EDITS.WS

Author: Janette Burhans

  • Engagement Tips to Woo Clients and Extend the Honeymoon Phase

    Having a brilliant website isn’t enough. Even if your business came with a substantial, pre-existing customer base (and let’s face it, most don’t), continuing communication is essential for retainment and growth.

    Running a successful business means building and maintaining a connection with your clients – existing and potential.

    There are, of course, many ways to reach your business prospects in today’s digital world: paid ads, social media, real-time messaging platforms, chat, and more.

    But would you be shocked to learn that email – approaching its 45th birthday! – remains the most used, most successful platform for customer engagement?

    According to Tom Wozniak, of OPTIZMO Technologies: As audience tracking and targeting become more challenging, the email address will continue to be the most valuable piece of audience identification data. [Forbes]

    In this article, we’re going to look at why email is the most effective way to promote, proffer, and position your business for prime growth. Plus, we’ve hand-picked a selection of WordPress plugins that handle the various outreach tasks quite effectively.

    Keep reading, or jump ahead to any section:

    Okay, off we go to the electronic post office…

    Which (Customer Acquisition) Channel is Best to Watch

    The ways in which you reach your audience are your customer acquisition channels. They are also the avenues for increasing your customer base.

    Though some might rule it out because it’s the oldest, email remains one of the best acquisition channels available. [Lesson: Don’t throw the baby granddaddy out with the bathwater.]

    Email is simultaneously simple yet powerful in terms of content that can be delivered. And it’s separate from third-party elements (eg, social media, search, etc); meaning, there’s no algorithm to work around. It’s a straight shot into the hands (ie, inboxes) of your customers.

    Here are some telling stats:

    • By 2025, the number of global email users is expected to reach a total of 4.6 billion [Statista]
    • When it comes to online advertising, email has seen higher click-through rates than on social media [Statista]
    • 59% of marketers say email is their biggest source of ROI [Sopro]
    • 59% of survey respondents say marketing emails influence their purchase decisions [Sopro]

    Email is also extremely cost effective, allowing for a minimal investment in a tool/platform that will likely have most of the important features that mirror its high-end counterparts. It’s also easy to scale as your business grows.

    With consumers averaging an online time of 397 minutes daily – giving you a golden opportunity of 6+ hours for engagement – there is simply no better way to speak directly with your customers than email. [Oberlo]

    email vs social media marketing stats
    Email topples social media in marketing stats. [Source]

    Three more stats on email’s impressive reach: [OptinMonster]

    • 44% of users check their email for a deal from a company they know, whereas only 4% will go to Facebook
    • 60% of consumers state that they have made a purchase as the result of a marketing message they received by email
    • There are 400 million more email users than social media users

    Repeat: Four hundred million MORE. If those numbers don’t convince you, I don’t know what will.

    Now that we understand the value of email as a customer acquisition channel, let’s look at the different types of emails you can employ to build relationships and drive sales. Plus, one very important bit of housekeeping that needs attention first.

    How to Deliver Successful Results Easily and Reliably

    Whether you run a simple website or a large eCommerce store, reliable email-sending is a necessity. As fantastic a CMS as WordPress is, it has multiple limitations when it comes to sending emails.

    Because WordPress uses PHP mail functionality to send emails:

    • you can’t easily build HTML templates, embed images, or add attachments; and
    • it lacks proper email headers, which often results in delivery impediments, causing emails to land in spam folders (or not get delivered at all)

    Luckily, there’s a simple solution.

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    SMTP server infrastructure. [Source]

    Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (ie, SMTP) provides an easy way to improve successful sending of WordPress emails, increasing email deliverability by using authentication and assuring that your intended audience receives what you send.

    SMTP can be set up manually using the PHPMailer library (more difficult), or connected through the use of a plugin (easier).

    SMTP Plugins

    There are a number of plugins for setting up SMTP in your WordPress email. After looking at the most popular, here are the five we like best.

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    1. WP Mail SMTP

    This plugin sits at the top of this list, allowing over three million WordPress users to send their emails reliably.

    When using one of WP Mail SMTP’s built-in SMTP mail provider integrations (see below), emails are sent using the provider’s direct API. This means even if your web host is blocking SMTP ports, your emails still send successfully, helping you fix the not-sending-email issues that are prevalent in WordPress.

    An easy-to-use setup wizard and detailed documentation will guide you through the process, and for most options, you can specify the “from name” and “email address” for outgoing emails.

    You can send emails using your own or third-party SMTP email server, or by using integrations with popular email providers, such as:

    • SendLayer
    • SMTP.com
    • Sendinblue SMTP
    • Gmail SMTP (Gmail, Google Workspace, G Suite)
    • All Other SMTP

    Instead of having to use different SMTP plugins and workflows for different SMTP providers, WP Mail SMTP brings it all into one, providing the ideal SMTP solution for WordPress.

    They also offer paid plans, which include additional features (like one-on-one support, white glove setup, and native integrations for Microsoft, Amazon SES, Zoho Mail, etc).

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    2. Easy WP SMTP

    With 700,000 active installs, Easy WP SMTP resolves email deliverability issues using transactional mailers or an SMTP server.

    The plugin offers configuration from a number of popular mailers, including SendLayer, Mailgun, Sendinblue, and more.

    Easy WP SMTP also allows you to debug events that log any failed email sending attempts and the error that caused them, and the ability to specify a Reply-to or BCC email address.

    Premium, paid versions are also available, and add more features (like shopping cart plugins, priority support, and reports).

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    3. Post SMTP Mailer

    With active installs at 300,000 and climbing, Post SMTP Mailer is a next-generation WP Mail SMTP plugin that improves email deliverability for your WordPress websites, sending emails to millions of users worldwide.

    Post SMTP has a smart setup wizard that covers everything from getting started to sending test emails. It uses a commercial-grade connectivity tester to better diagnose server issues, has a built-in email log that can help with any failed email problems, and uses OAuth 2.0 security to increase the protection of email passwords.

    Post SMTP also offers premium upgraded integrations, through a number of pro extensions. These are: Zoho Mail Pro, Mail Control, Twilio, Office 365, and Amazon SES.

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    4. Branda

    WPMU DEV’s Branda plugin, known as the White Labeling wunderkind, also has an easy SMTP tool built right in, and is completely free. Setup is a cinch with our easy-to-understand documentation.

    Branda allows you to customize every aspect of WordPress to fit your brand. Transform your dashboard, customize system (default) emails, quickly toggle maintenance mode and “coming soon” landing pages, change every aspect of your login screen, remove or replace logos, create color schemes, and much more. Branda has everything to rebrand WordPress for free without touching any code or hacking modifications.

    There is also a pro version of Branda, if you’d like to get the full collection of 30+ modules, along with a membership that includes an entire suite of plugins, premium 24/7 live chat support, and more.

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    5. WP Offload SES Lite

    WP Offload SES Lite is trusted by more than 20,000 sites to send their email, with good reason – it works exceedingly well.

    This plugin is different in that it’s not sent over SMTP. They believe that going the SMTP route makes you prone to hitting rate limits, and is also missing some key features (like an email queue).

    WP Offload SES Lite gives you the high deliverability, powerful managed infrastructure, and low cost of Amazon SES, with the support of a quality WordPress plugin that’s easy to set up and notifies you of sending failures.

    Some of WP Offload SES Lite’s top features include:

    • Effortless configuration with an easy step-by-step setup wizard
    • Configure the default email address and name that WordPress uses for notifications
    • Set up a custom “Reply To” and “Return Path” address
    • View statistics on your Amazon SES send rate

    There is also a pro version, which gives you additional features like premium support, open and click reporting, engagement analysis per specific emails, filter/search functionality, and more.

    The Marketing Tools and Strategies You Need to Know

    With your WordPress email primed and ready for most effective delivery, let’s turn our attention to the best ways to engage with your audience using email.

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    First, you need to collect that all-important contact information (email addresses and names, at the very least), so you have a concrete way to reach interested parties.

    Second, you’ll want to offer something of value, to establish a sense of fairness/generosity and drive interest in what you do. This free offering to potential customers, in exchange for a piece of their personal information (e.g. an email address or social media follow), is a tried-and-true marketing technique.

    Common incentives – like a discount coupon, downloadable, or other item of interest – can be offered as compensation for providing an email address, in order to attract potential customers. Hence the name: lead magnets.

    Finally, you’ll want to measure and track which campaigns or giveaways get the best results. That will give you a sense of how your site is performing; the number of visitors to your different pages, and where you’re getting conversions from. All of which help you understand which content performs the best.

    This is where lead generation tools come in. They are specifically designed to identify, capture, store, and analyze leads – with the goal of turning visitors into paying customers, and paying customers into repeat business.

    Lead Capturing Plugins

    Employing tools and services specific to lead generation is a great way to collect the desired information, without requiring any manual work on your part. The tools automate the process, allowing you to focus on other areas of your business.

    Various methods for lead capture include:

    • On-page, opt-in forms and sign-up campaigns
    • Email address finders
    • Customer Relationship Management (CRM); sales funnels
    • Communication channels (chat)
    • Advertising (social media or paid ads)

    It’s not a bad idea to experiment with different options from the methods above. But for the purposes of this article, our focus will be on-page, opt-in forms, as they are the simplest to employ and incredibly successful.

    Why? Well, you’re collecting contact details from people who already have an interest in your business, even if it’s at the most basic level. They’re on your site, and therefore the most likely to provide you with their contact information. After all, they came looking for you, not the other way around.

    Additionally, studies have shown that most people are receptive to emails that come from companies they’ve already shown an interest in.

    Here are our top 5 picks for lead capturing plugins.

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    1. Forminator

    Of course we’re partial to our very own contact form, payment form and custom form builder, Forminator, but it’s more than just us who think so, with more than 400,000 happy users.

    Forms, polls, quizzes… nothing’s off limits with Forminator. Create new campaigns in minutes with the easy-to-use, drag-and-drop form builder, using pre-fab templates or starting from scratch – with the ability to customize settings, style, and behavior.

    Forminator is the easiest way to create any form, such as a contact form, order form, payment form, email form, feedback widgets, interactive polls with real-time results, Buzzfeed-style “no wrong answer” quizzes, service estimators, and registration forms with payment options.

    Speaking of payments… take donations, down payments, full payments, sell merch and more with the included Stripe and PayPal integrations. (No Pro upgrade required!) SCA-compliant Stripe and PayPal come included. Just enter your publish keys to activate the Forminator payment module for both fixed and variable payments.

    Forminator comes stacked with crowd-favorite third-party integrations – email services, CRM, storage, and project managers such as HubSpot, Google Sheets, Trello, MailChimp, AWeber, Slack, and any generic webhooks (such as Zapier).

    But wait – there’s more! Forminator also has these amazing features:

    • Gutenberg Block – say goodbye to shortcodes and quickly add forms to posts with the Forminator block for Gutenberg
    • Email Routing and Pre-Populate – make your site more efficient, from visitor input to email response times; use query strings to pre-fill visitor information and deliver forms direct to specific teams with email routing, auto-response and conditions
    • User Front End Post Submissions – visitors can submit post ideas from the front end of your site so you can easily curate and publish their thoughts
    • Captchas – stop the crazy bots without making it hard on your visitors (ie, no more hard-to-read random phrases)
    • Collect, Track and GDPR ready – store and organize submissions to sort, analyze, and manage responses; all while complying with the GDPR and other legal privacy policies

    There is a pro version as well, which contains all the same features as the free version, plus the additional “E-Signature” and “Stripe Subscriptions” features.

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    2. Formidable Forms

    Formidable is a solutions-focused WordPress form plugin. Use drag and drop to create a contact form, survey, quiz, registration form, payment form, lead form, or calculator form.

    Formidable is 100% mobile responsive, so your forms look great on all devices (desktop, laptop, tablets, and smartphones). It’s also optimized for speed and maximum server performance.

    This free version of Formidable comes with a variety of features, like advanced email subscription forms, multi-page forms, a smart form with conditional logic, stack on repeater fields, payment integrations, form templates, relationships, and cascading dropdown fields.

    Submissions are stored in your WordPress database so you won’t lose any leads, and quiz and survey entries can be viewed right from your WordPress dashboard. Also, the form generator is GDPR-friendly (even though entries are saved), and you can turn off IP tracking or stop saving submissions entirely.

    Create a payment form and accept credit card payments right from your website, with seamless integration with PayPal, Stripe, and Authorize.net. You can even create a WooCommerce form with custom fields.

    There is a pro version as well, that includes many more features and functionalities that help you build more powerful and larger applications.

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    3. Ninja Forms

    Design beautiful, complex forms with a dedicated support team at your back.

    Easy drag-and-drop fields, row and column layouts, multi-page forms, conditional forms… you don’t have to be a designer to create forms that will blend beautifully with your WordPress website.

    You can accept PayPal and credit card payments securely and easily from any of your WordPress forms: single payments, subscriptions, fixed, variable, or user entered amounts. Give your customers or donors all the options, or just one with a PayPal form, Stripe form, and more.

    Grow your mailing lists and bring in new leads using integration with MailChimp, Constant Contact, Campaign Monitor, Salesforce CRM, Zoho CRM, Insightly CRM, and more.

    Ninja Forms is also GDPR compliant, as it doesn’t collect or store personally identifiable information, or any information, from your forms. Easy-to-use templates are included for Right to Be Forgotten and Data Export requests, and tie into native WordPress GDPR features for automated compliance.

    Includes pre-built templates for a contact form, registration form, application form, MailChimp form, quote request form, PayPal form, Stripe form, and more. Also mobile responsive and design-adaptable to fit in with any theme or brand.

    Ninja Forms offers additional features and upgrades in two ways: per add-on, or through a membership (different tiers vary in the number of allowable sites and add-ons).

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    4. Contact Form 7

    At five million+ active installs, Contact Form 7 is the OG WordPress plugin for contact forms.

    It has stood the test of time, still able to create simple and multiple contact forms, while allowing for the customisation of the form and the mail contents flexibly with simple markup.

    Forms support Ajax-powered submitting, CAPTCHA, Akismet spam filtering, and do not track user data or use cookies. However, activation of certain features may invoke personal data to be sent to service providers (eg: reCAPTCHA, Stripe).

    While the plugin boasts massive numbers and is still popular, it is becoming less so as more advanced, feature-rich competitors have become available. Especially since most of these are free to use as well.

    Additionally, unlike newer plugins, an additional plugin is needed (they make one called Flamingo) just to save submitted messages from contact forms in the database.

    They have also started requesting contributions from users, citing the difficulty in continuing support and development of a free plugin.

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    5. Hustle

    Hustle in the ultimate marketing plugin for building a mailing list and converting site traffic.

    Incredibly versatile and engaging, Hustle has a myriad of options and customizations.

    Easily grow your mailing list or display targeted ads across your site with popups, opt-ins, slide-ins, widgets, and shortcodes.

    Build a social following with Hustle’s diverse social sharing capabilities.

    Choose colors, animations, layouts, drop shadows, and display conditions for all your marketing modules from easy-to-use design settings. (There’s even CSS if you really want to go all out.) All a cinch with Hustle’s flexible appearance settings.

    Default layouts and templates are fully mobile responsive, while allowing for granular adjustments (margins, padding, borders, container sizing) so you can make every module your own.

    Target visitors with email opt-ins or ads using Hustle’s behavior and condition settings, and set up intelligent conditions if desired as well (e.g. specific pages/posts, visitor device/browser, country, browser cookie, etc).

    Smart triggers allow you to set up a range of options for popups and slide-ins, including time on page, scroll, exit intent, and more.

    Schedule when you want your marketing modules to deploy by selecting start/end dates, or show them on specific days of the week, time of day, along with custom time zones.

    Easily follow up on user engagement with manual or automated email messages, and build your following on social networks with floating widgets and shortcodes to add followers.

    Hustle smoothly integrates with popular form builders (like Forminator), to embed those forms/polls/quizzes into popups and slide-ins for interactive lead generation.

    While you’re at it, integrate Hustle with an email service; 19 of the most popular are offered (including AWeber, MailChimp, Sendinblue, MailPoet, Zapier, and more).

    Rounding out the additional features you get with Hustle:

    • Gutenberg WP editor block
    • ReCAPTCHA spam warrior
    • Ability to override Ad Blockers that try to prevent popups and slide-ins
    • Intelligent tracking on each module (including conversion stats, insightful charts, custom dashboard widget)

    There is also a pro version of Hustle, which gives you all the same settings and options as the free version does. The difference is, Hustle Pro offers unlimited opt-ins, custom content, and social sharing, whereas the free version allows three of each type (popups, slide-ins, social share bars, and embeds).

    Email Campaigns and Analytics Plugins

    Once you’ve got those all-important email addresses collected, it’s time to set your sights on the various campaigns you can use to turn casual interest into a revenue stream.

    There are a number of ways to use email campaigns to engage your audience and increase sales.

    Blog posts can help by specifically targeting your audience, catering your content to them. It’s a proven way to align with your audience by providing (free) information of value to them, while keeping the connection warm. Plus, they can be kept in a devoted section of your website, making it easy for both old and new customers to partake in the historical canon unique to your business.

    Newsletters and announcements are great for keeping your audience up to date on any site changes, or to promote particular products or discounts. Announcements could include down-time notices (for example, planned changes where your site will be offline briefly), or information about sales, coupons, special offers, etc – anything that is a change in your ‘norm’ that falls within a specific timeframe.

    We looked at some email plugins early on, where the purpose was to improve email delivery by directing through SMTP servers or transactional mailers.

    There is another category of full-featured email plugins/services that provide additional marketing, campaigning, and analysis features on top of trustworthy delivery. These can be quite handy if you want to avail yourself of pre-designed email templates, auto sending schedules, and tracking customer journeys.

    Here are our favorites in this category.

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    1. MailPoet

    More than 600,000 websites use MailPoet to keep in touch with their subscribers, delivering 30 million+ emails each month to inboxes, not spam boxes. Enjoy high open rates with their unmatched deliverability rate and rock solid infrastructure.

    MailPoet works seamlessly with your favorite CMS so you can start sending emails right away. Quickly add content and images directly from your media library. No need to upload files to third-party services when it’s all right there, ready to use in your WordPress dashboard.

    From first hello to loyal customer appreciation, send emails to the right people at the right time. Welcome new subscribers with an automated series of onboarding emails and enjoy open rates of 40% and higher.

    Automatically send email updates to let subscribers know about your latest blog posts, in your choice of sending schedule (daily, weekly, monthly) and bring them back to your website.

    Create email updates and newsletters your subscribers can’t wait to open with beautifully designed templates you can customize to match your personality (and brand). With plenty of design options and advanced features, you can choose from a template, customize whatever you need, then send it out. Quick previews allow you to always see how your emails look before hitting send.

    MailPoet is available via paid plans as well, which add features and functionality like more subscribers, unlimited emails, advanced analytics, the ability to remove branding, priority support, and more.

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    2. HubSpot

    HubSpot is an extremely popular, all-in-one CRM platform with tools and integrations for marketing, sales, and customer service.

    The CRM in HubSpot’s WordPress plugin is your site’s command center, with 360-degree views of your customers, where you can easily:

    • Manage contacts (CRM)
    • Engage visitors with live chat and chatbots
    • Add beautiful forms to pages; create engaging email marketing campaigns
    • Capture leads with custom or existing forms; send newsletters and automated marketing campaigns
    • Track site health with easy-to-understand analytics, directly from the dashboard
    • See a unified timeline of a contact’s page views, past conversations, and more in a WordPress CRM

    You’ve also got full-service email, newsletter, and marketing automation software, from which you can build professional emails in minutes, then send them to your entire contact database.

    Features here include:

    • 20+ pre-designed email templates to match your campaign goals
      (Choose from templates such as newsletters, ebooks, welcome emails, and more)
    • Drag and drop email builder; adjust typography, designs, colors, and more to create campaigns your subscribers will love
    • Email automation, tracking, and A/B testing
    • Send emails anytime someone fills out a form or engages with your live chat/chatbots
    • Send messages immediately or use email scheduling to send messages later
    • Email tracking assures all of your emails are logged in your database; measure engagement of each with reports for open rate and click rate

    Forms and popups are included, with a variety of templates (contact us, newsletter signup, ebook download, etc) and display options (embed, standalone page, pop-up box, dropdown banner, etc). Choose from a variety of settings, color schemes, and fonts — or start from scratch.

    HubSpot also allows for integrations with other WP form builders and lead generators (like Forminator and Hustle 🙂).

    And there’s much more, such as:

    • Live chat and chatbots (with custom styling, real-time messaging, Slack integration, 24/7 live support on autopilot)
    • Analytics (email, traffic, WP; marketing, sales follow-ups; time-onsite)
    • Reports (blog posts, landing pages, email campaigns)
    • Seamless use of more than 1030 integrations – including social media, ads (Facebook, Google, LinkedIn), Hotjar, YouTube, Zoom, Gmail, Hustle, MailChimp, Sendinblue, Shopify, WooCommerce, Forminator, LiveChat… and the list goes on

    In addition to their free version, which offers a taste of limited features, HubSpot offers a number of paid version packages – Starter, Starter CRM Suite, Business, Professional, and Enterprise – with many different combinations of features and services to suit all needs.

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    3. OptinMonster

    OptinMonster is a customer acquisition and lead generation plugin. As a SaaS, its use requires an OptinMonster account, but that’s quick to set up.

    OptinMonster’s popup maker allows you to create popup campaigns, email subscription forms, sticky announcement bars like hello bar, gamified spin-a-wheel opt-in forms, and other types of interactive popups for your site. Use the drag-and-drop editor to customize the look and feel of your campaigns, or choose from hundreds of templates.

    OptinMonster also offers mobile popups so your marketing messages look great on all devices (mobile, tablet, laptop, and desktop). It’s also optimized for both web and server performance.

    Popup options include:

    • Lightbox
    • Floating Bar
    • Slide-ins
    • Fullscreen Welcome Mats
    • Gamified Spin a Wheel Popup
    • Countdown Timers

    OptinMonster also has targeting behaviors, like page level targeting, geolocation targeting, popup behavior automation, and WooCommerce. Plus trigger behaviors, like exit intent, scroll trigger, and time-on-site popups.

    There are also quite a few email and CRM integrations available, such as Constant Contact, MailChimp, AWeber, and more.

    A free account includes three campaigns and up to 500 campaign impressions, which never expire.

    OptinMonster also offers premium, paid versions which include more features and remove the limits imposed in the free version.

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    4. Sendinblue

    Sendinblue is a powerful all-in-one marketing platform, trusted by more than 165,000 companies around the world to deliver their emails and SMS messages.

    Sendinblue optimizes deliverability using a proprietary infrastructure over SMTP, with options that include email, SMS, Facebook, chat, CRM, and marketing automation.

    The Sendinblue WordPress plugin uses their own API to synchronize contacts, send emails and get statistics. Synchronization is automatic, so it doesn’t matter whether your lists were uploaded on your WordPress interface or on your Sendinblue account: they will always remain up-to-date on both sides.

    Sendinblue’s free account takes less than two minutes to set up, and allows you to send up to 300 emails per day on their free (forever) plan.

    Sendinblue integrates with most lead capture and advanced form builder plugins, but also contains their own native subscription forms, with the following features:

    • Form designer with WYSIWYG and direct HTML, and CSS editing (if desired)
    • Integration as widget or shortcode
    • Send a confirmation email – you choose the template and the sender
    • Use a double opt-in confirmation – you choose the template and the sender
    • URL redirection
    • Confirmation / error message customization

    The following additional options are included as well:

    • Contact lists (unlimited custom fields; CSV and TXT import; advanced segmentation)
    • Marketing campaigns (drag-and-drop tools; template library; advanced scheduling)
    • Transactional emails (with auto replacement of default SMTP)
    • Statistics (real-time and exhaustive)

    Sendinblue offers a free (forever) plan that includes 9000 emails per month and unlimited contacts, with no hidden costs.

    They offer premium, paid plans as well, which remove the limits, and include additional features (like removing the Sendinblue logo, A/B testing, marketing automation, priority support, and more).

    Follow the Leader to the Very Top

    Lead generation is often the difference between the smashing success or abject failure of a business.

    And while there are many components that go into lucrative marketing, you can tap into WordPress’s generous supply of free plugins to eliminate the heavy lifting.

    As shown in this post, email still holds the #1 spot when it comes to customer acquisition channels, with significant reach and conversion rates.

    Determine the plugins that best meets your needs, and get going on cultivating your contact lists, securing good delivery with SMTP sends, and setting up email campaigns that drive customer engagement, traffic, retention, and loyalty.

    If you want to really ensure best results, make sure you have trusted, dedicated hosting (we’re a top pick for web developers), speed and SEO optimization (our memberships come with a suite of premium plugins, including performance and security), and world-class, always-on support.

  • How This Web Dev Went from 0 to 60 (Websites)

    This is the first in a series, Member Success Stories, where we ask WPMU DEV-ers who are killing it in the WordPress web dev business to share key contributors of their success with us – and you.

    Today we welcome Phil, the owner of Capital Web Design, a Canadian web services agency based in Ottawa.

    WPMU DEV: Congrats on your professional success, Phil. Please tell us straight away, how did you grow your business so fast?

    Phil: I wouldn’t say the business itself grew that fast. I’ve been building websites in some way or another since the early 2000s. Either static sites coded by hand (HTML + CSS + Javascript), using frameworks (VueJS), or with WordPress.

    I started my freelance web design company in 2014, after being approached to do a replacement build for what was a costly, difficult to maintain website – and that became my first client. From there I found small and medium businesses in my hometown that had old, unsupported and unmaintained websites, or who had no website at all.

    As I continued my efforts, my business ethos emerged: help companies, nonprofits and individuals in my city build a web presence they can be proud of. I focused on creating bespoke WordPress web design based on well-supported multipurpose themes, WPMU DEV and other dependable plugins, and fully managed white-glove web hosting.

    Since then, I’ve had the pleasure of working with 20+ clients, and have built 60 websites targeting a multitude of industries and commercial sectors.

    WPMU DEV: That’s awesome. Did you know about WPMU DEV at that time?

    Phil: I had known about WPMU DEV since around 2016-18, back when you offered dozens of plugins for all sorts of functionality. I couldn’t justify the cost of a membership then, but I popped in every so often to check and see what progress was being made.

    In 2019, Hosting was added as a WPMU DEV service – and this really caught my attention. During the Black Friday promotion that November (lifetime reduced membership cost!), I joined as a member, and I can’t see myself ever leaving.

    It was a perfect storm: high-quality plugins + managed hosting + 24/7 support + highly reduced cost.

    WPMU DEV: So as you were building your clientele, you were putting together your professional tool box. Can you give us a peek inside?

    Phil: The tools and services from WPMU DEV have been invaluable to me.

    Plugins have provided me with consistency and reliability for all of the most important aspects of WordPress websites.

    Knowing that I can count on Hummingbird and Smush for performance optimization allowed me to stop using other freemium plugins such as W3 Total Cache, Autoptimize, WP Super Cache and EWWW Image Optimization. I found these plugins were all good at some things, but had a lot of paywalled features that Hummingbird and Smush offered out of the box, for free.

    Defender has been a great peace-of-mind addition to my repertoire, as the one-click recommended fixes are super straightforward and quite effective.

    Forminator forms may be difficult at times to style with CSS, but that’s more than made up for in functionality. The drag-and-drop UI makes it much easier to build forms compared to Contact Form 7, and the amount of extras that are baked in (calculation, email routing, etc) blow other (often paid) form builders out of the water.

    WPMU DEV: Aside from plugins, you mentioned our services have made a huge impact as well. Can you expand on that?

    Phil: When it comes to services, it’s hard to put into words just how much The Hub and the associated Hosting have helped me throughout the last few years.

    I have worked with hosting providers like 1and1, DreamHost, Media Temple, Digital Ocean VPS, and Bluehost. Each had their advantages, but in the end it always became a chore to use their services. It was clear that the quality of their offerings reflected the low cost they positioned themselves at. They were in a perpetual fight to undercut their competitors on price, at the cost of quality of service and support.

    WPMU DEV Hosting came in late in the game, but out of the gate addressed two of the major concerns I experienced at other hosts: lack of support, and lack of trust in the infrastructure.

    By having dedicated resources (versus shared), the web servers were consistently fast, reliable, and offered premium features such as staging, backups and WAF.

    WPMU DEV: Walk us through a typical work day; what you reach for the most, and your usual workflow.

    Phil: I keep The Hub open in a tab at all times, refreshing it every once in a while to keep track of ongoing community discussions, website maintenance statuses, and plugin updates.

    I subscribe to key email notifications to receive alerts of technical issues on my managed sites, as well as member discussions in the WPMU DEV member forums, blogs and newsletter.

    When a technical issue occurs, I’m able to troubleshoot it quickly. If I’m unable to resolve it on my own, the LiveChat support is always there to help me right away.

    WPMU DEV has allowed me to optimize my workflows across the board, in areas like:

    • Faster site creation with one-click managed WordPress server provisioning from The Hub.
    • Easier client invoicing using Client Billing.
    • More efficient website monitoring and maintenance through The Hub.
    • Lower maintenance effort required with WPMU DEV plugins.
    • Faster technical troubleshooting with the LiveChat support.

    WPMU DEV: Outside of your own talent and determination, what would you say has contributed most significantly to your growth?

    Phil: WPMU DEV has reduced my server build-out time from 30 minutes to 3 minutes (90% reduction). Over the past few years I’ve stood up well over 75 servers, so this has saved me many hours of effort.

    At the time of joining, The Hub allowed me to manage about a dozen sites from a central location as opposed to manually logging in to each separate site. This was a reduction of biweekly maintenance effort from approximately 60 minutes to 2 minutes.

    Client billing and streamlined invoice creation allowed me to save approximately 20-30 minutes per invoice creation, which throughout the past few years I estimate has saved me over 30 hours of work.

    All of these time and effort savings have allowed me to comfortably take on more projects and clients.

    Since joining WPMU DEV, my completed projects count has grown approximately 416% – with each project being more efficient to produce than the last.

    WPMU DEV: As a self-proclaimed diehard fan, you know we’re constantly upping our game and adding new features and services to our offerings. What’s a newer release that you’re really getting into?

    Phil: Reseller focus. I look forward to adding WPMU DEV automated site provisioning via the reseller offerings, as well as domains and email reselling.

    WPMU DEV: One last question; let’s close it out with a fun one. If you could talk to yourself at the start of your career, what would you say?

    Phil: At the start of my career, I often looked up to senior staff who seemed wise beyond their years. I was afraid of making mistakes or breaking something, for fear that those-who-never-broke-anything would look down on me.

    I would try to explain to a younger me that wisdom comes with experience, and experience comes from doing things, failing, and working through the failure.

    The more things you work on, the more you get exposed to what works and what doesn’t. Failing or breaking something isn’t strictly negative, because every failure is a learning opportunity: troubleshoot what went wrong, understand how to fix it, and implement a solution.

    Do this cycle enough times and you start to pre-emptively detect patterns, plan for success, and you get faster at fixing problems. Don’t be afraid of failure because the more you fail, the more you learn and the wiser you will become.

    That wraps up this premiere episode of our Member Success Stories. Thanks to Phil for his candid, insightful answers in our interview.

    Phil is one of WPMU DEV’s Agency Partners, and usesCapital Web Design - Ottawa Web Design his 20 years of web design experience to achieve one goal: give back to his hometown by building modern websites for businesses and nonprofits in the Canadian capital.

    You can reach Phil via his agency partner listing or visit Capital Web Design.

  • 5 Brilliant Companion Products to Make Your WordPress Websites Compliant

    Compliance on websites isn’t a fringe component. It’s a serious, legal matter, which can seriously affect your business.

    Legal fees can be expensive, and add up quickly. Also, law is complicated, and can vary based on where you live and do business from. How does one accomplish compliance without getting their own law degree? (Or having a best friend who passed the bar exam?)

    There is a way you can dot your I’s and cross your T’s, get all your ducks in a row, check all the boxes, cover your bases (this IS a post about full compliance, so one expression didn’t seem like enough 😀) – without draining your bank account, or losing your sanity.

    Because WordPress is far and above the leading CMS, there are a good number of options when it comes to compliance regulation companion products.

    We looked into the pool of offerings, picked the ones we thought were smart, solid, and sound, and are presenting them to you here.

    Keep reading, or jump ahead to any section:

    First up, let’s examine…

    Why Compliance is of Utmost Importance

    Privacy is a major factor in today’s world, and personal information is protected by a fast-growing assortment of legal rights.

    Throughout the first three-quarters of the 20th century, collected data was relatively minimal, there were few ways to store it, and demand for its collective use wasn’t really a thing.

    However, from the ’70s through today, as the inherent value of data grew – along with improved methods to collect, store, use, and profit from it – so has the need for legislation to protect it.

    Living in the era of Big Data, where the sheer volume of data has increased to previously unimaginable amounts, a true premium has been put on an individual’s rights to protect it.

    Non-compliance with the legal safeguards comes with steep fines and other serious penalties.

    A Timeline of Enacted Privacy Protections

    While data protections may have started slowly, they will continue to pick up speed as the by-product of ethical examination and pivotal litigations surrounding privacy.

    Let’s take a peek at the landmark protections in the history of privacy legislation.

    The Privacy Act of 1974 established the Code of Fair Information Practice on the collection, maintenance, use, and dissemination of personally identifiable information from US federal agencies.

    The Data Protection Directive was adopted by The European Union in 1995. The principles set forth were aimed at the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms in the processing of personal data. This was superseded by the GDPR in 2018.

    The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was established in 1996 to protect Personally Identifiable Information maintained by the healthcare and health insurance industries from theft and fraud, safeguarding people’s medical information from being used without their consent.

    The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) was enacted by Congress in 1998 and requires the Federal Trade Commission to issue and enforce regulations concerning children’s online privacy. The amended Rule became effective on July 1, 2013.

    The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for data protection and privacy became law in 2018 in the European Union (EU).

    The GDPR applies to the transfer of personal data outside of the EU and EEA (the European Economic Area is the countries of Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein), and replaced the Data Protection Directive from 1995.

    Shortly thereafter, State Privacy Legislations in the US started…

    • California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) – signed into law 2018; effective 2020
    • California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) – also known as CCPA 2.0, enacted in 2020
    • Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (VCDPA) – legislated in 2021; effective January 1, 2023
    • Colorado’s Privacy Act – will be effective July 1, 2023
    • Connecticut’s Personal Data Privacy and Online Monitoring Act – will be effective July 1, 2023
    • Utah’s Consumer Privacy Act – will be effective December 31, 2023

    While the US does not have a single, comprehensive, internet privacy law, one is currently being proposed by federal privacy legislation: the American Data Privacy and Protection Act (ADPPA). If passed into law, it will supersede all state privacy laws. Until then, it’s up to individual states to pass legislation that protects customer data.

    Which Components Do You Need?

    At this point you may be wondering, with so many already existing and soon-to-be-effective legal stipulations on data, which ones are you required to adhere to as a website or app owner?

    That’s what we’ll lay out now in…

    Compliance Requirements

    To best meet overall compliance, websites should minimally have:

    • Privacy Policy
    • Cookie Policy

    … and …

    • Consent (Record of Consent)

    Let’s put a pin in Consent for a bit, and come back to it after we look at the policies.

    A Privacy Policy addresses all the different ways your website or app might collect, process, and store data from users, both online and off.

    A Cookie Policy specifically addresses how you use cookies and third-party services.

    Because of the overlap, websites sometimes include a cookie policy in their privacy policy, as part of the overall data collection.

    However, cookie policies need to be regularly updated (as cookies are dynamic and often change upon successive visits), whereas policy policies tend to be static.

    More importantly, if you fall under the scope of the GDPR, your Cookie Policy must be separate from your Privacy Policy.

    You can still incorporate a short Cookie Clause in your Privacy Policy, or cross-reference the agreements (for example, link your Cookie Policy to your Privacy Policy), but you shouldn’t combine the agreements into one.

    Even if you don’t fall under the scope of GDPR, it’s safer and smarter to create a separate Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy, instead of merging them into one.

    Let’s dive a little deeper into both of these important policies.

    Privacy Policies

    Most laws around the world require a privacy policy.

    Privacy policies are legally required agreements when collecting any personal data from users (e.g. payment details, address and phone number, cookie data), regardless of the platform used (e.g. website, mobile app, desktop app, etc).

    You may need a privacy policy to use third-party APIs and services (e.g. Instagram, Google Analytics, or Google Adsense), or to list your app in a commercial marketplace such as the Apple App or Google Play stores.

    Without a privacy policy, you risk your business getting hit with hefty fines and/or having your website taken down, especially if you’re found to be in breach of privacy laws.

    Key privacy policies or agencies, by country of origin are:

    1. Europe/European Union – GDPR (businesses in or operating with EU/EEA)
    2. United States – by state (CCPA, CPRA, CalOPPA, VCDPA)
    3. Canada – PIPEDA
    4. Australia – The Privacy Act 1988
    5. Germany – BDSG, and DSGVO (German name for the GDPR)
    6. France – CNIL (the commission overseeing privacy policies)
    7. South Africa – The POPI Act (POPIA)
    8. Brazil – LGPD (broadly aligns with the GDPR)

    Lesser-known privacy laws exist around the world as well; the above is not to be considered an exhaustive list.

    While privacy policies are generally referred to by location of origin, they can extend to any region that does business with them. Meaning, don’t assume that if you reside outside of Europe that the GDPR doesn’t apply to you.

    The EU’s GDPR and US state laws (#1 and #2) are the most broadly reaching and widely followed privacy policies. But that’s not to say that the others don’t matter; it’s important to research any that might apply to your business.

    Cookie Policies

    Cookie policies are legally binding documents that inform website or app users how a company engages in data tracking and online privacy.

    Cookie identifiers are considered to be personal data by the GDPR, so its rules apply to cookie usage as well. Also, any personal data collected by cookies falls under the GDPR’s jurisdiction.

    The ePrivacy Directive (ePD) of the EU – nicknamed the “Cookie Law” – requires security measures be put in place to protect personal data. This regulates cookie usage, email marketing, data minimization, and other aspects of data privacy, and is largely responsible for the cookie consent forms that you encounter on most websites today. (Sidebar: This doesn’t replace the Cookie Law I grew up with; “Don’t ever serve chocolate chippers without milk.”)

    The ePrivacy Regulation (ePR), the details of which are currently being hammered out by legislators, will replace the ePD once it’s passed into law.

    Consent / Record of Consent

    Taking out that pin that we placed earlier, it’s time to look at Consent.

    The important distinction between Policy and Consent is this: Policy discloses details regarding the use of cookies, while Consent informs and records the allowances from users regarding usage.

    Make sure you incorporate consent into your Privacy/Cookie policies. Full GDPR compliance means storing proof of Consent, and being able to demonstrate or retrieve details should they be requested.

    I can’t stress this enough: having Privacy/Cookie policies without consent could cause major problems for you.

    Additional Legal Protections

    While protecting user data is of paramount importance, privacy isn’t the only concern for someone managing websites.

    There are other important, legal considerations when it comes to engaging the public online.

    We’ll take a look at them now.

    Terms & Conditions

    Unlike Privacy Policies, there are no laws that require you to have a Terms & Conditions agreement, though it is highly suggested to have one.

    Without a T&C, it’s much more difficult to enforce your rules and community guidelines, copyright protection, or other issues that could arise from the misuse of your website/app content.

    The majority of the public will act courteously, but that’s not who you’re protecting yourself from. It’s the small percentage of outliers who can sometimes do the most damage. Having explicitly stated Terms & Conditions can offer basic protections for you and your business, limiting your liability and declaring your rights over the content you create, in case anyone engages in abuse, intellectual property theft, or unlawful behavior.

    The most common reasons for Terms & Conditions are to:

    1. Prevent abuses
    2. Protect your creative content
    3. Terminate accounts
    4. Limit your legal liability
    5. Set your governing law

    If you’ve ever seen a clause in a T&C stating where (geographic region) any dispute resolution must take place, that falls under governing law, and is quite useful if you don’t want to litigate legal matters in a country outside of your own.

    Disclaimers

    Disclaimers can be used to offset liability from a business to a client in ambiguous or gray legal areas, or where they are required by law.

    Without them, you are opening yourself up to legal liability or the possible endangerment of others, especially on sites that share advice, DIYs, or promote/sell products (most of which come with claims).

    Websites and eCommerce stores benefit from disclaimers in that they:

    • Let users/customers know that the content is not legally binding advice, nor should it be solely relied on
    • Limit the liability of the website/store in the event someone has an unsatisfactory result from its advice or products

    Some of the most common disclaimer types are:

    • Copyright
    • Fair Use
    • No Responsibility
    • Views Expressed
    • Offensive Content
    • Past Performance
    • Errors and Omissions
    • Affiliates / Affiliate Links

    While we’re on the subject, here’s an example in actual use:

    Disclaimer: WPMU DEV is not a legal entity, nor does it claim to be an authority on the laws of any region, country, or the internet. While this post contains well-researched content from respected sources, it is for informational purposes only and not intended as a substitute for professional legal advice. As such, we cannot be held liable for any omissions or errors contained within.

    That said, let’s get to the tools and services of the compliance trade, with…

    Our Top 5 Picks for Compliance Companions

    Some of these are actual WordPress plugins, while others are content generated directly in the company’s website.

    Regardless of how you access them, all offer plenty of bang for the buck, and value for the venue (I’m coining this phrase to mean free products and their providers 😉).

    GDPR Cookie Consent and Cookie Yes (by WebToffee)

    WebToffee has a sisterhood of plugins, with versions available on two separate websites: CookieYes and WebToffee, plus the free version on the WordPress repository.

    CookieYes is one of the most used WordPress GDPR cookie compliance plugins, with 1 million+ active installations and 5 out of 5 stars.

    Starting with the free WP.org plugin version, you get a goodly amount of features, including:

    • a cookie consent banner with Accept/Reject options
    • single click automatic scanning and categorization of cookies
    • display list of cookies on your cookie policy page by using a shortcode
    • adds a cookie banner to your WordPress website to show compliance with GDPR
    • fully customize the cookie notice so it blends with your existing website (change colors, fonts, styles, position on page; even how it behaves when you click “Accept All”)
    • has a Cookie List module so you can easily show what cookies your site uses and display them neatly in a table on your Privacy & Cookies Policy page
    • can be configured to have a CCPA/CPRA ‘Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information’ control to the cookie notice

    The free version also includes a connection (also free) with the CookieYes web app to access advanced features (cookie scan, consent log, etc) and manage all settings from the web app account. Note: You can still use most of the features from within the WP dashboard, without connecting to the web app.

    cookie yes dashboard
    The CookieYes dashboard gives you a nice snapshot of information.

    One of the advantages here is the dashboard, which includes a Consent section. You can view or access details on user consent should you ever be audited and need to show this information. It even allows you to download this consent data in CSV format.

    From the WP plugin dashboard, there’s a lot you can do:

    • Check banner status (active, inactive), regulation type (GDPR), last cookie scan, language
    • Customize banner
    • Maintain cookie list, add new cookies
    • Change/edit default banner language
    • Generate a Privacy or Cookie policy for your site

    Add the user guide provided for setup, along with a video walkthrough, and you can see why this plugin is so well loved.

    cookie yes customize consent prefs
    CookieYes banner and consent customizations.

    If you want to go for a CookieYes paid plan, you have three tier options, payable per domain, monthly or annually. Each tier adds more pages per scan (600, 4K, 8K) and pageviews (100K, 300K, unlimited), plus a couple of additional features – like custom branding, and geo-targeted cookie banners.

    As a third option here, we have the paid, premium version of GDPR Cookie Consent Plugin (CCPA Ready) – available from WebToffee’s website.

    The final offering in the WebToffee family of compliance options, GDPR Cookie Consent remains in the territory of fastest-growing WP consent plugins, verifiable by a mass of happy users.

    webtoffee GDPR Cookie Consent display options
    GDPR Cookie Consent offers a variety of notices, all with customization.

    As far as features, most are available and common to both the GDPR Cookie Consent and the CookieYes paid plans. However, the GDPR Cookie Consent plans do not have:

    • Auto-translation
    • Global privacy control
    • Do not track
    • Monthly scheduled scan
    • Privacy policy generator

    GDPR Cookie Consent pricing has three tiers, based on the number of sites (1, 5, 25) you want to use it on. Each includes one year of updates and support, and a 30-day, money-back guarantee.

    The primary difference between The GDPR Cookie Consent and CookieYes paid plans is the technology they rely on. The CookieYes web app is a SaaS that requires huge cloud computing, storage, and security facilities. (This is also why the CookieYes paid plans are based on scans and pageviews.)

    Bonus points for their support: I reached out as a free user to clarify a few points in this section and got a detailed response in less than half a day. (High five to Mark!)

    iubenda

    Iubenda has been quickly rising in the ranks of compliance with their all-in-one solution, currently sitting at 100K+ active installs and a 5/5 star rating on WP.

    If you’re looking for that extra layer of comfort, iubenda has it, with attorney-level compliance solutions, all of which are fully WCAG Level AAA Compliant.

    The free version of iubenda compliance solutions support the GDPR, LGPD, and US State Laws (CCPA/CPRA and VCDPA).

    Content is auto-updated when laws change, so it’s always up-to-date. (Their built-in site scanner runs periodic scans on your site and alerts you if it detects something that should be added to your compliance documents.)

    The free version comes with the following features:

    • Privacy and Cookie Policy Generator
      • a single policy, on one site, in one language
      • up to 4 (non-Pro) service clauses
      • does not include Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Controls and Cookie Solution
      • up to 25K page views/month (for compliance with GDPR, LGPD & ePrivacy and US state laws)
    iubenda privacy controls and cookie solution settings
    iubenda privacy controls and cookie solution settings.

    You can get the free version of iubenda from the WordPress plugin repository.

    The majority of iubenda’s standout features are found in their paid/pro versions, trusted by over 90,000 clients in more than 100 countries. These allow for multiple policies, sites, and languages, as well as Privacy Control & Cookie Solutions, a Terms & Conditions generator, a Consent Database, and more.

    Privacy Control & Cookie Solutions helps you meet complex legal requirements at the click of a button, as well as create a fully customizable cookie banner.

    Terms & Conditions offers powerful features like plug-and-go integrations for popular platforms and legislation monitoring. It’s customizable from hundreds of combinations, available in 10 languages, and capable of handling even the most complex, individual scenarios. Optimized for eCommerce, marketplace, SaaS, apps and more.

    The Consent Database activates with one click to track, store, and manage consent and privacy preferences for each of your users all in one place, allowing you to easily upload proofs of consent and legal notices in PDF format.

    They also offer an Internal Privacy Management, which documents all the data processing activity within your organization. To comply with privacy laws (particularly the GDPR), companies must record how they store and use the data they collect from their users.

    Additional features in the paid plans are:

    • More Compliance Laws, like DSGVO, RGPD, UK-GDPR, CalOPPA, PECR
    • Cookie consent analytics provided for high-traffic sites
    • Detects bots/spiders and serves them a clean page so that your SEO efforts are never compromised
    • Built-in compatibility with WordPress comment form, Contact Form 7, and WP Forms; can also be manually integrated with any type of web-form

    Pricing is offered as bundles with 3 tiers, based on number of license slots, with paid add-ons – Terms & Conditions, and Consent Database – available as extras.

    Or, you can go with their Custom plans, with 3 tiers, broken out by options for Privacy & Cookie Policy, Privacy Controls & Cookie Solution, and Terms & Conditions.

    iubenda pricing models
    iubenda’s pricing models with inclusions listed.

    Head over to iubenda’s website for a more in-depth read about their compliance offerings, or to purchase one of their plans.

    TermsFeed

    TermsFeed doesn’t have a plugin; everything is generated directly from their website. But in no way does that detract from their fantastic functions.

    The TermsFeed website has an abundance of compliance offerings, most of which they charge nothing for.

    Since 2012, TermsFeed’s all-in-one compliance software has helped businesses get (and stay) compliant with the law, and the multitude of glowing, five-star reviews corroborates that.

    Popular free features include:

    • Privacy Policy Generator
    • Terms & Conditions Generator
    • Privacy Consent
    • Cookie Consent
    • EULA Generator – gives users the right to use a copy of your product after they acquire it, through a granted license (with or without limitations)
    • Disclaimer Generator
    • Return and Refund Policy Generator
    • Shipping Policy Template – no generator for this, but a detailed, helpful template to assist businesses in creating

    They also offer these additional, not-as-common free tools:

    • CCPA Opt-out – Free tool to manage opt-outs for CCPA
    • I Agree Checkbox – Free tool to enforce your legal agreements and policies on web forms
    • Embed Consent – Free tool to block embeds (YouTube, Twitter, Google Maps) from loading until you’ve got user consent
    termsfeed compliance toolbox infographic
    The TermsFeed site has a ton of helpful, visually appealing infographics.

    All of the generators operate in the same, simple three-step: 1) Create a free account. 2) Choose what you need. 3) Download and integrate.

    You answer a few quick questions, and your custom policy is ready in minutes, available to download in multiple file formats – which you can link to, edit, or update.

    Or, download their handy privacy policy template (available in a variety of formats: HTML, DOCX, Google Docs), and write your own.

    And the output isn’t limited to just websites; you can use it to create for mobile apps, eCommerce stores, third-party tools, SaaS, and even a Facebook page.

    The TermsFeed website is well organized and chock full of helpful information, making an easy task out of finding what you need.

    The majority of compliance agreements and policies on the TermsFeed website are essentially free. However, they do offer some optional, premium agreements with additional clauses to protect your business interests.

    Paid items are available in two ways:

    • Privacy Consent Solution, which gives you access to all features, payable month-to-month, or yearly (with a discount).
    • Per Policy/Agreement, which allows you to select any number of policies from their huge compliance toolbox, and pay a one-time fee, per item

    Both payment structures come with a 7-day refund policy, and 100% money-back guarantee.

    termsfeed privacy policy blog articles summary
    A summary recap of Privacy Policy blog articles in TermsFeed.

    As far as videos, walk-through processes, and documentation go, out of all the sites I reviewed in this article, they had the most. On YouTube alone, I counted close to 200 explainer videos (on their content specifically, and policy terminology in general), plus dozens of tutorials for using on a myriad of website types (Wix, Weebly, Squarespace, Webflow, Shopify, etc) in addition to WordPress.

    My final thoughts: the TermsFeed website is an embarrassment of riches, with compliance offerings galore, and little to no limitations on their use. Even the premium, paid-for options won’t break the bank.

    Visit the TermsFeed website for tools, tips, and custom provisions, or their YouTube channel for a ton of valuable, well-produced info.

    Complianz

    Complianz is another widely used compliance plugin, available for free on the WP repository: Cookie Consent – aka the Privacy Suite for WP. (They offer an additional one for Terms & Conditions as well.)

    Active installations are at 600K (and climbing), and rated 5/5 stars.

    Complianz is a GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent plugin that supports GDPR, ePrivacy, and more, with a conditional Cookie Notice and customized Cookie Policy, based on the results of their built-in Cookie Scan.

    Free features include:

    • Cookie Notice configuration for your specific region (EU, UK, US, Australia, South Africa, Brazil, and Canada; or use one Cookie Notice worldwide)
    • Cookie Consent and Conditional Cookie Notice with custom CSS and customizable templates
    • Automatic configuration of your website based on wizard questions, WordPress scans, and dedicated service and plugin integrations
    • Proof of Consent for user registration (respects GDPR data minimization guideline)
    • Automatically detects if you need a Cookie Notice (aka Cookie Banner or popup)
    • Cookie policy generation through an easy wizard
    • Offers “Do Not Sell My Personal Information” (for CCPA/CPRA)

    Complianz is one of the few WordPress native solutions, integrated with a wide variety of plugins and services. Once configured through the wizard, Complianz will work with most of your plugins and embedded content – right out of the box. Including our very own Forminator, Beehive, and the WPMU DEV Dashboard plugin (where you can integrate Complianz to allow site visitors to reject dashboard analytics statistics cookies).

    Like iubenda, their policies are drafted by an IT Law Firm, and are WCAG Level AA and ADA Compliant. They closely follow the latest developments in ePrivacy regulation, the proposed Cookie Law for the EU, and other legislation worldwide, so you can be sure the content is spot-on, legally speaking.

    Complianz also has premium, paid offerings for compliance, available from their own website.

    Their website has documentation, and as a premium user, you get dedicated support from privacy professionals and developers who (and I quote) “don’t quit until a solution is reached”.

    complianz offerings screenshot
    Complianz offers a full privacy suite for WordPress.
    complianz premium vs free features chart
    Legal docs and Consent Management offerings on Complianz, free vs paid.

    Easily install the free Complianz Privacy Suite plugin from your WordPress dashboard. For the premium version, you’ll need to download from your account on Complianz.io, or use the link in your purchase confirmation, along with your license key.

    In addition to the free version, paid plans are offered as 3 tiers, priced per number of sites (25, 5, 1). All include the full shebang of required legal documents, compliant in multiple regions, along with records of consent, data request processing, A/B testing and statistics, and detailed cookie descriptions.

    Termly

    While Termly does have a plugin on the WP.org repository, it’s outdated, and I don’t recommend using it. But that doesn’t make their compliance options any less capable or appealing.

    Instead of the WP repo, head over to Termly’s website, where everything you need is easily accessible and kept fully up to date.

    Termly compliance offerings
    Compliance solution offerings from Termly.

    The Termly website comes with a host of features, ranging from a single policy to a full suite of compliance solutions.

    Here’s a breakdown of Termly’s top features:

    • Consent Management Platform
      • Manage consent on your website or app while providing a robust and flexible solution to compliment your business needs and regulatory requirements
    • Policy Generators
      • Choose from the ever-expanding list of legally vetted policies to protect your business and meet your compliance needs
    • Additional Legal Protection Generators
      • Easily create other Agreements and Notices to further protect your website (like: Terms & Conditions, Disclaimers, EULAs, Shipping Policies, Refund and Return Generators)
    Termly's all-in-one cookie consent solution
    Termly’s all-in-one cookie consent solution.

    Termly’s free plan provides you with one legal policy, four edits, and 10K/month banner visitors, as well as their basic compliance tools, which are:

    • Privacy Regulation Monitoring
    • Cookie Policy & Banner
    • Cookie Script Auto Blocker
    • HTML Embeddable Policies
    • Quarterly cookie scans

    In addition to their free/basic plan, Termly offers 3 paid tiers, priced per website. The first two go by number of policies, policy edits, and banner visits, and are payable per month or annually. The third tier is a custom “contact us” option.

    With 4.5 out of 5 star rating on Trustpilot, Termly is trusted and revered by thousands.

    Better Compliance and Reliance with WPMU DEV

    As you can see, responsible data management is not only good business practice, it’s also the law.

    In today’s landscape where massive amounts of data, along with infinitely more ways to store and use it are the norm, diligence is required in its care and handling, especially if you operate an online business (your own, or as an Agency for clients).

    Regardless of what kind of business it is, where it is located, or where your visitors reside, you are bound by certain legalities.

    Ignorance is not a defense, so compliance can be the difference between being successfully safe or professionally sunk.

    Beyond research and recommendations for meeting compliance requirements, WPMU DEV works hard to keep your websites and web development business operating at peak efficiency.

    That includes our free products and services, and our premium membership offerings – a suite of pro plugins (protection, optimization, form creation, SEO, and more), five-star always-on support, and sleek all-in-one site management tool. Plus our fast, dedicated, best-value-in-the-biz Hosting.

    If you’re not a member yet, you can start your 7-day, no obligation free trial today, and instantly catch up on what you’ve been missing.

  • 6 Key Web Developer Trends to Watch in 2023

    If you’re in the field of web development, you might want to pay attention to these industry-predicted trends.

    There are a lot of design and development trends floating around the internet. Researching this topic, I came across articles that listed upwards of 50. While many of these are legitimate topics of interest, most of them weren’t headline worthy.

    So how did I land on a top 6? First and foremost, the topic had to be relevant and prevalent (after all, that is the definition of trendy). In addition, they had to strike me as important and valuable when it comes to web development specifically.

    If these aren’t already on your radar, chances are they will be soon. Getting a good grasp on these noteworthy topics can really help you elevate your web development business.

    Here’s a quick overview of what we’ll cover:

    Since AI is a common denominator in all of the burgeoning tech we’ll look at in this article, it seemed a brief history on the topic would be in order.

    A Primer on AI

    The very first notions of AI came in the form of myths and rumors; artificial beings endowed with intelligence or consciousness by some master craftsmen. You know, your typical origins story.

    Philosophers and thought leaders in other disciplines continued to discuss the essence of what would become AI, and in the 1940s the first programmable digital computer was created. However, with the ability only to execute commands (not store them), it lacked the prerequisite for intelligence: formal reasoning.

    The ’50s saw mathematician Alan Turing’s Theory of Computation, suggesting it might be possible to construct an electronic brain. He postulated that machines could use information to solve problems and make decisions, much like humans, and in 1956, the field of artificial intelligence research was founded as an academic discipline.

    Through the ’60s and ’70s, AI thrived, with computers able to store more information while simultaneously becoming faster, cheaper, and more accessible.

    AI continued to pick up speed in the ’80s and ’90s. Learning techniques and expert systems were introduced and popularized, while governments and industries poured billions of dollars into revolutionizing AI. Alas, the loftiest goals didn’t come to fruition, and investors withdrew funding.

    During the ’90s and 2000s, many of AI’s landmark achievements were met, despite government funding and public interest taking a backseat. In 1997, IBM’s chess playing computer program, Deep Blue, defeated the reigning world chess champion grandmaster. Later that same year, Windows implemented speech recognition software.

    Since the turn of the century, AI has continued to prosper. By 2016, AI-related hardware and software surpassed the $8 billion mark, and the New York Times deemed the interest in AI “a frenzy”.

    In today’s era of “Big Data” (characterized by volume, velocity, variety, value, and veracity), AI continues to propel forward, at times its capabilities not only reaching but surpassing computational power. (See Moore’s Law.)

    With AI at the forefront of almost any tech you can think of, the possibilities seem endless, and the opportunities exciting.

    So, without further ado…

    The Top 6 Trends in Web Development

    Let’s get straight to the heart of the matter. Here are the top 6 trends in web development for 2023, starting with…

    AI Chatbots

    AI Chatbots, or AI Assistants, are extremely prevalent in today’s world, and expected to grow substantially. In fact, SEMRush predicts a 33.2% year-on-year growth rate from 2020 to 2027.

    chatbot stats
    Revealing AI Chatbot stats. Image Source.

    AI chatbots help millions of people and businesses perform operations faster by using text or voice prompts. They also offer 24/7/365 availability, which is crucial to providing ready access to customers around the world in every time zone.

    Considered to be one of the most influential technologies that will shape the future of web development, AI chatbots are smarter than regular chatbots. Due to use of natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning (ML) technologies, they better understand what the user wants, then tailor that experience to the individual.

    AI chatbots can engage in complex conversations easily without the human intervention quotient. Because they analyze behavior and solve problems, their AI learning algorithms become smarter with every query they handle.

    The impact of AI chatbots is substantial. Simply put: Chatbots enhance and streamline the customer experience. More specifically, they’ve been shown to lower customer complaints (i.e., improve satisfaction), improve lead capture and contact flow, and increase sales. And it goes with saying that the more customers enjoy an online experience, the more likely they are to purchase from the company providing it.

    Web developers can benefit from AI-powered chatbots in a couple of ways, like replacing navigational elements on websites to make development easier, or integrating chatbots with messengers, so fewer applications need to be developed.

    With customer engagement being a key indicator of business success, you really can’t afford to ignore the benefits of AI chatbots, especially as they become even more sophisticated in the near future.

    Voice Assistant

    We are currently in the midst of the voice search era. Every smartphone is equipped with digital voice assistants, while their home-bound counterparts (smart speakers) are skyrocketing in popularity.

    The most common ways to interact with voice assistants is through smartphones, smart cars, and smart speakers – in that order. The four biggest providers of voice assistants are Apple’s Siri, the eponymous Google Assistant, Amazon’s Alexa, and Microsoft’s Cortana.

    Though there are a vast number of reasons that people use voice assistants, top tasks include making calls (or sending texts), getting directions, playing music, and finding nearby businesses.

    Recent data in The Global State of Digital 2022 reveals that 22.5% of users worldwide use voice assistants each week on the internet, spanning a vast range of ages (16-64 years).

    percentage worldwide use voice assistants
    Key voice assistant stats from The Global State of Digital report.

    Additionally, the voice assistant application market size is projected to grow from 2.8 billion in 2021 to 11.2 billion USD by 2026, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 32.4%.

    How did voice assistants become so popular? Partly due to ease of use; basic communication skills are already present in humans, so both kids and seniors can adapt to voice interfaces with a minimal learning curve. Secondly, digital voice assistants are commonplace on smartphones, so the tech is within easy reach at no additional cost.

    Voice Assistant technology is also being implemented to make sites more accessible for those who are hearing and sight-impaired.

    Because of their massive use, voice search results will start to rank higher and more prominently on search engine result pages. Which means companies will place emphasis on optimizing their products and services with voice search at the forefront.

    This provides a good deal of opportunity for web developers when it comes to voice assistant technology and incorporating it into the development process.

    A good place to start taking advantage of this trend is by optimizing structured data for voice search in WordPress.

    Progressive Web Applications (PWAs)

    Progressive Web Applications (aka PWAs) are web applications that run independently of a browser and interact with the customer as a native app. Some prime examples are Google Maps, Starbucks, and Spotify.

    pwa dev preferable
    Indications that PWA is preferrable. Image Source.

    PWAs are currently among the top trends in web development, and expected to fully replace traditional web apps in the near future.

    Using a single codebase, developers can code Progressive Web Apps to work with modern APIs, delivering enhanced capabilities and reliability that can reach anyone – regardless of their location or what device they’re on.

    PWAs improve the overall user experience because of these key benefits:

    • fast
    • relatively low cost
    • quick to launch/distribute on the market
    • install quickly and automatically update
    • save on device power and storage
    • work well offline (or with bad connections)
    • boost website engagement/conversion
    • maintenance and updating is seamless
    • fully immersive experience

    Another plus for PWAs is that Google prioritizes web apps that load quickly on mobile devices. Because they reduce page load time, PWAs dramatically improve search result rankings.

    According to Statista, mobile sales in the global market are projected to reach $8.1 billion in 2026. That means people will likely choose their mobile devices over their non-mobile counterparts for most of their purchasing needs, leaning directly into what PWAs provide.

    PWAs are responsive, secure, easy to install, scalable, and reliably connected, making them a perfect fit for many B2B and B2C uses.

    Tip: Do you use the Avada theme on client sites? Then check out our article on how to speed up and optimize Avada using our Smush and Hummingbird plugins with Avada’s own PWA plugin.

    Single-page Applications (SPA)

    Single-page applications (or SPAs) are one of the most critical technology trends in web development today.

    SPA architecture
    Architecture of an SPA. Image source.

    An SPA is a JavaScript-based web application. Instead of loading separate HTML pages from a server, it loads a single, specific page to visitors, dynamically updating its content without refreshing the page.

    Social media sites (think Facebook and Twitter), as well as Gmail and Google Drive, are among the most well-known SPAs.

    Since most devices support it, SPA technology is cross-platform in nature. They even perform well with a slow internet connection or when offline, loading cached content when users launch the site. SPAs are also better equipped to work without server-side codes infused with API technology.

    All of this means that SPAs operate fast and keep users attention, leading to greater engagement and reduced bounce rates.

    SPAs are easy to create, cost-effective, and consume less server space, making them practical for both end users and developers.

    Tip: Feel like getting into SPA and reading some relaxing articles to get you in the mood? Then check out these bubbly tutorials:

    Internet of Things (IoT)

    Long foreshadowed as the wave of the future, the Internet of Things (or IoT) is a movement where objects are given network connectivity that didn’t historically have it, in order to send and receive data.

    IoT is one of the most rapidly emerging technologies in web development, with Statista indicating the number of IoT-connected devices will reach more than 29 billion by 2030.

    IoT connected devices chart
    IoT-connected devices worldwide by year. Image source.

    IoT objects can range from home devices, to appliances, and wearable technology, as well as cameras, sensors, and signaling equipment – all helping to meet user needs more quickly.

    Furthermore, IoT can make many otherwise non-connected devices accessible from your phone.

    A popular example would be the Google Nest package of products, which provides users with features like media, alarms, lights, and more, simply by using their voice.

    IoT-connected devices have constant data transfers, allowing companies to engage users with their services at incredible speeds, while creating a personalized experience.

    IoT is scalable, as it distributes and collects data but isn’t dependent on the volume of data. It is also reliable, providing accurate results in an expedited fashion. Additionally, it employs powerful security tech to protect business and user data.

    IoT’s smart ecosystem provides a wide range of benefits that can be incorporated into websites and mobile apps, analyzing customer behavior to improve the user experience while providing developers with insights.

    Motion UI

    Motion UI, under the umbrella of motion design, is expected to be a major web design trend in the coming year. The principle is minimalistic design coupled with sophisticated interactions that look amazing and draw the user’s attention.

    Motion UI in its glory. Source: Taras Migulko for emote_agency on Dribbble.

    Motion UI is a powerful front-end technology that can create customizable, animated UI elements and CSS transitions using SASS libraries.

    Popular motions include background animations, animated charts, and modular scrolling, and transition actions like sliding, spinning, bouncing, etc. All of these can cater to individual styles, and aim to catch and keep users’ attention.

    Motion UI is generally compatible with all web technologies, and allows flexibility in placement on websites. You can apply these transitions to overlays, off-canvas menus, modals, and more.

    Humans are instinctively compelled to follow motion and look for visual clues. It’s also been proven that motion makes a greater impact than static images, meaning we’re much more likely to remember content displayed through movement.

    Motion UI is best used to tell a story and invoke emotion, making it a powerful tool in driving user engagement.

    Tip: Looking for Motion design in UI inspiration? Check out these websites with great examples. Also, see this moving article for a Motion UI plugin you can use to make your WordPress sites jump.

    Trends or Tools of the Trade?

    We’ve been following trends like AI chatbots, voice assistants, PWAs, SPAs, IoT, and Motion UI for years; see how they’ve picked up steam since 2018, 2019,  and 2020.

    2023 will witness a lot of advancements in the field of web development, and will transform the way the world does business – including the way you interact with your clients.

    Adopting the latest web dev trends will allow you to stay competitive, by offering the most popular and cutting-edge designs and services.

    If you are looking to build your WordPress sites on the sturdiest foundation, sign up for our newsletter to hear about the latest and greatest developments in the world of WordPress, and consider membership and hosting with WPMU DEV. With our suite of pro plugins, 5-star support, and a money-back guarantee, you’re sure to stay ahead of the curve.

  • Announcing… the WPMU DEV Agency Partner Directory!

    The ability to access custom services such as development, design, or marketing is a common request we get, both from our members and audience at large – or should we say, it was a common request.

    We’re excited to reveal that not only did we hear you, we did something about it. And today we can announce that solution (of which we’re rather proud).

    Introducing… WPMU DEV’s comprehensive new agency directory that allows members to showcase their services, and helps users find trusted experts to hire for their projects.

    It’s a win-win!

    What’s more, you don’t need to wait for our team to build it. The directory has just launched! And it’s completely free! 😀

    As with any new feature, it’s important to understand the ins and outs, so let’s take a closer look at some of the details – both for those who need help, and those who can give it.

    Keep reading, or jump ahead to any section:

    agency partner search and filters

    How it Works

    For those looking to enlist help for a project, it’s as easy as heading to the WPMU DEV Agency Partners page and searching for what you need, within the parameters you set.

    For Agency Partners, we’ll be sending potential clients in their direction by referring requests we receive that are outside of the scope of WPMU DEV support.

    That means FREE promotion! And potential revenue!!

    Because we’ll also mention this occasionally in our weekly emails and our social media, that’s a whole lot of free marketing that will be going out to our extended audience.

    Plus, by virtue of agencies being added to the directory, they’ll get high authority backlinks to their site, helping to increase their domain authority – which of course leads to higher ranking on search engines for another stellar bonus: SEO gains.

    As for the directory itself, search and filtering capabilities allow users to quickly zero in on agencies that provide website maintenance, ecommerce, video production, and more.

    It’s easy to use, and has loads of potential.

    How to Apply

    Agencies using WPMU DEV tools to build quality sites are eligible for inclusion in our Agency Partners Directory.

    Such agencies that are interested in being listed in our directory can fill out this form. Every submission will be checked and agencies informed whether or not they qualify for inclusion.

    While inclusion in the directory is limited to WPMU DEV members, use of the directory as a resource to access custom services is open to everyone – and it’s 100% free! Simply jump online and start your search.

    Giddy Up, Partner

    The Agency Partners Directory is our solution to providing those in need of custom services with quality, credible options – vetted by us – while bringing potential business to our top member agencies.

    This will help users, WPMU DEV members and non-members alike, find top-ranking and trustworthy agencies.

    This great symbiosis is what WPMU DEV is all about, and this launch will enhance all of our existing products and services, putting the varying specialities of our developer audience in closer reach of each other.

    Give it a look-see, and tell us what you think!

    If you haven’t already, try us out (free, for 7 days!) and see how WPMU DEV’s membership can make a big difference in your professional journey. All of our Memberships, as well as our Hosting, include a fleet of Pro Plugins, 24/7/365 five-star support, and a ton more.

  • SmartCrawl’s Newest Release Adds A Handful of New Features, Plus Greater Flexibility in Options

    SmartCrawl version 3.4 adds multiple keyword analysis, additional SEO recommendations, the ability to disable SEO & Readability Analysis in the post list, and more. For free.

    SmartCrawl has been SEO optimized from the start, but each new version further improves site performance while boosting your PageRank on Google.

    With automated SEO scanning, automatic XML sitemaps, real-time keyword and content analysis, and detailed audits/reports – not to mention one-click recommendations – SmartCrawl lets you create targeted content that ranks at the top of your favorite search engine.

    In this post, we’re going to take a closer look at the latest features added to version 3.4, and why they make SmartCrawl even better.

    Continue reading, or jump ahead with these links:

    Let’s get cracking.

    Multiple Keywords Analysis

    SmartCrawl has had keyword analysis for a while now. It also previously allowed multiple key phrases to be added, but analysis was only done on the first one.

    Now, you can analyze your post content for up to three different focus keywords (or phrases). The first keyword entered will be considered primary, while the second and third keywords will be analyzed as secondary.

    Doing this is easy. First of all, let’s make sure analysis is turned on. Navigate to SmartCrawl > Settings > General Settings > In-Post Analysis > Visibility, and make sure Page Analysis is toggled on (it will turn blue), then click the Save Changes button at the bottom of the page.

    keyword analysis in settings
    Simple, flexible settings to start your SEO analysis journey in SmartCrawl.

    Now, open any Page or Post, and scroll to the SmartCrawl section at the bottom. In the Add Keywords field, enter up to three keywords or phrases, separating each by a comma, then click on the Add Keyword button. (You can enter them individually or all at once.)

    analyze multiple keywords
    Multiple keyword (or phrase) analysis has come to SmartCrawl!

    SmartCrawl will instantly analyze all of your keywords, showing results directly below them.

    keyword analysis results
    SmartCrawl provides a wealth of detail on a multitude of SEO checks.

    Clicking on any of the keywords will put you on its own tab, with details listed beneath.

    For each focus keyword, SmartCrawl will give you a list of recommendations to improve the SEO of your post. Suggestions will be made in yellow and gray, while passed audits will be green.

    Click on the dropdown arrow to the right of any recommendation to see details specific to it.

    If for any reason you decide a certain recommendation isn’t needed, simply click the Ignore button beneath it, and it will stop appearing every time you run the analysis.

    recommendation drop down
    Don’t want to see a certain recommendation post analysis? Just click Ignore.

    As you go through making content adjustments based on SmartCrawl’s recommendations, follow them up with a click of the Refresh button (at the top of SEO section), so you can reanalyze and see what improvements your changes made.

    Taxonomy List Status Column

    You’ll also find a handy SEO Status column on Category & Taxonomy pages, providing the SEO status for all of your taxonomies.

    It’s just a quick way to indicate whether an SEO description has been set, and remind users to craft good SEO descriptions so they do well in search results.

    taxonomy seo status column
    An SEO Status column has been added to category & taxonomy pages.

    Green check marks mean the SEO description is set and contains the recommended 120-160 characters. Red means a description is missing. Yellow means the description provided is too long/short in length.

    You can also hover over any icon in the SEO Status column for a popup with more detailed information.

    A Quad of Additional SEO Recommendations

    SmartCrawl suggests In-Post SEO Recommendations for every focus keyword that your post content has been analyzed for.

    Each of these will click to expand, providing additional information about how to better improve your post SEO.

    The list of important recommendations in SmartCrawl was already significant, but we added four more in this version release.

    1. Check if the URL contains underscores

    Google recommends the use of hyphens over underscores in URLs, stating that hyphens make crawling and interpreting URLs easier for search engines.

    2. Check for recommending a hand-crafted meta description

    Using best practices for meta descriptions increases the likelihood of your content ranking higher in SERPS. That includes handcrafting your meta description using relevant information about the page content, instead of using the auto-generated one.

    3. Primary focus keyword is already used on another post/page

    Optimizing more than one post for the same focus keyword confuses search engines and can affect your SEO ranking. SmartCrawl will check to see if your Primary Focus Keyword is used in other Posts/Pages, and then list the 10 most recent ones.

    primary focus keyword other post-page
    SmartCrawl checks for repeated primary keywords on more than one post/page.

    4. Check if all external links are nofollow links

    Relevant outbound site links help search engines determine the relevance and quality of your content, improving credibility, authority, and value to users. While having some nofollow links is okay, best practice is to have at least one external dofollow link in your site, so SmartCrawl will check for this.

    Disable SEO & Readability Analysis Status

    Posts and Pages in SmartCrawl are analyzed one at a time by default, in order to prevent excessive loads on the server.

    In the newest version, you now have the ability to completely disable these checks if you prefer. To do so, navigate to SmartCrawl > Settings > General Settings > In-Post Analysis, and toggle the Disable Page Analysis Check on Pages/Posts Screen on (it will turn blue).

    If you change this setting, be sure to click the Save Changes button at the bottom of the page.

    disable page analysis check in settings
    SmartCrawl has one-click disabling for page/post analysis.

    The SEO Do-all, Be-all, End-all, SmartCrawl

    SmartCrawl is built with ease-of-use in mind. Set up is a cinch, with one-click recommendations that improve your PageRank in minutes, each full of details so you can better understand and improve on them.

    Now with the newest features, like analyzing multiple keywords at once, even more recommendations that benefit your post SEO, and improved readability analysis, using SmartCrawl on your WordPress site is a win-win-win.

    Sign up for a WPMU DEV free membership to take a test run with us. In addition to SmartCrawl, you’ll get Smush and Hummingbird – our two most highly rated (and awarded) plugins for image and performance optimizations – as well as the rest of our popular free plugins.

    If you want to up the ante even more, we recommend going with one of our Premium Memberships, which include SmartCrawl Pro (plus the rest of our Pro plugins), along with our exclusive, feature-packed Hub client portal, blazing-fast CDN, and our 24/7/365 five-star support. SmartCrawl Pro adds features like scanning, reports, automatic linking for specific keywords, 404s and multiple redirects.

    You can also Host with us, and join the tens of thousands of satisfied WordPressers who see the difference our fully dedicated, fully optimized, and lightning-fast resources make.

    However you go, SmartCrawl your way to the top of the search game.

  • The Year in Review at WPMU DEV: A Look Back and a Peek Ahead

    Is everyone still basking in that holiday glow? Many of us here at WPMU DEV took a wee break over Christmas, but are back in the full swing of things now.

    Topping my to-do list was putting this roundup/roadmap post together, to share what we rolled out in 2022, and what you can look forward to from us in 2023. It’s always a thrill to see it all in one place, and I know a lot of you feel the same.

    I want to thank my teammates who work hard every day to make our products and services the best they can be, and for being gracious with their time and knowledge.

    I also want to thank you – our devoted customers and discerning audience – for sharing your ideas, testing ours, and playing a large role in our current level of success.

    So here we go… a summary of our 2022 accomplishments and a reveal of what’s in the pipeline for 2023, with key points and insights from our brilliant Product Managers and Lead Developers.

    Keep reading, or jump ahead with these links:

    First up, a view from the top from our CEO, James, who continues to keep our ship righted as we steer into both new and familiar territory.

    Executive Summary, from CEO James Farmer

    “2022 was truly an epic year that I hope was reflected in the new and improved tools, services, and software that we provided for our members.

    We hope you found our plugins – the core of who we are – better in every aspect, from their feature sets to their reliability and UX.

    Our hosting has also come along in leaps and bounds, including our first genre-busting product release with Quantum… managed, dedicated, VPS-style hosting from $3.60/m in half a dozen global locations (with your own dedicated IP). I’m still a bit surprised it exists.

    And bringing it all together has been The Hub, which continues to take giant strides forward and for which 2023 is going to be its biggest year yet (automated reseller, white label support, from the greatest support team on the planet… yes please!)

    And that’s where we’re all at now, making sure you have the best possible 2023 using WPMU DEV for your web development, agency, freelancer or personal projects.

    Below, we’ve outlined more specifically what we brought to the table in 2022 and what else is in the works for this coming year, so read on to get up to speed.”

    Want to hear more from James? Check out this Post Status interview from the Product Founder Series: WordPress in the Long View with James Farmer.

    All right, off to explore the individual products and services. Starting with…

    Our Powerhouse Plugins

    Plugins are what put us on the map, and continue to play a central role at WPMU DEV.

    We currently manage 13 pro plugins, along with nine free versions on the WordPress plugin repository.

    Let’s take a look at the journey plugins took last year, and what lies ahead for each in 2023.

    Smush

    The most popular image optimization plugin for WordPress, Smush continues to rule with blazing-fast CDN, super 2x compression, caching, and lazy loading.

    Our Head of Products, Mohammad Sharab, will be providing summaries for Smush, Hummingbird, SmartCrawl, Defender, Forminator, and Snapshot.

    First up, here’s Mo with the lowdown on Smush:

    “In 2022, we focused on improving the user experience of bulk image optimization and giving back to our free users who made Smush the number one image optimization plugin.

    Bulk image optimization processes are much faster with the new Parallel optimization improvement, putting Smush on the top of the list of image optimization speeds. We also removed wait times on image optimization, making workflow more efficient with the introduction of Background Optimization features.

    Additionally, we unlocked two features to our free users: Lossy Compression, and the 50 images limit. Now free users can benefit from any amount of lossy, compressed images.

    In 2023, we have some key items coming up:

    • Improve our Local WebP Compression
    • Revamp Smush UI/UX
    • Introduce CDN Management per site for users who are managing multiple sites (instead of per account)

    As always, we’ll keep you informed when new features hit.”

    Hummingbird

    The ultimate performance suite, Hummingbird monitors, analyzes, and optimizes the performance of all your websites, assuring they run at peak speeds.

    From Mo:

    “The Hummingbird team is working with two goals in mind: to make it safer, and easier to optimize.

    We know that Manual Asset Optimization isn’t easy for all users, and moving the wrong file to the footer or delaying it from loading could affect/break the front page style. That’s why we introduced a new Safe Mode feature for Manual Optimization, so users could optimize their files and test page speed without breaking anything. Then publish those changes to live, once happy with their configuration.

    For 2023, the team is working on two new features that will help users improve site speed score with a click of a button. These are: Delay JS, and Critical CSS features.”

    SmartCrawl

    SEO superstar SmartCrawl provides higher ranking and improved SERPs, with full schema support, crawling and indexing audits, and content analysis.

    Once again we have Mo here to recap last year’s advancements and what’s coming next.

    “SmartCrawl has been steadily growing and improving every year, and this year is no exception. We continue to strive to make SmartCrawl a plugin that will be synonymous with SEO and WordPress. To do that, we’re making it more powerful, flexible, and accessible to all our users and members.

    Our most recent update is an improvement to our in-post Content Analysis. We now support analysis for multiple keywords or key phrases. In the past, we allowed our users to enter multiple key phrases separated by commas but we only did an analysis on the main/first focus keyword.

    Now you can add multiple key phrases and do analysis on subsequent secondary key phrases enabling you to optimize your content even further.

    Some other updates we tackled last year were:

    • Multilingual Support for Readability Analysis – We now support 7 Languages with our readability analysis
    • Automatic Linking Refactoring – We have made Automatic linking more efficient and have added a few new features
    • Regex and Bulk Imports for Redirection – You can now use Regex for Redirection and bulk Import and Export redirects between sites

    On the horizon for 2023 is… Breadcrumbs! You’ll be able to add Breadcrumbs visually, and they will also include schema data. And, there is still so much more we want to do with Content Analysis, so look for those upgrades this year, as well as other great new features and improvements.”

    Defender

    Seamlessly integrated with WPMU DEV’s powerful WAF, our tough-as-nails security plugin Defender has helped more than 300,000 sites stay secure while assisting with the early detection of malware.

    Mo continues with Defender news:

    “In 2022, we made several improvements to Defender, including:

    • Allowlist/Blocklist IPs on multiple sites from The Hub
    • Biometric and YubiKey Authentication for 2 Factor authentication
    • Google reCAPTCHA & 2FA integration with BuddyPress and WooCommerce Checkout
    • Enhancing the Malware scanner’s ability to detect security threats and provide CVSS severity score for vulnerabilities

    In 2023, we’re planning several improvements in Defender to make it even better. Here’s the shortlist:

    • Safe Quarantine – Quarantine malware-affected files
    • Defender Firewall – Protect your site from Bad IPs flagged by other sites
    • Improving the plugin’s user interface to make it even more user-friendly and intuitive
    • Enhanced ability to detect and block security threats, such as malware and malicious code

    With the ever-increasing need for website security, we are committed to improving Defender and making it the best protection possible from security threats on WordPress websites. To that end, upcoming updates will be comprehensive and effective.”

    Forminator

    There’s no limit to what you can do with interactive forms, polls, and quizzes in Forminator. Create campaigns in minutes with the most flexible, easy-to-use, drag-and-drop form builder for WordPress, and see user engagement soar.

    Mo has this to say about Forminator:

    “Our first big feature of 2022 was Global Appearance Presets, released in February. This enabled users to easily create presets of form appearance and reuse them for as many forms as desired.

    Our next most-voted feature was Partial Submissions, which we introduced last June. This enables you to save your progress when filling up a large form by saving your submission as a draft, and continuing where you left off at any point later.

    We implemented Reports in September 2022, in order to better track the performance of your forms, polls, or quizzes. These reports come both in a dashboard form, where you can see stats about a specific form straight in WordPress admin, or you can schedule regular sends of these reports via email.

    Also in September, based on many requests received to support more automation services like Zapier, we adjusted our Webhook integration to support multiple automation tools. In addition to Zapier, Integrately, Tray.io, Make, Workato, and more will now support webhooks through Forminator.

    Two other highly requested features that improve form usability are Field Grouping, and Group Repeater functionality. We rolled these out in October, making users able to group fields into sets – which can be repeated on the frontend as many times as needed or desired. This can be particularly useful, for example, if you want your site visitors to fill out the form with multiple guests attending an event, where the same set of details from each extra guest is needed.”

    Mo continues with a look-see of what’s up and coming in 2023:

    “We’re pumped about what it will bring. For starters, we’re pleased to announce that Forminator version 2.0 will be released in Q1 of 2023, with a highly requested feature: PDF Generation.

    While we already have an integration with E2PDF, building this into the plugin will bring a lot more usability, and will allow the use of invoices, quotes receipts, and more.”

    Snapshot

    A final roundup from Mo, this time for Snapshot, our automatic, efficient, off-site storage backup buddy. Select from reliable third-party storage options, get instant email alerts, and implement one-click restores.

    “Last year we formed an awesome new team for Snapshot with the goal of improving the backup success rate. We took care of lots of underlying issues in the Snapshot Incremental API and in the Snapshot plugin, which boosted the backup success rate in 2022 from 80% to 90%.

    We’ve also fixed issues where backups were running for a long time without any success or timeout error.

    And finally, with November’s 4.13 release, Snapshot now consumes even less memory. That means higher backup success rates on third-party servers with lower specs.

    Here are some other 2022 improvements we made on Snapshot (in chronological order):

    • Redesigned Snapshot Installer with a new engine that takes lower memory
    • Added HTTP Authentication option for password-protected sites
    • Fixed compatibility issue with Siteground’s Ultrafast PHP (We’ve seen a 50% drop in backups failing at random database tables.)
    • Added ‘OneDrive’ destination
    • Database table exclusion UI
    • Snapshot uses MySQLDUMP (if available) to dump the database

    Early in 2023, we have a couple of items lined up:

    • Continue improving backup and restoration success rate
    • Redesign File exclusion UI

    Then later in 2023, we’ll be working on AZURE Destination.”

    Dashboard

    The WPMU DEV Dashboard plugin securely connects your site to your Hub via our API, giving you one-click installation, upgrades, and security updates for all our plugins, directly from your WordPress.com dash.

    Lead Developer Joel James is bringing us the intel on Dashboard.

    “Dashboard had some nice growth this year. For starters, we added the ability to sign-in with Google.

    Next, we added the ability to select the Hub Team after login, as well as Optimizing SQL queries for a noticeable performance improvement.

    And finally, we added WP Consent API integration for WPMU DEV Analytics, and Improved UX on the login screen.

    Looking ahead, we plan on refactoring the UI this year. Also, we’ll be improving support for third-party plugins and themes updates.”

    In Maintenance Mode

    Hustle, Branda, Beehive, Shipper, and Integrated Video Tutorials have been in maintenance mode.

    While they had no major feature upgrades in 2022, we continued to fine tune and squash bugs on these workhorse plugins.

    The Hub & The Hub Client

    The Hub and The Hub Client come together as your client portal extraordinaire, entirely customizable with your own branding, navigation, and domain. White label everything WPMU DEV, resell our services, and handle Client Billing and management needs.

    The Hub Client allows you to control settings and configure navigation and user access from the WordPress dashboard. It syncs seamlessly with The Hub, our WordPress site management tool that is cPanel on steroids – but more beautiful and bountiful.

    Both have exploded this year, with a ton of new features and enhancements.

    Leading us through all things Hub-alicious is our Product Manager, Mukul Chawla.

    “I won’t be burying the lede here. While we accomplished quite a bit with The Hub this year, our two biggest feature adds were Domains and the Free Hub.

    Fulfilling our promise to ‘be your own GoDaddy’, Domain Services were added in Q4 of 2022. Agency members can now buy domains within The Hub from WPMU DEV for themselves, or to resell to their clients (manually for now, automated reselling coming soon). Clients can buy just the domains from their client portal and link them to their existing sites.

    The Free Hub was also released in Q4, allowing users on free plans to sign up and experience The Hub. There are some limits on the free version, such as the quantities permitted and some advanced settings, but most of the features allow you to experience the basic functions that paid members enjoy in full.

    Global IP Banning was added, providing members with a global IP allow/block list that they can easily sync with all their websites from The Hub Sites page.

    Members also got their first look at our Automated Reseller in the form of a video prototype. The response was great, and allowed us to gather valuable feedback.

    Remove Issued Invoices was one of the top requests for Client Billing, and that option is now available. The payment due or failed invoices can be canceled, which will change the invoice status to Void. This applies to both one-time and recurring invoices.

    Live Chat got a couple of highly requested features added as well. Members can now Download Transcripts of their live chats with our support team on The Hub > Support page. Additionally, members can now buy Live Chat Add-on for Team Members, so they too can get access to WPMU DEV support.

    We also rolled out Sidebar Navigation last year. This provides the flexibility to add more site services without worrying about available space. It also improves navigation; with hosting subtasks as a drop down, users can go to any page (under Hosting) from the side navigation directly, eliminating an entire navigation step for users.

    Here are some additional features and improvements that we implemented in 2022:

    • Pre-paid Hosting Credits – members can buy hosting credits in bulk to save on Hosting costs
    • Delete SnapShot backups for disconnected sites
    • Custom Thumbnails for websites – members can upload custom thumbnails instead of keeping defaults, providing a more customized UX for their clients
    • ‘Hub Accounts’ release to Hub 2.0 – we’ll keep running Hub 1 & 2 for now, but plan to completely remove Hub 1 by the end of March

    All in all, 1000+ tasks were completed last year, including the development and improvement of the above mentioned projects, as well as other bug fixes, updates, and new features that were implemented across The Hub.”

    Eager to share what’s up and coming for The Hub & Hub Client, Mukul continued:

    “At the top of our punch list is Domains Transfer. Coming soon, members will be able to move their existing domains to WPMU DEV.

    Also, we’re already hard at work on one of the most highly requested features by members – IMAP emails.

    Here are some other items in the pipeline for 2023:

    • Automated Reselling for Hosting & Domains – members will be able to resell our hosting and domains to their clients in a self-provisioned way
    • Broken Link Checker (BLC) plugin – will integrate with The Hub (with a new API-based broken link checker service)
    • Centralized White Label Settings in The Hub – improved white labeling experience across our products, with configurations moving into a centralized location in The Hub
    • Reports 2.0 – coming this year, based on a lot of feedback, reports will be new and improved

    We’re stoked about what’s coming, and believe you will be too.”

    Premium Hosting

    We’re toasting to hosting! 2022 has been a banner year for our Hosting service. New plans were added, and we’ve continued to boost the core features for every tier while the platform grows exponentially.

    Product Manager Neel Gajjar is on deck to share all the highlights.

    “It’s been almost three years since we launched our Hosting platform, and last year we were thrilled to introduce the addition of Quantum.

    Quantum is a brand new droplet for Agency members, ideal for reseller hosting. It’s an even smaller, lower-priced offering than our prior starter plan, Bronze, but provides the same dedicated and compartmentalized resources. And, we’ve already updated its features. When first released, we had blocked certain items (such as plugins), then lifted those restrictions based on user feedback.

    Also new – the ability to Suspend Hosting Sites. This valuable tool allows members to quickly incentivize slow or non-paying clients by temporarily (or permanently) suspending their site(s) from within The Hub.

    Hourly Backups Add-on was implemented last year as well. Members can optionally enable hourly backups, instead of the default nightly backup on hosted sites.

    Here are some other great new features and enhancements for Hosting in 2022:

    • Disable Staging Pass protection – option added
    • PHP 8.1 Support – added for both production and staging sites
    • ionCube Loader – enable or disable this on sites hosted with us (if any plugins require it)
    • Performance and Security improvements – hundreds of improvements in our hosting performance and security
    • Additional SSH commands allowed

    To wrap up 2022’s accomplishments, I’ll share a cool stat. WPMU DEV Hosting handled 3000+ Manual Migrations last year for members, with the fastest time clocking in under 12 minutes!”

    Ready to dish the dirt on what’s to come for hosting, Neel added:

    “We’ve got some awesome stuff already mapped out for 2023, including:

    • Block XMLRPC by default – only used by outdated Windows/Mac software, XMLRPC is vulnerable and should be blocked by default
    • Custom SSH and SFTP path – members will be able to create SSH | SFTP accounts with custom paths
    • Ubuntu 22.08 – We will be upgrading our server operating system to the latest Ubuntu 22.08
    • PHP 8.2 – adding support for this released version, so members can use the latest PHP version for best site performance
    • Advance Monitoring of server resources such as Server load history, PHP Limits History, Ram Usage history, etc. Currently you can only see live server stats but with this feature you can see history of the data, such as what was the server usage like 24 hours ago

    And of course, we’re constantly at work refining our Hosting platform overall, to offer better security and performance, so expect to continue seeing those upgrades.”

    Hosting is going places, and we’re glad you’re with us for the ride.

    A Good Year For WPMU DEV & Our Customers

    That’s everything, folks. If you’re still reading, thanks for sticking with us.

    It’s your input, usage, and feedback that helps us focus on what our members and the web development community value most. Then we get to work on implementing those features and enhancements in the way that most benefits our products, services, and you.

    To see what’s on deck at any time during the year, check out our company Roadmap.

    If you’re not a part of WPMU DEV, we invite you to try our Free Membership, which includes all of our free Plugins and Features, including the Free Hub (all maintained and updated) – completely free, no credit card required.

    Take it to the next level with one of our Premier Memberships (all Pro plugins, The Hub, CDN, Client Billing, and much more) – along with a 30-day, money-back guarantee.

    Go the distance with our Managed Hosting (Fully Dedicated, Lightning Fast, Rock-solid Security), which comes with a free 7-day trial for a no-risk, hassle-free experience.

    Bonus: all of our Hosting and pro Membership plans come with WPMU DEV’s always on-call Expert Support – who assist with anything WordPress, not just our products.

    Cheers to 2023! We wish you and yours happiness, health, and success throughout the year and beyond.

     

  • You’re Safe! Hummingbird’s Newest Release Allows for Manual Optimization in Protected Mode

    Fine tuning your website through manual optimization can be tricky, but our new Safe Mode feature in Hummingbird puts that problem in the rearview.

    Now, you can now test optimization in a temporary area that allows for non-permanent changes, so you can work out any kinks, then push them to your live site. For free!

    Introducing Safe Mode for Manual Asset Optimization – allowing you to optimize in a private space while your users still enjoy a fully functioning site.

    In this article, we’re going to look at how Safe Mode in Hummingbird works, while touching on a few related features and settings in the plugin. Plus, we’ll take a look at an additional (surprise!) feature also included in this release.

    Continue reading, or jump ahead using these links:

    Let’s dive in.

    Asset Optimization in Hummingbird

    Hummingbird makes your website faster by optimizing site performance with fine-tuned controls. Setting enhancements make things easy and efficient, giving you new ways to boost PageSpeed Insights.

    First, it identifies files that can be optimized (HTML, Javascript, and CSS), then offers a variety of means (compress, combine, or move) to make that happen.

    The result gives you marked improvement in your website’s performance.

    There are two different modes for asset optimization in Hummingbird:

    1. Automatic – use our preset options to optimize your assets and improve page load times.
    2. Manual – configure each file yourself to achieve the setup best suited to your specific site needs.

    Drilling down even further, there are two options within Automatic Optimization mode:

    1. Speedy – compresses & auto-combines smaller files together, and optimizes your fonts for faster delivery.
    2. Basic – compresses all your files to deliver a faster version of each.

    Automatic mode allows for a quick setup, providing positive gains without the time commitment that manual adjustment requires.

    Both of the Automatic options can be configured for Files (CSS, JavaScript), and/or Fonts.

    manual asset file types
    Hummingbird lets you optimize CSS, JS, and font files.

    Manual mode allows you to tinker with any and every file individually, so you can optimize your site on a very granular level.

    It’s a good idea to test files one at a time to measure results; that way if something doesn’t work it’s easy to identify what caused it and revert back without issue.

    We’ve mapped out specific steps for what to do in each mode, so that you can easily follow along in Hummingbird and produce optimal results.

    You can see these anytime by navigating to Hummingbird > Asset Optimization > Assets, then click on the How Does it Work? text at right.

    There is a page for Automatic and one for Manual; just click on the corresponding header button that you’d like to read about.

    asset optiimz how does it work
    Get one-click access to summarized details on both modes of asset optimization.

    If you’re just starting out with Hummingbird, we recommend selecting Automatic optimization in Speedy mode to start. As you use and test your site and the plugin further, you can switch to auto basic or manual mode to check for possible improvements.

    And of course, you can always view our detailed documentation, or reach out to our customer support gurus, available 24/7/365.

    Testing Changes in Safe Mode

    We’re going to zero in today on optimization done in Manual, as that’s where the new Safe Mode lives.

    Hummingbird’s Safe Mode allows you to test different asset optimization settings in a safe environment, without affecting your website visitors’ experience.

    You’ll be able to preview your site from the frontend and check for any errors in your browser’s console, then publish your changes to go live once you’ve got everything just right.

    To enable this feature, go to Asset Optimization > Manual Asset Optimization, and click on the toggle button next to Safe Mode.

    From here, you can also click on the filter icon, which will open a panel for finding files faster. You can free type or select from the dropdown menu.

    manual safe mode+filter
    You can filter to search for files while in Safe Mode.

    When you’re in Safe Mode, clicking on any icon box will change its state.

    You will see a solid outline around it, indicating it’s been selected, and a circular info icon will also appear on the far left of the row.

    These visuals are to remind you’re in preview mode, and will remain until you click Publish, committing the changes you’ve made.

    preview mode changed state
    Visual cues will alert you to unsaved changes.

    With Safe Mode enabled, you can start tweaking your files for peak optimization.

    Each asset will have a status icon indicating its current state, and these vary based on the asset they’re attached to.

    As an example, the Compress option can have the following states:

    • Gray icon – files that are already compressed
    • White icon – indicates which files can be compressed
    • Blue icon – New assets selected for compression
    • Can’t be compressed – marks files that can’t be compressed

    Hover your mouse over any icon for a popup description of what action this change would make.

    hover popup details
    Need info on a particular icon? Just hover over it for a status popup.

    To see the effect any change makes, click the Preview button.

    preview button in safe mode
    The Preview button shows up once you turn Safe Mode on, taking the place of the Publish Changes button.

    Hitting Preview will load the frontend of your site, where you can check on the asset optimization you configured, making sure it doesn’t generate errors or break anything on your site.

    safe mode page preview
    What our Preview page looks like in Hummingbird’s Safe Mode.

    As you can see, the preview page has three clickable buttons at the top: Go Back, Copy Test Link, and Publish.

    Click on Copy Test Link if you want to gauge asset optimization you’ve made using a third-party performance test. Just paste the copied text into your preferred tool.

    Click on the Publish button if you’re content with the change(s) you made, and are ready to save.

    Click on the Go Back button if you’ve gotten an error message, a site break, or had no observable performance improvements, so you can continue to tweak your assets further.

    Once you’ve completed this exercise, turn Safe Mode OFF, as leaving it on can cause page load delays on your live site.

    And there you go! Maximum optimization achieved, which is completely changeable at any time.

    What’s The Other New Feature in Hummingbird 3.4?

    There’s another new feature in the latest release that I wanted to mention, as it’s sure to make your search experience in Hummingbird better.

    In the past, if you were working with a particular encrypted file from your performance test reports, locating it on the Manual Asset optimization tab by filename was a bit messy.

    That was because Hummingbird generates special filenames for optimized files, and there was no direct way to find them there. Until now!

    optimized filenames search in browser bar
    Copy filenames, then use Ctrl/Cmd+F to quickly find them in the browser search.

    With this release, you can copy filenames from the performance reports, then look them up directly in the browser search in the Manual Asset Optimization tab.

    This makes finding optimized files easier and faster.

    Get Your Site Humming with Optimal Performance

    Hummingbird is the ultimate performance suite for all users – whether you’re looking for simple, one-click solutions, or want to fine-tune your site performance down to the last CSS file.

    You’ll get faster loading pages and higher search rankings and PageSpeed scores with Hummingbird’s speed optimization.

    Now with Safe Mode for asset optimization, you can manually configure and test any files without worrying about a site break or interrupting the visitor experience on your site.

    Hummingbird is only one of our highly rated and multi-functional Pro plugins. You can try them all – along with WPMU DEVs membership or hosting – for free! Everything comes with our money-back guarantee, fully supported by our always on-call, 5-star support.

    We’ll help you keep your sites humming and your clients happy.

  • You’re Safe! Hummingbird’s Newest Release Allows for Manual Optimization in Protected Mode

    Fine tuning your website through manual optimization can be tricky, but our new Safe Mode feature in Hummingbird puts that problem in the rearview.

    Now, you can now test optimization in a temporary area that allows for non-permanent changes, so you can work out any kinks, then push them to your live site. For free!

    Introducing Safe Mode for Manual Asset Optimization – allowing you to optimize in a private space while your users still enjoy a fully functioning site.

    In this article, we’re going to look at how Safe Mode in Hummingbird works, while touching on a few related features and settings in the plugin. Plus, we’ll take a look at an additional (surprise!) feature also included in this release.

    Continue reading, or jump ahead using these links:

    Let’s dive in.

    Asset Optimization in Hummingbird

    Hummingbird makes your website faster by optimizing site performance with fine-tuned controls. Setting enhancements make things easy and efficient, giving you new ways to boost PageSpeed Insights.

    First, it identifies files that can be optimized (HTML, Javascript, and CSS), then offers a variety of means (compress, combine, or move) to make that happen.

    The result gives you marked improvement in your website’s performance.

    There are two different modes for asset optimization in Hummingbird:

    1. Automatic – use our preset options to optimize your assets and improve page load times.
    2. Manual – configure each file yourself to achieve the setup best suited to your specific site needs.

    Drilling down even further, there are two options within Automatic Optimization mode:

    1. Speedy – compresses & auto-combines smaller files together, and optimizes your fonts for faster delivery.
    2. Basic – compresses all your files to deliver a faster version of each.

    Automatic mode allows for a quick setup, providing positive gains without the time commitment that manual adjustment requires.

    Both of the Automatic options can be configured for Files (CSS, JavaScript), and/or Fonts.

    manual asset file types
    Hummingbird lets you optimize CSS, JS, and font files.

    Manual mode allows you to tinker with any and every file individually, so you can optimize your site on a very granular level.

    It’s a good idea to test files one at a time to measure results; that way if something doesn’t work it’s easy to identify what caused it and revert back without issue.

    We’ve mapped out specific steps for what to do in each mode, so that you can easily follow along in Hummingbird and produce optimal results.

    You can see these anytime by navigating to Hummingbird > Asset Optimization > Assets, then click on the How Does it Work? text at right.

    There is a page for Automatic and one for Manual; just click on the corresponding header button that you’d like to read about.

    asset optiimz how does it work
    Get one-click access to summarized details on both modes of asset optimization.

    If you’re just starting out with Hummingbird, we recommend selecting Automatic optimization in Speedy mode to start. As you use and test your site and the plugin further, you can switch to auto basic or manual mode to check for possible improvements.

    And of course, you can always view our detailed documentation, or reach out to our customer support gurus, available 24/7/365.

    Testing Changes in Safe Mode

    We’re going to zero in today on optimization done in Manual, as that’s where the new Safe Mode lives.

    Hummingbird’s Safe Mode allows you to test different asset optimization settings in a safe environment, without affecting your website visitors’ experience.

    You’ll be able to preview your site from the frontend and check for any errors in your browser’s console, then publish your changes to go live once you’ve got everything just right.

    To enable this feature, go to Asset Optimization > Manual Asset Optimization, and click on the toggle button next to Safe Mode.

    From here, you can also click on the filter icon, which will open a panel for finding files faster. You can free type or select from the dropdown menu.

    manual safe mode+filter
    You can filter to search for files while in Safe Mode.

    When you’re in Safe Mode, clicking on any icon box will change its state.

    You will see a solid outline around it, indicating it’s been selected, and a circular info icon will also appear on the far left of the row.

    These visuals are to remind you’re in preview mode, and will remain until you click Publish, committing the changes you’ve made.

    preview mode changed state
    Visual cues will alert you to unsaved changes.

    With Safe Mode enabled, you can start tweaking your files for peak optimization.

    Each asset will have a status icon indicating its current state, and these vary based on the asset they’re attached to.

    As an example, the Compress option can have the following states:

    • Gray icon – files that are already compressed
    • White icon – indicates which files can be compressed
    • Blue icon – New assets selected for compression
    • Can’t be compressed – marks files that can’t be compressed

    Hover your mouse over any icon for a popup description of what action this change would make.

    hover popup details
    Need info on a particular icon? Just hover over it for a status popup.

    To see the effect any change makes, click the Preview button.

    preview button in safe mode
    The Preview button shows up once you turn Safe Mode on, taking the place of the Publish Changes button.

    Hitting Preview will load the frontend of your site, where you can check on the asset optimization you configured, making sure it doesn’t generate errors or break anything on your site.

    safe mode page preview
    What our Preview page looks like in Hummingbird’s Safe Mode.

    As you can see, the preview page has three clickable buttons at the top: Go Back, Copy Test Link, and Publish.

    Click on Copy Test Link if you want to gauge asset optimization you’ve made using a third-party performance test. Just paste the copied text into your preferred tool.

    Click on the Publish button if you’re content with the change(s) you made, and are ready to save.

    Click on the Go Back button if you’ve gotten an error message, a site break, or had no observable performance improvements, so you can continue to tweak your assets further.

    Once you’ve completed this exercise, turn Safe Mode OFF, as leaving it on can cause page load delays on your live site.

    And there you go! Maximum optimization achieved, which is completely changeable at any time.

    What’s The Other New Feature in Hummingbird 3.4?

    There’s another new feature in the latest release that I wanted to mention, as it’s sure to make your search experience in Hummingbird better.

    In the past, if you were working with a particular encrypted file from your performance test reports, locating it on the Manual Asset optimization tab by filename was a bit messy.

    That was because Hummingbird generates special filenames for optimized files, and there was no direct way to find them there. Until now!

    optimized filenames search in browser bar
    Copy filenames, then use Ctrl/Cmd+F to quickly find them in the browser search.

    With this release, you can copy filenames from the performance reports, then look them up directly in the browser search in the Manual Asset Optimization tab.

    This makes finding optimized files easier and faster.

    Get Your Site Humming with Optimal Performance

    Hummingbird is the ultimate performance suite for all users – whether you’re looking for simple, one-click solutions, or want to fine-tune your site performance down to the last CSS file.

    You’ll get faster loading pages and higher search rankings and PageSpeed scores with Hummingbird’s speed optimization.

    Now with Safe Mode for asset optimization, you can manually configure and test any files without worrying about a site break or interrupting the visitor experience on your site.

    Hummingbird is only one of our highly rated and multi-functional Pro plugins. You can try them all – along with WPMU DEVs membership or hosting – for free! Everything comes with our money-back guarantee, fully supported by our always on-call, 5-star support.

    We’ll help you keep your sites humming and your clients happy.

  • How to Point a Domain to WPMU DEV Hosting

    Pointing domains… nameservers… figuring out DNS… it can all feel daunting! Fortunately, WPMU DEV makes it easy, whether you’re working with a domain purchased from us or from another provider. We break it all down in this article.

    Keep reading to learn how to easily connect your domain to our hosting service.

    Here are the topics we’ll be covering:

    Connecting Your Domain To WPMU DEV Hosting

    With our new domain service recently rolled out, you can directly purchase domains and register them through WPMU DEV – in which case we automatically do the DNS hookup (i.e., the pointing part) for you.

    If you purchased your domain through another DNS provider and are hosting with us, the tutorial below will show you exactly what you need to do and explain why this is also a great choice.

    Prepping for a Change in Domain Nameservers

    Nameservers are often referred to as the phone book of the internet, sending you to the correct domain when you type in a web address.

    There are two primary components to making your website accessible to the public:

    1. Your domain name (purchased from a registrar)
    2. Nameservers (provided through a host)

    The first must point to the second to connect the two.

    The registrar you purchased your domain from also has its own nameservers (if it offers hosting), however if you want them managed elsewhere you must change the DNS records.

    Doing it all from a single location is ideal, as it cuts out the middle agent and puts the same quality that powers your sites behind your DNS.

    DNS propagation is the term for your site’s nameservers and other records (e.g., A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, etc) updating across the web. This process can take anywhere from a few minutes to a couple days to finalize.

    If your site was already live, it might become briefly inaccessible to visitors during the nameserver change. You could create a temporary page with info regarding the approximate downtime, then publish it just prior to the server change. (Remember to change it back once the process is complete).

    It’s also helpful to handle nameserver changes during a period when traffic volume is typically on the low end.

    Importing Your Domain Records to WPMU DEV

    Alright, we’re ready to start our edits. The first thing we’re going to do is navigate to The Hub on WPMU DEV.

    Click on Domains from the top menu bar, then Connected Domains from the submenu, then the Connect Existing Domain button.

    connected domains - populated and unpopulated (wpmudev)
    Connecting domains in WPMU DEV’s The Hub.

    The Add New Domain modal will pop up. Here you will enter your domain name in the text field – making sure to include the extension (e.g. .com, .net, .xyz) – then click the blue button.

    add domain (step 1)
    Step 1 of 2 in WPMU DEV’s Add New Domain modal.

    The Hub DNS Manager will run a scan for common DNS records, then automatically import and list them for your verification.

    setup dns (step 2)
    Verifying the scanned records to import into a WPMU DEV DNS configuration.

    Here you’ll see the summary of record information, which will include:

    • Type – A, CNAME, MX, TXT
    • Hostname – @ for root; www for www. subdomain
    • Value – if record is an alias, directs, or returns
    • TTL (seconds) – Time To Live is how long the DNS query caches before expiring and needing a new one. (The lower this number, the better/faster.)

    You can remove any records, if you want to exclude them from being imported, by clicking on the Trashcan icon.

    You can also manually add any records that are missing. See Add or Edit DNS Records for details.

    If you’re in any doubt as to whether records should be added or deleted, just reach out to support (any time, day or night) and they’ll happily walk you through it.

    Once you’re satisfied with the populated DNS records, click the blue button once more.

    After the ellipsis bounce, the page will load with the imported information specific to your domain.

    WPMU DEV nameservers are listed towards the top of this page, where you’ll see there are three of them.

    wpmudev nameservers
    WPMU DEV’s trio of nameservers, ready to copy/paste into your domain registry records.

    Keep your Hub page open, as we’ll be copying & pasting the nameservers in the next step. (Or, do what I do, and just copy the first one, then replace the “1” with “2” then “3” as you paste each, since these ordinal numbers are the only difference.)

    Putting WPMU DEV Nameservers in Your Domain Registry Records

    Now that we’ve imported your domain details into WPMU DEV, the next step is to overwrite the nameserver records of your registrars with ours.

    There are a lot of registrars, so how your domain details are kept and displayed will vary, but they should all have the same key elements. We cover more than a dozen of the most popular ones here.

    In the case of registrars that serve as hosts, what they permit when it comes to allowable changes in nameservers can vary. For example, pointing nameservers to another host is not permissible for a Wix-purchased domain. However, you can transfer your domain away from them (although it involves a different process).

    Assuming your domain registrar allows for pointing nameservers away from them, or that you’ve taken any necessary prior steps in preparation, login to their website and locate the records for your domain.

    namecheap nameservers (orig)
    Changing nameservers through the Registrar; in this case, Namecheap.

    Popping back over to the Hub, copy that first nameserver, then head back to your domain registrar details page, pasting it in the appropriate text field. Do this for all three nameservers, then save your input.

    Depending on your registrar, you’ll probably get a confirmation message with time estimates on how long it will take the DNS hosting server to update.

    It’s rare, but on the outside chance your domain registrar requires identifying our nameservers by IP address, you can find them here.

    Double-Checking Your Changes

    As with any significant edit, verifying everything is working as it should is an important last step.

    Some registrars will send you an email notifying you that the propagation is complete. With others, you might need to revisit the site and continue checking.

    Either way, we can verify things through The Hub. Let’s head there, and navigate to Domains > Connected Domains.

    For the domain name in question, if you see the green check marked Propagated correctly under Nameservers Status – you’re good to go. If it says Pending, click on the vertical ellipsis icon to the right, and select Manage DNS from the dropdown.

    onnected domains manage dns (wpmudev)
    Managing DNS through WPMU DEV’s The Hub is effortless.

    If everything was done properly and the process has completed, you’ll see a row of green highlighted text, confirming Your nameservers are propagated correctly. If that message isn’t displayed, click on the Check nameservers button.

    check dns - nameservers propagating correctly (wpmudev)
    Success! Nameservers have been propagated to WPMU DEV.

    You’re all set! Your nameservers are successfully pointing to WPMU DEV as your acting DNS provider.

    If you don’t get a confirmation or see an error message, check out our detailed documentation, or reach out to our always-on-call support team.

    As an additional option, you can use this DNS propagation checker to verify the current IP address and DNS record information for your domain name(s).

    The Benefits of Pointing Domains to WPMU DEV Nameservers

    Nameservers are essential in directing internet traffic as they locate and translate hostnames into IP addresses.

    If you host your own or your client sites with WPMU DEV, pointing your domains to our nameservers has definite advantages.

    For starters, subpar nameservers will experience difficulties more often, and your visitors could get “DNS server not responding” messages. Quality nameservers, like ours, can limit or avoid that altogether.

    Additionally, pointing your domains to our nameservers allows you to keep the settings with your current email client as is, eliminating the hassle of making a bunch of changes in that regard. (Just make sure existing MX records are imported during the DNS record setup.)

    Finally, with the ability to purchase domains now directly through WPMU DEV, managing client sites becomes even more centralized, as your hosting provider and domain provider will be one in the same.

    This gives you all of your domains in one place/one dashboard, with auto renewal, free protection, and a built-in grace period; priced incredibly low for Agency members.

    Not a member yet? Give us a go, and see how much our hosting has to offer. If you’re not thrilled, we’ll refund you 100%; simply cancel within 30 days. Chances are good you’ll find our value and service are unmatched.