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Category: wpbeginner.com

  • How to Automatically Add a Disclaimer in WordPress (Easy Way)

    Do you want to automatically show disclaimers and important notices on your WordPress website?

    A disclaimer helps protect your business from legal action and provides users with additional information. Usually, you’d have to enter disclaimers in your content manually.

    In this article, we will show you how to automatically add a disclaimer in WordPress using an easy method.

    Automatically add a disclaimer in WordPress

    Why Show a Disclaimer in WordPress?

    Adding a disclaimer to your WordPress website is a great way of communicating important notices and announcements to your visitors. It also protects your business from being legally liable for any claims a user makes.

    There are many situations where you can show a disclaim on your website. For example, let’s say your site features product endorsements or has affiliate links. You can display an FTC disclosure stating how you may receive compensation from the companies whose products you feature on your website.

    Similarly, if you operate in an industry that is governed by different regulations, then you can show legal disclaimers. This is really helpful if you’re offering medical or health advice, legal advice, or financial investment tips.

    Let’s say you’re writing a blog post on General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). You can show a disclaimer notifying users that they should get in touch with an internet law attorney to seek legal advice.

    Legal disclosure example

    On the other hand, if you have a WordPress blog where you share personal opinions, then adding a disclosure can safeguard you from any legal action.

    That said, let’s look at how you can automatically add a disclaimer in WordPress. You can click the links below to jump to any sections of this post.

    Creating Disclaimers in WordPress

    You can add disclosures manually in WordPress using the content editor. Simply enter the disclaimer content in your blog posts or page. However, this is time-consuming since WordPress doesn’t offer an option to show these disclaimers automatically, and you’d have to edit every page.

    An easy way to do that is by using WPCode. It is the best WordPress code snippet plugin that makes it very easy to manage and add custom code snippets.

    What’s a Code Blocks Snippet?

    WPCode offers a Custom Blocks Snippets feature that you can use to create disclaimers. What it does is it creates a custom WordPress block that you can automatically place anywhere on your site.

    Usually, this would require editing code or building a reusable block. WPCode makes the process easier, and you don’t have to mess around with the website code or have to manually edit posts and pages.

    Aside from creating disclaimers, you can also use this WPCode feature to make custom WordPress blocks for call-to-action boxes, display important notices, create interactive blocks that include forms or image sliders, and much more.

    For this tutorial, we will be using the WPCode Pro version because it includes the Custom Blocks Snippets option. However, there is also WPCode free version you can use to get started.

    First, you’ll need to install and activate the WPCode Pro plugin. If you need help, then please see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

    Upon activation, you can head to Code Snippets » Settings from the WordPress admin panel and enter the license key. You’ll find the license key in your WPCode account area.

    Enter WPCode license key

    Next, you can go to Code Snippets » + Add Snippet from the WordPress dashboard.

    From here, you’ll need to select the ‘Add Your Custom Code (New Snippet)’ option.

    Choose the Custom Code option in the WPCode library to insert an ad

    After that, you can enter a name for your snippet, like ‘Disclaimer Notice.’

    Next, you must click the Code Type dropdown menu and select the ‘Blocks Snippet’ option. When you’re done, simply click the ‘Save Snippet’ button.

    Select blocks snippets and save

    You can now edit your disclaimer notice using the WordPress content editor.

    To do that, go ahead and click the ‘Edit with Block Editor’ button.

    Next, you’ll be taken to the block editor in WordPress. Go ahead and enter the text for your disclaimer.

    Enter the text for your disclaimer

    You can further customize your disclaimer notice using the styling options in the block editor.

    Simply switch to the ‘Style’ tab in the Settings panel on the right. From here, you can change the color of the text, background, and link. There are also options to edit the size of the text.

    For this tutorial, we will add a background color for the disclaimer notice so that it stands out from the rest of the text. Don’t forget to click the ‘Update’ button.

    Customize your disclaimer notice

    After customizing your disclaimer notice, you can then click the ‘Return to WPCode Snippet’ button at the top.

    Automatically Adding Disclaimers in WordPress

    Once you’re on the WPCode Snippet screen, simply scroll down to the ‘Insertion’ section. Here, you can select when and where your disclaimer notice will appear.

    You can keep the ‘Insert Method’ to Auto Insert. After that, go ahead and click the Location dropdown menu.

    Select insertion method for code snippet

    WPCode will now show multiple options. Go ahead and switch to the Page-Specific tab.

    Next, you can choose where your site will display the disclaimer. For example, it can appear at the beginning of a post, after a few paragraphs, at the end of the post, and more.

    For the sake of this tutorial, we will select the ‘Insert After Paragraph’ option. This way, the snippet will appear on all the pages after a certain number of paragraphs.

    Select location for code snippet

    WPCode will also let you select the number of paragraphs, after which the custom block snippet will appear.

    For example, we want the disclaimer notice to automatically appear after the first 3 paragraphs on all the pages on our demo site.

    Update and activate the snippet

    Once you’re done, don’t forget to activate the blocks snippet and click the ‘Update’ button at the top.

    Besides that, you can also insert the disclaimer notice on specific pages using shortcodes.

    Simply switch to the Insert Method from Auto Insert to Shortcode.

    Use shortcode to add blocks snippet

    After that, you can copy the shortcode and add it anywhere on your website. For example, you can show the disclaimer on specific pages and posts.

    WPCode also lets you schedule your disclaimer scripts. This is really useful if you have a time-sensitive notice to display on your website. You can simply select the start date and end date for scheduling the snippet.

    Schedule your snippet

    When you’re done, don’t forget to activate the snippet and click the ‘Update’ button.

    You can now visit your website to see the disclaimer in action.

    View disclaimer notice preview

    We hope this article helped you learn about how to automatically add a disclaimer in WordPress. You may also want to see our list of must-have WordPress plugins and tools for business sites and how to create an email newsletter the right way.

    If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

    The post How to Automatically Add a Disclaimer in WordPress (Easy Way) first appeared on WPBeginner.

  • How to Change the Gravatar Image Size in WordPress

    Do you want to change the Gravatar image size in WordPress?

    Gravatar is a service that connects a user’s email address with a picture. WordPress themes show Gravatars at a set size, but you may prefer to make these images smaller or larger to better suit your website’s design.

    In this article, we will show you how to change the size of Gravatar images in WordPress.

    How to change the Gravatar image size in WordPress

    Why Change the Gravatar Image Size in WordPress?

    Gravatar stands for Globally Recognized Avatar. It’s a web service that allows you to create a profile and associate avatar images with your email address.

    Most WordPress themes show a Gravatar next to the user’s comment. Some themes also display a Gravatar in the author bio box.

    Even if a user doesn’t have a Gravatar account, then your site will still show one of the default WordPress Gravatars.

    The default WordPress Gravatar

    Sometimes you may want to change the size of your theme’s Gravatars. For example, you may want to make them bigger so that they stand out. This can draw the visitor’s attention to your site’s comment section and help you get more comments on your WordPress posts.

    Having said that, let’s take a look at how you can change the Gravatar image size on your WordPress site. Simply use the quick links below to jump to the method you want to use.

    Method 1: Change Gravatar Size Using the WordPress Full-Site Editor (Block Themes Only)

    If you are using a block-based theme such as ThemeIsle Hestia Pro or Twenty Twenty-Three, then you can change the Gravatar size using the full-site editor.

    This method doesn’t work with all themes, so if you are not using a block-enabled theme, then we recommend using method 2 instead.

    In the WordPress dashboard, go to Appearance » Editor.

    Opening the WordPress full-site editor (FSE)

    In the left-hand menu, you can choose whether to edit a template or template part.

    To change the Gravatar size for WordPress comments, you will typically select ‘Template Parts’ from the left-hand menu.

    Template parts, in a WordPress block-enabled theme

    After that, just click on ‘Comments.’

    You can now click to select the Comments template part.

    The 'comments' template part in the WordPress full site editor

    This opens a new menu with settings you can use to customize the comments template part.

    You can now go ahead and click on any of the Gravatars in the live preview.

    Changing the Gravatar image size using the full site editor

    In the right-hand menu, you can select the ‘Block’ tab if it isn’t already selected.

    You can now make the Gravatars bigger or smaller by dragging the ‘Image Size’ slider.

    Changing the size of a Gravatar using the full site editor (FSE) in WordPress

    As you move the slider, all the Gravatars will update automatically, so you can try different sizes to see what looks the best.

    When you are happy with the changes you have made, click on the ‘Save’ button.

    Saving resized Gravatars using the full-site editor (FSE)

    Now if you visit any comment section on your WordPress website, you will see the changes live.

    Method 2: Change Gravatar Size for WordPress Comments (Works With All Themes)

    If you are not using a block-enabled WordPress theme, then you can change the Gravatar size for WordPress comments using code.

    This method requires you to edit theme files, so it’s not the most beginner-friendly option. However, this method should work for most WordPress themes.

    If you edit your WordPress theme files directly, then those changes will disappear the next time you update your theme. With that being said, we recommend creating a child theme, as this allows you to update your WordPress theme without losing customization.

    After creating a child theme, you will need to connect to your WordPress site using an FTP client such as FileZilla, or you can use the file manager of your WordPress hosting cPanel.

    If you are a SiteGround customer, then you can use the Site Tools dashboard instead.

    If this is your first time using FTP, then you can see our complete guide on how to connect to your site using FTP.

    Once you are connected, you need to go to /wp-content/themes/ and open the folder for your current WordPress theme.

    An example of an FTP client

    Once here, open the comments.php file and look for a wp_list_comments function. Inside this function, you will find theavatar_size, which sets the size of the Gravatar.

    Here’s an example of how this might look:

    <?php
    wp_list_comments(
        array(
            'avatar_size' => 60,
            'style'       => 'ol',
            'short_ping'  => true,
        )
    );
    ?>
    

    You can simply change the avatar_size to the size you want to use. In the code snippet above, this would mean changing 60 to another number.

    Gravatars are square, so WordPress will use the same value for the image’s width and height. This means that you only need to type in one number.

    After making this change, make sure to save and upload the file back to your WordPress hosting account. When you are finished, you can visit your WordPress blog to see the change in action.

    If the Gravatar image hasn’t changed, then it may be due to the cache. To learn more, please see our guide on how to fix WordPress not updating right away.

    If the Gravatar still doesn’t change, then your theme’s CSS could be overriding the settings in the comments.php file.

    You can see whether this is the case using your browser’s Inspect tool. The steps will vary depending on which browser you are using, but on Chrome, you can simply right-click or Ctrl-click the Gravatar and then select ‘Inspect’.

    Inspecting a WordPress Gravatar using Google Chrome

    This will show the page’s HTML and CSS code in a new panel.

    In this code, you need to look for the height and width values.

    Editing a WordPress Gravatar using Chrome's Inspect tool

    If the size is different from what you specified in the comments.php file, then this means your theme’s style.css file is overriding your changes.

    If this is the case, then simply switch back to your FTP client. You can now open the theme’s folder and then open the style.css file.

    Opening a WordPress theme's style.css file using an FTP client

    Here, search for a block of code that has the word avatar.

    You will typically find this in a comment-author .avatar CSS class, such as this:

    .comment-author .avatar {
        height: 42px;
        position: relative;
        top: 0.25em;
        width: 42px;
    }
    

    You can now go ahead and change the width and height to the values you want for your Gravatars.

    After that, simply save your changes. Now if you visit your WordPress blog or website, you will see your updated Gravatar images.

    At this point, you may be wondering why we recommend trying to change the Gravatar size in the comments.php file before using the easier CSS method.

    Firstly, CSS can sometimes make the Gravatars look blurry, especially if you make the avatars much larger than the original image. Secondly, changing the image size in comments.php often helps your site to load faster.

    For more on this topic, see our ultimate guide to boost WordPress speed and performance.

    Method 3: How to Change Gravatar Size for Author Bios

    If you run a multi-author WordPress site, then an author box can help readers learn more about the post’s author.

    If you want to add this feature to your website, then check out our guide on how to add an author info box in WordPress posts.

    Many author bios show the writer’s Gravatar along with their bio. To change the default Gravatar size in your author bio boxes, you need to find the theme file that adds the bio.

    Simply connect to your site using an FTP client such as FileZilla or the file manager of your WordPress hosting. Once you are connected, go to /wp-content/themes/ and open the folder for your current WordPress theme.

    After that, you need to open the template-parts folder.

    Editing template parts in a WordPress theme using an FTP client

    You now need to find the file that contains the get_avatar code. You will often find this code in a template part file called author-bio.php, single.php file, functions.php file, or similar.

    Here’s an example of how this code might look:

    <div class="author-bio <?php echo get_option( 'show_avatars' ) ? 'show-avatars' : ''; ?>">
            <?php echo get_avatar( get_the_author_meta( 'ID' ), '85' ); ?>
    

    In the snippet above, you can simply change the number 85 to the size you want to use.

    In other themes, the code may look like this:

    get_avatar( get_the_author_meta( 'user_email' ), 85);
    

    You can simply replace the number with the value you want to use to make the Gravatar bigger or smaller.

    After changing the size, don’t forget to save your changes. You can then visit your website to see the new author bio box in action.

    If the Gravatars haven’t changed, then you will need to search for the avatar class in the style.css file by following the same process described above. Once you find this class, you can type in the new Gravatar height and width values.

    We hope this tutorial helped you learn how to change the Gravatar image size in WordPress. You may also want to learn how to display round Gravatar images in WordPress or check out our list of the best landing page plugins.

    If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

    The post How to Change the Gravatar Image Size in WordPress first appeared on WPBeginner.

  • 10 Best Long Tail Keyword Generators (Compared)

    Are you looking for the best long-tail keyword generators?

    Long tail keywords are more specific search terms that users may try to narrow down their search results. Using them in your content can help you bring more traffic to your website.

    In this article, we’ll show you the best long-tail keyword generators to find content ideas for driving traffic and conversions to your website.

    The best long tail keyword generators for beginners

    What Are Long Tail Keyword Generators?

    Long tail keyword generators are online tools that help you find specific search terms or keywords related to a topic or phrase.

    If you are starting a blog or making a website, then creating content around long-tail keywords can help you bring traffic to your site.

    Long-tail keywords often show the user’s intent to make a purchasing decision and can help bring more targeted traffic and sales.

    The easiest way to understand long-tail keywords is by using Google search itself. The search box will start suggesting long tail keywords as soon as you start typing.

    long tail keyword suggestions in Google Search

    You’ll also find more long-tail keyword ideas in the search results.

    For instance, you’ll see the ‘People also ask’ section. This shows questions people are asking that are relevant to the search term you entered.

    People also ask

    At the bottom of search results, you may also see a Related Searches section.

    This will show further topics and related keywords which may not necessarily be long-term keywords but could further expand a search.

    Related searches

    Google Search will give you a general idea of commonly used long-tail keywords related to a given search.

    However, there are other third-party tools that can help you dig deeper and find more useful keyword ideas.

    That being said, let’s take a look at some of the best long tail keyword generators on the market.

    1. All in One SEO for WordPress

    The AIOSEO SEO plugin for WordPress

    All in One SEO for WordPress is the best WordPress SEO plugin on the market. It allows you to easily optimize your WordPress website to get more search traffic.

    You’ll need All in One SEO to optimize your content for focus keywords as well as any long tail keywords you find.

    The best part about using it is that you can generate long-tail keywords right inside the WordPress admin area.

    First, you need to install and activate the All in One SEO for WordPress plugin. For more details, see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

    Note: You can also use the free version of All in one SEO. It does allow you to generate keyword ideas but you’ll need pro version to add and analyze your content.

    Simply edit the post or page you want to optimize and scroll down to AIOSEO Settings.

    From here, look for the Focus Keyphrase section and enter your main keyword as the Focus keyphrase. After that, you need to click on the Get Additional Keyphrases button.

    Focus keyphrase

    All in One SEO will then bring up a popup and ask you to connect with your Semrush account.

    Don’t worry, you can sign up for a free Semrush account and use that as well.

    Once you are connected, All in One SEO will fetch and display long tail keyword ideas that you can use.

    Simply click on Add Keyphrase button to include one.

    Add more keywords

    You can now start optimizing your content to cover new long-tail keywords you added.

    All in One SEO is the most comprehensive SEO toolkit for WordPress. It has powerful custom sitemaps, advanced redirects, SEO titles and descriptions, multiple keyphrases, and full Schema support.

    Pricing: Free version. The premium plans start at $49.60 per year.

    2. Semrush

    The Semrush keyword research tool

    Semrush is the most powerful search marketing platform on the market. It comes with powerful keyword research tools that allow you to easily find long-tail keywords.

    When looking for long-tail keywords, you can sort them by search volume, keyword difficulty, cost per click, and other matrices.

    Semrush helps you easily track SERPs and your site’s performance for different keywords. You can also see do the SEO competitor analysis and find which keywords are generating the most traffic for your rivals.

    Semrush also has a free plan which is good for finding long-tail keywords. However, the paid plans give you access to incredibly powerful tools and are totally worth the premium price tag.

    Pricing: Limited free plan. Paid plans start at $119.95 per month.

    3. Ahrefs

    Ahrefs

    Ahrefs is another popular search marketing platform with a powerful set of tools to help you grow search traffic.

    It comes with a powerful Keywords Explorer tool that helps you find long-tail keyword ideas. It shows keyword difficulty, search volume, estimated clicks, and more.

    You can also see top-ranking pages for a keyword and see what other keywords that particular page rank for. This gives you a more in-depth list of long-tail keywords to target.

    Apart from keyword explorer, Ahrefs comes with keyword monitoring, site audit, technical SEO analysis, and detailed competitor analysis.

    They also have a free Ahrefs Search Console tool, which is similar to Google Search Console with a few extra features.

    Pricing: Starting from $99 per month.

    4. Answer The Public

    Answer The Public

    Answer The Public is a search insights tool popular among SEO professionals and marketers. It allows you to enter a keyword and see the questions users are looking for on search engines.

    This gives you long-tail keyword suggestions with practical ideas on how to make your content more comprehensive for a wider audience.

    Simply enter your main keyword or topic in the search field and it will generate a chart of questions. You can mouse over a question to highlight it.

    Answer the public charts

    Less popular questions have a lighter background color and more popular questions will be highlighted with a slightly darker color.

    Charts are organized in questions, prepositions, and comparison queries. Below the charts, you will also see the questions in list format.

    Answering some of these questions in proper FAQ schema can help your content appear in Google rich snippet results.

    Pricing: Free for over 500K searches per month. Paid plans start at $99

    5. Google Keyword Planner

    Google Keyword Planner

    Google Keyword Planner is a keyword research tool provided by Google for advertisers to find keywords. It is an immense resource for marketers even if you don’t want to run paid advertisements.

    Simply click on ‘Discover new keyword ideas’ and enter your main keyword. Keyword Planner will then fetch a list of keyword ideas related to your main keyphrase.

    Keyword ideas

    You can see average monthly searches, changes in search volume over recent months, advertiser competition, and more.

    The keyword planner data does not provide keyword difficulty range like Semrush or Ahrefs.

    However, you can assume that keywords with higher search volume and advertisement costs would have tougher competition.

    Pricing: Free

    6. Question DB

    Question DB

    Question DB is another free and simple search insights tool. Similar to Answer The Public, it allows you to see the questions users are asking for a keyword.

    You can view the results in questions or keywords format. The results are not formatted in any specific order and there are no other metrics to compare them with.

    For instance, you wouldn’t know how many people are looking for a long tail keyword or question. You’ll have to use other tools to find this information.

    Pricing: Free

    7. KWFinder

    KWFinder

    KWFinder is another excellent tool for generating long-tail keyword ideas. Unlike Semrush and Ahrefs, KWFinder focuses on keyword research.

    It offers comprehensive keyword analysis with search volume, historical data, keyword difficulty, and visits.

    You can search for specific geographic locations and languages. You can also track keywords and monitor your SERPs.

    Pricing: $29.90 per month

    8. Keyword Tool

    Keyword Tool

    Keyword Tool is another useful tool for keyword research and finding long-tail keyword ideas for your business.

    It sources keyword data from autocomplete feature in Google, YouTube, Bing, and more. You can narrow your search with location and language filters.

    The basic keyword tool is free but only provides a keyword list. You will need to subscribe to the pro plan to see search volume, competition, and CPC cost.

    Pricing: Free. Paid plans start from $69 per month.

    9. Google Trends

    Google Trends

    Google Trends helps you compare search trends over time. It is not exactly a long-tail keyword generator but can help you see user interest in search terms over time.

    You can also compare multiple keywords to see which one has more searches. It can also be used to compare brands, products, people, and more.

    Google Trends compare

    Below that you can also get a list of related queries and clickable maps to see interest in different regions.

    Pricing: Free

    10. LSIGraph

    LSIGraph

    LSIGraph is another highly useful content planning and keyword research tool on the market.

    It helps you easily find low-hanging long-tail keywords with opportunity scores. This helps new websites quickly find keywords that are easy to rank for.

    Each keyword also shows user intent, this allows you to sort your keywords by user intent when planning your content strategy.

    Pricing: Starting from $29 per month.

    We hope this article helped you find the best long tail keyword generators. You may also want to see our article on how to improve your organic click through rate or check out these Google Search Console tips to drive more search traffic.

    If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

    The post 10 Best Long Tail Keyword Generators (Compared) first appeared on WPBeginner.

  • How to Use Shortcodes in your WordPress Sidebar Widgets

    Do you want to learn how to use shortcodes in your WordPress sidebar widgets?

    You can add shortcodes to any page or post using the Shortcode block. However, if you want to use the same code across your entire site then it may be easier to add it to a sidebar widget instead.

    In this article, we will show you how to use shortcodes in the WordPress sidebar.

    How to use shortcodes in your WordPress sidebar widgets

    Why Use Shortcodes in Your WordPress Sidebar Widgets?

    Shortcodes allow you to add advanced content and features to your website, including contact forms, tables, random quotes, and much more. WordPress comes with several built-in shortcodes but some plugins also add their own shortcodes.

    You can add shortcodes to any page or post using the WordPress editor and built-in Shortcode block. However, if you want to use shortcode across your entire site then it often makes sense to add it to the sidebar.

    For example, you can display Instagram photos in the WordPress sidebar using a shortcode provided by Smash Balloon Instagram Feed.

    An example of a social media sidebar widget

    This content will then appear across your entire WordPress website, so you don’t need to add it each page and post manually. This can save you a ton of time and effort, and helps to keep your site’s design consistent.

    With that in mind, let’s look at a few different ways to add and use shortcodes in the WordPress sidebar widgets. Simply use the quick links below to jump straight to the method you want to use.

    Method 1: Using the WordPress Shortcode Widget (Easy)

    Most free and paid WordPress themes come with widget-ready sidebars. With that in mind, you can often simply add a Shortcode widget to your website’s sidebar.

    First, go to Appearance » Widgets in your dashboard. Here, you’ll see all the different areas where you can add widgets in WordPress, including the sidebar.

    Adding a shortcode widget to a WordPress sidebar

    Simply click on the ‘+’ button and start typing in ‘Shortcode.’

    When the right block shows up, drag it onto the WordPress sidebar.

    How to add a shortcode to the WordPress sidebar

    You can now add your shortcode to the block.

    When you’ve finished, don’t forget to click on ‘Update’ to make the changes live.

    Publishing a shortcode block in WordPress

    You can now visit your WordPress blog or website to see the shortcode in action.

    Method 2. Using the Full Site Editor (Works With Block-Enabled WordPress Themes)

    If you’re using a block theme then you can add shortcode to the sidebar using the full-site editor. In your WordPress dashboard, go to Themes Â» Editor.

    Opening the WordPress full-site editor (FSE)

    This opens the full-site editor, with one of your theme’s templates already selected.

    If you want to add shortcode to a different template, then click on the arrow in the toolbar and select ‘Browse all templates.’

    Choosing a block-based FSE template

    You’ll now see all the different templates that make up your theme.

    Simply find the template where you want to add the shortcode, and give it a click.

    A block-based WordPress theme

    After that, click on the ‘+’ button and start typing in ‘Shortcode.’

    When the right widget shows up, simply drag it onto the theme’s sidebar.

    Adding a WordPress block to the sidebar

    You can now add your shortcode to the widget. When you’re happy with your changes, click on ‘Save’ to make the shortcode live.

    Method 3: Using the Custom HTML Widget (More Customizable)

    Sometimes you may want to show other content along with the shortcode. For example, RafflePress can add a contest or giveaway to your sidebar using a shortcode. To draw even more attention to the contest, you may want to show a heading above the competition.

    An example of a giveaway created using RafflePress

    Instead of creating separate Shortcode and Heading blocks, you can simply add the shortcode and text to a Custom HTML block. This helps you arrange the different content in a nice layout. You can also style the block using HTML, so you can control exactly how it looks in the sidebar.

    The Custom HTML block doesn’t support shortcodes by default, but you can easily change this by adding custom code to WordPress. After adding this code, you can use shortcodes in any Custom HTML block across your entire WordPress website.

    Often, you’ll find guides with instructions to add custom code to your site’s functions.php file. However, this isn’t recommended as any mistakes in the code can cause common WordPress errors, or even break your site completely.

    That’s where WPCode comes in.

    This free plugin makes it easy to add custom CSS, PHP, HTML, and more to WordPress, without putting your site at risk. Even better, it comes with a library of ready-made snippets including code that allows you to use shortcodes in text widgets.

    To start, you’ll need to install and activate WPCode. For more information, you can see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

    After that, go to Code Snippets » Add Snippet in the WordPress dashboard. You can now start typing in ‘shortcode.’

    Adding a code snippet to your WordPress website

    When it appears, hover your mouse over the following snippet: ‘Enable Shortcode Execution in Text Widgets.’

    You can then go ahead and click on ‘Use snippet.’

    Adding shortcode to a custom HTML block using code

    This will open the snippet in the WPCode editor. WPCode configures the snippet settings for you, so you can simply click on the ‘Inactive’ switch so that it turns blue.

    With that done, click on ‘Update’ to make the snippet live.

    Adding shortcode to a sidebar widget using code

    Now, you can add a shortcode to any text widget.

    Simply go to Appearance » Widgets and type ‘Custom HTML’ into the search bar.

    Adding a Custom HTML widget to a WordPress sidebar

    When the right block appears, drag it onto your website’s sidebar.

    With that done, you can add your HTML and shortcode to the block.

    Adding a custom HTML widget to a WordPress website

    When you’re happy with how the widget is set up, click on ‘Update.’

    Now if you visit your website, you’ll see the shortcode and custom HTML live.

    FAQ: Using Shortcodes in WordPress Sidebar Widgets

    No matter what theme you’re using, you should be able to add shortcodes to the sidebar using one of the methods above. However, if you need extra help then here are some of the most frequently asked questions about adding shortcodes to the sidebar.

    How Do I Change Where the Sidebar Widget Appears?

    The sidebar’s location is controlled by your WordPress theme. If you’re not happy with the sidebar’s position then you may be able to change it using the theme settings.

    Many of the best WordPress themes let you choose between different layouts. Often, this includes showing the sidebar on different sides of the screen.

    To see whether your theme has different sidebar layouts, go to Appearance » Customize in the WordPress dashboard. Here, look for any settings labeled Sidebar or similar.

    Changing your theme's sidebar settings

    Simply click on this option and look for any settings that allow you to change where the sidebar appears on your site.

    For example, the following image shows the sidebar settings in the Astra WordPress Theme.

    The Astra sidebar settings

    After making your changes, click on the ‘Publish’ button to make the new sidebar layout live.

    If you can’t change the sidebar’s location using the built-in settings, then another option is to create a WordPress child theme.

    How Do I Add a Sidebar to My WordPress Theme?

    If your theme doesn’t have a sidebar then you could create a child theme and then add a sidebar using code.

    If you’re not comfortable writing code, then you can also create a custom WordPress theme using a plugin such as SeedProd. You can use this popular page builder plugin to design your own theme and sidebar using a simple drag-and-drop editor.

    For step-by-step instructions, please see our guide on how to create a custom WordPress theme without any code.

    How Do I Use a Different Shortcode on Each Post or Page?

    Sometimes you may want to use different shortcodes on some of your posts and pages.  For example, you might want to show the most popular posts on your archive page and display ads on your homepage.

    To learn more, please see our guide on how to display different sidebars for each post and page in WordPress.

    We hope this article helped you learn how to easily add shortcodes to your WordPress sidebar widgets. You may also want to see our guide on how to create a landing page with WordPress or our expert pick of the best social media plugins.

    If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

    The post How to Use Shortcodes in your WordPress Sidebar Widgets first appeared on WPBeginner.

  • Announcing WPBeginner’s Blog Post Idea Generator – Create Your Yearly Content Calendar in a Second

    Do you want to quickly generate content ideas for your blog?

    Ever wished there was any easy way to create a year’s worth of content ideas without having to spend hours if not days for researching and mind mapping?

    If you’re like me and most other smart bloggers, then you have at least wished for this solution a couple of times in your WordPress journey.

    Today, I’m excited to release a free WPBeginner tool, Blog Post Idea Generator, which helps you come up with a year worth of content ideas in a second.

    We built this tool because we believe content ideas are the backbone of a blog, and every blogger should be able to create tons of ideas quickly and easily.

    What is a Blog Post Idea Generator?

    WPBeginner’s Blog Post Idea Generator is a powerful FREE online tool that makes it easy to come up with a lot of content ideas instantly.

    It’s completely FREE for all WPBeginner readers… no signup or registration is required.

    Without entering your email address, you can generate up to 29 ideas for the topic or noun you enter. If you want an extensive list of 250 blog post ideas, you can enter your email address and download the list right away.

    Introducing Blog Post Generator

    One of the biggest reasons why most WordPress blogs fail is because they don’t brainstorm blog post ideas and plan their editorial calendar ahead of time.

    Unfortunately, planning blog post ideas could be tedious and time-consuming. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

    Backed by data, our free tool analyzes the blog topic or noun you enter and provides you with content ideas that are proven to attract your target audience.

    Some of the benefits of our blog post generator are…

    • Get loads of actionable blog post name ideas for FREE without hiring a content marketer
    • Download or export the ideas in a sheet for further analysis
    • Save time and money on topic research

    How to Use WPBeginner’s Blog Post Idea Generator

    First things first. Head over to WPBeginner’s Blog Post Idea Generator tool. Next, type in a noun or a topic in the search bar and click Get Ideas.

    blog post ideas

    The tool will instantly generate up to 29 post ideas, which you can copy individually and add to your editorial calendar. If you provide your email address, then you can get 250+ additional ideas and download the sheet instantly.

    Once you have a list of potential ideas, you can fix a publishing schedule for your blog and start creating stunning blog posts that attract your audience.

    #1 Reason Why Most Blogs Fails and How to Fix It

    Most beginner bloggers fail because they seek instant gratification from blogging. As soon as they publish a blog post, they want readers to come in, post a comment, share it on social media, and so on.

    But what they fail to realize is that blogging is a marathon, not a sprint. To win the blogging marathon, the first thing you’ll need to do is to get your content ideas ready… not just a week ahead, but a year ahead or at least a month ahead.

    When post ideas aren’t prepared ahead of time, most beginners tend to publish mediocre content that fails to create an impact. This eventually hurts their motivation and causes them to stop publishing.

    WPBeginner’s Blog Post Idea Generator gives you a head start on brainstorming content ideas. Once you generate the ideas, you can refine them and add them to your content calendar.

    Use Headline Analyzer to Refine Your Ideas

    Now you know how to generate content ideas and add them to your publishing calendar.

    After preparing content ideas, you can also use the headline analyzer to make sure the post headlines are click-worthy before publishing the blog posts.

    A headline analyzer analyzes your final post headline, grades it on a scale of 1-100, and offers suggestions to improve it.

    You can then follow those recommendations and re-analyze your title to see if it improves your score. Then you can repeat the process until you get a great score. The general rule of thumb is to aim for a score of 70+.

    You can do so free by installing and activating either the free All in One SEO plugin or the free MonsterInsights plugin.

    Both of these plugins give you access to the headline analyzer right inside the WordPress post editor.

    Click the SEO headline analyzer button

    Alternatively, you can use our online headline analyzer tool, which offers similar headline analysis and can be accessed for free without installing a plugin or signing up for a newsletter.

    What’s Coming Next?

    Our blog post generator is a great tool to help step up your content strategy game.

    We’ll continue to deliver more powerful tools for small businesses, so they can grow and compete with the big guys.

    We have an exciting roadmap ahead of us, and in the coming weeks, hopefully, we’ll deliver more free tools at your disposal.

    Here are a few more business tools that you can use RIGHT NOW.

    Our goal is to continue to build best-in-class tools to help you level the playing field.

    If you have ideas on how we can make WPBeginner’s Blog Post Idea Generator or other tools more helpful for you, then share your thoughts in the comments.

    As always, I want to thank you for your continued support of WPBeginner, and we look forward to continue serving you for years to come.

    Yours Truly,

    Syed Balkhi
    Founder of WPBeginner

    The post Announcing WPBeginner’s Blog Post Idea Generator – Create Your Yearly Content Calendar in a Second first appeared on WPBeginner.

  • 22 Best WordPress Themes for SEO Experts

    Are you looking for the best WordPress themes for SEO experts?

    As an SEO expert, you want to choose a theme that showcases your search engine optimization and marketing skills while helping you convert potential visitors into customers.

    In this article, we will share some of the best WordPress themes for SEO experts that you can use on your website.

    Best WordPress Themes for SEO Experts

    Building an SEO Business Website Using WordPress

    WordPress is an SEO-friendly website builder. That’s why many top brands are using WordPress for their websites.

    WordPress makes it easy for search engine crawlers, such as Google’s site crawler, to index your website.

    There are two types of WordPress available. WordPress.com, a hosted platform, and WordPress.org, also known as self-hosted WordPress.

    For more details, check out our guide on the difference between WordPress.com vs WordPress.org.

    We recommend using WordPress.org. It instantly gives you access to all WordPress features out of the box.

    You will need to purchase a domain name and web hosting to build a self-hosted WordPress website.

    We recommend using Bluehost as your web host. It is one of the largest hosting companies in the world and an officially recommended WordPress hosting provider.

    Bluehost WordPress Hosting offer for WPBeginner Users

    For WPBeginner users, Bluehost also offers a free domain name, a free SSL certificate, and a big discount on web hosting.

    After purchasing the web hosting, you should follow our guide on how to make a website for step-by-step instructions.

    Now, let’s take a look at some of the best WordPress themes for SEO experts, consultants, and marketers.

    1. Divi

    Divi

    Divi is a popular WordPress theme (WP theme) with a multipurpose approach. It’s suitable for any type of website. It has built-in SEO optimization making it a perfect choice for search engine experts.

    With hundreds of layouts, it’s easy to set up your professional website in just a few clicks. Divi adds extra options to your WordPress admin panel and also provides a built-in visual website builder so you can get your site looking just how you want.

    2. SeedProd

    SeedProd website builder

    SeedProd is the most popular WordPress theme and website builder. It lets you design a fully custom theme for your site from scratch and meets all SEO standards without any extra effort.

    Moreover, you can import a ready-made website template in 1-click and then customize it using the SeedProd drag and drop builder. It also comes with hundreds of landing page templates to add to your site.

    SeedProd is a complete package and a one-stop solution to launch your business website easily.

    3. Astra

    Astra SEO

    Astra is a powerful WordPress all-purpose theme and one of the best SEO expert themes. It comes with several starter sites for different business niches, making it easy to find a template for your website.

    Astra supports drag and drop page builders such as Visual Composer and WPBakery. It’s also compatible with premium plugins for WordPress.

    You can also use the WordPress theme customizer to edit your theme settings for Astra. This lets you see a live preview of your site as you make changes to things like your header styles, fonts, colors, and more.

    Astra works perfectly with SEO plugins like All in One SEO and Yoast SEO for the optimization of your website. You can easily add shortcodes to your posts and pages as well as widget-enabled areas.

    4. OceanWP

    OceanWP

    OceanWP is a WordPress SEO theme designed for any kind of website. It comes with free and paid demo sites that you can import in 1-click to launch your website.

    OceanWP is SEO friendly and offers a great user experience. It has multiple addons for social media icons, a sticky navigation menu, user registration, and more. OceanWP is translation ready to create a multilingual website easily.

    5. Ultra

    Ultra

    Ultra is a retina ready multipurpose WordPress theme with ready-made layouts suitable for SEO experts. You can install the templates in 1-click, including the demo content. Then, go ahead and replace the content with your own.

    Ultra includes the Themify builder, which lets you edit any page layout with a simple point and click interface. Inside, you will find multiple header designs, blog layouts, page templates, and sidebars. You can even use Ultra’s addons to include pricing tables, countdown timers, and more on your site.

    6. Hestia Pro

    Hestia Pro

    Hestia Pro is a classic WordPress theme for SEO experts and marketers. It comes with a one-page and multi-page template, so you can select the right design for your site.

    It’s easy to edit and manage using the WordPress customizer. The theme fully supports WooCommerce to start an online store and rank well in search engines. It also uses responsive design to look great on all devices, and works with all popular WordPress plugins.

    7. Infinity Pro

    Infinity Pro

    Infinity Pro is a WordPress business theme that lets you easily optimize for SEO. It has an elegant black and white design, the perfect set of colors, and a full-width header template. It’s also fully mobile responsive.

    With over 10 widget areas, you can easily customize the theme to add your text, images, and other media content. It has a powerful theme options panel to make changes to your site.

    StudioPress is now part of WP Engine, the most popular managed WordPress hosting company. You can get this theme and all 35+ other StudioPress themes when you sign up for WP Engine hosting to build your website.

    Bonus: WPBeginner users also get an additional 20% OFF. Get started with WP Engine today!

    8. Spencer

    Spencer

    Spencer is an elegant WordPress theme for SEO businesses, online marketing agencies, and entrepreneurs. It has a modern business homepage which is easy to set up with simple drag and drop widgets.

    It comes with ready-to-use templates to add a landing page, contact form, about page, and a separate blog page to your site.

    9. Corporate

    Corporate

    Corporate is an online business theme that’s suitable for any type of SEO company website. It’s a great choice for SEO agencies and SEO experts. It ships with several ready-made landing page designs and a built-in drag and drop builder to edit them easily.

    Corporate has multiple layout choices for different page templates, a smooth background color effect, CSS animations, testimonials, and more. It comes with a beginner-friendly theme options panel and a 1-click demo installer.

    10. Dixie

    Dixie

    Dixie is a WordPress podcast theme built specifically for podcasters and content producers. It lets you share your SEO podcast and rank highly in search engines to get more audiences online.

    When it comes to theme features and functionality, Dixie offers masonry layout options, an episode slider, audio, and video players, infinite scrolling, pagination, and more. It makes it easy to change the entire color scheme, too.

    11. Neve

    Neve

    Neve is a stylish WordPress theme built for SEO, social media, and digital marketing websites. It lets you focus on the content by providing dozens of ready-made layouts. You can use these to show your expertise and share case studies.

    Neve makes it super easy to set up your site with a widgetized homepage, custom widgets, and a theme options page. Neve is eCommerce ready with full support for WooCommerce.

    12. Indigo

    Indigo

    Indigo is a multipurpose WordPress theme suitable for SEO experts, agencies, and businesses. It takes a modular approach to design and lets you drag and drop modules to create page layouts quickly.

    Other notable features include custom widgets, social media icons, a contact form, Google fonts, and more. The theme settings are quite straightforward and easy to follow, even for beginners.

    13. Authority Pro

    Authority Pro

    Authority Pro is another powerful SEO WordPress theme or marketing theme to build your online presence as an SEO expert. Built on top of the Genesis framework, it features a fresh and modern design with a large header image, welcome message, and an email newsletter subscription form.

    It includes 4 widget-ready areas, 2 navigation menus, and a unique vertical navigation menu. It has a theme options panel and a live customizer to set up your website.

    14. Roxima

    Roxima

    Roxima is a fantastic WordPress business theme. It’s perfect for SEO consultants or web design companies and also makes a good marketing WordPress theme. The homepage features a large background image with a call-to-action button and beautiful parallax background effects.

    It comes with custom widgets, several widget-ready areas, unlimited color choices, and more. Along with the homepage template, there are templates you can use for other pages (inner pages) on your site. Roxima is easy to use, with tons of options in the live theme customizer.

    15. Presence

    Presence

    Presence is a stunning WordPress theme suitable for all kinds of business websites, including digital agency and SEO expert websites. It comes with 10 ready-to-use demos, including a perfect layout for SEO service providers.

    It includes a portfolio section, team members section, testimonials, and custom widgets, with flexible layouts and 6 color schemes. It’s designed to work out of the box for beginners while offering plenty of choices for advanced users.

    16. Corner

    Corner

    Corner is a great minimalist and distraction-free design. It has a clean and simple WordPress business theme that comes with a simple 2 column layout.

    Corner features a narrow left sidebar and a wider content area with lots of white space. It’s powerful enough to be extended with any page builder plugin. You can even add an online store with WooCommerce.

    17. Struct

    Struct

    Struct is a uniquely designed WordPress theme suitable for SEO experts, marketing agencies, small businesses, and freelancers specializing in SEO. The homepage features a fullscreen background image, followed by a custom logo, navigation menu, call-to-action buttons, and welcome text.

    Struct also includes a services section, team members, testimonials, custom widgets, and content discovery features. It has built-in SEO optimization and helps you rank your website easily.

    18. Breakthrough Pro

    Breakthrough Pro

    Breakthrough Pro is a reliable WordPress theme built on the Genesis Framework. It comes with a beautiful fullscreen header image and a prominent call-to-action button in the top section to make a great SEO agency website.

    Breakthrough Pro uses large images and elegant typography to make your content stand out. Other features include a customizable header, widget areas, theme options panel, and live customization support. You could even add a mega menu to your site.

    19. Nayma

    Nayma

    Nayma is a great WordPress multipurpose theme suitable for SEO experts, affiliate marketers, and agencies. It uses modules to build page layouts that let you drag and drop elements. This makes it easy to get the design just right.

    Nayma includes several modules for sliders, testimonials, portfolios, contact forms, and more. It comes with full WooCommerce support, and you can also use it for multilingual websites.

    20. Integral

    Integral Theme

    Integral is a free WordPress business theme that you can also use as a one-page template. It features a modern homepage design with a large background image, welcome message, and call-to-action buttons.

    Integral comes with beautiful parallax background effects, multiple sidebars, a projects and features section, and more. You can change things like the theme colors, fonts, and widget sections using the live WordPress customizer.

    21. Potenza

    Potenza

    Potenza is a great option if you want a more formal design. It makes a great SEO agency WordPress theme or could be used for a digital marketing agency website. It’s a WordPress SEO theme with a professional and corporate feel. It has vertical navigation with links to different sections on the page.

    The homepage is made up of widget-ready areas, which means you can easily add content widgets. Potenza includes a contact form, multiple colors, social media icons, Google Maps, and support for popular page builders.

    22. Float

    Float

    Float is a very versatile WordPress theme that could be a great choice for your SEO business. This multipurpose WordPress theme is packed with built-in designs, layout choices, header, and navigation styles.

    Float integrates easily with page builders. It also has templates for single pages, including blog and shop pages and posts. It has multiple sidebars, call-to-action buttons, and several custom widgets.

    We hope this article helped you find the best WordPress themes for SEO experts. You may also want to see our ultimate guide on how to improve WordPress speed and performance for a fast loading website.

    The post 22 Best WordPress Themes for SEO Experts first appeared on WPBeginner.

  • How to Sell Your Website or Online Business (Complete Guide)

    Are you looking to sell your website or online business?

    Selling a business or website is like selling a house. It can be stressful and involves a lot of preparation and paperwork. Many beginners are unsure how to get started.

    In this article, we’ll show you how to sell your website or online business for the highest price.

    How to Sell Your Website or Online Business

    Why Sell Your Website or Online Business?

    So you’ve taken time to create a successful website and build an online business around it.

    But what do you do when it’s time to move on to something new?

    Perhaps your circumstances have changed or you want to take time off to travel. Maybe you simply need the money or you are ready for a new business adventure.

    What is the best way to sell your website or online business and get what it’s worth? For that matter, how do you find out how much your site is worth to begin with?

    Selling a website can be overwhelming. However, it’s certainly possible to sell your site for what it’s worth. In fact, many people make money online by flipping websites.

    With that being said, let’s take a look at how to sell your website or online business for what it’s worth. Here are the topics we’ll cover:

    How Much Is Your Website Worth?

    You might be wondering how much you can realistically sell your website for. It’s impossible to come up with an exact figure, but we’ll show you how to come up with a workable range.

    One rule of thumb is that you can generally sell a website for 2 to 3 times your annual profit, after expenses. This will mean that the person buying your website can expect to make their money back in just two to three years.

    This gives you a ballpark range to start with. However, in some cases, you can make even more money. For example, subscription-based websites and businesses that serve a particular niche such as health or personal finance are often worth more.

    You can get a better estimate of your site’s value using online website value calculators.

    The Flippa Free Online Business Valuation Tool gives you a figure for how much your website is worth after answering six questions. This should only take a few minutes to complete.

    Flippa Free Online Website Evaluation Tool

    The Empire Flippers Valuation Tool also calculates a valuation for your website after answering a few questions.

    However, to receive the valuation you will first need to provide your email address and optionally your phone number.

    Empire Flippers Valuation Tool

    There are other tools that give you a rough valuation based on just your website’s URL. Potential buyers may use them to get an idea of how much your site is worth, so you may want to check them as well.

    Finally, you can have a look at what websites similar to yours are selling for. The best way to do this is by searching on the Flippa website and checking the ‘Recently Sold’ box at the bottom of the left column.

    You might also like to talk to a website broker since they are experienced in valuing and selling websites. More on that later.

    How to Make Your Website More Valuable

    If you’re not in a hurry to sell your site, then you will be able to make more money by waiting until it peaks. This means that you need to do some work first, and the more effort you put in, the easier it will be to sell.

    In particular, you should focus on maximizing your traffic and profits before you sell. This will increase the value of your site and business. Most buyers will carefully look at your last year of sales, so you need to make the numbers as good as you can.

    Increase Traffic to Your Website

    The more visitors your website has, the more valuable it will be.

    Since most of your organic traffic will come from search engines, you need to improve your search engine optimization (SEO) so your site ranks higher on Google.

    You can get started by working through our 13-point WordPress SEO checklist for beginners.

    Improve Your Website’s Performance

    A fast website is more valuable than a slow one. Fast-loading pages improve user experience, increase your pageviews, and help with your WordPress SEO.

    Our ultimate guide to boosting WordPress speed and performance is full of actionable steps that you can take to improve your WordPress speed immediately.

    For online stores, you can follow our guide on how to speed up WooCommerce performance.

    Grow Your Social Media Followers

    Potential buyers will also be interested in your reach on social media. You can start to build your social following using our complete social media cheat sheet.

    Create an Email List

    In our business, an email list gets 10 times higher conversions than social media campaigns.

    Building an email list will increase conversions and grow your profits, and will be a valuable resource to the person buying your business.

    See our guide on the right way to create an email newsletter to learn how to get started.

    Improve Your Profits

    You can also start looking for new ways to make money and improve profits. The profits you made over the last year is an important indicator of the value of your website.

    If you have a blog, then you’ll find plenty of ways to increase your profits in our guide on proven ways to make money online blogging with WordPress.

    If you have an online store, then you can start tracking your WooCommerce conversions with MonsterInsights to learn what is working and what needs more attention.

    Launch setup wizard

    How to Make Sure Your Business Is Transferrable

    Once your website is sold, how easy will it be to transfer to the new owners? Potential buyers will want to know that the website will continue running successfully after the sale.

    Now is the time to start preparing everyone for a change in ownership and removing potential obstacles to a smooth transition.

    Make Sure Your Business Does Not Rely on You Personally

    Make sure your website or business will continue to run smoothly once you are no longer involved. Most buyers are looking for an investment, not a full-time job trying to replace you.

    That means you will need to train a team or virtual assistant to run the business, including customer support, operations, and more.

    For example, if you sell WordPress plugins, then make sure that your team includes developers who understand the software and can continue to maintain it after the sale.

    You can also use automation and artificial intelligence to ensure that your website or online store runs smoothly with minimal effort.

    Alternatively, you can switch to managed WordPress hosting where backups, updates, and many other maintenance tasks are done for you.

    Prepare Any Third Parties for the Change of Ownership

    If your business relies on third-party businesses, then you need to make sure those relationships will continue after the change. This can include your partners, suppliers, influencers, freelancers, and more.

    For example, if you are getting a special deal from one of your suppliers that helps you stay profitable, then you should make sure the deal will carry on with the new owners.

    Make Sure the Necessary Resources Are Transferrable

    If you run several websites or businesses, then you may be sharing resources between them, such as a phone number, customer support staff, or your website hosting account.

    If that’s the case, then you will need to separate them before you can sell. This will allow you to transfer each of these resources to the new owner more easily.

    Make sure that you handle your communications in a business email account you can transfer to the new owner rather than your personal email account.

    And check that any premium WordPress plugins your site relies on are registered in the name of the business and use a business email address.

    Also, you should make sure that any team management tools you are using can be transferred to the new owner. For example, Slack makes it easy to transfer ownership.

    Create Standard Operating Procedures

    If you haven’t already done so, consider creating standard operating procedures on how you run your business and handle specific tasks. This will help the new owners continue to run it with the same success you have.

    This could include how you do keyword research, create content, optimize for search engines, create product catalogs, and more.

    Final Preparations Before the Sale

    Once you put your website up for sale, potential buyers are going to be doing their due diligence to weigh up whether your business is worth buying. They will ask you a lot of detailed questions.

    This means you will need to collect accurate data about your website and finances.

    Collect Accurate Website Metrics

    Potential buyers will want to see detailed reports about your website. Hopefully, you have already been keeping information about your traffic, visitors, conversion rates, and more.

    If not, you can follow our guide on tracking important website metrics such as site speed, traffic, top referrals and countries, demographics, and your best-performing posts and pages.

    We recommend you document at least three to six months of the following:

    Collect Accurate Financial Records

    You should also get your financial records up to date. Messy finances are frustrating to buyers and force them to do more work in making their decision.

    Here are some financial reports potential buyers would like to see:

    • Profit and Loss sheet
    • Proof of Sales (if you have an online store)
    • PPC ad spend

    You may find it worth hiring an accountant. They understand what they are doing, and can get your records into a form that’s easy for potential buyers to understand.

    Alternatively, websites like Flippa offer due diligence verification and assessment services.

    Place a Dollar Value on Your Business Assets

    Make sure that you place a value on all of the assets that you will be selling along with your business. These increase the value of your business.

    This can include your working capital, store inventory, team, and Adwords campaign history.

    You can also try to put a price on less tangible assets like your customer database, email list, social media engagement, website traffic, and processes and procedures.

    Where Can You Sell Your Website or Online Business Safely?

    Once you are ready, you need to choose the right place to sell your website. Typically, this will be with an online marketplace or a broker.

    Flippa

    Flippa

    Flippa is the best online marketplace to sell your site. It’s an auction site similar to eBay but specializes in online businesses, websites, and domain names.

    They maintain a list of affiliated reputable business brokers who can help you with the sale.

    Users can follow auctions and bid on your website or business. If you accept their bid, then they follow the Flippa payment guidelines.

    Usually, sellers use Flippa’s escrow service for secure payments and transfer of registration.

    Empire Flippers

    Empire Flippers

    Empire Flippers is a leading broker that will help sell your business or online business. They will value your business, design the sales page, and handle the advertising.

    A broker is a great choice if you’re not sure where to start, or you’re just short of time. And because they charge a commission, they are motivated to get the best price that they can.

    Whether you choose a marketplace or broker, they will give you all the help you need when it comes time to transfer the website or business to the new owner.

    We hope this tutorial helped you learn how to sell your website or online business. You may also want to see our guide on creating a WordPress membership site, or our expert picks on the best drag and drop WordPress page builders.

    If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

    The post How to Sell Your Website or Online Business (Complete Guide) first appeared on WPBeginner.

  • How to Create Your Company Org Chart in WordPress

    Do you want to create your company org chart in WordPress?

    Organizational charts can help visitors, clients, and potential customers learn more about your business, and find the right person to contact. If you have lots of employees, then an org chart can also help different teams communicate and work together more easily.

    In this article, we will show you how to create a company org chart in WordPress.

    How to create your company org chart in WordPress

    Why Create Your Company Org Chart in WordPress?

    An organizational chart shows how a company is structured, from the CEO right through to the different teams and individual employees within each team.

    A helpful organizational chart can help employees understand how other teams are structured, and who they need to contact in any situation.

    A chart may also be useful to third parties. For example, if you’re creating a client portal then an org chart can help clients find the best person to contact.

    You might even add a company org chart to your public WordPress website, to show the human side of your business and improve your brand’s reputation.

    That being said, let’s take a look at how to easily create and manage a company organizational chart in WordPress.

    How to Create Your Company Org Chart in WordPress

    The easiest way to build an employee chart is by using Organization Chart.

    With this free plugin, you can create charts using a simple visual editor, and add images, links, text, and popups to your company org chart.

    An org chart, created using WordPress

    The first thing you need to do is install and activate the Organization Chart plugin. For more details, see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

    Upon activation, go to Wpdevart Chart » Charts. Then, click on the Add New button.

    How to create a company org chart in WordPress

    This launches the user-friendly visual editor.

    To start, type in a title for the company org chart. This is just for your reference so you can use anything you want.

    Adding a title to a company organizational chart

    By default, Organization Chart adds one element to the chart. Typically, you’ll turn this into the head of your organization, such as the team leader or CEO.

    To add more people to the chart, simply hover over the default element. You’ll now see two small icons: a pencil and an arrow.

    Go ahead and click on the arrow, which adds one element directly below the first one.

    Building an organizational chart in WordPress using a plugin

    Now, simply hover your mouse over this new element and you’ll see three arrows.

    This allows you to add another element to the right or left of this person. Typically, people on the same level in an org chart have the same job title or similar responsibilities.

    Adding multiple levels to a company org chart

    You can also click on the downwards-pointing arrow to create a new level below this person. Usually, people will report to the person above them in an org chart.

    By hovering over each element and clicking on the different arrows, you can easily create your company’s structure. This includes multiple different branches or teams.

    Customizing a company employee chart

    The next step is adding content to each element, such as the person’s name, author photo, or email address.

    To get started, hover over any element and then click on the small pencil icon.

    Adding content to a company staff chart

    In the popup that appears, you’ll need to add a photo of the person.

    Go ahead and click on the ‘Upload’ button and then either choose an image from the WordPress media library or upload a new file from your computer.

    Adding employee images to a hierarchical chart

    After that, type in a ‘Title,’ which will appear directly below the person’s picture. Typically, you’ll want to use the person’s name.

    You can then add a ‘Description,’ which will appear beneath the title. Usually, you’ll want to type in the person’s job title, but you can also add a short sentence about their role.

    Adding a title to an employee chart

    Next, you may want to add a link to the image, title, or description. For example, you might link to a contact form for the person or maybe a page where potential clients can see the employee’s design or photography portfolio.

    To do this, simply type in the URL you want to use. Then, choose the area where you want to add the link using the settings in the ‘Select the link area’ section. For example, you might add a link to the person’s image or description.

    Adding links to a staff chart

    By default, the link opens in the same tab. You may prefer to open the link in a new tab, particularly if you’re using an external URL. To do this, simply check the box next to ‘Open the URL in a new tab.’

    You may want to show more information about each person in the company org chart. For example, you could add their business email address and phone number, bio, a more detailed job description, or any other information you want.

    This plugin lets you create a popup for each person. In this way, you can show detailed information without making the chart look complicated or text-heavy.

    To add a popup, simply click on the ‘Popup’ tab.

    Adding popups to a staff chart in WordPress

    You can now type your messaging into the small text editor. This editor has all the standard WordPress formatting, so you can add links, create a bullet point list, use bold and italic text formatting, and more.

    When you’re happy with the information you’ve entered, you can specify how visitors will open the popup using the settings next to ‘Select the Popup area.’

    How to add popups to a business website

    With that done, click on ‘Update.’

    Now, simply repeat this process for every person in the company org chart.

    Building an employee page using WordPress

    When you’re happy with how the chart looks, click on the ‘Save’ button.

    After that, it’s time to add the chart to your WordPress blog or website. Simply open the page or post where you want to show the company org chart, and then click on the ‘+’ icon.

    In the popup that appears, type in ‘WpDevArt organization chart.’ When the right block shows up, give it a click to add it to the page.

    Adding a block to a WordPress website

    That done, open the ‘Select a Tree’ dropdown and choose the org chart you created earlier.

    When you’re ready to make the org chart live, click on either the ‘Update’ or ‘Publish’ button.

    Publishing an organizational chart in WordPress

    Now, you can visit your business website to see the company org chart in action.

    We hope this article helped you learn how to create your company org chart in WordPress. You may also want to see our guide on how to create automated workflows in WordPress, and our expert pick of the best live chat software for small businesses.

    If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

    The post How to Create Your Company Org Chart in WordPress first appeared on WPBeginner.

  • How to Create a Roundup Post in WordPress (The Easy Way)

    Are you looking for an easy way to create roundups and showcases on your WordPress blog?

    A roundup post lets you quickly create a new blog article by repurposing your existing content. This list post allows your readers to easily find related content on your blog while improving your website’s internal linking and SEO.

    In this article, we will show you how to create a roundup post in WordPress the easy way.

    How to Create a Roundup Post in WordPress (The Easy Way)

    Why Create Roundup Posts in WordPress?

    A roundup or list post features your best articles on a certain subject to give a detailed overview of that topic. Sometimes called ‘listicles,’ these posts offer a collection of helpful content on a particular topic or industry.

    For example, you can create a showcase post of your most popular recipes of the year, your best advice for small businesses, or the best reviews on your WordPress website.

    Roundup posts are a great way to promote your older articles. They can also showcase the best products in a certain category or solutions to a specific problem.

    Plus, these roundups and listicles have another benefit for your WordPress blog. They will improve your internal linking, which in turn will improve your site’s SEO.

    With that being said, let’s take a look at how to create a roundup post in WordPress.

    How to Create a Roundup Post in WordPress the Easy Way

    The first thing you need to do is install and activate the WP Tasty Roundups plugin. For more information, see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

    WP Tasty Roundups is the easiest way to repurpose your existing content into beautiful roundup posts that rank in search results. Even though the plugin is designed with food blogs in mind, it can be used for any blogging niche or industry.

    Upon activation, you will need to navigate to Settings » Tasty Roundups in your WordPress admin dashboard to enter your license key and configure the plugin’s default settings.

    Simply paste your license key into the field at the top of the screen. You can find it in the email that was sent to you after buying the plugin. After that, just click the ‘Save license key’ button.

    Paste the WP Tasty Roundups License Key

    While you are on this page, you can also configure the default style for your listicles. For example, you can display images at the left, top, or right of each post and choose whether to number each post in the list.

    By default, the roundup will follow the formatting of the WordPress theme you are using. However, you can customize its text, number, button, and block styles.

    Once you have configured the plugin, simply click the ‘Save Changes’ button at the bottom of the page to store your settings.

    To make a roundup post, you will need to either create a new post or open an existing post where you want to add the listicle.

    After that, you should click the ‘+’ button at the top of the screen and locate ‘Tasty Roundup’ in the Widgets section. Then, you can drag the block where you want it to appear in your post.

    Add a Tasty Roundup Block to Your Post

    Next, you can use the block to add posts to the roundup from your own blog or other sites.

    Each post will have a simple design, consistent formatting, and clear links to your source posts. This creates a good user experience and allows readers to scan your content easily.

    Adding a Post From Your Blog

    Your list posts will usually include posts from your own WordPress blog, and WP Tasty Roundups makes this easy. Simply type one or two keywords into the built-in search feature, and a list of matching posts will display on your screen.

    Searching for a Post to Add to the Roundup

    All you need to do is click on the name of the post or the ‘+ Add’ button next to it.

    That post will be immediately added to your roundup. The plugin will automatically pull images, titles, descriptions, and links from the post into your roundup list. Later in this article, we will show you how to customize this information.

    The Selected Post Will Be Automatically Added to the Roundup

    You can add more blog posts to the list post by repeating these steps.

    Adding a Post From Another Blog or Website

    You can also add posts from other blogs or websites, though this takes a little more work.

    When you click the ‘+ Add Post Manually’ button, a blank roundup item is added to the bottom of the Tasty Roundups block.

    You Can Add Posts From Other Blogs Manually

    Now, you need to manually type the post title and description. You can also use the buttons in the image area to upload a new image or add one from the media library.

    Once you have done that, you need to add the article’s URL by clicking the ‘Add link’ icon in the toolbar. Simply paste the article’s URL into the box and press the Enter key or click the ‘Apply’ icon to the right of the URL box.

    Adding a Link to a Manual Post

    You can see more options by clicking the ‘Link Settings’ down arrow icon on the right. For links to other websites, we recommend enabling the ‘Open in new tab’ toggle. You can also type ‘nofollow’ into the ‘Link Rel’ box so that you don’t pass on your link authority to other sites.

    For more information, see our beginner’s guide on how to add nofollow links in WordPress.

    After adding the link, a ‘Read More’ button will appear in the article. Clicking this link will take your readers straight to the article.

    Once You Add a Link, a Read More Button Will Be Shown With the Post

    Customizing Your Roundup

    Once you have finished adding all of the articles to your list post, there are a few ways you can customize the roundup.

    For example, you can change the order of the posts by selecting a post and then clicking the ‘Move Up’ or ‘Move Down’ buttons on the toolbar. You can also use drag and drop.

    Reorder Your Roundup Using Toolbar Buttons or Drag and Drop

    You are also able to individually customize each post in the roundup.

    For example, using the toolbar buttons, you can change whether the image is displayed on the left, top, or right. You might like to have some posts with the image on the right and others with the image on the left.

    Change the Position of Images Using Toolbar Buttons

    It’s also possible to edit the title and excerpt. You can format this text using the ‘Bold’ and ‘Italics’ icons in the toolbar. You can even edit the button text.

    Additionally, you can change the image displayed in the roundup by clicking the ‘Replace’ button in the toolbar. This will let you upload a new image or choose one from the media library.

    You Can Change the Image for a Certain Post Using the Replace Button

    Once you have finished creating and customizing your roundup post, you can publish it using the ‘Publish’ or ‘Update’ button at the top of the page.

    After that, you can visit your website to see how your roundup post or showcase looks. Here is a preview of our sample roundup.

    Preview of the Final Roundup

    We hope this tutorial helped you learn how to easily create a roundup post in WordPress. You may also want to see our guide on how to increase your blog traffic or our expert picks for the must-have WordPress plugins to grow your site.

    If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

    The post How to Create a Roundup Post in WordPress (The Easy Way) first appeared on WPBeginner.

  • How to View the Mobile Version of WordPress Sites From Desktop

    Do you want to preview the mobile version of your WordPress site?

    Previewing the mobile layout helps you see how your website looks on mobile devices. When your site is under development or even when it’s live, it’s often easier to view the mobile version on a desktop computer. Then, you can quickly make changes and see their effect.

    In this article, we will show you how to view a mobile version of the WordPress site from a desktop.

    How to view the mobile version of WordPress sites from desktop

    Why You Should Preview Your Mobile Layout

    More than 50% of your website visitors will be using their mobile phones to access your site. Around 3% will be using a tablet.

    This means that having a site that looks great on mobile is very important.

    In fact, mobile is so important that Google is now using a mobile-first index for its website ranking algorithm. This means that Google will use your site’s mobile version for indexing. You can learn more by reading our ultimate guide to WordPress SEO.

    Even if you are using a responsive WordPress theme, you still need to check how your site looks on mobile. You might want to create different versions of key landing pages that are optimized for mobile users’ needs.

    It’s important to keep in mind that most mobile previews will not be completely perfect because there are so many different mobile screen sizes and browsers. Your final test should always be to look at your site on an actual mobile device.

    That said, let’s look at how you can view the mobile version of your WordPress website on a desktop.

    We are going to cover two different methods for testing how your site looks on mobile using desktop browsers. You can click the links below to jump to any section:

    Video Tutorial

    If you’d prefer written instructions, then continue reading.

    Method 1: Using WordPress’s Theme Customizer

    You can use the WordPress theme customizer to preview the mobile version of your WordPress site.

    Simply log in to your WordPress dashboard and go to the Appearance » Customize screen.

    Go to theme customizer from WordPress dashboard

    This will open up the WordPress theme customizer. For this tutorial, we will be using the Astra theme.

    Depending on what theme you are using, you may see slightly different options in the left-hand menu.

    View options in theme customizer

    At the bottom of the screen, simply click the mobile icon.

    You will then see a preview of how your site looks on mobile devices.

    View mobile screen preview

    This method for previewing the mobile version is particularly useful when you haven’t yet finished creating your blog or when it’s in maintenance mode.

    You can now make changes to your website and check how they look before you push them live.

    Method 2: Using Google Chrome’s DevTools Device Mode

    The Google Chrome browser has a set of developer tools that let you run various checks on any website, including seeing a preview of how it looks on mobile devices.

    Simply open the Google Chrome browser on your desktop and visit the page you want to check. This could be the preview of a page on your site, or it could even be your competitor’s website.

    Next, you need to right-click on the page and select the ‘Inspect’ option.

    Right click to open the inspect option

    A new panel will open up on the right-hand side or at the bottom of the screen.

    It will look something like this:

    View the inspect tool

    In the developer view, you will be able to see your site’s HTML source code, CSS, and other details.

    Next, you need to click the ‘Toggle Device Toolbar’ button to change to the mobile view.

    Click the toggle device toolbar

    You will see the preview of your website shrink to the mobile screen size.

    Your website’s general appearance will also change in the mobile view. For instance, the menus will collapse, and additional icons will move to the left instead of the right of the menu.

    View the mobile version in inspect tool window

    When you hover your mouse cursor over the mobile view of your site, it will become a circle. This circle can be moved with your mouse to mimic the touchscreen on a mobile device.

    You can also hold down the ‘Shift’ key, then click and move your mouse to simulate pinching the mobile screen to zoom in or out.

    Above the mobile view of your site, you will see some additional options.

    Change the dimensions for responsiveness

    These settings let you do several extra things. You can check how your site would look on different types of smartphones.

    For example, you can select a mobile device like an iPhone and see how your site will appear on the device.

    You can also simulate your site’s performance on fast or slow 3G connections. You can even rotate the mobile screen using the rotate icon.

    Bonus: How to Create Mobile-Specific Content in WordPress

    It’s important that your website has a responsive design so that mobile visitors can easily navigate your website.

    However, simply having a responsive site may not go far enough. Users on mobile devices are often looking for different things than desktop users.

    Many premium themes and plugins let you create elements that display differently on desktop versus mobile. You can also use a page builder plugin like SeedProd to edit your landing pages in mobile view.

    Previewing a custom page on mobile

    You should consider creating mobile-specific content for your lead generation forms. On mobile devices, these forms should ask for minimal information, ideally just an email address. They should also look good and be easy to close.

    For more details, you can see our guide on how to create a landing page in WordPress.

    Another great way to create mobile-specific popups and lead-generation forms is with OptinMonster. It is the most powerful WordPress popup plugin and lead-generation tool on the market.

    Edit campaign design on mobile

    OptinMonster has specific device-targeting display rules that let you show different campaigns to mobile users vs desktop users. You can even combine this with OptinMonster’s geo-targeting feature and other advanced personalization features to get the best conversions.

    You can see our guide on how to create mobile popups that convert for more information.

    We hope this article helped you learn how to preview the mobile layout of your site. You may also want to see our expert picks for the best plugins to convert a WordPress site into a mobile app and learn how to increase blog traffic.

    If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

    The post How to View the Mobile Version of WordPress Sites From Desktop first appeared on WPBeginner.