WordPress tips
What is an ‘excerpt’ in WordPress?
Excerpts can be really handy in allowing you to craft a short summary of your post. The WordPress codex has this to say about them: “The WordPress Excerpt is an optional summary or description of a post; in short, a post summary. The Excerpt has two main uses: It replaces the full content in RSS…
Read MoreHow do I get rid of the ‘briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance message’?
Have you ever seen this message when you’ve been updating your plugins or themes? Did you panic? I certainly did! Don’t worry about it. It’s a default message that WP puts out while it’s doing your updates, but occasionally the message can get stuck even though your updates have completed, usually because of problems getting…
Read MoreWhat is two-factor authentication (or 2FA)?
Two-factor authentication (2FA) is may be something you’ve never heard of, but I bet you’ve used it. It basically means requiring an extra layer of security, usually a device of some sort that you carry with you – like your bank card when you want to set up new payment details online, or your phone…
Read MoreWhy do I have to keep my WordPress plugins up to date?
Off the top of my head I can think of four reasons: Because they often introduce new functionality which sometimes makes your life a whole lot easier Because they nearly always fix known bugs Because WordPress core has been updated and the plugin no longer works properly with the new version of WordPress And finally,…
Read MoreDo broken links on your site affect your SEO?
Yes, they do. They lose you Google points, plus they increase your bounce rate because your visitors get frustrated and click away. To check for broken links, either have a look in your Google Search Console, or use the Broken Link Checker plugin, but only do it once every six months or so, and when…
Read MoreWhat’s the best way to find out if the domain name I want is available?
The best places to check are Nominet, the UK’s biggest domain name registry, and ICANN, who, amongst many other things, perform the same function for global/US domain names. So if you want a domain name ending in, say, .co.uk, .uk, .org.uk or .london, check its availability first on Nominet’s whois page. If you want a…
Read MoreWhat is an SSL certificate and why do you need one?
What is an SSL certificate? SSL stands for ‘Secure Socket Layer’ and is a widget that encrypts data sent between your website and the visitor’s browser, whether that’s on a computer, tablet or phone. The ‘certificate’ is the bit of data that tells the browser that your SSL is a valid one. How do you…
Read MoreDo WordPress websites use cookies?
I was asked a question today about whether or not WordPress websites need cookies so I did some digging to find out whether or not cookie notices are required on every website, and this is what I found out: All WordPress websites use cookies. Why is this important? Well, in 2011 the European Union introduced…
Read MoreFive reasons you need a WordPress maintenance package
WordPress maintenance (or care) packages are all the rage these days, but do you really need one?
The short answer is ‘no’, but only if you know what you’re doing and you have time to do it.
Upload folder is not writable. Export and file upload features will not be functional.
This is a WordPress error I received recently when migrating a site from a development domain to the live domain. It sounds really scary, but the fix is actually quite easy.
Read More