Adding Google Analytics helps to know who visited your site and what they are doing and looking for, and you can make data-driven decisions, providing them with the most suitable content. 

In this blog post, we’ll guide you on how to add Google Analytics to your WordPress site easily. 

What is Google Analytics?

Google Analytics tracks website visitors, showing who visited, what they did, and how they found the site. It’s a powerful tool for understanding user interactions on websites and apps, helping businesses and site owners gain insights into user behavior, track conversions, and enhance the overall user experience.

How does Google Analytics work?

1. Data Collection: Using tracking code, Google Analytics gathers data, such as page views, user interactions, session duration, and referral sources, and sends it to Google servers.  It can also collect information related to the browser settings, such as the browser used, the device, the language setting, and the operating system. Moreover, it can also track additional information like traffic sources on how they reach your site and the e-commerce transactions if set up correctly.
2. Data Processing: After gathering the data, Google Analytics processes it to generate meaningful reports and insights. It involves combining the data, applying filters, and calculating various metrics. Once processed, the data is stored in a database,  where data cannot be altered.
3. Reporting: Users can view the processed data through the Google Analytics interface. The interface provides a range of reports, dashboards, and data visualization tools to aid in interpreting the information. Users can customize reports and create personalized dashboards. Additionally, Google Analytics integrates with other platforms and tools, including Google Ads, Google Search Console, and third-party applications, to enhance data analysis and marketing efforts.

Why is Google Analytics important?

Google Analytics is essential for several reasons, especially for businesses, website owners, bloggers, and digital marketers. It provides comprehensive insights into website traffic, user behavior, and marketing effectiveness. Tracking key performance indicators,  such as page views, bounce rates, and conversion rates, enables data-driven decision-making and optimization of marketing strategies. Additionally, its ability to integrate with other tools, offer real-time data, and provide custom reporting makes it an invaluable resource for improving user experience, measuring campaign success, and driving business growth—all at no cost.

• User Interaction: Google Analytics shows which pages users visit, how long they stay, and what actions they take.

• Traffic Sources: It reveals where visitors come from, like search engines, social media, or referral links, helping you see which marketing works best.

• Audience Segmentation: You can categorize your audience by demographics, interests, location, and device type for targeted marketing and personalized experiences.

• Conversion Tracking: It tracks form submissions, purchases, and sign-ups, helping you measure campaign success.

• Website Performance: Google Analytics provides data on site speed and bounce rates, helping you fix issues to improve user experience.

• Marketing Optimization: Understanding user behavior and traffic sources helps you improve marketing strategies and make better decisions.

How to add Google Analytics to WordPress?

1. Set up Google Analytics account

Sign Up:
If you do not have a Google Analytics account, go to the Google Analytics website and sign up. After signing in, you will see the Google Analytics homepage. Click on the ‘Start measuring’ button. This will lead you to the steps for configuring your Google Analytics account.

Step 1 – Account creation
In this step, you’ll need to provide an account name and choose different data-sharing options. You can set the account name same as your business name for convenience. Also choose options inside the Account Data Sharing Settings, to share the data that you collect in Google Analytics with Google.

Step 2 – Property Creation
In this step, you will need to create an Analytics Property. Set the property name, select reporting time zone, and currency. Once you are done, click ‘Next’ button.

Step 3 – Business details
In this step, select an Industry category of your business, and then select a Business size. Once you are done, click on the ‘Next’ button.

Step 4 – Business Objectives
In this step, choose your business objectives for getting personalized reports of your business from Google Analytics. Select ‘Get baseline reports’ option so that you get all reports of your business from Google Analytics.

After making your selections, click on the ‘Create’ button. A pop-up message appears with the Google Analytics Terms of Service Agreement. Accept the terms and conditions and click the ‘I Accept’ button.

Step 5 – Data Collection
In this step, we’ll choose a platform from which Google Analytics will collect data from. Since we are adding Google Analytics on our WordPress website, we’ll select Web as a platform.

Then, set your website’s URL and a Stream name.

By default, Google Analytics enables the Enhanced Measurement option. This allows Google Analytics to track on-page elements and user interactions on those on-page elements such as Page views, Scrolls, Outbound clicks. etc.

Click on ‘Create stream’ button once you are done.

Now, you will see the Web stream details screen, which indicates the successful creation of the web stream, but data collection is not active and prompts you to use Google Tag Manager.

In Web stream details you can see your Stream details: Stream name, id, URL and Measurement or Tag ID.

If you click on the View tag instructions button in the alert notice, methods and instructions on how to add Google Analytics to WordPress website will be shown.

We will not be going through Install with a website builder or CMS method and instructions. But you can try this method and follow the instructions to add Google Analytics in your WordPress website.

In this turorial, we will be more focused on installing Google Analytics in our WordPress website with ‘Install manually’ method.

When you switch to the Install manually method tab, you will see the Google Analytics tracking code.

We will copy this Google Analytics tracking code as we will be using this tracking code to add Google Analytics to WordPress website using Method 1 below.

2. Add Google Analytics to WordPress Website

There are several methods to add Google Analytics to WordPress website. We will show you two simple methods below:

Method 1 – Adding code in the theme header.php file

This method is for you if you prefer not to use a plugin. You can manually add the tracking code to your theme header template file.

1. Go to your WordPress dashboard.
2. Navigate to Appearance > Theme File Editor.
3. Locate and click on the header.php file under Theme Files.
4. Paste the tracking code from Step – 5, Install manually, before the closing </head> tag.
5. Save the changes.

Note: If you are regularly updating your theme, then this method is unsuitable as all the changes to theme template files will be lost once you update the theme.

Method 2 – Using a Plugin

This is the easiest method to add Google Analytics to WordPress website. You can add Google Analytics on your WordPress website using the plugins such as:

• Google Analytics for WordPress
• Site Kit by Google
• Analytify
• GA Google Analytics
• Beehive Analytics
• and many more.

The main benefit of using above listed plugins is that you can see your Google Analytics reports on your WordPress dashboard without the need to visit your Google Analytics account.

Here, we have used MonsterInsights plugin for an example. MonsterInsights is one the popular Google Analytics plugins for WordPress and has over 3 million active WordPress installations.

Add Google Analytics in WordPress using MonsterInsights plugin:

1. Go to your WordPress dashboard.
2. Navigate to Plugins > Add New.
3. Search for “MonsterInsights” and once found, install & activate it.
4. Follow the setup wizard to connect your Google Analytics account.

It is this simple and easy.

3. Verify the Installation

Once you have added Google Analytics on your WordPress website using either of the two methods above, go to your Google Analytics account and check data is being receiving from your WordPress website and Google Analytics is providing you the real-time report.

Conclusion

We hope this article has helped you add Google Analytics to your WordPress site. With the methods and instructions provided, we hope you can easily add Google Analytics to WordPress website and start collecting data to optimize your content, enhance user experience, and improve your marketing strategies. Whether you are new to this or an experienced site owner, integrating Google Analytics is essential for reaching your website goals and maximizing its potential.

You might be interested in creating successful email marketing campaigns, check out our article on Effective Email Marketing Strategies. 

If you find the article helpful, please share your experiences in the comment section below. 

Thank you for reading till the end.

The post How to add Google Analytics to your WordPress website easily in 2024? appeared first on Themebeez Blog.

An SSL certificate encrypts the data transmitted between your server and user browsers, protecting sensitive information such as login details and personal data. Additionally, having an SSL certificate can improve your search engine rankings, as Google prioritizes secure websites.

In this blog post, you will discover how to install an SSL certificate on your WordPress website.

What is an SSL?

SSL ( Secure Socket Layer) is an encryption protocol that encrypts the information exchanged between a web server and a web browser. It ensures the shared data remains safe and secure, providing a layer of security.

SSL is essential for various reasons : 

• Protecting Sensitive Information: SSL is crucial for protecting sensitive data such as credit card numbers, login credentials, and personal information from cybercriminals.
• Building User Trust: When users see the padlock icon and “https://” in the browser address bar, they know their connection is secure, which builds trust.
• Preventing Cyber Attacks: SSL helps prevent various cyber threats, including man-in-the-middle attacks, where an attacker intercepts data between the user and the server.

What is an SSL certificate?

An SSL certificate is a digital certificate that verifies the website’s identity. It ensures that data passed between the web server and browsers remains private. SSL certificate serves various purposes such as security, SEO benefits, increased trust and credibility, compliance, etc. 

There are 3 different types of SSL certificates: 

1. Domain Validated(DV) certificates – These are the most basic types of certificates, verifying only the domain name.
2. Organization Validated(OV) certificates – These provide a higher level of security by verifying the organization’s identity.
3. Extended Validation (EV) certificates – These certificates offer the highest level of security, requiring a thorough vetting process of the organization and enabling the green address bar in browsers.

How does an SSL certificate works?

An SSL certificate ensures that data transferred between users and websites remains safe and secure. It uses an encryption algorithm and encrypts the data with keys so that attackers cannot read it in between. It uses the SSL/TSL Handshake protocol to create secure communication and safeguard data that may be sensitive information such as personally identifiable information(PIA), login credentials, financial information & credit card numbers, and so on. 

Here is a breakdown of how it works:

1. Establishing a secure connection

• Browser Connection: When users navigate to an SSL-secured website, their browser attempts to connect to the web server.

• Server Identification: The server responds by sending a copy of its SSL certificate to the user’s browser.

2. Certificate Validation

• The browser verifies the SSL certificate to ensure it is from a trusted Certificate Authority (CA) and is not expired, revoked, or invalid. Once the certificate is validated, the browser informs the web server, sending a signed acknowledgment to initiate an SSL-encrypted session.

3. Session Key Generation

• Public Key Encryption: Once the certificate is validated, the browser generates a session key (a unique symmetric key for the session) and encrypts it using the server public key from the SSL certificate.

4. Establishing an Encrypted Session

• Session Key Exchange: The server decrypts the session key using its private key. Now, the browser and the server have the same session key to encrypt all further communication.

5. Secure Communication

• Data Encryption: With the session key established, all data transmitted between the browser and the server is encrypted, ensuring malicious attackers cannot intercept or tamper with sensitive information.

By following this process, SSL ensures that data transferred between the server and the browser remains private and secure, protecting it from interception and tampering. This encryption helps to maintain data integrity and user trust, which is crucial for online transactions and secure communications.

How to install an SSL certificate on WordPress?

Before you proceed, make sure to ascertain whether your website already has an SSL certificate or if it requires one.  Most Web hosts provide free, paid, or third-party SSL certificates through Let’s Encrypt. You can enable this directly from your hosting control panel. If your site does not have an SSL certificate or it is expired, you should install an SSL certificate or purchase from a Certificate Authority (CA). 

Also, you must create a backup of your entire site using the WordPress backup plugins. 

Installing an SSL certificate on your WordPress site can be done in several ways. Here’s a simplified guide to the most common methods:

• Plugin: Easiest method, ideal for non-technical users.
• cPanel: Directly manage SSL certificates via your hosting control panel.
• Web Host/Server: Utilize your hosting provider’s tools or support for SSL installation, best for those with technical knowledge, offering complete control over the process.

Step-by-Step guide to installing an SSL certificate using a WordPress plugin

We’ll guide you in installing the SSL certificate in a WordPress site using WordPress plugins.

Step 1: Install and activate the Really Simple SSL plugin

1. Log in to your WordPress dashboard:

• Go to your WordPress admin panel. 

2. Navigate to plugins:

• In the left-hand menu, click Plugins>>Add New.

3. Search for Really Simple SSL:

• In the search bar, type Really Simple SSL.
• Locate the plugin in the search results,  developed by Really Simple Plugins.

4. Install and activate the plugin:

• Click the Install Now button next to the Simple SSL plugin.
• Once installed, click the Activate button.

Step 2: Configure the plugin

1. Activate SSL:

• After activation, the plugin will automatically redirect you to its setting page.
• The plugin will automatically detect if your site has an active SSL certificate.
• Click on the Activate SSL button.

2. Update site URL to HTTPS:

• The plugin will update your WordPress Address (URL) and Site Address (URL) to use HTTPS instead of HTTP.

Step 3: Additional configuration

1. Force SSL on all pages:

• The plugin ensures all pages are loaded over HTTPS by setting up the necessary redirects.

2. Mixed content fixer:

• Simple SSL includes a mixed content fixer that helps securely load all resources (images, scripts, stylesheets) over HTTPS.

3. Check for issues:

• Navigate to Settings>>SSL in your WordPress dashboard.
• The plugin will alert you to any issues or mixed content that need addressing. Follow the recommended actions to resolve them.

Step 4: Test your site

1. Visit your site:

• Open a new browser window and visit your website. Ensure the URL starts with https:// and a padlock icon in the address bar indicating a secure connection.

2. Use online tools:

• Tools like Why No Padlock? or SSL Labs’ SSL Test can assist in confirming that your SSL certificate has been correctly configured and can identify any remaining mixed content issues.

Enabling SSL on WordPress

After successfully installing an SSL certificate, proceed to your WordPress dashboard and navigate to the Settings section.

• From the Settings dropdown menu, click on General.
• Update your WordPress URLs.

• Click on the Save Changes button at the bottom. You’ll receive a confirmation message once the changes are applied.

Conclusion

We hope this article  helped you to install an SSL certificate on your WordPress site.  By adding an SSL certificate, you not only enhance your site’s security but also build trust with your visitors. However, remember that an SSL certificate is the first step toward website security. To fully protect your site, consider installing security plugins and following best practices for WordPress security.

For detailed guidance on securing your site, check out our article on the Best WordPress Security Plugins and Tips To Improve WordPress Security.

If you found this article helpful or have any feedback, please share your experiences in the comment section below.

Thank you for reading until the end!

The post How to install an SSL certificate on WordPress website in an easy way? appeared first on Themebeez Blog.

100% security is to myth for us. Not only WordPress, but other web platforms also cannot provide us with 100% security. It means every platform has vulnerabilities and they can be hacked. But it does not mean that we cannot strengthen our security.

Here, I have shared some of the security tips that can strengthen your WordPress security. It will also cover your website vulnerabilities and prevent your website from being hacked.

Basic WordPress Security Tips

Basic WordPress security tips are related to simple and easy tips that do not require coding. These tips are simple but effective. They are as follows:

1. Change Initial “Admin” Administrator Username to other Username

Most of us enter our Administrator Username as “Admin” which is very much common in practice. Thus that creates an opening for hackers. They just have to figure out the password of your dashboard.

What you can do is, you have to change your administrator username “admin” into other names with administration privileges. You can also place capital letters in that username. It is basic but effective way of keeping your WordPress security tight. Be sure to change the username form blog posts and pages also.

2. Set Strong Password

Weak WordPress security password creates vulnerability in your website. We know a weak password has a higher possibility of being hacked than strong ones. We set a weak password cause it will be easy for us to remember. But weak password has a pattern such as 123456, 696969, 123456789, 123123, 111111, 7777777, 0000000, or other numbers pattern or simple words like baseball, password, shadow, dragon, batman, killer, hunter, superman, Michael, etc.

So, how to set Strong Password?

To set a strong password

First, you must have to make your WordPress security password lengthy (at least 15 characters) and hard to guess. Meaning it must be unique.

Second, use alphabet, numbers and symbols. (Mixing)

Note: Do not use your pet name, date of birth or any of your personal information in your password.

3. Pick trustworthy hosting providers

To break through your website first hackers must pass through your hosting providers. Weak hosting companies cannot provide you with strong WordPress security features.

Therefore, you must pick the right hosting company for your website. Right hosting companies can provide you with better security features with 24/7 security monitoring. Choose those hosting providers that support firewall, the latest version of MySQL, PHP, and Apache.

There are many hosting companies with DDOS prevention measures. It will be better if your hosting companies scan malware regularly and perform daily backups.

If you do not know which hosting company is better for security then check out Best managed WordPress hosting providers.

4. Keep your WordPress Updated

Updating WordPress dashboard is necessary for WordPress security purpose. According to the data of 2020, out of 4000 known vulnerabilities, 31.5% of WordPress websites are hacked from core WordPress. It means if WordPress dashboard is not updated and you are still using an older version then your WordPress website will be easily hacked.

For WordPress security purpose, you have to update your WordPress dashboard. It is not only precaution measure but it also helps to maintain your website. Don’t be afraid of WordPress update just cope with it. If you cope with the update your website design will not be affected.

5. Keep themes and plugins Updated

Themes and plugins must be updated in time. The update refers to new additional features and fixes of old errors. Updates are done not only to provide new features to users but also to fix bugs and problems created by new updates of WordPress. It also helps to avoid bugs, potential WordPress security risks, and vulnerabilities. Outdated plugins and themes are a major weakness to WordPress websites.

Therefore update your themes and plugins in time. Do not be afraid of update of themes and plugins. Just contact to the developer if any problem arises. They will help you to fix the error and as well as it will help the developer if there are any problems in there theme and plugins.

6. Download themes and plugins from authentic sources only

Do not download themes and plugins from unknown websites. The downloaded themes and plugins may be faked or nulled. According to data 2020, out of 4000 WordPress websites, 54 % are hacked using facked plugins and 14.5% are hacked using fake WordPress themes. I will explain below how nulled themes will destroy your website security.

Therefore download themes that are found in WordPress.org search results or you can go to the link to the real website of developers or you can download themes from well-known sources.

7. Install firewall on Your Computer

Your computer must be free from any kinds of potential threats of being hacked. Installing firewall on your computer helps protects your computer from online threats and other suspicious activities that attempt to connect with your computer.

If your computer is safe from hackers then your website will be also safe from those hackers who try to connect a link to your computer.

8. Use WordPress Security Plugins

WordPress security plugins are created to protect WordPress dashboard and websites secure from potential hacking and threats. They build an extra defending wall for hackers. They identify and blocks any malicious or malware traffics. Security plugins reduce security risks.

Therefore use WordPress security plugins build an additional wall for hackers. You can use security plugins like All in One WP Security & Firewall, Wordfence, Plugin Security, etc.

9. Enable Security scans

Enable security scans of your security plugins. Security scanning is needed for your website. Although it takes time you have to scan through your website as a precaution. Enabling security scans will scan your whole websites to make sure there are not any suspicious activities going on.

These security scans will work as anti-virus on your websites that removes all the suspicious activities and notify you immediately. Enable security scans when you need scans. The shorter scanning time period the more it will be effective. I recommend at least monthly. If you think your hosting company and has vulnerabilities then it will be better to do weekly or daily.

10. Don’t use nulled themes and plugins

If you download themes form unknown and unauthentic websites without having knowledge is considerable but by knowing if you are using nulled WordPress themes and plugins then you must be looking for trouble.

Nulled WordPress and plugins are those themes and plugins that are a modified version of pro or premium WordPress themes and plugins (No copyright). They are uploaded in online for people to use it for free. But remember many of the nulled themes contains malware that can destroy your entire website.

In short, do not use nulled WordPress themes and plugins. Many of them contains malware infections and destroy your websites. For more learn it from Why you should avoid nulled WordPress themes & plugins.

11. Ensure regular backups

Make sure you have backup or copy of your website data. If anything goes wrong with your website you can still able to build your website like before. It is the best precaution for you. You can easily restore your website. If you do not have then start it right now.

There are lots of plugins that will help you to recover your website in WordPress.org, such as UpdraftPlus, Backup WordPress, etc.

12. Monitor login History

Your login history can tell a lot about your activities in your dashboard and website. Keep tracking your login and monitor all your activities yourself and look if there are any suspicious activities.

It is simple but effective. If you found any irregular time of login then change your password and username. It’s auditing your website login history.

Technical Security Tips

Technical security tips refer to the default settings of WordPress dashboard. In some case, you need codes and deep knowledge of those settings. These tips are not hard to deal with. But takes your little time and effort. It is better to know and it provides additional security of your websites. They are as follows:

1. Always use two authentication factor for login

You must use two authentication factor for login. Even though your password is strong, they might get hacked by hackers. Therefore having two authentication factors for login will help you prevent from hackers by establishing a verification process while login.

For two factor authentication, you must download plugins. Then by installing the plugin, you can connect it to your email address. While login, you have to enter the code that is in your email address.

2. Be sure to hide your WordPress update version number

You must hide your WordPress version number. Hackers who are looking for an opportunity can see your WordPress version number by inspecting source codes.

You can install plugins to hide your WordPress version number or you can add codes in your dashboard.

3. Automatically Logout idle users

If you have a habit of leaving your user Id and password logged in your browser then that can create a massive problem. It makes easy for anyone to go through your dashboard and change the existing settings.

Either you have to logout your Id manually or you have to install a plugin in your dashboard that will automatically log out your Id after a certain time period.

4. Disable PHP Error Reports

Php error reports will help you to find an error on your website. It displays the error in your screen. But it is not a good idea cause it exposes your server path to potential threats and dangers.

Therefore you have to disable Php reports. Copy the code

error_reporting(0) 
@ini_set('display_errors', 0);  

Paste this above code somewhere in your wp-config.php file.

5. Use SSL and HTTPS

HTTPS refers to the Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure and SSL refers to Secure Socket Layers. Using HTTPS and SSL allows your visitors to have a secure connection to your website. The information between your websites and visitor browser will be encrypted. Additionally, it also provides benefits in your Google search engine.

6. Customize your login URL

In WordPress, we find our login URL as yoursitename.com/wp-admin or yoursitename.com/ wp-login.php. It is the default of WordPress and many of the hackers take advantage of this case. They have access to your login page. Then they start to crack your password to get the login.

Hence we have to change our login URL. You can find security plugins for changing your website login URL.

7. Disable your login hints

While login you may enter wrong password or username or the password is changed or older password or password has been changed etc. Your login page may give you a hint about your username and password. This makes an opportunity for hackers. It makes their work easier to crack your username and password.

Thus you should disable your login hints. To disable it, insert it in the functions.php file

function no_wordpress_errors(){

   return 'Access Denied';
}
add_filter( 'login_errors', 'no_wordpress_errors' );

8. Disable trackbacks

Go to your dashboard>Settings>Dicussion and unchecked the ” pingbacks and trackbacks ” option. It’s for newcomers. Hackers can use trackbacks to hack other websites. It is related to DDoS attacks.

It is best for new websites or newcomers to have trackbacks disable although it provides some merits.

9. Protect your wp-config.php file

Wp-config.php file is the core file of our WordPress. We put all our data on our wp-config.php file in the process of installing WordPress. The file is the root directory of our websites and it consists of important data about your website.

If you secure the wp-config.php file by moving it to your other higher-level root directory, your core file is hard to access for hackers and they can not breach your website security.

10. Disable XML-RPC

XML-RPC helps to connect WordPress mobile applications and plugins. Using HTTP protocols, it passes data from a client device to a server device. It provides an opening for hackers to send commands to gain access to your website.

Hence disable XML-RPC. You can search plugins in WordPress.org to disable XML-RPC. Just enter disable XML-RPC.

11. Disable the WordPress theme and plugin editing

You may have other users who have access to your WordPress dashboard. They may change your theme and plugins or install other similar plugins and themes by removing the existing one. That can create lots of headache to us if someone changes our current themes and plugins.

If you disable the editing of the WordPress theme and plugin in your dashboard then you can have much more control over your theme setting and plugin setting. Enter the following code at the end of your wp-config.php file.

// Disable file edit 
define('DISALLOW_FILE_EDIT', true);

12. Turnoff Directory Browsing

You should block the path of your directory files. Its where we keep our data or information about our website. If someone has got access inside your directory, they can leave malicious codes and start to hack your website.

You have to add code at the bottom of your .htaccess file to turn off your directory browsing.

13. Limit Dashboard Accessibility

Dashboard accessibility should be maintained. There may be multiple authors, contributors, editors, and users to access the dashboard. Being the administration you must maintain the accessibility of your dashboard and classify your user’s accessibility in such a way that you will have full control over your dashboard.

Note limiting dashboard accessibility provides full control to administration and the role of editors, contributors, authors and users are clearly defined.

14. Limit logins based on number of fail attempts

If someone wants to log in and fails, again and again, provides an opening to attempt more for forceful login. It is not a good sign to login after so many attempts. Hackers will be benefited if you do not set a limitation on the number of failed attempts.

Therefore, you must set a limitation on the number of attempts or wrong password like Facebook, Gmail, etc. The wrong password is a trial and error approach for hackers so it is better to limit the attempt.

Conclusion

Even though you cannot have full 100% tight security, you can always reduce the percentage of getting hacked from hackers. If you follow the above WordPress security tips, your website will have fewer vulnerabilities that also reduces the chance of getting hacked. The security of your WordPress websites heavily depends on how you take precaution measures.

Besides those tips, you can change your password regularly, keeping your WordPress clean (remove unnecessary plugins or files), block hotlinks, use security plugins, changing and WordPress database table prefix.

You can leave your comment and suggestion down below in comment section.

The post 20+ Tips To Improve WordPress Security (2024 Guide) appeared first on Themebeez Blog.

In this post, we cover the basic ideas of a user review system and show you can implement them in your WordPress website.

System of Star Ratings in Google Search Results

A rating system is a quantitative system represented by symbols like stars that are used to judge the quality of things like products, services, businesses, etc. Stars are the most used symbols for ratings and known as a star-rating system, but there are other rating systems as well. A star-rating system is usually used by reviewers for ranking things such as TV shows,  films, hotels, restaurants, and many other similar items.

5-Star Rating System

Star rating systems differ in the number of points. The most common 5-point rating system is the 5-star rating system. Here you give a rating from 1 – 5 stars, 5 being the best. You can find this 2-star rating system in many popular review sites such as Yelp, Google, Amazon, etc.,

This system is very popular with business owners to an extent that customers are prompted as “Like our product! Give us 5-stars!”

Business owners take it very seriously, anything less than 4 or 5 means that the customer was less than satisfactory, and customers are asked for feedback.

Other Rating Systems

Other rating systems include the 10-point system, 2-point system, Percentage(%) rating, Thumbs-up thumbs-down rating system, etc.,

These rating systems are used in different types of sites depending on their purpose. For example,

• IMDB (movie ratings) – 10 point ratings
• Rotten Tomatoes (movie ratings) – 100-point ratings
• Instagram – upvotes / likes
• Facebook –  emoji ratings

StarCat Reviews plugin

StarCat Reviews is an advanced WordPress review and rating plugin. It can be used to create a user rating and review system for any WordPress site. It is a complete review management solution through which you can include the reviews in any post or post such as blog posts, custom post type and more.

WooCommerce-Review Integration

It also has seamless integration with WooCommerce, so that you can change from the old school default WooCommerce reviews to a modern customer review system that increases customer engagement to leave a good review.

Key Features of StarCat Reviews plugin

• User / Customer Ratings – users / customers can easily log in to your site and give their ratings and reviews
• Multiple Rating Criteria – you can allow users to rate multiple criteria (features) of your products
• Pros and Cons – users / customers can add the various pros and cons of the products in their review
• Review Schema Integration – can implement Google Schema markup to your rating system to display rich snippets with star ratings on Google search results page
• Review Voting – users can upvote the reviews that they find helpful
• Review Sorting – helps users to sort through the review to find Recent, Most Positive and Most Helpful reviews
• Google reCATPCHA Integration – review system is integrated with Google reCAPTCHA to stop spam and fake reviews
• Review Reply – can reply to user review especially for negative reviews which require an explanation from your side
• Photo Reviews (add-on) – allows your customers to attach media such as images, GIFs, videos and other media files along with their review.
• Comparison Table (add-on) – users can create comparison tables to compare the product features, specifications, price, ratings, etc.,

Can you change from the existing Rating System?

The 5-Star rating system may not be for everyone. You need to use a rating system that fits your goal. StarCat’s rating system is very much customizable. You can experiment with different rating systems like the percentage rating system or 10-points rating system, etc.,

One good example of this is Netflix in 2017, changed its movie rating system from the 5-star rating system to a Thumbs-up thumbs down system. They did this because the 5-star system did not help their goal.

They simply wanted to know if people are willing to watch the movies are not. They found that people do not easily give 5-stars for movies even if they would watch the movie again.

Displaying Review Snippets on Google Search 

Wondering how to get star ratings on Google search results? You need to implement something called Schema markup (structured data) to show star ratings on search results.

It used to be easier earlier but recently in September 2019, Google has made some changes that limit the display of star ratings on search results. Google has stated that these limitations are made to stop self-serving reviews (reviews made by one-self).

So Google won’t be showing any self-made reviews and ratings anymore. So, the only way to get star ratings on Google search results is to implement the proper Schema on your site and allow users to give ratings.

Well, the StarCat Reviews plugin is the best tool for this purpose. You can use this review plugin to receive reviews and ratings from your users and display them on your website.

It has a Schema markup feature, so it helps to display your star ratings on Google search results.

What’s a Review Schema?

Generally, Schema (structured data) is implemented on web pages to give Google a better idea of what that page is about so that Google can prioritize your page for specific searches.

For example, if you type ‘iPhone XS’ Google understands that it is a product and brings first the related pages with product and review schema implemented in them.

You can see in the picture below that my search for ‘iPhone XS’ has brought search results with star-ratings because these sites have implemented review schema in their sites.

The same schema markup for reviews can also be implemented on your site using the StarCat review plugin. You can even expect your web pages to be ranked higher on Google for your specific keywords.

SEO Benefits

Google pays attention to the quality of content on your site and one thing that adds to your content quality is a built-in review system.  

We know that search engines love fresh content and reviews provide the search engine with fresh, relevant content that is added by your customers. So you can surely expect a boost in your SEO for keywords related to your business and products.

Encouraging Customers to Give Ratings & Reviews

StarCat reviews plugin is designed in such a way that it encourages your customers to leave ratings and reviews when they visit your website.

The review option is prominently displayed on your website to make it clear as it can be for the customers. The customer should log in to your site, to verify that they’re actually your customer and leave their rating and review which is moderated.

If you’re using WooCommerce, you can integrate the StarCat Reviews with other WooCommerce plugins to run incentive programs like coupons, vouchers, contents, etc, customers to maximize the number of positive reviews that your business gets. It has a high chance of having star ratings in Google search results of your sites.

Review Schema Code – Google Star Rating Code

To implement a review schema on your website, you need to include a piece of code into your site from Schema.org. This code usually keeps changing regularly because Google continuously changes its Algorithm. Every time there’s a change, you have to copy-paste the new review schema code manually to display star ratings in Google search results.

After adding the review schema, you can check it on Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool, which looks like the image below.

When you use the StarCat reviews plugin on your site, it does this work for you. You don’t need to touch any code. When you update the plugin, it automatically adds any changes to the review schema.

How to use the Rating System for the Best Results?

Results are based on what you are trying to do and why you want a rating system. If you want better sales and conversions then certainly trustable reviews. If you only show 5-star ratings for all of your products, it would be difficult for your customers to trust the reviews. Your ratings and review should not look “too good to be true.”

It is better to mix some average ratings and bad reviews in between. It will be a display for your transparency. You can also add a suitable reply to the review, stating what could’ve been done better and how you want the customer back with you in the bad review, which will notify a better message to your customers.

To do this you need to implement a review system that allows you to respond to the customer reviews and should display the response to everyone.

Follow these Rules for Best Results:

If you are using a rating system for the best results in Google, you need to do these things, to add star ratings in Google search results.

• Follow all the rules given by Google for review snippets.
• Do not put reviews on your Homepage. If you do so then it will not be displayed in snippets because Google would think they are testimonials and not the entire reviews that you’ve received.
• Update your site with new reviews regularly. If you’re not receiving new reviews, make your best efforts to get reviews from customers. 

Sometimes even after you do everything right, your ratings may not appear in the rich snippets. This happens mostly because Google constantly changes its algorithms and also updates the Schema Markup. To avoid these types of problems you can use the StarCat Reviews plugin to automatically update the latest Schema markup.

Importing Reviews from Google reviews and other review sites

You can also import customer reviews from review sites such as Google Business, Yelp, TrustPilot, etc.,

You can show them on your site like displaying customer testimonials.

It can be done using specific plugins that import the reviews using API. But I wouldn’t recommend it because you don’t own the review content and you can’t moderate what reviews are being posted.

Also, Google does not value the content and you will not get any SEO benefits. Google has recently changed its algorithm which allows for only direct users ratings to be shown in the search results page. Also, these testimonials would not be original content.

That’s the end of how to add star ratings in Google search results.

The post How to Add Star Ratings in Google Search Results (Rich Snippets) appeared first on Themebeez Blog.

Nevertheless, Google AdSense has been always a favorite of publishers for many reasons. It is an excellent popular platform that lets you display ads relevant to your website content and earn money when a visitor clicks on the ads.

Publishers love Google AdSense as it has easy integration, security of payment payout, better conversion from ads as Google AdSense shows relevant ads according to website content.

Enough overview, let’s be in the actual topic. At this point, I will assume you already have a Google AdSense account approved & WordPress website with you. As this article is not about getting Google AdSense account approved I won’t be going through the steps to get your Google AdSense account. I will stay at the surface and write on how you can add Google AdSense to the WordPress website.

Add Google AdSense To WordPress Website

If you had gone through Google search, I believe you have found hundreds of search results that demonstrate how you can add Google AdSense to your WordPress website in many ways. But in this article, I will guide you in straight forward easy steps that you can follow & do it yourself.

Assuming you are not a coding expert or a programmer, I will be using a free WordPress plugin called Universal Google AdSense & Ads Manager. It is a free WordPress plugin that can also be downloaded from official WordPress’s plugin repo. When I mention Universal Google AdSense and Ads Manager plugin this is not the only plugin that helps to add Google AdSense to your WordPress website but it has other alternatives too.

But for this article lets stick with the Universal Google AdSense & Ads Manager as it has plenty of features, easy to use & is our very own plugin.

In simple words, Universal Google AdSense and Ads Manager, WordPress plugin, helps to insert Google AdSense ad code to your WordPress website. It requires no programming or coding skills to use this plugin. If you would like to know more you can always read it, here.

Step 1: Install Universal Google AdSense & Ads Manager(UGAAM) Plugin

It can be installed with just a few clicks just the same way you install other WordPress plugins. If you are not sure about the installation process, please follow the instruction below.

• Go to WordPress dashboard > Plugins/Extension
• Click Add New button
• On search field, type ‘ugaam’.
• Once Universal Google AdSense And Ads Manager appears in the search result, click the Install Now button
• Click on Activate button to activate the plugin

An alternative way to install it is first to download the plugin from, here, then follow the steps below.

• Go to WordPress dashboard > Plugins/Extension
• Click Add New button
• Click on Upload Plugin button & select the downloaded .zip plugin file from your computer and click on Install Now button
• Once the installation is successfully completed, activate the plugin

Step 2: UGAAM About Page At Dashboard

Once the plugin is installed & activated, you will notice a new menu item at your WordPress dashboard. Click at the menu item UGAAM to go on UGAAM’s info page.

UGAAM’s info page contains a brief introduction of UGAAM itself and some instructions and FAQs.

Step 3: Domain Verification

While you were at the very beginning phase of getting Google AdSense’s account approved I hope you have seen code as below.

<script async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>
<script>
   (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({
   google_ad_client: "ca-pub-3479356048943928",
   enable_page_level_ads: true
});
</script>

If you’d remembered, you had to paste this code somewhere with-in <head> </head> tag. This is a way to insert Google ad code at the header of a WordPress website. If you do not remember doing this then it is not a big deal.

Simply copy the above script & paste it in your notepad or any word file. Kindly change the publisher ID 3479356048943928 to your own publisher ID.

For example:

<script async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>
<script>
   (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({
   google_ad_client: "ca-pub-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
   enable_page_level_ads: true
});
</script>

Here xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx is to be replaced by your Google AdSense’s publisher ID. Once you replace the ID, copy the entire script in your clipboard & follow the instructions below.

• Go to Dashboard > Appearances > Customizer
• Navigate to Universal Google AdSense and Ads Manager panel which is usually at the bottom of the customizer
• Go to Header/Footer scripts
• Paste the script that you had copied earlier
• Click Publish button at customizer

Did you notice any difference? We went to WordPress’s customizer to insert the script into our WordPress website. Hence, keep in mind we will go to customizer to add other ad codes too. We have just verified our domain with Google AdSense service in case you had not done it earlier.

Step 4: Auto Ad vs. Manual Ads

This step can be considered as one of the most important in this whole article. Google AdSense has two different approaches to display ads on our website. They are as follows.

• Auto Ads approach
• Manual Ads approach

It is very important to understand both the approach as they are totally different from one another. I will explain to them individually.

Google Auto Ads

I won’t be going through the actual definition & explain here about the auto ads. Instead, I will give you a brief overview of Google auto ads in simple words. Google introduced auto ads later after the manual ad unit was introduced. This is also known as the new feature of Google AdSense. Google claims that auto ads help to increase revenue by 20% than manual ad units.

Auto ads, as the name is, Google automatically detects your content & decides placement where to display advertisement on your website. Google AdSense AI(Artificial Intelligence) has been smarter these days. Google AdSense AI automatically finds the placement where the ad can be placed & it displays the advertisement according to the content nature on your website.

We live in an era of smartphones than humans ?. Smart technologies have assisted us to make our life smarter. But do you think always the technologies are better than humans? I am not sure about you but watch the video below for my answer lol ?

I would partially agree to it but I prefer manual ad unit over auto ads. Yes, I know that you won’t agree. I understand you completely. Here are the reasons as to why I do not prefer Google auto ads.

• Auto ads are better if you do not care where Google places its advertisement.
• Since auto ads automatically decide where to place ads it may break the design of your website. (In some cases)
• Auto ads would work great but have a limitation, Auto ads do not follow a similar pattern. Ads keep rotating & there won’t be ads where actually it’s required.
• There might be a condition like on some sections where you never wish to display ads but auto ads may display ads there too.

Here’s the bottom line of auto ads. Google offers few customizations for auto ads but personally I feel that they won’t be more enough for me to display Google ads like how I want them to be displayed. I am personally not sure what do you think in this particular matter. I simply can suggest you use auto ads if they work great for you.

Implementation of auto ads on your website will be continued on step 5 below. Before doing that let me give you a complete overview of the manual ad unit.

Google Manual Ad Unit

Simply an old school method for displaying ads on your website which works great for me lol ?. While using the manual ad unit approach we do have full control where to display ads our websites. I will be going through a simple break down of a webpage in order to understand how a web page looks like. This also could be a difficult approach to display advertisements over auto ads if you do not understand the section of your website.

Below is the figure of a basic web page. The header section is where usually logo or branding goes. At the main content section area, we usually have text, image & posts. On the sidebar, we usually have stuff like search, banner ads, widgets, etc. Whereas at footer we prefer to have our copyright text & widgets just above it.

If you can understand this basic webpage structure than you can follow step 6 to add Google AdSense to WordPress website with the manual ad unit approach or you should go with the auto ads approach in step 5.

Step 5: Adding Auto Ad Code to WordPress

Adding Google AdSense auto ad code is very simple with Universal Google AdSense and Ads Manager plugin. All you need to do is to grab auto ad code from Adsense dashboard & paste that ad code at footer script at Universal Google AdSense customizer panel. Let me guide you step by step below.

• Go to Google AdSense dashboard and click at the overview

Once you click at pencil edit icon at the bottom right you will reach to the page where you can modify settings & get ad code which is supposed to be added with-in <head>...</head>. The auto ad code that you will receive from Google AdSense will some like below.

There are few other options on the right side which you can enable or disable depending on how you wish to display Google auto ads. Once you are done with those options you can simply click on the button, Get code, which is on the top.

The code that you get from Google auto ad should look like as below.

<script data-ad-client="ca-pub-3479356048943928" async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>

Note: The only difference will be the publisher ID in your case.

• Now, go to Dashboard > Appearances > Customizer > Universal Google AdSense and Ads Manager > Header/Footer script
• Paste the Google auto ad code at header script
• Now click the Publish button at customizer

Once you’ve clicked on the Publish button at customizer, it might take a few minutes and then Google will start to display auto ads at your website. Like I mentioned earlier Google will automatically add Google AdSense advertisements on your WordPress website.

Coming to the conclusion of Google auto ads, here you have successfully added Google auto ads on your WordPress website. But if you wish to implement a manual ad unit then do kindly read Step 6.

Step 6: Adding Manual Ad Unit Code to WordPress

Adding manual ad unit code to WordPress will be a bit difficult when compared to the inserting auto ad code. Here, in this approach, things might get a little tricky depending upon how your website is built. As the Google Adsense manual ad unit does not display advertisements automatically in a different part of our website we are supposed to add Google AdSense to WordPress manually.

If you remember the figure of a simple webpage layout above you will be more likely to understand how you can add Google AdSense to WordPress manually in different sections of your website. Now, I will break down the WordPress website into different sections & share an idea with you to understand the sections of your website.

• Header: Section where mostly logo & branding goes. Some WordPress themes do have an advertisement space at header too. This may vary according to the layout of a WordPress theme that you are using.
• Footer: Section where we mostly write copyright text. Most WordPress themes do offer widget area(s) at the footer.
• Sidebar: I am sure you know about this very well. The sidebar is an aside section at your website which is next to the main content area.
• Main content area: In a simple explanation, the main area where blog posts, articles, texts & images are displayed. Depending upon a WordPress theme that you are using, some themes do have widget area(s) at the main content area too. Since WordPress themes may have different page templates so the main content area may vary from one another.

Hope you got familiar with the term widget area. The widget area is a section on our website where we can add widgets. The number of widget area(s) is different in all the WordPress themes. In general most of the WordPress themes do have sidebar & footer widget areas.

How Can You Check Widget Areas In Your WordPress Theme?

To access the widget area(s) in all WordPress websites navigate to Dashboard > Appearances > Widgets.

Again, the number of widget areas, widgets & name of widget areas might be different in your case. Now we will be generating a Google AdSense advertisement code & paste those ads code that we get from Google AdSense dashboard manually at the different widget areas of our website.

Get Google AdSense Advertisement Code

It is very easy to get a Google AdSense advertisement code from the Google Adsense dashboard. The video below which will guide you to generate Google AdSense advertisement code.

Note: Square & Skyscrapper size advertisement is the best fit for sidebar & footer widget areas.

I hope you already have a Google AdSense ad code with you now. In the above way, you can create different types of advertisement codes in various sizes & name them accordingly to use them later at different parts of your website.

How To Add Google AdSense Advertisement Code At Widget Areas?

If you are not at widgets page then navigate to Dashboard > Appearances > Widgets. Look for Custom HTML or UGAAM: Ads and Scripts widget.

Now click & drag either Custom HTML or UGAAM: Ads and Scripts widget to any of the widget areas. Once it is done, simply paste the Google Adsense code that you had generated on it. Click the Save button.

Now it’s time to navigate to the front-end of your website & reload it. In some cases, if you recently got your Google AdSense approved you may notice yellow boxes instead of actual Google Ads. It might take some minutes – hours to actually display advertisements on those boxes.

In this way, you can add Google AdSense advertisement codes to different widgets areas. Make sure to use horizontal ad code for main content areas and header widget areas.

What Are WordPress Templates? (Homepage & Inner Pages)

You all know that most of the websites do have inner pages beside of home-page. WordPress comes with six different pages. In a technical word, we call them templates. The template is a collection of different pages & layouts. Below is the list of templates that are available in a default WordPress themes.

• Index/frontpage template: The main Home page of your website/blog.
• Archive page template: Page that holds a collection of posts. There are different types of an archive in WordPress for an example: Category archive, Tags archive, Date archive, Author archive, etc.
• Search page template: Page that displays search results.
• 404 Page template: Page that is displayed when invalid URL is clicked
• Default page template: Individual pages like Contact Us, About Us, Privacy Policy, etc.
• Blog single or blog detail page template: Blog detail page where we usually write a long story ?.

If you wish to explore more detail about WordPress templates then you can visit the official WordPress codex guide.

Insert Google AdSense Code In Inner Pages Of WordPress

At this point, I will assume that you have understood the different WordPress templates & inner pages. Again, Universal Google AdSense and Ads Manager(UGAAM) plugin will help you here. UGAAM has options in the customizer that can be used to insert Google AdSense code in different inner pages of your WordPress website. Not only that Ugaam also has a shortcode feature that will also help you to insert Google AdSense code at the desired location of your web page.

Navigate back to Dashboard > Appearances > Customizer > Universal Google AdSense and Ads Manager panel. You will see exactly the same options that are visible in the image above. There you can try to add ad code at Single Post/Page. Please have patience and play around with the options available inside Single Post/Page.

Once you paste Google AdSense code at Single Post/Page make sure you click on the Publish button at customizer. Browse your blog detail or a single page. Verify that you see ads at your pages or if not a yellow box. If ads worked for you I will assume that you can insert additional ads codes on other pages like archive, search & blog page. If the ad does not show up then refer to the step 7 guide below.

Shortcode

Shortcode functionality in WordPress is intended for developers, designers & for those who wish to display specific content in the desired location. You can display an advertisement using a shortcode anywhere on your website.

Note: The above Google AdSense Ad is added there using UGAAM shortcode.

Since here at this website, we are using Universal Google AdSense and Ads Manager plugin I was unable to embed the shortcode of UGAAM. In order to learn more about the UGAAM shortcode visit the documentation page of the UGAAM plugin.

Step 7: Troubleshooting & Frequently Asked Questions

Below are the few questions that we often get from users. If your question is not answered please feel to ask that in the comment section below.

Q. Where can I download Universal Google AdSense and Ads Manager plugin?

A. You can download Universal Google AdSense and Ads Manager plugin from official WordPress’s plugin repo.

Q. Do Universal Google AdSense and Ads Manager plugin works with cache plugin(s)?

A. Yes, UGAAM works with cache plugins. We have tested it with wp rocket, auto-optimize, SG Optimizer, Lite speed cache plugins.

Q. Do I need to clear the cache after I add the Google AdSense ads code?

A. Yes, It’s better to clear the cache at the end after adding the ad code.

Q. I inserted the ad code but ad(s) is not being displayed. What could be the reason?

A. Make sure you do not have any ad blockers enabled. Also, make sure you’ve followed each and every step mentioned above.

Q. I inserted the ad code but the yellow box or Google AdSense ad never is never displayed. Why?

A. There could be a few reasons behind it. If this is the case feel free to contact us at our support forum.

Q. I am having a hard time going through these steps. Do you offer paid service to insert Google AdSense Ads?

A. Yes, we do offer a paid WordPress service called “Setup Google AdSense“. If you wish you can purchase that from our WordPress Services page.

Conclusion

This article was intended to layman users to make them able to add Google AdSense to WordPress websites. I hope this article helped you add Google AdSense on your WordPress site. We at the themebeez.com team created Universal Google AdSense and Ads Manager plugin to help users like you. As UGAAM does not have any built-in warning feature to alert you when you are using maximum Google AdSense code on the same page please make sure to follow the AdSense program policies to avoid account closure.

If you found this article helpful to add Google AdSense to WordPress website make sure you share it in your social profiles.

Do you have any questions regarding Google AdSense & UGAAM plugin? Let me know in the comment section below.

The post How To Add Google AdSense To WordPress Website appeared first on Themebeez Blog.

• Offers all of the “must have” features on the client’s list
• Earned high ratings on the WordPress plugin repository.
• Answers support questions promptly.
• Remains current with the latest version of WordPress.
• Offers ongoing support or training directly to the client. Developers and designers like to keep out of that support loop whenever possible, right?

MembershipWorks meets these criteria — especially for associations, chambers, groups, clubs and nonprofits. It offers recurring billing, members-only content, a member directory, online event registration, a calendar, forms, carts, donations, integrations and more. Although it is a paid plugin if you need more than 50 accounts in the system, the fees can be billed directly to your client. You’ll have peace of mind; unlike many membership plugins, MembershipWorks will host member data, provide free training for your client and handle key functions like recurring billing. No HTML or code knowledge is required to set up the system, although that knowledge does come in handy for customizations.

For purposes of this setup checklist, we’ll assume that you already have a WordPress site built or under construction.

Video credits to : Seoprolabs agency

1. SIGNUP FOR A FREE TRIAL & INSTALL THE PLUGIN

A free trial helps ensure that the plugin meets your needs without spending money. The only restrictions of the 50 Free plan are:

A. Limited to one administrator.

B. Forms, carts or donations features are not available.

C. Can’t take payments for event tickets.

After signup, download the plugin and install it. Log into MembershipWorks through WordPress. To connect your MembershipWorks account to the plugin, go to MembershipWorks & Organization Settings and copy the Organization ID. Then save that ID in the membership works & Plugin Settings.

2. SETUP THE PAYMENT PROCESSOR

To accept payments online with membership works, you or your client will need to set up an account with Stripe, Authorize.net or PayPal Pro (note that this is not the free version of PayPal; you’ll also pay more if you want recurring payments). Stripe is the preferred payment gateway for most organizations as it doesn’t charge a monthly fee; transaction fees are the same or similar to Authorize.net and PayPal Pro. MembershipWorks does not add on fees to these transactions.

3. ENTER THE PAYMENT GATEWAY SETTINGS

Set up the payment processor, currency and tax rules under MembershipWorks > Organization Settings > Integration. Look for popup windows with screenshots of each payment gateway to help.

4. ADD THE MEMBERSHIP, EVENTS & DIRECTORY PAGES TO THE WEBSITE

Shortcodes make it simple to add MembershipWorks features. Steps involved:

A. Build a new page in WordPress for the feature (such as a join page).

B. Pick the feature you want from the dropdown at MembershipWorks > Help > Basics & Setup > WordPress > WordPress shortcodes. Copy the shortcode.

C. Go back to the page you just built and paste the shortcode in the page editor’s body text area.

D. Publish the page.

E. If you are working on a development site and not a live site, add this page in Appearance > Menus to your navigation to make the page easy to find.

5. CREATE MEMBERSHIP LEVELS

The client may have an existing list of membership levels in a form that you can reference for this step. Other information that is helpful to have on hand:

1. Welcome letter text.
2. Billing options:
   • Does your client want to offer offline or check payments, one time credit card payments and/or auto-recurring credit card payments?
   • What are the payment intervals — monthly, yearly or other?
   • Will renewals be on a fixed annual date or rolling renewals?
   • Is there a trial period or a new member fee?
3. Renewal letter text.

6. CREATE LABELS

If the client has a directory that needs to be categorized by member specializations, business type, certifications or other groupings, create labels in MembershipWorks > Labels & Membership > Labels for each type or category. Labels can also be used for internal purposes.

7. CUSTOMIZE YOUR SIGNUP FORM & MEMBER FORM

Head over to MembershipWorks > Customization > Member Sign-Up to add or remove fields in the About tab. Keep the number of fields low; potential members should not feel like signup will take too much time. Create custom fields by clicking “Add Field.” If you want to collect additional information immediately after sign-up, add fields to the other tabs such as “Profile.”  Once you are done with editing the sign-up template, click Copy to copy your work to both the Member Manage and Admin Profile form.

8. IMPORT MEMBERS

Ask your client for a spreadsheet of current members. At minimum, for each member you should import:

1. Account name (which can be a business or person’s name depending upon how members are listed in the directory),
2. Email
3. Membership Level,
4. Renewal Date.

You can also import labels, custom fields created in Step 7 and other system fields. See MembershipWorks > Help > Membership > Importing Members for a complete list. Add yourself as a test member to test out functionality from a member perspective.

9. CREATE EVENT CATEGORIES

Your client can advise if they need different categories for events such as meetings, conventions, lunches, etc. You only need to create different event categories if you want to:

1. Create calendar page(s) that only reflects specific categories
2. Have one or more event categories where members are allowed to post events, or
3. Have one or more event categories that only members or certain groups/levels should be able to see. Alternatively, you can opt to allow everyone to see all events, but you can choose to create tickets that are only available for certain members/labels.
   

10. ADD EVENTS

Add in the first event at MembershipWorks > Event List. You’ll need the basics: event category, who, what, where, when, why and how much. Each event can have an image; images should be a maximum of 800 pixels wide and 300-400 pixels high. See Help > Events > Setup Event > Creating An Event for details.

11. CUSTOMIZE DIRECTORY SEARCH

The directory search template in MembershipWorks > Customization controls the search options for the directory. The template is organized as a list of search “Boxes.” Types of searches available:

1. Keyword
2. Location
3. Labels
4. Fields

It’s a good idea to have the front end view of the Directory open in another tab so you can refresh the page to see your changes.

12. CUSTOMIZE DIRECTORY PROFILE

In MembershipWorks > Customization > Directory Profile, you can edit and add tabs, hide information for certain categories of members and restrict information from being viewed by non-members.

13. ENABLE SSL

An SSL certificate is required to provide a secure website for credit card transactions. The hosting provider can explain how to obtain and install an SSL certificate if the url does not already include “https”. After installing the certificate, “force” the pages to load over HTTPS

14. UPDATE NOTIFICATION & WEBSITE INTEGRATION SETTINGS

Once you have launched the new site, update the notifications and website integration settings under Organization Settings > Integration. While you are in Organization Settings, you can upgrade the account to a paid plan if the client’s needs warrant it

15. TEST PAYMENT GATEWAY

Test the member signup form – complete a signup with a real credit card (refund yourself afterwards) to make sure members don’t experience hiccups. Check that payments are recorded in the member Timeline and renewal dates are updated correctly.

This list reflects what most organizations need, but if you seek further customizations or get stuck, you can always reach out to the support with any questions.

WRAPPING UP!

Membershipworks & plugin by Membershipworks is a great way to build any membership website. You will be getting super straight-forward dashboard from Membershipworks which you can integrate with your current WordPress website.

If you are a beginner but willing to build a membership website then you should consider using Membershipworks along with it’s WordPress integration plugin. In our view only the down side that we notice is Mmebershipworks has limitation when it comes to free trial. When you reach limited numbers of members you need to upgrade your plan. However, Membershipworks have flexible pricing based in the members volume.

I hope, this article will help you to build your next membership website quickly & easily. You can share this article with your friends and comment down your opinion below.

Here are our others articles that might help you too:

• Best WordPress hosting compared
• Best free feminine WordPress themes
• Best free WordPress themes
• Best free Gutenberg compatible WordPress themes

The post How To Build Membership Website With Membership Works Plugin & WordPress appeared first on Themebeez Blog.

Today in this article, I am going to guide you on how you can fix a website redirect loop after enabling Cloudflare for your domain. In simple language, this is how the error looks like “The page isn’t redirecting properly” or “ERR TOO MANY REDIRECTS” errors.

Understanding Cloudflare Err Too Many Redirects loop

The figure below will show how your Cloudflare dashboard looks like when your domain is activated at Cloudflare.

When your domain is activated at Cloudflare. Cloudflare adds SSL for your domain. Cloudflare has a Flexible SSL that can cause redirect loops depending on certain configurations in the origin server. SSL refers to ( Secure Sockets Layer ) which basically is an extra security layer for your domain. To make this simple we say, with flexible SSL, all traffic between the web browser and Cloudflare is encrypted over HTTPS ( HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure ) which replace HTTP ( HyperText Transfer Protocol ) for your domain as a result.

But, we understand you didn’t get to see this change because you got redirect loop after enabling Cloudflare.

Let’s go to the fixing method now. There is a simple matter to fix and solve the redirection loop after enabling Cloudflare.

Cloudflare recommends Flexible SSL only when encrypted traffic cannot be supported at the origin web server because it lacks an SSL certificate. By enabling Flexible SSL, you are telling Cloudflare to send all requests between Cloudflare and the origin web host over HTTP ( not encrypted ). Since this can be confusion between the Cloudflare & your host. To solve this confusion between host & Cloudflare do kindly follow the steps below.

• Go to Crypto ( Lock icon at top ) at Cloudflare dashboard
• Look for the SSL option, you will see  ( Flexible SSL ) selected.

• Change flexible SSL option to Strict SSL
• Done!

Now, wait for a while and refresh your website. The issue of the website redirect loop will be solved after enabling Cloudflare. Your website will work fine. But this is not an end. Scroll the Crypto page at Cloudflare dashboard you will see an option called ” Always use SSL “. Check/Enable this option if this is disabled previously.

It might take a few hours to actually solve the redirect loop but this should be fixed usually with-in a few minutes. If you still have this problem after a few hours. You must go with another troubleshooting problem too. There are also other ways to troubleshoot this issue but it can be a little complicated for basic users.

We can remove the HTTPS redirects in our origin server through rewrite rule. Make sure you go with the documentation below.

• Apache Server: Rewrite rule
• Ngix Server : Rewrite directives  & 301 return directive  

Conclusion,

These stuffs can be complicated for many users. We always recommend using good web hosting to host your applications & websites. We at themebeez.com always would like to recommend users to use good host with best support option. If you ask us for the best web hosting with the great support we will for sure recommend SiteGround.com web hosting service. They have a 24/7 ticket, chat & phone support system which is the best option for every user. Their cost is fair when compared to other hosting services providers. Make sure you check SiteGround web hosting packages.

Do kindly drop your comments below if you ever had faced ERR TOO MANY REDIRECTS problem. Let us know if you need any help with selecting a web host for you. If you have time & looking for the best free WordPress themes then you must check our collection too.

The post How To Fix Cloudflare Err Too Many Redirects loop (100% Effective) appeared first on Themebeez Blog.

For example, you may find advertisement on the header of websites of news portal, online magazine and some blogging websites. The advertisement is actually a widget and the part of header where the advertisement is displayed is actually a widget area.

By default WordPress comes with standard widgets such as Search, Calendar, Recent Posts, Recent Comments etc… All the WordPress widget appear in the user’s Administration Screen at Appearance > Widgets. In WordPress version 4.9.6, there are altogether 17 widgets. They are: Archives, Audio, Calendar, Categories, Custom HTML, Gallery, Image, Meta, Navigation Menus, Pages, Recent Comments, Recent Posts, RSS, Search, Tag Cloud, Text and Video.

If you are using a WordPress theme for your site, then you might find other widgets except the default ones. You’ll also find different widget areas where you can place widgets as your wish.

Today however, we are discussing about creation of custom widget. So let’s hop into creating a widget.

The first thing to know is that you can write you widget creation code in functions.php file or some other file which you can later include in functions.php file.

To create a widget, we need to create a class which extends the core class of WordPress called WP_Widget. The class contains four functions,

__construct(), widget(), form() and update().

• In function __construct(), we define the base ID, name, description etc… of the widget. The base ID uniquely identifies the widget. The name sets, the name of the widget and description sets the short description of widget describing the purpose of the widget.
• In function widget(),  we write the markup for displaying widget contents.
• Then In function form(), we create form using which contents are created.
• In function update(), we save or update the contents created using form.

Now let’s create a text widget similar to the default Text widget in WordPress. The PHP code need for the Text widget is as below:

class Name_of_Widget extends WP_Widget {

    function __construct() {
        parent::__construct(
            'widget-id',  // Base ID
           __( 'Name of Widget', 'text_domain' )   // Name of Widget
        );
    }

    public $args = array(
        'before_title'  => '<h4 class="widget-title">',
        'after_title'   => '</h4>',
        'before_widget' => '<div class="widget-wrap">',
        'after_widget'  => '</div></div>'
    );

    public function widget( $args, $instance ) {
        echo $args['before_widget'];
        if ( ! empty( $instance['title'] ) ) {
            echo $args['before_title'] . apply_filters( 'widget_title', $instance['title'] ) . $args['after_title'];
        } 
        echo '<div class="textwidget">';
        echo esc_html__( $instance['text'], 'text_domain' );
        echo '</div>';
        echo $args['after_widget'];
    }

    public function form( $instance ) {
        $title = ! empty( $instance['title'] ) ? $instance['title'] : esc_html__( '', 'text_domain' );
        $text = ! empty( $instance['text'] ) ? $instance['text'] : esc_html__( '', 'text_domain' );
        ?>
        <p>
            <label for="<?php echo esc_attr( $this->get_field_id( 'title' ) ); ?>"><?php esc_attr_e( 'Title:', 'text_domain' ); ?></label>
            <input class="widefat" id="<?php echo esc_attr( $this->get_field_id( 'title' ) ); ?>" name="<?php echo esc_attr( $this->get_field_name( 'title' ) ); ?>" type="text" value="<?php echo esc_attr( $title ); ?>">
        </p>
        <p>
            <textarea class="widefat" id="<?php echo esc_attr( $this->get_field_id( 'text' ) ); ?>" name="<?php echo esc_attr( $this->get_field_name( 'text' ) ); ?>" type="text" cols="30" rows="10"><?php echo esc_attr( $text ); ?></textarea>
        </p>
        <?php
    }

    public function update( $new_instance, $old_instance ) {
        $instance = array();
        $instance['title'] = ( !empty( $new_instance['title'] ) ) ? sanitize_text_field( $new_instance['title'] ) : '';
        $instance['text'] = ( !empty( $new_instance['text'] ) ) ? sanitize_text_field( $new_instance['text'] ) : '';
        return $instance;
    }

}

Note: Before saving or updating unsafe data, unsafe data must be properly sanitized i.e. data must be validated. And while displaying data, proper escaping must be done.

After creating the custom widget, it should be registered. Otherwise it won’t appear in your Administration Screen at Appearance > Widgets. To register the custom widget, following code is needed.

add_action( 'widgets_init', function() {
    register_widget( 'Name_of_Widget' );
});

In this way, you can create custom widget in WordPress. If you are looking for best free wordpress themes of 2018 that already have great widgets & features then make sure you check this article for best free WordPress themes.

If you liked this article, then please share it.

And if you have any questions, then comment below. You can follow us on Facebook for more updates.

The post How To Create Custom Widget in WordPress appeared first on Themebeez Blog.

In this post I’ll be first going through understanding what exactly is 500 internal server error & later give you a solution to fix that like a boss in a different approach. After reading this entire post you will come to know about 500 internal server error, how you might get this error & what are it’s an easy possible fix.

First thing first, let’s start with understanding 500 internal server error.

UNDERSTANDING 500 ERROR FIRST

500 internal server error is also an error similar to White dead screen of WordPress admin dashboard or error establishing database connection. Most of the WordPress users get panic when they see these types of error. It is necessary to understand the error then being panic. 500 internal service error may cause to any WordPress users & non-WordPress users too. Here today I will discuss some common issues that might cause 500 error in WordPress.

If you want me to reveal the best possible common weapon to shoot at this error & on that condition I’ll simply suggest you keep patience & continue reading this post. More often I notice that WordPress beginners do get panic immediately when they see this 500 internal server error or white screen of death page. Let me now point you to show how error 500 occurs & possible ways to troubleshoot it.

Below are the best possible methods to troubleshoot 500 internal server error in WordPress.

.HTACCESS FILE

.htaccess file is a simple text file which does a million droller stuff in web server ranging from security, access, redirection etc. You can find this file in most of the WordPress files installation directory. .htaccess file even can allow or deny directory listing. Have you ever wondered you get the same error when you turn-off directory listing through .htaccess & try to open the directory where index.php or index.html does not exist? Error 500 can also be caused due to the corrupted .htaccess file.

You can easily troubleshoot corrupted .htaccess file with some easy steps. Here are some steps which will guide you to solve this issue if 500 error is caused by a corrupt .htaccess file.

HOW CAN YOU GET THIS SOLVED?

• Login to your file manager with your FTP client ( eg. with FileZilla )
• Look for .htaccess file and rename the file to ”.htaccess-abcd” for a moment
• Now your .htaccess file will stop to function unless you rename it to its original name “.htaccess”
• Check back your URL if it is working which was firing a 500 internal server error
• If problem is solved , Now go to your wp-admin admin dashboard & Save permalinks settings . This will create a New .htaccess file for all WordPress permalinks rewrite rule.

This was first approach to troubleshoot 500 internal server error for WordPress user. Have  you got your error fixed ? if not please do kindly continue reading.

PLUGINS

Plugins do cause 500 internal server error in some conditions. Didn’t got my point ? Let me list them below.

• Might be when you just clicked to update and plugin has a bug
• Might be you are trying to install plugin that has not been updated since years and has outdated codes
• Might be when few plugins might face compability issue.

HOW CAN YOU FIND THIS BAD PLUGIN ?

If your Wp admin dashboard is working then go to dashboard > Plugins. Check the plugin list & manually disable the plugins. Check back the url. Is is still 500 error ? Is it still a 500 server error page ? If yes then you might want to try another approach & you got to give plugins a clean sheet.

but, how about you are facing white screen of death in wp admin dashboard url ? Below are the steps that you can do to disable the plugins using file manager or FTP.

• Login with your FTP to file manager
• Navigate to wp-content folder
• You will find a folder with name ”plugins ” just rename the folder to ”plugins.deactivate”
• Now check back the page (URL) if it has been responding
• If you got the error fixed, its time to kick that bad plugin
• Rename the folder to “plugins” that you had renamed as ”plugins.deactivate”
• Open plugins folder
• Look for the list of plugins that you are using now
• Guess the bad plugin & delete it ( Try this for all plugin till you see 500 error gone )
• Test the url back if it’s responding

If this approach did worked that’s an amazing news if not you might want to try next.

PHP MEMORY LIMIT

Sometimes you might face an issue of 500 error due to memory limit. If you are trying to login to your wp admin page and you got this error or you just recently updated or install a plugin that is resource hungry.

Let’s now troubleshoot by increasing a bit of php memory limit by external file. To increase the php memory limit just again follow these steps;

•  Login with your FTP
•  Navigate to wp-admin folder
• Create a file called “php.ini” in your local computer and just paste this code there ” memory=64MB ” with our coma
•  Now save the file
• Upload the file to wp-admin directory using your FTP client

If increasing memory limit solved the issue of 500 error then you need to contact your hosting provider to inform the issue. They will eventually fix the memory issue checking their server log files.The reason why i said this is because there has to be something that is exhausting your memory limit.

If this don’t solve your issue there is another two steps that you could go with.

BAD OR CORRUPTED WP CORE FILES

Not a common reason but could possibly be a reason that might have surprised you with 500 error page. Error 500 might often arrives if your WordPress core files are broken or corrupted. Uploading back the core theme files or WordPress file might fix the issue.

CONTACT YOUR HOSTING PROVIDER

Your hosting partner will be a good friend of yours when you experience problem like this. Sometimes what happens is, Your hosting provider might be getting some issue in their server. More often we can also suffer from this issue when they are trying to upgrade their server. I personally recommend you to got through your hosting provider support if none of the above approach worked for you.

WRAPPING UP !

500 internal server error is not a great deal or much bigger issue in your WordPress or non-WordPress website. I strongly suggest not to be panic & look for the possible solutions. Some times 500 server error very suddenly arrives & few often arrives when you are playing with plugins, .htaccess file or server is getting possibly too much load. People on shared hosting might too face 500 server error if they have good traffic in their website. The best way to overcome this error is to contact your hosting provider.

Your one share could save someone’s day. Let me know in comment section below how can I make this article more convenient to understand for you.

The post Fix 500 internal server error in WordPress like a boss appeared first on Themebeez Blog.

Yes, you read it right 5 minutes. Wondering how to Fix the theme is missing style CSS stylesheet in WordPress ? & on same time wondering why you got this issue? Here, is the brief updated guide on fixing stylesheet missing in WordPress.

This post will help you to understand why you face this error and what is the best possible way to rectify this issue. I will be sharing with you today an easy fix that you can do to solve your issue on your own.

Understanding: The Theme is Missing Style CSS Stylesheet

Before I start hope you already got a question around; how actually you got stylesheet missing problem in a brand new theme that you just purchased. The answer is really simple & I gonna answer you today in brief.

What Exactly is Style CSS Stylesheet?

Stylesheet ( in general term “style.css” ) refers to.CSS file which plays a great role while styling web components. In another word.CSS refers to ( Cascading Style Sheet ). Let me make easy to understand for you.CSS or stylesheet is the same term which helps to add styles to web components like colours, fonts, layouts etc. Web designers & developers use the stylesheet. CSS file to code their custom styles for web pages, themes & templates. Hope you are getting my point.

Why Did You Encounter This problem?

Let’s say you just bought a theme from somewhere. You paid for it. Downloaded the file & tried to upload in your WordPress but then suddenly you got an error message saying ” the package could not be installed. The theme is missing the style CSS stylesheet. I understand completely what you might have thought at that meantime.

The Fix

But the most important thing to understand is either the theme author or you did a silly mistake. If I am not mistaken you must have uploaded a whole bunch of “themename.zip” file to your WordPress. Hey wait, here’s the problem. You are not supposed to upload the theme in that way. Let me help you to understand much better.

Watch the short video tutorial below. I will guide you through the download package that you usually get in most of the case.

In this particular video tutorial, you saw a package that I got when I purchased through ThemeForest.

As you can see there is a package with a bunch of stuff inside including documentation, demo data, license information, theme file & child theme file. The documentation file is a guide for you to set up the theme. Whereas demo data you can import that later after the theme has been installed. Author license file to state the author copyright information. Theme file at last that you should be installing in your WordPress installation.

Simply unzip the main package that you often get when you purchase any theme package. Look for the actual theme file. Upload the  themename.zip file in your WordPress installation. The process must go 100% correct this time.

Wrapping Up!

If you face any issue while uploading theme let me know in the comment section below or look for support from the particular author.

Hope you found this article helpful. Do kindly drop your feedback at the comment section below if you want me to make this article more easy to understand. If you think it saved your day, make sure you share this article on your social media for others who you care.

The post How To Fix The Theme Is Missing The Style CSS Stylesheet appeared first on Themebeez Blog.