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Tips, Tricks & Reviews

A blog dedicated to the WordPress community for designers and administrators

Yoast will soon intergrate live indexing for Bing and Google

So it seems like the Yoast team has the integration figured out for Bing. For Google? That is still being determined. While Bing doesn’t have nearly as big of a market share as Google, it’s still a great source for organic traffic. The Bing Webmaster Tool’s Submit URL feature is nearly instantaneous. Simply copy and paste your URL in the box, hit the button, and a second or two later, you’re done! Contrast that with Google’s URL inspection tool which requires multiple interactions and a bit of patience to submit a URL, and Bing’s speed becomes much more appreciated.

February 7, 2019 News, SEO

Domain Authority metric getting a major overhaul to its score system

There’s no denying that MOZ’s Domain Authority and Page Authority metrics have been an invaluable tool for SEO’s. When used to compare websites with similar content, it aids to formulate a strategy for improving keyword rankings in search engines. However, with the rise in popularity of Majestic’s Trust Flow and Citation Flow, its dominance has waned somewhat. Now, it appears to take back the crown as the most trusted domain measuring metric.

February 5, 2019 News, SEO

Niche Dreams – Part 7: Celebrity Edition

I can’t help but occasionally search for other Amazon affiliate websites to help me formulate strategies for my own website. Recently, I found one whose domain is supposedly registered by a famous TV icon of years past. It’s possible that the name might be coincidental, but I really don’t think so. Before I dive into that, I’ll go over this month’s statistics, per usual. First, for the readers of Niche Pursuits, I just want to say, you guys are awesome! It’s been several months now since the first report of Niche Site Project 4 and the remaining participants should feel […]

February 2, 2019 Niche Dreams

Upcoming WordPress feature causes concern among security experts

Similar to Gutenberg, this WSOD feature seems like a great idea on the surface. However, unintended consequences (like Gutenberg’s compatibility issues) will surely cause more harm than good. While it’s extremely frustrating and embarrassing to have a website crash, part of the job of a web host is to troubleshoot and remedy the issue asap.

January 31, 2019 News, Security

Protect Your Server with Pyxsoft Anti Malware 2.0 for WHM

In previous blog posts, I’ve briefly mentioned using Pyxsoft Anti Malware for actively monitoring my server for attackers. In essence, it’s a security plugin for Web Hosting Manager for servers that run CentOS or CloudLinux. Features include blocking potential malicious uploads (authorized – such as from a form; or via an exploit) and brute force protection (like repeated WordPress login attempts). The plugin also can scan your server for malware automatically or upon request. The Pyxsoft team claims that their database has over 4 million virus definitions! Having used Pyxsoft Anti Malware for the better part of 3 years for […]

January 24, 2019 News, Security

Did Bing just get blacklisted in China by their “Great Firewall”?

Since no news (or even confirmation) from the Chinese has been presented as to why Bing went bye-bye, one can only speculate. If I had to guess, I’d say that the increasing tensions of U.S.-China relations have played a part. The trade war between the two countries is as vicious as ever. On top of that, the detention at U.S. request of a Chinese CFO of the mega-corporation Huawei in Canada has caused an even further rift. This banning of Bing could be another tit-for-tat with Microsoft, of all companies, being an innocent victim.

January 23, 2019 News

How not to get stuck with an outdated WordPress theme

Chances are, if you’re reading this, you’ve either been a victim of an abandoned theme or you’re considering purchasing a staple theme that will be used for future clients. Fortunately, for me, one of my main go-to themes has been wildly popular and receives updates on a consistent basis. I consider myself lucky because there really is no fool-proof method to predict whether a theme will dissolve into obscurity.

January 22, 2019 News, Tips

Popular WordPress plugin website defaced by an upset former employee

If indeed this attack was carried out by a former employee, it has to be one of the dumbest of all time. Jail time and fines are certain to follow for the perpetrator. I’m sure many of us have been unfairly treated by a former boss or two. However, that doesn’t excuse such behavior as to destroy property and harass or intimidate that company’s clients.

January 21, 2019 News, Security

WordPress 5.1 will display PHP Warnings for outdated PHP versions

There is no reason NOT to upgrade your PHP version to 7.x. It’s faster, more secure and has features that some plugins and themes require anyhow. Perhaps the only websites running a lesser PHP version are those that haven’t been updated in ages. If that’s the case, there is a good chance that the theme being used has been abandoned which would necessitate a redesign.

January 16, 2019 News, Security

Should you redirect all 404 errors to your homepage?

I used to get requests from clients to redirect all non-existent/broken pages to the home page. This was especially common for redesigns of websites where garbage pages created by other agencies were unwanted. The rationale is that if someone comes across one of these abandoned pages via search results, the home page would be a better welcome/entrance than a 404 page.

January 15, 2019 News