One of WordPress’s key features is its taxonomies, which are also known as categories and tags. WordPress categories and tags are assigned to posts, not pages, and an intrinsic feature of the category and tag system is to help you keep your posts organized. Organization is essential for bloggers who release a lot of long-form content online. However, you can also create custom taxonomies or use advanced options for distinct purposes — like organizing an eCommerce store built with WooCommerce.

Think of taxonomies as a digital filing system. They help you keep everything in its place, make it easier for your audience to find what they’re looking for, and give your website a structured SEO boost. Let’s explore how to use and manage WordPress categories and tags correctly.

WordPress is an open-source Content Management System (CMS) that powers nearly 45% of all websites on the Internet. It was founded by Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little in 2003 with the idea of democratizing and simplifying publishing for the masses. WordPress started off as an easy-to-use blogging system that is suitable even for content authors with little to no technical knowledge of publishing content on the Internet.

Categories and tags are critical components of the WordPress CMS, helping you manage search engine optimization (SEO), as well as the general hierarchical structure of websites.

Categories and Tags are two default WordPress taxonomies. While both categories and tags help organize content, categories are used to group topics. In contrast, tags are more keyword-specific and can group posts under different categories.

Understanding categories and tags is important before rushing to create them. The Category and Tag management pages are located in the WordPress Dashboard under the Posts menu in the sidebar.

From their respective pages, you can view any items that exist on your website, as well as create new ones. Each category and tag has a name, a slug, and an optional description. The name is visible to your readers when a category or tag is displayed on your website. At the same time, the slug is used in the URL (permalink) for category or tag pages.

You can assign tags and categories to any post from the Add New Post screen or the post-management page after creating a post.

If your WordPress theme supports them, which Avada does, the description will be displayed to your readers on your category or tag archive pages, which we will cover in more detail next.

A WordPress archive page is an automatically generated page that lists posts in the same category, tag, written by the same author, published around the same time, and so on. Category and tag archives are unique types of archive pages that group and display posts based explicitly on the categories and tags assigned to them. These archives help organize content, making it easier for visitors to find related posts.

Because the archive pages are automatically generated (style and layout), customizing the layout traditionally required using a WordPress child theme, knowledge of PHP, and then modifying the archive.php file. Thankfully, WordPress and Website Builders like Avada have moved well away from complicated restrictions like this.

With Avada, you can create fully Custom Archives Layouts for an enhanced user experience and a unique style that better matches your website’s brand and marketing goals. For each Custom Archive Layout, you can assign Layout Sections, each with a unique header, page title bar, content, or footer, using Avada Conditional Layouts to assign and manage where and when the layouts should be used. Check the Avada Restaurant prebuilt website and, more specifically, the blog post news archive. You will see an Avada Custom Archive Layout in use.

Check out this help file and tutorial video to learn more about creating and using Avada Custom Archives Layouts.

Before we dive into categories and tags in more detail, here is a rundown of their main features and differences to help you get a quick overview of their purpose and what they can do:

Imagine you have a blog with three main categories: Destinations, Food, and Lifestyle. By using tags like “Beach,” “Healthy,” and “Family-Friendly,” you can make it easy for your readers to find related content across these categories.

For example, someone looking for beach-related content can find posts about the best beach vacation spots under Destinations, recipes for beach picnics under Food, and tips on beach fashion under Lifestyle. Someone interested in health can find posts about wellness retreats under Destinations, healthy recipes under Food, and articles on maintaining a healthy lifestyle under Lifestyle. Similarly, a reader searching for family-friendly content can discover posts about family vacation spots under Destinations, child-friendly recipes under Food, and tips for family activities under Lifestyle.

This way, tags help to connect your content, making it easier for readers to explore all related posts across different categories, providing a seamless and enjoyable experience on your blog.

To ensure you are familiar with this aspect of WordPress, let’s briefly look at where you will find them in your website’s WordPress Admin area and how to manage them before we cover how to use them most effectively.

The category and tag management pages are located under the Posts menu on the sidebar. Below is a step-by-step overview of how to create and assign categories or tags.

To log in to the WordPress Dashboard, type your website’s full URL followed by /wp-admin or /wp-login.php in the browser address bar.

Navigate to Posts > Categories in the dashboard. In the “Add New Category” section, enter the name of your category, optionally set a “Slug” (a URL-friendly version of the category name), and if creating a subcategory, select a parent category from the “Parent Category” dropdown. You can also add a description if needed (this is optional and often depends on your theme).

You can now click the Add New Category button to save it.

Go to Posts > Tags in the dashboard. In the “Add New Tag” section, enter the name of your tag, optionally set a “Slug,” and add a description if needed (optional).

You can now click the Add New Tag button to save it.

To assign categories and tags to a post, create a new post by going to Posts > Add New or edit an existing post. On the right-hand side of the post editor, you’ll find the “Categories” box where you can check the relevant categories for your post and add a new category directly from this box if needed.

Below the “Categories” box is the “Tags” box, where you can enter your tags separated by commas and press Enter or select from your most used tags.

Once you’ve assigned the appropriate categories and tags, click Publish if it’s a new post or Update if you’re editing an existing post to ensure your changes are saved and visible on your website.

it is good practice to periodically review your categories and tags to ensure they remain relevant and organized. To review categories, go to Posts > Categories to see all your categories and edit them if necessary. Similarly, go to Posts > Tags to see and manage all your tags, keeping your site content well-organized and easy to navigate.

Simply put, it is because they are essential for organization, user experience, and SEO. Categories provide broad groupings of your posts, creating a structured hierarchy that makes managing and navigating your content accessible. Tags offer specific details about each post, acting like keywords that help link related content across different categories. 

This organization improves the user experience by making it easier for visitors to find and explore related topics, keeping them engaged for more extended periods. Additionally, search engines use categories and tags to better understand and index your website content, improving the website’s structured SEO and making your content more discoverable when searching.

People often ask which is best for SEO, categories, or tags. We will briefly overview some best practices for organizing your content with categories and tags and how this can impact SEO rankings.

Categories are intended to broadly group your posts, similar to a Table of Contents (ToC) of a website. Conversely, Tags intend to describe specific details regarding posts and allow you to micro-categorize your post content. Note that tags are not hierarchical.

Avoid overcomplicating your categories and tags. Stick to a few well-chosen categories that cover your site’s main topics and use specific, relevant tags. Too many categories or tags can confuse readers and dilute their effectiveness.

Use a consistent naming convention for your categories and tags. Apply them consistently across all your posts. This helps with SEO and makes your site look more professional and user-friendly.

Periodically review and update your categories and tags to ensure they still fit your content. As your site grows, you may need to merge similar tags, create new categories for emerging topics, or reorganize existing ones to reflect your content better.

Adding descriptions to your categories and tags can provide additional context for search engines, enhancing your SEO. While not always visible to readers, these descriptions help search engines understand the content and relevance of your categories and tags.

Use tags to interlink related posts across different categories. This helps users find related content easily and improves your site’s internal linking structure, which is beneficial for SEO.

Armed with some helpful information, you can now start fully utilizing categories and tags to make your WordPress website more accessible for your readers to navigate. This will help them find more of your great content and spend longer on it. Mastering categories and tags can help your website achieve its objectives more effectively, whether that is greater user engagement, selling more products, better promoting your services, or generating more ad revenue.

In addition, categories and tags will facilitate the website’s SEO, making your content more discoverable online. Keep it simple, be consistent, and regularly maintain your categories and tags to keep your site organized and engaging.

Several CMS solutions are available for creating websites, each with advantages and disadvantages and fanatical user bases championing each. Deciding and choosing a platform to build your website and publish your content could be challenging. Make the wrong choice, and you’re potentially stuck with a platform that may not be the best choice for your long-term goals.

In this post, we will examine six reasons why WordPress should be your website’s go-to publishing platform. First, let’s define WordPress and provide a little background.

WordPress was first launched in 2003 by two developers (Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little) who wanted a better solution for publishing their blog content. Since its launch, WordPress has grown to power over 43% of the internet. Although its humble beginnings solely as a blogging platform are still present, constant development has meant WordPress has evolved into a full-featured Content Management System (CMS). Here is a birds-eye overview (2003-2024) of WordPress’ history.

The WordPress Dashboard interface is accessed through your web browser, and installation is straightforward. Many hosting providers now offer out-of-the-box WordPress installation as a part of their hosting plans.

The WordPress Plugin Repository is an official directory hosted by WordPress.org that offers a vast collection of free plugins for WordPress websites. It’s a crucial resource for website owners and developers, providing easy access to a wide range of functionalities that will expand WordPress’s ability. All plugins in the repository are expertly reviewed to meet stringent coding standards and tested for compatibility, ensuring they are safe and reliable.

Now that we’ve briefly examined its history and some interesting statistics, let’s explore why you should choose WordPress as your publishing platform.

You may have heard the term open-source software bandied around but might not know its meaning. Open source software is software with its source code made available for anyone to inspect, modify, and distribute.

Users can access the code, study how it works, make changes, and contribute improvements to the community. Open-source software typically adheres to licenses that grant users the freedom to use, modify, and distribute the software freely. Examples of well-known open-source software include the Linux operating system, the Apache web server, the Mozilla Firefox web browser, WordPress, the VLC Media Player, PHP, and more.

An important aspect of WordPress’ freedom is its protection under the GNU General Public License (GPL). This license lets anybody use, share, and modify the software (freely available forever). In contrast to a standard copyright, any derived works must also be released under the GPL.

While WordPress is highly unlikely to be unsupported in the future (WordPress’ parent company, Automattic, was recently valued (in 2021) at $7,5 Billion), its open-source nature means other developers are free to take over the project if development is halted. Plus, because of the GPL, they, too, would have to make their work freely available.

WordPress can scale with your website as it grows. Whether starting with a small blog or building a large e-commerce platform, WordPress can handle the demands of websites of all sizes.

WordPress scalability refers to its ability to handle increasing traffic, content, and functionality as a website grows in size and complexity. Scalability is essential for ensuring that a website remains fast, reliable, and accessible to users, even during periods of high traffic or when adding new features. Here are some key aspects of WordPress scalability:

WordPress includes several default themes designed to showcase its core functionality included in the installation. While these themes perform adequately, there are thousands of other themes to choose from, all completely free, within the WordPress theme directory. Because they’re free, the quality of themes varies.

On the other end of the scale, many developers offer premium themes at a cost, with a generally more committed development program and dedicated support. ThemeForest is the largest site for purchasing premium themes, such as Avada, the number-one best-selling theme for over 11 years.

Choosing a premium theme like Avada over a free WordPress theme offers several advantages. Premium themes typically provide higher quality, reliability, and professional support than free themes. Avada includes advanced features, customization options, and built-in functionality that can save time and effort in building and maintaining a website.

Additionally, Avada receives regular updates and is always compatible with the latest WordPress versions, ensuring continuity and security. Overall, investing in a premium theme will provide a more polished, engaging, and feature-rich website experience, making it a worthwhile choice for beginners and professionals looking to create a standout online presence.

The basic functionality of WordPress is excellent and may be just what you’re looking for. Coupled with a premium theme that will extend WordPress features, you may still need additional functionality only provided by third-party plugins.

The WordPress plugin repository has an almost endless list of free plugins. Search Engine Optimization (SEO), optimization, and e-commerce plugins are among the most sought-after.

Similarly to themes, the premium plugin market is rich, with sites such as CodeCanyon offering thousands of plugins for purchase. Again, like premium themes, you’ll often find more committed development and dedicated professional support over free options.

A significant benefit of using WordPress is its well-established, passionate, and inclusive community. The WordPress.org website has forums where users share advice and ask for help regularly. If you have a question or want to engage with like-minded enthusiasts, this is the place to do it! Many plugin and theme developers have support forums here for their free offerings, too, so help is always available.

The wider WordPress community, made up of people from around the globe, is active in events, open-source contributions, and volunteering. As of December 2023, WordPress.org reported about 506,338 members across 783 Meetup groups globally.

Make WordPress is a hub dedicated to developing and improving WordPress software. It is the central hub for contributors, developers, designers, and users who collaborate on various aspects of the WordPress project, including core development, documentation, support, translation, and community building. Make WordPress provides resources, tools, and channels for communication and collaboration, such as blogs, forums, and Slack channels, allowing individuals and teams to contribute to the ongoing growth and enhancement of the WordPress ecosystem. In addition, there is an online events calendar and a job listings board.

For anyone who wants to launch an online store, setting up a turnkey e-commerce solution could not be any easier than with WordPress and WooCommerce, the premier online shopping solution for millions of businesses.

Avada is design-integrated with WooCommerce and includes a fully-fledged online store builder.

The Avada WooCommerce Builder allows users to create and customize WooCommerce shop, product, and checkout pages using an intuitive drag-and-drop interface. WooCommerce integrates seamlessly with Avada, offering design flexibility and control over all WooCommerce Design Elements.

By leveraging pre-built websites, Avada Studio content, and design options provided by Avada, users can create tailored product layouts, customize shop displays, and enhance the overall shopping experience best suited to their brand and marketing goals.

Now that you’re on board with using WordPress to publish your website and are ready to start building your ideal website and potentially an online store, here’s what to do next:

Choosing a publishing platform for your website can be tough and choosing the wrong one means wasting time and money later, when migrating to a more suitable solution. WordPress should be your first choice for publishing your website. In this post we looked at some of the reasons why. Let’s recap:

Finding the best way to maximize return on products and services is a full-time job for business owners worldwide. Fortunately, WordPress provides a range of powerful plugins for implementing one of the best strategies for turbo-charging your revenue: adding a membership component to your site. This move can add near-instant results to your bottom line, practically regardless of your industry.

In this article, we’ll review a list of popular membership plugins to give you a head start on setting up a successful online business. Before we do that, though, let’s make sure you’re orientated by briefly reviewing what makes membership sites an option worth exploring.

Many factors make adding a membership component to your business a highly tempting proposition for entrepreneurs. Here are five of the most important ones:

Stable, repeating cash flow is the holy grail of any business, large or small. Get this dialed in, and you’ll be able to start using simple but powerful concepts such as churn rate and customer lifetime value to optimize your marketing funnel and drive further profits.

Do you have a huge list of customers or contacts you’re not really doing anything with? Or a ton of marketing material gathering physical or digital dust? A membership site gives you a powerful way of reusing existing assets and extracting maximum value from them.

There was a time when creating a monetizable membership site would have required serious expense and weeks (if not months) of custom development work. Those days are thankfully gone. The combination of building your website with Avada and a professionally produced WordPress plugin makes this option a reality for site owners, regardless of their level of technical ability.

Long after the initial sale is locked in, a well-run membership site gives you a natural way to continue marketing further offerings to your users in a respectful and appropriate setting.

Well-run sites stand to benefit from a viral effect where happy members encourage their friends to join and check out your offering. The membership model is a great way of turning customers into champions for your business. Hopefully, that brief list has got you thinking about the value a membership offering could bring your business.

Let’s now have a quick look at some points to consider when choosing the right plugin solution.

Any solutions we’ll mention below can get you up and running with a basic membership site. Your specific requirements will naturally vary from site to site, depending on use cases, budget, and staffing resources. Here’s a brief list of general areas to keep in mind from the outset:

If there’s a particular payment gateway (or gateways) that you need to support, it’s imperative you know your plugin can handle it in advance. While it’s simpler than ever to take payments online these days, it’s still a complex area with many special cases. Do your research in this area before you select a plugin rather than afterward.

Some options below are simple plug-and-play affairs that can be set up in minutes, while others are more sophisticated and powerful tools. Use your judgment to assess what level of complexity you and your team are prepared to deal with to get the desired results.

Depending on your particular use case, the presence or absence of particular features could be a deal breaker. You might have an absolute requirement for prorated charges or drip content for example or need integration into a broader eCommerce solution. Again, a little up-front research time will ensure you’re happy in the long term.

If you want to dive deeper into some of the criteria to consider, HubSpot has a great overview of the top 12 membership plugins to consider. With the preambles out of the way, let’s look at the main movers and shakers in the space.

The WP-Members Membership plugin is a versatile tool to help website owners create exclusive members-only areas. It allows for the easy restriction of access to posts, pages, and custom content types, ensuring that only registered users can view certain content. The plugin is highly customizable, allowing site owners to tailor registration fields and privacy settings to their specific requirements. It’s compatible with a wide range of WordPress themes and plugins, making it a flexible choice for creating a variety of membership-based websites, from private blogs and forums to subscription services.

This plugin has 60K+ active installs, is well-maintained, and includes a comprehensive user guide and extensive API functions for extensibility.

Besides the free version, there is a paid Pro Bundle for $125/year.

The MemberDash plugin by LearnDash, released in July 2023, is tailored for WordPress sites to create exclusive, restricted content areas for members. It is a stand-alone plugin that does not require LearnDash to be installed in order to use it.

The plugin is suitable for e-commerce websites, creators, or influencers aiming to sell premium content and build a community. MemberDash stands out for its flexibility, easy-to-use interface, built-in performance reporting, and compatibility with all WordPress themes (built per WordPress coding standards). However, it’s limited to WordPress, accepts only PayPal and Stripe for payments, and lacks a monthly subscription option or free trials.

There is no free version. The three paid plans are: 1 site—$199/year, 10 sites—$399/year, and Unlimited sites—$799/year. All tiers include updates and support.

The MemberMouse plugin for WordPress is a robust membership solution designed to manage subscriptions, content access, and sales flexibly. It supports various business models by offering automated billing, customer management, and content protection. MemberMouse is known for its scalability, which allows it to handle everything from digital downloads to recurring subscriptions efficiently. It is straightforward to set up with your Avada website.

Its ease of use and powerful functionality suit entrepreneurs and businesses looking to build and grow their membership-based services.

There is no free version. The four paid plans are: (Basic)—$199.50/year, (Plus)—$299.50/year, (Pro)—$399.50/year, and (Elite)—$1,199/year. All plans include email support, updates, and a Staging license.

The MemberPress plugin is a comprehensive solution for creating comprehensive membership sites on WordPress. It seamlessly manages subscribers, content restrictions based on membership levels, and digital product sales. MemberPress is known for its ease of use and features such as automated billing, customizable access rules, and detailed reporting.

It also integrates effortlessly with a wide variety of third-party services and plugins, enhancing the core functionality for building robust, membership-based communities for selling online courses or subscriptions.

There is no free version. The four paid plans are: (Basic)—$179.50/year, (Plus)—$299.50/year, (Pro)—$399.50/year, and (Elite)—$499.50/year. All MemberPress plans include 1 year of automatic software updates, access to the MemberPress user manual and access to WordPress instruction videos from WP101.

The Paid Memberships Pro plugin is a versatile tool designed to create and manage membership subscriptions on your website. It provides a wide range of features, including customizable membership levels, content restriction options, and integrated payment solutions. The plugin is aimed at a variety of business models, offering tools for managing member access, content dripping, and subscription billing, making it a popular choice for businesses looking to build a membership or subscription-based community.

A free version of the plugin is available as a starting point. There are three paid plans are: (Standard)—$247/year, (Plus)—$397/year, and (Enterprise)—$5,000+. All Paid Memberships Pro plans include automatic software updates and support.

The Restrict Content Pro plugin is a versatile solution for setting up a membership site. It offers extensive control over content access and is a great choice for adding paid content to any Avada website. The plugin features an intuitive interface for managing members, membership levels, and subscription packages. It also supports multiple payment gateways for flexible billing options, including recurring payments. It also includes comprehensive reporting tools for tracking revenue, memberships, and user engagement.

A free version of the plugin is available on the WordPress ecosystem. There are three Pro paid plans are: (1 Site)—$99/year, (5 Sites)—$149/year, and (Unlimited)—$249/year. All paid plans include software updates and private ticketed support.

The number of membership plugins available has developed rapidly over the last ten years, and each offers a range of flexible functionality that allows the plugin to be tailored to individual business needs. Making a recommendation for the best membership plugin for your Avada website is redundant simply because there are far too many variables to consider when building a membership site.

Each of the plugins listed in this article is a quality choice. We encourage you to research each plugin further and ensure that your business goals are clear and well-planned. This will make deciding which plugin to go with a lot simpler.

Online discussions are fun but can also become a nuisance to manage. Your comments can be hijacked by trolls, promotional comments, and automated comment spam. Out of the box, WordPress does not do much to control spam comments. It doesn’t become an issue until your site gets a little older, then comment spam becomes an issue.

In this article, we will look at some simple steps every site owner should take to fight back against comment spam.

Within the WordPress dashboard lies the discussion section, a control panel for tailoring how your site handles comments. By adjusting the moderation queue settings, you can mandate that all comments require approval, establishing a manual checkpoint to thwart spam’s advance.

For those besieged by recurring spam, WordPress offers a blacklisting option. This feature allows you to consign certain words, IP addresses, emails, or URLs to a digital limbo, automatically filtering out comments containing these spam indicators.

Log in to your WordPress admin area and go to Settings -> Discussion page.

Now, all comments posted on your WordPress site will go to the moderation queue and will only be visible on your site once you approve them.

Turning off comments on older posts is the next step in reducing comment spam. Comment spam bots usually search the web for pages containing a WordPress comment box. Turning off comments on older posts will reduce the number of times spambots find and target your posts.

WordPress makes this easy with a built-in option on Settings -> Discussion page. Scroll down to Other Comments Settings and check the box next to ‘Automatically close comments on articles older than 14 days’.

You can set the number of days before comments close on a post. Click on the save changes button at the bottom of the page. All your older posts will now have comments turned off.

Using anti-spam plugins with WordPress is essential to safeguard your website from unwanted and potentially harmful content. These plugins provide a robust line of defense against the deluge of spam comments, emails, and form submissions plaguing websites. They help maintain your site’s credibility and professionalism by ensuring that only genuine user interactions are visible, enhancing the quality of discussions and user engagement.

Akismet is a spam prevention service offered by Automattic (The WordPress parent company). It catches spam comments before they reach your website and is pre-installed on every WordPress site. However, it is not activated by default.

After activating the plugin, you will see a notification asking you to activate your Akismet account. Click on the button and follow the on-screen instructions to activate your Akismet account.

Antispam Bee blocks spam comments and trackbacks effectively, without captchas and without sending personal information to third party services. It is free of charge, ad-free, and 100% GDPR compliant.

If the above steps fail to reduce your comment spam load, then perhaps you need to implement more aggressive steps. What is ReCAPTCHA? It is explained succinctly by Google as follows:

“reCAPTCHA is a free service from Google that helps protect websites from spam and abuse. A “CAPTCHA” is a turing test to tell human and bots apart. It is easy for humans to solve, but hard for “bots” and other malicious software to figure out.”.

You can test out Google’s reCAPTCHA using this demo.

To integrate reCAPTCHA with your WordPress comments, you’ll typically follow a process that involves obtaining API keys from Google, installing a suitable WordPress plugin, and configuring it to protect your comment form with reCAPTCHA.

If you are using Avada Forms on your website, follow this guide, which explains how to use the Avada reCAPTCHA Field Element.

Spammers often disguise their motives in benign comments laced with links that lead visitors away from your website, sometimes for nefarious reasons. Tightening the reins on how many links can be included in a comment (or outright banning them) via your WordPress settings will significantly diminish this spam vector.

Trackbacks and pingbacks are WordPress’s way of notifying you when another blog has linked to one of your posts. While intended to foster a network of discourse, spammers have co-opted these features to sneak their way into your site’s notification queue.

Turning off trackbacks and pingbacks is straightforward and accessible through your WordPress dashboard’s ‘Discussion’ settings. This preventive measure cuts off another avenue for spam, helping to streamline your site’s interactions to genuine engagement.

Most of the spam on a typical WordPress site is submitted by spambots. But there are also many people who manually submit spam to websites’ comments. Some believe leaving a link in the comments will increase the website’s SEO. Some of these websites are selling illegal or fraudulent products. Many of them are submitted by low-quality spam link builders that anyone can hire from freelancing websites.

Since humans submit these comments, they can bypass all spam prevention checks. But since you have moderation enabled on your site, you can catch them in your moderation queue and mark them as spam. However, you will sometimes notice that a certain user or users submit links to a website in an easily recognizable pattern. They all contain links to the same website, have similar fake email addresses, or originate from the same IP address.

You can block them using the built-in blacklisting tools in the WordPress dashboard. Go to Settings > Discussion page and scroll down to comment moderation and comment blacklist section.

The first large text area is for comment moderation. In this box, you can add a user’s name, email, URL, or IP address. Any comment that matches those will be sent to the moderation queue. But since you already have moderation enabled on your site, you may want to use the comment blacklist box.

These filters will also stop any partial match. For example, adding Press will block comments containing words like WordPress. The blacklist tool is a great way to prevent comment trolls from making their way into your moderation queue. Their comments will be marked spam right away.

The first large text area is for comment moderation. In this box, you can add a user’s name, email, URL, or IP address. Any comment that matches those will be sent to the moderation queue. But since you already have moderation enabled on your site, you may want to use the comment blacklist box.

These filters will also stop any partial match. For example, adding Press will block comments containing words like WordPress. The blacklist tool is a great way to prevent comment trolls from making their way into your moderation queue. Their comments will be marked spam right away.

Comments are a great way to discuss things with your readers and get engaged with your audience. With these tips and tools you will be able to effectively stop spammers from hijacking your WordPress comments.

A considerable part of WordPress’ attraction as a (CMS) content management system has always been its simplicity of use for site owners of all experience levels. Along with the level of power and flexibility it provides, that intuitive ease has only increased over the years.

Like any software, however, things will not always run smoothly or according to plan. No matter your level of involvement with a site, there will inevitably be times when you have to perform troubleshooting to fix a problem. Whether it’s your first time using the platform or not, this can be a tricky business and skill – one well worth learning. In this article, we’ll cover the foundations of building that skill and walk you through simple troubleshooting factors.

It’s straightforward to get going with WordPress, and here are six reasons why you should choose WordPress for your website. Fully managed hosting options and many improvements to the core software over the years mean site owners can be up and running with just a few clicks.

This is good news for most people, but it does bring an attendant risk—many people are happily working away on their WordPress sites with little to no knowledge of what’s happening under the hood. That’s not a problem when everything runs smoothly, but it becomes a big issue when things go wrong.

The first step in learning how to troubleshoot in WordPress is ensuring you understand how the platform works. This doesn’t mean you need a computer science degree, but it does mean you should take the time to read up on the structure of the software. Use these resources to kickstart the learning process:

The “Stack” refers to the combination of technology and hardware used to create and run WordPress websites. Understanding this stack is crucial for developers, site administrators, and even casual users looking to optimize their websites or troubleshoot issues.

Problems at any level of the stack can bring your site down or cause issues, so you must have a basic understanding of the hierarchy. Let’s step through them briefly:

If something goes wrong at the provider level, you can (depending on the provider) do little about it. That’s why it’s essential to deal with reputable providers. We recommend SiteGround and WPEngine, which provide excellent uptime and top-notch hosting support and excel in assisting with troubleshooting problems.

The number of options you have here in terms of troubleshooting and general control will depend on the type of hosting package you have. If you’re self-managing your setup, you want access to web server error logs and PHP error logs to track down potential issues as they arise. You’ll also want to be sure you have enough memory allocated to your WordPress install.

Depending on the type of website you are running, for example, a high-volume eCommerce website, WordPress may require significant use of database resources and can be a common point of failure. Again, your options here will be limited by your hosting package. Start by ensuring you have access to your database and getting to grips with common causes behind typical errors, such as “Error establishing a database connection”.

A vanilla version of the latest WordPress version is the most hassle-free part of the stack. To understand potential pitfalls, ensure you’re keeping up to date and reviewing the release notes before updating the WordPress version. You should also consult the debugging in the WordPress section of the Codex. It is common practice for hosting providers to include an automatic update option for WordPress installs. Consider switching this off if you prefer more granular control.

The most common points of failure at the theme level are incompatible third-party plugins, server resources, or incomplete theme updates. Keep things simple by using only essential third-party plugins that are reputable and have a solid update history.

For Avada users, when it comes to updates, always check the Important Update Information help file and changelog before performing the update and follow the provided update instructions.

These are, unfortunately, the root cause of many WordPress issues. Keep things simple by using a manageable amount of plugins, to begin with. When it comes to troubleshooting, it’s essential you have a Staging install where you can calmly walk through activating and deactivating plugins to root out issues outside of your live (production) environment.

Suppose you’ve gone through the resources mentioned above. In that case, you should understand WordPress’s basics and the security of knowing a reliable backup is in place for when things go wrong. It’s time to consider what to do when unfortunate events occur.

It’s never pleasant when trouble rears its head, but rest assured, you are very far from the first WordPress user that this has happened to. So much so that an entire section of the WordPress Codex is devoted to troubleshooting. This is an excellent resource and certainly is worth going through in a little more detail:

Setting up a backup strategy for your WordPress website is crucial for several reasons, serving as a safety net that ensures your live website can be restored in various situations.

Most hosting providers provide an automated backup option set to incremental weekly or daily intervals based on your requirements. The alternatives would be performing the backups manually, which we do not recommend because tasks can be forgotten, or using a WordPress plugin, as explained in this blog post.

The importance of utilizing a staging site (a clone of a live (production) site) as part of your workflow cannot be understated. Staging sites are usually inaccessible to the public and are used to test updates and changes before deploying to the live site. Maintaining a staging site is a necessary process that allows you to experiment with customizations and updates without affecting the live (production) site.

Hosting companies commonly offer staging services, which are set up automatically as part of your hosting plan. SiteGround offers a Staging setup as a part of the full-service WordPress hosting. Alternatively, you can manually set up a staging site inside your web hosting panel. This involves creating a subdomain on your hosting account, manually cloning your live (production) site, and installing it on the subdomain.

For all Avada users, and as part of your purchase, you can install Avada on a staging site without needing an additional license. For detailed information and allowed subdomain patterns, please check the licensing FAQs.

Google is your friend, and so are community support groups! There is a vast wealth of resources available online, especially for common WordPress-related problems and fixes. If Avada powers your website, you’ll also want to make good use of the online documentation, tutorial videos, and world-class support.

This WordPress stack is the technology foundation and refers to the combination of hardware and software components that work together to host and run WordPress websites. Understanding the hierarchy of the stack is crucial for anyone involved in building, maintaining, or optimizing websites, as it encompasses the server environment, the database management system, the programming languages, and other tools and technologies that WordPress relies on.

This resource is valuable for troubleshooting the stack, server health, performance, maintenance, and reports. WordPress has a built-in tool called Site Health that helps you quickly access system information about your website.

You can access it by logging in to your WordPress admin area and visiting the Tools » Site Health page.

For Avada users, the built-in System Status page provides a comprehensive overview of important information about the WordPress stack, enabling you to troubleshoot your website more effectively and quickly. You can also generate a system report to include with your support ticket, which will allow the Avada support team to identify and resolve any issues you encounter swiftly. For detailed information, you can check this help file and explainer video.

You can access it by logging in to your WordPress admin area and visiting the Avada » Status page.

Troubleshooting is a skill that can be learned, but you’ll need to commit to constant learning to stay effective. WordPress and its surrounding technology stack constantly change, so new issues will always arise.

By tackling the areas we covered above, you give yourself an excellent platform to continually expand your knowledge and approach issues large and small with confidence.

Every website owner understands the importance of regular backups. They act as a safety net, ensuring that in the event of any unforeseen problems, your website can be restored to its former state without significant data loss or downtime. This guide is a brief overview of three popular WordPress plugins that can be used to facilitate and manage website backups as a part of your maintenance workflow.

Consider frequency, storage, and restoration capabilities when selecting a backup solution for your WordPress site. A good backup solution should offer automated backups, secure off-site storage, and easy restoration processes.

There are many backup plugins available in the WordPress plugins directory to choose from. It can be challenging to decide on which is the best one to use. Based on user feedback and reviews, the three listed in this guide are top-rated, do not conflict with other 3rd party plugins, and are widely used by Avada users.

UpdraftPlus is one of the most popular WordPress backup plugins, known for its flexibility and comprehensive feature set. Here are its core features:

VaultPress, now integrated into Jetpack as Jetpack Backup, is a premium service focusing on real-time backups and security. Its core features include:

BlogVault markets itself as a reliable WordPress backup, migration, and security solution with a focus on simplicity and efficiency. Its core features are:

Setting up backups for your Avada website is a critical task that shouldn’t be overlooked. By choosing the right plugin and following the steps outlined in this guide, you can protect your site against data loss, giving you peace of mind and the freedom to focus on what matters most – growing your online presence. Remember, regular backups are your best defense against the unpredictable nature of the digital world.

Selecting the best SEO (Search Engine Optimization) plugin for your WordPress website will be influenced by your distinct needs, level of SEO expertise, and the features you value most. With many SEO plugins available in the WordPress ecosystem, each boasting various features and benefits, it can be challenging to determine which is most suitable. Another factor to consider is that most top-tier SEO plugins have free and premium offerings, which can affect your decision based on what is limited in the free version and requires a cost to unlock.

Furthermore, it should be emphasized that you need more than SEO plugins to boost your website’s SEO results. A solid SEO strategy, original content, long-term content curation, social media interaction, and a well-structured WordPress theme like Avada are required to leverage SEO to elevate your brand above your competitors.

This article aims to guide you through choosing the best SEO plugin for your website. It focuses on crucial factors to consider and highlights the strengths of these popular options. We also suggest that you take a closer look at this SEO overview for WordPress guide.

SEO plugins are tools designed to help you more easily manage your website’s content strategy and improve your website’s SEO results. They offer various features to enhance your site’s content performance through keyword optimization, generating XML sitemaps, ensuring content readability, and more.

The right plugin can make optimizing your website’s content and structure easier for search engines to crawl, deliver technical enhancements to the content structure, and ensure search engines like Google favor your website.

When choosing an SEO plugin for your Avada website, consider the following factors:

Consider testing a few plugins to see which one fits best with your workflow and provides the results you’re looking for. Remember, the most popular option isn’t always the best for every site or workflow; focus on the plugin that meets your unique requirements and complements your SEO strategy effectively.

Among the many choices, Yoast SEO, Rank Math, and All in One SEO (AIOSEO) stand out as the frontrunners, each offering unique features and benefits to cater to diverse SEO needs. Let’s look at some of the most popular SEO plugins and their key features:

Known for its comprehensive SEO features, Yoast SEO offers keyword optimization, readability analysis, complete control over site breadcrumbs, and more. It’s user-friendly and suitable for both beginners and advanced users.

This plugin has gained popularity for its intuitive setup and powerful features, including built-in keyword ranking, detailed SEO analysis, and schema markup support. It’s a versatile tool that caters to both novices and SEO professionals.

An excellent option for beginners and advanced users, this plugin offers essential SEO features like XML sitemap generation, SEO integration for e-commerce sites, and automatic meta tag generation.

The comparison below is not scientific or conclusive, proving which is the best plugin for your purposes. It is merely a bird’s eye overview of some core features, and each plugin does provide more in-depth functionality not listed here. We encourage you to explore the plugin offerings to decide better what will best serve your SEO needs.

Choosing the right SEO plugin for your Avada site boils down to your specific needs, level of expertise, and the features you value most. Yoast SEO offers a comprehensive suite for those looking for depth and detail, Rank Math is ideal for users seeking an intuitive, feature-rich option, and All in One SEO (AIOSEO) suits those who prefer simplicity and efficiency.

Remember, the best SEO practices involve more than just installing a plugin; it’s about consistently creating quality content, improving user experience, and staying updated with SEO trends. By leveraging the strengths of these plugins with Avada, you can ensure your site is optimized for success in the ever-evolving digital landscape.

File permissions control who or what can access your WordPress installation’s files and folders. Hence, understanding permissions are vitally crucial to the security of your website. Quite frankly, tinkering with file permissions, if you don’t understand them, can be a disaster waiting to happen.

While you may feel you need to be a member of an MIT cryptology team to look at file permission settings, they’re straightforward to decipher. However, securing your website can require extensive effort; After reading this article, you’ll be able to secure your WordPress file system, confident that you aren’t creating problems for yourself further down the line.

In this post, we’ll go deep on web server file permissions. First, we’ll look at what the numbers mean; then, we’ll cover recommended permissions for your Avada WordPress installation and how to set them.

Before we get into the permission codes, we need to define the elements that permissions govern: users and the actions they are allowed to take. There are three types of users that interact with your website’s file and folders:

There are three different actions that users may need to take when interacting with your site’s file and folders:

Combinations of actions are represented by numbers:

File permission codes are three-digit numbers that describe the combination of actions that each type of user may take when interacting with a specific folder or file:

While there are numerous file permission codes, for the most part, you’ll see the same combinations cropping up again and again. You may also see file permissions represented as strings, such as _rw_rw_rw. These strings mean the same thing as the three-digit permissions but are presented in a text-based format. While you may not encounter them often, it’s worth reading up on them, just in case you have to use them in the future. Now let’s take a look at the recommended file permissions to use with WordPress.

First, it’s worth pointing out that under normal circumstances file permissions will not require manual adjustment. However, they could get modified for a multitude of reasons such as hosting updates, changes made by a plugin or theme, or your website being hacked.

When you have a serious website error, one of the first things to verify is that your WordPress installation’s file permissions are correct. The WordPress Codex recommends the following:

While this guideline covers most files and folders, your wp-config.php file warrants special attention because it contains settings vital to WordPress operation.

For this file, permissions can be set to 660 (read and write access to both you and the group of users) or even 600 (read and write access to you only) although you may have to manually edit the file from time to time if you do not give read and write access to the group. If you’d like to make the file extra secure, you could even move the wp-config.php file up a directory and set it to 400, which gives read-only access solely to you. However, some hosts won’t allow this, so you may have to compromise when setting file permissions.

Finally, setting any file with the permission of 777 is not recommended – if you’ve been following along, you’ll realize that this gives anybody with an internet connection complete access to that particular file or folder. Now that you understand what file permission codes mean, let’s move onto our final step: changing file permissions.

File permissions can be changed in a couple of ways. While using the cPanel File Manager is a perfectly acceptable option, for this walkthrough we’re going to use a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) client. It’s important to point out that before you begin tinkering with your WordPress installation, you should create a full backup in case something goes wrong.

To get started, you’ll need the credentials for your server – which you can get from your hosting provider – and an FTP client. We’re using FileZilla, but there are plenty of alternatives available. Once you’ve learned the basics, they all work similarly.

Open your FTP client, type your server credentials into the fields at the top, and click Quickconnect:

Once connected, you’ll see your computer’s files on the left-hand side, and your server’s files on the right. On your server, navigate to your ‘home’ folder (likely called public_html or www), and find the file or folder you’d like to amend the permissions for. In our example, we’re checking out the wp-config.php file. Right-click the file and select File permissions… from the menu:

You’ll see a dialog box appear outlining the permissions set for the file:

FileZilla handily enables you to change permissions by selecting checkboxes, rather than having to remember a multitude of numbers. For this file, we’re going to allow read and write access by the user and group, with no access to anyone else (660). As you begin selecting boxes, you’ll see the three-digit number change, reflecting the new permissions. Once finished, you should see something like this:

Next, click OK, and you’ll notice a confirmation appear in the message log at the top of FileZilla. At this point, your file permissions have successfully been changed!

Setting the correct file permissions for your WordPress installation will go a long way toward helping keep your website safe from malicious attacks. Learning what the numbers represent can also help you troubleshoot common WordPress errors such as the White Screen of Death and the 500 Internal Server Error. In this post, we’ve gone deep on file permissions. Let’s break down what we’ve covered:

Have you ever attempted to modify file permissions, and if so, how did it go? Share your stories in the comments section below!