It's easy to clone a WordPress site, once you understand a few basics. If you are a newbie to WordPress, using a plugin is the simplest way to do it. That’s how I started out. The first time I cloned a site, I tried to do it manually. Copying the files was simple and straightforward. But, the database mystified me. I had little knowledge of what it was and no idea how to replicate it, so I ended up using a plugin for the entire site migration (files and database). Gradually, as I researched, … [Read more...] about Manually Clone a WordPress Site in 5 Steps
WordPress
How to Choose a WordPress Theme
Finding Your Way Through the Labyrinth In April, I shared some of my insights and experiences with choosing themes at the WordPress Southwest Florida MeetUp. Below are the slides and key topics from my presentation. There has been an explosion in the number of themes being developed in the past few years. The sheer volume of offerings can make theme selection an overwhelming challenge. Thus, making an informed choice is the first step towards a wise choice. The Early … [Read more...] about How to Choose a WordPress Theme
Introduction to Web Design
Key Design Principles and How to Implement Them! In November, I shared some of my web design knowledge at the WordPress Southwest Florida MeetUp. Below are my slides and the key topics from the evening's presentation. Overview Web design is the visual styling and layout of a website. It requires a good understanding of color, type, alignment, and harmony. With pleasing aesthetics, organized navigation, and sensible UX, visitors are more likely to stay on the site, view multiple … [Read more...] about Introduction to Web Design
How to Disable Gutenberg in WordPress 5
The new block editor, Gutenberg, is packaged as part of the core in WP5. If your site uses another block editor plugin, it may not be fully compatible with Gutenberg (i.e. Divi, Visual Composer, Avada Fusion are a few). Elementor and Beaver Builder work fine with Gutenberg. If you are not ready to use Gutenberg, there are 2 easy ways to disable it: (1) Install and activate Classic Editor plugin: this will restore the original "classic" editor that you are already familiar with.Full … [Read more...] about How to Disable Gutenberg in WordPress 5
Home Page Widgets in WordPress
The Role of Widget Areas The natural tendency is for users to place their content on the home page itself: Pages > Home > Edit. It is perfectly fine to use the visual editor tab and put the text and images inside the content area. If you know code, you could use the text tab for inserting HTML and CSS. On the other hand, using the home page widgets gives you access to many cool options that will override anything typed directly onto the home page. The widget areas are content containers; … [Read more...] about Home Page Widgets in WordPress
My Core Set of WordPress Plugins
There are so many WordPress plugins to choose from! How do you even begin to make choices? To help get you started, I've compiled a list of my "go to" plugins, the ones that I use for each WordPress install I do. Most are free, some are premium (you must purchase). Core Set of Plugins TweetMeme/Like/Share This — places a button at the top or bottom of a post, which helps readers share your content on a number of sites, such as Digg, Delicious, FaceBook, LinkedIn, MySpace, RSS, … [Read more...] about My Core Set of WordPress Plugins
Image Captions in WordPress
Shortly after writing an article about Adding Images to WordPress Pages and Posts, I received an inquiry about how to add captions to images. Captions are the small text that appears underneath pictures. They often contain brief descriptions and copyright information. You can add captions to individual images or to multiple images. Captions for Individual Images Sometimes you'll realize that a caption is needed for an image after you've written a post or created a page. Go to the post or … [Read more...] about Image Captions in WordPress
WordPress Pages vs. Posts
WordPress newbies often misunderstand the differences between pages and posts. If you use WordPress solely as a website platform, without a blog, then the confusion might be heightened, and for good reason! Let's compare pages and posts, so you can see how they differ. Pages These are the regular, static pages of your website. The content doesn't change, unless you edit the page. Typical pages are: ABOUT, CONTACT, SERVICES, RESOURCES, etc. Individual pages can be added to the navigation … [Read more...] about WordPress Pages vs. Posts