The post Best WordPress Calendar Plugins 2023 appeared first on WebMonkey.
]]>If your business requires more appointments and events to be successful, you need an effective strategy to present this to potential customers.? A restaurant might need to attain more reservations through its website. Your event management company may need to sell more tickets to events. Your landscaping business will need to book as many consultations to help drive more revenue.
Calendar plugins are an excellent way to make your business stand out for the others. Today, we give you the rundown of the seven best WordPress Calendar Plugins to incorporate on your site. Each option is unique and does something better than the others. You need to determine which WordPress Calendar plugin solves your specific needs most effectively.
The Simple Calendar – Google Calendar Plugin is a straightforward option for your website, much like its name suggests. It is ideal for people with limited technical experience because of its simple features. After you install the plugin, you can display all events from your Google calendar.
The plugin is convenient because you do not need to re-create any of these events in WordPress. You can continue to manage events straight from your Google Calendar, so you never need to add in WordPress events.
You can choose from a variety of edgy designs that match up with your website's theme. Like many other options, you can view the calendar in a list or grid view. These view options also accommodate mobile interfaces. Another convenient feature is that the calendar will automatically set the correct time zone, depending on your web visitors' geographic location.
The Simple Calendar – Google Calendar Plugin also enables you to merge multiple calendars. You can fuse multiple calendar options into single displays using various categories. This versatile add-on also allows you to mix in translations consistently.
This plugin also integrates with the Event Calendar Newsletter. This benefit allows you to convert your events into a newsletter format. With the Simple Calendar – Google Calendar Plugin, you can also distribute your calendar with your email subscribers, without making them navigate your website.
The add-on gives you the option to display your calendar in week and day views if you do not prefer the month view. The Simple Calendar gives your site transparency because you can show your start time and event titles directly on the calendar. And as you navigate through the calendar months, you experience faster load times.
If you run multi-day events, the add-on provides an intuitive design to help you showcase these days. There are also flexible calendar heights with scroll bars. This add-on integrates well with the Google Calendar Pro to help you post color-coded events in each design view.
The Simple Calendar – Google Calendar Plugin allows you to display your events from public and private Google Calendars. If you love color-coordinating, you can also highlight your events with colors that align with your designated Google Calendar event themes.
The calendar will help you list out the attendees, respective avatars, and RSVP status for public and private events. The Google Calendar Pro add-on features also enable you to showcase the organizer's information. The events calendar has a function for attaching documents and links to its source too.
With this add-on, you receive a sable connection between Google and your site because of the OAuth standard. The user also benefits from 24-hour email support throughout the week.
You can manage any number of events with the EventOn WordPress plugin. One of its top features is the beautiful design, which meshes perfectly with your themes and pages. The intuitive interface enables you to customize the calendar aesthetic to align with your website's color scheme trends.
Adding a standard event is a straightforward process. You input event details like title, subtitle, event status, time, and date. The dialog box gives you the option to add in the day and time for the start and end. EventOn also gives you the chance to prepare event lists to showcase events for multiple months right next to each other.
The platform contains many small options to help you make your event standout. You can grab people's attention with a catchy event subtitle. You can display a quick snapshot of the event to help garner user attention. If you have compelling images for the event, you can utilize them to showcase the event.
EventOn manages events that last multiple days, months, and throughout the year. You can showcase your top events by highlighting them, which helps them pop off the screen when visitors navigate your website. EventOn is a popular choice among website owners because it powers over 51,000 event calendars around the world.
The plugin delivers an easy search function for your website visitors. They can toggle between months and filter events to their preferences. If people need directions to your event, they can click directly on the event listing straight from your website. And with the help of WooCommerce support, website visitors can buy tickets for events with ease.
A unique EventOn feature is its live event capabilities. You can now host virtual events with the plugin through Zoom, YouTube, Facebook Live, and Periscope. This feature allows you to connect with your visitors in new and creative ways. You simply create the event, enable the virtual event button, and schedule it via pre-recorded video or stream link.
Other EventOn features include:
My Calendar is the perfect plugin for adding multiple calendars to your website. It is also useful for situations where you own different sites that display an identical calendar. Because My Calendar caters for multi-site capabilities, you can place calendars across your site network from a single WordPress Install. The plugin differentiates itself by enabling a mini-calendar view for a compact display.
Adding an event in My Calendar is simple. After you head over to the “My Calendar” option, you select “add a new event.” Once you create your event, you input your title, event description, event category, and date. The plugin provides you the option to set it as a multi-date event or recurring event. If you want to add in links or images, there is a capability for these too.
My Calendar is an ideal solution for event management because of its customizable options. This plugin is suitable for people of all technical skill levels. All users enjoy friendly flexibility when creating a custom calendar.? With over 30,000 active installations, My Calendar serves as a valuable option for developers and designers alike.
The plugin offers you multiple views for events. You can choose from an aesthetic calendar grid or list, depending on your preference. You can also set the calendar orientation to daily, weekly, or monthly. There are different widgets within the calendar plugin, such as upcoming events, events, event searches, and compact calendars.
My Calendar provides various customized templates for your event publishing. You can also filter the view types by location, category, host, or author. For the advanced developers, there are editable JavaScript behaviors and CSS styles to play around with. If you set a recurring event within your website, My Calendar enables you to schedule these with ease.
Transparency and security are excellent features that come with My Calendar. It comes with permissions that restrict certain areas of My Calendar so that you and your team can operate in privacy. Website administrators also receive an email notification whenever an event is reserved or scheduled. And because you can share events via a network of sites, you can access events from a remote database.
The calendar pro features enable your site visitors to submit calendar events within your website. This plugin also gives logged-in users the right to alter their events from the front-end of the website. The blog integrations with My Calendar help you create events when publishing a post, and vice-versa.
Much like My Calendar, the Events Calendar plugin is suitable for any website that manages events. This versatile feature helps musical groups in advertising future performances. It enables venue owners to showcase future shows coming to the location. My Calendar helps restaurants to outline upcoming specials for the month. It also allows churches to publish upcoming events on the calendar for the congregation.
Not only can you display the calendar from a month view, but you can also show the calendar by day or by list. These different formats help optimize your website for SEO. The plugin also delivers a debug mode and other helpful caching support. The Events Calendar integrates seamlessly with platforms like Google Maps, iCal, and Google Calendar.
The versatile plugin enables all calendar designs to be responsive no matter what interface the user is on. If the visitor is on a smartphone, desktop, or tablet, they will still enjoy a quick, responsive browsing experience. The Events Calendar is made for customization. Website developers can utilize partial template overrides, skeleton stylesheets, hooks, filters, and template tags.
The Events Calendar's ease of use makes it one of the most popular options on WordPress. You will discover how to navigate everything about the plugin within five minutes. Installation on this plugin is also free. There are premium upgrades that are available and affordable between $89 and $299.
You can also take your Events Calendar to higher levels by integrating it with plugins for crowdsourcing, ticketing, and email marketing. Some of the free plugins include advanced post manager and event tickets. Other premium services and plugins include:
You can optimize your Events Calendar experience by upgrading to Events Calendar Pro. Here, you can run online events and manage these virtual meetings all on a single calendar. For events like board meetings, fundraisers, and committee events, you can streamline these dates in a single interface.
The import and export features enable you to add events from other calendars with the plugin's importer. Website owners can also enjoy additional views, shortcodes for calendar embedding, and advanced widgets for sharing any time, any place.
The Booking Calendar was one of the first booking systems that WordPress released. Within the last ten years, website owners installed this plugin over one million times. The Booking Calendar helps simplify the process of viewing availability. Website visitors can check availability for hotels, apartments, and other services. They can then book their spot directly through the calendar on the website.
This plugin helps businesses of all sizes automate the appointment-setting process. It eliminates the need for back and forth dialog on scheduling a consultation session or meeting. Visitors can choose their ideal date and time, fill out a few fields, and finalize the booking. Talking on the phone is a viable option, but most people are looking to avoid the awkward chat and go straight to setting up a time.
On the Booking Calendar back end, website administrators can easily monitor, manage, and apply customization to all bookings. You can also set parameters and limitations to avoid overbooking or double booking. If you want to limit the total amount of bookings for the day or week, you can also set this. Day and times will automatically turn unavailable when your website reaches this limit.
There are many other vital benefits to utilizing the Booking Calendar. Not only does this plugin help a wide array of businesses, but it also stores the settings and bookings in your database. There is no need to use any third-party accounts or services, making it simple for you. You can also choose from a collection of customizable calendar designs, which mesh well with your themed website.
The back and front ends are very easy to use for both beginner and advanced web developers. The Booking Admin Panel is an intuitive interface that organizes all bookings in a listing table or calendar overview. This booking system helps you properly manage your customer base and stay on top of your meetings. Whenever a new booking comes through, the administrator receives an email notification.
Administrators can also search through the various bookings by different parameters. The panel comes with a filter that allows you to find a specific client if needed. Website owners get complete control through this panel because they have the option to accept or decline a meeting when it comes through. The booking dashboard section also gives you a quick snapshot of how many bookings you received.
The All-in-One Event Calendar is one of the most straightforward calendar plugins on the list because of its configuration process. It is as simple as filling out the various form fields, inputting the dates and times, and publishing it. You can adjust additional settings for the contact information, location details, and a section for buying tickets.
This plugin is vital in improving your events for SEO reasons. When you list out a detailed description of the event, your website will pop up higher in search results, driving more customers to your booking system. All-in-One Event Calendar enables you to embed Google Maps within each event field too. Customers can register for the event, click on the link, and learn precisely how to get to the venue.
When site visitors arrive at the website, they can view the calendar by day, week, month, or poster board. There is an option to filter events by date, time, and description. Website creators can also utilize a color-coding feature for organizing events into various categories. This feature helps customers find their ideal event much more straightforward.
The All-in-One Event Calendar also allows the administrator to build out recurring events with irregular patterns. There are also options to share the calendar with Apple iCal, Google Calendar, MS Outlook, and most other systems. With this plugin, you can also import different categories automatically so that the new events reflect correctly within your home calendar.
Installation with this plugin is simple and straightforward. You start with uploading the All-in-One Event Calendar into the plugins directory. Then, you activate the plugin through the menu item in the WordPress Dashboard. After you activate the plugin, you configure it while following a simple set of instructions.
The All-in-One Event Calendar provides a dedicated team of translators, which help in a language like:
The Events Manager provides many valuable benefits to help add events to your website. You can easily create and add events, but the registration features make this an excellent option. You can develop recurring events and use many customization options to make this happen.
Events Manager contains a social aspect of it because of its partnership with the BuddyPress plugin. When you add an event to your site, you can set up discussion forums, user activity feeds, and other community engagement functions. Events Manager also integrates well with other WordPress plugins to enhance your calendar's overall appearance.
As you set up your calendar with Events Manager, you can create as many venues or locations as you need. The plugin integrates with Google Maps so that your visitors understand exactly where each event takes place. The published events display well on your website because of the calendar widgets for the sidebars.
If you would like more features and functionalities, there is also an Events Manager Pro version. This version allows you to accept payments when people register for tickets. There are also coupon code options and a tool for creating custom booking forms. Other features of the Events Manager include:
Whether you are a small or large business, you could always improve how you generate business. Regardless of which WordPress Plugin you decide to put on your website, you will have a reliable process of securing more clients and appointments. The best websites have a strong online calendar system. Differentiate your company today and invest in one of the top WordPress Calendar Plugins.
In the end, we chose the Simple Calendar – Google Calendar Plugin as the best option to take your company to new heights. But we should recap our top seven list one more time:
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]]>The post Best WordPress Plugins for Memberships – Subscription Plugins for Recurring Revenue appeared first on WebMonkey.
]]>To add a membership to your WordPress website, you need a special plug-in. Here are some of the best WordPress membership plugins to help you accrue a loyal, paying fan-base.?
Strapped for time? Here’s the plugin list.?
Still not sold on why you need a membership plugin? Take a look at these reasons.?
Installing a plugin makes it easy to restrict your content to only paying customers. A plugin takes a few minutes to install and get started. You forgo the need to hire a special IT specialist to create membership access.?
Many WordPress membership plugins are free, too, so you don’t have to worry about paying an additional fee to set up restricted access. Plugins are easy to use, so there’s not much else to worry about.?
Email lists allow you to send promotions and coupons to certain customers. This entices them to sign up for your membership, because the customer will end up saving money in the long run. It’s a win-win for you and your loyal fanbase.?
You can also market more products using an email list. This means you’ll get more views on new products that go live. You could also send new sample products to your members before they go live, allowing you to gauge customer interest and potentially scrap a product that doesn’t seem to have much enthusiasm behind it.?
If a member likes your content enough, they’ll be willing to pay more for exclusive perks. Such perks could include getting access to content first, getting higher-quality content compared to what’s available on the free version, and getting offers on exclusive deals unavailable to non-members.?
Charging for premium content is one way to boost revenue for your company. This is especially true for memberships charged yearly. You can make a substantial amount of money from just a few memberships, which allows you to grow and expand your business greater than Google Adsense Revenue or affiliate links could give you (depending on the type of website you run).?
No one wants to jump into a membership without knowing the product they’ll get. Having free content on your website acts as a sort of sampler for potential customers.?
Customers who like the free version will want more, better content. Some of them will be willing to pay for memberships as a result. Focusing on growing your audience through the free services you provide winds up getting you paid members in the long run.?
Sold on getting the best membership plugins for WordPress? Here are some of the best ones you can download today.?
LearnDash allows you to create a membership experience for your website easily. You can sell courses, set up content restrictions, and install payment features with this powerful WordPress Plugin.?
Once you’ve created your course, LearnDash has the tools to parcel out your content through lessons. It also lets you keep track of the people who bought your course, allowing you to follow up with them on exclusive deals and other course packages.
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These features let your customers feel like they’re entering a safe space to continue to learn and connect with other members on your website, which not only builds brand loyalty but sets your site apart from other membership sites that don’t foster a sense of community.
MemberPress is one of WordPress’s most popular plugins for memberships. It also comes with a sizable amount of features, making it a formidable competitor among other membership plugins.?
You can toggle which content gets viewed and which doesn’t through the MemberPress settings.?
Thus, MemberPress allows you to add all the essential features you need to create a robust membership driven website at your fingertips.?
Paid Member Subscription allows you to set up ecommerce stores and restricted access on your WordPress and WooCommerce sites.?
Teachable is the all-encompassing course builder for members. You can add not only courses but memberships, discussion forums, analytics, and email marketing using just this one app.?
Features
Therefore, it shouldn’t take that much time to set up your course on WordPress.?
You can also implement contact forms and certificates to help further boost user engagement using Teachable, creating brand loyalty and community among users.?
Users will like how easy it is to engage with the online forum, taking quizzes, and engaging with the Teachable-based platform.?
Those monthly costs add up to be much more expensive than the yearly plans other plugins offer. However, you might deem the extra features Teachable offers to be worth it.?
Restrict Content Pro does exactly what its name suggests. You can establish which viewers at different membership plans can see what content. You can also easily drip content so that you have a steady stream of content coming out to different payment plans.?
Restrict Content Pro is from the same team that made the well-known plugins AffiliateWP and Easy Digital Downloads. Here’s what else Restrict Content Pro offers.?
S2Member is a free WordPress membership plugin. It has a paid pro version available too. It’s been around for quite some time, accruing a loyal and devoted user base.?
MemberMouse lets you find the right payment plan for your site depending on the number of members you want to build. Check out what the plugin offers.?
Selling memberships is yet another way you can make money on the internet — but actually setting up the membership is more difficult that it seems. While you’ll still have to create the content or courses for paid members, you can use one of the seven membership plugins on the list to make establishing a membership on your website much easier.?
We recommend LearnDash for those who want to sell courses on their WordPress website. LearnDash makes it easy to restrict content to only paying members, set up courses, accept payment options, and build a community around your brand. It could be a bit expensive for solo web hosts at a little over $100 a month, but we think that cost is worth it.?
If you don’t plan on selling courses, then we recommend MemberPress. MemberPress is the one-stop-shop for setting up a membership program on your WordPress site. It allows you to restrict content, drip content, add payment plans, and otherwise set up a powerful membership site.?
These were some of the best membership plugins for WordPress. You can get started on establishing your member-based website today.?
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]]>The post Best WordPress Security Plugins 2023 : Top Add-Ons to Stop Hackers and Brute Force Attacks appeared first on WebMonkey.
]]>It can be tough to know which WordPress security plugin is right for you, but luckily, we’re here to help. Here, we’re going to go over the best security plugins available for both personal and professional WordPress users.
Here’s a quick overview of all our favorite WordPress security plugins and how they compare in important areas.
| Site | Overall Score (/5) | Free Plan/Trial? | Starting Plan (/year) |
| Sucuri | 4.7 | Y | $199.99 |
| Wordfence | 4.4 | Y | $99 |
| iThemes | 4.6 | Y | $80 |
| Bulletproof | 4.0 | Y | $69.95 |
| MalCare | 4.2 | Y | $99 |
| SecuPress | 3.9 | Y | $69.99 |
| Jetpack | 4.2 | Y | $99 |
Best Overall
Sucuri is one of the most well-known names in security when it comes to WordPress websites. It also works for other popular site building platforms, including Joomla, Drupal, Magneto, and more, making it a versatile choice for web developers.
Pros:
Cons:
Sucuri is fairly easy to use for most users. The user interface is intuitive, though there can be a bit of a learning curve for more advanced features. In general, though, it’s easy for even tech novices to customize their security settings to best protect their website.
Malware Scanning: Depending on the plan you choose, Securi will scan for malware every 12 hours to every 30 minutes.
Instant notifications: If your website is hacked, you’ll receive an immediate notification that something is wrong.
Firewall Protection: Paid plans offer some of the best DDoS and firewall protection of any WordPress security plugin available on the market.
Malware Removal: Sucuri will clean up any website infected by malware, including existing websites requiring thorough cleaning.
Blacklist Monitoring: Securi will ensure that your website doesn’t get blacklisted thanks to hackers’ actions.
Sucuri offers a free version that scans and eliminates the most common threats facing WordPress website owners. You’ll have access to features such as malware scanning, integrity and blacklist monitoring, and security hardening at no extra cost.
If you’re looking for more advanced security, Sucuri offers three tiers with additional features such as firewall security and SSL support. You can choose between the Basic version for $199.99 per year or the Pro version for $299.99 annually. There’s also a Sucuri Business plan available for $499.99 per year that offers a malware removal SLA.
Best Free Option
Wordfence is one of the most popular security plugins for WordPress around, with over 150 million installs. It allows you to see and fight threats in real-time, whether they come from bots, Google crawlers, or hackers trying to access your site.
Pros:
Cons:
Wordfence has a user-friendly dashboard that’s easy to navigate even for those new to the software. You can easily configure your security setup and check on potential threats in real-time. Even tech novices will have no trouble using even the more advanced features of Wordfence.
Real-Time Monitoring: See data about potentially malicious traffic in real-time to stop attempted attacks.
Malware Scanning: Scan files, plugins, themes, and more to ensure that they’re safe for your site.
Repair Functions: If files are corrupted, you can view and repair them.
Country Blocking: Wordfence lets you block all traffic from geographic regions known for cybercrime.
Two-Factor Authentication: 2FA capabilities let you make it harder for hackers to make their way past your website’s defenses using brute force attacks.
Web Application Firewall: A WAF ensures that threats are blocked before they get a chance to reach your site.
Wordfence offers a free version of the software that provides plenty of protection for most small websites. You get much more than many other free options, including two-factor authentication, real-time analytics, malware scanning, and a WAF.
If you want an even higher level of protection, you can upgrade to Wordfence Premium to access more security features. Premium plans start at $99 per year and include advanced options such as spam protection, real-time updates, and top-level support.
If you own multiple websites, you can save on Wordfence Premium plans by buying in bulk. You can save up to 25% by buying more than one site key. However, there aren’t multiple pricing tiers for users protecting a single website.
Most Versatile Choice
iThemes fights malware, spam, hackers, and more with a wide range of security features. It’s trusted amongst WordPress users worldwide, thanks to its strong focus on eliminating vulnerabilities against brute force attacks.
Pros:
Cons:
It’s easy to install iThemes security and use it to protect your WordPress website. The intuitive interface is easy to navigate, though there are many different features to sort through. It may take some time to get used to all of the different security options available to you.
Plenty of Options: There are more than 30 different security features to choose from when using iThemes Pro.
Malware Scanning: iThemes offers malware scanning through Sucuri’s SiteCheck Malware Scanner.
404 Detection: Find hidden problems causing 404 errors for your website.
Brute Force Protection: Avoid bots or hackers attacking your password with a brute force attack.
Away Mode: Protect your dashboard when you’re away from your computer.
Backups: You can schedule regular backups of your database.
Strong Passwords: You can gain access to airtight passwords and 2FA features.
The free version of iThemes offers enough basic protection for most small websites and personal projects. However, it’s less comprehensive than many other free plugin options available on the market.
iThemes Security Pro offers many more features designed to help protect your website against cyber attacks. Three premium plans offer security options such as 2FA, malware scans, free updates, and support for up to two websites. There’s a blogger plan for $80 per year, a small business plan for $127 per year, and a Gold plan for $199 annually.
Best for Pro Developers
If you’re looking for customization, Bulletproof Security gives you complete control over just how you want to operate different security features to protect your website.
Pros:
Cons:
While Bulletproof offers plenty of protection for web developers of all skill levels, it can be challenging to figure out for those with less experience. The interface isn’t the most user-friendly. It can take a while to figure out how to use the software’s unique settings, though a setup wizard can make things a little bit easier.
Login Security: Special login security and monitoring features ensure that only authorized users can access your website.
Database Backups: Backup and restore corrupted databases to keep your website running smoothly.
Malware Scanning: An MScan malware scanner checks for threats to alert you before they become a problem.
Advanced Security Tools: Unique options such as BPS Pro ARQ Intrusion Detection allow experienced web developers to optimize their security settings.
The free Bulletproof plugin offers a wide variety of tools that can help to keep small websites safe. You can even get database backups without any extra charge, which most other security plugins don’t offer.
If you want to upgrade to the Bulletproof Premium, it costs just $69.95. The software is actively updated and developed so that you know you’re getting the strongest protection possible against both old and emerging threats. The company offers a 30-day moneyback guarantee in the event you aren’t satisfied.
Best for Cleaning Up
MalCare is one of the few WordPress security plugins designed to not only detect malware but also eliminate it. It’s fast, effective, and users trust the plugin’s intelligent approach to online security.
Pros:
Cons:
MalCare is easy to use, with a clean layout and a dashboard that’s easy to read and navigate. It makes threats clear and gives you control over which actions you’d like to take, from scanning for malware to removing it.
Remote Malware Scanning: Unlike many other plugins, MalCare’s remote scanner won’t overload your server.
One-Click and Automated Malware Removal: You can get rid of malware you find on your computer with just the click of a button or a scheduled purge.
Developer Tools: MalCare offers both client reports and white labeling.
Country Blocking: Block addresses from geographical regions attempting to hack your site.
Firewall Protection: Guard against brute force attacks in real-time.
MalCare offers a free plan that gives you basic malware scanning capabilities. You can detect threats to your website, but you won’t have access to the tools you need to fix the issue.
If you want a greater protection level, MalCare offers a range of premium plans that include advanced options such as single-click malware removal. Personal plans start at $99 per year, but you can also find plans for developers with multiple websites. The Small Business plan costs $259 per year, while the Developers plan costs $599 annually.
Best for Novice Users
While relatively new to the market, SecuPress has made a name for itself as an effective WordPress security plugin over the years. It’s easy to use and offers all of the security features most web developers need to protect their site, especially from brute force attacks.
Pros:
Cons:
SecuPress is one of the easiest plugins around to use, no matter your level of expertise. It’s got a sleek and simple dashboard that’s a breeze to navigate. SecuPress lets you choose exactly which features you want to enable or disable to keep your site safe.
Regular Scans: You can set up a 35 checkpoint security scan or a PHP malware scan in no time flat, checking themes, plugins, and more.
Malware Removal: If you’re willing to pay a fee, you can have a professional remove malware from your website to have it up and running smoothly once more.
Login Protection: SecuPress lets you protect your site against brute force protection attacks.
Geo-Blocking: Block entire geographic regions if you’re suffering from repeated attacks.
WordPress Backups. Ensure your files and databases are safe with online backups.
The free version of SecuPress offers plenty of features that can help protect your website from brute force attacks, including login protection, blocked IP’s as well as a firewall. The free plan will also guard you against most hackers and malicious bots.
If you want access to more advanced features such as two-factor authentication, Geo-blocking, PHP malware scans, and instant notifications, you need to upgrade to a premium plan starting at $69.99 per year. You also have to pay an additional fee for malware removal and professional configuration of your site.
Best Value for Your Money
Jetpack offers a wide variety of features for your WordPress website, and the plugin isn’t just limited to security functions. It gives you a comprehensive way to revamp your site and attract the kind of traffic you’re looking for.
Pros:
Cons:
The same people who make WordPress make Jetpack, so naturally, they’re easy to use together. However, it can be somewhat confusing to navigate the user interface with all of the additional features. It may take some time to get used to using all of the different modules available.
Control of Social Media: Jetpack can help you to control your social media posts, photos, and videos that appear on your site.
Spam Protection: You can avoid annoying and sometimes dangerous spam messages in your inbox.
Backup: Ensure you don’t lose valuable data with a paid backup.
Brute Force Attack Protection: Ensure you don’t fall victim to hackers using brute force on your password.
Secure Sign-on: Protect your website against unauthorized parties acting as you at login.
Jetpack’s free version is enough for most personal and small business websites to protect themselves against hackers and malware. It includes features such as brute force attack protection and secure login.
You can access more security features by upgrading to a premium plan, starting at $99 per month. There’s a Backup plan, a Scan plan, and an anti-spam plan that all offer basic protection. You can also get Jetpack Security or Jetpack Complete, which both offer even more real-time security features.
Before you launch your website, it’s crucial that you take steps to protect yourself against cyber attacks by investing in a security plugin. However, the question remains: how do you pick the right plugin for your WordPress website?
You can find plugin options to suit any style of website, from personal blogs to online storefronts. However, there are a couple of important things to keep in mind when it comes to WordPress security plugins.
If you’re a tech novice, it’s best to stick to security plugins with a user-friendly setup. The dashboard should be easy to read and navigate without too steep of a learning curve. On the other hand, more advanced developers may want to opt for customizable security options that may be too complex for beginners.
For many of us, the most critical consideration when it comes to web plugins is cost. If you’re on a budget, you can find plenty of free WordPress security plugin options ideal for smaller websites. However, if you want access to advanced security features, you may want to upgrade to a premium option.
When it comes to security features, more is always better. However, keep in mind what type of website you’re setting up when you consider what you want. For example, a blogger may be concerned about login page protection, while online storefronts may be more concerned with financial data encryption capabilities.
Many WordPress security plugins offer a free, bare-bones version of their product for those looking to improve their online security without breaking the bank. Most free software provides basic protection on top of the options already included by WordPress.
While free plugins might suit some users, they aren’t the best option for everybody. They offer limited security, especially for WordPress websites that include data collection features, such as online shops.
For just a few dollars each month, most plugins will let you upgrade to a paid version that offers far more security features than the free software. For example, instead of just basic firewall protection, you may also gain access to tracking options, recovery tools, and more.
If you’re worried about the security of you or your customers’ data, we recommend springing for a paid security plugin instead of a more basic free option. Look for something that provides maximum protection for your WordPress website. Many plugins offer tiered pricing depending on the level of security you need.
Installing a security plugin for your WordPress website is always a good idea. With so many options available on the market, though, it can be tough to figure out which will provide the best protection for you. That’s why we recommend Sucuri as our favorite WordPress security plugin, along with six other top-quality options to keep your site safe.
With the right WordPress security plugin, you can keep both you and your customers safe from online attacks. Investing in the right security can make all the difference in the long-term success of your website.
If you’re still considering which security plugin is best for you, consider these tips.
Most WordPress plugins are developed with the novice user in mind, so they’re all generally easy to use. SecuPress has one of the easiest dashboards to navigate, with clear labeling and color-coding.
If you’re looking for more control over your online security, you may want to opt for something that allows you to take control and customize safety solutions. Bulletproof Security offers a range of tools geared towards more advanced web developers.
Almost all security plugin options offer a free version of their software. Often, this is enough for web developers on a budget looking to amp up their online protection. If you’re looking for more advanced features, Jetpack security offers some of the best value for your money, though options such as SecuPress cost less annually.
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]]>Plugins are third-party software programs that add new features to your existing site. Written in PHP, these plugins can easily integrate with your current theme.
In this discussion, we will cover seven of the best WordPress SEO plugins to improve your traffic and optimize your page for search engines.
Most WordPress reviews admit that these seven plugins are a “must-have” if you're serious about standardizing your website.
Yoast SEO proved to be the best, offering a balance between costly but thorough research. Below, we detail the pros and cons of each plugin.
Why hire an SEO consultant when Yoast SEO can give you that consultation for free? Yoast can teach you how to get more traffic from search engines, attract social media users, and increase engagement with many interactive features.
Yoast helps you automatically create related keywords and synonyms for better SEO traffic, based on your input. You can also improve indexing by controlling the metadata, allowing search and social platforms to identify your site.
You get previews of how your site looks on social platforms and a readability check for natural flowing sentences and SEO efficiency. You can even check against duplicate content or mark certain links as “no follow.”
Some of our favorite features include getting suggestions for internal linking, the ability to add proper internal linking structure, and content insights, which intelligently analyzes your SEO keyword strategy.
Customer support includes premium level, and one year of 24/7 support and updates, or free, just a knowledge base. Yoast SEO was the plugin most users put at the top of their list.
Price
Some consider SEMRush the best overall SEO tool, on account of all the awards its won (US Search, MENA Search, SEMY, Interactive Marketing) and how comprehensive its set of tools are to the experienced web manager.
SEMRush does let you find organic keywords and search terms that you can actually compete for and easily rank for – which is much appreciated in a competitive field. Designed to help you outperform the competition, you can analyze other websites, including their ads, content, and social media pages.
You can research what other sites are doing with your targeted keywords and discover ways to top them. Aim for the top 10 results with focus keywords and also integrate your social media accounts.
SEMRush also auto-researches your industry, going so far as to report market leaders, game changers, and influencers to watch, see how they're breaking the industry, and do to capitalize.
The plugin assists in four areas: eCommerce, enterprise, and lead generation for larger agencies. You can select PPC, content marketing, or social media ads for easy management and tracking.
The only reason SEMRush isn't higher ranked is because of its high price compared to other plugins.
It can be a chore going through the maze of the Google Analytics website. Most days, you want a fast update with the most relevant information. The Google Analytics Dashboard by ExactMetrics will report on traffic spikes, insights, real-time stats, and even eCommerce tracking.
You can easily customize the plugin to track affiliate links, Adsense banner ads, file downloads, outbound link clicks, and conversions for each WordPress form. You can even check out advanced insights like scroll depth (how long people scroll on your site), referrals from traffic sources, custom event tracking, and custom analytical reports that you design.
There's no need to hire a developer when all you have to is click a few buttons and get reports delivered to your WordPress dashboard. The premium service comes with a 14-day money-back guarantee.
If you're a bit lost looking over the complex results from Google Analytics or Yoast, know that SEO Squirrely offers a more accessible interface. The plugin also lets you manage your content in a search-friendly and ideal for human readers.
SEO Squirrely helps with tasks like finding targeted keywords, analyzing your content for mistakes and efficiency, and giving advice on improving the user experience. Choose between a non-SEO export mode, or perform 300 various SEO tasks manually.
With SEO Squirrely, you can check traffic reports, track engagement with your content, and even see ranking positions for all your pages accordingly. Get suggestions from AI on how to bring more traffic and how to make your pages more visible and readable for long-scrolling.
The plugin also performs several technical issues, such as generating an XML sitemap and also helps you create viable rich snippets and social snippets. The so-called “Non-Human Private SEO Consultant that lives inside your WordPress” doesn't compete with other SEO plugins but enhances them.
Using red/green elements design explains what you need to do to change red-coded problems (site and SEO issues) into a green solution. The more “greens” you have, the more you will notice a correlation between top Google search results.
Along with an easy interface, SEO Squirrely also comes with an education cloud, coaching lessons, and 14 “recipes” to follow to improve SEO traffic immediately.
The free version of the plugin is limited by volume, but surprisingly, most features are still enabled.
The WPML plugin is ideal if you're going for an international or multilingual audience. The plugin was designed for blogs, not just corporate sites, meaning it has many advanced features beyond simple translation.
The plugin performs technical processes, such as translating pages and taxonomy, menus, theme texts, and custom types. The plugin also works with every theme, plugin, or even page builders that use modern API.
You also get control over-optimization, specifically for multiple languages. Customize how you want URLs to look, or set SEO metadata for translations. Sitemaps are also generated for the language of choice and guaranteed to pass Google Webmasters validation.
With this plugin, search engines can understand your site's structure and not be confused by inconsistent language. Drive traffic to the right pages, but always in the right language.
WPML comes in two versions: blog and CMS. Over 40 languages are installed and available for easy translation and publishing. Another great feature is that you can add your unique language variants to the WPML language editor. Or, you can customize different languages according to directories, domains, or subdomains.
Subscription rates are for the year, with a lower renewal rate than signup, making it fairly inexpensive.
Many plugins developers claim their product is free but lets you download a “lite” version. Not so with SEO Framework, perhaps the only 100 percent freeware plugin that's useful for SEO. No ads, no waiting, and no limits on what the product offers.
SEO Framework is not built for an agency but a small business. It's also powerful enough to support a team and not just an individual. It integrates with WordPress and offers a colored scale showing how to optimize your posts for searchability.
By hovering the mouse cursor over the column, you get detailed notes on how to improve your pages according to traditional white-hat theory. It's a must-have for users who have a limited understanding of SEO in the first place, particularly Google's penalization policies.
SEO Framework operates on an almost-expert level, with the ability to generate meta tags (in multiple languages) and automating various technical processes. You don't have to be an expert to understand the menus.
You tweak various words and structures according to the automated advice, which is based on Google webmaster guidelines – a great source of information for modern web design. Another excellent feature is the free support forums where users answer questions, usually within 48 hours.
You can also get advice for sharing on social media, avoid the most common mistakes, check for duplicated content, and notifying search engines when new content has been published.
While SEO Framework doesn't have the in-depth analytics or systems of paid services, they offer a competitive package for a growing company (or individual) who can't afford to invest in something more significant.
Called the “most affordable” plugin, SEO Press offers a low-cost monthly subscription or a free SEO tool kit for free, with limited options. Basic SEO services are provided, even for the free services, such as automatic breadcrumbs (linking pages together), redirections, sitemaps, and broken link monitoring.
With an installation wizard, you can easily modify title tags or create a sitemap for indexing. Manage meta description for every post, page, or custom post type. Or, opt to improve your social networking presence with open graph protocol, pioneered by Facebook. An “open graph” lets you standardize metadata to represent a page's content more efficiently.
Despite being low-cost (or free for the lite plan), the service does not contain ads, nor does it send back private information to the publisher. Multiple features are free, such as titles, metadata, sitemaps, content analysis, unlimited keywords, and some Google analytics integration.
For the premium service, additional features include importing and exporting SEO data, custom schemas, URL rewriting, breadcrumbs, 404 monitoring (for missing pages), WooCommerce integration, and unlimited sites.
One reason to download an SEO plugin immediately is to protect your site against a Google search penalty. Google's penalties against websites have been well-documented, and in some cases, highly speculated upon, since the company explains very little about their algorithms.
While many will debate over what companies are allowed to earn #1 ranking, most smaller companies are guilty of minor breachers – most of which can be resolved. Even if you do get penalized, you can take steps to correct the issues, using Google's webmaster site, or even reading a list of known Google penalties, such as from Search Engine Journal.
Keep in mind that many plugins and even some themes will not work with older versions of WordPress. Most plugins require not only a newer WordPress installation, such as 5.5.1 but also a newer PHP version 5.620 or higher.
While it's easy to update WordPress with just a click, updating PHP older versions may require installing new software on the web host Cpanel directory and then reinstalling WordPress. Your web host may assist with these issues, or they may not have higher PHP updates. Contact the company to know for sure.
Things have changed quite a bit, and unfortunately, many businesses are experiencing “unexplained” drops in traffic as a result. As many SEO consultants would tell you, ranking high in SERPs is now a matter of better customizing your content for a targeted audience.
According to influencer Neil Patel, some SEO fundamental principles are still the same. Choosing the right keywords is critical, but it's not just about producing keyword-friendly content anymore.
Some tips he recommends (and which some of our plugins address) include:
It's important to backup your entire website before installing new plugins, new themes, or even a new version of WordPress. You can do this with software (for example, a company like BlogVault) or by merely downloading/exporting your website onto your computer for importing a WordPress backup or restoring a MySQL database.
Some people avoid the crashing problem altogether by creating a clone of their live website and using it just for installing plugins or themes to make sure the system doesn't crash.
Usually, crashes happen because a plugin, written by an amateur, could be poorly coded or conflict with another plugin on your site. Not all plugins integrate well with others. Plugins can also crash with your choice of theme or even your version of WordPress.
If you've received a white screen after installing a new plugin, don't panic! You can be alarmed, yes, because obviously something went wrong and your site is not displaying correctly. But what's important is that you still have options.
If you can still access the admin area, visit the plugins.php and deactivate the new plugin manually. You may have to deactivate more than one plugins or themes if you're unsure where the conflict is happening.
If you can still access themes, go select a default meme until you remove all the errors/conflicts. If you can't access anything, go to your files directory and Cpanel, provided by the web host.
You can rename the plugins folder and immediately deactivate all plugins automatically. If the white screen is still there, you may need to revert to a default WordPress theme. You can go to the themes folder and delete the theme from the server. WordPress should then go back to a default theme, restoring admin privileges.
Sometimes the white screen provided an error message, saying something like “Line 52” or something similar. While you could theoretically try to fix the bad coding yourself, never attempt to do this without first backing up the CSS file and any other files you're going to be manually editing.
If you mess up the code even more so, you need to paste the text as it was, especially if you don't understand coding. The safer alternative might be to reinstall WordPress and import your content all over again, rather than hire an expert to find the error.
Our research concluded that SEO Yoast was the most-wanted and researched plugin for WordPress, though there was formidable competition from other developers.
Remember that keyword marketing success is about understanding your target audience and not merely producing keyword content. Marketing professionals understand what the target audience is looking for and the best ways to reach them.
As recent news developments have shown, finding success in SERPs is determined not only by quality writing but also:
Companies are investing millions in modern SEO marketing because the rules have changed considerably from ten years ago. Customized content and relevant content is what matters and that’s where these plugins can help.
Downloading an SEO plugin for WordPress is the first step to making your site competitive locally, nationally, and, most of all, to the readers more likely to buy.
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