Category: Blog

  • Blogger’s Choice: Thrive Architect vs Divi Theme for WordPress Website Building

    Blogger’s Choice: Thrive Architect vs Divi Theme for WordPress Website Building

    This post is designed for bloggers only. If you are a web developer and deciding between Thrive Architect or Divi Theme, click here to read this post instead.

    When it comes to Thrive Architect and Divi Theme, which is the best WordPress drag and drop builder for bloggers?

    The answer varies depending on individuals — but for me, I still prefer Thrive Architect. But hey, let’s give both the fine WordPress tools a chance to showcase their worth, shall we?

    Back to Basics: What is Thrive Architect and Divi theme?

    Drag and Drop Website Builders for Bloggers

    Thrive Architect and Divi theme are two WordPress tools that are used by bloggers around the world in building beautiful landing pages, WordPress homepages and blog posts.

    While WordPress is the most popular CMS in the market, it requires heavy coding (HTML and CSS skills) to create beautiful websites.

    And if anyone talks about Gutenberg, I was having a freaking hard time with it when I was using it two days ago to design my new homepage (check it out here).

    Believe me, I was feeling like this (no joke!):

    via GIPHY

    Okay, I got to admit that I am like a spoilt brad thanks to both Thrive Architect and Divi theme.

    – Reginald Chan –

    Again, I have no issue with Gutenberg but I will NOT recommend it to anyone who are serious in building WordPress pages or content … because it’s freaking confusing!

    The Summary: Thrive Architect vs Divi Theme

    So, you might be rushing and you are not planning to stay more than 10 minutes in this post (even though I hope you will), scroll below to get the summarized comparison between Thrive Architect and Divi theme.

    Thrive Architect

    WordPress Page Builder Designed for Online Business Creators

    Pros

    • Instant drag and drop editor
    • Front-end editing (what you see is what you get)
    • 274 beautifully designed and 100% conversion focused landing page templates
    • Pre-built conversion elements to replace dozens of plugins
    • Customizable buttons, testimonials, countdown timers and lead generation forms
    • Easily create high converting landing pages
    • Build effective sales pages without coding knowledge
    • Integration with major third party software and programs
    • 100% mobile responsive and AMP ready

    Cons

    • Slight learning curve
    • Slightly expensive if you are managing multiple websites
    • No live chat support (just forum support)

    Conclusion for Thrive Architect:

    Thrive Architect is a simple to use, WordPress page builder that allows you to build customized WordPress designs without coding skills. The single biggest advantage using Thrive Architect is that your website will not turn out gibberish when you uninstall or delete Thrive Architect. 

    Divi Theme

    Is this the ultimate WordPress theme and visual page builder?

    Pros

    • Real time design
    • Easily customize anything and everything on the page
    • No coding skills required
    • 48 different content elements to choose from
    • Responsive editing and mobile ready
    • Over 30 pre-made demo and elements ready to download
    • Yealy and lifetime plans available

    Cons

    • Uninstalling or deleting the theme/plugin will break your WordPress website
    • Impact website loading speed
    • Not recommended if you are using shared or cheap web hosting (resource heavy)

    Conclusion on Divi Theme:

    Divi Theme is an interesting WordPress page builder especially for developers. The lifetime plan is great for cost saving, and which is a great choice for agency level and WordPress freelancers. The only downside using Divi Theme compared to Thrive Architect is your website will break if you uninstall or delete Divi Theme.

    Question: Why should I use a WordPress builder instead of Gutenberg?

    The answer is simple. Gutenberg is buggy and the learning curve is crazily high!

    Don’t just take my words for it. I recommend you to try either one of these drag and drop WordPress builders, and then compare with Gutenberg.

    I’m sure you will see the differences.

    Take a look at the infographic below by WebBuildersGuide.com that discusses on the advantages using website builders:

    Advantages Using Drag and Drop Website Builders

    There is no denial that there are many advantages using website builders for your website (or for your client’s).

    Discover the top 10 drag and drop WordPress builders for 2019

    While I see enormous advantages using Gutenberg in the near future, it is still far from perfect and if you are looking to create the best WordPress design, there are more options compared to Gutenberg.

    Thrive Architect vs Divi Theme: Which is the cheaper option?

    Thrive Architect vs Divi Theme Best Website Builder for Bloggers

    Pricing is always the most sensitive part for everyone. Let’s dive down and see what they have in store for us, shall we?

    5.0

    Thrive Architect

    Thrive Architect is an intuitive drag and drop website builder that is not only easy to use, but highly compatible with bloggers.

    • $67 per website
    • Lifetime updates
    • Unlimited features and usage

    4.3

    Divi Theme

    Simple pricing structure that is right for both bloggers and website developers. Slight learning curve but it is still one of the most popular plugins around.

    • $89 per year or $249 for lifetime access (one time payment)
    • Unlimited usages

    Now, with that being said, Thrive Architect is much cheaper if you are going for year on year basis.

    However, if you are using for multiple websites, Divi theme is a much better option due to unlimited usage and lifetime plan.

    Which is the best drag and drop builder for bloggers?

    Which is the best WordPress builder for bloggers?

    The answer varies—and if you are looking for my answers, here’s what I think.

    “Thrive Architect and Divi theme are two of the best website builder tools for bloggers. However, I still prefer Thrive Architect (hands down) as it is super intuitive and don’t affect website loading speed!”

    – Reginald Chan –

    This is the exact reason why I choose Thrive Architect over Divi theme any time of the day:

    Thrive Architect vs Divi Front End Editing

    Here’s a bunch of things I can do with Thrive Architect:

    • Fluid drag and drop editing feature
    • Zero coding skills in developing a website design
    • Massive design library for elements (over 274 designs)
    • Super fast loading speed

    If you are having a tough time trying to decide …

    Then this question is going to help you. Period.

    How much are slow, lazy editors costing you? (if you value your time)

    Thrive Architect is build for bloggers and website owners who cherish the importance of website loading speed.

    In this competitive world, there is absolutely the needs of having quick implementation (Thrive Themes calls it “Rapid Implementation”) especially in building website designs, landing pages and blog posts.

    At the end of the day, bloggers should focus on using a WordPress builder that allows them to create the most effective website design with the least work and time required.

    Thus, the turn over time can be speed up and you can focus on creating more valuable content instead!

    If you want to learn more about Thrive Architect, click here to see it in action (and to get the best Thrive Architect discount 2019).

    Are you a blogger? Leave a comment below if you are using either the Thrive Architect or Divi theme!

  • What Is A Life Coach? (10 Parts In Hiring The Right Life Coach In Enhancing Your Life)

    What Is A Life Coach? (10 Parts In Hiring The Right Life Coach In Enhancing Your Life)

    “What is a life coach” and “what does a life coach do”?

    I get these types of questions about life coaching a lot. Being in the coaching industry in Malaysia for over a decade, I realized that there are many different definition to what a life coach does.

    Typically, a life coach offers a wide range of coaching services and support, such as:

    • Personal coaching (1-to-1 coaching)
    • Motivational coaching
    • Professional coaching
    • Business coaching
    • Spiritual coaching
    • Mentorship
    • Health coaching
    • Fitness coaching
    • Success coaching

    And the list can go on and on and on, when it comes to life coaching.

    Read this now

    There are only two reasons why you are reading this article about life coaching. One, you are looking for the meaning of life coaching (example, you want to learn how to become a life coach) and two, you want to know if you should hire a life coach.

    In this article, I’m going to list down both — which I sincerely hope you find this useful.

    Part 1: What is a life coach?

    Why Life Coach Is Important

    Do you know that working with a life coach is able to help you to achieve greater success?

    Most life coaches offer coaching and training aimed to take you to new heights. From mental to physical, life coaches are seek by individuals, corporations and even small communities/groups around the world.

    Part 2: What does life coach do?

    What Do Life Coaches Do

    Life coaches work with their clients to help them achieve goals, overcome obstacles and make changes or shifts in their lives.

    The coach works with the client, as a partner, knowing that the client has the answers to create the changes they seek.

    Most of the time, life coaches are individuals that others look up to them, especially when it comes to accountability. A life coach often follows up with the client to ensure that the client is constantly achieve the goals and targets. For example, life coaches will plan and provide consultation sessions to layout the exact steps to accomplish specific goals.

    Many life coaches incorporate personal experiences (past experiences) to help clients to achieve the desired outcome.

    Summary of what a life coach does:

    1.

    A collaborative partner for creating a collaborative partner for creating change (or a guide for goal achievement and creating lasting change)

    2.

    A source of encouragement, accountability and support (that you can count on — physically, mentally and with complete privacy)

    3.

    A brainstorming partner for generating ideas and plans ideas and plans, and one that will never say your idea just won’t work out

    Part 3: What life coaches don’t do?

    What Life Coaches Don't Do

    In most countries, life coaching is a job or career that is not bounded by professional rules and regulations (such as the laws to keep doctors and lawyers do the right thing).

    One of the most common thing that life coach doesn’t do is providing therapy. 

    Life coaching is not therapy. Coaches don’t work on past-based issues or traumas simply because they are not authorized and had relevant experiences to do so.

    Almost all life coaching clients are healthy, successful or less successful people who might be a bit stuck or simply want to make a big change in their lives and want the support of their own personal coach to do so.

    Part 4: Who makes a good life coach?

    What Makes A Good Life Coach

    This is a tough question to answer ad the answer varies from person to person.

    It is important to understand that no two life coaches are alike.

    They have their own styles, training materials and past experiences that make them truly unique to individuals.

    Call me “Reg”

    Reginald is a life coach that uses his past experiences in the corporate industry to develop actionable strategies for corporations to take their business to new levels; increasing the bottom and top line, reduce turnovers and allowing employees to go beyond their comfort zones.

    Part 5: Who should get a life coach?

    Who Should Get A Life Coach

    The short answer to this: Everyone.

    To be exact, anyone who wants changes, get more out of their lives and achieve the ultimate edge (tap into their fullest potentials) should get a life coach.

    If you are determined to make changes in your life and you have no idea where to start, hiring a life coach is probably the best thing you can do (and that money can buy).

    Part 6: What are life coaching techniques?

    Most life coaches use NLP, along with other coaching techniques to enhance the performance of one self.

    Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) is extremely popular in the self-help, therapy, sports, education, coaching, performance and corporate worlds where it is learnt through NLP coaching.

    Life Coaching Techniques

    Neuro-Linguistic Programming is used in many, many more situations which are not therapeutic in nature. For example, top sportsmen and sportswomen use Neuro-Linguistic Programming techniques to enhance sporting performance, and businessmen and businesswomen do the same.

    Neuro-Linguistic Programming has thus moved far beyond its original focus in the early 1970s to encompass a “general study of excellence”.

    A presupposition is a belief that we pre-suppose or assume before working with clients. Below are the presuppositions used in NLP, which are excellent for use in life coaching.

    • The map is not the territory
    • Have respect for the other person’s model of the world
    • Mind and body form a linked system
    • If what you are doing isn’t working, do something else
    • Choice is better than no choice
    • We are always communicating
    • The meaning of your communication is the response you get
    • There is no failure, only feedback
    • Behind every behavior there is a positive intention
    • Anything can be accomplished if the task is broken down into small enough steps

    While NLP coaching is very popular, there are also other life coaching techniques such as:

    • Open-ended questions
    • Guided meditation
    • Guided visualizations
    • Positive affirmations
    • Shifts in perception
    • Thought refocusing
    • Gratitude and appreciation
    • Evidence hunting

    There is no two life coaches that use the same methods in coaching. Each life coach have their own methods which they are confident that it will make a chance in the life of their clients.

    Part 8: What are the differences between individual life coaching and business coaching?

    Individual Coaching vs Business Coaching

    Excellent question!

    Individual coaching is geared towards one-to-one training. This allows the life coach to pay his or her fullest attention to the client — from understanding the challenges to creating personalized solutions and guidance to help the client move forward in life.

    Business coaching or executive coaching is more towards training employees of an organization. This involves from leadership to encouraging teamwork between one and another. It is important to understand that this form of coaching can be done either individually or in a group.

    Part 7: Can life coaching help me?

    Can Life Coaching Help Me

    The answer is “YES!

    And this is not because I’m a life coach myself. Life coaches are God send … seriously.

    Some years back, I was working in the corporate industry with over $100,000 in earnings per annum. However, I wasn’t happy. As a matter of fact, I was not fulfilled. Money couldn’t buy me happiness as I wanted more. More specifically, I wanted to make a change in other’s life. I ended up attending the “Ultimate Edge” by Tony Robbins and many other coaching sessions by influential coaches around the world. That’s when the light bulb lights up in my head. I realized that while money can buy a lot of things, it certainly can’t buy me happiness. I wanted to be the change maker in the life of others and I decided to venture into business consulting. Until date, I had coached over 5,000 business owners and entrepreneurs around the world and I’m not stopping anytime soon.

    Before you even get started with finding a life coach, you need to ask yourself these questions:

    • What do I want to achieve with the life coach?
    • How can a life coach helps me?
    • What are the life coaching techniques that I am hoping for?
    • How long do I want to work with a life coach?
    • How much should I pay for a life coach?

    Once you have these questions sorted out, you can proceed with the next step.

    Part 9: Where to find life coach?

    Where To Find Life Coach In Malaysia

    If you are looking for a life coach to help you in business and leadership, I’m at your service (yup, seriously). With over a decade in the corporate industry, I help clients to enhance their skills, leadership and getting out of their comfort zones to become the ultimate best.

    Where else can you find life coach?

    Google of course!

    List Of Life Coaches Near Me

    Part 10: How much does life coach costs?

    How Much Does Life Coach Costs In Malaysia

    Most life coaches working with individuals charge about $200 to $1,000 per month for a 30- to 60-minute call three or four times a month. Executive coaches charge more and typically work with their clients for two hours a month. It all works out to about $100 to $300 per hour.

    The rates above are based on individual life coaching in the United States.

    Since I’m in Malaysia, how much does life coach costs in Malaysia?

    I wish that I could answer you that, but I can’t as each coach charges differently. However, I could share my pricing structure for “How much does life coach charges in Malaysia?”

    • Individual coaching Malaysia: RM 150.00 per hour (minimum two hours per month)
    • Executive coaching Malaysia: RM 400.00 per hour (minimum two hours per month)
    • Group coaching Malaysia: RM 5,000.00 per day (maximum 20 participants)

    Summary: Get Started With A Certified Life Coach

    If you are reading until this part, you are probably getting ready to hire a certified life coach.

    Hiring a life coach is not complicated — so, don’t fret too much over it. Many life coaches offer free consultancy through discovery calls including myself.

    Need some help with life coaching? Click here to talk to me right now! 

    I’m always looking forward in sharing ways in enhancing your life.

  • Cisco CCDA Certification and 200-310 Exam: Examsnap A Complete Guide to Help You Pass

    Cisco CCDA Certification and 200-310 Exam: Examsnap A Complete Guide to Help You Pass

    A Complete Guide to Help You Pass Cisco CCDA Certification and 200-310 Exam

    We live in a technological era when innovations rule the world. One of the most famous names in the IT industry is Cisco with its groundbreaking networking products.

    But the company is known not only for that. Cisco company also offers technological certifications for interested candidates.

    In this text, we’re going to talk about Cisco Certified Design Associate (CCDA) certification and 200-310 exam you must clear to obtain it.

    If you decided to pass Cisco 200-310 exam, then this guide is for you. But first things first, what does Cisco 200-310 exam entail?

    This exam is for design professionals seeking to validate their skills in designing routed as well as switched network architectures and services that involve LAN/WAN based technologies for branch networks, enterprise campus networks and SMB. 200-310 exam focuses on the designing of data center, basic campus, voice, security, as well as wireless networks.

    Read on to learn more about Cisco 200-310 exam and get tips on how to prepare and ace it successfully.

    Cisco 200-310 exam overview

    Cisco 200-310 exam overview

    This is a 75-minute long exam with 55-65 questions. You’ll come across question types that may include multiple-choice, drag-and-drop, fill-in-the-blank, simlet, testlet and simulation.

    The exam cost is $300 and registration takes place at Pearson VUE. Cisco does not indicate the passing scores for their exams because they are bound to change anytime.

    It is recommended that you have any CCIE, CCENT, or valid CCNA Routing & Switching credential before taking this exam. Once you pass your exam and attain your credential, you’ll have to renew it after 3 years.

    Also, your CCDA certification can be a prerequisite for professional CCDP certification.

    So how do you pass Cisco 200-310 certification exam?

    This particular exam is not easy at all. You have to prepare well with the right resources if you’re serious about passing it. Here are tips and tricks that you can make use of to help you prepare as well as pass this popular exam:

    1. Register for the exam soon enough

    Do not wait for the last minute to register for your examsnap.com exam. Registering early would help you allocate enough time for your studies. Once you have taken care of this step, then you can now focus on the prep process.

    2. Familiarize with exam topics

    Before you begin your revision, ensure you download and study the exam objectives. Know the topics that the exam is likely to test you on. You can access these topics on the official Cisco website.

    3. Plan your study time well

    It’s important that you prepare a plan and a timetable that will guide you on what topics to cover and when. Remember to allocate time for each of your important and urgent commitments.

    And of course, the most important bit here is to stick to your study plan as long as it is working well for you.

    4. Register for an intensive course

    Training courses are a good way to study for your exam. Courses are great when it comes to proper coverage of the exam topics. They can be instructor-led or self-paced. It’s you to choose the delivery method that you prefer. Some of the recommended courses for this exam include:

    • Cisco’s Designing for Cisco Internetwork Solutions (DESIGN) self-paced training
    • Cisco’s Designing for Cisco Internetwork Solutions (DESIGN) instructor-led course

    5. Find study guides

    These are books written by exam experts with many years of experience on the subject. The books give you a deeper insight into the exam topics. The CCDA 200-310 Official Cert Guide, 5th Edition by Cisco Press is a great study guide to use for your exam revision.

    6. Set up a practice environment or lab

    Practicing with labs will give you the necessary hands-on experience. Assemble the required and recommended equipment for this purpose.

    This hands-on experience goes beyond passing your exam. It will also be useful in your day-to-day work responsibilities.

    With the skills you gain from using labs, you can solve any challenge in a real-world scenario. Here are some of the labs that you can purchase and make use of:

    • Cisco Virtual Internet Routing Labs
    • Cisco Modelling Labs

    7. Find practice exams

    These are past exam questions popularly called dumps. They allow you to simulate the real exam environment. From this important exam prep resource, you will understand what to expect in the exam and even how to approach exam questions.

    You can find them in ETE or VCE formats. For these files, you’ll have to download an exam testing software that makes it possible for you to practice with the tests. Some of the best practice tests for Prepaway Cisco 200-310 exam include:

    • PrepAway Cisco 200-310 exam dumps
    • Exam Collection Cisco 200-310 practice tests

    8. Join a discussion group or study forum

    Forums or discussion groups are also a wonderful way to prepare and pass your Cisco 200-310 exam. This is where other candidates and professionals meet. You can ask questions or read the exam experiences of the other members. One of these helpful groups is the CCDA Study Group.

    9. Read through the exam regulations carefully

    It’s always good to begin by looking at the exam rules first and make sure you understand what is expected of you. Don’t make assumptions.

    10. It’s time to take your exam

    Once you’ve read through the rules, the next thing would be to go through the exam questions. You can answer familiar questions first, then come back to the hard ones later.

    Remember to answer all the questions!

    Also, make sure that you don’t stay on one question for long because you might end up hurrying through other questions. If you meet a hard question, you can skip it for later.

    Final thoughts

    Preparing for your Cisco 200-310 exam can be a little overwhelming, but when you already understand what you must do to pass, then you’re in a good position to ace it successfully.

    Make sure you have the recommended resources and apply the preparation method that works well for you. Make use of these tried and tested tips to help you triumph in your exam and qualify for your Cisco CCDA certification. Armed with this credential, you can get great job positions and even go higher in your career.

    Some of the job positions for this credential include network engineer, IT support engineer, network technician and systems engineer. You can earn an average annual salary of $88,361 with any of these positions according to data from Indeed.com.

  • Kinsta Managed WordPress Hosting Review: Is it worth paying for Kinsta hosting?

    Kinsta Managed WordPress Hosting Review: Is it worth paying for Kinsta hosting?

    In-depth Managed WordPress Hosting Review With Kinsta

    This Kinsta review is my first managed hosting review for 2019 and the stakes are high because I don’t want to disappoint you in anyway possible. This post is going to be long and I recommend you to bookmark this post for future references.

    If you are looking for answers for “What makes Kinsta different from other managed WordPress hosts?” — you are doing to find it here in this post. We will not only go deep into Kinsta hosting review, we will also discuss on Kinsta CDN, Kinsta DNS, Kinsta data centers, daily backups and even Kinsta staging environment.

    As a WordPress website owner, our biggest concern (apart from making money online) is web hosting. Generally, web hosting can be really cheap – costing you less than a cup of coffee (latte, macchiato or any of your favorite caffeine beverage) a month.

    The cheapest web hosting package is shared hosting and that can easily costs you under $5 a month. However, hosting your WordPress site on shared hosting giants such as BlueHost and SiteGround may not be sufficient for your needs. Regardless it is the server performance, website loading speed, support or security, the alternative to shared hosting is managed WordPress hosting.

    The first impression most bloggers and website owners is this: Managed WordPress hosting is expensive. And I totally get it.

    The truth is pretty much the opposite. Managed WordPress hosting may be more expensive than generic shared hosting, but it is certainly not as expensive as you think!

    As a matter of fact, managed WordPress hosting such as Kinsta is really affordable and highly scalable based on your website traffic.

    More information about Kinsta managed WordPress hosting.

    What Is Managed WordPress Hosting?

    What Is Managed WordPress Hosting

    Managed WordPress hosting is similar to other web hosting services in many ways – with a twist.

    According to WPBeginner, managed WordPress hosting is a concierge service where all technical aspects of running WordPress is managed by the host.

    The idea behind managed WordPress hosting is to offer a completely hassle-free experience, so you can focus on running your business and doing what you are good at.

    One of the best parts about Managed WordPress hosting is the premium support. Your support is provided by real WordPress experts with lots of experience rather than someone who is reading a support manual.

    What Are The Advantages Using Managed WordPress Hosting?

    What Are The Advantages Using Managed WordPress Hosting

    • Blazing Fast – Managed WordPress hosting servers are configured specially for WordPress. Therefore, these servers are really fast and are able to sustain even when hosting high traffic websites.
    • Security – Your website is practically hacker-proof when you go with a managed WordPress hosting provider. The super tight security layer that actively scans for malware on a daily basis and block all hacking attempts will secure WordPress websites.
    • Expert Support – Unlike other web hosts, majority (if not all) of the staffs are highly knowledgeable in WordPress. They will be able to advise you against using plugins that impact performance, solve your website problems faster, and many more. It is like having an army of WordPress experts on your side for assistance 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,
    • Daily Backups – Automatic daily backups and multiple restore points are available to you if you ever want to revert (great for developers and anti-hacking activities,
    • Automatic Updates – You don’t have to worry about updates because they are done automatically.
    • No downtime – No matter how much traffic your site gets, your website will probably never go down – like N.E.V.E.R. ever.
    • Dev Tools – Although it varies with different managed WordPress hosting service providers, you will find some useful dev tools such as staging area, version control, etc. within the dashboard.

    What Are The Disadvantages Using Managed WordPress Hosting?

    • Price – Price is the biggest turn down for many website owners. Managed WordPress hosting is significantly more expensive when compared to shared hosting. The most basic WordPress hosting plan usually starts around $15/mo. where as shared hosting plan starts at $2.95/mo. But if you factor in the cost of running a large website and the salary of system admin, then this will sound like a pretty darn good option.
    • Limits – Because the server architecture is specialized for WordPress, often you are limited to run only WordPress based sites. But that’s what you were looking to do anyways. There is also the possible that you Are not able to run all your favorite WordPress plugins. Managed WordPress hosting providers block plugins that slows down your site. So this is not entirely a disadvantage, but it can be an issue for larger companies.
    • Less Control – Since someone else is managing all the technical aspects, you don’t have nearly as much say as to what gets changed. But isn’t that the point? You don’t want the hassle of managing things yourself.

    Now that we had completed the advantages and disadvantages of using a managed WordPress hosting, let’s start the Kinsta managed WordPress hosting review.

    My Experience After Moving To Kinsta Managed WordPress Hosting

    Managed Hosting Versus Shared Hosting

    Apart from providing a review on Kinsta hosting, I have incorporated my personal experience using Kinsta. If you are managing a growing blog and you often find yourself stuck in technical hosting jargon, this article will be a life-changer for you.

    I started my first website back in 2014 and it was hosted on the Blogger platform. Within a year, I moved to the entire website to my first shared hosting service on HostGator. My traffic wasn’t really a big shout to be honest but I realized a much bigger problem – technical aspect.

    As you can see, I wasn’t entirely an experience website developer back then. For major changes on my site, I would require assistance from the web hosting company to get the job done for me without charge. Sure, I live by that rule for some good years until one day where I decided that enough is enough because my site was hacked.

    That was the turning point.

    I was making decently on my site but just like many bloggers out there, I wasn’t ready to increase my monthly web hosting spending. After doing extensive surveys and research, I concluded that using managed WordPress hosting is the best bet for me.

    For the record, I have used several managed WordPress hosting such as WP Engine, FlyWheel and Pagely to name a few. But nothing interests me as much as Kinsta does.

    Kinsta Managed WordPress Hosting Review: Ultimate Speed

    Kinsta Hosting Speed For WordPress

    Kinsta is one of the managed WordPress hosting that runs on Google Cloud Platform and that contributed a lot to the fast website loading speed.

    Kinsta is not only fast. Kinsta is blazing fast.

    I have tested many web hosting including VPS, but nothing really come close to what Kinsta can offer. Take a look at the speed tests I done below.

    Insert Image

    On contrary, most shared web hosting could probably load around 1.3 seconds even on the most optimized servers. This is what I mean.

    Kinsta WordPress Hosting Review

    My experience had taught me something deep about website hosting. Shared hosting is really cheap but in terms of website loading speed, it is not even close to managed WordPress hosting service.

    >> Click here to read on the top 10 fastest WordPress hosting in 2019 <<

    Kinsta Managed WordPress Hosting Review: Datacenters

    Multiple Datacenter Locations For Faster Website Loading Speed

    It is no accident that WordPress websites hosted on Kinsta loads a fraction of the speed. The answer lies within the Google Cloud Platform. To be exact, it is the huge list of datacenters (15 of them) which you can choose from.

    Here are the datacenters that you can choose from using Kinsta.

    Kinsta Data Centres

    I’ve used many managed WordPress hosting and while they too offer datacenter choices, I have not seen one that offers that many datacenters as Kinsta does.

    Kinsta Managed WordPress Hosting Review: Website Management Using MyKinsta

    MyKinsta is Kinsta’s customized website management system. You can also consider MyKinsta as the control center for your sites. From tracking bandwidth, visitor stats to creating SSL certificates, all the tools you need are in one convenient location.

    This is how it looks like on the backend:

    MyKinsta Custom Domain Management

    MyKinsta dashboard lets you track important data for each of your sites separately; such as visitors, bandwidth usage, response times, and more.

    MyKinsta was built from the get-go as a companion to our services. It allows you to manage your sites with the ease and precision you would expect from Kinsta.

    As you can see below, there are many dev tools you can access on Kinsta’s backend system, including creating Let’s Encrypt SSL, clearing the cache and even enabling/disabling Kinsta CDN services.

    Kinsta CDN Services

    In short, MyKinsta is built from ground up to make sure you have an excellent time managing your websites.

    >> More information about Kinsta managed WordPress hosting. <<

    Kinsta Managed WordPress Hosting Review: How Secure Is Kinsta?

    How Secure Is Kinsta

    Kinsta managed WordPress hosting is close to bulletproof. When you add your website to Kinsta hosting, you are in safe hands and Kinda’s security feature is close to Fort Knox.

    Kinsta security guarantee includes:

    • An inspection of the site and deep scan of the sites files to identify malware.
    • Repair of the WordPress core by installing a clean copy of the core files.
    • Identification and removal of infected plugins and themes.

    While Kinsta provides over the top security features and malware scanning, it is important for website owners like you to understand how WordPress websites are hacked.

    Basically, there are two common methods which will make your site prone to hacking cases:

    • Exploits targeting WordPress: using outdated or poorly coded plugins and themes or using outdated versions of the WordPress core.
    • Compromised credentials: an attacker captures your WordPress admin, MyKinsta, database, SSH, or SFTP credentials.

    Therefore, securing WordPress websites are job for both you and and the web host (in this case, Kinsta) to make the perfect team.

    If you want to know how secure it is using Kinsta hosting, I would say it is pretty damn good – assuming that you taking simple steps to secure your WordPress (such as using strong password and updating the themes/plugins regularly).

    Kinsta Managed WordPress Hosting Review: How Good Is The Support Level?

    Kinsta Live Chat Support

    Do you know the feeling when you need help (like super urgent) and you can’t seem to find one?

    At Kinsta hosting, this will never happen to you, EVER. Kinsta support team is available around the clock and the fastest way to reach them is through the live chat option (available by default when you login to MyKinsta).

    Kinsta WordPress Hosting Support

    The best part about using Kinsta live chat and support system is the automatic email notification.

    How does the live chat system works?

    Click on “New conversation” and the chat will start instantly. If you close the browser or leave abruptly in the middle of the support, you will be notified immediately via email when there is a response from the support team.

    With the support team working around the clock 365 days a year, I would say this is probably the best WordPress support you can get!

    via GIPHY

    Kinsta Managed WordPress Hosting Review: How Much Does Kinsta Costs?

    The smallest plan starts at $30 per month and you can easily scale it up to higher plans based on your website needs.

    Here’s the full list of Kinda managed WordPress hosting pricing:

    How Much Does Kinsta Costs Per Month

    If you are looking for Kinsta coupon or discount, you can use this link to sign up and get 2 months free hosting (when you pay annually).

    Kinsta Managed WordPress Hosting Review: Inbuilt Cache, Kinsta CDN, Site Cloning and Staging Area

    Kinsta Managed Hosting

    Most of us use managed WordPress hosting because we don’t want to get our hands dirty with web hosting matters. If that’s the case for you, you are going to love Kinda’s inbuilt cache, Kinda CDN, site cloning and staging area.

    When you use Kinsta hosting, you don’t have to setup cache plugins such as W3 Total Cache. The server and inbuilt cache are optimized for your website to load at blazing speed and you can focus on your business more!

    If you are a website developer, you are going to love the Kinsta staging environment feature. Take a look at the image below.

    Kinsta Staging Environment

    In just a few clicks, your staging environment will be ready and you can test out new themes, layouts or codes without worrying of breaking your site.

    Lastly, if you are a big fan of website loading speed like I do, you are 100% going to appreciate the Kinsta CDN feature. Kinsta CDN is available on all hosting plans and you can easily activate it from the settings.

    The usage of Kinsta CDN will ensure that static files will be served to your website visitors faster and through the datacenters closest to them. As a result, your website will load faster for them.

    Summary: Is Kinsta WordPress Hosting Worth It?

    Kinsta hosting review conclusion – should you choose Kinsta?

    This is the most important question to answer before I wrap up Kinsta managed WordPress hosting review. Based on my personal experience using Kinsta (as well as the features offered), Kinsta hosting is definitely worth it. As a matter of fact, I even host all my sites with Kinsta hosting.

    Kinsta managed WordPress hosting is packed full with features and tons of geeky tools to make other web hosting companies look bad. It’s cloud platform allows WordPress sites to load super fast and comes with bulletproof security as well.

    With its data centers located around the world, you can easily choose the ones that are closest to you (for even faster loading speed).

    Overall, Kinsta WordPress hosting is not only affordable but extremely powerful and suits small and large websites.

    >> More information about Kinsta managed WordPress hosting. <<

  • 5 Powerful Strategies That Can Help You Get a Return on Investment (Every Time)

    5 Powerful Strategies That Can Help You Get a Return on Investment (Every Time)

    How To Get A Profitable Return On Investment?

    Getting a good return of investment (ROI) is all about doing sufficient research and planning.

    Now, how much do you agree with this?

    By default, most business owners who put money into their company would eye for a healthy return on investment. After all, no one is willing to do a business that doesn’t generate them revenue.

    ROI is important

    No matter what industry you are in, return of investment is crucial. Even for me as a writer, I make it a point to publish blog posts that are valuable not only for my readers but to myself as they will generate indirect leads for me to expand the business.

    But there’s something you should know.

    Every business situation is different and the mindset that you have will ultimately determine your success or failure in the financial investments you do.

    If you’re planning on putting some serious money into your business and you want a return on investment, here are some strategies you may want to consider.

    1. Never Gamble With Your Money

    Never Gamble With Money

    Life is a gamble but money … you got to be really wise in using it.

    Having multiple second thoughts such as “can I afford this investment” can easily save you money (from going the wrong way).

    According to Darren Bonawitz, co-founder and CEO of Sherpa Fiber (Kansas), he recommends you to avoid investing money that you are not prepared to lose.

    When you’re mulling over whether to make a big investment, playing devil’s advocate may help you with your ROI analysis. Bonawitz suggests spending twice as much time coming up with all the reasons things may not work out as you spend determining why things will work out.

    And this makes all the sense.

    If you look back last three years during the Bitcoin boom, I was one of the first early adopters in Malaysia. I invested close to RM 8,000 in Bitcoins and made over RM 16,000 in just three months. Sure, the risk was there but it was something I was willing to lose.

    Important tips to get high return of investment: Invest only if you are willing to lose the money as there is absolutely no such thing as safe investment.

    2. Invest In Something That Has Staying Power

    Staying Power for Return Of Investment

    Not all investment are equal and some investments are only profitable for a short time period.

    Let me give you an example.

    If you put all of your money into a lot of advertising that will run for a day or two, you could get sales that do give you a good return on investment. But you might also get absolutely nothing from it.

    Advertising is like gambling. There are always chance for not getting anything from it. And through my consultancy career, I know a lot of entrepreneurs and business owners who blame the economy, the strategy or even their products when something failed to lift off the way they want it to be.

    There are a lot of things that we cannot control, and this is one of it.

    According to Felix Hartman, the CEO of crowdfunding site FundThis, his words are “To me the best investments are those that are permanent.” For instance, Hartmann says that he made a $5,000 investment in his research and development that ended up increasing his checkout rates by 300 percent.

    “These benefits are permanent, while ads are short-term sales,” he says. “The key is to strike a sustainable balance between the two.”

    While you’re trying to find that balance, this next step can help(if you are dead serious in increasing your return of investment.

    3. Research And Weigh The Risk Of Your Investments

    Research For Better Return Of Investment

    Do you know that researching the risk of an investment can help increase the likelihood of a return on that investment?

    Yes. You read that right.

    At times, somethings just look so good. An idea, a property, a strategy, a product etc. They look good and you are confident that you had found a unicorn in the highly competitive world.

    Here’s a great quote from Jason Parks, owner of The Media Captain, a digital marketing agency based in Columbus, Ohio.

    “If I bring on a new hire or invest in technology for my marketing agency, I want to make sure I can pay the bills right off the bat,” says Jason. “I don’t get romantic thinking about the potential [I might see] a year or two years down the road, a mistake a lot of business owners make.”

    The next time you had a thought like “I will be able to pay off my investment and make a profit after three months”, you should skip the idea completely.

    Make sure you are affordable for the investment because if you are not, you are not going to make enough to see a nice profit margin. Period.

    4. Crunch The Numbers To See The Possible Return On Investment

    Numbers Game In Return Of Investment

    Have an idea about investment? Good … but don’t proceed yet.

    What you should be doing next is to get down to the numbers. You probably heard about this, “it is not a numbers game.”

    But the truth is, it is always a numbers game!

    If you want a solid return on investment, this can be one of the most important things you can do.

    Performing ROI analysis is going to help you determine the effectiveness of your investment, as well as the chance to score some serious profits from the investment.

    ROI analysis is tedious work—but it is beyond critical for you especially when you are serious in making a profitable home run from your investment.

    5. Remember To Invest In The Person Running The Business

    Self Development For Return Of Investment

    As a success coach, I can’t fail to highlight this anymore. The success of you is determined by your colleagues, team members and associates.

    And it is beyond paramount to ensure that you are constantly investing in the person running the business.

    Not only that you have to invest in your team, you have to invest in yourself!

    “The best investment is always an investment in yourself. Whether that be in your education—business books, seminars or conferences—or physical and emotional health, the highest return you’ll ever see on your money is when you invest in yourself,” says Doug Sands, founder of Restaurant Clients Magnet, a social media marketing firm in Iowa City, Iowa.

    Some of the quick ways to invest in yourself (and get a good return of investment) are:

    • Book reading
    • Attending networking events
    • Going for courses for personal improvements
    • Face your challenges and learn from your mistakes
    • Allocate time for self meditation and time off from work

    You’ve made your business what it is today, but if you feel like there’s room for improvement, perhaps you’re holding it back.

    There is always room for improvement that every entrepreneur can improve on something,.

    And don’t make the idea run away because whatever you improve might be the jet fuel your company needs.

    If you want a strong return on investment on your business, but you’re not sure where to start, the best place to look may be in the mirror.

  • Discovery: Teens Now Are Using Instagram More Than Facebook

    Discovery: Teens Now Are Using Instagram More Than Facebook

    Move Over Facebook And Snapchat. Instagram Is Dominating Teen’s Life Now

    Recent survey had shown that Instagram is the king when it comes to teens. In other words, Instagram is the number one go-to social media platforms for teens.

    Piper Jaffray has been tracking how teenagers use the internet for nearly twenty years, and the second report of this year has some interesting findings indeed.

    There are some important (shocking) takeaways in the survey conducted:

    • 85 percent of teens report using Instagram at least once a month, up from 79 percent in the fall of 2016
    • 84 percent of teens report using Snapchat at least once a month, up from 80 percent in the fall of 2016
    • Just 36 percent of teens report using Facebook at least once a month, down from 52 percent in the fall of 2016

    Now, it is important to understand that the this survey was done back in 2016 and 2017.

    We are now in 2019 and take a look around.

    Businesses are going to Instagram-able products (with no exceptions for the food and beverages). Social media influencers are using Instagram more than ever … to grow their target audience and to encourage conversions.

    But, Instagram is not alone in the race

    Instagram Social Media Race for Teens

    Snapchat is still gaining traction especially with 46% of teen’s social media usage, followed by Instagram with 32%, Twitter at 6% and Facebook at only 5%.

    Here’s an important note. There are more teens using Instagram on a daily basis but when it comes to the teen’s preferred social media platform, they still prefer Snapchat.

    This particular survey revealed the reason behind the seeming disconnect.

    Instagram is the social media channel of choice when it comes to brand engagement of teens, with an overwhelming majority of teens preferring to be contacted by brands via Instagram.

    Snapchat knows this —and trust me that they are doing everything they can do improve the numbers.

    Snapchat is basically a social media platform that allows users to do a lot of cool and short videos … and they get automatically deleted after a certain amount of time.

    On the other hand, Instagram allows teens to publish videos, photos and even auto delete videos/photos (just like Snapchat does). More importantly, the constant updates on Instagram allows it to surpass Snapchat in numerous occasions … which indirectly allows Instagram to dominate the teen’s social media preference.

    Snapchat needs to domore

    Unless Snapchat makes a major misstep in handling that segment of the demographic, they’re unlikely to lose them in the longer term.

    Moreimportantly, Snapchat also faces strong competition from Facebook especially with the bastion of older users. In most cases, mom and dad check their Facebook accounts while teens check Instagram.

    How can businesses market effectively to teens?

    Marketing is all about reaching the right target audience using the right platform. 

    If you are targeting teens, you should well aware that both Snapchat and Instagrams are going to dominate the market for a long, long time.

    If you don’t have a robust presence on Instagram and Snapchat (for this matter), then your social media isn’t doing as much for you as it could be.

    Finally, this leads us to one last question.

    What are you doing to make sure you are doing whatever it takes to market successfully to teens?

    Related read: What is Facebook lookalike audiences?