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Tag: Gumroad to WordPress

  • Ultimate WordPress Migration Guide for Beginners (Step by Step)

    Are you looking to move your website to WordPress, or thinking about migrating an existing WordPress site to a new domain or host?

    WordPress is the most popular website builder powering over 43% of all websites on the internet. That’s because it’s easy to use and gives you control over every aspect of your website.

    In this article, we’ll show you how to migrate your blog or website to WordPress with little downtime and without losing SEO. We’ll also show you how to move your WordPress site to a new server or domain.

    Ultimate WordPress Migration Guide for Beginners (Step by Step)

    Why Migrate Your Website to WordPress?

    Small businesses and individuals are starting websites all the time. They realize that having an online blog or website have significant benefits that help them grow their brand and keep in touch with clients.

    However, many beginners choose a blogging platform other than WordPress. These platforms help them get started quickly, but as their websites grow, they begin to run into limitations.

    For example, they may not be able to install plugins that add the features they need, there may be limited options in customizing the appearance of their site, or the platform may become too expensive as their requirements grow.

    We believe that self-hosted WordPress outperforms all other blogging and website platforms. It is powerful, easy to use, affordable, and the most flexible of all available blogging platforms. Here are all the reasons why you should use WordPress.

    Note: When we speak of self-hosted WordPress, we mean WordPress.org. This is different from WordPress.com, which is a hosting service. We show you how to migrate from WordPress.com to self-hosted WordPress at the end of this article.

    The good news is, that you can migrate your blog to WordPress and begin to take advantage of its power and flexibility.

    How to Migrate Your Blog to WordPress Yourself

    Migrating a blog isn’t as simple as just moving information from one platform to another. However, that’s definitely something you need to get right, otherwise, you may lose content.

    It’s also essential to choose a reputable WordPress hosting company that’s fast and reliable. Luckily, most hosting services will install WordPress for you automatically and free of charge.

    You also need to make sure you don’t lose SEO so that your posts rank lower on Google. You should also set up an SEO-friendly URL structure for your future posts.

    Now you don’t want your visitors or search engines to lose track of your posts because the old URLs stop working. You need to take care of this by creating redirects.

    Besides these, there may be some additional steps you need to take to migrate everything over and improve your blog.

    That’s a lot to keep track of, so we created specific step-by-step guides on how to migrate from your specific blogging platform to WordPress:

    1. Migrating Self-Hosted WordPress to a New Server or Domain

    You may already be using a self-hosted WordPress website and decide to migrate it to a new hosting service or domain. For example, you may decide to upgrade to a more reliable web hosting company.

    You will need to move your WordPress files and databases from the old provider to the new one. If you’re not careful, then you may lose data, or take your website down and lose sales.

    That’s why we created a step-by-step tutorial that shows you how to safely migrate WordPress to a new host or server without any downtime.

    However, if you are moving your website to a new domain name, then you have a little more work to do. This would be if you are changing the URL of your website from, say, johnsmith.com to smithconsultingservices.com.

    In that case, you simply need to follow our detailed guide on how to easily move WordPress to a new domain.

    Tip: Some hosting providers, such as SiteGroundHostingerWP Engine, and GreenGeeks offer a free migration service for WPBeginner users. It might not be listed on their website, so all you have to do is ask.

    2. Migrating From Blogger to WordPress

    Blogger is a free blogging service by Google. It offers a quick and easy way to create a blog for non-tech-savvy users. All you need is a Google account to start a free blog on Blogger.

    However, as your website grows, you will be limited to basic blogging tools and won’t be able to add new features. There are also not many ways to customize the appearance of your blog.

    WordPress, on the other hand, gives you complete ownership of your website and allows you to add the necessary features to grow and monetize your blog. We have created a detailed side-by-side comparison of WordPress vs Blogger.

    The good news is that WordPress is set up to natively import your Blogger posts. However, you will need to follow our instructions carefully, or your new blog’s URLs might not match.

    If you have a free Blogger account, then you will have a website address that looks like myblog.blogspot.com. In that case, you should follow our guide on how to switch from Blogger to WordPress without losing Google rankings.

    However, Blogger also allows users to connect custom domain names to their blogs such as myblog.com. If you have a custom domain Blogger blog, then you will need to follow our guide on how to move a custom domain Blogger blog to WordPress.

    3. Migrating From Ghost to WordPress

    Ghost is a minimalist blogging platform with features entirely focused on writing blog posts. It is available as a hosted platform, and also as software that you can install, though many users find installing it difficult.

    While a simplified user interface can be a good thing, it also means your options for customizing Ghost’s features and appearance are very limited. This can become frustrating.

    On the other hand, WordPress allows you to customize your site by installing plugins and themes. It is also much easier to install yourself. You can learn more about the differences between these platforms in our side-by-side comparison of Ghost vs. WordPress.

    Unfortunately, migrating from Ghost is difficult because the default Ghost export file does not use a format supported by WordPress. So we decided to fix this issue and created the Ghost to WordPress Importer tool.

    We show you how to use this free tool to migrate your blog in our guide on how to properly move from Ghost to WordPress.

    4. Migrating From GoDaddy Website Builder to WordPress

    GoDaddy is one of the biggest hosting and domain name companies in the world. To help their many users get started with building their website, they offer a basic website builder tool called GoDaddy Website Builder.

    Many users choose this tool because it’s a convenient way to get started. However, it is missing many of the key features of more powerful blogging platforms, as you can see in our detailed comparison between GoDaddy Website Builder vs WordPress.

    This means that users will quickly realize its many limitations and want to move their website to a more flexible and powerful platform like WordPress.

    Unfortunately, there is no export tool to move your site from GoDaddy Website Builder to WordPress. That means that the process will be time-consuming and have a lot of manual steps, making it easy to make a mistake.

    You’ll find every step clearly explained in our guide on how to move a GoDaddy Website Builder site to WordPress.

    5. Migrating From Gumroad to WordPress

    Gumroad

    Gumroad is a popular eCommerce platform that allows users to sell digital goods online, such as games, music, courses, and videos. However, many users are looking to switch away from the platform because they have raised their fees to 10% for each transaction.

    This fee does not include credit card processing or PayPal fees. Plus, an additional 10% fee is charged if a product is sold through the ‘Gumroad Discover’ feature or their ‘Global Affiliates’ program. That’s a lot of fees.

    On the other hand, WordPress is free and doesn’t charge you any fee for the items you sell. Unlike Gumroad, it also lets you sell physical goods and you can use any payment gateway you want and promote your website freely.

    You can easily install a plugin like Easy Digital Downloads to make WordPress the perfect platform for selling digital goods. We have even partnered with SiteGround, and they are offering special EDD hosting for our readers.

    You can learn how to do this in around 30 minutes by following our guide on how to switch from Gumroad to WordPress.

    6. Migrating From Joomla to WordPress

    Joomla

    Joomla is a good content management system that has a lot in common with WordPress. For example, they are both open-source software written in the PHP programming language and use a MySQL database.

    They also have similar requirements, which means you won’t need to change hosting companies.

    However, Joomla is more complicated to use. It is also not as powerful or flexible as WordPress because there are fewer extensions and designs available for you.

    On the other hand, WordPress is easier to use and offers tons of extensions and design choices. See our comparison of Joomla vs WordPress for more details.

    Luckily, there is a plugin you can use to easily import your Joomla content into WordPress. We carefully take you through every step you need in our guide on how to easily move your site from Joomla to WordPress.

    7. Migrating From Medium to WordPress

    Medium is a good blogging platform for new writers. It allows you to publish your posts with very little setup. But because you don’t own the platform, content from other authors often gets displayed below your own story.

    The platform is quite limited compared to WordPress. When you switch from Medium to WordPress, you will own your own blog and can add all the features you need using plugins.

    Simply follow our complete step-by-step guide to help you properly move all your content from Medium to WordPress.

    You can retain the look of your old blog by installing a Medium-style theme or go for a new blog design using one of the best and most popular WordPress themes.

    Tip: If you’re not ready to completely migrate away from Medium, then you can learn how to embed Medium blog posts in WordPress.

    8. Migrating From Shopify to WordPress

    Shopify is an all-in-one eCommerce solution that makes it easy for you to create an online store, accept payments, and manage your inventory, all from a single platform.

    You don’t need to worry about the technical aspects of managing an eCommerce site, but it comes with slightly higher costs and limited control of your website.

    On the other hand, you can turn WordPress into a full-featured online store by installing the WooCommerce plugin and customize every aspect of your store. You can compare the differences between the platforms in our comparison of Shopify vs WooCommerce.

    Unfortunately, migrating away from Shopify is difficult because it doesn’t provide an easy way to export data to a WordPress-supported format. So we built an easy importer tool to help you do the Shopify to WooCommerce migration for free.

    We take you through the entire migration process step-by-step in our guide on how to properly move from Shopify to WooCommerce.

    Note: If you’re not ready to completely migrate away from Shopify, then you can learn how to easily integrate Shopify with WordPress.

    9. Migrating From Squarespace to WordPress

    Squarespace is a website-building service that focuses on small business owners. It allows you to create beautiful websites using easy drag-and-drop tools.

    However, compared to WordPress, it costs more and offers less scope for design and flexibility. And while it does offer a limited set of extensions and integrations, they don’t compare with the power and breadth of the WordPress plugin ecosystem.

    Unfortunately, it is difficult to migrate away from Squarespace because it offers limited export functionality. Depending on what content you have on your site, you may need to manually copy and paste some content from your Squarespace website.

    In our guide on how to properly move from Squarespace to WordPress, we clearly list the content that can be automatically exported, and the content you will have to move manually to successfully migrate your site.

    10. Migrating From Tumblr to WordPress

    Tumblr is a little different than other blogging platforms. It is a microblogging platform with social networking features like following other blogs, reblogging, and built-in sharing tools.

    The platform is easy to use and comes with its own audience. As a microblogging tool, Tumblr makes it easy to quickly blog videos, GIFs, images, and audio formats.

    However, unlike WordPress, Tumblr’s features are limited and cannot be extended. To learn more about WordPress and what you can do with it, please see our complete WordPress review with pros and cons.

    If you’re thinking about migrating from Tumblr to WordPress, then you will be glad to know that WordPress can natively import your Tumblr posts.

    However, there is a lot involved in a website migration, and you’ll find all the steps in our comprehensive guide on how to properly move your blog from Tumblr to WordPress.

    11. Migrating From Weebly to WordPress

    Weebly is a well-known website builder platform owned by Square’s payment platform. It offers easy-to-use website-building tools for business websites and eCommerce stores along with free blog templates that you can add to your website.

    However, that free plan has limited features and bandwidth, and upgrading to a paid subscription is expensive compared to top blogging websites. Besides that, Weebly’s blogging and SEO features are just not as powerful as other blogging platforms.

    By contrast, WordPress can be hosted on any server and has all the features you can dream of like online stores, contact forms, galleries, portfolios, SEO, and more. When you compare Weebly vs WordPress you might start to think about switching.

    The migration will take about an hour, and it’s worth it. Don’t worry, we’ve helped hundreds of people switch with the step-by-step directions in our guide on how to properly move from Weebly to WordPress.

    12. Migrating From Wix to WordPress

    Wix is a popular hosted platform that lets you quickly create simple websites using a drag-and-drop website builder. You can add a blog using the Wix Blog app.

    However, when you compare Wix vs WordPress you see that Wix has incredibly limited options and adding extra features can become quite expensive.

    For all but the simplest websites, WordPress is by far the better choice because it has a much larger range of themes and layouts, as well as a huge selection of plugins that add new features to your website.

    Unfortunately, Wix makes it quite difficult to move your content away, but after reviewing various different ways to move from Wix to WordPress, we believe the easiest method is by importing your blog posts via RSS.

    We show you how to do this step-by-step in our guide on how to properly switch from Wix to WordPress. On an average Wix blog, the migration takes around an hour.

    13. Migrating From WordPress.com to Self-Hosted WordPress

    WordPress.com is a blog hosting service offered by Automattic, a company created by WordPress.org co-founder Matt Mullenweg. Basic blog hosting is free and you can purchase additional options like a custom domain name, additional storage, and premium services.

    This appeals to new users because no setup is required. However, compared with a self-hosted WordPress website, there are limited options to extend your blog. For example, you can’t use custom themes and plugins for customizing your blog.

    You can learn more by viewing our comparison chart on WordPress.com vs WordPress.org.

    If you’re ready to move from WordPress.com to a self-hosted WordPress blog, then see our guide on how to properly move your blog from WordPress.com to WordPress.org. Make sure you follow our steps carefully so you don’t lose data, visitors, or SEO.

    After you migrate to a self-hosted WordPress blog, you may find you are missing some features you enjoyed on WordPress.com. Don’t worry, you can easily add those features by following our guide on how to get WordPress.com features on self-hosted WordPress blogs.

    Special Offer: Our Team of Experts Can Move Your Blog for Free

    Here’s a special offer. If you wish to migrate from Blogger, Medium, Weebly, or WordPress.com to a self-hosted WordPress website, then we can do it for you for free.

    One of our expert team members will do the entire migration for you (100% free). Yes, you can literally switch from any of those specific platforms to WordPress without any risk.

    There are just two conditions:

    • First, you need to sign up for your new web hosting service using our link. This will make sure you get the best price on hosting.
    • Second, your blog can’t have more than 1,000 posts. We can offer a migration service for larger blogs, but that will be a paid service.

    Sound good? You can learn more on our Free WordPress Blog Setup page. We’ve already helped over 100,000 people, so get started now.

    Free Blog Setup

    We hope this tutorial helped you learn how to migrate your website to self-hosted WordPress. You may also want to see our guide on how to create an email newsletter the right way, or our expert pick on 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 Ultimate WordPress Migration Guide for Beginners (Step by Step) first appeared on WPBeginner.

  • How to Switch from Gumroad to WordPress (Step by Step)

    Do you want to switch from Gumroad to WordPress?

    Gumroad is an online marketplace where users can sell digital goods. From games to music to courses and videos, Gumroad used to be a good eCommerce platform for creators. However, many users are looking to switch from Gumroad to WordPress because they have raised their fees to 10% for each transaction.

    In this article, we’ll show you how to easily switch from Gumroad to WordPress, so you can grow your online business without the Gumroad tax.

    Switching from Gumroad to WordPress

    Why Do You Need to Switch From Gumroad to WordPress?

    Gumroad is a popular eCommerce platform that allows users to sell digital goods online.

    However, they now charge a 10% flat fee on each sale. This 10% does not include credit card processing or PayPal fees.

    Plus, an additional 10% fee is charged if a product is sold through the ‘Gumroad Discover’ feature, or their ‘Global Affiliates’ program. That’s a lot of fees.

    On the other hand, WordPress is free and doesn’t charge you any fee for the items you sell.

    Unlike Gumroad, WordPress gives you the freedom to sell anything online, including physical versions of your digital goods. Plus, you can use any payment gateway you want and promote your website freely.

    To learn more, see our complete WordPress review with pros and cons.

    Important: When we say WordPress, we are talking about WordPress.org aka self-hosted WordPress, and not WordPress.com which is a hosting platform. For more details, please see our article on the difference between WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org.

    That being said, here is a quick overview of the things we’ll cover to switch from Gumroad to WordPress.

    Ready? Let’s get started.

    Step 1. What Do You Need to Switch from Gumroad to WordPress?

    You’ll need the following things to switch from Gumroad to WordPress.

    • A domain name – This will be your website’s address on the internet (e.g. wpbeginner.com)
    • A web hosting account – This is where all your website files will be stored. All websites on the internet need hosting.
    • Free Easy Digital Downloads plugin for WordPress
    • 30 minutes of your time.

    Normally, pricing for a web hosting account starts at $7.99 per month.

    Luckily, the folks at SiteGround have agreed to offer WPBeginner users a generous discount on eCommerce-ready hosting.

    Basically, you can get started for $2.99 per month.

    If for some reason, you don’t want to use SiteGround, then you can also install WordPress on other hosting companies like BluehostHostinger, and WP Engine following a fairly similar process.

    Let’s go ahead and walk through how to purchase your domain, web hosting, and SSL certificate.  

    First, you need to visit the SiteGround website and choose a plan by clicking on the Get Plan button.

    SiteGround Hosting for Easy Digital Downloads and WordPress

    After that, SiteGround will ask you to enter a domain name for your website. 

    You can look up a domain name or if you already have one then you can add that as well.

    Get domain name

    If you don’t already have a name in mind, then you can see our guide on how to choose the best domain name.

    Lastly, you will need to add your account information. You will also be able to purchase some optional extras. 

    You can always add these extras at a later date if you decide that you need them. If you’re unsure then we recommend skipping this step. 

    You can now finish the setup by making the payment.

    After that, you will get an email from SiteGround with a link to log in to your hosting account control panel.

    login to WordPress admin

    From here, switch to the websites tab and click on the WordPress Admin button next to your website.

    This will take you to the WordPress admin area of your website where you’ll notice Easy Digital Downloads pre-installed on your website.

    Your WordPress admin dashboard will look like this

    Step 2. Setting up Your WordPress Website

    By default, WordPress does not come with eCommerce shopping cart functionality.

    If you followed our advice and signed up with SiteGround, then your WordPress site will now have Easy Digital Downloads installed which provides all the Gumroad features you’ll need to sell digital goods.

    On the other hand, if you are using some other WordPress hosting provider, then you’ll need to install Easy Digital Downloads first.

    Simply, install and activate the Easy Digital Downloads plugin. For more details, see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

    Note: For the sake of this tutorial, we are using the free version of Easy Digital Downloads. There is also a premium version that comes with additional features and priority support.

    Upon activation, you need to visit Downloads » Settings page in your WordPress admin area to set up your store.

    Base country

    First, you need to provide a business name and type.

    After that, enter your business address and country. This information is used for calculating taxes.

    Finally, click on the ‘Save changes’ button to store your settings.

    Next, you need to switch to the ‘Currency’ tab and select the default currency you want to use on your store.

    Select currency

    Don’t forget to Save your changes to store your settings.

    Step 3. Setting up Payment Gateway

    In order to accept payments online, you’ll need to set up a payment gateway provider.

    Easy Digital Downloads supports PayPal, Stripe, and Amazon payment gateways by default. You can also add support for additional payment gateways using add-ons.

    To set up payments, simply switch to the Payments tab under the plugin settings.

    Select payment gateways

    From here, you need to select the payment services you want to use. You can choose more than one payment service if you want.

    We recommend using Stripe since it lets you accept credit cards from anywhere in the world.

    After that, select a default payment gateway and check the payment method icons you want to display on checkout.

    Payment gateways options

    Finally, click on the Save changes button to store your changes.

    After that, you need to click on the individual payment gateway tabs to configure them.

    PayPal settings

    For instance, clicking on Paypal will show you a button to connect your PayPal account.

    Similarly, you can switch to the Stripe tab and click on the ‘Connect with Stripe’ button to set it up.

    Stripe settings

    Step 4. Importing Gumroad Products in WordPress

    The next step is to import the products from Gumroad to Easy Digital Downloads in WordPress.

    Unfortunately, Gumroad does not provide an easy way to export your product data in a WordPress-compatible format.

    You’ll need to manually move your products from your Gumroad account to Easy Digital Downloads.

    To create your first digital product, go to the Downloads page and click on the ‘Add New’ button at the top.

    Add new download

    You can now type a name for your product into the ‘Enter download name here’ field. Below that you can provide details of your item.

    Feel free to use images, videos, emojis, and text to write a compelling description. You can also just copy and paste the description from your Gumroad product.

    Add download title and description

    Tip: Learn how to use the WordPress block editor to create beautiful content layouts.

    You can also organize your downloads into categories and tags. This helps users browse and discover product downloads that interest them.

    Add categories, tags, and a download image

    You also need to provide a download image, this will be the main featured image for your download and will be displayed in different locations on your website.

    Feel free to use the image you used for your Gumroad product.

    Below the editor, you will find the Download options. First, you can set the download price.

    Download pricing and file upload

    After that, you can choose the download type. EDD supports both single downloads and bundles as download types.

    Below that, you can provide the download file name and then click on the Link button in the File URL field to upload your download file.

    If you need to add more files to a bundled product then click on the ‘Add New File’ button to add them.

    Finally, you can provide any optional download instructions or notes. These will be displayed on the purchase receipt and some plugins and themes may also use these instructions.

    download instructions

    Once you are finished, simply click on the ‘Publish’ button at the top right corner of the screen to publish your download.

    This will make your download publicly available for purchase.

    Publish download

    Once published, you can click on the ‘View Download’ button to see your download product in action.

    Here is how it looks on our test site.

    Product page

    Repeat the process to move all your products from Gumroad to your WordPress website.

    Step 5. Moving Subscription Products From Gumroad to WordPress

    Some users sold subscription-based downloads on Gumroad. Basically, customers purchased a membership plan to access downloads.

    EDD offers recurring digital subscriptions as part of their Pro plugin which you can purchase from their website.

    Alternatively, if you’re selling memberships or online courses, then the easiest way to sell these products is by using MemberPress. It is the best WordPress membership plugin on the market.

    MemberPress

    MemberPress allows you to sell membership subscriptions, file downloads, and even online courses.

    For more details, follow our guide on how to make a membership website with step-by-step instructions.

    Step 6. Choose and Customize Your WordPress Theme

    Themes are the design templates for your WordPress website. They control how your website looks to the users.

    There are thousands of free and paid WordPress themes that you can use on your website. However, this abundance can be a bit overwhelming for beginners.

    WordPress Theme Stats

    To make things easier, you can pick a theme from our expert pick of the most popular WordPress themes.

    Once you’ve chosen a theme, you can see our beginner’s guide on how to install a WordPress theme to get it live on your website.

    Each WordPress theme comes with a bunch of options that allow you to customize it to your own needs. You can change colors and layout, as well as add your own images and logo.

    After your theme is installed, you can use our guide on how to customize your WordPress theme to make it your own.

    You can also use SeedProd to create a custom WordPress theme (without coding).

    How to create a landing page in WordPress with SeedProd

    SeedProd is the best WordPress page builder on the market.

    It also allows you to easily create any type of landing page, product page, and custom login page using a drag-and-drop interface.

    Step 7. Customize Easy Digital Download Emails

    Just like Gumroad, Easy Digital Downloads also relies on emails to send users to purchase receipts, account information, and download instructions.

    However, since you are now selling on your own platform, you may want to use your own branding with those emails.

    Simply go to the Downloads » Settings page and switch to the ‘Emails’ tab.

    Customize EDD emails

    From here, you can provide a logo to be used in your emails.

    Below that, you can add a name that will be used as the sender’s name. You can also provide an email address to send the email from.

    We recommend using a business email address because it looks more professional. Your hosting provider can also offer a free business email address that you can use.

    Lastly, you will need WP Mail SMTP plugin to configure your emails. It ensures that all your emails reach users’ inboxes and not end up in spam.

    For more details, see our guide on how to set up WP Mail SMTP to improve email deliverability.

    Once you are finished, don’t forget to click on the ‘Save changes’ button to store your settings.

    Here is how a properly branded Easy Digital Downloads email would look like:

    Add brand logo

    You can also customize the text of the emails by switching the to the ‘Purchase Receipts’ tab.

    From here, you can enter a title, headline, and text for the purchase email receipts.

    Purchase receipts

    Below that you will find a bunch of tags that you can use inside the email template.

    You will be able to display dynamic information such as customer name, their downloads, and receipt by using the tags provided beneath the text field.

    Email tags

    Step 8. Growing Your Business in WordPress

    A big advantage of moving from Gumroad to WordPress is the ability to use a ton of free and paid tools to grow your business.

    Following are some of the must-have WordPress plugins that will help you sell more downloads.

    • WPForms Lite – the best WordPress contact form plugin that helps you easily add any type of form to your website.
    • All in One SEO Lite – The best WordPress SEO toolkit that helps you get more visitors from search engines.
    • OptinMonter – It is the best conversion optimization software that helps you convert website visitors into paying customers.
    • MonsterInsights Lite – Allows you to easily install Google Analytics and see how much traffic your downloads are getting.
    • PushEngage –  is the best push notification software, which allows you to send personalized notifications to users. You can announce new downloads, sale events, or special offers.
    • AffiliateWP – Run your own affiliate program and partner with marketers to help you sell more downloads with affiliate marketing.

    We hope this article helped you learn how to easily switch from Gumroad to WordPress. You may also want to see our article on growing your business on a shoestring budget or take a look at our ultimate WordPress SEO guide.

    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 Switch from Gumroad to WordPress (Step by Step) first appeared on WPBeginner.