wordpress Archives - Trevor Ayers

Top 5 WordPress Plugins to Improve Load Times

Like any CMS or Web architecture, there will be fast and slow websites. The CMS is a layer that can add some latency, but, fortunately, most CMS platforms have a number of solutions for improving page load times. I’ve played with dozens and these are my top 5 WordPress plugins to improve load times.

First, you want a good arsenal of tools for tracking page load times. I tend to reference the below. It’s always a good idea to run the baseline load time test to have a comparison.

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August 1, 2016

Track Embedded Videos With Google Tag Manager in Wordpress

Track YouTube Videos With Google Tag Manager in WordPress

Google Tag Manager is extremely powerful. Most website interaction can be tracked without any customization, but, alas do not pass the interaction values by default. This makes tracking the embedded videos a bit more high-touch. In this post, we’re going to track YouTube videos with Google Tag Manager in WordPress and tie it to applicable events in Google Analytics.

First, to track the embedded videos, we will be using a plugin. I typically hard code the Google Tag Manager code, but this plugin is starting to sway my recommendations. A little. If you do not want to use a plugin … Read More

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June 28, 2016

Blog / Tech Tips / Wordpress

Top 5 WordPress Plugins

While I appreciate Joomla and Drupal as well as some of the Niche CMS such as Magento and some on the Windows side WordPress remains my go-to CMS for flexibility and potential. For this reason, I find myself using many WordPress plugins. Through this experience I have found dozens of favorite WordPress plugins. Some have niche use and others can really apply to almost ANY install. For this list of top 5 WordPress plugins I will concentrate on the WordPress plugins that can be used on most any Wordpress install with great benefit.

Top 5 WordPress Plugins

1) WordPress SEO… Read More

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December 27, 2015

Tech Tips / Wordpress

Change WordPress Password in Database

There are many reasons to change WordPress password in database. The most obvious reason for you to change your WordPress password in the database is because you’ve forgotten it and standard recovery methods do not work.

Fortunately, it’s an easy task to change your WordPress password in the database.

What You Need to Change WordPress Password in Database

cPanel or Plesk credentials
If multiple databases in your hosting account you will need to know the database of your specific site, which can be found in your wp_config file

How to Change WordPress Password in Database

1. Log in to … Read More

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May 29, 2015

Blog / Tech Tips / Wordpress

How To Customize WordPress 404 Error Page

It’s easy to create and customize a WordPress 404 error page. If you prefer video instructions for how to customize WordPress 404 error page check out my YouTube video.

There are a number of SEO-focused reasons to at least make sure you have a 404 error page with your site’s navigation. However, this is less of a worry with recent versions of WordPress where the majority of themes will have a default 404.php file or error page that maintains your site’s navigation. However, this default file may or not be see something you want, so it’s important to know … Read More

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April 1, 2015

Blog / Tech Tips / Wordpress

WordPress Spam Filter Keyword List

Spam sucks. People who spam websites suck. That’s why I dug into finding a WordPress Spam filter keyword list. Yes, I also use a Spam blocking plugin. Specifically, I use the stop Spammers registration plugin. Update: I now use WP-Spamshield – much better. This works okay, Akismet is probably better in my experience, but this website makes no money therefore it gets no money. In addition to applying the below provided WordPress Spam filter keyword list I also recommend checking out this official WordPress post for combating Spam. Look, I’ve done all the above and still get … Read More

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February 12, 2015

Blog / Tech Tips / Wordpress

How To Test WordPress Install On Dedicated IP Without Pointing Domain

This is a quick walk through of how to test WordPress install on a dedicated IP without pointing domain or DNS. When should you test a WordPress install prior to pointing your domain? Anytime you migrate a WordPress install to a new server and don’t want to risk any down time due to issues discovered after the sometimes lengthy DNS propogation. This same method can also be used on shared IPs, but the instructions vary slightly for most hosting service.

*Note that this is for a quick test. If you’re going to leave your install in a staging environment … Read More

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December 24, 2014

AweSEM Advice / Blog / Tech Tips / Wordpress

Add Custom Favicon to WordPress Site

In this post, I will quickly walk through how to add a custom favicon to a WordPress site. If you are not aware what a Favicon is it is the tiny image that rests in your tabbed view in most browsers. It will also show in bookmarks and social bookmarks.

How to Add Custom Favicon to WordPress Site

1) Build you favicon using the below link. I typically upload an image and have it match image constraints to fit within a square:

http://www.favicon.cc/

2) Save your favicon to your desktop:

3) Change your file name to favicon.ico (yes, you must … Read More

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September 6, 2014

AweSEM Advice / Blog / Tech Tips / Wordpress

Delete Comments from WordPress Site Pages

Here’s a simple way to delete comments from your WordPress Site’s pages while maintaining these on your posts. Keep this in mind as we’re editing your WordPress PAGES not your POSTS. Very handy.