simply because they have faster more efficient sites. HTTP/2 is already supported by 67.89% of browsers, along with most major server software types, including Apache and NGINX, so the times they are a changin’ like it or not.

HTTP/2 also brings with it another benefit that this too important to overlook—improved security.

Cybercriminals are very clever and target sites and businesses of all sizes. Just days ago the web hosting company Moonfruit had to take thousands of sites offline due to a threatened cyberattack, causing one Moonfruit customer to complain, “I could be losing out on a lot of money from potential clients, and they may not come back if they think the company has gone.” This is a valid point, but there are numerous other ways breached site security can do untold damage to a business.

In an article at Entrepreneur.com, site contributor Matei Gavril explains why we all need to take a more active stance when it comes to thwarting hacking attempts and make cybersecurity a major priority. “You could lose thousands of dollars cleaning up the mess,” Gavril points out. “Your business will suffer brand damage, and your clients will lose all trust.” Valid points, one and all, and reason enough to make a timely switch to HTTP/2, and the extra security it provides, don’t you think?

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Introducing the new Google+:

Back in July Google ended speculation about the future of Google+, announced it is here to stay, and stated there would be some changes over the coming months. In a fresh announcement made earlier this week via the Official Google Blog, Eddie Kessler (Director of Streams), confirmed the changes are underway and explained the reasoning behind the new-look Google+.

Source: Google

A Fresh Focus for the New Google+

According to Kessler, Google has been busy evaluating the needs of Google+ users and now has a better idea of how to best serve their needs. Communities is averaging 1.2 million new subscribers per day and Collections is growing faster still. People from all over the world are using these two features to discover and share things that interest them, so Google is giving Communities and Collections the center stage.

In a nutshell, the new Google+ is interest based. Giving people more of what they want is never a bad idea, but some other improvements have been introduced as well. The new Google+ is more mobile-friendly and offers an improved and consistent experience across all devices. You can find out more about the changes by visiting Google’s blog and reading Kessler’s post in its entirety.

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Safe Browsing Protection from Even More Deceptive Attacks:

Google’s Safe Browsing service is pretty low-key. Many people probably don’t give it a second thought until their browser displays a warning message stating they are about to visit a deceptive site that may steal their personal details or install dangerous software. In an article posted last week on the Google Online Security Blog, Google Safe Browsing experts, Emily Schechter and Noé Lutz, provide an insight into this valuable service most of us take for granted and state it has been expanded to include social engineering.

Safe Browsing Protection Just Got Better

Google Safe Browsing has been offering free protection against traditional web-based phishing attacks for over eight years, but the perpetrators behind such attacks are very clever and keep getting sneakier. Even the most net-savvy of surfers can sometimes fall victim to clever deceptions that trick them into performing actions that can have catastrophic consequences. Fortunately, Google continues to improve Safe Browsing accordingly and has expanded the service to offer protection against social engineering.

Social engineering is a broader category than traditional phishing and the deceptions can be infinitely more convincing. Successful social engineering attacks may fool victims into believing they are dealing with a trusted entity, such as a bank, an internet service provider, or even Google. Then, believing they are on safe ground, victims are suckered into parting with passwords or other personal information.

The article on the Google Online Security Blog includes screenshots that show how clever some of the social engineering deceptions can be, and should be required reading for all internet users.

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Free Cross-Promotion for Content Creators:

CoPromote is a co-marketing tool that helps marketers and content creators reach more people by using the concept of share and share alike. The CoPromote community already boasts more than 800 thousand members. On a bigger scale that may not sound like a lot, but last month the service helped users to reach more than 1 Billion people. That’s a 94% increase since July, so CoPromote would appear to be going from strength to strength.

Source: CoPromote

Getting Started With CoPromote

CoPromote is an easy tool to use. Free and paid plans are available and it’s just a case of signing up for the service and  connecting CoPromote with your Twitter, YouTube, or Tumblr account. It is also possible to CoPromote Vine accounts, but the connection needs to be made through the CoPromote iOS app.

Once your accounts are connected, choose an existing post or video to promote and assign it a target category. This allows the system to match the post to members with similar interests. This is a powerful feature because it ensures the promoted content is a good match for the target audience. It is also possible to select two sub-categories.

Building Your CoPromote Reach

In order for others to promote your posts, you need to first build your “reach” by sharing other co-promoter’s content. You can choose posts from specific categories and even follow people whose content you may want to share regularly. Your reach is based on how many followers you share others’ content with. So, if you have 5,000 Twitter followers, you get 5,000 in reach for each tweet you share. You can also buy addition reach.

Once you build up your reach, hit the “Boost” button on your promoted posts and others can share your posts until your reach runs out.

CoPromote was launched in 2014, so it’s still pretty new, but for a new service it has already made quite a big splash. I have gotten some good exposure and many new followers from using the service on some of my beefier posts. If you feel like getting your feet wet, the CoPromote website is definitely the place to be.

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