Do you want to block a WordPress user from your blog?
The simplest way to achieve this is to delete their user profile, but this will remove them completely from your site.
In this article, we will show you how to block or disable a WordPress user without deleting their account.
When You Shouldn’t Delete a User Account
The easiest way to block a user on your WordPress website is by simply deleting their user account.
However, deleting a user account in WordPress requires you to assign all their content to another user. This will change the author information for those articles.
One way to deal with this issue is to change the user’s password and email address by editing their user profile. This will block their access, and they will not be able to log in. However, this will also change their Gravatar image.
The ability to disable a user without deleting their account is especially helpful on multi-author blogs, forums, as well as community sites.
Now, let’s take a look at how you can easily block a WordPress user without deleting their user account. We will cover three methods, and you can use the quick links below to jump to the method you want to use:
Method 1: Blocking a User by Downgrading Their Role
Your WordPress website comes with a powerful user management system that allows you to assign different roles to each user.
One way to block a WordPress user is to downgrade their role. This won’t stop them from logging in to your WordPress site, but it will restrict what they can do after they log in. If you don’t want them to be able to log in at all, then you should use Method 2 or 3 instead.
Downgrading the User Role to Subscriber
You could downgrade the user’s role to Subscriber. Once they log in, they will be given limited access to the WordPress admin area. They will only be able to change their user settings, such as their name and admin color scheme.
However, this can be a problem if the user has written posts on your site. If they want to cause trouble, then they can change their name to something offensive, and it will be displayed on all of their posts on your website.
Downgrading the User Role to ‘No Role for This Site’
A better role to give users you wish to block is ‘No role for this site’.
When they log in, they will not be directed to the admin area. If they try to navigate there, then they will be shown an error message stating that they don’t have access.
First, head over to the Users » All Users page of your admin area.
Next, you need to click the ‘Edit’ link under the user you wish to block.
Now you need to scroll down to the ‘Role’ setting and select ‘No role for this site’ from the dropdown menu.
After that, you should click the ‘Update User’ button at the bottom of the page to store your settings.
The user will no longer be able to access any admin settings on your WordPress website.
If you wish to unblock a user in the future, then simply follow the same steps to assign them their previous role.
Method 2: Blocking a WordPress User With ‘Lock User Account’
Lock User Account is a light plugin that does just one job. Upon activation, you are ready to block users so that they can’t log in to your website.
Start by navigating to the Users » All Users page of the admin dashboard. Once there, you should click the checkbox next to every user you wish to block.
Next, simply click the ‘Bulk actions’ button, select ‘Lock’ from the menu, and then click the ‘Apply’ button.
Next time these users try to log in, they will be blocked and see the error message ‘Your account is locked!’
Unblocking a User
If you wish to unblock the user in the future, then simply follow the same steps but choose ‘Unlock’ from the ‘Bulk Actions’ menu.
Changing the Lock Message
You can customize the message that locked users see when trying to log in to your website.
You need to navigate to Settings » General and then scroll to the bottom of the page. You will find a Lock User Account section with a single option called ‘Locked User Message’.
Simply type the message you want locked users to see in this field, and then click the ‘Save Changes’ button to store the settings.
Method 3: Blocking a WordPress User on Certain Days or Dates
What if you don’t want to block a user permanently? Maybe you wish to ban a user for, say, 2 weeks or allow a certain team member to log in only during business hours.
In that case, you can use the User Blocker plugin. Besides being able to block users permanently, it also allows you to block them during certain times on different days of the week or over a date range.
Upon activation, you should navigate to the User Blocker page in your dashboard. Here, you can choose whether to opt-in to the User Blocker mailing list and share non-sensitive data with the developer to help improve the plugin.
Simply click the ‘Skip & Continue’ or ‘Opt-In & Continue’ button.
After clicking one of those buttons, you will see the User Blocker settings page.
There are three tabs, so you can block a user by time, date, or permanently. By default, you see the ‘User By Time’ tab.
Blocking a User by Time and Day
With the ‘Block User By Time’ tab selected, simply place a checkmark next to the name of all users you wish to block by time. Alternatively, you can block users who have a certain user role by selecting ‘Role’ from the dropdown menu.
If your website has a large number of users, then you can use the search feature to find them more easily.
Then in the ‘Block Time’ section, you can enter the times you wish to block those users on each day of the week. You can type the times or choose them from a dropdown menu.
You can quickly copy the same beginning and end time to each day of the week by clicking the ‘Apply to all’ button. The ‘Reset to all’ button will clear all of the times you entered.
After that, you can scroll down to the ‘Block Message’ section. When a blocked user tries to sign in, they will see a default message. However, if you want to display a more customized block message, you can type it here.
Instead of displaying an error message when a blocked user tries to sign in, you can redirect them to another page on your website, such as your Terms of Service page or Privacy Policy. If you’d like to do that, then simply paste that page’s URL into the box provided.
When you are happy with the settings, just make sure you click the ‘Block User’ button. The users you selected will now be blocked from logging in during the times and days you selected.
By repeating these steps, you can block other users for different time periods.
Blocking a User by Date Range
If you wish to block one or more users during a certain date range, then you should click the ‘Block User By Date’ tab at the top of the screen.
You will be able to select the usernames or roles that you wish to block.
Next, you should scroll down to the ‘Block Date’ section.
You can enter the date and time the block will start and end. Simply select the starting and finishing dates and times from the dropdown menus. The time will be in a 24-hour format.
You can also add a custom message that the users will see when trying to log in. Alternatively, you can enter the URL of the page you wish to redirect them to.
When you are finished, don’t forget to click the ‘Block User’ button.
You can block other users for different date ranges by repeating the steps above.
Blocking a User Permanently
You should make sure you are in the ‘Block User Permanent’ tab, and then you can select the usernames (or roles) that you wish to block permanently.
After that, all you need to do is type a custom message that blocked users will see when they try to log in to your website.
Or you can leave the box blank, and they will see the default message. This says, ‘You are permanently Blocked.’
Or, like the other options above, you can redirect the users to a web page rather than displaying a message. Simply type the page’s URL in the ‘Enter Redirection URL’ box.
Now when the blocked users try to sign in, they will see an error message.
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Are you looking for the best video communication service for your business?
The right conference call software will make it easy to communicate with co-workers, partners, suppliers, clients, and more. This can help you be more productive, reach your goals, and build stronger relationships even across big geographical distances.
In this article, we will compare Google Meet vs Zoom to help you decide which video chat software is right for your website.
Why Should Your Business Use a Video Communication Service?
With the rising trend of remote working, many teams no longer work in the same building. If you are a big company, then you may even have staff in multiple countries.
This can make it difficult to collaborate and build relationships with co-workers. While you could communicate using email, phone calls, or call center software, there’s no substitute for face-to-face interaction.
These services can help people to communicate effectively and build successful business relationships, even when they are in completely different locations.
Even if you work alone, conference call services are an easy and flexible way to communicate with partners, suppliers, clients, interview candidates, and more.
When all your contacts are using the same service, it’s easier to set up meetings, send invites, manage attendees, and share and record important meetings.
However, with so many tools on the market, it can be difficult to find the best software. For example, if you are looking for unlimited video meetings, Microsoft and Salesforce integrations, and business text messaging, then Nextiva is a great choice.
Meanwhile, if you want video chat that integrates with top services such as Gsuite, Dropbox, and Microsoft, then RingCentral is one of the most feature-rich business phone and online meeting systems on the market.
There are also plenty of tools that offer free plans, including Google Meet and Zoom.
In this Google Meet vs Zoom guide, we are comparing these two popular tools to see which is right for your business. Simply use the quick links below to jump straight to the feature you want to compare:
Even if you are already using software like a virtual business phone number app, the right video communication service can help you run a successful business.
That being said, let’s start with an overview of these two popular conference call services.
It’s essentially an enhanced version of Google Hangouts that’s designed specifically for business owners. Google Meet is a fully web-based service, so you don’t need to install any software to use it.
To try the service for yourself, simply head over to the Google Meet website and click on ‘New Meeting’. You can then select ‘Start an instant meeting’ to launch a test meeting and try the Google Meet features for yourself.
Zoom – Overview
Zoom is a popular online video conferencing and meeting tool that allows you to set up an online conference call simply by sharing a link.
Zoom may be easy to set up, but it’s also packed with advanced features that can make your meetings more productive. These include searchable transcripts, instant messaging, screen sharing, and collaborative note-taking.
Price Comparison – Google Meet vs Zoom
When choosing business tools, it’s important to find a service that fits your budget. Some video conferencing plans also put limits on the call duration and the total attendees.
When deciding whether a service is good value for money, it’s important to take these factors into consideration. With that in mind, let’s compare the price for Google Meet and Zoom.
Google Meet – Price Comparison
Anyone with a free Google Account can create a video meeting and invite up to 100 participants for a maximum of 60 minutes.
If you want to meet for longer than an hour, then you will need to upgrade to Google’s Business Starter plan ($6 per user, per month, with a one-year commitment) or higher. All of Google’s paid plans allow you to meet for 24 hours, which should be enough for most businesses.
The Business Starter plan limits you to 100 attendees, so if you want to invite more people, then you will need to buy a Business Standard plan ($12 per user/month, one-year commitment), which allows you to invite 150 participants.
Need to invite even more people? Google’s Business Plus lets you run 500-participant video meetings for $18 per user/month if you buy a one-year plan. Meanwhile, the Enterprise Plan allows you to invite 1000 participants to a video meeting.
All the paid plans come with a custom business email address, Gmail Business email, phishing and spam protection, US or international dial-in phone numbers, and a digital whiteboard.
You will also get Chat Team messaging and Drive Secure storage. However, the amount of storage you get will vary based on your plan.
If you upgrade to Business Standard or higher, then you will also get access to noise cancellation, the option to record meetings and save them to Google Drive, appointment booking pages, Cloud Search Smart search, and advanced security features.
Zoom – Price Comparison
Like Google Meet, Zoom has a free plan that allows you to invite up to 100 attendees. However, you can only meet for 40 minutes, compared to the 60 minutes allowed by Google Meet’s free plan.
If you need to meet for longer than 40 minutes, then all of Zoom’s paid plans allow you to run 30-hour meetings. While this is longer than the Google Meet plan, it may not be required unless you run unusually long meetings or livestream virtual events and conferences.
Unlike Google Meet, the cheapest paid plan (Pro, priced at $15.99 per month, per user) still limits you to 100 attendees. If you want to invite more than 100 people, then you will need to upgrade to Business (19.99/month/user), which allows 300 attendees.
If you want to invite over 300 people, then you must contact Zoom and discuss upgrading to their Enterprise plan.
If you upgrade to a Pro or higher plan, then you will get access to an Essential Apps package. This is a package of third-party apps that Zoom has curated to make your meetings more productive. It includes apps that allow you to take notes, create a visual agenda, get personalized meeting reports, and create automated workflows.
The Business plan introduces some powerful extra features, including single sign-on and managed domains. You can also add your own branding, which is useful if you are a freelancer, designer, or developer who regularly uses Zoom to chat with clients.
If you want to make voice calls, then both Business Plus and Enterprise come with Zoom Phone, which allows you to make secure voice calls across all supported devices.
Winner – Google Meet
For running short meetings with 100 or fewer attendees, both the free Zoom and free Google Meet plans are great options. However, if you want to run longer meetings with over 100 attendees, then you will need to upgrade to a paid plan.
Generally, Zoom’s plans are slightly cheaper than the Google Meet equivalent. However, all of Google’s paid plans include the Google Workspace bundle of business and personal productivity tools and a secure business email.
This gives Meet a big advantage over Zoom, especially if you are a new business that needs a full suite of productivity tools and a professional email address.
If you are already using the Google apps, then it also makes sense to choose Google Meet since it works seamlessly with the other Google tools.
With all that in mind, the paid Google Meet plans do have a slight advantage over Zoom, even if both free plans represent great value for money.
Ease of Use – Google Meet vs Zoom
Choosing easy-to-use tools can save you a ton of time. This leaves you free to focus on more important tasks, including growing your business.
Here is how the two video conferencing software options compare for user-friendliness.
Google Meet – Ease of Use
Google Meet aims to make the user experience as effortless as possible. You can visit the Google Meet website in any supported web browser and start a meeting with just a few clicks.
If you have already accepted a Meet invite, then you can click on the event in your Google Calendar. This will open a popup with a ‘Join with Google Meet’ button.
Another option is to click on the ‘Meet’ button inside your Gmail account.
As you can see, it’s very easy to create or join a meeting, especially if you are already using Google tools.
Google Meet also has a pre-meeting ‘waiting room’, where you can toggle the camera and microphone on and off. You can also check the sound and video quality and change the settings before joining the meeting.
Google Meet’s settings are very simple, with just a few options. You can change the microphone, speakers, and camera that Google Meet uses and tell Google to log you out of meetings automatically if no one joins after a few minutes.
During meetings, you will find a row of buttons at the bottom of the screen where you can access some basic settings, send emojis, raise your hand to ask a question, and perform other basic tasks. You can also enable closed captions, which is great for accessibility.
To invite other people, simply share the link or dial-in number that Google Meet creates for you automatically.
If you want to schedule a team meeting, then just create a new event in Google Calendar. Then, click on the ‘Add Google Meet video conferencing’ button.
This creates a meeting link automatically.
With that done, just click on ‘Add Guests’ and type in the name or email address of every contact you want to invite.
As you can see, Google Meet is designed with simplicity in mind.
Most of the time, the video conference software works out of the box, and you can schedule meetings with just a few clicks. However, this ease of use does mean that Google Meet lacks some of the more advanced features you get from platforms like Zoom.
Zoom – Ease of Use
When it comes to ease of use, the Zoom experience is very different depending on whether you are using the online client or the desktop app.
The Zoom online client isn’t particularly user-friendly compared to the Google Meet experience. For example, if you want to schedule a meeting, then you will need to fill out a form.
However, the desktop app is much easier to use.
You can schedule a meeting or create an instant meeting with the click of a button.
You can also easily share your screen or join a meeting by typing in the meeting ID or link.
Before you join a meeting, you will get a chance to enable or disable the audio and video. However, unlike Google Meet, there’s no ‘waiting room’ where you can preview how the video feed will look before joining the main meeting.
No matter whether you are using the desktop app or the online client, Zoom’s settings are much more detailed and in-depth compared to Google Meet.
This does mean there’s a steeper learning curve, and non-techy users, in particular, may struggle with some of Zoom’s more advanced features.
However, Zoom’s comprehensive settings do mean the tool is far more flexible and powerful compared to Google Meet. For example, with the right Zoom settings, you can share a second webcam, which can be useful if you run webinars, demonstrations, or virtual classrooms.
Zoom can even recognize gestures and translate them into a corresponding meeting reaction. For example, you can trigger the thumbs-up emoji by putting your thumb up to the camera.
With that in mind, it’s no surprise that Zoom’s settings can be a bit overwhelming and confusing at first.
Winner – Google Meet
When it comes to ease of use, Google Meet definitely has the edge, particularly if you already use Google’s services. You can start a meeting instantly from the apps you are already using, including Gmail and Google Calendar.
If you already have a Google account, then getting started with Meet feels effortless. The default settings are also a good fit for most users, so Google Meet often works out of the box.
If you download the Zoom desktop app, then you will get a much better experience compared to the online client, and you will also have a ton of advanced features to explore.
However, if you are simply looking for click-and-go video chat software, then Google Meet is the clear winner.
Cross-Platform Support – Google Meet vs Zoom
A good video conferencing solution should always be within easy each, no matter what device or web browser you are using. This is particularly important if you regularly work from different places or give employees the option to work from home.
That said, let’s see how Google Meet and Zoom stack up in terms of the devices and operating systems they support.
Cross-Platform Support – Google Meet
Much like Google’s other web-based tools, Google Meet runs completely in the web browser. It supports Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Apple Safari.
This means you should have no problems joining a meeting from your desktop computer, assuming you have a good internet connection and one of the major web browsers.
If your browser doesn’t support Google Meet, then you can still dial in using a phone number or PIN that Meet creates automatically.
If you regularly have video calls on your smartphone or tablet, then you can download the Google Meet app for iOS or Android. This app has a similar user interface to the desktop version, which allows you to join and create meetings with just a few taps.
Cross-Platform Support – Zoom
Unlike Google Meet, Zoom has a desktop application for Windows, macOS, and Linux. It may take longer to set up compared to Google Meet, but the desktop app provides a much better user experience compared to the Zoom online client, so it’s well worth the effort.
If you don’t want to install the app, then the web client supports Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Chromium Edge. There’s also a mobile app for Android and iOS.
Winner – Zoom
No matter what device you are using, you should have no problems accessing Google Meet or Zoom. Both video communication services also have well-designed mobile apps, which we highly recommend if you regularly make calls from your smartphone or tablet.
However, Zoom is the winner simply because it’s the only platform that has a dedicated desktop app. If you have a busy schedule, then you can just leave Zoom running in the background while you work on other tasks. You can then connect to meetings, create new events, check your schedule, and more simply by checking the desktop interface.
Text Chat and Channels – Google Meet vs Zoom
Google Meet and Zoom allow you to have face-to-face conversations with people no matter where they are in the world. However, they both also support text chat, so let’s see how these features compare.
Text Chat and Channels – Google Meet
Google Meet allows you to send messages that appear alongside the main video screen. However, everyone on the call can see these messages, so there’s no way to have private one-on-one conversations.
You also can’t see any messages that people sent before you joined the meeting. Unless the meeting is being recorded, the entire conversation history will also disappear as soon as you leave the call.
You can’t add emojis or GIFs to your messages, although you can send a limited number of reactions that float across the main video window.
Text Chat and Channels – Zoom
Unlike Google Meet, you can send private messages to individual attendees in a Zoom call. This is particularly useful if you regularly host large meetings with lots of attendees. Without the option to send private messages, the chat could easily become too noisy and distracting, with multiple conversations happening at once.
Zoom also makes it easy to add emojis to your messages, although, just like Google Meet, there’s no option to add GIFs.
Similar to Google Meet, Zoom also adds a conversation log to recorded meetings, so people can follow along with the chat.
It also hides any messages that were sent before you joined the call. This is exactly the same behavior as Google Meet, but it may still be frustrating for some users.
Winner –Zoom
With the option to send private messages and built-in support for emojis, Zoom is the clear winner when it comes to text chat.
WordPress Integrations – Google Meet vs Zoom
If you have a WordPress website, then you may be wondering whether you can integrate WordPress with your video conferencing software. Let’s take a closer look at how both tools handle WordPress integration.
WordPress Integrations – Zoom
There are several ways to connect Zoom to your WordPress website. If you run webinars or online conferences, then you can use WPForms and the Uncanny Automator plugin to automatically register attendees when they fill out a form on your website.
In this way, you can onboard new clients, schedule coaching calls, and more. If you sell online courses or training, then you can even add students to an upcoming webinar or session as soon as they enroll.
Then, you can use Uncanny Automator to create a recipe that registers the visitor automatically when they complete the form.
If you have a WooCommerce store, then you can use the same Uncanny Automator recipe to enroll new customers in a product webinar after they buy an item in your online store.
Additionally, if you want to manage your Zoom meetings from the WordPress dashboard, then you may want to look at Video Conferencing with Zoom. This plugin allows you to import all your Zoom meetings into the WordPress dashboard with a single click.
You can even restrict your Zoom content using a membership plugin. In this way, you can make money online by selling access to your Zoom recordings.
WordPress Integrations – Google Meet
You can connect Google Meet to your WordPress website using Zapier. This popular automation tool comes with a ready-made workflow that will automatically schedule a Google Meet every time you publish a new post.
This can improve your editorial workflow by giving all team members a time to meet and review the new content, provide feedback, or review the post’s traffic, conversion rates, and other important metrics using a tool like Google Analytics.
Even better, you can build your own custom Google Meet and WordPress automation workflows using the Zapier editor. This gives you the freedom and flexibility to integrate WordPress and Google Meet in the way that works best for you.
Winner – Zoom
You can integrate Google Meet and WordPress in lots of ways using Zapier. However, the combination of Uncanny Automator and WPForms gives Zoom a definite advantage.
These two must-have WordPress plugins allow you to automatically add students, customers, co-workers, and other contacts to your Zoom webinars and calls. For this reason, Zoom is a great choice for WordPress blog and website owners.
Professional and Community Support – Google Meet vs Zoom
Google Meet and Zoom are both easy to use, but everyone needs help from time to time. Let’s compare their support options to see the help that’s available.
Professional and Community Support – Google Meet
If you prefer to find answers yourself, then there is an entire library of tutorials and videos in the Google Meet Help portal. You can look through the different pages or type in your question and get articles recommended to you.
There’s also a Google Meet Community where you can browse questions that other people have posted.
While there is a lot of information here, thankfully, Google has created a detailed sorting and filtering system that can help you find the information you are looking for, fast.
If you can’t find a relevant thread, then you can always create your own.
Simply post your question to the Community portal, and wait for a response from the Google Meet community.
If you want to improve your Google Meet knowledge and boost your productivity, then you can check out the Google Workspace Learning Center. Here, you will find quick start guides, cheat sheets, productivity guides, and many other useful resources.
Do you prefer professional support instead?
Google’s Business Starter, Business Standard, and Business Plus all come with standard professional support. However, if you buy an Enterprise plan, then you will get access to Enhanced Support, which promises faster response times, more advanced product knowledge, and even support for third-party technologies.
Professional and Community Support – Zoom
If you have any questions, then the Zoom Support portal should be your first stop. Here, you will find a knowledge base with thousands of articles, a learning center with on-demand video courses, and an active community question-and-answer site.
If you are interested in community support, then the Zoom Q and A threads are helpfully divided into categories and organized into Latest, Trending, Solved, and Unanswered tabs.
This system should help you get answers to common questions, fast.
If you have a Zoom problem that no one else has posted about, then you can always start a new thread and get direct help from the Zoom community.
The Zoom support portal also has a chatbot, so you can type in questions and get answers at any time of the day or night. Often, this is much faster than looking through all the Zoom documentation yourself.
If you buy a Business plan or higher, then you will also get live chat support, phone support, and the option to submit web tickets.
Alternatively, if you have a Pro plan, then you can submit web tickets and may be entitled to live chat and phone support, depending on the total cost of your Zoom subscription.
Additionally, if you need professional support, then Zoom offers a range of premium support plans.
Winner – Tie
While both Google Meet and Zoom offer professional support, it’s the community support and online resources that really put these two popular video services ahead of the competition.
No matter whether you choose Meet or Zoom, you will get access to detailed and extensive articles, tutorials, video guides, forums, and countless other online resources.
That said, both Google Meet and Zoom are excellent choices when it comes to support.
Google Meet vs Zoom: Which Is Better For Your Business?
If you are looking for an easy, convenient video conferencing tool with excellent support, then both Google Meet and Zoom are great options.
Both video chat platforms make it easy to communicate with teammates, employees, customers, and other contacts around the world. They are also available across all major browsers and work on smartphones, tablets, and desktop computers. This means you can use both Google Meet and Zoom from any location.
Ultimately, the software that’s right for you will vary depending on the features your business needs, the size of your organization, and how long your meetings typically last.
Each tool has its own strengths and drawbacks. If you want a solution that works out of the box for most users and integrates with the full suite of Google Workspace apps, then Google Meet is likely better for your business.
But if you want more advanced features and a dedicated desktop app, then Zoom is the better option. We also recommend Zoom if you run a WordPress website due to its seamless integration with WordPress via powerful plugins like Uncanny Automator and WPForms.
Alternatives to Google Meet and Zoom
In this guide, we focused on Google Meet vs Zoom, but there are lots more communication tools on the market that might be better for your business.
If you are looking for an alternative solution, then Nextiva is the best virtual business phone number service on the market.
At WPBeginner, we use Nextiva for all our business phone needs because it helps our team answer incoming customer calls from anywhere in the world without having to share their personal cell phone numbers. Plus, the Nextiva Video plan comes with video conferencing, screen-sharing, and file-sharing features.
If you regularly video chat with customers or offer customer support, then RingCentral is another popular business VoIP service provider that lets you set up a cloud call center solution for your business.
They also offer an AI-powered video meeting experience with advanced features such as live transcription, intelligent meeting summaries, and virtual backgrounds.
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Do you want to add a cookies consent popup in WordPress?
Your WordPress site may be setting cookies on your visitors’ browsers. However, the European Union’s law requires websites to get user consent before setting any cookies on their computers.
In this article, we will show you how to add a cookies popup in WordPress.
Why Are Cookie Popups Necessary?
Browser cookies are small files containing data sent by a website to store in a user’s browser. Most WordPress websites set cookies for various purposes.
For example, by default, WordPress uses cookies for authentication purposes to store session information for logged-in users. It also sets a cookie when someone leaves a comment on your site.
Apart from these, WordPress plugins can also set their own cookies to store different information or recognize repeat visitors.
While cookies are extremely useful, they can also be used to collect information about a user and share it with third-party advertising platforms.
That’s why in Europe and a few other countries, website owners are required to let users know about their usage of cookies. If your website targets audiences in those regions, then you need to show a cookie consent disclaimer.
The easiest way to do that is with a WordPress GDPR plugin. Cookie Notice and Cookiebot are two of the most popular cookie notification plugins and are compatible with many other popular WordPress plugins.
That being said, let’s take a look at how to easily display a cookie consent popup in WordPress.
Upon activation, the plugin will start to display a basic cookies popup to your visitors right away without any additional configuration. The default message is suitable for most websites.
If you’d like to customize the notification, then you need to visit the Cookies menu item in your WordPress dashboard.
From here, simply scroll down to the Notice Settings section.
On this page, you can customize the popup message and button text.
While it’s not as easy to set up as Cookie Notice and won’t work unless you sign up for a free Cookiebot account, it does offer some additional customization options.
Once activated, a new Cookiebot section is added to your WordPress dashboard. You’ll need to navigate to Cookiebot » Settings in your WordPress dashboard to configure the plugin.
If you don’t already have a Cookiebot ID, then you’ll need to sign up for one by clicking the ‘Create a new Account’ button.
Next, the Cookiebot website will open in a new tab on your browser.
Go ahead and enter your email address and password. You’ll also need to click the terms of service, privacy policy, and DPA checkbox.
Once that’s done, you can click the ‘Create Account’ button.
Next, you’ll see Cookitbot settings. Go ahead and add your website URL under the Domain name field. In the free version, you can only add 1 domain name.
After that, you’ll need to switch to the ‘Your scripts’ tab.
From here, simply copy the ‘Domain Group ID.’
Next, you can head back to the Cookiebot settings in your WordPress dashboard.
Under the General Settings tab, scroll down to the Connect your Domain Group section and enter the ID under the ‘Add your Domain Group ID’ field.
Once that’s done, don’t forget to click the ‘Save Changes’ button at the top.
If you scroll down, you’ll see more settings. For instance, the plugin lets you select a language. By default, it will be set to ‘Autodetect,’ but you can click the dropdown menu to change it.
You can also select Cookie-blocking mode. We recommend using the ‘Automatic cookie-blocking mode’ as the plugin will block all cookies except those that are strictly necessary until a user has given consent.
You might like to check ‘Auto-update Cookiebot’ option in the Advanced Settings tab.
This way, the plugin stays up to date with any changes in GDPR legislation.
For testing purposes, you should also enable the ‘Render Cookiebot CMP on front-end while logged in’ option.
If you leave it disabled, then you won’t see the popup when you’re logged into your WordPress site.
After you’re done with the settings, don’t forget to click the ‘Save Changes’ button at the bottom.
Customize Your Cookie Popup Notice
We’re not finished yet, but we’re getting close. To finish configuring Cookiebot, you now need to return to the Cookiebot website.
Next, you’ll need to navigate to the Banner tab on the Cookiebot website.
Here, you can choose a template, edit the position, and appearance of the popup.
You’ll be able to see the changes by clicking the Preview button or returning to your website.
If you notice that the wording used in the popup doesn’t match the reasons your website uses cookies, then you can change it.
You’ll find the settings to do this by navigating to the Content tab on the Cookiebot website.
You might also want to add a cookie declaration to your website’s privacy policy. If you haven’t already created a privacy policy page, then you can follow our guide on how to create a privacy policy page in WordPress.
You need to start by navigating to the Declaration tab on Cookiebot’s website. By default, the cookie declaration uses Cookiebot’s default wording.
If you need to customize the message because your website uses cookies for a different reason, then you need a premium Cookiebot subscription.
Alternatively, you can just type your own declaration into your privacy policy, but you’d miss out on features such as links where visitors can change or withdraw their consent.
In this tutorial, we’ll add the default declaration to our privacy policy. You just need to edit your privacy policy and insert the shortcode[cookie_declaration] where you want to display the cookie declaration.
To see the declaration you need to save and preview the page.
This is how the first few paragraphs look on our test website.
Bonus: Improve GDPR Compliance with MonsterInsights
MonsterInsights is the best analytics solution for your WordPress site. It’s also the simplest way to improve your compliance with GDPR and other privacy regulations.
That’s because MonsterInsights offers an EU Compliance addon that works out of the box. It will automatically change your analytics settings to help you stay in compliance with privacy laws.
The EU compliance addon is included in the premium plan. The best thing is that it automatically integrates with both Cookie Notice and Cookiebot.
Once MonsterInsights is installed and set up, you’ll need to install and activate the EU Compliance addon.
You can do that by navigating to the Insights » Addons page in your WordPress dashboard. Next, find the EU Compliance addon and click on the ‘Install’ button.
The addon will be automatically activated.
You can check this by going to the MonsterInsights » Settings page and switching to the ‘Engagement’ tab.
When you look at the EU Compliance section, you will see that the addon has been turned on.
If you click the down arrow on the right side of the screen, then you can see a detailed list of the configuration changes the addon has made to your website.
For instance, you can see that it automatically anonymized IP addresses in Google Analytics, disabled demographics, and interest reports, disabled UserID tracking, and much more.
Next, you can scroll down to see MonsterInsights compatibility with different cookie plugins like Cookie Notice and CookieBot.
MonsterInsights will automatically make changes to the Google Analytics tracking code if any of the plugins are installed on your site. This way, it will wait for consent before tracking users in Google Analytics.
We hope this article helped you add a cookie consent popup to your WordPress site.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
Are you wondering how to configure your WordPress email settings?
The default WordPress email settings are not always reliable and can lead to many sending errors and email delivery problems. This means that you and your customers may not receive emails sent from your WordPress website.
In this article, we will show you how to properly configure your WordPress email settings.
Why Do WordPress Email Settings Not Work Properly?
The default email settings on your WordPress website use the PHP mail () function to send emails about form submissions, account activation, and more.
However, your website may experience email delivery problems if your hosting provider’s mail server is not properly configured. Plus, many popular email services like Gmail can flag these messages as spam.
This means that when an email is sent from your website to your user, it may end up in the spam folder of their email account, or it may never reach their inbox at all.
Luckily, you can get past this problem by properly configuring your WordPress email settings. To do this, you will need to use an SMTP service or plugin.
What Is SMTP, And How Can It Fix Email Settings in WordPress?
SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is a standard protocol for mail transmission. Unlike the PHP mail () function, SMTP uses proper authentication to send and receive email messages.
By using an SMTP service on your website, you can get high deliverability rates, avoid the spam folder, and make sure that your emails reach the user’s inbox immediately.
To properly configure your WordPress email settings, you will need to use a popular SMTP service provider like SendLayer, Brevo (formerly Sendinblue), or SMTP.com. These service providers are easy to use and allow you to safely send emails from your WordPress site.
Once you have chosen a service provider, you will have to connect your WordPress website to your mail server.
It is the best WordPress SMTP plugin on the market that allows you to send emails via SMTP. It comes with powerful features like email logs, email controls, priority support, and more.
The premium version of the plugin can even integrate with popular SMTP service providers like SendLayer and Brevo and any WordPress hosting company that offers email accounts.
Having said that, let’s see how to properly configure your WordPress email settings.
How to Properly Configure Your WordPress Email Settings
It is super easy to configure your WordPress email settings using the WP Mail SMTP plugin and an SMTP service provider.
First, you need to visit the SendLayer website and click the ‘Get Started With SendLayer’ button.
This will take you to the Pricing page, where you can select a plan that suits your needs.
However, if you don’t want to buy SendLayer yet, then you can click on the ‘Try our SendLayer free trial (send up to 200 emails)’ link at the bottom.
This will take you to the ‘Checkout’ page, where you will have to provide your email account, password, and payment details.
Once your account sign-up has been created, just click the ‘Continue to Dashboard’ button.
Step 2: Add Your Domain For Authorization
Next, you will need to authorize your domain name to allow email servers to recognize you as a verified sender.
This means that the email sent from your account after authorization won’t end up in the spam folder of your users.
To do this, click the ‘Add Domain’ button in the top right corner of the screen.
This will open up a new page on your screen where you need to type your website domain name into the field.
Once you’ve done that, just click the ‘Add Domain’ button.
SendLayer will now automatically generate five types of DNS records for your domain.
Now, you have to copy and paste these records into your website’s DNS settings one by one.
To find these DNS settings, you must go to the WordPress hosting account dashboard for your website. The exact location of the DNS settings will depend on your hosting provider, but SendLayer provides some documentation to help you out.
Upon adding all of the DNS records in your hosting dashboard, simply check the ‘I have added these DNS records and am ready to proceed’ box at the bottom of the SendLayer page.
After that, click the ‘Verify DNS Records’ button to continue.
Keep in mind that it can take up to 48 hours for the DNS record changes to take effect.
To check your domain authorization status, head over to your SendLayer dashboard and click the ‘Settings’ tab in the left column.
Once you are on the Settings page, switch to the ‘DNS Records & Settings’ tab from the top.
If your DNS settings have been verified, you will now see a green symbol in the Status column for each type of DNS record.
Step 3: Copy the SendLayer API Key
Now that you have authorized your domain name, it’s time for you to copy the API key for your SendLayer account. This API key will allow you to connect the SMTP service with your WordPress website.
To do this, click on the ‘Settings’ tab in the left column of your SendLayer dashboard. Next, switch to the ‘API Keys’ tab from the top of the page.
Once you are there, click the ‘Show API Key’ link and then copy the key into your clipboard.
Step 4: Set Up the WP Mail SMTP Plugin on Your WordPress Website
Once you have created a SendLayer account and copied the API key, head over to your WordPress website’s dashboard.
Upon activation, you need to head over to the WP Mail SMTP » Settings page from the WordPress admin sidebar.
Once you are there, add the license key for your plugin next to the ‘License Key’ option. You can find this information on your account page on the WP Mail SMTP website.
After that, scroll down to the ‘From Email’ section and add the admin email that you want to use to send emails to your users.
If you want the From Email to be the same across your entire site, then simply check the ‘Force From Email’ box.
After that, type the name that you want to use to send emails next to the ‘From Name’ field.
For example, if you have an online store, then you can use your store’s name in this field. This way, users will immediately know who is sending them a message.
After that, scroll down to the ‘Mailer’ section and choose the SMTP service that you want to connect with your WordPress site.
For this tutorial, we will be choosing the ‘SendLayer’ option.
Once you do that, a new ‘SendLayer’ tab will open up on the screen.
Here, you have to paste the API key that you copied earlier from the SendLayer dashboard. If you were unable to copy the key before, then you can just click the ‘Get API Key’ link to be directed back to your SendLayer account.
Once you are done, simply click the ‘Save Settings’ button to store your changes.
You have now successfully connected WP Mail SMTP with SendLayer.
Step 5: Send a Test Email
To check if your SMTP service provider and the plugin are working properly, you can easily send a test email.
To do this, switch to the ‘Email Test’ tab from the top of the WP Mail SMTP settings page.
Once you are there, simply add an email account that you have access to in the ‘Send To’ field. After that, go ahead and click the ‘Send Email’ button.
Once the email has been sent, you will see a success message on your screen.
Next, check the inbox for that email address where you will see the test email that you just sent.
WP Mail SMTP and SendLayer will now eliminate your email deliverability problems by making sure that your emails are sent to your users’ inboxes and don’t end up in the spam folder.
Next Steps: How to Grow Your Email List
Now that you have properly configured your WordPress email settings, it’s time for you to start growing your email list.
This way, users that are interested will have to sign up on your website to enter the giveaway which will help build your email list. For details, you may want to see our tutorial on how to run a successful giveaway/contest in WordPress.
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Are you wondering where the php.ini file is located on your website?
Php.ini is a critical file in your WordPress installation. You’ll often need to edit it for better functionality and performance of your website. However, many website owners don’t know where it is located.
In this article, we’ll show you where is php.ini in WordPress and how to edit this file.
To help you navigate the post, you can click the links below to jump to any section you’re interested in.
The php.ini file is a default configuration file for PHP on your WordPress site. PHP is a scripting and programming language on which WordPress is written.
It’s used on the server side of things, which means it runs on your web hosting server. Through PHP, WordPress is able to display your blog posts, products, media content, and more.
The php.ini file configures how PHP works and can have a huge impact on your website’s functionality. Whenever PHP runs on your site, it will look for this file.
That said, let’s see why and when you’ll need to edit the file on your website.
Why Do You Need to Edit php.ini File in WordPress?
The php.ini file is very important for your site’s performance and functionality. This means you can edit it to ensure your website works smoothly or resolve any errors.
If you have a photography website or a site that requires a lot of videos and images, then you might encounter an error ‘uploaded file exceeds the upload_max_filesize’ message.
Increasing the upload size in the php.ini file will help resolve this error and allow you to easily upload larger media files. Plus, you can also increase the available memory to accommodate long blog posts with lots of images.
Similarly, the php.ini file lets you edit the file timeout settings. If a file takes longer to process, then your site can timeout and stop processing the request. To prevent this from happening, you can increase the number of seconds before timeout through the php.ini file.
Lastly, you’ll also be able to enable or disable file extensions in PHP by editing the file. This is really useful if you see a ‘Your PHP installation appears to be missing the MySQL extension’ error on your site. It helps fix this error and resolve issues when establishing a database connection.
Now, let’s look at where the php.ini file is located in WordPress.
Finding the php.ini File Location in WordPress
There are several ways you can locate and view the php.ini file.
You can use your hosting service’s cPanel, a plugin, or an FTP client to access your website files and folders.
1. Use cPanel to Locate the php.ini File
You can use the cPanel provided by your WordPress hosting provider and access the File Manager to locate the file. This method is pretty straightforward, and you don’t need to edit any code.
For this tutorial, we will use Bluehost to access the cPanel. If you’re using another hosting service, then the steps may vary.
First, you’ll need to log in to your Bluehost account. From here, simply click the ‘Advanced’ option in the left panel.
On the next screen, you’ll see the cPanel of your website.
Simply scroll down to the Files section and click the File Manager option.
After that, you’ll see all the folders and files of your WordPress website.
From the left panel, you can navigate to the ‘public_html’ folder. Next, you should see files in the folder on your right. You can scroll down and locate the ‘php.ini’ file.
To download the file for editing, you can simply right-click the php.ini file and save it on your computer.
2. Locate the php.ini File using a File Manager Plugin
Another way of finding out where is the php.ini file in WordPress is by using a plugin like WP File Manager.
It is a free WordPress plugin that lets you edit, download, delete, and organize your files and folders directly from the WordPress dashboard. You don’t have to use an FTP client or cPanel to access your site’s files.
First, you’ll need to install and activate the WP File Manager plugin. If you need help, then please see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Upon activation, you can head to WP File Manager from your WordPress admin panel.
Next, you’ll need to select the ‘public_html’ folder from the panel on the left. After that, you can scroll down and navigate to the ‘php.ini’ file.
Once you’ve located the file, simply right-click to download it onto your computer.
3. Finding php.ini Path in WordPress using the phpinfo.php File
You can also find the php.ini file by creating a phpinfo.php file and placing it in the root directory of your WordPress installation.
This is a slightly advanced method and is recommended for people who know how to use an FTP client and access the root directory of a website.
First, you’ll need to create a new text editor file. You can use Notepad, Bracket, Sublime Text, or any similar software to create one. In the file, ensure that you enter the following code:
<?PHP phpinfo(); ?>
Next, you’ll need to save the file and name it phpinfo.php. You can use any other name, but make sure that there is ‘.php’ at the end.
After that, you will need to use an FTP client to access the root directory of your website and upload the file. Simply drag the phpinfo.php file from the left panel and drop it into your site’s root directory.
Next, you will need to enter the following web address in your browser:
www.example.com/phpinfo.php
Just make sure that you replace the ‘example.com’ with your domain name.
From here, you’ll see details about PHP installation on your site and the path for locating the php.ini file.
To find the path of the file, you can look for the ‘Configuration File Path’ or ‘Loaded Configuration File’ fields.
You’ll see the path for the php.ini file in either one of the fields.
Once you know the path, you can access your site’s files using an FTP client.
From there, simply go to the path you just discovered and download the php.ini file.
Editing the php.ini File in WordPress
Now that you know the location of the php.ini file, the next step is to download and edit it.
Go ahead and open the file in Notepad or any other text editor.
Next, you can edit the file to improve your site’s performance. Here are a few common configurations you can make in the php.ini file:
max_excecution_time – This is the time needed to run commands and execute scripts. You can increase the default time of 60 to a higher number if you’re uploading large files to the server.
memory_limit – It relates to the memory needed to upload files and execute commands. Editing the memory limit will help you accommodate long content and lots of images. By default, it is set to 256M, but you can increase the memory limit.
upload_max_filesize – Editing this option allows you to upload large media files and increase the limit.
post_max_size – If your blog posts contain a lot of images and videos, then the size of the post will increase. To avoid any errors, you can increase the post_max_size to accommodate more extensive articles.
Once you’ve made these changes to the php.ini file, you can simply upload it back to your server in the same location using the cPanel, an FTP client, or the file manager plugin.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
If you are one of the many beginners who want to customize your WordPress site design without touching CSS, then you are in luck.
The CSS Hero plugin for WordPress allows you to customize the design without touching a single line of code.
In this updated CSS Hero review, we will show you how to use CSS Hero to customize your website and why we believe it’s one of the plugins every WordPress beginner should try.
Our CSS Hero Review
CSS Hero is a premium WordPress plugin that allows you to design your own WordPress theme without writing a single line of code (no HTML or CSS required).
You can undo changes quickly, which is extremely helpful for beginners. All changes are saved as an additional stylesheet, so you can update your WordPress theme without worrying about losing the changes.
If you are a designer or developer, then you will find CSS Hero equally as good. It works well with all popular WordPress themes and frameworks. You can quickly change a theme or child theme and export it to a client’s website.
CSS Hero can save you time and frustration when making design customizations.
CSS Hero vs. WordPress Page Builders
CSS Hero is a design tool and not an ideal solution for creating landing pages or making a custom WordPress theme from scratch. It works along with your WordPress theme and allows you to customize CSS without writing CSS code.
On the other hand, a WordPress page builder plugin allows you to create landing pages and customize your WordPress layout regardless of which WordPress theme you are using.
Pro Tip: If you want to make landing pages, sales pages, product pages, and more, then we recommend using SeedProd. It is the best WordPress page builder plugin, allowing you to quickly design high-converting and beautiful pages for your website.
How to Use CSS Hero to Customize Your WordPress Theme
It is a premium WordPress plugin with pricing starting from $29 for a single site (totally worth the investment, considering the time and hassle it will save you).
You can use the CSS Hero coupon code: WPBEGINNER to get a special discount of 34% Off. If you are buying the PRO plan, then the same code will get you a whopping 40% discount.
You will be redirected to get your CSS Hero License key upon activation. Simply follow the on-screen instructions, and you will be redirected back to your site in a few clicks.
CSS Hero aims to provide you with a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) interface for editing your theme.
Simply visit your WordPress website while logged in, and you will notice the CSS Hero button in the WordPress admin bar.
Clicking on the button will convert your site into a live preview.
You will now be able to see the CSS Hero editor. It has a top and bottom toolbar, a left column, and a live preview of your website.
Next, take your mouse over to an element that you want to edit, and CSS Hero will highlight it to indicate where you are.
Clicking on it will select that element and show its properties in the left column.
These will include common CSS properties for the selected element, like the background, typography, borders, spacing, and more.
You can click on any item to expand it and then edit the CSS properties using a simple user interface.
As you make changes, the custom CSS magically appears below.
If you are learning CSS, then you will find it helpful to see how different CSS changes are applied with the result in the live preview.
CSS Hero also has a built-in Unsplash integration, allowing you to browse, search, and use beautiful photographs in your website’s design.
CSS Hero also comes with some ready-made snippets that you can apply to different elements on your website.
Simply switch to the ‘Snippets’ tab in the left column. You will see a bunch of column elements listed there.
Click to select an element, and CSS Hero will show you different style variations.
Click on the ‘Set Params’ button to edit a style that you like, and then click on the ‘Apply’ button to add it to your theme.
As you make changes to your website, CSS Hero will autosave those changes but not publish them.
To apply these changes to your live website, you need to click the ‘Save and Publish’ button in the bottom right corner of the screen.
How to Undo Changes in CSS Hero
One of the best features of CSS Hero is the ability to undo any changes you make at any time.
CSS Hero keeps a history of all the changes you make to your theme. Simply click on the history button in the CSS Hero toolbar to see the list of changes. This button looks like a small clock.
You can click on a date and time to see what your site looked like at that time. If you want to revert to that state, simply save or resume editing from that point.
This doesn’t mean that changes you made after that point will disappear. They will still be stored, and you can also revert to that time. It doesn’t get any simpler than that.
But what if you only want to revert changes you made to a particular item?
In that case, you don’t need to use the history tool. Simply click on the element you want to revert to an earlier version and then click the ‘Reset’ button.
This will change the item back to the default settings defined by your WordPress theme.
Customizing Your Site for Mobile Devices in CSS Hero
The most challenging aspect of web design is device compatibility. You need to make sure that your site looks equally impressive on all devices and screen sizes.
Web designers use various tools to test for browser and device compatibility. Lucky for you, CSS Hero comes with a built-in preview tool.
Simply choose from mobile, tablet, and desktop devices in the top toolbar. The preview area will change to your selected device. You can also toggle between ‘Edit’ and ‘Navigate’ modes to hide other toolbars.
Switching to the ‘Edit’ mode will allow you to edit your site while previewing it for mobile devices. This tool is handy for tweaking your theme’s design for mobile and tablets.
CSS Hero Theme Compatibility
The official CSS Hero website has an ever-growing list of compatible themes. This list includes many of the best free WordPress themes.
What About Themes Not on the Theme Compatibility List?
CSS Hero comes with a feature called Rocket Mode Auto-detection. If you use a theme not included in the theme compatibility list, then CSS Hero will automatically start using Rocket Mode.
Rocket Mode tries to guess the CSS selectors from your theme. This works perfectly most of the time. If your theme follows WordPress coding standards, then you will be able to edit almost everything.
You may also want to contact your theme developer and ask them to provide compatibility with CSS Hero.
If you are using a WordPress plugin that generates an output not editable by CSS Hero, then you can ask the plugin author to fix that. They don’t need to do much to provide compatibility with CSS Hero.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
Are you thinking about switching to a career in WordPress?
When planning any changes to your job, you will want to look at all the options and make sure your new career path will be secure for years to come.
In this article, we will show you the best WordPress careers so that you can learn how to make a living with WordPress.
Why Choose WordPress Careers?
WordPress is a highly successful content management system. It’s one of the best website builders, it’s free and open source, and it powers 43% of sites on the internet.
Note: When we talk about WordPress, we are referring to the self-hosted WordPress.org instead of WordPress.com. To learn the differences, you can see our complete guide to WordPress.org vs. WordPress.com.
Since the WordPress platform is so popular, you may be wondering if you can make your living with it.
The good news is that pursuing a new job in WordPress can be safe and rewarding. The demand for WordPress professionals remains high due to the platform’s popularity and constant growth. Plus, there are lots of WordPress careers for individuals with a wide range of skill sets.
Note: While other tech companies have been struggling in today’s economy, Awesome Motive has continued to hire WordPress developers, WordPress support specialists, technical content writers, and more. We now have more than 300 employees in over 50 countries.
That being said, let’s look at the best WordPress career options for making a living with WordPress.
WordPress Developer
WordPress developers are responsible for creating and customizing WordPress websites, eCommerce sites, plugins, and custom themes using programming languages like PHP, JavaScript, CSS, MySQL, HTML, and more.
You will spend time adding functionality, optimizing performance, and resolving technical issues. While this can mean writing new code, you will also need to enhance old code, diagnose and fix bugs, update legacy code, and provide feedback to other developers.
Employment of web developers and web designers is projected to grow 13% from 2020 to 2030, much faster than the average for all occupations. WordPress developers, including both back-end and front-end developers, are in especially high demand since WordPress powers 43.2% of all websites.
If you are interested in becoming a WordPress developer, then you can get started by reading our guide on how to learn WordPress for free.
WordPress UI/UX Designer
UI/UX designers are responsible for the user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) of WordPress plugins and WordPress themes. You will focus on creating visually appealing and user-friendly interfaces and perform UX audits to provide a good user experience.
While developers are more focused on the technical side of software development, UI/UX designers focus on the user experience. Developers typically work with code, while UI/UX designers usually work with images, text, and other visual elements.
However, there is some overlap between the two roles, and many developers and UI/UX designers have skills in both areas. Ultimately, the goal of both developers and UI/UX designers is to create software that is both functional and enjoyable to use.
The best way to decide whether you want to be a developer or a UI/UX designer is to consider your own strengths and interests. If you are most interested in creating visually appealing and user-friendly interfaces, then you might be a good fit for a UI/UX designer role.
WordPress QA Engineer
A QA engineer, or quality assurance engineer, is responsible for ensuring the quality of software. They do this by finding bugs before the software is released to the public. This involves designing and running tests, analyzing test results, and reporting bugs to developers.
They will often automate these tests to save time and improve the efficiency of the testing process. After that, they look for bugs in the test results and decide whether they are critical.
They need to communicate the bugs to the developers in a clear and concise way so that they can be fixed as quickly as possible. This can involve working with the developers to find the root cause of the bug and develop a fix.
If you are looking for a career where you can use your analytical and problem-solving skills to make a difference, then QA engineering may be the right career for you.
Marketing Specialist
Marketing specialists do market research and make marketing strategies to drive the sales of a WordPress company’s plugins, themes, or services.
Marketing specialists spend a lot of time working with other team members, including developers and designers. You will typically need to design and optimize landing pages and create an email newsletter to generate leads and sales.
You will also need to build relationships with potential customers and influencers in the industry. This will often mean attending WordPress events and conferences like WordCamp.
WordPress Support Specialist
Support specialists make sure that customers can successfully use their plugins and themes on their own WordPress websites. You will troubleshoot errors, answer customer questions, and provide solutions to ensure a positive user experience.
Technical support is more focused on resolving specific problems, while customer support focuses on providing a positive overall experience. However, there is some overlap between the two, and many technical support representatives also have strong customer service skills.
Customers may contact support staff via a toll-free phone number, email, a help desk, or live chat. You will aim to build relationships based on trust by listening to your customer’s needs. This will result in happy, passionate, and loyal customers.
This means that a support specialist is one of the best WordPress careers if you are patient, understanding, and able to place customers at ease. You also need to provide confident and timely answers by being familiar with the product’s documentation and common issues.
WordPress Content Writer
A content writer creates engaging and informative content for WordPress plugins, themes, and services. You research and write documentation, tutorials, marketing materials, and blog posts to promote and support your company’s products.
This will involve writing accurate descriptions for the plugin or theme’s landing page, marketplace listings, or sales pages. You will highlight key features and benefits and include screenshots and unique selling points to attract and educate potential customers.
You may also be responsible for writing technical documentation for WordPress plugins and themes. This means you need to have a strong understanding of WordPress and its features.
You will collaborate closely with the development team to understand new features, updates, and bug fixes. You need to keep track of upcoming changes and ensure that the documentation reflects the most current version of the plugin.
Professional WordPress bloggers and writers will also need to optimize their content to improve search engine rankings. This includes doing keyword research, writing meta descriptions and tags, optimizing titles and headings, and following search engine optimization (SEO) best practices.
Video Content Creator
A video content creator is responsible for creating videos to promote the company’s products, such as WordPress plugins or themes. You may also make tutorial videos that explain how to do specific tasks and cover different use cases.
As a video creator, you will need to plan content, write scripts, and find ways to present complex topics simply. You will research trends, analyze audience preferences, and identify the topics that need to be covered.
You will shoot high-quality videos using cameras, lighting equipment, and other necessary tools. Plus, you will set up appropriate backgrounds, props, and settings to improve the visual appearance of the videos with proper framing, focus, and audio quality during recording.
You will need to edit the video and optimize it for online viewing, though, at this point, another team member may take over. You will also add appropriate metadata, such as titles, descriptions, and tags, to improve video SEO.
Finally, you will upload the video to a streaming service such as YouTube or Vimeo and then embed the video in WordPress so that it can be viewed on the website. You may also work with the marketing team to promote the videos.
Graphic Designer
Graphic designers create the visual elements, icons, logos, and overall aesthetics for WordPress plugins and themes. You work closely with developers and other team members to improve the products’ visual appeal, usability, and branding.
Usability principles are important when designing WordPress plugins and themes. WordPress designers focus on creating clear and understandable visual cues, buttons, and icons, making it easier for users to interact with the product and achieve their goals.
You may also create graphics for blog posts, social media posts, and video thumbnails. Plus, you will collaborate with marketing teams to create promotional materials, banners, and graphics.
FAQs About WordPress Careers
Do you have any questions about the best way to get into a WordPress career? Here are some of the most frequent questions we are asked about WordPress careers by our readers.
Are WordPress jobs in demand?
Yes. With WordPress powering 43% of all websites, freelance WordPress developers and other roles are in high demand. When visiting online job boards, you can be confident there will be plenty of WordPress careers being advertised.
How can I prepare for a WordPress career?
The best way to prepare for a WordPress career is to become familiar with WordPress. You can learn a lot of WordPress skills by reading WPBeginner tutorials and watching content on our YouTube channel. You can also take advantage of our paid courses at WP101.
It’s also important to get involved in the WordPress community. There are many ways to get involved, like going to WordPress meetups, participating in forums, and contributing to open-source projects.
WordPress plugins and themes are written in PHP, so if you want to become a developer, then it is important to have strong coding skills in PHP. You can also learn JavaScript and MySQL, which are other important languages for WordPress development.
How long does it take to learn WordPress to get a job?
It can take beginners between 6 months to a year to become familiar with WordPress, depending on how much time you spend learning and using the platform.
However, if you want to become a skilled WordPress developer, then you will need to invest even more time in learning WordPress and the PHP programming language.
Can someone who doesn’t know how to code get a job in WordPress?
Yes. While there are plenty of jobs for WordPress developers, there are also WordPress careers that don’t need any coding skills.
These include graphic design, creating written and video content, customer support, and marketing.
Where can I apply for WordPress jobs?
There are many places to find WordPress job postings when looking for new career opportunities.
You can start by checking online job boards like Indeed, Monster, and CareerBuilder. There are also a number of WordPress-specific job boards, such as WordPress Jobs.
Social media platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter can also be a good way to find WordPress-related job opportunities. You can also attend WordPress meetups and join online WordPress communities to network with WordPress companies.
Make sure you visit our Careers page to learn about the benefits of working at Awesome Motive and see the jobs we have available. We often advertise new full-time job openings, so make sure you come back regularly.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
The WordPress white screen of death is one of the most common WordPress errors. It is also a frustrating error because there is no message, and you are locked out of WordPress.
Another problem with the white screen of death error is that sometimes, it only affects a certain part of your website. For example, you may only see the white screen of death inside the WordPress admin area, while everything else works fine. In other cases, you might only see it on a specific post.
In this article, we will show you how to fix the WordPress white screen of death by looking at different solutions.
Why Do You See the White Screen of Death in WordPress?
The majority of the time, when you see a white screen of death when trying to visit your WordPress website, it means that a script on your website exhausted the memory limit.
The unresponsive script either gets killed by your WordPress hosting server or simply times out. This is why no actual error message is generated, and you just see a plain white screen.
However, sometimes, you may see an error message.
For example, you might see a critical error message instead of a plain white screen.
Whether you are seeing a blank screen or the message ‘There has been a critical error on your website’, it’s the same error.
This error can also happen due to a poorly coded theme or plugin installed on your site. Sometimes, it can happen if there is an issue with your web hosting server.
Since the white screen error can be caused by any number of things, it requires methodical troubleshooting to fix it. Here are the steps you should try:
If you’d prefer written instructions, then just keep reading.
1. Check Whether the Problem Happens on Your Other Sites
If you have other WordPress sites installed on the same hosting account, then you want to start by checking if the problem is happening on other sites as well.
If it is, then that’s a strong indicator that something is wrong with your WordPress hosting service. This could be a temporary issue affecting their service, and you need to reach out to their support for more help.
On the other hand, if the issue is only happening with one website or a specific part of that site, then you know that the problem is with that particular website.
2. Fix the White Screen Error With WordPress Recovery Mode
If the white screen of death error is caused by a WordPress plugin or theme, then WordPress may be able to catch it.
The new fatal error protection feature introduced in WordPress 5.2 can sometimes catch the error, so you may not even see a white screen. Instead, you will see a message that the site is having technical difficulties.
WordPress will also send an email about the problem to your admin email address.
The email will have the subject ‘Your Site is Experiencing a Technical Issue’.
This email message will point out the plugin or theme causing the error, and it will also contain a special link.
This link will allow you to log in to the WordPress recovery mode and deactivate the faulty plugin.
However, if you are seeing the plain white screen of death with no email or recovery mode option, then you need to manually fix the error.
3. Increase the Memory Limit
Usually, this error happens because a script has exhausted your web server’s memory and quit in the middle.
To fix this, you need to increase the PHP memory available to WordPress. This will allow the script to use more memory to finish the job it was supposed to do.
You will need to edit the wp-config.php file on your WordPress site or use a code snippet plugin like WPCode.
4. Fix the White Screen Error by Disabling All Plugins
If increasing the memory limit did not help, or if you have a high memory limit, like 256M or 512M, then you need to start troubleshooting.
In our experience of troubleshooting this issue, we have always found that the issue is either with a specific plugin or a theme. Let’s go ahead and disable all the plugins.
If you can still access the WordPress admin area, then you can simply go to the Plugins » Installed Plugins page. Select all the installed plugins and then select ‘Deactivate’ under the ‘Bulk actions’ dropdown.
However, if you don’t have access to the WordPress admin area, then you will need to deactivate all plugins via FTP.
First, connect to your WordPress site using an FTP client. Once connected, go to the wp-content folder, where you will see the plugins folder.
Now, you need to right-click on the plugins folder and then select ‘Rename’. You can rename the plugins folder to ‘plugins-deactivated’.
WordPress looks for a folder named plugins to load all plugins. When it cannot find the folder, it simply deactivates all plugins.
If this fixes the issue, then enable one plugin at a time to get to the bottom of the issue. Once you find the plugin causing the issue, you can replace it with an alternative or report the issue to plugin authors.
5. Activate the Default Theme
If the plugin troubleshooting doesn’t fix the issue, then you should try replacing your current theme with a default theme.
First, connect to your website using an FTP client and go to the /wp-content/themes/ folder. It contains all installed themes on your website.
Right-click to select your current WordPress theme and download it to your computer as a backup.
Next, you need to delete your current theme from your website.
Simply right-click on your theme folder and select ‘Delete’. Your FTP client will now delete the theme from your website.
Now, if you have a default WordPress theme like (Twenty Twenty-Two or Twenty Twenty-Three) installed on your website, then WordPress will automatically start using it as the default theme.
If this fixes the issue, then you should look at your theme’s functions.php file. If there are extra spaces at the bottom of the file, then you need to remove those, and sometimes that fixes the issue.
If you are using a poorly coded function in your theme’s functions.php file, then it can cause the white screen of death error as well.
Consider downloading a fresh copy of your theme from its source and then installing it manually using FTP.
6. Enable Debug Mode to Catch Errors in WordPress
If nothing has helped so far, then the next step is to turn on debugging in WordPress. This will allow you to see what type of errors are being outputted.
Once you add this, the blank screen will now have errors, warnings, and notices. These may be able to help you determine the root cause.
If you don’t see any errors, then you may still want to check the debug log.
Simply visit the wp-content folder on your website using an FTP client. There, you will find a new debug.log file containing a log of all errors, notices, and warnings.
7. Clear the WordPress Cache
Sometimes, you may have access to the backend, but the front end of the site has the white screen of death.
This can happen because of a caching plugin. In that case, you simply need to empty your WordPress cache.
If you have a white screen of death only on a very long post or page, then this method might work.
This trick basically increases PHP’s text processing capability by increasing the recursion and backtrack limit. You can paste the following code into your wp-config.php file:
/** Trick for long posts */
ini_set('pcre.recursion_limit',20000000);
ini_set('pcre.backtrack_limit',10000000);
We understand that this is a very frustrating error, and we hope that one of the tricks above has fixed the issue for you.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
Want to explore the recent trends and statistics in the creator economy?
The industry is home to content creators worldwide and grows a lot every year. From full-time content creators to hobbyists, the creator economy is made up of different creator profiles with different skills.
The creator economy also favors brands around the globe. It offers collaboration opportunities and helps businesses use different platforms to engage with their target audiences.
In this article, we have gathered a ton of creator economy statistics that will help you know the industry inside out.
List of Creator Economy Statistics
To help you explore all the different insights in our research post, we have divided the creator economy statistics into different categories.
By clicking the links below, you can jump to the section that you are most interested in and view the different statistics:
The estimated worth of the creator economy is $104.2 billion.
The creator economy is expected to double in size by 2027.
The creator economy has 207 million content creators worldwide.
The industry has 200 million active content creators.
The creator economy has over 2 million expert content creators.
Shopify is a leading company supporting the creator economy, with an annual revenue of $5200 million.
The creator economy is growing at a really fast pace. It is expected to double in the next few years as the industry welcomes new content creators every day.
Leading companies contribute to the creator economy’s growth by either providing services to content creators or working with them to promote different solutions.
This makes it possible for both brands and content creators to benefit from partnerships.
If you are a content creator, then you can join affiliate programs within your niche and make money writing about and promoting these products. Alternatively, you can work directly with brands and get sponsorships.
Apart from social media platforms like YouTube and TikTok, it’s a good idea to create a WordPress website. This will give you full control over your content. Plus, having a website makes it easier for brands to find you and reach out to you for partnerships.
As a business, you can enter the creator economy by sponsoring influencers or starting your own affiliate marketing program with a plugin like AffiliateWP. That way, you can quickly get more referrals to your products and services.
Creator Profile Statistics
There are more than 45 million professional content creators in the creator economy.
51.9% of content creators in the industry are women, with men making up 48.1%.
The creator economy has more than 162 million amateur content creators.
46.7% of people identify as full-time content creators, followed by 42.7% as part-timers.
10.6% of people consider content creation a hobby.
Only 0.96% of content creators have more than 1 million followers.
The gender gap in the creator economy is not that high. However, the industry has more female content creators than men.
The majority of people in the industry work as full-time content creators. However, there are some who work 9–5 and create content to make a decent amount of money.
Influencer Statistics
The current estimated value of the influencer industry is $17.4 billion, which is expected to grow to $22.2 billion by 2025.
The expected growth rate of the influencer industry is 14.47%.
78% of influencers earn around $23,500 per year.
The average influencer income is $76 per hour.
83% of people believe influencer marketing is an effective marketing tactic.
Brands spend $6 billion on influencer collaborations.
82% of the total influencer marketing budget is spent on influencer collaborations in the United States.
On average, lifestyle influencers pitch $994 for a collaboration, followed by fashion influencers at $912.
On average, brands spend $257 per collaboration with an influencer.
The average time influencers take to respond to collaboration requests is 14 hours.
Influencers usually take 16 days to wrap up a collaboration.
42% of influencers prefer to be paid for a collaboration.
26% of influencers produce user-generated content like reviews, unboxings, testimonials, etc.
50% of people prefer purchasing products from their favorite influencers.
Influencers are active on at least 2 social media platforms.
Professional content creators have a lot of influence in their niches. This makes them ideal candidates for brand collaborations.
For this reason, around 68% of companies prefer working with influencers. The creator economy acts as a bridge. It allows brands to onboard influential content creators and helps independent creators make a living from collaborations.
Influencers generally have a huge follower base. So, they can help your business increase its brand awareness and connect with online communities.
85% of full-time content creators enjoy what they do.
1/3 of content creators prefer creating a single type of content.
58% of content creators generally produce 2–4 types of content.
94.5% of content creators use AI tools.
For more than 25% of full-time content creators, follower growth is a preferred metric to measure their success.
37% of full-time content creators prefer working solo.
45% of part-time content creators prefer hiring staff.
More than 35% of full-time content creators prefer creating content around entrepreneurship.
More than 20% of hobbyists prefer creating content around personal development.
Only 5% of content creators spend more than 40 hours each week creating content.
A majority of full-time content creators and hobbyists prefer to work alone. However, most of the part-time content creators do not mind hiring help.
Creators usually experiment with different types of content until they find what works for them. However, full-timers generally prefer creating content that talks about new business ideas.
Full-time content creators measure success by the rate at which their followers grow. Plus, they do not shy away from using AI tools to be more efficient at work.
For example, with AI-powered tools like All in One SEO (AIOSEO), you can easily optimize your written content for search engines.
AIOSEO comes with a powerful AI title and description generator that can help you write better headings and meta descriptions for your written content. This can help you improve your rankings in Google and get a bigger audience for your content.
Earnings Statistics
More than 45% of content creators use revenue as a metric to measure their success.
52% of content creators are monetized (make money from their content).
78% of monetized content creators are women.
59% of beginner content creators are still waiting for monetization.
Monetized content creators generally earn $51 per hour on average.
32% of content creators own businesses related to creative work.
The average income of content creators who run a business is $75 per hour.
28% of content creators make income through partnerships and promotions.
29% of content creators generate revenue through affiliate links.
35% of content creators make a living through ad revenue.
25% of content creators earn $50–100K a year.
Only 2% of content creators make more than $1 million a year.
To make more than $1 million a year, content creators need more than 5 million followers.
26% of content creators make the most money from TikTok and YouTube, respectively.
48% of people do not mind paying a subscription fee to access exclusive content.
29% of people want to support their favorite content creators because they inspire them.
35.3% of people give tips to their favorite content creators to support them.
50% of people have tipped their favorite content creators at least once.
More than 40% of people tip $5 to $10 on average to their favorite content creators.
Most content creators let their earnings define their success. So, they often choose to own a business even if they are already monetized on social platforms.
Monetized content creators make the most money from TikTok and YouTube. Female content creators have the advantage here.
Apart from business income and ad revenue, content creators also earn through affiliate links and paid promotions.
Furthermore, the majority of people are willing to pay a premium fee to get exclusive content from their favorite content creators. This means you can easily make more money by making restricted content.
You could make a membership website. That way, users will need to pay to get past your paywall and get access to your content.
For example, 40 Aprons is a health and wellness blog that uses MemberPress to offer its visitors access to premium content like diet plans and secret recipes.
29.3% of content creators publish content frequently on social media to engage their audiences.
5.6% of content creators host meetups to increase engagement.
62% of content creators say that focusing on a particular niche helps them get more engagement and reach.
More than 25% of content creators say that Instagram is the top channel for generating engagement.
Engagement is one of the main metrics that content creators use to measure their performance.
To meet engagement goals, content creators often focus on a specific niche and create content around relevant topics.
Publishing content on a regular basis is the key here. However, some content creators go the extra mile and host virtual events or in-person meetups to engage with their audiences.
Running competitions and giveaways on your website is also an excellent way to boost engagement.
With RafflePress, you can easily run giveaways on your WordPress website without having to hire a developer. This can help you get more followers and shares on social media, as well as subscribers to your email list.
Challenges Statistics
14.6% of content creators say their greatest challenge is finding brand deals.
63% of full-time content creators have experienced burnout at least once in the last 12 months.
13% of full-time content creators consistently have extreme levels of stress, followed by part-timers at 9%.
More than 45% of full-time content creators say the pressure to post everywhere causes burnout, followed by content fatigue at around 44%.
It may seem like content creators are living the dream. However, they can have challenges from time to time.
Always meeting audience expectations can be overwhelming. It can severely affect the health and well-being of some content creators.
Whether they are full-time content creators or part-timers, creators often report extreme levels of stress trying to meet the demand for new content.
When you create content day in and day out, you may eventually run out of content ideas.
The WPBeginner Blog Post Idea Generator can come in handy here. The tool instantly generates 100s of content ideas to help you find new topics and inspiration.
YouTube Statistics
With 2.2 billion monthly active users, YouTube is one of the most popular social media platforms.
YouTube channels grow by 36% per year.
69% of influencers on YouTube are women, followed by men at 31%.
YouTube supports multiple languages, covering 95% of internet users.
197 million YouTube users are from the United States.
29% of children in the United States want to be YouTubers or vloggers one day.
Only 3% of YouTubers make 90% of the money generated through the platform.
An average content creator on YouTube has a 1/57 chance of crossing the 10,000 subscribers milestone.
10% of the content published by popular YouTube channels gets 79% of the total views.
70% of YouTubers prefer creating long-form content.
On average, brands spend $418 to collaborate with YouTubers.
25% of people prefer to watch live streams on YouTube.
25.9% of people prefer YouTube for tipping or subscribing to their favorite content creators.
YouTube is one of the leading social media platforms. Creators use the platform to engage their audiences with long-form content and make a living from ad revenue.
However, this is not the only way content creators earn money through YouTube. People also prefer the platform for live streams, where they support their favorite creators through tips.
So, if you are a content creator, live streaming on YouTube is a good option for you to grow your income.
You can also embed your live stream on your WordPress website. This is one of the most effective ways to attract more viewers and grow your audience.
Plus, you don’t need to hire a coding expert for this. You can simply use Smash Balloon YouTube Feed to embed your YouTube streams on your website.
Instagram Statistics
25% of people say that Instagram has the potential to generate the highest return on investment (ROI).
29% of brands plan to invest the most in Instagram because of the platform’s potential to help them grow their audiences.
Instagram is one of the most popular platforms, with 2 billion monthly active users.
79% of influencers on Instagram are women, followed by men at 21%.
9 out of 10 Instagram users consume video content on a weekly basis.
89% of Instagram users live outside the United States.
11% of Instagram users in the United States use the platform as their go-to news source.
Instagram is also an ideal place for content creators to score brand deals and sponsorships.
Instagram users are also generally very active. So, engaging them may be easier compared to other platforms.
Smash Balloon Instagram Feed can help you with that. Using this plugin, you can easily add customizable social media feeds to your website and show your content to more people.
TikTok Statistics
26% of content creators say that their preferred social media platform is TikTok.
TikTok has over 1 billion monthly active users.
53% of TikTok users are women, followed by men at 46%.
76% of influencers on TikTok are women, followed by men at 24%.
80 million monthly active users on TikTok are from the United States alone.
37.3 million active users on TikTok represent Gen Z.
TikTok users are active for around 95 minutes on a daily basis.
56% of brands prefer TikTok to collaborate with influencers.
The highest-earning content creator on TikTok is Charli D’Amelio.
TikTok is one of the fastest-growing social media platforms. Over 1 billion people use the app to get their daily dose of content, especially people from Generation Z.
This is why most content creators prefer TikTok to showcase their creativity to their fans. TikTok is also preferred by many brands for partnerships.
Facebook Statistics
With 2.9 billion monthly active users, Facebook is one of the most popular social media platforms.
26.4% of people who use Facebook are millennials.
Facebook is the source of news and updates for 43% of adults in the United States.
TikTok may be the preferred platform to engage Generation Z. But Facebook is the go-to place for content creators who want to connect with millennials.
Businesses often use Facebook to create an online community. It helps them humanize their brand and engage with their audience.
We even do the same at WPBeginner. We created our own Facebook group called WPBeginner Engage to help WordPress users improve their websites and connect with 95k+ like-minded people.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
Most website code contains HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Learning these programming languages requires hours of studying and practice. The good news is that there are some excellent tools that let you create any type of website (without writing code).
In this comprehensive guide, we will cover how to code a website using drag-and-drop tools that create all the code for you. We will share how to learn the code fundamentals for those who want to code a website from scratch so you can do just that.
Website Builders vs. Coding a Website From Scratch
In the early days of the internet, building a website was complicated. That’s because developers had to code a website from scratch, which would take hours, if not weeks.
However, those days are now behind us.
Over 62.9% of all websites on the internet are built on a website framework, so most developers don’t have to know how to build a website from scratch anymore.
Most developers now use WordPress and other CMS platforms (website builder frameworks) to speed up website building.
In 95% of cases, you can build a website with website builders or no-code solutions, and it will be just as good as writing code from scratch.
Pros and Cons of Using a Website Builder
Here are some of the benefits of using a website builder:
It is easy to use, even for beginners.
You don’t need to invest time and money in learning web development.
It saves you time, which you can then spend on growing your business.
Easily build eCommerce, membership, and business websites without spending a fortune.
However, there are a few drawbacks to using a website builder:
Your website could have unnecessary features that could slow it down.
You may not need CMS capabilities for a project but will still have to maintain the software updates and backups.
Pros and Cons of Writing Code From Scratch
Here are some benefits of writing code all by yourself from scratch:
Your website will only have the code it needs, which allows it to load faster.
You won’t need to maintain software updates.
You will get valuable programming skills that may lead to new WordPress career opportunities.
However, you will have to compare these advantages with the following downsides:
You will spend hours and days learning to code in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
Generating content dynamically will be difficult.
Adding and updating content will require editing multiple files.
You can’t easily share access to your website without giving full control to someone else.
If you hire a developer to write the code for you, then it will be expensive and not very cost-effective.
Since time is your most valuable asset, we will show you the fastest ways to code a website using tools that do the code writing for you (methods 1 and 2 will cover this).
In method 3, we will share resources on how to make a website from scratch. This is great for students who want to learn programming.
With that said, let’s look at how to code a website. You can use the quick links below to jump to the method you want to use:
WordPress is the most popular website builder platform. In fact, according to our CMS market share report, WordPress powers over 43% of all websites on the internet.
It has multiple tools that let you create a custom website from scratch without learning to code.
Our #1 pick is SeedProd. It’s the best drag-and-drop WordPress website builder, used by over 1 million websites.
To start with WordPress, you will need a domain name and web hosting. We recommend using Bluehost.
They are one of the top WordPress hosting providers, and they are offering our readers a free domain name and a 60% discount on hosting (just $2.75/month).
After you have a domain and hosting, the next step is to install WordPress (the right way). If you are using a hosting provider like Bluehost, then you will have access to a 1-click, user-friendly WordPress installation process.
Once you have installed WordPress, you can log in to the admin dashboard. It will look something like this:
SeedProd is the best WordPress drag-and-drop page builder for WordPress. It allows you to easily design your website and create beautiful pages without writing any code.
Once you have installed SeedProd, just go to the SeedProd » Landing Pages page and click the ‘Add New Landing Page’ button.
On the next screen, you will be asked to choose a template.
SeedProd has dozens of beautifully designed templates that you can use as a starter point, or you can choose ‘Blank Template’ to start with an empty page.
After that, you will be asked to enter a title for your page and a URL slug.
For instance, if you are creating the front page of your website, then you can enter ‘Home’ as the title and URL.
Then, you need to click on the ‘Save and Start Editing the Page’ button.
SeedProd will now load the page builder interface. It is an intuitive page builder where you can simply point and click to start editing.
SeedProd’s drag-and-drop interface is easy for beginners but powerful enough for developers.
In the left column, you’ll see the most commonly used web design elements as blocks that you can add to your page.
To your right, you’ll see a live preview of your design where you can simply point and click on any element to edit, delete, or move it.
Basically, you can create a custom web design, including a navigation menu, sidebars, and footers, without writing code.
However, if you need to add custom code, then you can do it by dragging and dropping the Custom HTML block.
Inside the custom HTML block, you can manually add any HTML code.
You can also adjust the margin, padding, and design attributes of your custom HTML block.
Similarly, you can also add custom CSS code to your page.
Just click the ‘Settings’ button in the bottom left corner and choose ‘Custom CSS’.
Once you finish editing your page, click the ‘Save and Publish’ button to make it go live.
You can also click the ‘Preview’ button to view your page in live action.
Simply repeat the process to create other pages for your website. You can quickly create a small business website within minutes.
SeedProd website builder makes it easy to make and edit a website effortlessly.
This is why many professional developers use it worldwide. Even developers at large companies like Awesome Motive use SeedProd to build their main websites because it allows for rapid deployment and customization.
Alternatives to SeedProd
There are several other popular WordPress page builders you can use. The following are our top picks for beginners to code a website from scratch without actually writing the code:
Divi Builder – Drag and drop theme and page builder
Beaver Builder – Another well-known WordPress page builder
Astra is a highly customizable theme with ready-made starter websites that you can install with one click.
While we are biased toward WordPress, its popularity speaks for itself. Many big companies use WordPress, like BBC, Microsoft, Facebook, The New York Times, etc.
If you don’t want the hassle of getting a domain, hosting, and installing various software like WordPress, then you can use the Web.com website builder.
It is a great platform to build simple business websites and online stores. They even have a guided wizard that helps with the process.
Web.com pricing plans include a free domain name, free SSL certificate, dozens of templates, and an AI writing tool to help you generate website copy quickly.
Simply pick from their thousands of beautiful pre-made website templates and customize the design to match your brand needs with point and click.
The builder comes with all the powerful features you would expect.
You can easily add photo galleries, videos, testimonial sliders, contact forms, map locations, social media buttons, and more.
You won’t need to worry about updates, security, or backups because Web.com takes care of all of that for you. They also offer 24/7 chat, email, and phone support.
Alternatives to Web.com
There are plenty of different all-in-one solutions out there. Apart from Constant Contact, the following are our top picks for easy website builders that are not WordPress:
Gator by HostGator – Fully hosted website builder with drag-and-drop tools and templates.
Domain.com Website Builder – Hosted website builder with dozens of beautiful templates for all types of websites
HubSpot – All-in-one website builder and marketing platform for small businesses
Wix – Another well-known drag & drop website builder.
BigCommerce – Fully hosted website builder to create eCommerce stores.
Want to have an expert design a custom website for you? The team at Web.com also offers custom web design services, giving our users an exclusive deal. Get your free quote today.
3. Learn to Code a Website From Scratch
If you are a student and want to learn how to code a website from scratch, you will need to understand web development fundamentals like HTML, CSS, and more.
While there are many free and paid courses, the best one we have found is the one on Code Academy.
It takes roughly 9 hours to complete, but by the end of it, you will have learned to code a custom responsive website from scratch using HTML, CSS, and Bootstrap.
Even after you finish the course, you will need hours of practice before you can truly become efficient at coding websites from scratch. In the next section, we will show you how to code a very basic website using HTML and CSS.
Coding a Basic Website
Websites use HTML, CSS, and sometimes some JavaScript.
HTML defines the basic layout of a web page, including content like images, text, videos, and more.
CSS defines colors, margins, padding, text size, and more.
To write this code, you will need a code editor. A code editor comes with syntax highlighting, which helps you easily catch mistakes and write code more efficiently.
Next, you will need to start a project.
Simply create a new folder on your computer and call it whatever you want. This is where you will store all your website files.
Open your code editor and create a new file. Since this will be your website’s home page, we recommended naming it index.html.
This file is where you will write the HTML code for your first web page.
A basic HTML page contains the following sections.
HTML document wrapper
Head
Body
You can define this structure by writing the following code:
<html>
<head>
</head>
<body>
</body>
</html>
The code inside the head section is not visible on the screen.
It defines metadata for your HTML document, like the title of your HTML document, link to the CSS file, and more.
Now, let’s fill in the head section of your HTML page:
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