Author: Rob Pugh

Things don’t always go perfectly, and they seem to go wrong at the worst possible time. If you have a website, you may be familiar with this conundrum. Right when you’re about to publish a post you’ve been working on for hours, your power goes out, your browser crashes, or your cat walks across your keyboard.

But all is not lost! The WordPress autosave feature makes it possible to get that work back quickly and easily. Let’s find out how. 

What is WordPress autosave?

Autosave is enabled on WordPress sites by default to help site owners protect their content. It automatically saves posts and pages while you’re using the Editor so that, if your site goes offline or something else goes wrong, you haven’t lost all of your hard work.

If something happens, simply try reloading your browser. With autosave enabled, WordPress should have a recent backup of the post that you can restore with a single click.

We say “recent” backup because a copy of your page or post is saved based on a time interval, not after every single keystroke. 

What is the default autosave interval on WordPress?

Autosave intervals tend to be relatively low to offer the highest level of protection. By default, the WordPress autosave interval is 60 seconds, but that may vary depending on your web host’s configuration.

Some hosts with limited resources will increase autosave intervals to avoid performance issues. That’s unlikely to be a problem if you’re using a quality provider.

In most cases, it’s not possible to check the default autosave interval on WordPress. But you can change that interval manually, which we’ll cover in the tutorial portion of this article.

Can you change your autosave settings?

WordPress lets you change the default autosave settings, but to do so, you’ll need to edit core files manually. That means accessing your site’s server via File Transfer Protocol (FTP) or your web hosting control panel.

You can change autosave settings by editing the wp-config.php file in the WordPress root directory. This allows you to do any of the following:

• Enable autosave (if it was disabled previously)
• Disable autosave (by increasing its interval to a high number)
• Modify the autosave interval in WordPress

Another way to modify the autosave settings in WordPress is to edit the functions.php file for the theme you’re using. Adding custom code to functions.php will disable autosave for specific post types or turn off the feature altogether if needed.

What’s the difference between autosaves and revisions in WordPress?

The goal of autosaves is to save work in progress in case something goes wrong while editing a page or a post. Autosaves take place in the background, even without you hitting the Save Draft button.

Revisions are drafts of posts or pages that you’ve manually saved. When you save a new draft, WordPress stores previous versions as revisions in case you want to revert back. Autosaves are not listed as revisions, as they’re a separate system.

With WordPress, you can only have one autosave at a time. But the revisions system lets you store multiple drafts of a post or page, then easily view changes and toggle between them.

How to use and manage WordPress autosaves

How can you manage autosaves and edit their settings? Making certain changes requires editing WordPress core files and dealing with code — we’ll guide you through those processes step by step. But first, let’s talk about restoring autosaves.

1. How to restore WordPress autosaves

Restoring a WordPress autosave is simple. If you exit the Editor without saving changes to the page or post, WordPress will warn you that you might lose those changes.

After opening the Editor again, WordPress will let you know if it has an autosave available. Then, you can click on the Restore the backup button to load the autosave.

WordPress will load the autosaved version of the post you’re working on. From this point on, you can continue editing the post, but probably want to save drafts periodically to avoid further problems.

2. How to delete a WordPress autosave

WordPress stores autosaves in the database. If you want to delete an autosave, there are three ways to go about it. You can access the database using a tool like phpMyAdmin and find the corresponding entry, wait for new autosaves to overwrite old ones, or use a plugin to do the job for you.

From a practical perspective, there’s little reason to delete one single autosave from the database. But some users report seeing moderate increases in site performance after removing unnecessary entries, like revisions and autosaves.

Using a plugin to “clear out” the database may not be necessary if you have a hosting plan that offers great performance and you’ve taken steps to optimize your website. Still, plugins like Advanced Database Cleaner make the process very straightforward and can also help you clear orphaned tables from the database.

To use Advanced Database Cleaner to delete WordPress autosaves, install and activate the plugin, then go to the WP DB Cleaner tab in WordPress. This page includes a list of the database tables you can clean, including one that says Auto drafts.

Select the Auto drafts element, choose Clean from the Bulk actions menu, and click on Apply. The plugin will ask you to confirm the decision and, afterwards, it will delete all available autosaves for your website.

3. How to change the WordPress autosave interval

If you want to change your website’s autosave interval, you’ll need to edit the wp-config.php file. To access that file, connect to your site via FTP using a tool like FileZilla.

Once you establish an FTP connection, navigate to your WordPress website’s root folder. That folder can have several different names, including www, public_html, or your site’s name. 

If you can’t identify it, these are some of the files and folders you should see inside the root directory, including the wp-content and wp-admin folders:

This folder also contains the wp-config.php file. Right-click it and select the Edit option. This will open wp-config.php using your default text editor.

To change the autosave interval, you’ll need to add the following line of code:

define( 'AUTOSAVE_INTERVAL', 60 );

The crucial part of that code is the number. In the example above, it’s set to 60 seconds. You can change it to any value you want, but we recommend against exceeding one minute. Autosave has a negligible impact on your site’s performance, so it’s better to run it often to keep your work safe.

When you’re done, save the changes to wp-config.php and close the text editor. Your FTP client might ask if you want to save the new version of the file to the server. Confirm the changes, and you’re good to go.

4. How to disable WordPress autosave

Autosave is enabled by default in WordPress, but you can disable it manually for posts, pages, or both. Unfortunately, these settings aren’t available via the WordPress admin dashboard. So, you’ll need to connect to your website via FTP. 

Navigate to your root folder and find the functions.php file. Open the file and add the following line of code:

add_action( 'admin_init', 'disable_autosave' );

function disable_autosave() {

wp_deregister_script( 'autosave' );

}

Don’t forget to save your work!

An alternative method of disabling the autosave feature is to follow the same steps for changing the autosave interval as above but set the interval to be an entire day. While this doesn’t turn off autosave entirely, it would only kick in after 24 hours. To do this, follow the instructions above, but add this line of code to your wp-config.php file:

define('AUTOSAVE_INTERVAL', 86400); 

5. How to enable WordPress autosave

Autosave is enabled in WordPress by default. You don’t need to turn on the feature manually unless it was disabled at some point.

If the autosave feature isn’t working on your site, it might be due to a change in the autosave settings or code inside of the wp-config.php or functions.php files. In these cases, we recommend opening both files to see if there’s custom code that modifies the autosave functionality.

You can find examples of what this code looks like in the previous sections of this tutorial, where we show you how to disable autosave and modify its interval settings.

If you find similar code in either or both files, you can delete it to re-enable autosave in WordPress. Before you do this, though, we recommend backing up your site fully in case you run into any errors while editing your files.

Frequently asked questions about WordPress autosave

If you have any questions about how autosave works in WordPress, this section will answer them.

Can I preview an autosave in WordPress?

In the past, WordPress let you preview autosaves before restoring them. That feature is no longer available. Now, the Editor simply asks if you want to restore the autosave if one is available. 

Which types of content does WordPress autosave?

WordPress only autosaves posts and pages. You can configure the Content Management System (CMS) to autosave custom post types, which requires adding some code to their respective settings files.

Does WordPress automatically save drafts?

WordPress requires you to save drafts manually to store them as revisions. If you don’t save a draft and the editor closes, you might be able to access an autosave when you reopen it. But the availability of an autosave will depend on the interval that you configure.

WordPress autosave isn’t working, what can I do?

If autosave isn’t working, someone might have disabled it for your posts and pages. You can check out the earlier instructions for disabling autosave for posts and pages. You may want to reach out to your hosting provider and ask if this was done on your plan.

Can I autosave my whole site in real-time?

WordPress autosave only works for posts and pages. If you want to save every aspect of your website, including its media library, settings, plugins, themes, and other elements, you’ll need to use a WordPress backup plugin.

For most websites, having full backups is a much better solution than relying solely on autosaves. With frequent backups, you can restore your website to a previous state if you delete content, run into a technical error, or need to undo changes to the site.

Although you can back up your website manually, the process can take a while, and we recommend making full copies frequently. With Jetpack Backup, you get automatic real-time backups of your entire website. That means the plugin creates and saves new copies of your site as you make changes to it.

Jetpack Backup can store backups for up to 30 days or a full year (depending on which plan you use) and lets you restore any of them with only a click. Additionally, you’ll have access to premium technical support in case anything goes wrong with your backups. 

Use autosave to protect your work in WordPress

Autosave is an excellent feature for sites of any kind. After all, having a recent autosave can mean the difference between losing hours of work or picking up right where you left off if something ever goes wrong. While autosaves won’t help you restore deleted content, they can ensure that you don’t lose anything you’re currently working on.

On top of using autosave, creating website backups can ensure that you never lose your work. Jetpack Backup will automatically save your site in real-time and allow you to restore it with a single click. 

Get Jetpack Backup. 

When you’re trying to access a website, the last thing you want is to experience technical difficulties. Unfortunately though, you’re likely to encounter a few, like the DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN error, at some point while managing a site.

The good news is that there are plenty of steps you can take to resolve the issue relatively quickly. The key is understanding what the error message means and following some simple troubleshooting steps to fix it. Regardless of which device or operating system (OS) you’re using, you should be able to get your browsing experience back on track with minimal effort.

In this post, we’ll explain what the DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN error means and some common things that cause it. Then, we’ll walk you through the steps you can take to fix it on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android.

What the DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN error means

There are a wide variety of WordPress error messages you might encounter when trying to access your website. Some have to do with WordPress directly while others, like the DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN error, arise from other sources.

The above error message is what you’ll see using Google Chrome. But, you may also encounter it on other devices, browsers, and operating systems. If you’re not using Chrome, the exact wording of the error message may vary.

For instance, in Mozilla Firefox, it might look something like this instead:

In Microsoft Edge, it usually appears similar to the following:

Meanwhile, Safari displays a message like this:

The DNS_PROBE FINISHED NXDOMAIN error is returned if the nameserver cannot find the requested domain. This may happen due to a number of reasons. It’s often seen when trying to connect to a website using a web browser. Typically, it indicates an issue with your network or “DNS.”

Before we get into what might be causing this error message, it’s helpful to understand what each element of the response code means. DNS stands for domain name system. A DNS server is responsible for translating human-friendly domain names (like http://www.Jetpack.com) into internet protocol (IP) addresses (like 192.168.0.1).

Your web browser does this automatically when you type in a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) into the address bar. To put it simply, when you type a URL in your browser, you’re asking the DNS server to translate the name into an IP address.

This process of requesting your computer to find the IP address of a website is referred to as a DNS probe. If the DNS server does not have a record for the requested name, then it returns an NXDOMAIN (Non-Existent Domain) error.

Common causes of the DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN error

There are many reasons why you may be seeing the DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN error message. Some of the most common causes include:

• A typo in the URL or an incorrect IP address: Sometimes it can be as simple as mistyping the URL of the website you’re trying to visit. 
• Antivirus or firewalls blocking access to the name server: It’s not uncommon for antivirus or firewall software to block access to certain websites, resulting in the DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN error.
• Misconfigured server settings or DNS configuration: Your computer may be configured to use the wrong DNS server or your internet service provider’s (ISP) DNS server may be unavailable.
• Mismatched hostname: The hosts file on your computer may be blocking access to the website you’re trying to visit. You can check and edit your hosts file to see if that’s the case.
• A DNS lookup timeout: The DNS lookup process can time out if it’s taking longer than expected. 
• Browser cache and cookies: Another common cause of this error is an outdated or corrupt cache and cookies in your browser.

It’s also possible that you’re seeing this error message simply because the server is down. If that’s the case, you’ll want to check back again in a few minutes.

Keep in mind that you might not be able to identify the source of this error message until you begin troubleshooting. You may have to attempt a handful of potential solutions before you uncover the problem and, in turn, take the necessary steps to remedy it.  

How to fix DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN on desktop (Windows & Mac)

Now that we understand a bit more about what the DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN error is and what might be causing the problem, it’s time to get into how you can go about resolving it. The exact steps you should take will depend on the device that you’re using. To start, we’ll show you how to fix it on desktops, including both Windows and Mac. 

1. Restart your device and router/modem

It’s possible that you’re seeing this error message because of your internet connection. So, after you’ve confirmed that you’ve entered the correct URL, it’s a good idea to check your internet connection, to make sure it’s working properly.

If everything seems to be operating as it should, the next step is to restart your device, as well as your router (or modem). You’ll need to power down your computer, then unplug your router or modem and wait a minute or so.

After that, you can plug it back in. Once you’re connected to the internet again, turn your computer back on and try revisiting the website. This may seem obvious, but it’s a tactic you won’t want to skip. 

2. Clear your browser cache and cookies

If you’re experiencing issues with a particular website, one thing you can try is clearing your browser cookies and cache. Browser cookies and cache are two web technologies that are used to store data in order to improve the web browsing experience.

In a nutshell, browser cookies are small files that are stored on a user’s computer by the websites they visit. They’re used to store data such as login information, preferences, and other details that can help improve the user experience (UX) on a site.

Cache is a type of storage that is used by web browsers and servers in order to save frequently accessed data so that it can be quickly retrieved when needed. Both browser cookies and caching can help improve the speed and performance of web browsing. However, if not managed properly, they can also lead to privacy and security issues.

Clearing your browser cookies and cache will remove any temporary data that could be causing the problem.

2.1 Windows

To do this in Windows, go to the Start menu and type “Internet Options” into the search bar. Then, click on the Internet Options icon when it appears in the results.

In the Internet Options (or Internet Properties) window, go to the General tab and click on Delete in the Browsing history section. Make sure to check both the cookies and website data and the Temporary Internet files and website files options. Then, click on Delete.

Alternatively, you can clear your browser cookies and cache within the browser you’re using. 

For instance, if you’re navigating with Google Chrome, you can click on the three vertical dots in the upper right-hand corner followed by More tools → Clear browsing data. In the window that appears, make sure the three items are selected, then click on the Clear Data button.

2.2 Mac

On a Mac, you’ll have to clear your cache in Safari. To do this, open Safari and click on Safari → Preferences in the top menu bar.

In the Preferences window, go to the Privacy tab and click on Remove All Website Data.

This will remove all cookies and cached data for all websites. Select Remove Now to confirm. Then, restart your browser and try loading the website again.

3. Refresh your DNS cache

Similar to a browser cache, a DNS cache is a type of storage that is used by DNS servers in order to save frequently accessed data. DNS servers use this in order to save time when resolving IP addresses.

If the DNS server has recently resolved an IP address for a certain website, it will be able to quickly retrieve the IP address from its DNS cache rather than having to look up the address again. This can help improve the speed of web browsing. But if it becomes outdated or corrupt, it can also lead to a wide range of issues, including the DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN error.

3.1 Windows

To flush your DNS cache in Windows, go to the Start menu and type “cmd” into the search bar. Click on the Command Prompt icon.

In the Command Prompt window, type “ipconfig /flushdns” and press Enter.

3.2 Mac

To flush your DNS cache on Mac, open the Terminal application. You can do this by going to the Applications → Utilities folder or by searching for it in Spotlight.

In the Terminal window, type “dscacheutil -flushcache” and press Return. This will clear your DNS cache.

4. Release and renew your IP address

If you’re still seeing the error message, the next step is to release and renew your IP address. This allows your computer to communicate with the network more effectively, which can improve your internet speeds and reduce any connectivity issues you may be experiencing. 

4.1 Windows

To do this in Windows, you’ll want to return to the Command Prompt window. This time, type the following commands, pressing your Enter key after each:

ipconfig /release

ipconfig /renew

4.2 Mac

If you’re using macOS, you can navigate to your Terminal application. Then enter the following:

sudo killall –HUP mDNSResponder

After that, hit your Return key. Note that it may ask you to enter your device admin password to proceed. 

5. Change your DNS servers

If you’re still having trouble accessing a website, you can try selecting a different DNS server. While there are a handful of alternatives you can use, a popular choice is the standard Google Public DNS. Google Public DNS is a free, global DNS resolution service.

It can make your internet browsing both faster and more secure. The service uses modern Anycast technology to spread traffic across multiple servers around the world. It also leverages DNSSEC to validate responses.

5.1 Windows

To change your DNS servers in Windows, go to Control Panel → Network and Internet. Then, select the Network and Sharing Center option.

Once there, click on the Change adapter settings in the left sidebar.

This will open the Network Connections window. Right-click on your active network connection and select Properties from the drop-down menu.

In the Properties window, go to the Networking tab and select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) from the list of options, followed by the Properties button. 

In the IPv4 Properties window, select the Use the following DNS server addresses radio button.

Next, you can enter “8.8.8.8” for the Preferred DNS server and “8.8.4.4” for the Alternate DNS server. Click on OK to save your changes and close the window.

5.2 Mac

You can use these same addresses for Mac. But, to get there, you’ll need to open the System Preferences application by clicking on the Apple icon in the top menu bar. Then select System Preferences from the drop-down menu.

In the System Preferences window, go to Network and choose the network interface you want to configure in the left sidebar. Next, click on the Advanced button.

In the window that opens, go to the DNS tab and select the + icon.

This will allow you to enter a custom DNS server. When you’re done, you can click on the OK button.

6. Temporarily disable your antivirus or firewall

6.1 Windows

To disable your antivirus and firewall in Windows, navigate to your Control Panel then go to the System and Security section and click on the Windows Firewall option.

In the Windows Firewall screen, click on the Turn Windows Defender Firewall on or off option in the left sidebar.

After that, click on the Off (not recommended) radio button for both the Private network settings and Public network settings options. Select OK to save your changes and close the screen. 

6.2 Mac

To disable your antivirus and firewall on Mac, open the System Preferences application, then go to the Security & Privacy application.

Select the Firewall tab. Next, click on the Turn Off Firewall button.

You will be prompted to confirm your decision. Simply click on the Turn Off Firewall button again to confirm.

7. Check your hosts file

A hosts file is a text file that maps hostnames to IP addresses without using a DNS server.

When a computer visits a website, it first checks the hosts file to see if it can resolve the hostname to an IP address. If it can, then it will connect to the website using the IP address. Otherwise, it will use DNS to resolve the hostname.

7.1 Windows

To check your hosts file in Windows, go to the Start menu and type “Notepad” into the search bar and select the Notepad application.

Click on the File menu and select Open from the drop-down menu. In the Open window, navigate to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc and select the hosts file.

Make sure that All Files is selected in the drop-down menu next to the File name field. Click on the Open button to open the hosts file in Notepad.

Within this file, check whether the website that you’re trying to access that’s throwing the DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN error is listed. If it is, delete it, save the file, then try refreshing your browser.

Also, you don’t necessarily need to use the Notepad application to do this. You can use any text editor in Windows that lets you access and modify your files. 

7.2 Mac

To check the hosts file in Mac, open the Terminal application. In the command prompt, type “sudo nano /etc/hosts” and press Enter. This will open the hosts file in a text editor. 

Again, look for the site that you’re trying to access and delete it if you find it listed. When you’re done, press on your Ctrl+X keys to exit the Nano text editor and save your changes.

That’s it! After completing the above steps, you should no longer see the NDS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN error message on the WordPress website you’re trying to access from your computer. 

How to fix DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN on Mobile (iOS & Android)

As we mentioned, you can also come across this error message when you’re browsing on your mobile device, not just a desktop computer. The process for resolving this issue is slightly different than if you were using a PC. Below is how you can fix the DNS_PROBE_FINSIHED_NXDOMAIN error on mobile for both Android and iOS.

1. Check for any app or system updates

To get started, first try restarting your mobile device. This may help resolve any minor connection issues you’re experiencing that may be leading to the error.

If this doesn’t work, the next step is to check to see whether your system or browser app requires any updates.

1.1 Android

On Android devices, you can do this by browsing to Settings → System.

Navigate to System update. If there is a new version available, it will tell you. In that case, simply update it, then try visiting the site once more. 

To check for any updates on your Chrome app, you can open the Play Store, then search for “Chrome.” If one is available, you can click on the Update button next to it.

1.2 Apple iOS

If you’re using Apple iOS, you can check for system updates by selecting the Settings application (the gear icon), followed by General.

Next, click on Software Update.

If one is available, it will inform you on the screen. You can select Update Now to proceed. 

To update any browser apps you use, you can navigate to the Apps Store from your home screen. Select the icon in the top right-hand corner of the screen. Here, you can find all the applications on your device that currently have an updated version available.

Scroll through the list and update any browser apps that you use. When you’re done, restart your device and try accessing the website again. 

2. Clear your browser cookies and cache 

As with desktop devices, you might be able to resolve this error message by clearing your browser cookies and cache.

2.1 Android

If you’re using Android, you can open your Chrome app and then select the three vertical dots.

Next, navigate to Settings → Storage → Apps → Chrome.

After you select Free up storage space, you’ll be prompted to do so. This will clear any unnecessary files or data. 

2.2 Apple iOS

In Apple iOS, you can open your Settings application then scroll down to Safari.

On the next screen, scroll to the bottom to locate the Privacy & Security section.

Next, select Clear History and Website Data.

In the popup that appears, click on Clear History and Data. This will remove your history, cookies, and other browsing data. 

3. Change your DNS settings

As with a desktop, the DNS settings of your mobile device may be to blame when you’re seeing this pesky error message. So, the next step is to try changing your network settings.

3.1 Android

If you’re an Android user, you can do this by opening your Settings app, then navigating to Network & Internet.

Next, tap and hold the Wi-Fi network connection, then click on Modify network.

In the Advanced options section, select Static then scroll to the bottom to locate the DNS server addresses fields.

For the preferred DNS value, you can enter “8.8.8.8” for DNS 1 and “8.8.4.4” for DNS 2. Save your changes then refresh your browser.

3.2 Apple iOS

For iOS, open your Settings application then select your Wi-Fi connection and select it again on the next screen. Scroll down to the DNS section and click on Configure DNS.

On the next screen, select Manual followed by Add Server.

You can then enter the same values as above into the fields. When you’re done, click on the Save button in the top right-hand corner of the screen. 

Why backups are a WordPress site’s best friend 

At this point, hopefully, you’ve learned how you can resolve the DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN error in WordPress.

To help minimize the potential damage that may occur as a result of website or browser errors, it’s essential to consistently create backups of your website. When it comes to WordPress site maintenance and management, the importance of backups can’t be stressed enough.

One of the reasons they should be a priority is that they help ensure your website’s content will always be available, even if something happens to your original files. Backups also make it easy to restore your website if it is ever hacked or damaged.

Plus, having a backup can save you a lot of time and money if you ever need to rebuild your site from scratch. The more frequently you back up your website, the more likely you are to have an updated version of it to restore in an emergency.

How often should you back up your WordPress website? It depends on how often you make changes to it. If you only update your site occasionally, then backing it up once a month or so should be sufficient. However, if you are constantly tweaking your site, then you may want to consider a solution that saves every change.

Real-time backups mean that your website’s content is constantly being saved as you make modifications. They also make it easy to restore your website to a previous state in a matter of minutes.

For WordPress users, Jetpack Backup is a trusted option for those looking to protect their work.

It offers a complete solution for handling website backups. It’s intuitive, easy to use, and lets you restore your site from anywhere, even if it’s offline.

Take control of your WordPress maintenance

If you see the DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN error when you’re trying to connect to a website, it likely means that the DNS can’t find the address of the page you’re trying to reach. This can happen for a number of reasons. Luckily, there are a few simple steps you can take to resolve it.

As we discussed in this post, you can often fix this error by simply checking and refreshing your DNS and network settings. In addition to configuring proper DNS and browser settings, it’s also important to make sure you’re creating regular backups of your website so you can quickly resolve other site or browser-related errors in the future.

When putting together a WordPress site, it’s easy to get lost in the details. The content management system (CMS) offers so many features and options, it can be hard to decide what’s best for your website.

There’s a lot of talk about topics like what pages to include or how to set up a site header and menu. However, a slightly less talked about feature is the widget.

Thankfully, that’s the focus of our article today. We’ll break down what WordPress widgets are, explain how they work, and offer examples of how to set up widgets on multiple areas of your website.

There’s a lot to cover, so let’s get started.

What are WordPress widgets?

A WordPress widget is a drag-and-drop content feature that you can place almost anywhere on your WordPress website.

Widgets were originally designed to give users more control over their sidebar content. Over time, however, the WordPress community found new and improved ways to use widgets throughout a site.

For example, most WordPress themes now come equipped with widget-ready areas that can be used to display all sorts of helpful information.

This includes things like social media feeds, email opt-in forms, search bars, and more. You can even use widgets to create custom navigation menus in certain areas of your site.

In other words, widgets are versatile tools that can be used in a number of ways to improve the overall design and functionality of a WordPress website.

How do WordPress widgets work?

Now that we know what a WordPress widget is, it’s time to take a look at how they work.

For the most part, working with widgets is a pretty straightforward process. That said, there are a few key things you need to know before diving in and adding your first widget.

1. Widgets require a widget-ready area

As we mentioned before, not all WordPress themes come equipped with widget-ready areas. If you want to use them on your site, be sure to check and see if your theme has pre-designed locations for them.

If your theme does have widget-ready areas, you’ll be able to find them by navigating to the Appearance → Widgets section of your WordPress admin panel. Here, you should see a list of all the available widget areas on your site, as well as which ones are currently populated with content.

If you don’t see any widget areas listed, it’s likely that your theme doesn’t support them. In that case, you’ll need to either choose a different theme or look into installing a WordPress plugin that can create custom widget areas for you.

2. You can add widgets via the Appearance → Widgets section

The Appearance → Widgets area of the WordPress dashboard is where you’ll go to add, remove, and manage all the widgets on your site.

To add a new widget, simply drag and drop it from the list of available widgets into the desired location. Once you’ve added a widget to an area, you can then configure its settings to better suit your needs.

Let’s say you want to add a social media icon widget to your site. Drag and drop the Social Icons block wherever you’d like, then click on the widget to open its settings panel. 

This will appear on the right side of the page, and allow you to choose which social media platforms to display links for, as well as how many links to show, what order they should be displayed in, and more.

Some widgets will have more settings than others. For example, a simple text widget will only let you add content, whereas a more complex widget, like the Jetpack Display WordPress Posts widget, has settings for blog URL, the number of posts you’d like to display, whether the links should open in a new tab, etc. 

3. You can add widgets to multiple areas

For example, if you want to display a social media widget in both your sidebar and footer, you can simply add it to both areas from the Appearance → Widgets section.

This can be helpful if you want to make sure that your content is being seen by as many people as possible. It can also be useful for testing purposes, as you can easily add and remove widgets from different areas of your site without affecting the rest of your content.

What are some popular WordPress widgets?

There are all sorts of different WordPress widgets available, ranging from simple text boxes to complex social media plugins. If you’re using a block theme, you can also add any block that you’d like to a widgetized area.

Some of the most popular widgets include:

• The social media icons widget: This widget lets you display links to your social media profiles in a variety of ways.
• Social media feed widgets: A social feed widget lets you display a feed of your social media content on your website. This can be helpful for promoting your latest posts and engaging with your audience.
• A search bar: The search bar widget lets visitors quickly look for a specific piece of content on your site. This is especially helpful if you have a large volume of posts or pages.
• Email opt-in forms: An email opt-in form widget lets you collect email addresses from visitors so that you can add them to your mailing list. This is a great way to grow your list and promote your content.
• Calendar widgets: A calendar widget can be helpful for displaying events or deadlines on your site.
• Slideshow widgets: A slideshow widget lets you display a series of images in a rotating carousel. This is a great way to showcase multiple images on your site.
• RSS feed widgets: An RSS feed widget lets you display the latest content from another website on your site. This is helpful for keeping your content fresh and up-to-date.
• Weather widgets: A weather widget can be used to display the current weather conditions. This is useful for sites that are weather-dependent, such as a ski resort or golf course.

Of course, this is just a small sampling of the types of widgets that are available. There are hundreds of different plugins and themes that offer their own custom widgets, so do your due diligence in finding those that best serve your needs.

If you’re using Jetpack, you’ll enjoy access to quite a few widgets and blocks by default, including: 

• Embeds for external social platforms and services like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Loom, Eventbrite Checkout, and Pinterest. 
• Monetization widgets for accepting payments, integrating with OpenTable, and adding payment buttons. 
• Growth widgets for adding business hours, contact forms, Mailchimp integrations, and opt-in forms. 
• Widgets that enable you to add special content like authors, blog stats, media, GIFs, maps, star ratings, and tiled galleries. 

How and where to add WordPress widgets 

Now that we’ve covered some of the basics, let’s take a look at how you can actually add widgets to your WordPress site in detail.

The Appearance → Widgets section is where you’ll find all the available widget areas on your site. Simply click the + sign in the designated widgetized area and select from the available widgets. 

It’s important to note, however, that because widgets don’t have autosave or revisions functionality, you should always back up your WordPress site before adding new widgets or updating existing ones.

Here’s a brief rundown of how to add widgets to various places on a WordPress website. Note that these instructions assume that you’re using the Block Editor on your site.

1. In your sidebar

To add widgets to your sidebar, simply click Appearance → Widgets then click on the + icon and search for the widget you want to add.

In this example, we’ve added a business hours widget to the sidebar. 

By default, this widget will appear on all posts and pages. Be sure to click Update at the top of the screen to save your changes.

2. In your header

If your theme includes widget areas in the header, you can add blocks by going to Appearance → Widgets. All you need to do is locate the widgetized section that reads “Header” then click the + sign within it to search for and select a widget. 

Or, if you’re using a block theme, you can go to Appearance → Editor, open the Template Parts list, and click on Header. Then you can drag and drop blocks just like you would elsewhere on your site. 

3. In your footer

If your theme includes widget areas in the footer, you can add blocks from the Appearance → Widgets section. Just click the + sign under “Footer,” then select the appropriate widget to insert. 

Or, if you’re using a block theme, you can go to Appearance → Editor, open the Template Parts list, and click on Footer. Then you can drag and drop blocks just like you would elsewhere on your site. 

4. On specific pages or posts

If you want to conditionally display WordPress widgets (i.e. show or hide widgets based on certain conditions), you can do so using Jetpack. Simply install and activate the plugin, then go to the Appearance → Widgets section. 

Insert the widget as you would normally, then click the gear icon on the right hand side of the screen to access customization options. 

From there, scroll down to the Advanced section. Click the drop down, then select the button that says Add new rule. 

From here, you can choose whether you wish to show or hide this widget and choose where you’d like the rule to apply. 

Here, we’ve selected to Show widget on the Services page, and only that page. 

As always, be sure to click the Update button at the top of the Widgets screen to save these changes.

5. On specific categories or tags

This works similarly to the process of setting your preferences for the widget to appear on certain pages or posts.

Insert your widget where you’d like it to appear, then click the gear icon, and scroll down to Advanced. Click Add new rule and select Show this block under Visibility. Next to If select Category, then next to is, select the category pages on which you’d like the widget to appear.

If you want the widget to appear in multiple categories, you’ll need to set a new rule and repeat this process for each one. If you want it to appear for most categories with the exclusion of just a few, you’d be better served to select Hide this block, then choose the category for which you’d like to hide the widget. 

The process is identical for setting visibility rules for tags, date, author, and, if you have WooCommerce installed, taxonomy. 

6. Only to logged-in users

You can set visibility rules for how and when widgets appear for logged-in users as well. To do this, you’d perform the same tasks described previously: insert the widget, click the gear icon, select Advanced → Add new rule. 

Then choose Show this block and, next to If, select User. Next to Is, select Logged In. 

This can be especially helpful if you want to provide site maintenance and management resources for members of your team while they’re logged in or include exclusive content for members of your program. 

7. Only on specific devices or screen sizes 

There are certain instances where displaying widgets (especially sidebar widgets) would be intrusive and generally in the way. This mostly applies to mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. 

In these instances, hiding widgets on all mobile devices — or electing to only show them on devices with a certain screen size — is a great way to avoid this issue. 

To do this, you will need a plugin. Widget Options is ideal for the job. 

To install it, go to Plugins → Add New, then search for “Widget Options.” Install the plugin and click Activate. 

Next, go to Appearance → Widgets and select the widget for which you’d like to apply special device/screen size display rules. 

In this instance, we’ve selected the Search widget. You can see how the Widget Options plugin has added numerous visibility controls. 

Here, click the tab with the device icon. Select which devices you’d like the widget to be hidden on and click Save. 

How to add a new widget area in WordPress

In some cases, you might want to add an entirely new widgetized area to your WordPress site. The first thing you’ll need to do is to back up your site before making any changes. And you should also work with a child theme to avoid any mishaps. 

Next, you’ll need to add a new widget area to your functions.php file. You can do this by adding the following code, as detailed by Qode Magazine:

function register_custom_widget_area() {
register_sidebar(
array(
'id' => 'new-widget-area',
'name' => esc_html__( 'My new widget area', 'theme-domain' ),
'description' => esc_html__( 'A new widget area made for testing purposes', 'theme-domain' ),
'before_widget' => '<div id="%1$s" class="widget %2$s">',
'after_widget' => '</div>',
'before_title' => '<div class="widget-title-holder"><h3 class="widget-title">',
'after_title' => '</h3></div>'
)
);
}
add_action( 'widgets_init', 'register_custom_widget_area' );

Now that you have your new area registered in functions.php, you can start adding widgets to it from the Appearance → Widgets screen in your WordPress dashboard.

If you’re using the Block Editor, click the + sign below the new widget area and add widgets as you would normally.

Once you’ve done this, you’ll still need to add a bit of additional code to one of your theme’s files to make the new widgetized area appear on your site. Place the following code snippet (again from Qode Magazine) in the appropriate file, e.g. footer.php, sidebar.php, etc: 

<?php if ( is_active_sidebar( 'new-widget-area' ) ) : ?>
<div id="secondary-sidebar" class="new-widget-area">
<?php dynamic_sidebar( 'new-widget-area' ); ?>
</div>
<?php endif; ?>

How to export and import WordPress widgets

In some cases, you may need to export and import WordPress widgets. For example, you may want to move widgets from one WordPress site to another.

Exporting and importing WordPress widgets is a straightforward process. First, you need to install and activate a plugin to assist. You can use the Widget Options plugin discussed above to accomplish this task. 

Go to Settings → Widget Options and click Enable next to Import & Export Widgets. 

Then go to Tools → Import / Export Widgets. 

The options presented are super simple. You can either export widgets to then upload to another site or import widgets that you’ve already downloaded from elsewhere. 

Select the file(s) you’d like to upload if importing. Or, select where you’d like to save the exported files to on your computer. That’s all there is to it. 

Other plugins are available that perform this same function as well, including the Widget Importer & Exporter plugin.

How to disable widgets in WordPress

In some cases, you may need to disable widgets in WordPress. For example, you may want to disable the Recent Posts widget if you don’t publish content very often.

Disabling widgets in WordPress only takes a couple of steps. While logged into the WordPress dashboard, go to Appearance → Widgets and click on the one you’d like to disable. If you’d like to just get rid of the widget altogether — including any customization or settings you’ve configured — just click the widget and hit backspace or delete on your keyboard. 

If you’d like to maintain the settings you’ve ascribed to this widget, however, drag it by clicking the drag icon and placing it in the Inactive Widgets section. 

Frequently asked questions about WordPress widgets

Now that you’ve learned how to use WordPress widgets effectively, let’s answer some frequently asked questions.

Why are my WordPress widgets not displaying?

If your WordPress widgets aren’t displaying, the most likely reason is that you haven’t added any widgets to your sidebar. To fix this, go to Appearance → Widgets and add an element to the widgetized area that you’d like. 

Another reason why your WordPress widgets may not be displaying is because your theme does not support widgets. If that’s the case, then you need to switch to a widget-ready WordPress theme or manually add a widget area to your site as described above.

Why are my WordPress widgets not updating?

If you’re adding new widgets or updating existing widgets and the changes are not reflected on your website, then the most likely cause is caching. Caching enables browsers to serve saved copies of your website to returning visitors so that it loads much faster. However, this can occasionally cause temporary delays in displaying your updates to your site. 

If you’re using a caching plugin, then you need to clear the cache to see the changes on your website. If that still doesn’t work, you may need to check your hosting provider’s cache or clear your own browser cache.

Why is the widgets area not showing up in the admin dashboard?

If you don’t see the widgets area in your WordPress admin dashboard, then it is most likely because your theme doesn’t support widgets. In that case, you need to switch to a widget-ready WordPress theme.

How can I change the size of a WordPress widget?

The size of a WordPress widget is determined by the theme that you’re using. If you want to change the size of a widget, then you need to edit your theme’s stylesheet. Or, you can use a plugin like Widget Options to set the specific dimensions of each widget.

But with a block theme, instead of editing your theme’s code, you can use the WordPress Editor to make template changes. For example, if you have a Post Categories block in your footer, you can simply open the Footer template, then edit the dimensions for that specific block in just a few clicks — no code required! In fact, you can control significantly more aspects with the WordPress Editor than with widget areas. Customize everything from font and background color to button appearance. 

Where are widgets stored in the WordPress database?

Widgets are stored in the wp_options table under the name widget_sidebars. If you want to view all the widgets that are currently active on your website, then you can use the following SQL query:

SELECT * FROM wp_options WHERE option_name LIKE '%widget%'

This query will show all the records from the wp_options table that have the word “widget” in their option_name.

Do WordPress widgets slow down my website?

No, WordPress widgets do not slow down your website. However, if you’re using a lot of widgets, then it can make your website look cluttered and affect the user experience. Don’t get carried away with excessive widgets.

What’s the difference between a widget and a plugin?

A WordPress plugin is a piece of software that you can install on your website to add new features and functionality. Widgets are small blocks of content that you can add to your website’s sidebars and other widget-ready areas. Unlike plugins, widgets do not need to be installed and activated. However, you can install plugins to add additional widgets and blocks to your site.

WordPress widgets vs blocks — which to use and when?

WordPress widgets and blocks are two different ways to add content and functionality to your website. Widgets are older and have been around since WordPress version 2.2. Blocks, on the other hand, were introduced in WordPress version 5.0. 

Widgets are small pieces of content that you can add to your website’s sidebars and other widget-ready areas. Blocks are similar to widgets in that they add specific kinds of content to your site. The block-based widget editor was introduced to bring blocks to even more areas of WordPress, including the sidebar, header, and footer.

As long as you’re using a theme that supports the Block Editor, you can use blocks anywhere. You aren’t just limited to widgetized areas — but you can put a block in a widgetized area.

In many cases throughout this article, we use these terms interchangeably. 

Get started with WordPress widgets

We hope you’ve found this tutorial helpful and that you understand what WordPress widgets are and how to add them to your site. There are lots of fun and useful widgets to explore. Have fun creating a great site for your visitors and exploring unlimited possibilities with WordPress!

WordPress is the world’s most popular content management system (CMS). It powers over 40% of all websites and more than 64% of those that use a CMS. It’s easy to use and customize. But is it the best option for enterprise websites? 

WordPress continues to grow in popularity as large companies realize its capabilities for building a robust site that can scale with their needs. But if you want to use WordPress for enterprise, it’s essential to understand how it works. It’s also worth exploring examples of how you can use the CMS, along with some plugins and hosting options you can leverage. 

In this post, we’ll discuss what to expect from the WordPress enterprise ecosystem, its benefits, and the best WordPress plugins to use. We’ll also cover real-world examples of WordPress enterprise sites and wrap up with frequently asked questions (FAQs).

Is WordPress enterprise ready?

An enterprise CMS is a system used to manage websites for large organizations. It handles content, workflow, user roles, and other aspects of site administration. 

But is WordPress powerful enough to be a viable option for your big company? The short answer is yes. WordPress is a robust CMS used to power some of the largest websites in the world. It’s flexible, easy to use, and highly customizable.

If you want to make WordPress completely enterprise-ready, however, there are a few things you’ll need to do first, including:

• Choosing reliable, fast hosting
• Installing helpful plugins
• Adding multilingual functionality
• Implementing security solutions

How robust is the WordPress enterprise ecosystem?

WordPress has been around since 2003, making it one of the oldest content management systems. This long history means that it’s mature, with a rich ecosystem of developers, resources, and tools.

The WordPress community is one of the most active worldwide, with thousands of developers contributing to its development and management. If you run into any issues with security or performance, there’s a good chance that someone else has already solved it. They’ve likely also made their solution available for you to use, too.

Furthermore, WordPress has a huge library of plugins and themes that allow you to customize your site however you’d like. 

What are the benefits of using WordPress for enterprise sites?

WordPress offers many advantages over other content management systems, including ease of use, cost savings, and flexibility for customizing enterprise-level sites. Here are just a few of the benefits:

1. Powerful and automated backup solutions

With WordPress, there are a variety of excellent options for backing up your website. This protects you in case anything ever goes wrong, like a hack or coding error. 

You can always manually save a copy of your site from your hosting provider or with file transfer protocol (FTP) software. Or, you can use a plugin like Jetpack Backup, which backs up your site in real time. 

This solution is incredibly powerful, because it means that every action that takes places on your site — a product sale, a contact form submission, an updated page, an added plugin — is saved automatically. You’ll always have a copy of the latest version of your site on-hand, that you can restore in just a few clicks.

Your backups are also stored on trusted servers — the same ones used for all of the WordPress.com sites — completely separately from your hosting provider. So if your host’s server is compromised, your off-site backups won’t be. 

This type of backup solution is critical for enterprise-level businesses who simply can’t afford to have their site down for long periods of time or, even worse, lose all of their content or data completely.

2. Enterprise-grade security options

No platform is ever completely safe from hackers or security vulnerabilities. But WordPress developers are constantly working on the platform to ensure that it’s built with high-quality, clean code, and they respond quickly if any vulnerabilities are ever found. Unlike other tools like Joomla, you can also turn on auto-updates to automatically update your software to its latest version. This will apply any security patches and protect your site from potential vulnerabilities.

And since WordPress is so flexible, you can use any number of top security solutions to further safeguard and protect your website. While there are lots of great options out there, Jetpack Security is a complete WordPress security tool, providing a range of features all in one plugin.

In addition to the real-time backups we discussed a moment ago, you’ll also benefit from:

• Automatic malware scans: Jetpack uses an always-updated database of known malware and suspicious indicators to spot any problems on your site. It scans your files 24/7 and sends you an instant alert if anything is found so you can take care of it right away.
• Downtime monitoring: Large companies can’t afford downtime. Find out the second your site goes down so you can troubleshoot and get it back up again quickly.
• Two-factor authentication: Along with their account information, require administrators to enter a one-time code sent to their mobile device each time they log in.
• An activity log: Keep track of every action taken on your site and find out who performed it and when. This is great for monitoring activity from various team members and also identifying the source of any problems. For example, if your site goes down, you might be able to identify that the cause was a plugin update. You can also use this to restore a backup from right before a hack or other issue occurred.
• Spam prevention: Automatically filter comments and contact form submissions so that annoying and dangerous spam never reaches the front of your site.
• Brute force attack protection: Block hackers who try to get into your site by trying thousands of passwords per second. 

When you’re running an enterprise site, security is more important than ever. Every minute your site is down or compromised means lost revenue and a damaged reputation. And if you hand customer or client information over to malicious actors, it could be devastating.

But putting your trust in a platform like WordPress — which understands and optimizes for security at a high level — and taking advantage of resources like Jetpack Security enable you to protect your site and sleep well at night.

3. Enterprise content management support

Content is at the heart of many enterprise websites. It educates clients and customers, keeps you top of mind, and is integral for a variety of marketing strategies. So it’s important that the CMS you choose enables you to create beautiful, effective content easily and quickly.

That’s exactly what WordPress does. Creating beautiful pages and blog posts is simple thanks to the built-in block editor. You can add all sorts of elements — paragraphs, images, videos, columns, social media feeds, calls to action, and more — to a post just by dragging and dropping it. 

And managing content is just as easy. You can create user roles for your various team members, restricting their level of access to just what they need to fulfill their role. For example, your marketing manager might have full administrator-level access, while content writers may just be able to load their own post into the dashboard without making any other changes.

Speaking of the WordPress dashboard — it acts as a central hub for your website and content management. There, you can add and edit your posts, respond to comments, schedule your posts to publish, and more. 

WordPress VIP takes things one step further for enterprise sites, adding powerful and agile content marketing and management capabilities. 

What does this mean exactly? WordPress VIP helps you respond quickly and adapt to the frequently-changing market. Here are some things you can accomplish:

• Create custom publishing workflows.
• Integrate with tools you already use like Salesforce. If there’s not a ready-made integration, you can take advantage of the WordPress API to create one.
• Define customer structures and taxonomies for your content.
• Add plugins for Accelerated Mobile Pages, Progresssive Web Apps, and Web Stories.
• Take advantage of a platform that automatically scales to accommodate traffic spikes.
• Dive into in-depth analytics, with real-time data, conversion attribution, and audience segmentation.

Learn more about the WordPress enterprise platform. 

4. An abundance of top-quality developers

WordPress is extremely developer-friendly, with endless opportunities for customization. It’s an open-source platform, so developers have full access to all of the code so they can customize it to meet your exact needs. They can also use the powerful WordPress REST API to connect your website to any third-party tools that you use for appointments, client relationship management, marketing, and more.

And because WordPress is so popular, there’s a wealth of top-quality developers available to assist with any needs that you have. Want a custom-built site with very specific requirements? There’s a developer for that. Need something to maintain your enterprise website on a weekly basis? There’s someone who can help with that, too.

Looking for an eCommerce-specific developer? Check out the WooExperts marketplace, with agencies personally vetted by WooCommerce.

5. Extensive flexibility and scalability

As your company grows, you want your website software to be able to accommodate a lot more traffic, more users, and any additional functionality that you might need. 

Say you’re using WordPress as a static website for your service-based business. But, as you grow, you decide to add a forum for your customers, an option to book appointments online, and an online store for supplementary merchandise. You can add all of those tools to your existing site without having to switch platforms or craft any complicated code.

WordPress also enables you to choose any hosting provider that you’d like. This means you can find a plan that suits your needs and scales to accommodate your website traffic. You can also choose a plan that includes extras like a super-fast CDN, caching tools, and staging sites for testing changes.

Since WordPress is completely free, you’re not nickel and dimed each time you get more site visitors or list more products. 

Finally, WordPress code is regularly checked and updated with scalability in mind. A global team works to update the software to meet the latest standards in performance, accessibility, and more. All of this combined means that you can trust WordPress for your enterprise site, no matter how much you grow.

6. Easy customization and usability 

A lot of the benefits we’ve talked about already go back to the same thing — customization and usability. Thanks to the huge library of available free and premium plugins, you can add any sort of functionality you’d like to your site and meet any need that your enterprise has.

You can also choose from a variety of themes that help dictate the design of your site. Work with something super flexible and customizable or choose a theme with pre-made demos and switch out content related to your business. 

And if you have a variety of team members who contribute to your website, the onboarding process is much simpler than with other enterprise CMS options. Without any code or development knowledge whatsoever, someone can create a new page or post using the block editor, edit colors or fonts with the Customizer, respond to comments, add new products, and more. Website maintenance and management is incredibly duplicatable and easy to scale. 

What are the best WordPress plugins for enterprise sites?

Plugins add extra functionality to your website, and there are both free and premium options available. If you have a need, there’s almost certainly a plugin available to fill it. Let’s take a look at just a few great options for enterprise WordPress sites:

1. Jetpack 

Jetpack is packed full of features that provide a ton of necessary functionality for large websites, from security and backups to performance, analytics, marketing, and more. But you can also disable any functionality that you’re not using to keep your site lightweight. There are both free and premium features available, including:

• Real-time backups: Save every single action that takes place and restore a backup in just a few clicks, even if your site is down.
• Additional security tools: Protect your site with downtime monitoring, malware scanning, brute force attack prevention, two-factor authentication, and more.
• Performance tools: Speed up your website by implementing a super fast CDN, minifying CSS and JavaScript files, lazy loading images, and more.
• Spam prevention: Get rid of offensive and distracting spam comments and contact form submissions. 
• Site search: Implement super fast site search, with powerful filters and spelling correction.
• Video hosting: Speed up your videos while avoiding third-party ads.
• Analytics: Get insights into how your site is performing and who makes up your audience.

Jetpack also offers a WordPress CRM (customer relationship management tool), which is essential for any enterprise-level business. It enables you to manage your leads, prospects, clients, and customers, helping you grow your company and streamline your marketing efforts. 

With Jetpack CRM, you can send quotes and invoices, see all of your contacts in one place, manage your sales funnel, view client history and interactions, assign leads to specific team members, and more. And you can do all of this directly in the WordPress dashboard!

And since Jetpack and Jetpack CRM are maintained by Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com, you can benefit from seamless integration, simple setup, and world-class support.

2. WooCommerce

WooCommerce is the go-to eCommerce solution for WordPress, providing everything you need to sell online — product listings, cart and checkout pages, payment solutions, and more. It’s maintained by Automattic and is built to scale, with no limit on number of products or sales. The best part? It’s completely free.

It’s also super flexible, just like WordPress, and offers a library of free and premium extensions that provide tons of additional functionality. Want to sync inventory with your warehouse? Integrate with Facebook or Google Shopping? Sell in multiple currencies? There’s an extension for that.

And you can sell more than just physical items, too. Offer digital downloads, memberships, subscriptions, bookings, accommodations, wholesale products, and more. Or combine any of those to create your own custom solution.

WooCommerce also integrates seamlessly with Jetpack CRM and a variety of other marketing tools to make your life just a little easier.

3. OptinMonster

OptinMonster is a powerful tool for converting leads and capturing email subscribers. You can create a huge variety of pop-up types, including:

• Lightboxes: Traditional style pop-ups you can use to display announcements and sales or capture email addresses
• Floating bars: Sticky bars in your header or footer that are perfect for sales, important messages, free shipping notices, and more
• Spin a wheel popups: A fun concept that allows visitors to spin a wheel to win a randomized coupon code
• Inline signup forms: Perfect to insert in the middle of blog posts and other content

There are endless ways you can use this plugin. And you can craft all of your pop-ups with a drag-and-drop builder that keeps things super simple. It even integrates with your favorite tools, like Campaign Monitor, HubSpot, Drip, and more. There’s a free version available, along with a premium option that includes additional features.

4. LiveChat

LiveChat is a feature-rich tool that enables you to add a chat box to your enterprise WordPress site. You can add 24/7 support, with automatic quick replies to frequently asked questions, and even send targeted messages to visitors based on the actions they take on your site.

While the plugin itself is free, you do need a paid LiveChat account to activate its features.

5. Yoast SEO 

Yoast SEO is a plugin specifically designed to help you implement search engine optimization strategies across your site. Without having to edit code, you can make changes to your sitemap, edit meta descriptions and titles for posts, pages, and custom post types, update indexing settings, and more. 

For each page or post, you can insert the keyword that you’re targeting and Yoast will generate a list of suggestions for each one. For example, it might advise you to use your keyword more frequently, increase the length of your content, add more external links, and include alt text for your images. 

The premium version of the plugin has additional features like link suggestions and content quality analyses.

6. Echo Knowledge Base 

Adding a knowledge base to your website can be extremely beneficial, whether you’re using it for product documentation, service documents, or employee handbooks. Echo Knowledge Base makes it easy to create that documentation, organize it by type, order it based on a variety of factors, and more. You can even add a search bar to make it easy for customers to use.

Like many of the other plugins here, there is both a free and premium version available, with varying features.

7. Connections Business Directory

You can use a business directory for a variety of purposes — display all the members of your team, showcase everyone in your club or organization, or maintain an internal staff directory. And the Connections Business Directory plugin is a free plugin that makes creating one easy and fast. You can even extend its capabilities with add-ons for creating extra fields, sending marketing messages, and more.

8. WPML

WPML is a multilingual tool that helps you translate your content and display your website in multiple languages. This, of course, is extremely beneficial if your enterprise business works with clients and customers across the globe.

You can either manually translate content yourself, use the automatic translation tool, or send your text to WPML’s trusted translation partners. And the tool can translate everything from paragraphs and headings to alt text, widgets, menus, product data, and text in plugins and admin screens.

WPML is a premium plugin, with several plans based on the features you need.

9. PublishPress 

This plugin offers a set of tools that level up your publishing process within WordPress, including:

• An editorial calendar to help you plan and schedule content
• Custom post statuses that you can set based on your specific process
• Editorial comments to facilitate discussion between team members
• The ability to group posts into a series
• Custom viewing and editing permissions
• Publishing checklists and to-do lists

You can purchase features separately or bundled together.

And remember — these are just a handful of the great WordPress plugins for enterprise sites. You can check out free options in the WordPress.org repository, or find premium plugins across a variety of reputable marketplaces.

Real-world examples of WordPress enterprise websites

Businesses of all niches and sizes can use WordPress. Let’s look at real-world examples of WordPress enterprise websites to give you a better idea of some possibilities!

1. ISC

ISC provides industrial products for equipment manufacturers and other companies. Built with WordPress and WooCommerce, their site features hundreds of products alongside helpful resources like blog posts and FAQs. They also offer a live chat feature and request a quote functionality.

2. Nalgene 

Nalgene is a popular outdoor brand that offers BPA-free water bottles and accessories. They used WordPress and WooCommerce to build their online store, which is packed full of items that can be easily accessed through a mega menu. Customers can even create their own custom water bottle directly on the site.

3. Dr. Scholl’s 

Dr. Scholl’s is a globally-known foot care brand that sells shoe inserts and various treatments for feet problems — all using WooCommerce and WordPress. Customers can purchase products on their site or use the Where to Buy tool to find them in their local store. There’s also a robust blog available to visitors, along with a nifty tool that advises shoppers on the right insole for their specific needs.

4. The National Archives 

The National Archives is the British government’s official online archive. It stores everything from wills and military service records to medals, passenger lists, and war diaries — more than 32 million descriptions of records, nine million of which are available for download. Visitors can search the large database and find detailed information about each record.

5. The New York Times 

The New York Times is one of the most popular and prolific American newspapers, with a corporate website powered by WordPress. It provides information about the company behind the news articles, stories, and op-eds that are available to visitors across the globe. 

6. Qualtrics 

Qualtrics is a research platform that offers customer, market, and employee insights. The American customer experience management company uses its WordPress website to provide cloud-based subscription software and collect customer feedback.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs) about using WordPress as an enterprise CMS

At this point, we’ve covered just about everything there is to know about using WordPress for enterprise. But to make sure we didn’t miss any important points, let’s wrap up with some FAQs!

What features should an enterprise CMS offer?

There are a handful of features that an enterprise CMS should offer. Security is one of the most important considerations. As your site grows, it’s more important than ever to protect it against hackers and other threats. 

You’ll also need access to automated backups, scalable and flexible software, and premium support. 

Is WordPress the best enterprise CMS?

Yes, WordPress is considered to be the best all-around enterprise CMS. But that’s not just because of its popularity. Since millions of people use WordPress every day, there are tons of plugins, themes, and developers who can help you customize your site.

WordPress is incredibly flexible, offering functionality for online stores, forums, directories, and more. It also integrates with a variety of tools your business may already use, like CRMs, marketing platforms, and warehouse solutions. WordPress is easy to customize and use, highly extensible and scalable, and secure by nature.

However, the specific CMS that you choose will depend on your unique business and needs.

How do I choose a host for my enterprise-level site?

The most important thing is ensuring that your enterprise WordPress site has a solid foundation. You can’t expect your website to perform at its best using subpar hosting. 

So it’s essential to choose a company that offers WordPress enterprise-grade hosting, with servers and plans specifically optimized for large volumes of traffic. You’ll also want to look for 24/7 support and a guarantee of 99%+ uptime.

WordPress VIP is an excellent option for enterprise-based sites. It’s a managed WordPress hosting service from Automattic, with powerful features specifically for large businesses. It’s built on a solid, super fast foundation that responds effortlessly to traffic spikes and keeps your data super secure.

Start building your WordPress enterprise site today

WordPress is an excellent option for enterprise websites, offering an extensive library of plugins, themes, and tools, access to a plethora of developers and resources, and strong security and content management solutions.

With a reliable and fast hosting provider and plugins that meet your needs, you can grow your business with WordPress!

Are you ready to start building your WordPress enterprise website? Download WordPress or get started with WordPress VIP.

If you have a WordPress site, it’s important that you have enough memory allocated to run the software smoothly. Depending on your site’s size and complexity, you may need to increase it. However, before you do, you’ll need to determine your current memory limit.

In this article, we’ll show you how to check your current WordPress memory limit and how to increase it if necessary, as well as answer some of the most frequently asked questions about WordPress memory limits.

What is the PHP memory limit in WordPress?

The PHP memory limit is the maximum amount of memory that a PHP script can use. If a WordPress site exceeds its PHP memory limit, it will likely experience errors. These errors can include the “white screen of death,” slow page loading, and database connection issues.

Often, the error will appear as follows:

“Fatal error: Allowed memory size of XXXXXXX bytes exhausted (tried to allocate YYYYYYY bytes) in /path/to/file.php on line ZZZ.”

You’ll come across this error when trying to install WordPress plugins or themes, run updates, or perform some other action on your site.

How to check your WordPress memory limit

There are a few ways to check your WordPress memory limit:

1. Check your WordPress hosting account.
2. Check your wp-config.php file.
3. Ask your WordPress host.
4. Use WordPress Site Health.
5. Use a WordPress plugin.

Let’s review each of these options in more detail.

1. Check your WordPress hosting account

The first place to check your WordPress memory limit is in your hosting account. Many hosts will list the current PHP memory limit in the account control panel. In cPanel, this is located under the Software section. Click PHP Selector, then navigate to the document root of the directory you’d like to work with. You’ll likely see information as follows and this will tell you which PHP version your site is currently using: 

Then, go to Options and scroll down until you see the line that reads memory_limit. Your site’s current settings should be visible here. 

2. Check your wp-config.php file

The second place you can check your WordPress memory limit is in the wp-config.php file. This file is located in the root directory of your WordPress site. To access it, you’ll need to connect to your site using an FTP client like Filezilla or through the File Manager in cPanel. Once you’re connected, open the wp-config.php file in a text editor like Notepad++.

Next, search for the following line of code:

define('WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '256M');

This line of code defines the maximum amount of memory that can be used by WordPress. The number following WP_MEMORY_LIMIT represents the maximum memory limit in megabytes. In this example, it’s set to 256MB.

If this line is not present in your wp-config.php file, you can add it to the end of the file. Be sure to save your changes before exiting.

3. Ask your WordPress host

If you’re not sure where to find your WordPress memory limit or you’re unable to access your hosting account or wp-config.php file, you can always contact your WordPress host and ask them what the current PHP memory limit is for your site. To do this, you’ll typically need to open a support ticket with your host or send them an email.

4. Use WordPress Site Health

If you want an easy way to check your WordPress memory limit (and other site details), you can use the WordPress built-in Site Health tool, which gives you an overview of your site’s health, including the current PHP memory limit. 

This module will show you the current memory limit for your WordPress site. To access it, go to Tools → Site Health in your WordPress dashboard and click on the Info tab. Expand Media Handling and, under Server, look for the PHP memory limit. 

5. Use a plugin

Another option is to use a plugin to get access to this information. Here are two that are up for the task: 

• WP Healthcheck: This plugin gives you an overview of your WordPress site’s health, including the current memory limit. Plus, it helps improve your site performance by removing transients and other unnecessary data. 
• Health Check & Troubleshooting: In addition to presenting your memory limit and other server information in an easy-to-consume way, this tool identifies configuration and setup issues. This can be extremely helpful if you’re working with a support team to troubleshoot a problem. 

How to increase the WordPress memory limit

If you need to increase your WordPress memory limit, here’s the optimal process to follow:

1. Back up your site before editing any code
2. Edit wp_memory_limit in your wp-config.php file

In some cases, you may also need to take the following additional steps:

3. Edit memory_limit in your PHP.ini file
4. Edit your .htaccess file
5. Contact your hosting provider

Let’s review each of these in more detail.

1. Back up your site before editing any code

Before you make any changes to your WordPress site, it’s important to back up your data first. This will ensure that you have a copy of your site that you can revert back to if something goes wrong. There are a few different ways to back up your WordPress site:

• Use a WordPress backup plugin like Jetpack Backup
• Manually export your WordPress database
• Use a staging environment
• Use server snapshots (if available)
• Ask your WordPress host if they offer backups

Jetpack provides the simplest method of backing up your WordPress site. You can download a copy in just a few clicks without having to deal with accessing your server. And if something goes wrong while increasing your memory limit, you can restore that backup even if your website is completely down. The best part? In the future, you’ll be protected with automated, real-time backups that save your site every single time a change occurs.

Learn more about how to back up your WordPress site with Jetpack.

2. Edit wp_memory_limit in your wp-config.php file

If you want to increase your WordPress memory limit, the first place to start is with your wp-config.php file. This file is located in the root directory of your WordPress site. You can navigate here using an FTP client or through the File Manager in cPanel as previously mentioned.

To edit your wp_memory_limit, simply download the file and open it in a text editor. Then look for the line that says:

define('WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '64M');

Replace the memory limit with a higher number. For example, if you wanted to increase your memory limit to 256M, you would use:

define('WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '256M');

Save your changes. Upload the file back to your server. Your site’s memory limit should now be increased. 

3. Edit memory_limit in your PHP.ini file

If you’re unable to edit the wp_memory_limit in your wp-config.php file, or if you want to increase the memory limit for more than just WordPress, you can edit the memory_limit setting in your PHP.ini file.

The PHP.ini file is located in the root directory of your WordPress site, but if your hosting provider uses cpanel, you can easily change the memory limit from that dashboard. 

Navigate to cpanel, and find the MultiPHP INI Editor in the Software section. From the dropdown that appears, select your website. Look for “memory_limit” and change it to whatever number you’d like. Save your changes. Your memory limit should now be increased.

4. Edit your .htaccess file

If you’re still unable to increase your WordPress memory limit using the previous methods, you can try adding the following line of code to your .htaccess file:

php_value memory_limit 256M

The .htaccess file is located in the root directory of your WordPress site. If you don’t see this file, make sure that you’ve enabled hidden files in your FTP client. 

You can do this by going to the Server or Connection settings in your FTP client and checking the box that says Show hidden files. You can do this in cPanel as well by going to File Manager, clicking Settings in the top right corner then checking the box that reads Show Hidden Files (dotfiles). 

5. Contact your hosting provider

If you’ve tried all of the above and you’re still unable to increase your WordPress memory limit, your last resort is to contact your hosting provider. You may need to upgrade your hosting plan to accomplish this, especially if you’ve used up your resources. 

Your host should be able to help you increase your memory limit and point you in the right direction if you need to upgrade your hosting plan to something more robust, like a managed WordPress hosting plan, or even a VPS or dedicated server. 

Frequently asked questions

Here are some answers to common questions people have about the WordPress memory limit:

1. Why increase the WordPress memory limit?

There are a few reasons why you might need to increase your WordPress memory limit:

• Your site is loading slowly
• You’re seeing white screen of death errors
• You’re seeing “out of memory” errors
• Your hosting provider recommends it

2. What is the recommended wp_memory_limit?

The general rule of thumb is that you should have at least 64MB of memory allocated for WordPress. However, this can vary depending on the size and complexity of your site. If you’re not sure how much memory your site needs, you can start with 64MB and increase it as needed.

3. How do I know if I need to increase my WordPress memory limit?

There are a few signs that you may need to increase your WordPress memory limit:

• You see an error message saying, “Allowed memory size exhausted” 
• You see an error message saying, “WordPress has encountered an error and needs to restart”
• Your site is loading slowly or timing out
• You’re seeing “white screen of death” errors

4. What happens if I don’t increase my WordPress memory limit?

If you don’t increase your WordPress memory limit, you may see errors on your site, or your site may load slowly. In some cases, it may even crash.

5. Will increasing my WordPress memory limit slow down my site?

Generally speaking, no. However, if you allocate too much memory to WordPress, it can cause your server to slow down and impact your site speed.

6. What happens if I try to allocate more memory than my server has?

If you try to allocate more memory to WordPress than your server has, you’ll see an error message saying “Fatal error: Allowed memory size of xxxxxxx bytes exhausted.” This means that you need to increase the amount of memory your server has, or reduce the amount of memory WordPress is trying to use.

7. What is the maximum WordPress memory limit?

The maximum memory limit for WordPress is 512MB. However, depending on your server and WordPress settings, you may not be able to allocate this much memory to WordPress.

8. What’s the difference between wp_memory_limit and wp_max_memory_limit?

The wp_memory_limit setting defines the maximum amount of memory that can be used by WordPress. The wp_max_memory_limit setting defines the maximum amount of memory that can be used by WordPress and any plugins or themes. If you’re having errors with a plugin or theme, you may need to increase the wp_max_memory_limit setting.

9. I’m still having problems. What should I do?

If you’ve tried all of the above and you’re still having problems, your best bet is to contact your hosting provider and ask them for help. They’ll be able to take a look at your server and WordPress settings and help you figure out what’s going on.

Increase your WordPress memory limit

Learning things like how to increase your WordPress memory limit is an exciting part of expanding your skills as a site owner. We hope you’ve found this post helpful. If you’re still seeing errors or slow performance, we recommend contacting your hosting provider for help.