Category: Web Development

  • How To Disable WordPress Comments?

    How To Disable WordPress Comments?

    Want to disable WordPress comments but not sure how? This article is just right for you! In the next 5 minutes (or less), I’m going to show you exactly, how to turn off WordPress comments without any coding skills required.

    WordPress is an awesome solution for building websites. If you are creating a website for business on WordPress, you might be finding the best way to disable WordPress comments. 

    Seriously, the number of spam comments you can get through the comment section is enough to drive many of us nuts.

    In this article, I’m going to share with you 5 easy ways to disable comments in WordPress:

    • How to disable comments on future posts
    • How to disable comments on a single post or page
    • How to disable comments on multiple posts or pages (in bulk)
    • How to disable comments on media
    • How to disable comments using a plugin

    Do you know that pingbacks, trackbacks and spam comments are the most time consuming, tedious and annoying thing to monitor? Simply by disabling the comments, you will easily cut down the amount of maintenance you need to do on your website.

    Use the table of content below to dive straight into the answers you are looking for.

    Tutorial: How to disable WordPress comments for future posts?

    If you are just starting a WordPress site, this is an important step to help you disable comments on new posts/pages sitewide. 

    This is how you disable WordPress comments for future posts:

    1. Head over to Settings > Discussion
    2. Uncheck the option that says “Allow people to post comments on new articles” and click on the “Save Changes” button to store your settings.

    Disable Comments on WordPress

    By going doing this step, you can successfully disable comments (effectively) on all future posts. If you are looking to disable or remove WordPress comments on an existing post, carry on reading the next section.

    Tutorial: How to disable WordPress comments on a single post or page

    Do you want to have more control on the WordPress comments, such as having the ability to disable comments on posts or pages on a case-by-by basis?

    Follow these simple steps to disable comments on WordPress pages:

    1. Head over to Pages > All Pages
    2. Hover over the page you want to disable the comment and select Edit
    3. On the right-hand side of the settings, look for Discussion and unselect Allow comments
    4. Finally, hit save and now, the comment section on the page is hidden

    How To Disable WordPress Comments on Posts and Pages

    If you are looking to disable comments on a single post, head to Posts > All Posts on the left sidebar and follow the similar steps as above.

    Do you know why these are the top 10 drag and drop WordPress builders in 2019?

    Tutorial: How to disable WordPress comments on multiple posts and pages?

    Do you know that WordPress allows you to disable comments in bulk?

    Here’s how it is done.

    1. Go to Posts > All posts
    2. Select the checkbox for the posts you want to disable comments on.
    3. In the Bulk Actions dropdown at the top of the page, choose Edit and click on Apply.
    4. Select Do not allow from the Comments dropdown and click Update. This will disable comments for all selected posts, meaning no new comments can be made and any existing comments will be hidden. 

    Easy Way To Disable WordPress Comments in Bulk

    Pro-tip: With this method, you can perform several actions in bulk, such as changing an author, the post status, format, etc.”

    Want to disable comments on pages (in bulk)? Follow the same steps above and you are golden!

    Next, select Do not allow from the Comments dropdown and click Update. By doing this, no new comments can be made and any existing comments will be hidden from viewing.

    The same process applies for disabling comments on Pages.

    How to disable comments on media in WordPress?

    Do you want to control and disable comments on media instead? There are two ways to go around.

    The first option is you can add a code snippet to your site and the second one is to use a WordPress plugin.

    Disable comments on media by adding a code snippet

    If you want to go the code route, simply paste the following snippet in your theme’s functions.php file.

    functionfilter_media_comment_status( $open, $post_id) {

        $post= get_post( $post_id);

        if( $post->post_type == ‘attachment’) {

            returnfalse;

        }

        return$open;

    }

    add_filter( ‘comments_open’, ‘filter_media_comment_status’, 10 , 2 );

    That will globally disable comments on all media files you upload to your WordPress site. Then, you’ll never have to worry about it again! 

    If you want to use a WordPress plugin, see the next section for my recommendations. 

    How to disable comments using a plugin?

    By now, you probably know that WordPress allows you to do most things manually or you can always install a plugin for more functionality.

    Disable Comments is a WordPress plugin that gives you the ability to disable all comments, including any on past posts. Once you install Disable Comments, you’ll see a new option in your Settings dropdown.

    Go to Settings > Disable Comments.

    Now you can quickly disable all comments on posts, pages, and media, including any past comments. If you’re dealing with a large site with lots of posts and pages, this is a great solution to avoid manually editing every single page.

    A couple other plugin options for disabling comments in WordPress include: 

    Conclusion

    Disabling comments can seem like a hassle, but WordPress makes it super easy to disable comments in different ways. No matter if you’re disabling comments for your client’s website or your own blog post, I certainly hope this WordPress tutorial helps you in your WordPress journey!

  • Essential WordPress Plugins For Bloggers 2019

    Essential WordPress Plugins For Bloggers 2019

    What are the essential WordPress plugins for bloggers?

    In this post, we will dive deep into the top WordPress plugins that every blogger should use for their WordPress websites.

    How good is WPX Hosting?

    Want to know more about this managed WordPress hosting?

    Best Website Builder Plugins

    What makes a website beautiful? The layout, of course.

    So, how do you create beautiful WordPress layouts if you don’t have coding skills?

    Using WordPress builders is the answer. With that being said, here are the top website builders for WordPress users.

    Thrive Architect

    This is by far my favorite WordPress builders. Focused on speed, conversion and ease of use, Thrive Architect is a must-have tool for bloggers who wants to build beautiful WordPress themes without coding skills. Click here to try!

    Divi Builder

    If you are a website developer, you are going to love Divi. Divi simple pricing structure, plus hundreds of ready-made templates are highly affordable and makes website building extremely simple. Click here to try!

    OptimizePress

    If you are looking for a WordPress builder that comes with membership plugin, OptimizePress is the best money can buy. Easy to use and highly recommended by top affiliate marketers, this is definitely a heavy hitters in the market right now. Click here to try!

    WordPress Form Builder Plugins

    Forms are used on WordPress to collect feedbacks, used on “contact us” pages and even to organize surveys.

    However, WordPress forms are boring and not compatible with the ongoing WordPress themes and plugins developments.

    Here re the top ones that I truly recommend.

    WPForms

    WPForms is one of the most effective form builders for WordPress websites. This plugin is extremely easy to use and you can literally create a working form in just under 5 minutes. Zero coding skills required too! Click here to try!

    Ninja Forms

    Are you looking for a versatile WordPress form plugin? If you are, then Ninja Forms is definitely a great option for you. While this plugin is very easy to use, it also comes with advanced features that advanced users are going to love. Click here to try!

    Contact Form 7

    Contact Form 7 is the most popular and most basic contact form plugin for WordPress. If you are looking for a free contact form plugin that doesn’t sucks, you are going to love the simplicity that this plugin offers. Click here to try!

    Analytics Plugins for WordPress Websites

    Regardless you like it or hate it, analytics (data) is important for your blog’s success.

    But there’s a little problem with Google Analytics. It is extremely powerful but almost certainly every beginner finds it tough to use. There are so many options and filters that you can use to generate report — which it can be mind bogging.

    via GIPHY

    Thankfully, here are the top Google Analytics plugin that you can use on WordPress (thank God).

    MonsterInsights

    MonsterInsights is my personal favorite when it comes to getting analytics data. Install this plugin and you will be greeted with several simple options to generate analytics reports. Click here to try!

    Slimstat Analytics

    If Jetpack Analytics is too heavy for your website, you are going to love this plugin. This is a leading web analytics plugin that light weight and doesn’t slows down your website loading speed. Click here to try!

    Google Analytics Dashboard for WP by ExactMetrics

    Previously known as GADWP, this is a light weight analytics plugin for WordPress that allows you to connect your WordPress site with Google Analytics. Click here to try!

    Best Email List Building Plugin for WordPress Websites

    Everyone knows that the money is in the list — and having a proper (and effective) list building plugin for WordPress is super important.

    Here are the top email list building plugins that you should be using today.

    Thrive Leads

    If you want to build your email list, Thrive Leads is the best list building plugin you can ever find. I use it myself and am loving it. It is easy to use and works very well with nearly all major WordPress themes and plugins. Click here to try!

    OptinMonster

    OptinMonster is a cool list building plugin that is powerful, effective and more importantly, helps you to build your email list without dropping a single sweat. It has many advanced controls to give you the perks! Click here to try!

    Bloom

    If you are looking for a simple email list builder plugin, Bloom is here to answer your calling. Easy to use and very lightweight, this is one of my favorite email list plugin that offers simplicity and getting the job done, every time. Click here to try!

    Best WordPress Security Plugin for WordPress Websites

    You had spend money and time to get the website running —and you certainly wouldn’t want to open doors to hackers and malicious codes which can affect your website.

    Here are the top security plugins for WordPress websites (that are free to use).

    Jetpack

    Jetpack comes with security features to ensure that your WordPress website is constantly safe from the bad guys. Jetpack security isn’t the full suite but it certainly does the job to protect your website. Click here to try!

    Wordfence Security

    You can’t compromise anything especially with web security. Wordfence security plugin is one of the most powerful and most advanced security plugin to ensure your website is always safe from hacking attempts. Click here to try!

    All In One WP Security & Firewall

    I wrote about this plugin sometime back and it is still one of the simple security plugin for WordPress users. I recommend this plugin to all WordPress users and you can read my review on it here. Click here to try!

    Best SEO Plugin for WordPress Websites

    You can’t ignore SEO if you want traffic to your website. While I admit that SEO is challenging, here are some of the best SEO plugins that will help you optimize your content in real time.

    Yoast SEO

    This is by far the most popular SEO plugin for WordPress websites. Used by bloggers and large organization, Yoast SEO helps you to optimizate your website content by providing powerful tips and best practices. Click here to try!

    All In One SEO Plugin

    If Yoast SEO is not your cup of tea, then you are going to love AIOSEO. Just like Yoast SEO, this plugin helps you to optimize both WordPress posts and pages to ensure that Google ranks them higher on search results! Click here to try!

    What’s Your Essential WordPress Plugin?

    As a blogger, what’s your essential WordPress plugin (that I might had missed out)?

    Leave a comment below and tell me all about them!

  • What Is Conversational Forms by WPForms?

    What Is Conversational Forms by WPForms?

    If you are concern on the form completion rate, you came to the right place.

    This article is all about Conversational Forms which is one of the popular WPForms addons.

    What is the Conversational Forms addon?

    Here’s what they are saying about the Conversational Forms addon.

    “Conversational Forms addon by WPForms helps make your web forms feel more human, so you can improve your conversions. Interactive web forms made easy.”

    – WPForms –

    Of course, this leads to one major question for all of us (including you).

    How does Conversational Forms works?

    Glad you asked!

    Carry on reading below to learn more.

    Meantime …

    Want to see WPForms in real-time?

    WPForms is known as the most advanced and absolutely beginner friendly for website owners, developers and bloggers. Don’t just hear my thought about — try WPForms right now!

    What makes Conversational Forms by WPForms unique?

    Conversational Forms Features by WPForms

    For me, the most important feature is the ease of using it. WordPress can be very complicated especially for beginners, and using WordPress plugins such as this one shouldn’t add more challenge to the matter.

    When it comes to ease of usage, there is no doubt in my mind that Conversational Forms rocks.

    Quick and easy setup i definitely for the win in this case.

    Reduce cart abandonment with Conversational Forms

    It is tough to drive traffic to your website … and it felt even worst when you are unable to convert these website visitors into paying customers.

    “Do you know that Conversational Forms is the first true interactive form layout built exclusively for WordPress that is guaranteed to boost form completion and your overall form conversions?”

    Question of the day

    Regardless whatever your plans or goals are in creating forms on WordPress, Conversational Forms should be in your arsenal.

    Here’s how an interactive survey can be done thanks to Conversational Forms by WPForms.

    Creating Interaction Forms and Surveys in WordPress

    How can Conversational Forms helps you to boost completion rate?

    The concept is rather straight forward … to be honest.

    Instead of asking all twenty questions at once, Conversational Forms takes the one question at a time approach similar to a face-to-face conversation. The full-page conversational form layout makes your form less overwhelming and more personal, leading to a better form completion rate.

    In other words, you can remove the anxiety and lack of time mindset which will lead to higher completion rate.

    How easy it is to setup Conversational Forms?

    Relatively easy. This is one familiar backend which you will see after installing WPForms.

    Conversational Forms Setup On WordPress

    Here, you can easily perform adjustment and amendments to the forms in just a few clicks.

    You can easily add custom header logo, color schemes and even enable/disable the Conversational Form mode.

    Want More?

    The best part about conversational form landing pages is that your users can complete the entire form using just their keyboard similar to as if they were having a chat conversation on Messenger.

    Conversational forms can also be used on:

    1.

    Survey Forms. Instead of overwhelming people with a lot of survey questions, use the Conversational Forms’ one-question at a time approach to improve your survey completion rate.

    2.

    Job Application Forms. 60% of job seekers abandon the job application forms because they’re too long or complicated. With conversational forms, you can make your job application forms easy (source).

    3.

    Event Planning Forms. As an event planner, you know how many questions you have to ask clients to plan the perfect event. The step by step, one question at a time approach helps you get the data you need without tiring your clients.

    What are you waiting for?

    Gte started using Conversational Forms by WPForms right now (click on this link to get started). You can also take a look at the full features here.

  • WPX Hosting Review: Is This The WordPress Hosting For 2019?

    WPX Hosting Review: Is This The WordPress Hosting For 2019?

    We rely on web host a lot.

    And when our website goes down, we lose money, traffic and of course, endless headaches.

    In the past, I had experienced first-hand on countless web hosting services — which I’m sure you had a few for yourself, right?

    Here’s the thing.

    There is no perfect web hosting company and what really matters often boils down to website performance (speed), fixing issues and customer support.

    Among the above three, my biggest concern is always performance.

    This website itself serves over 150,000 visitors in a month. I need blazing fast servers that don’t buckle when a handful of people are viewing my website at the same time.

    So, will WPX hosting be any different from other managed WordPress hosting services?

    Keep on reading this review to find out more!

    Do you know that WPX Hosting is one of our top 10 WordPress hosting services that we truly recommend?

    Game Changer for Managed WP Hosting?

    WPX Hosting is one of our top 10 WordPress hosting services that we truly recommend.

    Before WPX Hosting

    Prior to using WPX Hosting for hosting my money sites, I was using Kinsta.

    And make no mistake.

    Kinsta offers (almost) everything I needed in a web hosting service:

    • Blazing speed thanks to Google Cloud Platform
    • Premium CDN (which is known as KinstaCDN) for faster delivery of resources
    • 24/7/365 live chat support which solves all my problems, every time without complaining
    • Nightly backup securely saved in servers around the world
    • 1-click staging, restore and backups for some development works

    Well, it was close to perfect …

    Except for the payment part.

    As you can see, here’s what Kinsta plans and pricing structures look like:

    Kinsta Pricing Structure 2019

    I took up the Business 1 plan that consists of 5 WordPress installs, 100,000 monthly visits. 15 GB of disk space and 200 GB of Kinsta CDN.

    But with over 150,000 monthly visits in a month, I’m constantly paying overages at $1/1,000 visits.

    While I don’t mind paying for the overages, I felt it is not worth the money.

    Just like any other bloggers, I decided to find for other web hosting alternatives that are more affordable (that don’t cost a bomb) and comes with superior server performance.

    I did a full list and decided these are the best alternatives to Kinsta.

    • SiteGround
    • Cloudways
    • Bluehost Pro
    • WPX Hosting

    SiteGround

    Siteground vs WPX Hosting

    I used SiteGround for quite some time and I love what they do. Beautiful website, great support team and above average server performance (with very decent web hosting price).

    The only problem I had with SiteGround was with my translation plugin. For every post I publish, the plugin will translate into various languages.

    And make no mistake. Other languages are driving a lot of traffic for my website.

    Take a look at the analytics here.

    WPX Is Better Than SiteGround

    While SiteGround is a great choice, I still have doubt on it.

    I wouldn’t want my website to be penalized simply because of any over usages.

    You can also read this post (on why I moved out of SiteGround).

    Nonetheless, SiteGround pricing really unbeatable at only $12 for a super optimized and fast web hosting servers. You can check out their features here.

    Cloudways

    Cloudways vs WPX Hosting

    I thought about Cloudways a few times and used them over the years too. Cloudways is a fully managed VPS service that fits perfectly well for WordPress websites.

    I love their pricing and I can even choose hourly or monthly charges (hourly comes handy in development mode).

    But again, I had some issues with them and to be exact, it was on April 2018.

    I took up a powerful server on Cloudways (sitting on Digital Ocean) with 4 cores. After ensuring the website can last through the heavy traffic, I shut down my laptop and went for a nice three days trip to Langkawi Island, Malaysia.

    I came back home hoping to see a few hundred dollars in advertisement and affiliate sales …

    But I was badly disappointed.

    via GIPHY

    The server crashed and while Cloudways promoted that there are automatic reboot after crashes, it didn’t happen for mine.

    And with that being said, I still have doubts using Cloudways especially when it comes to hosting money sites.

    You are looking for affordable WordPress VPS hosting, Cloudways is still a good option. With VPS services that starts from $10 per month, you can’t really complain. Seriously.

    Read more about Cloudways here.

    BlueHost Pro

    BlueHost Pro vs WPX Hosting

    I talked about BlueHost Pro a lot and this was definitely in my mind.

    BlueHost Pro is not like BlueHost shared hosting. Everything is way much better and the support is awesome too.

    I thought of moving my money site to BlueHost Pro and after some considerations, I decided not to use BlueHost Pro.

    Here’s why.

    “BlueHost Pro is good for many people, but not for me.”

    – Reginald Chan –

    For example, I don’t use Jetpack and thus, Jetpack Pro wouldn’t be beneficial to me. I don’t require BlueHost SEO because I am happy using Yoast SEO. Finally, I don’t require 100 free premium WordPress themes because I’m happy with StudioPress + Thrive Architect.

    While BlueHost Pro is really a great choice, I don’t see myself using it that much. You can check out the entire BlueHost Pro feature (by clicking on this) or read the review here.

    WPS Hosting

    WPX Hosting Review

    Finally, WPS Hosting.

    I heard about WPX Hosting and even used for my own non-money websites.

    But now, I’m my money site to WPX Hosting. This is entirely a different ball game because there are more at stake.

    My first impression of WPX Hosting is pretty bad. Firstly, I’m hoping for a professional business-look homepage. Instead, WPX Hosting is pretty much cartoon-like concept which isn’t really my taste.

    WPX Managed WordPress Hosting Review

    However, I read about what Matthew Woodward talked about WPX and I even had some of my sits hosted on it. So, there goes the benefit of the doubt.

    Because I was capping around 150,000 visits in a month, I had to go with a bigger plan, Professional plan at $49.99 per month or $41.58 per month when I pay annually.

    This plan comes with a whopping 20 GB storage, 200 GB bandwidth and WPX Cloud CDN. Here’s the full pricing structure.

    WPX Hosting Pricing 2019

    I signed up for a brand new account around 10.54am and I submitted the request for a single website migration. I got an email at 10.59am to notify me that the work is in progress (and they require a little bit more information of my previous web host).

    I was impressed that they are really that fast in replying to me.

    Okay, I used to think that the customer support at WPEngine and Kinsta are rock solid. Now, WPX Hosting is also in the list!

    My choice for choosing WPX Hosting for my money site is simple. There are many web hosts which are terrible. They offer unlimited plans that are severely limited when you actually read the fine print. Not cool at all.

    They cram as many customers into each server as possible without considering performance.

    So, when simultaneous visitors land on a site, page load times skyrocket and user experience is ruined.

    Not sure if WPX Hosting is for you?

    Take a look at what WPX Hosting can offer right now!

    WPX Hosting Review Part 1: A Simple Interface That Simply Works

    WPX Hosting Dashboard

    One issue that I find with a lot of web hosts is that for first time users, or even some more experienced users – the interface can be unnecessarily complex.

    This is what the common and simple cPanel hosting looks like.

    cPanel Backend Dashboard

    WPX Hosting interface is simple and very straightforward. This is how it looks like on the backend.

    I came from Kinsta with custom dashboard, so it’s nothing much to “wow” about for me. But for other bloggers and website owners, this new interface is definitely a game changer.

    WPX Hosting Review Part 2: Handle Traffic Spikes Without Affecting User Experience

    This … is … golden.

    WPX Hosting infrastructure are designed to host large, resource intensive ecommerce websites. Therefore, hosting big websites aren’t a problem at all.

    Do you know that WPX Hosting typically leave 50% of a servers resources available? This results in fantastic performance and the ability to deal with traffic spikes.

    And not only that!

    As soon as the number of customers on a machine could potentially impact performance, they’re moved to another machine.

    WPX Hosting Review Part 3: How Does WPX Hosting Performs Under Load?

    WPX Hosting Review Hosting Performance

    Impressive is the word.

    With minimal optimization and a little help from MaxCDN (now StackPath), This is the kind of performance that’s possible:

    WPX Hosting Review Using LoadImpact Test

    The above image is a test ran with LoadImpact.com that tests how page load times are impacted with multiple visitors on the site at the same time.

    Most visitors experienced loading times of under 1 second, which is incredible.

    Here’s the good news:

    From November 2018 onwards, WPX Hosting offer their own CDN with 20+ endpoints around the world.

    It’s built by them – this isn’t just some other CDN slapped on the side. This means they can tweak and optimize it for better performance.

    And it is absolutely free!

    Yes, WPX CDN is included in all hosting packages.

    WPX Hosting Review Part 4: Beyond Excellent Customer Support

    I am a tough customer to handle, and I am not afraid to admit that.

    WPX Hosting support teams are well-trained and are very experienced. They know WordPress and they know managed hosting — and these make all the difference.

    Here’s an example of scenario which a web hosting company I no longer use and recommend:

    • My website was broken and I need fast resolution, only to wait for 20 minutes in queue for the live chat agent
    • The live chat agent was okay, but she wasn’t able to resolve the matter (and the ticket is escalated to the level 2 support)
    • They said they need to check on the problem, and they will get back to me via email
    • After two hours, my website is still down and they finally got back with the ticket — telling me that they would need to charge me $100 to do the needed repair (at this point, I went “WTF)

    Now, here’s what happens when you reach out to WPX Hosting support via live chat:

    • A warm greeting and response back to you under 60 seconds (super cool)
    • Attentively listen/read my concern and given assurance it is being looked at
    • Minutes later, I’m being responded via email or live chat that the job is done/resolved at no cost

    Time is money and a website that is down … is not going to generate any sales for you.

    WPX Hosting Review Part 5: Website Security Like No One Else

    WPX Hosting Website Security Features

    I choose managed WordPress hosting because of two things; website speed (performance) and security.

    WPX hosting provides free SSL and unlimited website migrations at no cost.

    If at this point you think that you can find this on any other web hosting companies, take a look at this email from them.

    I was reaching out to the support team over at WPX Hosting to check on the status of my website migration. They responded to me and even told me that one of my money site is affected with some malicious codes.

    This is where I go “WTF” — and my previous web hosting company didn’t notice anything about it!

    Before I was stomping the ground, I was pleased that the WPX Hosting team said that they will take care of everything. Now, that’s a huge relief!

    WPX Hosting Review Part 6: Is WPX Hosting Worth The Money?

    WPX Hosting Review 2019

    I decided to move all my websites to WPX Hosting because it is affordable and comes with superior support.

    As shared above, I’d looked at other WordPress specialist web hosts but the technical limitations and pricing structure put me off.

    WPX Hosting gears their plans around a monthly maximum bandwidth, which can be offset even further by using a CDN like MaxCDN (now StackPath).

    Here’s a closer look at their pricing plans:

    For more information on their plans & pricing, click here.

    WPX Hosting Review Part 7: Advantages & Disadvantages Using WPX Hosting

    Advantages and Disadvantages of WPX Hosting

    There are a lot of good things that WPX Hosting offers, and here are the most important ones.

    • Built to handle traffic without sacrificing page load times
    • Fast and effective support
    • Amazing pricing in comparison to competitors
    • Supports emails (unlike some WordPress hosts)
    • Easy to use interface (all the important stuff is 1 click away)
    • Can support other content management systems (not just WordPress)
    • Enterprise level DDoS protection
    • Malware scanning and cleanup

    Just like any other managed WordPress hosting services, WPX Hosting is not protected from some disadvantages too.

    • Interface is lacking on features but this could be classed as a pro since the interface is easier to work with
    • No phone support (but live chat & email is very fast)
    • Dashboard not showing stats (compared to Kinsta)

    Summary: WPX Hosting Review 2019

    I host multiple websites (even clients’ websites) on WPX Hosting, and the experience had been great.

    But it gets better because they keep adding new features without adding to the cost. For example, they offer free malware cleanups and a free in-house built CDN.

    The bottom line is this.

    They really seem to care about their customers, unlike a lot of the big web hosts out there. And their page load times are impressive, and they have the support to match.

    WPX Hosting Review: Performance + Security + Affordability

    There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that WPX Hosting is definitely worth the money. Ranked number one on G2Crowd for web hosting, I’m sure WPX Hosting had “wow-ed” more customers than just me. Want to give WPX Hosting a run? Click the button below and give WPX Hosting a run for your money. Plus, you get 30-days (iron clad) money back guarantee if it fails to impress you.

  • Start A Weight Loss Blog: Do’s and Don’ts for Weight Loss Blogging

    Start A Weight Loss Blog: Do’s and Don’ts for Weight Loss Blogging

    You are planning to start a weight loss blog and you are ready to fire up the pistons. It is either due to passion, or you are a niche blogging who is trying to make some money online.

    I’m sure you had done your research and you realized that the weight loss niche is highly profitable. For starters, the idea is perfect and the number of search intent is massive.

    Weight Loss Search Intent

    The exact keyword, “weight loss” has over 1.4 million results and there are 368,000 searches related to this every month.

    Bu there’s a little, tiny bit of challenge that you almost certainly will face—one if you overcome it will help you build a super successful weight loss blog.

    The weight loss blogging space is really heavy on purely promotional sites, deceptive sales messages, or even scams desired solely to earn some quick money. 

    All this makes it really hard to build a credible brand that stands out from the crowd.

    There’s always a silver lining in anything and same goes to the competitive weight loss night.

    There are those who made big money thanks to weight loss blogging and here’s a simple list.

    Recommended Resources

    MindBodyGreen.com

    MindBodyGreen was founded by Jason WachobCarver Anderson, and Tim Glenister—all wellness experts and enthusiasts. Their team is one of the best in the business. From top yoga instructors to wellness gurus, and weight loss experts, there’s something for every interest and ability level on this blog.

    NowLoss.com

    A very successful blog in the weight loss niche by Andrian Bryant. NowLoss.com now helps over 1.5 million monthly visitors look good naked by losing weight, getting curves, and/or building muscle. NowLoss.com is the #2 weight loss website in the world behind commercial giant Weight Watchers.

    A Black Girl’s Guide to Weight Loss

    A blog where you can join Erika in her journey from 330lbs to personal trainer. Everything she shares comes from her personal experience. An great blog with lots of personal touches.

    Now, let’s focus on how you can join the ranks of these quality weight loss blogs.

    Use Your Own Name And Personality

    personality for weight loss blog

    In this complex and heavy niche, the only way to rise above the competition is by creating a personality or a brand name that the public can trust.

    One of the common things such marketers do is that they never use their real names. Instead, they showcase some lame brand name, like HowToLoseWeightFast, or something.

    With the influx of content on the web, building a strong brand for yourself is crucial. 

    How to build a personal brand for your weight loss blog?

    1.

    Branding and name choosing the most complicated one of all time. There is no right or wrong and I would recommend you to find a name that resonates well with your overall concept.

    2.

    Search for the availability of the name on social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc.) and if they are available, make sure you get them as soon as possible.

    3.

    Use the same name in everything you do (blogging, outreach etc.) so that it is visible to the public. Brand building takes time, so be patience!

    Avoid Promising (In Weight Loss)

    do not promise in weight loss blog

    There is nothing definite in life, including weight loss. Anyone can lose weight, but how fast you can lose weight is determined by many factors such as:

    • Determination
    • Strategies
    • Food intake
    • Beverages intake
    • Types of workout

    Therefore, you want to be legit — and there should be no magic formula when it comes to weight loss. Your weight loss blog should focus on more workable solutions such as guided dieting, yoga, exercises and other weight loss strategies.

    “People are very careful now when it comes to believing any sort of promises. Whenever you say that something will bring massive results you’re immediately becoming suspect.”

    Always Get Started With A Name

    Find A Weight Loss Blog Name

    This is about the name of your site.

    Now, you can take one of two possible paths here:

    1. Get a custom domain at godaddy.com (or some other registrar) and your own hosting account.
    2. Register your blog at wordpress.com and get a free subdomain.

    Both approaches have their pros and cons. The first one is obviously more expensive. You have to spend $10 a year for the domain, and around $6 per month for hosting.

    But what you get in exchange is better credibility and a more serious look from the get-go.

    Custom Domain vs Free Domain

    See the comparison below to compare the custom domain to free domain.

    Custom domain

    • More control over content
    • Not tied down to any terms or conditions
    • Better credibility
    • Costs around $10 per month (or less)

    Free domain

    • Lesser control over content
    • There are rules an regulations to follow
    • Lesser credibility
    • Free and premium packages available

    Conclusion:

    If you are serious in starting a weight loss blog, I highly recommend you to get a custom domain for yourself. Looking for a better deal?

    BlueHost is a prominent web hosting company that offers hosting services that start at $2.99 per month, and comes with free domain name! Click here get the deal.

    Always Focus In Building Credibility

    There are thousands of weight loss blogs in the market today, and you don’t want to get lost in the sea of information.

    Trust is the rarest commodity in weight loss blogging. If people don’t trust you, they won’t listen to your advice, and might even find it hard to believe your stories.

    via GIPHY

    Here are some powerful ways to build trust and become an authority in the weight loss industry.

    • Create a real profile of yourself,along with complete biodata and photo/avatar
    • Consider using storytelling and sharing personal insights to create a voice for your weight loss brand
    • Display trust elements to build strong authority by displaying honorable mentions from other relevant blogs or influencers within the same niche

    Be Honest — Talking About Negative Things Are Okay!

    There is a taboo in the blogging niche—that we should only talk about the good things.

    As in life, in weight loss, too, there are good and bad days. Good and bad products. Good and bad people.

    “Be strong in telling your story—whether it is good or bad. Do enough of this and you will create a trust worthy brand that others look up to.”

    Avoid Using Too Many Ads

    There is no denial that advertising is the most intuitive way to monetize a website. However, too many ads on your weight loss blog will just make it look bad and less authority.

    Your goal is to create a reputable weight loss blog that offers credibility and knowledge — and having too many ads is not going to help either one of them.

    Displaying too many ads will bring your credibility down very quickly. Just one block for AdSense ads (or any other provider) in the sidebar is really enough.

    Since you are using limited ads placement, it is important to ensure that you are placing ads on the right spots.

    Here are the best ads placement for most blogs.

    Start A Weight loss Blog Ads Placement

    Publish Only Real Reviews

    There is no denial that reviews are great ways to get a lot of sales. However the growth of technology also allows multiple fake reviews which hampers the entire review process.

    This is especially visible in the weight loss space where, as we all know, there are hundreds of products available … pills, diets, training programs, training equipment, DVDs, you name it.

    If you are planning to start a weight loss blog, focus in publishing on real reviews because it will help you to be more creditable.

    More importantly, ensure that reviews are done through proper research or through trusted sources.

    Here are some quick tips:

    • Always list the bad sides of the product (there surely are some)
    • Provide pictures of the product taken by you (or better yet, pictures of you using the product if that’s possible)
    • Get in depth to the core benefits the product delivers
    • Don’t quote any of the information from the product box or the official website
    • Give an honest final opinion

    Use Different Types Of Content

    Different Types of Content for Weight Loss Blog

    Do you know that there are many weight loss blogs on the Internet that are spam?

    Spam-bloggers publish only simple 400-word blog posts providing no actual advice. You can differentiate yourself pretty easily by looking at the topic of blogging much more broadly.

    Here are some blog contents that you can use for your weight loss blog:

    • Infographic (example, top 10 tips to lose weight)
    • Healthy food recipe download
    • Workout updates
    • Recommended weight loss plans
    • Workout videos
    • Podcasting on healthy lifestyle

    Now it’s your turn! 

    What do you think about using a blog as a way to document your weight loss story? Are you a weight loss blogger? What tips and advice can you share?