Choosing the right domain name makes it easier for visitors to find your website. Namecheap and Google Domains have a …
Namecheap vs. Google Domains Read More »
The post Namecheap vs. Google Domains appeared first on .
Namecheap vs. Google Domains
How to Choose a Domain Name in 8 Simple Steps
Hostinger offers three months for free when you use their web hosting service for as low as $1.99 per month. …
How to Choose a Domain Name in 8 Simple Steps Read More »
The post How to Choose a Domain Name in 8 Simple Steps appeared first on .
Namecheap vs. GoDaddy
Namecheap and GoDaddy both have over 20 years in the web hosting game and are trusted by millions of people …
Namecheap vs. GoDaddy Read More »
The post Namecheap vs. GoDaddy appeared first on .
How to Create an Interactive Poll in WordPress (Step by Step)
Do you want to create an online poll on your WordPress site?
Polls are an interactive way to engage your audience while getting useful information from them. You can get feedback from your users and find out what they like.
In this article, we will show you how to easily create and add a poll in your WordPress.
Which Tool to Choose for Adding a Poll in WordPress?
Adding interactive polls to your website is a great way to engage users, as it instantly grabs their attention. You can generate leads using polls and, at the same time, collect valuable feedback from your audience.
That said, there are plenty of plugins and online tools that allow you to embed polls on your WordPress site. Many of them require you to create an account, some store data on their own servers, and others have a terrible user experience.
If you are looking for a good user experience with full control of poll data, then you’ll need WPForms. It is the best WordPress form builder plugin and includes powerful surveys and polls addon.
With WPForms, you’ll be able to do the following:
- Create polls in WordPress using a drag-and-drop form builder
- Gather poll results on your own websites
- Show votes count when user submit their vote
- Display poll anywhere on your website
- Show poll results anywhere on your website
With that, let’s look at how to easily create online polls in WordPress using WPForms.
Creating Online Polls in WordPress
The first thing you need to do is install and activate the WPForms plugin. For more details, see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
You will need the WPForms Pro plan because it includes the survey and polls addon. WPBeginner users get an additional discount by using the WPForms coupon code. There is also a WPForms Lite version you can try for free.
Upon activation, you need to visit the WPForms » Settings page to enter your license key. You can find this information in your WPForms account.
Next, you need to visit WPForms » Addons page and scroll down to the Surveys and Polls addon.
Go ahead and click on the ‘Install’ addon button.
Now you are ready to create an online poll.
You can start by going to WPForms » Add New page to create a new form. First, you need to provide a title for your poll form and then select the ‘Poll Form’ template.
This will launch the WPForms drag-and-drop form builder interface.
You will see a pre-made poll form template with example fields already added to the form.
There are options to add new form fields from the left column. All you have to do is drag and drop the field you’d like to add to the form.
Besides that, you can just point and click to edit any field, rearrange them, or remove them.
For example, if you click the poll question in the template, then you will see more options in the menu on your left. Simply rearrange the order, and edit their titles, labels, and more.
Next, you need to click on the Settings button from the left menu and then go to the ‘Surveys and Polls’ tab. Here you can enable or disable the poll results option.
By default, the WPForms poll template will display poll results to users after they submit their votes. If you disable this option, then users will not see the poll results.
On the other hand, you can show users a custom message or redirect them to another page or URL.
Simply go to the ‘Confirmation’ tab. Here, you can choose the Confirmation Type from the dropdown menu.
Once you have created the poll form, go ahead and click on the ‘Save’ button to store your form settings.
Adding The Poll to Your WordPress Website
WPForms makes it easy to add your online poll anywhere on your website, including posts, pages, custom post types, and sidebar widgets.
You can click the ‘Embed’ button in the form builder to add your poll form. Once you do that, a new popup window will open. You can select an existing page or create a new one to embed your form.
Let’s select the ‘Create New Page’ button for this tutorial.
In the next step, you’ll need to enter a name for your page. After that, you can click the ‘Let’s Go’ button.
You should now see your poll form embedded in the WordPress content editor.
Another way of adding your form is by using the WPForms block. Simply click the ‘+’ button to add the WPForms and select your form from the dropdown menu.
Next, you’ll see a preview of your form.
You can save or publish your post/page and visit your website to see your poll in action.
You can also add your poll to a sidebar or widget-ready area.
To do that, you need to go to the Appearance » Widgets page and add the WPForms widget block to a sidebar where you want to display the poll.
In the WPForms widget block, you need to select the poll form you created earlier.
Don’t forget to click the ‘Update’ button to store your widget settings. You can now visit your website to see your online poll displayed in a sidebar or another widget-ready area.
Viewing Live Poll Results
If you have enabled poll results, then your users will see the results after submitting their votes.
You can also view poll results at any time without submitting a vote.
Simply visit WPForms » All Forms page and click on the ‘Survey Results’ link below your poll form.
This will take you to the poll results page, where you will see poll responses in an interactive chart.
You can change the charge type and export the results in JPEG, PDF, and print formats.
Embed Poll Results Anywhere in WordPress
WPForms also allows you to easily embed your online poll results anywhere on your website. This is particularly useful if you have disabled poll results and want to share them later.
First, you will need to find out your poll form’s ID. You can do this by going to WPForms » All Forms page and looking for the shortcode next to your poll form.
In the shortcode, you will find your poll’s ID number. For example, our test poll’s ID is 76, as shown in the screenshot above.
Next, you need to find out the field ID. This is the field in your form for which you want to show the results.
Simply edit your poll form and click on the poll field. You will find the field ID in the left column.
Now that you have both required IDs, you can go ahead and add the poll results shortcode like this:
Don’t forget to replace the form ID and field ID values with your own. You can use this shortcode in WordPress posts, pages, and text widgets.
Here’s a preview of what your poll results will look like:
We hope this article helped you create an interactive poll in WordPress. You may also want to see our guide on how to start a WordPress blog and the best email marketing services.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
The post How to Create an Interactive Poll in WordPress (Step by Step) first appeared on WPBeginner.
How to Show Random Quotes in Your WordPress Sidebar
Do you want to show random quotes in the WordPress sidebar?
Displaying quotes from happy customers can convince more visitors to buy your products. Or you might simply want to brighten your audience’s day by showing them a random inspirational quote.
In this article, we will show you how to easily show random quotes in the WordPress sidebar by using a free plugin.
How to Show Random Quotes in Your WordPress Sidebar
You can show random quotes in the WordPress sidebar using the Quotes and Tips plugin. It lets you add an unlimited number of quotes to your site.
It also lets you display quotes on any page, post, or widget area, including your WordPress sidebar.
First, you’ll need to install and activate the plugin. If you need help, then please see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
After activating the plugin, you can start adding quotes. To add your first quote, go to Quotes » Add New.
First you’ll need to type a title for your quote into the ‘Add Title’ field. In a later step, we’ll show you how to choose whether or not to display the quote’s title to your visitors, or use it for internal reference only.
Next, type your quote into the text editor. In our example, we’re using a quote from a case study.
You may want to organize your quotes into categories. This becomes important when it’s time to display your quotes.
Basically, you have two options.
The Quotes and Tips plugin can select a random quote from all of the quotes you’ve added. Or, it can select a random quote from a specific quote category.
For example, if you have an online store, you might want to display quotes about a specific product on that product page only.
If you already have some categories in mind, then it makes sense to organize your quotes into these categories now. But you can always add, remove, and edit your categories later. We’ll be covering that at the end of the post.
If you do want to create a quote category now, then you can find the Quotes Categories box on the right side of the page.
To add your category, first click on the ‘Add New Quotes Category’ link.
A field will display where you can type your category name. The category won’t appear to your visitors, so it’s just for your reference.
After you type it in, click on the ‘Add New Quotes Category’ button.
This category will now appear in the Quotes Category tab. To add the current quote to this category, simply select the category’s checkbox.
You can keep repeating these steps to create more quote categories.
Next, you’ll typically want to show where a quote comes from. This might be a valued customer, a famous brand, or even a celebrity.
To assign your quote to a person or company, scroll down to the ‘Name and Official Position’ section.
You can now type the person or company’s name into the Name field.
You might also want to add this person’s job title, or some information that explains why they’re qualified to make this statement. You can type this information into the Official Position field.
When you’re happy with your quote, click on the Publish button.
You can now repeat these steps to create all of the quotes that you want to show in your WordPress sidebar.
Configuring Your Quotes and Tips Settings
After creating your quotes, it’s time to take a look at the Quotes and Tips settings. This contains some important settings that control how and when your site displays a random quote.
To take a look at these settings, go to Tips » Settings.
By default, Quotes and Tips will display a new quote every time the page reloads. This means visitors will see a new quote every time they visit a new page or press the Refresh button in their web browser.
If you prefer, you can display a new quote automatically every few seconds or minutes. The visitor doesn’t even have to refresh their web browser.
To do this, select ‘AJAX (no page reload).’ You can then find the Change Frequency field. Here, simply type how frequently WordPress should display a new quote in seconds.
Next, it’s time to choose the title that will appear above your quote.
The default setting is ‘Set Title From Post’. This will display the title you entered when adding the quote to WordPress.
Another option is creating a title that WordPress will use for all of your quotes. This might be something such as ‘Words of Wisdom’ or ‘Don’t take our word for it! Here’s what our customers think’ for testimonials.
To use the same title for all your quotes, click on ‘Set Custom Titles.’ You can now type your title into the Quote Title field.
When you’re finished, don’t forget to click on the Save Changes button.
How to Display a Random Quote
Now it’s time to display your quotes.
Let’s start by showing a random quote from your entire quote collection. If you’ve created multiple categories, then this method will ignore all of these categories.
You can add your quote to any page, post, or widget using the Quotes and Tips shortcode. To get this shortcode, go to Quotes » Settings.
Now, copy the shortcode in the ‘Quotes and Tips’ section.
Another option is to simply copy the following: [quotes_and_tips]
Since we want to show random quotes in the WordPress sidebar, you’ll need to go to Appearance » Widgets. This shows all the areas of your site that support widgets.
This screen may look slightly different depending on your WordPress theme. However, most modern WordPress themes have a sidebar.
Find the Main Sidebar or similar section, and give it a click. This section will now expand.
You need to add a Shortcode block to this widget, so click on the + button. In the search field, type Shortcode.
You can now select the Shortcode block when it appears. Next, either paste or type the shortcode into this block.
Finally, click on the blue Update button at the top of the screen. Now, if you visit your website you should see a random quote in your WordPress sidebar.
How to Display Random Quotes From a Specific Category
Another option is to display a quote from a specific quote category.
To display a random quote from a particular category, you’ll need to use a different shortcode.
To get this code, head over to Quotes » Quote Category.
Here, you’ll find a list of all the categories you’ve created. Each category has its own shortcode.
Simply find the category that you want to use, and copy its shortcode. You can then paste this shortcode into any page, post, or widget, following the same process above.
How to Style and Brand Your Random Quotes
By default, Quotes and Tips adds a blue background to the quote area. It also uses a background image of silhouettes.
You can change this default styling to better match the rest of your website’s design. You can even remove the styling completely.
To change the background color, text color, or background image, go to Quotes » Settings.
In the left menu, click on the Appearance tab.
You can now change the background color and text color, by clicking on the Select Color button.
This adds an area where you can choose your perfect color.
If you change your mind, you can restore the plugin’s default colors at any point. Simply click on the Default button.
You can also change the background image. To remove the default background image, scroll to Background Image, and then click on the None button.
You can also add your own background image.
Using your company or product logo as a background image can be a great way to brand your quotes.
To upload a new background image, click on the Custom button. This adds a Choose File button.
Give this button a click. This will open a window where you can select the file that you want to use as your background image.
After making your choice, you can customize how this image looks on your site.
This includes changing the background image alignment and the opacity, which is how transparent the background image is.
Why not experiment, to see what different effects you can create?
How to Add, Edit and Delete Quote Categories
Sometimes, you may want Quotes and Tips to display a completely random quote.
Other times, you may need more control over the kind of quotes that it displays.
You can do this using quote categories. We’ve already seen how to create a category when adding a new quote. However, Quotes and Tips has an entire menu where you can make changes to these categories, and create new ones.
To see these settings, go to Quotes » Quotes Categories.
Here, you can quickly and easily create quote categories. To add a new category, type a name for your category into the Name field.
By default this plugin creates each quote category as a parent category.
Another option is to create a subcategory. For example, you might have an OptinMonster parent category, and then create subcategories for your different promotions, such as ‘OptinMonster summer sale’ and ‘OptinMonster holiday promotion.’
To create a quote subcategory, you’ll need to select a Parent Category.
When you’re happy with your quote category, click on the blue Add New Quotes Category button.
You can also edit any of the categories you created earlier.
To edit a category, hover over it. Then, click on the Edit link when it appears.
This launches a new page where you can make changes to this category. This includes editing the category’s name, and choosing a new parent.
We hope this article helped you learn how to show random quotes in the WordPress sidebar. Next, you can see our guide on how to increase your blog traffic, or see our expert pick of the best social proof plugins for WordPress
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 Show Random Quotes in Your WordPress Sidebar first appeared on WPBeginner.
How to Enable Maintenance Mode for WooCommerce
Do you want to enable maintenance mode for WooCommerce without affecting other parts of your WordPress website?
Maintenance mode allows you to show a user-friendly notice to shoppers instead of a broken eCommerce site. You can even enable maintenance mode for specific product pages or areas of your WooCommerce store.
In this guide, we’ll show you how to enable maintenance mode for WooCommerce.
Why and When You Need to Enable Maintenance Mode for WooCommerce
Sometimes you may need to put your WordPress website in maintenance mode. For example, you may be making major changes such as installing a new theme or completely redesigning your WordPress blog.
At other times you may need to put your WooCommerce store into maintenance mode, while leaving the rest of your site open.
This could be because there’s a problem that’s only affecting your online store, and not the rest of your website. For example, you may be unable to process customer payments. In this case, maintenance mode can stop customers from encountering the error and having a bad shopping experience.
You may also be adding an online store to an existing website and want to keep those pages private while you work on them.
An engaging ‘coming soon’ page can also create a sense of excitement and anticipation while you build your store behind the scenes. You might even encourage shoppers to get ready for the launch by following you on social media, joining your email list, or even entering a WooCommerce contest.
That being said, let’s take a look at how to easily enable WooCommerce maintenance mode without affecting the rest of your website.
Enabling Maintenance Mode for WooCommerce
The easiest way to enable maintenance mode for WooCommerce is by using SeedProd.
SeedProd is the best landing page builder for WordPress, used on more than a million websites. It allows you to create beautiful coming soon pages in WordPress, improve your 404 page, and even design unique landing pages using drag and drop.
There’s a free version of SeedProd that lets you create a maintenance mode page. However, we’ll be using the premium version as it lets you put your WooCommerce store into maintenance mode while keeping the rest of your site available.
The first thing you need to do is install and activate the SeedProd plugin. For more details, see our guide on how to install a plugin in WordPress.
After activating the plugin, SeedProd will ask for your license key.
You can find this information under your account on the SeedProd website. After entering the license, click on the ‘Verify Key’ button.
Once you’ve done that, you’re ready to put your WooCommerce store in maintenance mode.
Creating Your Maintenance Mode or Coming Soon Page
After activating SeedProd, go to SeedProd » Pages. Here, you can choose whether to create a maintenance mode page or a coming soon page.
Although some people use these terms interchangeably, there are some important differences you should know.
If you create a ‘Coming Soon’ page, then search engines will still be able to see and crawl your store pages. This gives your WooCommerce site a chance to get indexed by search engines.
If you’re building a new store, then you’ll typically want to create a coming soon page.
If your store is down for maintenance, then you should create a ‘Maintenance Mode’ page instead. This mode tells search engines that your site is temporarily down, using the special header code 503.
After getting this code, the search bots will recheck your WordPress website later to see whether it’s back online. In this way, you can hide your store from shoppers without affecting your search engine rankings.
Note: We’ll create a maintenance mode page in this guide, but the steps will be the same no matter whether you click on ‘Set up a Maintenance Mode Page’ or ‘Set up a Coming Soon Page.’
The next step is building the page that shoppers will see when you enable maintenance mode for WooCommerce.
You can either choose a ready-made template or start with a blank design. We’re using ‘Celebrate Coming Soon’ in all our images but you can use any template you like.
To select a template, simply hover your mouse over that design’s thumbnail and then click the ‘checkmark’ icon.
After selecting a template, you’ll be taken to the drag-and-drop builder, where you can start customizing the maintenance mode design.
On the left side of the screen, you’ll find blocks and sections that you can add to your design. The right side of the page is the live preview.
Most templates already have some blocks, which are a core part of all SeedProd designs. To start, you’ll typically want to customize these blocks by adding your own text, images, links, and other content.
To change the text in any Headline or Text block, simply click to select that block in your layout. This brings up all the settings for that particular block.
You can now type your text into the small text editor.
You can also use these settings to style the text, including adding bold and italic formatting, changing the text alignment, changing the font size, and more.
You can add more blocks to your maintenance page by dragging them from the left-hand menu and then dropping them onto your design.
For example, if you wanted to add a custom logo then you could simply drag an ‘Image’ block onto your layout.
Then, just click to select that block in your layout and the left-hand menu will show all the settings for that block.
To add a logo, go ahead and click on ‘Use Your Own Image.’
You can then either choose an image from the WordPress media library or upload a new file from your computer.
After adding an image, you can change the size, add image alt text, embed a link, and more using the settings in the left-hand menu.
If you’re using the WPForms plugin then you can quickly and easily add a contact form to the maintenance page. This gives shoppers a way to talk to you even when your WooCommerce site is down for maintenance.
After creating a contact form in WordPress, you can drag the ‘Contact Form’ block onto your SeedProd layout.
Then, simply click to select the Contact Form block.
In the left-hand menu, open the dropdown menu and choose the form you created earlier.
To remove a block from your design, simply go ahead and click on it.
You can then select the trash can icon.
You can also move blocks around the page using drag and drop.
When you’re happy with how the maintenance page looks, make sure you click ‘Save.’
Turn on Maintenance or Coming Soon Mode for Your WooCommerce Store
Now that you’ve created a custom coming soon or maintenance mode page, let’s go ahead and enable it.
Here, we want to put the store into maintenance mode, and not the entire site. To do this, click on the ‘Page Settings’ tab inside the SeedProd editor.
Then, select the ‘Access Control’ tab.
You can use these settings to specify where the coming soon or maintenance page appears on your site, and who sees it. For example, you might show this page to people who have a particular user role or IP address.
Since we want to put our WooCommerce site into maintenance mode, scroll to the ‘Include/Exclude URLs’ section.
Then, just click on the ‘Include URLs’ button.
Now, you need to enter the URLs for your WooCommerce store. This may vary depending on how your store is set up, and whether you’ve created any custom pages such as a custom WooCommerce cart page or a custom checkout page.
However, it’s smart to start with all the pages that WooCommerce creates automatically:
https://example.com/shop
https://example.com/cart
https://example.com/checkout
https://example.com/my-account
If your store has products, then you’ll also need to add these URLs. Be sure to include the asterisk!
https://example.com/product/*
https://example.com/product-category/*
https://example.com/product-tag/*
The asterisk is a wildcard character, which tells SeedProd to include all URLs that match the pattern before it.
This means that shoppers will see the maintenance page when they try to access any product, product category, or product tag.
After adding all these URLs, click on the ‘Save’ button to store your changes.
Putting Your Store In Maintenance Mode
You’re now ready to put your WooCommerce store in maintenance or coming soon mode at any point. In the WordPress dashboard, simply go to SeedProd » Landing Pages.
Then, click on the ‘Inactive’ slider under ‘Coming Soon Mode’ or ‘Maintenance Mode,’ so that it changes to ‘Active.’
Now, simply visit your WooCommerce store in an incognito browser tab and you’ll see your custom design, rather than your online store.
When you’re ready to make your store public, simply go back to SeedProd » Landing Pages.
Then click on the ‘Active’ slider so that it shows ‘Inactive.’ Now, anyone who visits your site will see your WooCommerce store, and can buy products and services as normal.
We hope this article helped you learn how to enable maintenance mode for WooCommerce. You may also want to take a look at our expert pick of the best WooCommerce plugins, and our complete step-by-step guide on how to create an email newsletter.
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 Enable Maintenance Mode for WooCommerce first appeared on WPBeginner.
Optimize my website snsthegame.com
Hello, I have built a game station here, can you help me see what optimizations
How to Point a Domain to WPMU DEV Hosting
Pointing domains… nameservers… figuring out DNS… it can all feel daunting! Fortunately, WPMU DEV makes it easy, whether you’re working with a domain purchased from us or from another provider. We break it all down in this article.
Keep reading to learn how to easily connect your domain to our hosting service.
Here are the topics we’ll be covering:
- Connecting Your Domain To WPMU DEV Hosting
- Prepping for a Change in Domain Nameservers
- Importing Your Domain Records to WPMU DEV
- Putting WPMU DEV Nameservers in Your Domain Registry Records
- Double-Checking Your Changes
- The Benefits of Pointing Domains to WPMU DEV Nameservers
Connecting Your Domain To WPMU DEV Hosting
With our new domain service recently rolled out, you can directly purchase domains and register them through WPMU DEV – in which case we automatically do the DNS hookup (i.e., the pointing part) for you.
If you purchased your domain through another DNS provider and are hosting with us, the tutorial below will show you exactly what you need to do and explain why this is also a great choice.
Prepping for a Change in Domain Nameservers
Nameservers are often referred to as the phone book of the internet, sending you to the correct domain when you type in a web address.
There are two primary components to making your website accessible to the public:
- Your domain name (purchased from a registrar)
- Nameservers (provided through a host)
The first must point to the second to connect the two.
The registrar you purchased your domain from also has its own nameservers (if it offers hosting), however if you want them managed elsewhere you must change the DNS records.
Doing it all from a single location is ideal, as it cuts out the middle agent and puts the same quality that powers your sites behind your DNS.
DNS propagation is the term for your site’s nameservers and other records (e.g., A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, etc) updating across the web. This process can take anywhere from a few minutes to a couple days to finalize.
If your site was already live, it might become briefly inaccessible to visitors during the nameserver change. You could create a temporary page with info regarding the approximate downtime, then publish it just prior to the server change. (Remember to change it back once the process is complete).
It’s also helpful to handle nameserver changes during a period when traffic volume is typically on the low end.
Importing Your Domain Records to WPMU DEV
Alright, we’re ready to start our edits. The first thing we’re going to do is navigate to The Hub on WPMU DEV.
Click on Domains from the top menu bar, then Connected Domains from the submenu, then the Connect Existing Domain button.
The Add New Domain modal will pop up. Here you will enter your domain name in the text field – making sure to include the extension (e.g. .com, .net, .xyz) – then click the blue button.
The Hub DNS Manager will run a scan for common DNS records, then automatically import and list them for your verification.
Here you’ll see the summary of record information, which will include:
- Type – A, CNAME, MX, TXT
- Hostname – @ for root; www for www. subdomain
- Value – if record is an alias, directs, or returns
- TTL (seconds) – Time To Live is how long the DNS query caches before expiring and needing a new one. (The lower this number, the better/faster.)
You can remove any records, if you want to exclude them from being imported, by clicking on the Trashcan icon.
You can also manually add any records that are missing. See Add or Edit DNS Records for details.
If you’re in any doubt as to whether records should be added or deleted, just reach out to support (any time, day or night) and they’ll happily walk you through it.
Once you’re satisfied with the populated DNS records, click the blue button once more.
After the ellipsis bounce, the page will load with the imported information specific to your domain.
WPMU DEV nameservers are listed towards the top of this page, where you’ll see there are three of them.
Keep your Hub page open, as we’ll be copying & pasting the nameservers in the next step. (Or, do what I do, and just copy the first one, then replace the “1” with “2” then “3” as you paste each, since these ordinal numbers are the only difference.)
Putting WPMU DEV Nameservers in Your Domain Registry Records
Now that we’ve imported your domain details into WPMU DEV, the next step is to overwrite the nameserver records of your registrars with ours.
There are a lot of registrars, so how your domain details are kept and displayed will vary, but they should all have the same key elements. We cover more than a dozen of the most popular ones here.
In the case of registrars that serve as hosts, what they permit when it comes to allowable changes in nameservers can vary. For example, pointing nameservers to another host is not permissible for a Wix-purchased domain. However, you can transfer your domain away from them (although it involves a different process).
Assuming your domain registrar allows for pointing nameservers away from them, or that you’ve taken any necessary prior steps in preparation, login to their website and locate the records for your domain.
Popping back over to the Hub, copy that first nameserver, then head back to your domain registrar details page, pasting it in the appropriate text field. Do this for all three nameservers, then save your input.
Depending on your registrar, you’ll probably get a confirmation message with time estimates on how long it will take the DNS hosting server to update.
It’s rare, but on the outside chance your domain registrar requires identifying our nameservers by IP address, you can find them here.
Double-Checking Your Changes
As with any significant edit, verifying everything is working as it should is an important last step.
Some registrars will send you an email notifying you that the propagation is complete. With others, you might need to revisit the site and continue checking.
Either way, we can verify things through The Hub. Let’s head there, and navigate to Domains > Connected Domains.
For the domain name in question, if you see the green check marked Propagated correctly under Nameservers Status – you’re good to go. If it says Pending, click on the vertical ellipsis icon to the right, and select Manage DNS from the dropdown.
If everything was done properly and the process has completed, you’ll see a row of green highlighted text, confirming Your nameservers are propagated correctly. If that message isn’t displayed, click on the Check nameservers button.
You’re all set! Your nameservers are successfully pointing to WPMU DEV as your acting DNS provider.
If you don’t get a confirmation or see an error message, check out our detailed documentation, or reach out to our always-on-call support team.
As an additional option, you can use this DNS propagation checker to verify the current IP address and DNS record information for your domain name(s).
The Benefits of Pointing Domains to WPMU DEV Nameservers
Nameservers are essential in directing internet traffic as they locate and translate hostnames into IP addresses.
If you host your own or your client sites with WPMU DEV, pointing your domains to our nameservers has definite advantages.
For starters, subpar nameservers will experience difficulties more often, and your visitors could get “DNS server not responding” messages. Quality nameservers, like ours, can limit or avoid that altogether.
Additionally, pointing your domains to our nameservers allows you to keep the settings with your current email client as is, eliminating the hassle of making a bunch of changes in that regard. (Just make sure existing MX records are imported during the DNS record setup.)
Finally, with the ability to purchase domains now directly through WPMU DEV, managing client sites becomes even more centralized, as your hosting provider and domain provider will be one in the same.
This gives you all of your domains in one place/one dashboard, with auto renewal, free protection, and a built-in grace period; priced incredibly low for Agency members.
Not a member yet? Give us a go, and see how much our hosting has to offer. If you’re not thrilled, we’ll refund you 100%; simply cancel within 30 days. Chances are good you’ll find our value and service are unmatched.
How can i make my website rank?
Hi everyone, I have a website where i post contents like music and movies for downloads but my site is not ranking at all and my traffic is as little as nothing. I am not a SEO expert but i did my site SEO myself with Yoast and followed a video tutorial while doing it. please i need assistance on how to optimize my site so i can have traffic on my site and be rewarded for the time i invest in uploading contents on the site
Web.com Review
Web.com has a range of features and functionality to make it a complete website and ecommerce hosting platform—its easy-to-use drag-and-drop …
The post Web.com Review appeared first on .
8 Ways to Identify and Fix Browser-Based Website Errors and Issues
No one is perfect, and that goes for website owners as well. Even the best, most well-coded and thoughtfully put together websites will experience errors and issues at some point – it’s simply unavoidable. In fact, part of the process of owning a website is being able to identify and fix an error as it comes up.
Often, you’ll find issues occur after switching hosts, updating plugins or themes in WordPress, or adding code snippets to existing designs. It doesn’t take much to break a site and prevent it from interacting with browsers properly.
However, not all errors or issues are the same. Some are relatively minor and can be fixed with ease; others may require more time and effort on your part.
That’s why in this article, we’ll outline 8 different types of browser-based website errors and issues you may encounter, along with tips on how to identify and fix them on the spot.
Your Web Designer Toolbox
Unlimited Downloads: 500,000+ Web Templates, Icon Sets, Themes & Design Assets Starting at only $16.50/month!
Page Not Found (404) Error
This is perhaps the most common type of error you’ll encounter. A 404 error occurs when a user tries to access a page that doesn’t exist on your website. There can be a number of reasons why this might happen, but usually, it’s because the page in question has been moved or deleted.
In any case, if a user encounters a 404 error on your website, it’s important to have a custom error page set up. This should include a brief message explaining the error, along with links to other pages on your website that the user may find helpful.
Connection Timeout Error
A connection timeout error occurs when a user’s browser is unable to establish a connection with your server. This can happen for a number of reasons, but usually, it’s due to heavy traffic on your website or an issue with your server itself.
If you’re encountering this error frequently, it may be a sign that you need to upgrade your hosting plan to one that can accommodate more traffic. Alternatively, if the issue is with your server, you may need to contact your host or web developer for assistance.
Internal Server Error
An internal server error is similar to a connection timeout error, in that it’s also caused by an issue with your server. However, this error is typically more serious and can be caused by more pressing issues like a corrupt file or database.
Should this error occur, the first thing you should do is access your server directly in order to identify and fix the issue via an FTP client like FileZilla or Cyberduck.
Potential solutions include:
- Checking (and adjusting) your file permissions
- Clearing your website’s cache
- Running a malware scan
- Upgrading your hosting plan
Maintenance Mode Error
If you’re in the process of making changes or updates to your website, you may want to put it into maintenance mode. This essentially means that your website is only accessible to you and other administrators; regular users will see a custom error page explaining that the website is down for maintenance.
Putting your website into maintenance mode is a relatively simple process, but it’s important to remember to take it out of maintenance mode when you’re finished making changes. Otherwise, your regular users will continue to see the error page and may become frustrated.
DNS Error
A DNS, or Domain Name System, error occurs when a user’s browser is unable to resolve your website’s domain name. This usually happens due to an issue with your DNS settings.
Here’s how to adjust your DNS settings to resolve this error:
- Log in to your domain name registrar and select the DNS management tool.
- Find the A record for your website’s domain name and make sure the IP address is correct.
- If there is no A record for your website’s domain name, you’ll need to create one.
- Make sure your www CNAME record is pointing to your website’s domain name.
- Save your changes and wait for the DNS to propagate (this can take up to 24 hours).
SSL Certificate Error
An SSL, or Secure Sockets Layer, certificate is a type of security certificate that helps to encrypt data being transmitted between a user’s browser and your website. If you have an SSL certificate installed on your website, you may encounter an error if it expires or is not properly configured.
If you’re encountering an SSL certificate error, the first thing you should do is check the expiration date on your certificate. If it has expired, you’ll need to renew it.
If your certificate is still valid, but you’re encountering an error, the issue may be with your configuration. To fix this, simply follow these steps:
- Log in to your domain name registrar and select the SSL/TLS certificates tool.
- Find the SSL certificate for your website’s domain name and make sure the details are correct.
- If there is no SSL certificate for your website’s domain name, you’ll need to create one.
- Save your changes and wait for the SSL to propagate (this can take up to 24 hours).
Browser Compatibility Error
Browser compatibility errors occur when a user’s browser is not compatible with the code used to build your website. This can happen for a number of reasons, but usually, it’s because the user is using an outdated or unsupported browser.
If you’re encountering this error, the first thing you should do is check to see if the browser you’re using is supported or up-to-date. If not, you may need to update your browser or switch to a different browser to view the website properly.
It can also be helpful to create a notice on your website that indicates its browser compatibility clearly — especially if your site has a very new feature or attribute that isn’t universally supported yet.
Malicious Website Errors
If you’re encountering an error that says your website has been flagged as malicious, it’s likely because your website has been hacked. This can happen for a number of reasons, but usually, it’s because the hackers were able to exploit a security vulnerability on your site.
If you believe your website has been hacked, the first thing you should do is change all of your passwords — especially if you think the hackers may have access to them. You should also run a security scan on your website to check for any malicious code or files that may have been injected. If you find any, you’ll need to delete them and then update your website to the latest version to patch the security vulnerability.
Don’t Let Browser Issues Halt Site Progress
Website errors that show up in browsers can be frustrating, but luckily, most of them are relatively easy to fix. By following the steps outlined in this article, you should be able to identify and fix any browser-based website errors and issues you encounter.
Atom vs. Visual Studio Code
Editing source code works best when deploying an HTML editor, which allows developers to edit their code without adding hidden …
Atom vs. Visual Studio Code Read More »
The post Atom vs. Visual Studio Code appeared first on .
How to Manage WordPress Comment Notification Emails
Do you want to improve your WordPress comment notification emails?
Comments drive discussion and user engagement on many blogs. However, WordPress doesn’t do such a great job when it comes to notifying users about comment activity.
In this article, we will show you how to better manage WordPress comment notification emails to boost user activity on your website.
Why Improve WordPress Comment Notification Emails
Comments are an important element of many WordPress websites, particularly on news sites and WordPress blogs. More comment activity means a more engaged audience which results in more page views and ultimately more revenue.
However, the comment system that comes with every WordPress website is fairly limited. It sends comment notifications only to site administrators and article authors. Apart from that, there isn’t a default option for other site users to be notified of new comments.
Wouldn’t it be nice if users were able to get comment notifications for the posts they like or when someone replies to a comment they left?
That said, let’s see how you can enhance the default WordPress comment system and notification emails for a more engaging user experience on your website.
The Default Comment Notification Options in WordPress
By default, WordPress does not have an option to send notifications to commenters.
However, it does have an option to send email notifications to site administrators when a new comment is published and when a comment is held for moderation.
You can view these options by going to Settings » Discussion from your WordPress dashboard and navigating to the ‘Email me whenever’ section.
Both these notifications are only sent to the site administrators. However, WordPress also sends an email notification to the post author about new comments.
If you get a lot of comments on your website, you might not want to receive email notifications for all comments held for moderation. You can simply uncheck the box here to disable those.
How to Let Users Know When Their Comment is Approved
If a user’s comment is held for moderation, they will see a message telling them so. However, they will have no idea whether you approve it or not without returning to your site.
Unfortunately, many of these users never return to your website to check, so they won’t ever know that you approved their comments.
You can fix this by using the Comment Approved Notifier Extended plugin. For more details, see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Comment Approved Notifier Extended will notify users when their comment is approved. It works right out of the box, and there are no additional settings you need to configure.
You can also see our list of best plugins to improve WordPress comments.
How to Allow Users to Subscribe to Comments in WordPress
In addition to not knowing if their comment was approved, commenters will not be notified about replies, either.
Once they leave a comment, they will have to manually visit your website again to see if someone has replied.
To solve this, you need to install and activate Subscribe to Comments Reloaded plugin. For more details, see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
It allows your users to subscribe to comments on any article with or without leaving comments. Users can also easily unsubscribe at any time.
For detailed step-by-step instructions, see our article on how to allow users to subscribe to comments in WordPress.
How to Allow Users to Subscribe to Just their Own Comments in WordPress
Many users may not want to receive notifications for all comments on an article. However, they may want to know if someone replied only to their own comments.
You can add this feature as well using the same Subscribe to Comments Reloaded plugin. First, you’ll need to install and activate the plugin. If you need help, then please see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Next, simply visit the StCR » Comment Form in your WordPress dashboard. From here, click on ‘Yes’ next to the ‘Advanced Subscription’ option.
Users will now see a new option under the comment box whether they’d like to subscribe to all comments or just their own comments.
For more details, see our article on how to notify users of replies to their own comments in WordPress.
How to Allow Authors to Subscribe to Other Author’s Posts
If you run a multi-author blog, then other authors may want to keep up with discussions across your website. If you already have comment subscriptions enabled, then each author can manually go and subscribe to comments.
However, if you want certain users to receive all comment notifications, then you can do this with Better Notifications for WordPress plugin. For more details, then please see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Once the plugin is active, you can head to Notifications » Add New from your WordPress dashboard and can enter a title for your notification at the top.
Next, you can select ‘New Comment’ from the ‘Notification for’ dropdown menu. After that, simply add the user roles that will receive these notifications in the ‘Send To’ field.
The plugin also offers an option to send notifications to the post’s author and even exclude user roles from receiving email notifications for new comments.
How to Create Custom Comment Notification in WordPress
Want to create your own custom comment notifications in WordPress? Custom notifications can allow you to replace the default WordPress notification with your own.
First, you will need to install and activate the Better Notifications for WordPress plugin. For more details, see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Upon activation, you need to visit the Notifications » Add New page from your WordPress admin panel to create your custom comment notifications.
You can edit the notifications for new comments, comments awaiting moderation, and comment replies. Additionally, you can send notifications to any user role or to individual users.
The plugin also lets you add email addresses manually that are not even connected to a user on the site.
You have the option to completely customize the comment notification sent by WordPress and use shortcodes inside the email text to add custom tags.
For more details, see our article on how to add better custom notifications in WordPress.
How to Improve Deliverability of WordPress Email Notifications
All the above tips will fail if your WordPress site fails to send email notifications or if those emails are marked spam by email providers.
To fix WordPress email issues and improve email deliverability, you need to install and activate the WP Mail SMTP plugin. For more details, see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Upon activation, visit the Settings » WP Mail SMTP page to configure plugin settings.
This plugin allows you to use SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) to send emails. SMTP is a much better and more reliable method than the default mail function used by WordPress.
It works with any email service that supports SMTP. This includes your free Gmail account as well as Google Workspace, Mailgun, and Sendgrid.
For details, see our article on how to use SMTP server to send WordPress emails.
We hope this article helped you learn how to manage WordPress comment notification emails. You may also want to see our ultimate step-by-step guide on improving WordPress speed and performance for beginners and how to start an online store.
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 Manage WordPress Comment Notification Emails first appeared on WPBeginner.
How to Disable Directory Browsing in WordPress
Do you want to disable directory browsing in WordPress?
Directory browsing can put your site at risk by showing important information to hackers which can be used to exploit vulnerabilities in your site’s plugins, themes, or even your hosting server.
In this article, we will show you how you can disable directory browsing in WordPress.
What Does Disabling Directory Browsing in WordPress Do?
Every time someone visits your website, your web server will process that request.
Usually, the server delivers an index file to the visitor’s browser, such as index.html. However, if the server can’t find an index file, then it may show all the files and folders in the requested directory instead.
This is directory browsing, and it’s often enabled by default.
If you’ve ever visited a site and seen a list of files and folders instead of a webpage, then you’ve seen directory browsing in action.
The problem is that hackers can use directory browsing to see the files that make up your website, including all the themes and plugins that you’re using.
If any of these themes or plugins have known vulnerabilities, then hackers can use this knowledge to take control of your WordPress blog or website, steal your data, or perform other actions.
Attackers may also use directory browsing to look at the confidential information inside your files and folders. They might even copy your website’s contents, including content that you would usually charge for such as ebook downloads or online courses.
This is why it’s considered a best practice to disable directory browsing in WordPress.
How to Check is Directory Browsing is Enabled in WordPress
The easiest way to check whether directory browsing is currently enabled for your WordPress website is by simply visiting the /wp-includes/ folder link like this: https://example.com/wp-includes/.
You’ll want to replace www.example.com with your website’s URL.
If you get a 403 Forbidden or similar message, then directory browsing is already disabled on your WordPress website.
If you see a list of files and folders instead, then this means that directory browsing is enabled for your website.
Since this makes your website more vulnerable to attack, you’ll typically want to block directory browsing in WordPress.
How to Disable Directory Browsing in WordPress
To disable directory listing, you’ll need to add some code to your site’s .htaccess file.
To access the file, you’ll need an FTP client, or you can use the file manager app inside your WordPress hosting control panel.
If this is your first time using FTP, then you can see our complete guide on how to connect to your site using FTP.
After connecting to your site, simply open your website’s ‘public’ folder and find the .htaccess file. You can edit the .htaccess file by downloading it to your desktop and then opening it in a text editor like Notepad.
At the very bottom of the file, simply add the following code:
Options -Indexes
It will look something like this:
Once you’re done, save your .htaccess file and upload it back to your server using an FTP client.
That’s it. Now if you visit the same http://example.com/wp-includes/ URL, you’ll get a 403 Forbidden or similar message.
We hope this article helped you learn how to disable directory browsing in WordPress. You may also want to see our ultimate WordPress security guide, or see our expert pick of the best WordPress membership plugin to protect your files.
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 Disable Directory Browsing in WordPress first appeared on WPBeginner.
Save at Last! Forminator’s New Save and Continue Feature
Allow users to save a partially filled WordPress form as a draft so they can complete it later before submitting it with our Forminator plugin.
Sometimes, form-filling takes time – especially multipage or lengthy forms. With Forminator’s Save and Continue option, users can save a form as a draft and complete a form at a later time via a custom link.
This highly requested feature is available and easy as ever to implement. You’ll be able to customize your form’s settings to allow draft retention periods, allow drafts of forms sent to an email address, edit messages, and more!
This brief article takes you through all the features and how to implement them.
We’ll cover:
- How to Get Started
- The Draft Retention Period
- Using the Save Form Link Text
- Enabling Draft to Email
- The Permission Area
- User Experience
You can begin using this feature immediately, so let’s…
Get Started
The Save as Draft feature can be applied to a new, draft, or published form. To begin, choose a form from Forminator’s Dashboard or create a new one.
If you’re new to Forminator and need a detailed look at creating a form from scratch, be sure to check out our article about How to Get the Most Out of Using Forminator.
If you’d like to add this to a previously created form, simply click the Gear Icon and then Edit.
And for a new form, the process will be the same. Once you get your form started, you’ll click Behavior to begin. When you scroll down a bit, you’ll see Save and Continue.
Ready for launch? Click Enable Save and Continue to activate.
When enabled, a dropdown menu will appear with customizable options. There is a Configuration and Permissions area.
We’ll start with all of the options in the Configuration tab.
Draft Retention Period
Choose the days a form’s draft will be stored on your server. Then, once the time expires, they’ll be automatically deleted.
By default, it’s set at 30-days.
Set whatever time frame suits your needs.
Save Form Link Text
You can also customize the text when it comes to saving the form. This is what users will see.
Additionally, when a form is successfully submitted, the user will get a message. Customize the message to anything you’d like.
Your message can include links, form data, and more – to make them as clear, personalized, and precise as possible.
Enabling Draft to Email
When a user wants to save and continue at a later date, there’s no better way to remind them than by having an email sent to their account. By activating this feature, a link to the draft will be sent directly to them with the option to resume.
As soon as you have your Save and Continue features set up – click Update on the form.
The Permission Area
Decide whether every user can save their format as a draft – or just registered users. That’s all done from the Permission tab.
Just choose your option – and it’s all set.
User Experience
So, now that you know how to set up the Save and Continue feature, what does it look like from the users’ perspective?
Of course, every form is different. Unlimited style options, fields, etc., can be used (which we cover in numerous articles, like this one). For this article, we’ll keep it simple and have a look at what happens when a user saves the form we just created.
First, they’ll see the Save as Draft Option on every page (if you have multiple pages) of the form as they complete it.
When clicked, it will bring up the custom (or default) message to let them know their form was saved. Plus, the user will get a link that they can copy and paste so that they can get back to the form at any time.
Since we incorporated the Send Draft Link, this option is available. All the user has to do is enter their email address and hit – in this case – the ‘Send Draft Link’ button (which, as we talked about, can be edited to say something else).
Instantly, an email will go to the user’s email address. It contains the name of the form, website, link, and expiration date of the link.
All a user has to do is click the link to return to the form and complete it!
Good Save
With Forminator’s new Save and Continue feature, forms will be saved and not forgotten by users who, for whatever reason, can’t complete a form in one session. As you can see, it’s simple to set up in just a few clicks and highly customizable. Plus, this feature is entirely free to use.
This feature is a welcome addition to Forminator, as it was a top request from our users. And so, we’re happy to now include it.
After all, a good form deserves a good save.
How to Add an Author’s Photo in WordPress
Do you want to add an author’s photo in WordPress?
By default, most WordPress themes show the author’s gravatar as their profile picture. However, authors may want to replace this gravatar with another image.
In this article, we will show you how to add an author’s photo in WordPress.
When Do You Need to Add an Author’s Photo in WordPress?
If you run a multi-author WordPress site, then you may decide to add an author info box in WordPress posts. These author bio boxes typically show the author’s profile photo, a brief bio, and link to their website or social profiles.
By default, most WordPress themes use the person’s gravatar as their author photo. However, sometimes you may prefer to use a different image for the author photo.
As a WordPress website owner you may even have rules about the kind of photos you want to show in your author bio boxes. For example, maybe you require your authors to use a professional headshot.
If the author’s gravatar doesn’t meet your rules, then you may want to edit their profile and upload an image that better suits your WordPress blog.
With that in mind, let’s see how you can add an author’s photo in WordPress.
How to Add an Author’s Photo in WordPress
The easiest way to add an author photo in WordPress is by using the PublishPress Authors plugin. This plugin lets authors edit their own profile and author photo by adding a new ‘Author Profile’ area to their WordPress dashboard.
It also gives site admins the power to edit the author’s profile including changing their photo.
First, you’ll need to install and activate the PublishPress Authors plugin. If you need help, then please see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Upon activation, head over to Authors » Settings. You can then go ahead and click on the ‘Display’ tab.
Once you’ve done that, open the ‘Layouts’ dropdown and choose a layout that includes an author photo.
Let’s look at your options.
The default layout is ‘Boxed.’ This shows the author’s information in a box, complete with their author photo.
The ‘Centered’ layout is similar to the boxed layout, but with all of the author’s information centered inside the author bio box.
‘Inline with avatar’ and ‘Simple List’ are both layouts that includes space for an author photo. Here’s an example of the Simple List layout.
Just be aware that those two layouts don’t have space for a bio. Even if the author has added a bio, it won’t be shown on your website.
After choosing your layout, click on the ‘Save Changes’ button. You can now visit your website to see the author photos on your WordPress posts and pages.
Anyone who has registered on your site with the Author role will now be able to upload a photo using the ‘Author Profile’s settings in their WordPress dashboard.
How To Change an Author’s Photo in WordPress
As admin, you can also use PublishPress Authors to change any of the individual author photos that appear on your website. This is useful if an author chooses a photo that isn’t a good fit for your site.
To change an author’s photo, simply go to Authors » Authors.
You will now see a list of all the authors who are registered with your WordPress blog.
From here, you can click on an author’s ‘Edit Author Profile’ link.
Then, just click the ‘Image’ tab.
By default, PublishPress will try to find a gravatar that’s linked to the author’s email address. To use a different author photo, click on the ‘Custom image’ radio button.
Once you’ve done that, click on ‘Select Image.’ You can now choose any image from your WordPress media library, or upload a new image.
Then, just click on the ‘Update’ button.
Your website will now use this new image as the author’s photo.
We hope this article helped you learn how to add an author’s photo in WordPress. You can also go through our comparison of the best WordPress membership plugins, or see our expert guide on how to install Google analytics in WordPress.
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 Add an Author’s Photo in WordPress first appeared on WPBeginner.
How to Import External Images in WordPress
Do you want to import external images in WordPress?
If you have recently moved your website from one platform or host to another, then there is a good chance that you may have external images embedded on your pages.
In this article, we will explain how to properly import those external images in WordPress.
Why Import External Images in WordPress?
External images are images embedded in your content that load from another website or URL different from your main WordPress website.
Most commonly, WordPress users come across external images issue after migrating their website from other platforms like Blogger, Weebly, Joomla, or WordPress.com.
By default, if you use one of the WordPress importers, then it will try to import images. You can see the imported images by visiting Media » Library page in your WordPress admin area.
If you see that all your images are already in the Media Library, but the image URLs in your posts still point to your old website, then you don’t need this article. Instead, you should follow our guide on how to easily update URLs when moving your WordPress site.
However, if you don’t see images imported to your WordPress media library, then continue reading and we will show you how to import those external images.
How to Import External Images in WordPress
The first thing you need to do is to install and activate the Auto Upload Images plugin. For more details, see our step by step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Upon activation, you need to visit the Settings » Auto Upload Images page to review the plugin settings.
The default settings would work for most users, but you can change them as needed.
For example, the plugin will import images to your default WordPress media uploads folder. You can change that by providing a different base URL. Other than that, it also allows you to set filename, image alt tag, image size, and exclude post types.
If you do make some changes, then don’t forget to click on the ‘Save Changes’ button at the bottom of the page to store the new settings.
Next, you will need to update the posts or pages containing the external images. Since this is a manual process, it can be tedious if you have a lot of content.
Luckily, there’s a quick way to update all posts with external images. Simply go to Posts » All Posts page and then click on the Screen Options button at the top.
You need to increase the number in the ‘Number of items per page field’ field to ‘999’ and click the ‘Apply’ button.
WordPress will reload the page, and this time it will show up to 999 posts at a time.
Note: If you have slow web hosting, your server may not be able to handle updating so many posts at once. In that case, you would want to do smaller batches of posts at a time, or consider switching to better WordPress hosting.
Next, you can select all of your posts on this page by clicking the checkbox next to ‘Title’. After that, you should select ‘Edit’ under the bulk actions menu and click the ‘Apply’ button.
WordPress will now show you a ‘Bulk Edit’ box with all selected posts.
You just need to click on the ‘Update’ button, and WordPress will update all your posts.
Remember, don’t change any of the settings in the bulk edit settings that you see. You just need to click the ‘Update’ button.
This will trigger the plugin to check all selected posts and import external images as it finds them.
If you have more than 999 posts, then you will need to visit the next page to select the remaining posts.
We hope this tutorial helped you learn how to import external images in WordPress. You may also want to learn how to create a custom Instagram photo feed, or check out our list of must have plugins to grow your site.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
The post How to Import External Images in WordPress first appeared on WPBeginner.
How to Disable Gravatars in WordPress
Do you want to disable Gravatars in WordPress?
WordPress uses Gravatars to display user profile photos or Avatars. It is a third-party service that allows users to have the same profile photo on different websites.
Gravatars are highly useful, particularly in WordPress comments. However, some users may not want to use Gravatars at all.
In this article, we’ll show you how to easily disable Gravatars in WordPress. We’ll also show you how to use local avatars instead.
Why Disable Gravatars in WordPress
Gravatars are a third-party service that allows users to add a profile photo to their WordPress website and use it across the internet.
Basically, you create an account and then upload your profile photo.
After that, whenever you use that particular email address on a website that supports Gravatar, it will automatically show your profile photo from the Gravatar website.
To learn more see our explainer, What is Gravatar and why you should use it.
However, some website owners may not want to use Gravatars for several reasons.
For instance, they may want to turn it off to improve website performance and speed.
Similarly, some site owners may not want to use Gravatar due to privacy concerns.
That being said, let’s take a look at how to easily disable Gravatars in WordPress.
Disabling Gravatars in WordPress
WordPress makes it super easy to customize or turn off Gravatars on your website.
First, you need to login to the admin area of your website and then go to the Settings » Discussion page.
From here, you need to scroll down to the Avatars section and uncheck the box next to ‘Show Avatars’ option.
Don’t forget to click on the Save Changes button to store your settings.
WordPress will now disable Gravatars across your website. You’ll now see a generic user icon in the admin toolbar instead of your Gravatar image.
Similarly, the comments page inside the admin area will also stop showing Gravatars.
WordPress will also stop showing Gravatar images in the comments area under your posts and pages.
How to Replace Gravatar with Local Avatars in WordPress?
Some users may want to disable Gravatar but still want to display profile photos under author bios and other places.
This allows you to keep the avatar functionality in WordPress and enable users to upload their own profile photos. At the same time, it disables Gravatars and prevents your website to make any requests to Gravatar website.
To do this, you’ll need to install and activate the WP User Avatars plugin. For more details, see our step by step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Upon activation, you need to visit the Settings » Discussion page and check the box next to the ‘Block Gravatar’ option.
Don’t forget to click on the Save Changes button to store your settings.
The plugin will now block any requests to Gravatar.com while allowing you to keep avatar functionality.
To upload profile photos, users will need to upload their own images under their profiles.
Simply go to Users » Profile page. From here, you can upload an image from your computer or use one from the media library.
Don’t forget to click on the Update Profile button to save your changes.
WordPress will now use custom profile photos instead of Gravatars. For all unregistered users it will show the default avatar image you have set in the settings.
For all registered users, it will use the custom avatar image that they uploaded. If a user hasn’t uploaded their custom avatar image, then the plugin will use the default avatar image.
We hope this article helped you learn how to disable Gravatars in WordPress. You may also want to see our guide on how to make a membership website in WordPress, and our comparison of the best WordPress page builder plugins.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
The post How to Disable Gravatars in WordPress first appeared on WPBeginner.
