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Tag: wordpress

  • WordPress 6.3 Will Introduce A Command Palette

    Last week Gutenberg contributors were engaged in a spirited debate regarding a proposal to rename the new Command Center to Wayfinder. The feature, designed to be an extensible quick search and command execution tool, will land in WordPress 6.3.

    The majority of participants in the discussion were strongly against calling it Wayfinder, as the term doesn’t translate well, nor does it make the feature’s benefits easy to understand. Wayfinder was proposed as a unique name that “has the potential to evoke a sense of curiosity, exploration, and discovery.” There were several attempts to wrap up the discussion with notes on alternatives even when it was apparent that the general consensus was unequivocally not in favor of the term Wayfinder.

    Automattic-sponsored Gutenberg contributor Anne McCarthy commented on the issue with the decision, which she said was reached after consulting project leadership and reading through the comments:

    Let’s move forward with Command Palette.

    Reasoning: easier to translate, consistent across other tooling outside of WordPress, matches current functionality, eases discoverability/understanding of value, and leans generic which matches the concerns raised here.

    Ultimately, we can always discuss renaming if the feature reaches a point of evolution outside of this initial name. As raised above, that would be more worth risking a unique name for than something that exists in other products and that ultimately we want people to quickly understand/find value in. Plus if we hold off on that name for the future, it can create a nice marketing push for something truly unique when/if the time comes. If folks have additional specific concerns around this naming, please speak up sooner rather than later.

    McCarthy also requested other contributors ensure the re-naming is updated throughout the interface for the upcoming release.

    This was an important decision that needed to be made ahead of WordPress 6.3 Beta 1, which was supposed to be released today but was delayed to Wednesday, June 28, due to an unrelated issue. The Command Palette will likely be introduced in blog posts, the 6.3 About page, and countless third-party resources so the proposal urgently needed a conclusion.

    It’s also to the team’s credit that they didn’t force a fancy marketing name and instead landed on the side of the majority of contributors who were in favor of using clear language. The API for the Command Palette is now public and ready for developers to create their own custom commands. Using a term that is easy to understand and translate will engender more global community buy-in, as 52% of WordPress users run the software in a language other than English.

  • Reusable Blocks Renamed to Patterns with Synced and Non-Synced Options

    There has always been some confusion and overlap between reusable blocks and patterns. The difference was that reusable blocks can be created and edited in the block editor and then reused in other places – inserted into posts or pages. Block patterns, once inserted, can be edited and are not synced. They give users the ability to apply the same layout to different posts and pages.

    Reusable blocks have now been renamed to patterns, with the option to be synced, which offers the same functionality as the former reusable blocks where all instances can be updated at once. Non-synced patterns are just regular patterns – those that can be edited independently of other other instances that have been inserted. These updates are coming in Gutenberg 16.1 and will be included in the upcoming WordPress 6.3 release.

    WordPress contributor Aki Hamano posted a diagram to Twitter regarding the renaming, which was confirmed as an accurate representation of the changes.

    “Clients already find the pattern and reusable block concept very difficult to grasp,” WordPress developer Mark Howells-Mead commented on the pull request for the renaming. “This change will make things much harder for regular users to comprehend.”

    Gutenberg contributor Paal Joachim Romdahl commented that it would be helpful to have more time to test this in a few versions of the Gutenberg plugin, as WordPress 6.3 beta 1 is expected this week. Learning materials and documentation will need to be updated with very little notice.

    Gutenberg contributor Daniel Richards encouraged contributors to see the change as part of “the great unification,” an effort towards consolidating the many different block types into a single concept and streamlining the content and site editors.

    “In the future it might also be possible for template parts to be considered ‘synced patterns’, and at that point things become much more streamlined and there are far fewer concepts for users to grasp,” Gutenberg contributor Daniel Richards said.

    “So the hope is that this is a first step on the path to making things easier for users, rather than more difficult. But I do realize that for existing users it’s quite a shift.”

    As part of this effort, WordPress 6.3 will also introduce pattern creation in the block editor using the same interface that it previously used for reusable blocks. Pattern creation necessitates having a place for users to view and manage their patterns. WordPress 6.3 will also include a first pass at a Pattern Library inside the Site Editor, which will include both patterns and template parts. Gutenberg designers shared a preview of what this would look like a couple weeks ago:

    image credit: WordPress Design Share June 5-16

    The Potential of Partially Synced Patterns

    In May, contributors began a discussion about the concept of partially synced patterns, which Daniel Richards summarized:

    Today, when you insert a pattern, the blocks from that pattern are completely decoupled and standalone. There’s no way to tell that those blocks originated from a pattern, especially since they can be edited to no longer resemble the source pattern.

    Partially synced mode is different. When a pattern that’s partially synced is inserted, it retains a reference to the source pattern. The blocks within the pattern are locked so that they cannot be removed or reordered and new blocks cannot be inserted (this is called contentOnly locking). Only specific parts of the pattern considered ‘content’ can be edited (denoted by adding __experimentalRole: 'content' to a block’s definition).

    When the source pattern is updated, all instances of blocks that reference the source pattern are updated too (much like a reusable block), but the content values the user entered are retained. The best way to think of this is that the user can update the design of a pattern, but doesn’t lose content that exists in templates and posts.

    This concept will not make it into the upcoming version of WordPress, as contributors are still discussing one of many complex implementations, but it offers a glimpse of what might be more granular control coming to patterns in the future. Partially synced patterns would bring distinct benefits to many CMS and content design use cases where clients may be editing content.

    “I am a site developer for an agency, and am actively making sites for clients using Gutenberg every day,” Eric Michel said. “Probably our biggest pain point right now is that the editor does not handle types of content that are mostly standardized with small content customizations per post – things like contact directories, majors at a university, products in a catalog.

    “For us, the absolute dream scenario is what you are proposing, except with the inclusion of the ability to alter the primary template and have all of the pages that use that template automatically change as well.”

    The discussion on making partially synced patterns possible continues in search of an implementation that will ensure users don’t modify the patterns in ways that destroy the ability to display the retained content. WordPress 6.3 will ship with synced and non-synced pattern options, and partially synced patterns may land further down the road in a future release.

  • WPGetAPI Review: Connect WordPress to APIs

    WPGetAPI offers a code-free way to connect your WordPress site to unlimited external REST API’s. You can fetch data and display it on your site or pass data from your site to the API. Learn more in our full WPGetAPI review.

    The post “WPGetAPI Review: Connect WordPress to APIs” first appeared on WP Mayor.

  • How to Choose Your WordPress Hosting in 2023 (Complete Guide)

    When choosing a WordPress hosting provider, there are many things to consider, including speed, security, support, pricing, and hosting type. Your needs will vary depending on your business type, so it’s important to understand the differences. In this post, we’ll walk you through the steps to take in making your decision, the options available, and our recommendations for hosting partners based on type.

    Let’s dive in.

    What is WordPress Hosting?

    What is WordPress hosting

    WordPress hosting is a type of hosting that specializes in the WordPress content management system (CMS). It typically provides the server setup and resources required to run WordPress efficiently. The best WordPress hosting companies offer features such as automatic updates, excellent security, and optimized performance. WordPress hosts provide either cPanel or a proprietary admin dashboard to make managing websites and their settings user-friendly and intuitive. There are several types, including shared, managed, VPS, cloud, and others, which we’ll explore later in this post.

    Factors to Consider When Choosing WordPress Hosting

    When in the market for a WordPress host, there are a few things you need to consider, including how fast your site will load, the security measure in place, how easy it is to scale, the level of support you can expect, the learning curve, and most importantly, how much it will cost you. Let’s look at what you should think about when purchasing a new WordPress hosting plan.

    Speed and Performance

    In short, a fast website keeps your customers and Google happy. With much of Google’s core web vitals focused on performance, choosing a hosting provider that prioritizes speed is essential. Look for hosts that offer features such as object caching, a free CDN, support for the latest versions of MySQL and PHP, and other speed-boosting features that will help your site rank higher in the search engine ranking pages (SERPs).

    Security Features

    When researching hosting partners, ensure that they offer things like free SSL certificates, web application firewalls (WAF), malware scanning, distributed denial of service (DDoS) protection, and the ability to back up and restore your site. Having good security measures in place keeps your website safe from nefarious actors, such as hackers, that would love nothing more than to gain control of your website.

    Scalability

    When choosing a hosting partner, consider the big picture rather than where you are right now. While your business is new, selecting the cheapest hosting provider you can find might be tempting, but it’s important to plan for future growth by ensuring your WordPress site is scalable. Choose a host that can easily alter your plan as your business grows. That way, you’ll avoid costly downtime or potential issues when transferring your site to another host.

    Ease of Use

    Whether you’re new to WordPress or a seasoned professional, finding a host with an intuitive dashboard is important. Most WordPress hosts offer cPanel or something similar to navigate the server’s settings. For example, SiteGround uses a proprietary Site Tools dashboard that allows you to access the file manager, manage FTP accounts, access MySQL and phpMyAdmin, and more. Regardless of the host you choose, research how you’ll manage your server’s settings to ensure you can navigate server-related tasks easily.

    Customer Support

    Server-related issues are one of the most frustrating aspects of being a site owner. When looking for your next hosting provider, evaluate the type of support they have. Pick hosts that offer round-the-clock assistance because you never know what time of day your site will experience a problem. Also, look for multiple ways to contact the host, whether live chat, phone, email, or a combination of all three. Good customer support can provide peace of mind knowing that help is there when needed.

    Pricing

    When researching hosting companies, weigh the features they provide and compare them with the cost. Ultimately, you want to find a hosting provider that balances features and value for your budget. This way, you can ensure you’re getting the most bang for your buck and making a wise investment for the future of your WordPress website.

    What Types of WordPress Hosting Are There?

    There are several different types of WordPress hosting, each with its features and benefits. The most common types are shared, managed, dedicated, VPS, cloud, and reseller hosting. We’ll explain each type and who they are best suited for.

    Shared WordPress Hosting

    The most affordable option for WordPress hosting is shared. Its name is based on the idea of a shared server that is divided into sections, then distributed amongst multiple clients. In addition to sharing server space, those with shared hosting also divide up server resources, such as ram, bandwidth, and disk space, which can result in less-than-stellar performance. One benefit of shared hosting is the ability to take a more hands-off approach. As a shared hosting customer, you won’t have to worry about maintaining the server’s security or updates. The downside is that shared hosting is slower, making it suited for those who have small informational websites or blogs.

    Managed WordPress Hosting

    For those looking for a more hands-off approach, managed WordPress hosting is an excellent solution. While all hosting types can be managed or unmanaged, a managed hosting provider handles all the heavy lifting, such as server security patches, maintenance, and updates. They also implement specialized server settings to enhance your WordPress website’s speed and performance.

    Managed hosting is great for site owners who want the best for their sites but lack the time or expertise to maintain them personally. However, there is a trade-off with managed hosting: the freedom to choose plugins may be limited, as managed providers often have a list of disallowed plugins. That said, these restrictions are usually in place because the host offers settings to control caching, image compression, and other performance-enhancing features.

    Dedicated WordPress Hosting

    This type of WordPress hosting is designed for larger sites, big web agencies, or freelancers who want a server they plan to maintain themselves. Dedicated hosting allows you to lease an entire server with dedicated resources exclusively for your websites. The main benefit of it is not having to share your server’s resources with other clients. You’ll generally get the highest-performing server with excellent security features. Still, you’ll be responsible for troubleshooting any errors that arise. We should also note that dedicated hosting is much more expensive than other types, such as shared, VPS, or managed.

    VPS WordPress Hosting

    VPS hosting is similar to shared hosting in that you share a server with other customers. That said, there are quite a few differences. With VPS, you share physical hardware with others but have your own resources, such as RAM, storage, and bandwidth. This gives you a server environment that functions more like a dedicated server. Because of this, you benefit from a private server without the added cost of dedicated hosting.

    Cloud WordPress Hosting

    With cloud hosting, multiple servers are utilized to distribute resources, resulting in much faster delivery of your site’s content to visitors. Because of this unique setup, websites hosted in the cloud have access to almost unlimited resources offering faster speeds, a platform that is easily scalable, and superior reliability than other hosting types. Cloud hosting providers often provide excellent uptime thanks to automatic failover protection, which allows your site’s files to be quickly swapped to a different server in case of a hardware failure.

    Reseller WordPress Hosting

    The last type of WordPress hosting is reseller hosting. Similar to dedicated hosting, reseller hosting allows you to lease an entire server (or a portion of one), then rent it out in pieces to your clients. You can usually white-label WordPress so it appears as a customized hosting plan offered by your company, rather than the company you purchase from. Additionally, it’s not uncommon for a managed hosting provider to offer reseller hosting, reducing the time you’ll need to spend maintaining client websites.

    WordPress Hosting Recommendations

    We realize that choosing a WordPress hosting provider can be a huge undertaking. That said, now that your brain is full of WordPress hosting knowledge, we have compiled an excellent option for each type of hosting. Whether you’re content with a shared budget option or a more robust dedicated solution, these hosting providers are at the top of their game.

    Best Managed WordPress Hosting: SiteGround

    best managed WordPress hosting

    SiteGround is widely known as being the best managed WordPress hosting provider you can get. With all of their features, it’s easy to see why. You’ll get a huge speed bump thanks to a cloud-based infrastructure, free website migrations, an SSL certificate, CDN, email, WP-CLI, SSH, and FTP access, excellent caching capabilities through the SG Optimizer plugin, and more.

    Key Features of SiteGround:

    • 10 GB storage
    • Free SSL, CDN, email, backups, and migration
    • 10,000 monthly visits
    • Unmetered traffic

    As previously mentioned, the site tools dashboard is packed full of features for managing your hosting plan. You can easily monitor your site’s traffic statistics, bandwidth, and disk space, access security features such as backups, SSL certificates, and a site scanner, make speed enhancements through caching and Cloudflare CDN, and more.

    Best For:

    SiteGround is an excellent choice for those looking for a stellar managed WordPress host. Customer support is stellar, the site tools dashboard is feature-rich, and the Google Cloud backbone provides lightning-fast speeds.

    If you’d like to learn more about SiteGround, check out our comprehensive review.

    Pricing: $14.95 per month.

    Get SiteGround

    Best Shared WordPress Hosting: Bluehost

    Bluehost best shared wordpress hosting

    If you are most concerned with finding a good budget hosting provider, then check out Bluehost. As one of the three hosting providers recommended by WordPress, Bluehost has plenty of bang for your buck. Even their most basic plan comes standard with freebies like a domain for one year, an SSL, CDN, and at least 10 GB of solid state drive (SSD) storage.

    Key Features of Bluehost:

    • Free domain for 1 year
    • 10GB SSD storage
    • Free CDN and SSL
    • Unmetered bandwidth
    • Free WordPress themes

    One of the best things about Bluehost is the dashboard. All tools are clearly marked, so they are easy to find. Additionally, there are a few attractive features for new business owners, such as free email accounts, marketing tools, and plenty of add-ons to upgrade your plan should the need arise.

    Best For:

    While Bluehost is a good budget host, there are some drawbacks. You must sign up for a one-year plan to take advantage of that low price. If you already have a website, you’ll need to migrate it yourself or employ Bluehost to do it for you. If that isn’t a dealbreaker for you, Bluehost might be a good fit.

    If you’d like to learn more about Bluehost, read our in-depth review.

    Pricing: $35.40 for one year of hosting.

    Get Bluehost

    Best Dedicated WordPress Hosting: DreamHost

    DreamHost dedicated hosting

    When considering dedicated WordPress hosting, you’ll find an excellent solution with DreamHost. You have the freedom to choose each aspect of your server, from the hard drive, down to what type of CPU you want. DreamHost offers a 100% uptime guarantee, excellent technical support, and the ability to configure your server however you’d like.

    Key Features of DreamHost:

    • DDoS protection
    • Reseller hosting available
    • 100% uptime guarantee
    • At least 1 TB of storage

    The best feature of DreamHost is the ability to set up your server by specifying how many CPU cores, storage, and memory you need, giving you the ultimate freedom to build a plan that meets your specific needs. All plans have a free dedicated IP address, full root and shell access (SSH), DDoS protection, and 24/7/365 expert-level support.

    Best For:

    Developers or tech-savvy business owners will love DreamHost for their affordable, dedicated hosting plans. You can white-label WordPress if you want to sell off pieces of your server to start a web hosting business and have a lightning-fast environment that ensures your websites will be fast, reliable, and make money in no time.

    Pricing: $149 per month (billed annually), or $169 per month without contract requirements.

    Get DreamHost

    Best VPS WordPress Hosting: Hostinger

    Hostinger WordPress VPS hosting

    We rated DreamHost as our top pick for VPS hosting, but Hostinger is a strong second because of its unbelievably low pricing and features. Plans start at an incredible $8.99 per month and come standard with at least 2 GB of RAM, 40 GB of SSD storage, and 2 TB of bandwidth, giving you plenty of bang for your buck.

    Key Features of Hostinger:

    • Dedicated IP address
    • Weekly backups
    • AI-powered firewall
    • Choose from CentOS, Ubuntu, or Debian OS

    With every VPS plan, you’ll get excellent features like weekly backups, a strong 100mb/s network, IP4V & IPV6 support, and a dedicated IP address. They also offer an AI-powered firewall that constantly scans network traffic to instantly identify and block any shenanigans. Additionally, a nice snapshot feature can be used to restore your site to a specific point should disaster strike. Besides those maintenance features, you’re on your own, so keep that in mind if you partner with Hostinger.

    Best For:

    Like a dedicated hosting plan, Hostinger VPS plans require at least some server maintenance knowledge because you’ll be responsible for important updates and security patches. Because of this, Hostinger is ideally suited for developers or site owners who know their way around a WordPress server and aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty. If you get in a pinch, their customer support can happily solve any issue.

    Pricing: $8.99 per month.

    Get Hostinger

    Best Cloud WordPress Hosting: Pressable

    best WordPress cloud hosting

    Pressable is an excellent option for cloud WordPress hosting, thanks to a simple interface and features such as automatic WordPress and plugin updates, free migrations, and staging. Pressable’s most notable feature is its blazing-fast cloud infrastructure, perfectly optimized for WordPress. This should be no surprise because Pressable was created by the same folks who made WordPress – Automattic.

    Key Features of Pressable:

    • Expert level support
    • Automatic failover system
    • 20 GB storage
    • 30,000 monthly visitors

    Another notable feature of Pressable is its advanced security features, which include staples such as automatic malware scanning and removal, DDoS attack protection, a proprietary firewall, and an automatic failover system. With features like this, you can rest assured your site is safe and sound.

    Best For:

    Pressable cloud hosting is the perfect solution for balancing speed, support, and features. You’ll get a lightning-fast website with superior security features at an attractive price. Plus, there’s room for growth. Should you need to update your plan, you can easily do so with Pressable’s one-click plan upgrade feature that allocates more resources without downtime.

    Do you want to learn more about Pressable? Check out our hands-on overview.

    Pricing: $25 per month.

    Get Pressable

    Best Reseller WordPress Hosting: LiquidWeb

    best wordpress reseller hosting - liquidweb

    LiquidWeb is one of the best options for reseller hosting providers. However, they offer a unique approach compared to other reseller hosting providers. With LiquidWeb, you must first sign up for a hosting plan, then apply to be a part of their reseller program. Don’t let that deter you, though, as it’s been our experience that process takes little time.

    Key Features of LiquidWeb:

    • Choose between VPS and dedicated hosting plans
    • 250 GB of Acronis backups
    • Automate customer billing
    • Unlimited websites

    Perhaps the most useful feature of LiquidWeb’s reseller program is the WHMCS license that allows you to create custom hosting packages, services, and add-ons that you can brand, then sell to your customers. Additionally, a built-in invoicing system allows you to easily keep up with client invoices, payments, and renewals.

    Best For:

    LiquidWeb offers affordable solutions for reseller hosting plans, so it appeals to a large demographic. Whether you’re a small business owner, web agency, or freelancer looking to build a lucrative side hustle, LiquidWeb is an excellent choice for any budget.

    Pricing: $99 per month.

    Get LiquidWeb

    Final Thoughts on Choosing the Right WordPress Hosting

    Finding the best WordPress hosting platform for your business doesn’t have to be scary. Sure, there are many options out there, but when armed with the right information, you can make an informed decision about what’s best for your specific situation. In this post, we’ve given you all the tools you need to make a confident decision. If you’re still on the fence, opt for an excellent host such as SiteGround. You’ll likely find what you need with their shared, managed, cloud, and reseller offerings.

    Now that you’re up to speed on how to choose a WordPress host, you can start shopping for one. Check out some of our hosting reviews to research the best provider to use in WordPress:

    Featured Image via ranjith ravindran / Shutterstock.com

    The post How to Choose Your WordPress Hosting in 2023 (Complete Guide) appeared first on Elegant Themes Blog.

  • How to Host Your WordPress Website Locally in 2023 (Tutorial)

    WordPress is one of the world’s most popular content management systems (CMS), powering close to 43% of the internet. As a web developer, there are times when you prefer to host WordPress locally. In this post, we’ll explain local hosting and its benefits and provide a few ways to do it. Let’s dive in.

    What is Local Hosting?

    Local hosting, often referred to as local development, is the process of creating a web server on your computer to build, test, and experiment with websites before hosting them on the internet. Local hosting is a great way to test your website’s design, functionality, and performance without needing a live connection.

    Let’s break down the requirements before we get into the programs you can use to host your WordPress websites locally.

    • A computer running either Windows, Linux, or MacOS
    • A web browser
    • Web server software
    • A text editor for writing code
    • A stable internet connection (for pushing your site live)

    What Are the Benefits of Hosting WordPress Locally?

    There are several reasons why you should host WordPress locally. It allows beginners to learn how WordPress works and how to develop websites without pressure. New users won’t have to worry about breaking a live website or paying for a hosting provider. Additionally, it allows developers to test a website before pushing it live. You can try out different themes and plugins, explore adding custom code and other functionalities, and determine how they affect your website’s performance.

    4 Ways to Install WordPress Locally

    There are multiple ways to install WordPress locally. The method you choose depends on the type of operating system you’re using and, in some cases, which host you plan to push your local sites to when they are ready to be deployed. Let’s walk through the methods you can use to install WordPress locally, so you can decide which way is best for your unique situation.

    Installing WordPress on Windows with WampServer

    host wordpress locally with WampServer

    WampServer is a software for Windows that allows you to set up a local environment for WordPress. It integrates Apache, MySQL, and PHP on a Windows computer, so you can create and test web applications locally before pushing them live. The setup process is quite easy, only taking a few minutes. If you’d like to learn more about WampServer and how to install it, check out our post on how to install WordPress.

    Installing WordPress on MacOS with MAMP

    host wordpress locally with MAMP

    If you’re an Apple user, MAMP is an excellent choice for building WordPress websites locally. You can add as many sites as you like, personalize its settings to suit your needs, and connect MAMP to your remote host to push your sites live easily. We won’t go into depth on how to configure MAMP’s settings here, as we have the ultimate guide to MAMP Pro for WordPress users on our blog.

    Using Local by Flywheel

    host wordpress locally with Local by Flywheel

    Another way to set up a local server for WordPress is by using a program provided by your hosting provider. One such program is Local by Flywheel. It easily allows you to set up a local environment and then effortlessly push your site live to Flywheel or WP Engine.

    If you’re a Flywheel or WP Engine customer, Local is a no-brainer. It allows you to add as many sites as you wish and provides a straightforward route to installing WordPress locally. To learn more about how Local works and how to install it, check out our post Local by Flywheel: An Excellent Tools for Local WordPress Development.

    Installing WordPress Locally with XAMPP

    host wordpress locally with XAMPP

    XAMPP is an open-source software platform that allows users to set up a local server environment. XAMPP, which is short for cross-platform (X), Apache (A), MySQL(M), PHP (P), and Perl (P), is available on Windows, MacOS, and Linux operating systems. It’s an incredible tool for developers to test websites or applications before deploying them to a live server. It’s easy to install and configure, allowing developers to mimic a server environment in a few minutes.

    This guide will walk you through the steps to install XAMPP on your machine and configure its settings. Let’s get started.

    Step 1: Downloading the Software

    To download XAMPP, navigate to the Apache Friends website and select the appropriate version for your operating system. You can choose between Windows, Linux, or MacOS. For this tutorial, we’ll be using the MacOS version. Once downloaded, run the application installer.

    Download XAMPP

    MacOS has a safety feature that prohibits software from unverified developers from being downloaded and installed. If you get this notification, press and hold the option button on your Mac to reveal the options window. From there, click open. This will override Apple’s security settings and allow you to install the software.

    Step 2: Download WordPress and Add it to XAMPP

    The next step is to download WordPress. Click the download WordPress 6.2.2 button to download WP to your computer.

    download WordPress

    Next, we need to add WP to XAMPP. To do this, click the open application folder button on the XAMPP welcome screen.

    open application folder

    When the folder opens, double-click the htdocs folder to open it.

    htdocs

    Then, you’ll right-click within the htdocs folder and click new folder to add a home for your WordPress files. Right-click on your new folder to rename it, then double-click to open it.

    install WordPress locally

    Finally, locate the WordPress zip file you downloaded from the WP repository. Double-click to unzip it, then drag the contents of the WordPress folder into the new folder you created within htdocs.

    drag files into hotdogs

    Step 3: Configuring the Settings

    Now that you have the WordPress files where they need to go, you’ll need to configure the settings for it to work. Navigate to xampp/htdocs/your WordPress folder, then locate the wp-config-sample.php file. Right-click on it, then click open. This will allow you to open and edit the file with your favorite text editor.

    edit wp config

    In the PHP file, locate the line that begins with // ** Database settings. Next, we’ll need to enter a database name on this line:

    define( 'DB_NAME', 'xx' );

    Swap xx with the database name of your choice. Write it down and keep it safe because you’ll need it in the next step. Next, we’ll need to specify a username and password for our database. Specify root for the database username. As for the password, you can leave it blank. Now, your wp-config file should look like this:

    define( 'DB_NAME', 'your-DB-name' );

/** Database username **/
define( 'DB_USER', 'root' );

/** Database password **/
define( 'DB_PASSWORD', '');

    edit wp-config

    Save the file and close it. Next, right-click on the wp-config-sample.php file to rename it wp-config.php.

    rename wp-config

    Step 4: Launching the Control Panel

    The next step is to start the XAMPP server. Start with opening XAMPP. Click the manage servers tab, then click Start to launch your server.

    start XAMPP servers

    Open your browser, type localhost/phpmyadmin into the search, then press enter. This will bring up the pmpMyAdmin panel so that we can create a database for our WordPress site.

    Step 5: Creating the Database

    Using the database name from the wp-config.php file in step 3, click on Databases in phpmyAdmin. Next, under the Create database header, type in your database name from the previous steps and click create. After creating your database, look for it in the database list.

    create database

    Step 6: Configuring WordPress

    The final step to host WordPress locally is to configure the WordPress settings. Type localhost/yourwebsite in your browser. Be sure to change yourwebsite to whatever you named your WordPress folder in htdocs. When the page loads, you’ll see the WordPress configuration screen. Give your site a title, create a username and password, add your email, tick the search engine visibility checkbox, and then click Install WordPress. Note your username and password; you’ll need it to log in to WordPress.

    Configure WordPress

    Finally, you can log in to your site by navigating to localhost/yourwebsite/wp-admin. That’s it! You’ve successfully installed WordPress on your local machine.

    Want to Host Your Website Online? Here Are Our Top Picks

    As previously mentioned, hosting WordPress locally is a great way to build your new site in a private environment. Eventually, you must push your site live to a web host. If you are looking for a new host, read on because we have a few recommendations.

    1. SiteGround

    SiteGround best WordPress hosting

    When we recommend hosting providers, SiteGround is usually at the top of our list. This is primarily due to the extensive security features that they offer, including daily backups, a free SSL certificate, and a web application firewall (WAF). Additionally, SiteGround’s servers are optimized for WordPress, resulting in lightning-fast loading times and improved web performance due to their cloud infrastructure. Because of this speedy setup, SiteGround is the fastest WordPress hosting company you can get.

    Key Features of SiteGround:

    • Free site migration, CDN, email, and SSL
    • Daily backups
    • Optimized for WordPress
    • 30-day money-back guarantee
    • Enhanced security features

    Another thing that makes SiteGround shine is its customer support. It offers a convenient 24-hour, 7-day-a-week live chat feature and a knowledgeable support staff that can easily solve any problem. Plus, SiteGround is one of the most affordable solutions on the market. Their plans start at $14.99 per month but usually are offered at a steep discount for your first month.

    Best For:

    Overall, SiteGround is one of the best WordPress hosting platforms out there. They are suited for beginners, small businesses, and large agencies due to the different plans they offer. If you’re looking for a fast, reliable host to partner with, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better option.

    Pricing: Starting at $14.99 per month.

    Get SiteGround

    2. WP Engine

    wpengine hosting

    Another excellent option is WP Engine. Those hosting their websites locally through Local by Flywheel software can easily push their site live to WP Engine with one click. This is an excellent feature for those looking to build their websites behind closed doors before revealing them to the world. Some stellar features of WP Engine are its speed boost through cloud hosting, EverCache, a proprietary CDN, a staging environment for making large changes to your sites, and free migration.

    Key Features of WP Engine:

    • Free migration, SSL, staging, and CDN
    • Automatic WP and PHP updates
    • 60-day money-back guarantee
    • 10 Free WordPress themes

    WP Engine has features to make hosting your WordPress website a dream. Security is a non-issue thanks to a global CDN with over 200 data centers, 24/7 customer support, auto-renewing SSL, and SSH access, daily malware scans, and advanced direct denial of service (DDoS) attacks. Plus, you’ll get instant access to a wealth of site-building tools, including 10 WordPress themes built on the Genesis framework, a 1-click staging environment, and the ability to easily transfer sites in and out. This feature is useful for freelancers or agencies who build client websites and want to pass them off when finished.

    Best For:

    Combining Local by Flywheel with WP Engine is a perfect solution for those who want to build websites locally and push them live with little effort. Plus, freelancers and web agencies will love the ease with which they can transfer sites to their clients once completed. If you’re looking for a solid cloud hosting provider, then WordPress is worth a try.

    Pricing: Starting at $20 per month.

    Get WP Engine

    3. Flywheel

    Flywheel WordPress hosting

    Our last recommendation, Flywheel, is a WordPress-optimized host built on a speedy Google Cloud environment. With Flywheel, users can easily manage their WordPress sites with features such as automatic nightly backups, easy 1-click staging environments, and site cloning. They offer free SSL certificates, malware removal, and daily site scans, so you can rest assured your site will be safe for visitors. Because of these incredible features, Flywheel is one of the best managed WordPress hosting providers available.

    Key Features of Flywheel:

    Flywheel uses a blazing-fast Google Cloud infrastructure, which is constantly monitored for traffic spikes, then scales up instantly to allow maximum uptime. Combined with their custom caching solution, Flycache, your site will be one of the fastest. Flywheel’s server also employs auto-healing technology to fix itself in case of a hardware failure, giving you added peace of mind. Additionally, there’s no confusing cPanel to fool with, as Flywheel uses a custom interface, which is beginner-friendly, intuitive, and easy to navigate. They also offer the ability to white-label WordPress, which makes them one of the best reseller hosting providers out there.

    Best For:

    Flywheel is an excellent option for freelancers and small web agencies specializing in WordPress. Flywheel has perfected the hosting experience as a WordPress-only host to make green WordPress users feel right at home. With affordable pricing, a cloud infrastructure, and the ability to scale your plan with one click, you’re sites will be in good hands with Flywheel.

    Pricing: Starting at $13 per month (billed annually).

    Get Flywheel

    Final Thoughts on Hosting WordPress Locally

    Hosting your WordPress website locally is a great way to test your website before going live. You can explore different themes and plugins, learn the ins and outs of WordPress, and explore new functionalities without having to worry about breaking your live site. In this post, we’ve provided you with an easy-to-follow setup guide on different ways to host WordPress locally, so you’ll be confident to try it on your own. When you’re ready to push your site live, you can easily do so with XAMPP, WP Engine, or Flywheel.

    Want to read up on more how-to articles? Check out a few of our popular WordPress-related posts here:

    Which method do you use to host WordPress locally? Let us know in the comments section below.

    Featured Image via hasan as’ari / Shutterstock.com

    The post How to Host Your WordPress Website Locally in 2023 (Tutorial) appeared first on Elegant Themes Blog.

  • What is WordPress Hosting? A Breakdown of Different Hosting Solutions

    Website hosting is one of the most important aspects of any online business. Making the wrong choice can result in a slow website with high bounce rates and lost revenue. In this post, we’ll dig deep into the specifics of WordPress hosting, discuss the types of hosting available, and provide you with some things to look for when selecting the perfect host. But first, what is WordPress hosting? Let’s dive in.

    What is Web Hosting?

    Web hosting involves storing your website’s files and data on a server, making it accessible to users on the internet. A server is a large computer that stores and processes data for your website. When someone types your domain name into their browser, the server sends the requested files to their device, allowing them to view your site.

    What is WordPress Hosting?

    What is WordPress hosting

    WordPress hosting is a type of web hosting specifically designed for hosting WordPress websites. A good WordPress hosting plan optimizes your WordPress site to meet all speed, security, and performance requirements, with features such as caching, backups, ample storage, and adequate bandwidth. Generally, WordPress hosting plans offer easy, one-click installation for WordPress, automatic updates, scalability, and good customer support.

    Types of WordPress Hosting?

    You have several options when choosing the best hosting type for your WordPress site. Each type has advantages and disadvantages, and the best choice for you will depend on your budget, technical expertise, and website requirements. Let’s explore the different types of WordPress hosting available.

    Shared WordPress Hosting

    As the most popular and affordable solution, shared hosting is favored by new, growing, and budget-conscious businesses. However, the lower price often comes at a cost, as shared hosting involves resources (and customers) sharing the same server. The downside to shared hosting is its low performance. It can be unstable because you’re sharing a portion of a server with other people. Sometimes, peak traffic will absorb the server’s resources, causing downtime or, at the very least, reduced speeds.

    Best Cheap WordPress Hosting

    However, there are a few good, cheap WordPress hosts out there that utilize shared hosting. The important thing to consider here is that the size of your website matters. You’ll likely be fine with shared hosting if you have a 3-5 page informational website with a few hits per month. On the other hand, if you have an ecommerce or high-traffic website, it might be smarter to go with a VPS host for better performance.

    Dedicated WordPress Hosting

    Dedicated hosting works very differently from shared hosting. Instead of dividing server resources amongst multiple customers, dedicated hosting provides a dedicated machine with its own resources for your website. It eliminates the shortcomings of shared hosting, gives you a solid performance boost, and offers a much more stable environment.

    Best Dedicated WordPress Hosting

    However, there are some cons to dedicated hosting. Maintenance can be quite challenging, as with most dedicated hosting providers, you are responsible for the upkeep of your server. You’ll either need to manage things yourself or hire a professional to monitor resources, deploy updates, install security patches, protect against hackers, and more. Another con is the cost. As a general rule, dedicated hosting is much more expensive than any other type of hosting, so it’s best suited for businesses with a healthy budget.

    VPS WordPress Hosting

    Virtual private server (VPS) hosting is a compelling option for users seeking a blend of shared and dedicated hosting. With VPS hosting, users can enjoy their virtual server with dedicated resources where only the hard drive is shared. This hosting option provides administration capabilities and flexibility that resembles owning a dedicated server or at least operates similarly.

    Best WordPress VPS hosting featured image

    One notable advantage of VPS over a dedicated environment is the freedom from hardware maintenance concerns, as the hosting provider typically handles that for you. Additionally, the cost of VPS hosting providers is significantly lower than that of a dedicated plan, making it an ideal choice for businesses operating on a smaller budget, while still enjoying a superior hosting solution compared to shared hosting.

    Cloud WordPress Hosting

    WordPress Cloud hosting is a type of WordPress hosting similar to VPS hosting, except that it uses a series of virtual servers over a vast network hosted in the cloud. The main benefit of cloud hosting is that it usually allows the user to choose their ideal server location, allowing for faster delivery of your website to visitors.

    Best WordPress cloud hosting

    The best cloud hosting providers have considerable power. You can easily scale your plan to accommodate more bandwidth, storage, and RAM if needed. Providers such as Google and AWS offer their own cloud platforms, but they aren’t as beginner-friendly as other providers like Cloudways.

    Managed WordPress Hosting

    If you want fast speeds and server-side caching, you should opt for managed hosting. It offers improved hardware specifications and excellent security features, freeing your site from bugs, malware, and maintenance. Managed WordPress hosting is the improved version of shared hosting, as it offers everything shared offers, then tops it with added benefits.

    best managed wordpress hosting

    Going for a managed hosting provider can save time and effort on site and server maintenance issues and focus on other aspects of your business. It offers excellent performance and is optimized specifically for WordPress. It’s designed for small to medium-sized businesses, high-traffic blogs, and companies that want top-tier support at shared hosting prices. That said, managed hosting can still be a bit on the pricier side, so you’ll need to decide if the added cost is worth it. Plus, some managed hosting providers prohibit using some plugins, so you should research when choosing a provider to ensure it aligns with the plugins you are adamant about using.

    Things to Look For in a Hosting Provider

    When choosing a WordPress hosting plan, it’s essential to consider the features that are most important to your website’s needs. What’s most important to one business owner may be less important to another, so researching different providers and what they offer is key. Let’s look at some of the most important features you should consider when looking for a new home for your website.

    Performance

    One of the most important factors in WordPress hosting is performance. The fastest hosting providers offer to provide at least a 99.9% uptime guarantee, speed enhancements, and a content delivery network (CDN). Another factor to consider when speed is concerned is what type of server hardware is being used. For example, look for hosts that provide servers with a speed boost through LiteSpeed web server software or something similar.

    Security

    A secure hosting environment is the most important feature to consider. With hackers and other nefarious actors constantly looking for ways to infiltrate websites, scam customers, and cause problems, good security measures are essential. Look for features such as malware detection and removal, a web application firewall (WAF), bot protection, a free SSL certificate, and application isolation so you can have peace of mind knowing that your website is protected at all times.

    Scalability

    Server scalability is another factor that shouldn’t be ignored. After all, everyone wants their website’s content to go viral. Still, if you don’t have a good hosting provider that can handle the traffic, then it doesn’t matter. A solid hosting provider offers the ability to scale your server as your business grows. Providers such as Cloudways make it easy to scale your server as your business gets more popular, so you won’t have to worry about missing out on new customers.

    Uptime

    There are multiple ways hosting uptime can affect your website. The last thing you want is for your site to go offline or slow down when your site is receiving a lot of visitors. It can impact sales, delegitimize your business, and send potential customers running for the hills. Thankfully, a reputable host will provide at least a 99.9% uptime guarantee to ensure you don’t miss out on revenue.

    Caching

    When choosing a WordPress hosting provider, it is important to consider their caching infrastructure and capabilities. Look for hosting companies that offer excellent caching solutions, such as server-side caching, WordPress object caching, or WordPress-specific caching plugins, such as SiteGround’s SG Optimizer plugin. These features can greatly enhance your WordPress website’s speed, scalability, and overall performance.

    Backups

    If you are familiar with WordPress, you know the importance of having backup and restore points for your website. They protect against unforeseen circumstances like failed updates, hacks, and human error. A good WordPress hosting company provides this service to give you peace of mind. For example, if you decide to update WordPress, your theme, or plugins, errors during the update process can occur, causing site issues such as the white screen of death. When a host provides backups, you can easily restore your site from a previous version to avoid downtime.

    Free Migrations

    Site migration is the process of moving your site from one host to another. The process can be tricky if you try to tackle it alone, so it’s best to choose a host that offers free migrations. By doing so, you can avoid the need for migration plugins, save yourself time and potential for errors, and it is a fast and simple way to move your site.

    Staging

    Staging sites allow you to make changes to your website in a testing environment rather than a live one. This is important because changes to a live website can cause issues like accidentally overwriting pages, plugin conflicts, and failed updates. Thankfully, a staging environment can eliminate these issues, allowing you to safely make changes to your site without affecting the live version. Reputable hosting companies usually offer this service, so you can avoid figuring out how to create a staging site or push your staging site live on your own.

    Customer Support

    One of the most important features of a hosting company is having good customer support. After all, any time you work with WordPress websites, there’s a risk of problems arising. With good customer support, you can avoid many headaches and losing hours of your time by allowing a professional to diagnose your problem. Look for a company that offers several contact support methods, including live chat, phone, and email. Also, ensure you choose a company that provides support around the clock because you never know when disaster might strike.

    Budget

    Last but certainly not least, choosing a hosting company that aligns with your budget is important. Opt for a good shared hosting provider to host your site if you’re trying to keep costs down. However, remember that there are better options than shared hosting out there. Consider a managed hosting provider if you are more concerned with features rather than price. As previously mentioned, managed hosting generally handles all maintenance, security, and server-side configurations, so you can worry more about running your business, not maintaining a website.

    Recommended WordPress Hosting Providers

    Now that you have learned about the types of hosting available, you might be wondering which companies have the most to offer at a reasonable price. Well, you’re in luck. We’ve hand-picked three excellent choices for you.

    1. SiteGround

    SiteGround

    SiteGround is an excellent choice for WordPress hosting because of the immense amount of features you get for the price. With SiteGround, every plan comes with at least 10GB of storage, free migration, automatic updates for WordPress, a free SSL, daily backups, and a free CDN, to name a few. As one of three hosts recommended by WordPress itself, you can be sure that you’re making a solid choice.

    Key Features of SiteGround:

    • Free SSL, CDN, backups, and migration
    • Managed WordPress hosting
    • Excellent security features
    • WordPress pre-installed

    Additionally, SiteGround offers some of the best security features of any WordPress host. You’ll benefit from daily malware scans, a robust web application firewall, an AI-powered anti-bot that stops hackers in their tracks, and a proprietary security plugin.

    Best For:

    SiteGround offers three WordPress plans: StartUp, GrowBig, and GoGeek, that cater to freelancers, businesses, and everyone else. If you’re looking for a host packed with features, excellent support, and an affordable price point, you can’t do any better than SiteGround.

    Pricing: Starting at $14.99 per month.

    Get SiteGround

    2. Cloudways

    Cloudways

    Cloudways is another excellent option for WordPress. Built on cloud infrastructure, Cloudways offers a more modular approach to hosting. Rather than choosing a traditional hosting plan, users build the plan that best suits their needs. There are three cloud hosting providers: DigitalOcean, AWS, and Google Cloud. You can choose the provider and location of your server and specify the amount of storage and bandwidth you need. Plus, as your business grows, you can easily change your plan, making Cloudways easily scalable.

    Key Features of Cloudways:

    • Scalable hosting plans
    • Cloudflare CDN
    • Free SSL, migration, staging, and backups
    • 24/7 security monitoring

    What’s most impressive about Cloudways is the abundance of features it offers. Even the cheapest plan (coming in at $11 per month) gives you a free SSL, free migration, team collaboration tools, amazing security features, automated backups, staging and cloning, and 24/7 real-time monitoring.

    Best For:

    Cloudways is a great option for those who prefer a more hands-on approach to hosting. Don’t get us wrong, Cloudways hosting is managed, but it isn’t your typical managed hosting provider. You see, it provides the best of both worlds. You can leave the maintenance and configuration settings to Cloudways or handle everything yourself.

    Pricing: Starting at $11 per month.

    Get Cloudways

    3. Pressable

    Pressable

    Our last recommended host is Pressable. Thanks to a robust cloud infrastructure, it’s one of the few managed WordPress hosts that guarantee 100% uptime, so you never have to worry about your site going down. Plus, their customer support is stellar. With a two-minute average response time and 98% satisfaction rate, you can be sure your problem will be handled quickly and efficiently.

    Key Features of Pressable:

    • 100% uptime guarantee
    • Jetpack integration
    • Free migration, CDN, backups, and staging
    • Web application firewall, malware scanning, and threat monitoring

    Pressable’s hosting plans are optimized for WordPress, so site speed, uptime, and security are explicitly catered towards WordPress. Excellent features include one-click backups, Jetpack security suite integration, and a fully managed experience that takes care of updates, security, monitoring, and maintenance.

    Best For:

    Pressable is more expensive than our other two recommended hosts, so it’s geared more toward professionals with multiple websites. That said, they offer a one-site personal plan that provides enough storage and bandwidth to create any site you’d like. Furthermore, Pressable is a great choice for those with ecommerce websites because of the lighting-fast speeds, impressive security, and ability to scale as your business grows.

    Pricing: Starting at $25 per month.

    Get Pressable

    What is WordPress Hosting: Final Thoughts

    Understanding what WordPress hosting is and the different types is essential for anyone looking for a new hosting provider. As we’ve learned, there are five types: shared, VPS, dedicated, cloud, and managed. Depending on your needs and budget, one of these hosting types may be more suitable than the others. Take time to research different hosting providers, such as SiteGround, and the features they provide. After all, choosing the right WordPress hosting partner can significantly impact your website’s performance and success.

    Looking for reliable, objective reviews about hosting providers? Check out some of our WordPress hosting reviews for popular providers:

    Featured Image via Shmai / Shutterstock.com

    The post What is WordPress Hosting? A Breakdown of Different Hosting Solutions appeared first on Elegant Themes Blog.

  • Creating a Winning Customer Support Strategy for Your WooCommerce Store

    In this article, we will guide WooCommerce store owners through the development of an effective customer support strategy. We’ll cover essential concepts, practical steps, WooCommerce-specific tools, and metrics for success. By the end, you’ll have the knowledge to enhance your customer service, setting your store apart from the competition. Let’s get started!

    The post “Creating a Winning Customer Support Strategy for Your WooCommerce Store” first appeared on WP Mayor.

  • Blocknotes App Runs WordPress Natively on iOS, Now in Public Beta

    Blocknotes is a new experimental app that runs WordPress natively on the iPhone. It was created by WordPress core committer Ella van Durpe and is powered by WordPress Playground, a project that runs the software in the browser without a PHP server.

    “WordPress’ ecosystem can now run anywhere – desktop, mobile, web, even fenced ecosystems,” WordPress Playground creator Adam ZieliÅ„ski said, sharing a screenshot on Twitter.

    “Blocknotes allow you to create notes with Gutenberg, save them as HTML files to iCloud, and synchronize them across your devices. This paves the way for future WordPress-based mobile apps and that’s just a start.”

    Zieliński eplained that this particular experimental app is technically a WebView that runs a HTML page where the WebAssembly version of PHP runs – the same one as on playground.wordpress.net.

    “Browsers and other JavaScript runtimes all adopted a common standard that is WebAssembly,” he said. “Turns out you can build many ‘regular’ programs, including PHP, to that standard and then you can run them in the browser.”

    The significance of this app running natively on iOS is that it demonstrates the possibilities of running WordPress in many new contexts without the requirement of a server. Zieliński believes this implementation can even be turned into an app template to build a WordPress app with the click of a button.

    “Playground, as a WebAssembly software, brings WordPress to Node.js, mobile devices, desktop apps, ecosystems like VS Code that support JavaScript extensions,” ZieliÅ„ski said. “The mobile app, desktop app, and a hosted web app could all use the same code and also provide a Playground-based demo version.”

    ZieliÅ„ski said he expects to see people building mobile apps in the future “with nothing more than a WordPress plugin.” This would drastically reduce the learning curve for creating and customizing mobile apps.

    “Or even better, with no code at all – they’d just use the admin interface to configure a WordPress site to look and act like an app,” he said.

    “Changing the app look and feel could be the same as switching a theme in WordPress.”

    Zieliński has a virtually inexhaustible spring of ideas for how the WordPress Playground can benefit the ecosystem and his passion for the project is evident in a recent interview on The Code and Coffee Show.

    The Blocknotes app offers a solid example of WordPress Playground working in the real world. It’s a use case that seems to have resonated strongly with developers as a new way to run WordPress across platforms.

    The app is not yet available in the app store but it can be tested via the TestFlight app. van Durpe said it can can also be installed on macOS.

    WordPress Playground is being developed to become “the official WordPress previewer,” according to the roadmap – the officially supported tool for testing WordPress plugins, new features, beta/RC releases, without expensive infrastructure. Demos and testing sites can be launched instantly by clicking a link. The project also promises to provide an interactive learning experience for WordPress documentation to help new developers.

    Opening new doors for WordPress is also on the project’s roadmap, for the creation of tools that run across multiple devices. WordPress Playground removes limitations developers have lived with for years.

    “Let’s enable a new generation of WordPress tools running on desktops, mobile devices, in CLI, and inside web browsers,” ZieliÅ„ski said. “Imagine WordPress as a cross-device note-taking app, or WooCommerce as a ticket-scanning app running on a phone, or a code editor running on a tablet where you can build WordPress extensions.

    “WordPress won over 40% of the web as an app that can only run on a server. What will happen now that WordPress can run on almost any device?”

  • 10 Best WordPress AI Plugins to Try in 2023

    Artificial intelligence (AI) is all the rage. From chatbots to content generators, AI is quickly becoming a part of our daily lives. The same goes for WordPress. There are many ways in which WordPress can and is already using AI. You’d be surprised that some of the best themes and plugins have been using AI. Today, we’re hoping to show you some of the best WordPress AI plugins you can use on your WordPress site to make your job as a web admin easier or add additional features to your site.

    What is a WordPress AI Plugin?

    A WordPress plugin further extends the capabilities of the web’s favorite content management system. A WordPress AI plugin can use artificial intelligence (AI) to bring the power of AI to a WordPress website. For example, you can easily add chatbots to a WordPress site and let AI function as a virtual assistant that can answer questions from visitors using natural language and human-like responses. A WordPress AI plugin may also use AI to help streamline WordPress tasks, like on-page SEO, copywriting, image optimization, and so much more. So if you haven’t tried a WordPress plugin, you’re definitely in for a treat.

    10 Best WordPress AI Plugins in 2023


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    Our list of the best WordPress AI plugins will help with a variety of needs, including content creation, security, image optimization, and more. That’s because the power of AI can help your WordPress website in many ways. You may be surprised to see some familiar names on our list. Let’s get into the list and learn more about the best WordPress AI plugins!

    1. Rank Math

    Rank Math's Content AI

    Rank Math is one of the best SEO plugins available for WordPress today. So it’s no surprise it’ll be on the cutting edge and bring AI possibilities into the SEO sphere! Content AI is Rank Math’s answer to helping you create SEO-friendly content. Rank Math uses AI to ensure that the content you create is enriched for your readers and search engines. When you provide Rank Math’s Content AI with a keyword, it will provide you with a list of similar long-tail keywords that you can use to optimize your posts further. Content AI can search the internet for external links that you can use as citations in your content, making it more attractive to search engines. Use Rank Math today as an SEO and AI plugin and supercharge your WordPress website.

    Key Features of Rank Math’s Content AI:

    • Provides dynamic optimization recommendations based on keyword selection for 80+ countries
    • Smart link suggestions provide you with citations that you can use in your content
    • Word, link, heading, and media count based on the Content AI algorithm
    • Highlights relevant keywords with their ad competition, CPC, and search volume insights
    • Works with custom post types
    • Dedicated integration with our Divi Theme for optimizing your Divi website SEO visually on the front-end

    Rank Math FAQ Block

    With Content AI, you can easily add FAQs to your blog posts and pages. Content AI allows you to generate a schema-ready FAQ section that Google will love. You won’t need to install a separate FAQ plugin or deal with messy shortcodes to add scheme-rich content that Google favors to your posts because Rank Math’s Content AI will have you covered.

    Check out our detailed review of Rank Math

    Best For:

    Rank Math’s Content AI would be best for content creators, bloggers, writers, and those focused on creating effective SEO-friendly content. With its all-powerful SEO capabilities and AI for content writing, this could be the best tool in your arsenal if you plan on writing online, blogging, or creating written content online with WordPress.

    Pricing: Free, Paid plans start at $59 per year

    Get Rank Math

    2. AI Engine

    AI Engine, a powerful WordPress AI plugin

    AI Engine can do it all when it comes to AI and WordPress. For starters, if you want a chatbot to assist you as you’re maintaining your WordPress website, you can have your own mini ChatGPT in your WordPress dashboard. Next, AI Engine has an arsenal of prompts and templates to help you create AI-optimized and generated content. Draft blog posts, product descriptions, and more from your WordPress dashboard. AI Engine can also help generate images for your blog posts. Additionally, you can use the Playground tab to create custom code on your WordPress website. Indeed, AI Engine is one of the best WordPress AI plugins that you can use for those who want a WordPress-centric AI experience. It should be noted that you will need an OpenAI account to access the API to power AI Engine.

    Key Features of AI Engine:

    • Generate content and add into pages, posts, or custom post type
    • Translate text into a variety of languages
    • Create custom code snippets
    • Create and edit images with AI
    • WordPress virtual assistant that answers WordPress-specific questions

    AI Engine Image generator

    The image generation feature is the most exciting among the many interesting features of the AI Engine. Not only can you generate images from text prompts, but you can also assign it one of three templates. Once satisfied with your generated image, you can add your title, caption description, and even alternative text. Furthermore, you can instantly send this image to your WordPress media gallery, or you can download the image to use offline.

    Best For:

    If you’re looking for a solid, all-around AI product to start using with WordPress, AI Engine is the tool for you. Whether you want to have a chatbot in your WordPress dashboard or generate your own AI artwork for use in your blog posts, AI Engine has the tools for a genuinely AI-powered WordPress administration experience.

    Pricing: Free, Paid plans start at $49 per year

    Get AI Engine

    3. Uncanny Automator

    Uncanny Automator, an AI plugin for WordPress

    Uncanny Automator is a powerful automation plugin that works similarly to Zapier (but for WordPress). It can connect your WordPress site, plugins, and apps together to automate all your tasks. Whether you want LearnDash to connect to Mailchimp or use OpenAI to manage your comments section, Uncanny Automator can help the various plugins and tools you use to speak to each other. With connections to over 100 plugins and services, managing your WordPress website hasn’t been easier. With integrations with OpenAI, Uncanny Automator now brings artificial intelligence to your site. Creating content, managing comments, or even answering questions via a chatbot can all be created and implemented through recipes. Uncanny Automator’s drag-and-drop recipe builder makes it easy to add AI to tackle the mundane tasks of managing a website on WordPress.

    Key Features of Uncanny Automator:

    • Connects to 100+ plugins and 3rd-party services
    • No-code visual builder for recipes and automation
    • Delay and schedule automation
    • Use dynamic content from generated, user-submitted, and data

    Create an automation with OpenAI and Uncanny Automator

    Uncanny Automator’s recipe function can bring the power of AI to the different WordPress plugins you use on your website. For example, you can use a frontend form by WPForms, to generate a blog post draft that uses written content generated by OpenAI. You can also create your image with OpenAI without opening your WordPress dashboard. The possibilities are endless when you combine AI and automation to manage your WordPress website.

    Best For:

    If your WordPress website does much for you and your business, adding Uncanny Automator to your WordPress tools would greatly help. Using AI, automation, and your current WordPress environment will help you be more productive, keep your tools centralized and help you scale your website effectively.

    Pricing: Free, Paid plans start at $199 per year

    Get Uncanny Automator

    4. Supreme AI Writer

    Supreme AI Writer, a Divi Marketplace product

    Surpeme AI Writer is an AI writer plugin for Divi, our ultimate WordPress theme and page builder. This plugin can produce AI-generated content directly within the Divi Builder. Supreme AI Writer can help you with your titles, content, and more, whether you’re working with toggles or accordions, text modules, or blurbs. While this Divi plugin can help you generate new content, it can also edit the content that you’ve already created. Supreme AI Writer can assist if you want to make a paragraph longer. Should you need to make content more concise or even check its grammar, this AI-powered plugin will help make editing and creating new content within your Divi website a walk in the park. Please note that you need a paid OpenAI API key to use Supreme AI Writer on your website.

    Key Features of Supreme AI Writer:

    • 20+ unique writing tones for content
    • 19+ different writing styles
    • Use within any Divi modules content field
    • Unlimited generations and words for use on an unlimited number of Divi sites
    • Restrict content by word count

    Choose your OpenAI model

    Supreme AI Writer lets you choose which OpenAI model you want. Whether you want to use a tried and true model or go with something on the cutting edge, Supreme AI Writer allows you to switch between multiple OpenAI models.

    The plugin comes from the same creators of Divi Supreme Pro, a popular plugin on our Divi marketplace.

    Best For:

    If you are building websites with Divi, you must add Supreme AI Writer to your toolkit. It will allow you to easily optimize and generate content with AI directly within any Divi module while using the Divi Builder.

    Pricing: Free, Paid plans start at $29 per year

    Get Supreme AI Writer

    5. Elementor AI

    "</a

    Elementor is one of WordPress’ premier page and website builder plugins that now offers Elementor AI, an integrated AI solution for creating websites in Elementor. It allows you to create custom HTML and CSS code snippets. If coding isn’t your strong suit, this can be extremely helpful in building better, customized websites with Elementor. Secondly, this feature allows you to create new content or optimize your current content. Shorten, extend, or perform grammar and spell checks on content within the Elementor page builder. With built-in AI functionality, you don’t need to subscribe to a secondary AI tool while working on your WordPress websites. Thirdly, Elementor AI allows you to translate text into over 20 languages. Whether you need to code, need help with copy, or have translations done on the fly, Elementor does an excellent job of bringing AI to WordPress.

    Key Features of Elementor AI:

    • Create content for various Elementor widgets
    • Creates custom code in CSS and HTML
    • Refine existing content, or create new content with prompts
    • Translate text to a variety of languages on the fly
    • Apply custom CSS code to any element

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    A unique feature of Elementor’s AI is that the suggested prompts that it provides change based on the Elementor module you use. For example, if you choose to use a heading module, the suggested prompts would differ from when you use a text block module. With this in mind, Elementor AI helps point you in the right direction to create the best content for your website.

    Best For:

    For all website builders who use Elementor, Elementor AI is the best AI content tool for you to start using. Save time on content creation, save money on finding copywriters, and start using real copy in your website designs. If you’re using Elementor, it’s a no-brainer to start using Elementor’s AI features in your design process.

    Pricing: Free trial, Paid plans start at $35.88 per year

    Get Elementor AI

    6. ShortPixel

    Short Pixel and AI for image optimization for WordPress and begond

    ShortPixel is an AI-powered image optimization plugin and service for WordPress. With ShortPixel, your images can become optimized and compressed. This helps your WordPress website run faster, improving performance and user experience. The ShortPixel plugin provides you with three compression types that you can use when optimizing your images. You can optimize individual images within WordPress’ Media Library or use the ShortPixel panel to bulk optimize images. ShortPixel is one of the most potent image optimization WordPress plugins available, and its powerful AI engine does all the heavy lifting in making your images crisp while maintaining an appropriate size. While ShortPixel is not a tool that directly brings AI to WordPress, its very function is powered by AI, which justifies its place in our list. Without its powerful AI engine, ShortPixel would not be one of WordPress’s top image compression plugins.

    Key Features of ShortPixel:

    • Optimize images on the fly on your WordPress website
    • Compress JPG, PNG, GIF images, and PDF documents
    • Convert JPEG, PNG, or GIF to WebP and AVIF
    • Remove EXIF data
    • Bulk processing of images within the WordPress Media Library

    Smart Crop and Short Pixel using AI

    A new AI-powered feature of ShortPixel is its SmartCrop capabilities. This feature focuses mainly on thumbnails generated by WordPress. Using AI, SmartCrop allows the subject of a photo, especially in a thumbnail, to be appropriately cropped and centered—no more headless photos or Photoshop editing photos before uploading them to WordPress. ShortPixel’s AI engine has got you covered!

    Best For:

    If you have an image-heavy WordPress website, use an image optimization tool like Short Pixel to keep your site running smoothly. Photographers, bloggers, videographers, and performance-conscious website builders and owners, will benefit from using Short Pixel on their WordPress websites.

    Pricing: Free, Paid plans start at $47.90 per year

    Get ShortPixel

    7. AI Power

    AI Power, a complete AI pack for WordPress

    AI Power is one of the best WordPress AI plugins that you can find available today. Suppose you’re familiar with AI tools like Jasper AI, MidJourney, and Play.ht, you’ll be thrilled to get their power – and more – in your WordPress dashboard with AI Power. You can use the product writer to create SEO-friendly product titles, descriptions, tags, and more for your WooCommerce store. For SEO, AI Power can generate your meta descriptions and titles while working with popular SEO plugins such as Yoast SEO, All in One SEO, and Rank Math. AI Power also allows for image generation, customizable chatbots, Twitter bots, and even a prompt designer, which you can use to design prompts with the AI Power library of tools. If you want a host of AI tools working from your WordPress website, download AI Power to your website today.

    Key Features of AI Power:

    • Product writer for WooCommerce
    • Embeddable AI form generator
    • Convert audio to text from WordPress
    • DALL-E powered AI image generator
    • Ability to train your chatbot with your content

    AI Power, Speech to Post

    Quite a few powerful features are packed into the AI Power plugin. However, its speech-to-post function is a critical feature that differentiates it from the other AI plugins on our list. Quickly speak into your WordPress dashboard and have a blog post generated on the fly!

    Best For:

    AI Power is a robust WordPress AI plugin that wears several hats beautifully. As such, it would be best for anyone looking to access multiple AI tools without leaving their WordPress installation. While you still need paid credits with OpenAI to use AI Power, even with its free version, you can access an extensive library of AI tools to make your WordPress content creation journey more manageable than ever.

    Pricing: Free, Paid plans start at $71.88 per year

    Get AI Power

    8. 10Web AI Assistant

    10Web Writing Assistant, a WordPress AI content creation tool

    If you want help with your writing, consider using the 10Web AI Assistant. This is a free plugin that helps you write better content right from Gutenberg and Classic Editor. It should be noted that while this is a helpful tool, it is not compatible with page builders like Divi or multisite installations. 10Web AI allows you to generate outlines and content simply from the title of a post or page. This is helpful in brainstorming ideas when writing. Additionally, this plugin can paraphrase your content, optimize it or change its tone. With 10Web AI, you can access the 10Web dashboard, from which you can access its library of content templates and generators, further assisting you in quickly creating content.

    Key Features of 10Web AI Assistant:

    • 20+ use case templates
    • Generate content outline from post titles
    • Generate introductory, conclusion, or paragraphs from post titles
    • Paraphrase written content
    • Works exclusively with Gutenberg & Classic Editor

    10Web AI Assistant with Yoast SEO

    An additional feature of this AI plugin is how it helps you with SEO. 10Web AI integrates directly into the popular plugin Yoast SEO. This means you can quickly generate your meta description by AI, saving time in your SEO process.

    Best For:

    If you are an avid Classic Editor and Gutenberg user, using 10 Web AI Assistant is a must. Furthermore, if you use Yoast SEO for your search engine optimization efforts, consider adding this plugin to your content creation tools.

    Pricing: Free, Paid plans start at $240 per year

    Get 10Web AI Assistant

    9. Quttera Web Malware Scanner

    Quttera WordPress Security Scanner, powered by AI

    Protecting your WordPress website is a crucial task that should be taken seriously. Luckily, there is one of the best WordPress AI plugins in website security, Quttera Web Malware Scanner, on our list. Quttera’s patented AI scan engine scans your WordPress website for threats like malware, worms, backdoors, and more. Their AI scan engine then investigates the files run through the scan determining whether it is safe or if you need to clean up your website. Manually scanning and seeing which files or directories on your WordPress website have been infected is arduous. However, with the power of AI, you’ll be able to see where your risks are within your site quickly and be able to fix them.

    Key Features of Quttera Web Malware Scanner:

    • One-click malware scan
    • Patented artificial intelligence scan engine
    • Detailed investigation reports
    • Tracks block status on Google and other blocklisting authorities
    • Detection of external links, malware, injected PHP shells, and more

    Quttera Internal Scanner - High Sensitivity

    Quttera uses three types of scanners to keep your WordPress website clean. Firstly, there is the external scanner that checks for threats from the perspective of a web browser. Secondly, the internal scanner checks the WordPress source files. Lastly, Quttera has developed a highly sensitive heuristic scanner that uses machine learning and AI to look for patterns in code that may showcase unknown, hidden WordPress malware within your code.

    Best For:

    Security-conscious web admins will feel a bit more confident in their websites by having one of the best WordPress AI plugins scanning and keeping their websites safe. If you’re looking for a WordPress security plugin to help keep your website safe, Quttera Web Malware Scanner is a plugin you must install today.

    Pricing: Free, Paid plans start at $10 per month

    Get Quttera Web Malware Scanner

    10. Voicer

    Voicer, text to speech via AI for WordPress

    Bring text-to-speech to your WordPress website with Voicer. The plugin uses machine learning and AI, powered by Google’s Cloud Text-to-Speech API, to read back text on your website. Voicer allows visitors to your website to highlight any text on the page of your site and have it read back to them in a high-quality human voice. This can help users with vision problems interact better with your website, increase user experience, and make your website more accessible. Voicer is compatible with many browsers, WordPress plugins, and themes. Suppose you’re trying to localize your website. In that case, you’ll be pleased to know that Voicer works with a variety of languages, so if you need text-to-speech functionality in your native language, you can pull on a deep library of human-like voices to help make your users’ experience better.

    Key Features of Voicer:

    • 170+ voices across 30+ languages
    • Supports multilingual sites using WPML and RTL
    • Allows for selective muting of content during playback
    • Allows for pause addition in speech playback
    • Fully compatible with Gutenberg, Divi, Elementor, and other popular page builders

    Voicer, highlight text and get speech

    Voicer works by giving your website visitors the ability to highlight text on your WordPress website. The plugin then presents your users with a compact audio player to read back the text to them. This player can be customized in the Voicer panel to match your website colors while providing greater accessibility to visitors.

    Best For:

    Voicer is the plugin for you if you’re looking to utilize highly customizable text-to-speech functionality on your WordPress website. With a customizable and minimal player, plus an extensive library of languages and voices, Voicer is a capable text-to-speech plugin that puts usability first.

    Pricing: $20

    Get Voicer

    Comparing the Best WordPress AI Plugins

    We’ve compared and contrasted our list of the best WordPress AI plugins for 2023. Now, let’s have an overview of our picks based on pricing and feature set down below.

    WordPress AI Plugins Price Comparison

    You may be surprised that many of the best WordPress AI plugins have a free version. This is a great way to get your feet wet with AI and WordPress. Let’s see how our top picks compare based on price, in addition to which ones have a free version for you to try out today:

    Plugin Price Free Option
    🥇 Rank Math $59/yr ✔️ Visit
    🥈 AI Engine $49/yr ✔️ Visit
    🥉 Uncanny Automator $199/yr ✔️ Visit
    4 Supreme AI Writer $29/yr ✔️ Visit
    5 Elementor AI $35.88/yr ✔️ Visit
    6 Short Pixel $47.90/yr ✔️ Visit
    7 AI Power $71.88/yr ✔️ Visit
    8 10Web AI Assistant $240/yr ✔️ Visit
    9 Quttera Web Malware Scanner $100/yr ✔️ Visit
    10 Voicer $20 ❌ Visit

    WordPress AI Plugins Feature Comparison

    Now, let’s compare the feature sets of our top 3 AI-powered plugins:

    🥇 Rank Math 🥈 AI Engine 🥉 Uncanny Automator
    Starting Price $59/mth $49/yr $199/yr
    Best For: Those whose main goal is to further optimize their content with AI powered SEO Those who want an arsenal of AI tools within their WordPress dashboard Those who manage lots of plugins that need to communicate with each other
    Key Features:

    • Generates additional keywords for use in content

    • Provides Word, link, heading, and media count based on the Content AI algorithm

    • Provides external links for additional annotations in content

    • Creates and populates Google-friendly FAQ scheme block

    • Generate content for pages, posts and custom post types

    • Create custom code snippets in HTML, CSS and more

    • Make AI generated art

    • Access ChatGPT chatbot from your WordPress dashboard

    • Connects to 100+ plugins and servies

    • Visual editor for receipe builder

    • Delay and schedule automations

    • Use OpenAI within automations to create images and content on the fly
    Active Installations 2,000,000+ 20,000+ 20,000+
    Community Rating 4.9/5
    ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
    Read Reviews    		 4.9/5
    ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
    Read Reviews    		 4.9/5
    ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
    Read Reviews
    Get Rank Math Get AI Engine Get Uncanny Automator

    What is the Best WordPress AI Plugin?

    When running a WordPress blog, SEO is always front and center. As such, using Rank Math is an excellent way to add the power of AI to your search engine optimization processes. If you’re looking to create content on the fly and want additional AI tools to support your WordPress website, adding AI Engine is a good choice. And for those with more complex sites that desperately need automation, consider using Uncanny Automator to take the load off your tasks as a webmaster.

    All in all, bringing AI to your WordPress install is a good thing. We hope you’ll check out some of the AI plugins we’ve suggested as you go through this list. Most of them have free versions that you can safely use to play with AI on your WordPress website today. So, did any of our best WordPress AI plugins catch your eye? Which ones have you heard of before? Let us know in the comments section what WordPress AI plugins you’re using, and let’s get a discussion going!

    Need more plugins? Check out all our articles featuring the best plugins to use in WordPress.

    Featured Image via Andrew Krasovitckii / shutterstock.com

    The post 10 Best WordPress AI Plugins to Try in 2023 appeared first on Elegant Themes Blog.