• The page in question is no longer relevant and has been deleted. For example, it might have been about a product that you no longer sell, or an ex-employee profile who no longer works for the business.
• The visitor might have typed the full page URL into their browser and misspelled the address.
• An external website could have linked to one of your pages and misspelled the address – something which you have little control over.
• The name of your page could have changed. When you do this, it’s preferable to do a “301 Redirect” from the old page name to the new page name, but that’s a subject for another day.

Here’s an example of a default Error 404 page:

Exciting eh? As you can see, the default 404 page is not particularly helpful or appealing for the following reasons:

1. The page contains technical jargon which isn’t helpful to your average visitor.
2. The page isn’t branded and doesn’t look like it’s part of your website.
3. The page provides nowhere else to go.

A better approach is to create a custom Error 404 page which provides a chance of salvaging a lost visitor.

Don’t call the page “Error 404”

404 is the error code returned by the hosting server when a page or resource can’t be found. This code is transmitted in the header section of the server’s response and doesn’t have to be seen by your visitors. A better page title would be something along the lines of “Sorry, the page you requested is no longer available” or even “Page not found”.

Given the fact that it’s probably not your visitors fault that they’re seeing this message, try to use apologetic and helpful wording.

Brand your Error 404 page

Brand your error 404 page and use the framework of your site including header, navigation and footer. This provides a better experience for your visitor and is especially important if the page was arrived at via a broken link within your own site.

Include your search facility

Consider including or repeating your search facility on your 404 page. This provides the visitor with the opportunity to search for what they were originally looking for.

Include your contact details

If all else fails there’s still a chance that the visitor will contact you if they can’t find what they’re looking for!

Include a link to your homepage

If your 404 page looks integral to the rest of your site, there should already be a link back to your homepage. However, there’s no harm in providing a specific, “Can’t find what you’re looking for? Try our homepage”

Don’t automatically redirect to your homepage

Avoid the temptation of automatically redirecting visitors to your homepage when they stumble upon your 404 page. It won’t be obvious that the page they were looking for no longer exists and will only serve to confuse them further.

Under certain circumstanced consider redirecting to an alternate page

Yes, you did read that correctly and it goes against the advice above, “Don’t automatically redirect to your homepage.” However, if an external website is linking to a page on your site that no longer exists, there is probably nothing you can do to correct this. However, you can redirect the broken link to a relevant, alternate page. Emphasis on the word relevant. If you don’t have an alternate page for the content in question it’s better not to do this.

Don’t clutter the page

By all means brand your 404 page, but don’t clutter it with lots of content. It still needs to be obvious to the visitor that they’ve landed on a page that doesn’t exist, rather than a page containing lots of irrelevant or semi-relevant content.

Return a 404 error in the document header

Your visitor won’t see the document header, but other systems will, including search engines. By returning the correct 404 error in the header, search engines such as Google will know to remove non-existent pages from their index.

Fix your broken links

If visitors are seeing Error 404 pages from links within your site, it’s imperative that you fix them as soon as possible. Broken links within your own site look careless and will do nothing to improve your conversion rate. One way of finding out if you have broken links, both internally and externally, is by using Google Webmaster Tools.

That summarises our 10 ways of improving your Error 404 page, and you can see one of our recent attempts below:

Below is a Bash script that can be used to quickly update multiple WordPress installations and their associated plugins from the command line.

You’ll also need to install WP-CLI.

#!/bin/bash

# Script to update WordPress installs and associated plugins

# List WordPress sites to update here in this format
# webserver user:path to wp installation:additional arguments
sites=(
    'user1:/var/websites/user1/public'
    'user2:/var/websites/user2/public/blog:--skip-plugins=addthis'
    'user3:/var/websites/user3/public/news'
    # etc
)

clear

# Loop through each site
for i in "${sites[@]}"; do

  IFS=':' read -r -a array <<< "$i"

  user="${array[0]}"
  dir="${array[1]}"
  args="${array[2]}"

  # Change to the site's directory
  cd $dir

  # See if WordPress core needs updating or not
  echo "Checking site $user"
  sudo -u $user wp-cli core check-update $args

  if [[ $(sudo -u $user wp-cli core check-update $args) = "Success: WordPress is at the latest version." ]]
  then
    echo "Skipping core update for $user"
  else
   # Core update needed, prompt
   read -p "Do you want to UPDATE WordPress Core for $user ? Y/N " -n 1 -r
   if [[ $REPLY =~ ^[Yy]$ ]]
   then
     echo
     # Do the core update
     sudo -u $user wp-cli core update $args

     # Update the db
     sudo -u $user wp-cli core update-db $args
   fi
  fi

  # Ask the user if they want to list the plugins for this site
  read -p "Do you want to list Plugin updates for $user ? Y/N " -n 1 -r
  echo
  if [[ $REPLY =~ ^[Yy]$ ]]
  then
    # Display the list of plugins
    sudo -u $user wp-cli plugin list $args

    # Ask the user if they want to update the plugins
    read -p "Do you want to UPDATE ALL Plugins for $user ? Y/N " -n 1 -r
    echo
    if [[ $REPLY =~ ^[Yy]$ ]]
    then
      # Update the plugins
      sudo -u $user wp-cli plugin update --all $args
    fi
  fi
  echo "-----------------------------------------------------------"
done
echo "Finished!"
echo

We often get asked, “Is WordPress used to build websites?”

An analogy that springs to mind is that you don’t use a dishwasher to “build” a kitchen. You simply integrate this appliance with a kitchen to perform a specific task – just like WordPress can be integrated with a website to perform the task of content management.

In fact a kitchen is constructed using tools such as a screwdriver, hammer and saw, just as a website is built using tools such as an IDE, SASS and Grunt. And whilst your kitchen is built from wood and stainless steel, a website’s “raw materials” are often things like HTML, CSS, PHP and MySQL.

Anyway, enough of the jargon! Laypeople often assume that WordPress makes building a site easier. This is actually incorrect – WordPress makes editing a site easier.

I think the “built with WordPress” syndrome is also rife because lots of people choose an existing WordPress theme (you might know this as a “template”) and then develop their site around it. Whilst this is acceptable for beginners and low-budget websites it’s often not ideal for higher end projects. Just as you wouldn’t let your dishwasher dictate the entire design, layout and workings of your kitchen, neither should your content management system dictate the design and layout of your website.

Instead of building a website around WordPress we prefer to approach it the other way around and build WordPress around a website. This means we’ll design and construct the site according to the client’s requirements and without limitations, and then integrate WordPress secondary.

Be-Fitter is a unique and exciting gym which offers both personal training classes held by qualified and highly experienced PT instructors, and access to state of the art fitness equipment in amazing surroundings.

We worked with Be-Fitter’s in-house designers to produce a slick and easy to use single page scrolling site. After identifying that a large proportion of visitors are likely to be “mobile” the site was built in a responsive fashion in order to ensure that it works amazingly well across all devices and screen sizes.

The site is content managed using WordPress and includes a gallery, downloadable class timetables and integration with MailChimp for new clients to sign up for a free session.

The end result is a fresh and fantastic website which reflects Be-Fitter’s brand and what their gym has to offer.

The Network For Surviving Stalking charity commissioned us to produce www.scaredofsomeone.org which includes helpful information to victims of stalking, downloadable safety advice and an online questionnaire.

The site is integrated with WordPress so that it can be content managed in-house. It’s fully responsive, which means it scales well across all devices, from large wide-screen desktop computers right down to mobile phones.

Tina Gayle, an independent consultant working on behalf of the NSS, said: “The Network For Surviving Stalking is delighted by the end result of the website and the manner in which it was carried out. 1st WebDesigns put exactly what was wanted on the site. It does precisely what we hoped it would do; it is both elegant and simple, and is now collating results of the incoming questionnaires into an easy spreadsheet for us to analyse in our final report.

“Gareth and his team have been a joy to work with and their attention to detail and accuracy of fulfilling the brief has been first class.

“We recommend 1st WebDesigns to anyone who wants more from their website than just a shop window.”

Using the text “click here” on your hyperlinks is considered bad practice, and here’s why:

“Click Here” – It doesn’t look good

In fact, it looks even worse when printed out, at which point is has no meaning at all since nobody can click on a piece of paper.

“Click” describes the mechanics involved in visiting a link

A “click” unnecessarily describes the mechanics of an action and implies that your visitor is using a mouse. This is not always the case, since on a tablet or smart phone you would “tap” and on a screen-reader you might talk to the device to navigate.

Nobody ever wrote “tap here” on a website and likewise you shouldn’t use “click here” either.

“Here” conceals where the link goes

“Here” doesn’t describe where the link will take you, and is completely superfluous:

Did you like this article? To signup to our mailinglist for latest news and future updates click here.

We could remove the word “click” which helps to eliminate the mechanics of the action, but the word “here” still doesn’t describe where the link goes:

Did you like this article? Signup to our mailinglist for latest news and future updates here.

Instead, it’s better to describe where the link will take the visitor:

Did you like this article? For latest news and future updates signup to our mailinglist.

You could make the link even more concise by removing the verb text from the link:

Did you like this article? For latest news and future updates signup to our mailinglist.

The last example makes it explicitly obvious which page the link leads to.

It’s not search engine friendly

Search engines look at the anchor text of both your internal and external links and use them in their ranking algorithms. Again, the term “click here” is a wasted opportunity and doesn’t tell the search engines what the page is about that you’re linking to.

Link specifics

Choose your anchor text wisely. The more specific you are the better, especially from a search engine point of view.

Interested in finding out more? Read my free report.

The above is OK, but below is a more specific version:

Interested in finding out more? Read my free report: How to Build a Successful Website.

Link last, not first

Where you require a strong call-to-action, avoid having a link at the beginning or part way through the sentence:

Follow me on Facebook for hints, tips and special offers.

Instead, ensure the visitor can take action immediately rather than having to read backwards to find the link:

For hints, tips and special offers follow me on Facebook.

Make sure your links are visually obvious

If your links are obvious, there is no need to tell someone how to visit them by way of “clicking.”

Compare these two examples:

We offer a range of insurance policies to suit all businesses.

We offer a range of insurance policies to suit all businesses.

Notice in the second example that the link is a contrasting colour and underlined. In the first example the link is a different colour, but it’s not obvious enough.

Isn’t “click here” a useful hint?

15 years ago it might have been, but the majority of people know how to navigate a web page. Even my mother does.

What about conversions?

I’ve read some arguments that “click here” converts better than the other approaches mentioned above. Personally I’ve never measured this but it’s perhaps something to consider.

This created a dilemma for many businesses – which profile do you update, your existing Brand Page or your Local Page? Alternatively, should you delete your Local Page, or perhaps leave it dormant?

There was talk of Google offering to merge two Google+ accounts but we haven’t been able to verify that this is at all possible. However, this month there does appear to be another solution.

Google has released a feature which allows you to transfer the bulk of your local data (verification, reviews, map location, etc) from a verified Local Page to an existing Brand Page. This isn’t merging two pages, but rather moving the verified Local content to an existing Brand Page, which in turn then becomes the verified Local Page.

When you do this, the following information is transferred from the Local Page to your Brand Page:

• Reviews
• Local verification pin
• Map information
• Address information

The following information doesn’t move from the Local Page:

• Local Page custom URL (the custom URL of your Brand Page will be retained, if you have one).
• Cover photo.
• Followers.
• Circles.
• Posts.

Remember that followers, circles and posts won’t be transferred from the Local Page. Posts, your custom URL, followers and circles on your Brand Page will remain unchanged.

To redirect your Local Page to your Brand Page here’s the relevant instructions:

1. Ensure you’ve already verified your Local Page.

2. Login to your Local Page and from the dropdown menu top-left, select Settings.

3. Towards the bottom of the page it will say, “This page is connected to Google Maps.” Click the button which says, “Connect a different page”.

4. You’ll be given a choice to select your Brand Page.

5. When the process is complete, your old Local Page will be preserved as a backup. You can go ahead and delete this if you prefer.

The downside to this is that you might have built up a following on both your Local Page and Brand Page. However, many businesses have been updating their Brand Page whilst either leaving their Local Page dormant or not even realising that it exists. This new feature provides a good opportunity to streamline your Google+ efforts.

Today we published an article Why your blog should be self-hosted within your own website.

We meet a lot people who have their blog hosted externally under WordPress.com or Blogspot.com and this is something that we normally discourage. See the article above for the reasons why.

In the interests of fairness, I came across another article by Chris Knowles which offers a contrasting opinion. The general gist is:

1. Self hosting your blog is difficult and there’s a lot to learn.

2. There’s too much choice when it comes to themes, plug-ins, etc.

3. It’s not necessarily the cheapest option.

4. It can be time consuming.

5. There are risks involved regarding maintenance and security.

6. Starting from scratch can be unnecessary.

7. Flexibility is overrated.

Feel free to read the original article in full

Whilst free blogging services allow people to get set-up quickly, easily and without cost, we’re quick to point out that your blog should be self-hosted and self-contained within your own website, under your own domain name.

I should point out here that you can self-host the WordPress software, which we would always recommend, and this is different to using WordPress under the WordPress.com domain.

Here’s some reasons why you should self-host your blog:

1. If your domain is www.widgets.com then, ideally, you’d want your blog to be located at www.widgets.com/blog. This is assuming your website contains other non-bloggy things.

   If your blog is located under blog.widgets.com, widgets.blogspot.com or widgets.wordpress.com then your primary website/domain isn’t going to feel the benefit of your blogging efforts. Each post you write will build up the credibility of the wordpress.com or blogspot.com domain name, and not your own.

   Furthermore, any links you acquire from other websites to your blog won’t count towards your domain authority.

2. To overcome the above, it’s possible to register a custom domain or setup a sub-domain and attach this to an external blog service. However, if WordPress.com or Blogspot decided to withdraw their hosting services in the future, that would mean goodbye to your blog. Whilst this seems unlikely to happen, in 5 years time and several hundred articles later, do you really want to take the risk?

3. A self-hosted version of WordPress has far more flexibility in terms of themes and plugins than a blog hosted at WordPress.com or similar. Will it cost more to self-host your blog? Probably not. If you already have a website in addition to your blog, then the chances are you already have a hosting account which will accommodate a self-hosted version of WordPress.

4. If you want to develop a custom theme for your blog to make it completely seamless and integral to the rest of your website, you won’t be able to do this unless you self-host it. This can be important in order to maintain a consistent structure between your blog and website, and to avoid your blog looking somewhat “home-made.”

5. As the presence of your blog grows, you’ll probably want to self-host it anyway. You’ll then need to transfer all of your articles from WordPress.com or Blogspot.com to your self-hosted blog, and redirect the old URL’s to your new ones. None of this is ideal, and it’s better to start as you mean to go on.

In the interests of fairness, here’s 7 reasons why novices shouldn’t self-host their own blog.

1. We wanted our new list of questions and answers to be presented via a definition list. This felt like the most semantic way of doing it.

2. We wanted the list of questions and answers to still be accessible if JavaScript isn’t available, so the “click to reveal” functionality is merely progressive enhancement.

Take a look at the demo »

Here’s how we did it:

The HTML

<dl class="faq">
    <dt>What are your opening hours?</dt>
    <dd><p>We're open from 9am until 5pm, Monday to Friday</p></dd>
    <dt>How long have you been established?</dt>
    <dd><p>We've been established since 1999</p></dd>
</dl>

The CSS

This part’s up to you. Style your definition list however you like.

The jQuery

$(function() {
	$("dl.faq").each(function() {
	    var dl = $(this);
	    dl.children("dt").css("cursor", "pointer").on("click", function() {
	        $(this).toggleClass("active").next("dd").slideToggle();
	    }).next("dd").hide();
	});
});

You’ll notice that the cursor is applied to the definition title inline by the jQuery script rather than in the CSS. This is because if JavaScript is disabled we don’t want the definition title to have the pointer cursor.

When the definition title is clicked on, the “active” class is appended to it. This allows you to style the definition title differently when it’s clicked on, for example you could make it bold or change the colour.

Take a look at the demo »