Looking for the best Read More plugins for your WordPress site? Don’t miss out on these 4 plugins that will make your content more accessible and increase click-through rates!
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Looking for a way to showcase your products in a visually appealing and interactive way? Check out these 7 best WooCommerce product slider plugins for an enhanced shopping experience!
The post 7 Best WooCommerce Product Slider Plugins 🥇 2023 (Free & Pro) appeared first on BetterStudio.
Looking for tax-exempt plugins for your WooCommerce website? Check out our list of the best free and pro options to simplify your tax compliance.
The post 6 Best WooCommerce Tax Exempt Plugins 🥇 2023 (Free & Pro) appeared first on BetterStudio.
Looking for the best WooCommerce plugins to create tiered pricing tables? Look no further! Check out our list of the top 8 options, both free and pro, and start maximizing your profits today!
The post 8 Best WooCommerce Tiered Pricing Table Plugins 🥇 2023 (Free & Pro) appeared first on BetterStudio.
Looking for the perfect contact form solution for your WordPress site? Check out our list of the 9 best contact form plugins – you won’t want to miss out!
The post 9 Best WordPress Contact Form Plugins 🥇 2023 (Free & Pro) appeared first on BetterStudio.
Otter Blocks Version 2.4 is here to revolutionize your content creation journey. In this post, we’re going to unveil the incredible features that make Otter Blocks 2.4 a game-changer. These include new AI-powered options in the free version, and additional upgrades like webhook integration (and more) in the Pro version.
The post Otter Blocks 2.4: Where AI Meets Content Creation Excellence! appeared first on Themeisle Blog.
If you’re looking to improve Search engine optimization (SEO) on your site, Yoast SEO is one of the most popular plugins. However, without following a thorough Yoast SEO tutorial, the settings and features can be overwhelming for beginners. That’s why we’re taking you through each step of the Yoast SEO setup procedure.
The post How to Use Yoast SEO (Tutorial for Beginners) appeared first on Themeisle Blog.
WordPress users have always wanted the most out of the platform. Adding chatbots to a website is one of the easiest ways to make it more engaging and helpful. And nowadays, creating, training, and rolling out a chatbot is easier than ever. We’ve sifted through the best WordPress chatbots for your websites, comparing their features and costs.
First, let’s look into the different types of chatbots so you can choose exactly what you need. Some chatbots use older technologies that aren’t as easy to use.
Chatbots have transcended their initial role as basic support automation tools, becoming integral to customer engagement strategies. Because they provide intelligent responses, chatbots have changed how companies engage their visitors. Here is how these tools break down into separate categories:
1. Live Chatbots: They greet visitors, determine intent, and direct them to the right human agent. This is helpful when a human support organization wants to save time by having a live chat chatbot route customers to the correct department. It’s more intuitive than a customer self-select (hit “1” to talk to Billing) option and can try to determine urgency level, customer intent, and the correct department.
2. Programmable Chatbots: Programmable chatbots are usually an older type of chatbot. Site owners must create question and answer pairs so that these chatbots provide specific responses to predetermined queries. Because they use a question-and-answer method, they take a lot of time to train, and it’s not uncommon for one to get stumped.
3. GPT and LLM Powered Chatbots: The GPT chatbots and those powered by other Language Models (LLM) are the newest iteration of chatbots. Because of the AI capabilities they are built on top of, their conversation can mimic human interaction. They’re not confined to a script but can provide rich, dynamic interactions. However, they can be trained on specific data to give custom answers instead of what customers could get from something like ChatGPT. These types are usually just referred to as AI chatbots.
Most chatbots fall into the first and third categories. Another popular option is combining an LLM chatbot with a live chat fallback option. These are very powerful and dependable chatbots.
Now that you know about the different types of chatbots on the market, here are our favorites that are easily usable with WordPress websites.
Botsonic is a cutting-edge chatbot builder designed to enhance user engagement on websites. Trusted by thousands of businesses, it offers a seamless way to connect with visitors and provide instant support. The product is known for its user-friendly interface and robust performance, making it a preferred choice among marketers and customer support teams. Additionally, Writesonic, the company behind Botsonic, has seen break-out success with its AI writer and is backed by Y-Combinator.
Botsonic is simple to train using your data. You can upload a file, provide a URL, let it scrape a sitemap, add FAQs, or use the SDK or API to pull in data. This means that Botsonic can speak to your customers about whatever topic it has been trained on, regardless of ChatGPT’s limits.
Best For:
Botsonic is ideal for businesses looking to enhance customer support without needing to hire human support staff. Whether you’re a small business owner or part of a large enterprise, Botsonic can simplify your support system, making it more agile and customer-friendly.
Pricing: Free plan with paid plans starting at $20/mo
Tidio is a full-service customer chat and chatbot platform. Most of their packages focus on constructing traditional chatbots through established workflows. However, with the Tidio+ package, individuals can harness sophisticated AI to create chatbots designed to minimize customer attrition and solve issues. They have also recently launched Lyro AI on all their plans, bringing everyone basic AI features.
Lyro AI by Tidio uses your content and data to make chats as smooth as possible. They can take FAQs and give them to your visitors in a way that matches the flow of the conversation. It also learns from conversations so that it doesn’t offer up information that your visitors aren’t actually searching for. If it gets in trouble and can’t answer, it can ID the chat topic and send the person to a human support person.
Best For:
Tidio shines in chat-focused customer service and sales settings. Because it is seamlessly integrated with WordPress and popular messaging apps, it’s a go-to for lifting customer support and automating support chats.
Pricing: Lyro has free plans with paid chatbot plans starting at $25/mo
HubSpot is a leading CRM platform for helping businesses grow. It is known for being one of the best platforms for marketing automation, with a suite of tools for managing sales, support, and more. The HubSpot Chatbot Builder plugs right into all their other tools to help site owners power their CRM with lead and support data straight from chat. This programmable chatbot takes some time to set up because you will need to build out conversation flows. However, this chatbot will excel at collecting data and integrating it into your CRM and marketing automations.
HubSpot’s seamless integration with its own CRM makes it an ideal solution for businesses already using HubSpot’s suite of tools. The chatbot can pull in CRM personalization details for a better user experience. It also integrates with WordPress and other major CMS platforms.
Best For:
Companies already committed to HubSpot’s CRM will find their basic live chat needs met, although it lacks advanced conversational AI capabilities. This platform offers a two-in-one solution for those seeking a CRM and a chatbot.
Pricing: Free chatbot and CRM with paid plans starting at $20/mo with Hubspot Sales suite
Intercom is a support and help desk platform that has long been a go-to platform for support organizations. It’s what Elegant Themes uses! It is a bit more robust than Botsonic and some of the others on this list because before it added Fin, its AI conversational assistant, it was a live chat software for connecting human agents with website customers. Now, it uses the best of both worlds—allowing AI to handle easier chats and then switch to a human agent when the time is right.
One of the best features of Intercom is Fin. If you’ve used a website that uses it, you know how easy it is for both a customer and the support staff. It answers questions based on a connected knowledge base and other data—and does it well. Once Fin gets out of its depth, it quickly ports the customer to a live agent or adds them to a queue when the support team gets back in. Especially for businesses with large KBs, Fin helps customers get to the right articles and even talks about the articles like a human would.
Best For:
Intercom is ideal for e-commerce businesses, SaaS providers, and companies looking to enhance customer engagement. It’s perfect for those who want to provide a custom touch without losing the efficiency of automation. If you want to build lasting relationships with your customers, Intercom is the tool for you.
Pricing: Pricing starts at $74/mo with Fin AI charges added on top
Next up, DocsBot AI is another sophisticated and trainable AI solution that transforms traditional documentation into chatbots. It is excellent for customer support, but DocsBot AI tries to make the specialized knowledge you give it even more useful with creative use cases.
What sets DocsBot AI apart from its competitors is can also be used to generate AI content. As an AI writer, you can train it to support and write marketing materials while retaining your exact voice and brand identity. It considers the full scope of your business, ensuring trustworthy content generation. This feature provides confidence that the AI understands your brand when acting as a help bot and as an AI writer.
Best For:
DocsBot AI is ideally suited for businesses of all sizes, from startups to established enterprises, that seek to automate customer interactions and enhance content creation. It’s a strategic investment for those looking to streamline support, foster internal collaboration, and leverage AI for creative endeavors.
Pricing: Free plans with paid ones starting at $19/mo
Chatbase is another trainable AI chatbot builder that empowers businesses to create customized chatbots. Known for its bare-bones simplicity, Chatbase allows users to connect their data sources and create a ChatGPT-like chatbot tailored to their specific needs. It does not have human live chat support but is a heavy hitter in conversational AI support.
Chatbase’s apart is its ability to train ChatGPT on your data, which is about as easy as you could ask for it to be. By simply uploading a document or adding a link to your website, you can create a chatbot that can answer any question about the content. This feature enhances the user experience and provides a unique way to engage with your audience.
Best For:
Chatbase is ideal for businesses looking to enhance their online presence with an interactive chatbot. From collecting leads to providing custom responses, Chatbase is perfect for companies leveraging AI technology to create a more engaging and responsive website.
Pricing: Free plan available with paid plans starting at $19/mo
Botsify is another excellent choice of website Chatbot that can be added to WordPress. Known as being user-friendly and reliable, Botsify has come to be trusted by many businesses. It’s a platform that allows users to create intelligent chatbots without diving deep into coding, making it accessible to a broad audience.
Botsify’s integrations set it apart from other similarly priced options on the market. This chatbot can pull information from dozens of sources to speak confidently. A great example would be linking a WooCommerce store to Botsify and watching as it answers customer questions about product variations, prices, and return policies. Each integration unlocks synergies between your most used business products and customer interactions.
Best For:
Botsify is ideal for small to medium-sized businesses looking to enhance customer engagement without investing in wide development. It’s perfect for providing real-time support, gathering customer insights, or automating repetitive tasks. Unlike other platforms, Botsify offers a unique blend of simplicity and functionality, making it a standout choice for non-tech-savvy users.
Pricing: Paid plans start at $49/mo
Chatbot.com specializes in AI-driven chat solutions aimed at elevating customer service through a web-based chat interface. The platform empowers businesses to develop their own chatbots, lessening the reliance on an entirely human support staff. Its versatile integration options blend into workflows you already have and various communication platforms and social networks.
Best For:
ChatBot is perfect for companies seeking a comprehensive digital assistant for sales and customer care. It works smoothly with ChatBot.com’s sister brands—LiveChat.com and HelpDesk.com—providing a whole enterprise support framework. For businesses on the cusp of significant growth, the ChatBot.com suite is a worthy choice.
Pricing: Starting at $52/mo
With a lot of chatbots on the market that work with WordPress websites, it can be hard to narrow them down. Here is an overview of the best WordPress solutions.
Price can be a significant factor in picking a chatbot solution, especially if this is your first venture into including one on your website. Here’s how each of our chatbots stack up on price.
| Rank | WordPress Chatbots | Starting Price | Free Option | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 | Botsonic | $20/mo | âœ”ï¸ | Get |
| 🥈 | Tidio | $25/mo | âœ”ï¸ | Get |
| 🥉 | Hubspot | $20/mo | âœ”ï¸ | Get |
| 4 | Intercom | $74/mo | ⌠| Get |
| 5 | DocsBot AI | $19/mo | âœ”ï¸ | Get |
| 6 | Chatbase | $19/mo | âœ”ï¸ | Get |
| 7 | Botsify | $49/mo | ⌠| Get |
| 8 | ChatBot.com | $52/mo | ⌠| Get |
Our top choice, Botsonic, and a couple of others have free options for you to try out, while the other two also have free trials.
As we’ve seen in detail, there are different types of chatbots, and choosing a particular solution might come down to the features each offers. Here’s a look at the features of our top three options.
| 🥇Botsonic | 🥈 Tidio | 🥉 Hubspot | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | $20/mo | $25/mo | $20/mo |
| GPT-4 Powered Chatbot | âœ”ï¸ | ⌠| ⌠|
| Real-time Analytics and Reporting | âœ”ï¸ | âœ”ï¸ | âœ”ï¸ |
| Live Agent Routing | âœ”ï¸ | âœ”ï¸ | âœ”ï¸ |
| Help Desk and Documentation System | ⌠| âœ”ï¸ | âœ”ï¸ |
| AI Content Writing | ✔ï¸* | ⌠| ⌠|
| Integration with Other Platforms | âœ”ï¸ | âœ”ï¸ | âœ”ï¸ |
| Train on Private Data | âœ”ï¸ | âœ”ï¸ | ⌠|
| Internal Functions for Team | âœ”ï¸ | âœ”ï¸ | âœ”ï¸ |
| Get Botsonic | Get Intercom | Get Hubspot AI | |
| *Botsonic comes with Writesonic’s AI writer until they separate the product, which has been announced. | |||
Chatbots are slowly becoming more normal to use. They’re used at the beginning of support interactions to help live agents navigate the simplest queries and gather information before speaking with a human. Depending on what you need from a chatbot, there are plenty of options on the market.
Our favorite is Botsonic, which provides many features, including live chat workflows and GPT 4. Tidio is our next top pick because of its cutting-edge conversational AI for engaging new customers and landing more sales. It also has a fallback to connect with live agents and integrates with popular messaging apps.
Whatever you choose, you will give your site visitors a more personalized experience that answers their questions.
What do you think about using chatbots on your websites? Share your thoughts and which chatbots you’ve tried out below!
Article thumbnail image by Thx4Stock / shutterstock.com.
The post 8 Best WordPress Chatbots for your Website in 2023 appeared first on Elegant Themes Blog.
Are you wondering how to add ‘how to’ schema in WordPress?
By adding ‘how to’ schema to your content, you can show images, videos, and detailed step-by-step instructions directly in the search results. This can make your content stand out and get you more clicks and visitors.
In this article, we will show you how to add ‘how to’ schema in WordPress.
‘How to’ schema markup is a type of HTML code that’s added to your WordPress website.
Instead of appearing on your site, ‘how to’ schema gives search engines more information about your tutorial articles. This can include detailed step-by-step instructions, a list of tools and supplies the reader will need, and how long the tutorial takes to complete.
This helps the search engines understand your pages and posts and show them to people who are looking for content just like yours.
Even better, search engines such as Google may use the ‘how to’ schema to create rich snippets and results. For example, Google might show your ‘how to’ steps in an ordered list.
Depending on how your schema is set up, search engines may even display this information in the ‘people also ask’ section.
These boxes appear for many search queries and offer a list of additional questions, each linked to a website for more information.
This section appears at the very top of the search results, so they can get you even more clicks and increase your blog traffic.
Some rich results even include useful information, such as a list of required tools or how much money readers need to spend to complete the guide. This can help people quickly decide whether your ‘how to’ guide is right for them, which will improve the user experience.
It’s important to note that adding ‘how to’ schema in WordPress will not guarantee that your content appears as a rich result. However, it will improve your chances, especially if your website is already SEO-optimized.
Before adding ‘how to’ schema to your pages and posts, it’s important to understand Google’s content guidelines.
Firstly, you can’t use the ‘how to’ schema for advertising purposes or include any content that’s obscene, explicit, or violent. You also shouldn’t add ‘how to’ schema to any content that promotes dangerous or illegal activities.
You can only use ‘how to’ schema once per page, and all the content in your schema markup must also be visible on that page. This means you can’t type out unique instructions or add images that don’t appear in the actual ‘how to’ guide.
Finally, you can’t use the ‘how to’ schema for recipes. For this type of content, you will get much better results by using the SEO-friendly recipe schema.
The easiest way to add ‘how to’ schema in WordPress is with All in One SEO (AIOSEO). It’s the best SEO plugin for WordPress, used by over 3 million sites.
AIOSEO allows you to add a growing number of schema types to your pages, posts, custom post types, categories, tags, custom taxonomies, and more. This can help search engines understand your content and increase your chances of getting rich snippets.
The first thing you need to do is install and activate AIOSEO. For more details, see our guide on how to install a plugin in WordPress.
Note: There is a free version of AIOSEO that allows you to optimize your site no matter what your budget is. However, you will need the premium version to add ‘how to’ schema in WordPress.
Upon activation, the plugin will run a setup wizard, so simply follow the onscreen instructions. If you need more detailed instructions, then you can see our guide on how to properly set up All in One SEO for WordPress.
Once you have completed the setup wizard, AIOSEO will take you back to the WordPress dashboard. Now that All in One SEO is installed and activated, simply open the page, post, custom post type, or any other content where you want to add the ‘how to’ schema.
After that, scroll to the bottom of the WordPress content editor, where you will see a new ‘AIOSEO Settings’ section.
Go ahead and click on the ‘Schema’ tab.
Here, you will see the schema settings are enabled by default.
To add the ‘how to’ schema, just click on the ‘Generate Schema’ button.
This will open AIOSEO’s Schema Catalog, where you can choose from a wide range of different schema types. For example, you can add FAQ schema in WordPress, add GTIN, ISBN, and MPN schema, and more.
Here, simply find the ‘how to’ option and click on its ‘Add Schema’ button.
This opens a window where you can type in all the information you want to use in the schema.
By default, AIOSEO adds a ‘Post Title’ smart tag to the ‘Title’ field. AIOSEO automatically replaces all its smart tags with real values, so you can create unique markup without having to manually type in all the information you want to use.
If you want to use a different title, then simply delete the ‘Post Title’ smart tag. You can then type in the information you would like to use instead.
Next, you will need to add a description. Search engines like Google typically show the description below the post title and above the list of steps, so it’s a great way to introduce the guide to potential readers.
You can either type this information into the ‘Description’ box or click on any smart tag you want to use. To see the full list of smart tags, click the ‘View all tags’ link.
If the reader needs any specialist equipment or resources to complete the guide, then you should type them into the ‘Supplies’ field.
After each item, press the ‘Enter’ key on your keyboard to add it to the schema.
Similarly, if the reader needs any specialist tools, then just type these into the ‘Tools’ section.
With that done, you can specify how long it will take readers to complete the ‘how to’ guide. Simply type the correct numbers into the fields marked ‘Days’, ‘Hours’, and ‘Minutes’.
Sometimes, you may want to show the finished result. For example, if you are writing about how to create an email newsletter, then you might show a professionally-designed newsletter. If readers like what they see, then they are more likely to visit your website.
Unlike other images that must be unique, you can reuse this image in the final step of your ‘how to’ schema. However, as always, the image must appear somewhere on the page or post.
Simply click on the ‘Upload or select image’ button and then choose an image from the WordPress media library.
Sometimes, readers will need to spend money to complete a ‘how to’ guide. For example, if you are writing a post about how to start a WordPress blog, then readers will need to buy WordPress hosting.
In this case, simply type the total cost into the ‘Price’ field and select the currency.
With that done, you are ready to add each step to the ‘how to’ schema.
According to Google’s guidelines, each step must only include the information readers need to complete that step. With that in mind, you shouldn’t include any non-step data, such as an introduction section or a list of related posts.
To start, type in a title for the step and enter the instructions into the ‘Description’ section.
Have you added anchor links in WordPress? For example, you might help readers find their way around the page by creating a table of contents where each step is an anchor link.
If this is the case, then you can add the step’s anchor link to the ‘URL’ field.
You may also want to add an image that represents this step. This image must be unique and be visible on the page or post.
According to Google’s guidelines, you should never use images that don’t reflect the step’s content or use the same image for multiple steps.
When you are happy with how the first step is set up, just click on the ‘Add Another Step’ button.
This creates a section where you can add a title and description, plus an optional anchor link and image. Simply repeat this process to add all the steps to your ‘how to’ schema.
When you are happy with how the schema is set up, go ahead and click on the ‘Add Schema’ button.
You can now go ahead and publish or update the page to make the schema live on your WordPress website.
If you want to test whether your ‘how to’ schema markup is working correctly, then scroll down to our section on how to test your WordPress ‘how to’ schema.
If you publish lots of ‘how to’ guides, then you might create your own schema template. You can then apply this template to any page, post, custom taxonomy, custom post type, or other content with the click of a button.
Schema templates tend to work best when you use smart tags. For example, tags can add the post’s title, excerpt, author, publication date, and other content automatically. In this way, you can create unique schema without having to manually type in all the information.
Sometimes, you may even use the same tools, pricing, currency, or other information on all your posts.
For example, if you run a photography blog, then you might always recommend that readers use your favorite camera model or lens. By typing this information into the template’s ‘Tools’ field, AIOSEO will automatically apply this schema to your content, which saves you even more time.
Even better, you can override these default settings every time you use the template, so you can still customize the template for individual pages.
To create a reusable template, you need to open any page or post and then click on the ‘Generate Schema’ button.
In the popup that appears, click on the button next to ‘How to’.
This takes you to a screen where you can build the template. By default, AIOSEO will use the post’s title as the name.
To change this, simply delete the ‘Post Title’ tag and then click on ‘View all tags.’
You can now choose any tag from the dropdown menu.
You can also use a combination of plain text and tags or multiple tags.
For example, you might use ‘Post Title’ and ‘Post Date.’ AIOSEO will then replace these tags with real values every time you use the template.
When you are happy with how the title is set up, you can add a description.
Often, it makes sense to use the ‘Excerpt’ tag so that AIOSEO will use the WordPress post’s excerpt. However, you can use any smart tags you want or even type plain text into the ‘Description’ field.
With that done, you may want to add some plain text to the other fields. For example, there may be some tools and supplies that you use in all your ‘how to’ guides.
Using WPBeginner as an example, it might make sense to add a domain name or Bluehost WordPress hosting to the ‘Tools’ field since most of our ‘how to’ guides require a domain and web hosting.
Remember, you can override these settings each time you use the template.
After typing in any extra information you want to use, it’s time to go ahead and create the template. Simply click on the ‘Save Schema as Template’ button.
You can now type in a title for the schema template. This is just for your reference, so you can use anything that helps you identify the template in your WordPress dashboard.
With that done, click on the ‘Save Template’ button.
To apply the template to your content, simply click on the ‘Generate Schema’ button to open the schema catalog as normal.
Then, click on the ‘Your Templates’ tab.
You will now see the template you created earlier.
If you want to apply the template without making any changes, then click on its ‘+’ button.
However, we recommend customizing the template as it typically creates more SEO-friendly schema. This can improve your WordPress SEO and help you get valuable rich snippets in the search engine results.
To do this, simply click on the ‘pencil’ icon.
You can now make changes or type in any extra information you want to use for this specific ‘how to’ guide.
With that done, click on ‘Add Schema’.
Simply repeat these steps to use the same template anywhere on your online store, website, or WordPress blog.
Since the ‘how to’ schema doesn’t appear on your website, you will need to test it using a free Google tool.
To check that the schema is formatted correctly, head over to Google’s Rich Results Test page. Here, simply type in the URL where you added the ‘how to’ schema and then click on ‘Test URL.’
Google will now analyze your page for all kinds of schema markup. With that in mind, you may see multiple results if the page uses other kinds of schema, such as local business schema and FAQ schema.
Once the test is complete, click on the section marked ‘How to’.
You should now see all the information you added to this page or post. If this data is correct, then your ‘how to’ schema is working perfectly.
If the information is wrong or it’s formatted incorrectly, then you will need to open that page or post in the WordPress content editor. Then, scroll to the AIOSEO Settings and select the ‘Schema’ tab.
Here, find the ‘how to’ schema you added earlier and click on its pencil icon.
You can then edit the schema by following the same process described above.
When you are happy with the changes you have made, just click on ‘Update Schema.’
You can now re-test the URL using Google’s Rich Results Test page.
If you are still seeing the wrong information, then try clearing your WordPress cache because caching plugins may show an outdated version of your content to Google.
We hope this article helped you learn how to add ‘how to’ schema in WordPress. You may also want to check out our guide on how to make money online blogging with WordPress or see our expert pick of the best SEO plugins and tools that you should use.
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 Properly Add SEO-Friendly ‘How to’ Schema in WordPress first appeared on WPBeginner.
Master WooCommerce shortcodes to customize your e-commerce site effectively. Understand their types, usage, and benefits. Turn complexity into simplicity.
The post “Discovering the Power of WooCommerce Shortcodes” first appeared on WP Mayor.