These plugins range in their focus. Some provide comprehensive SEO improvements, covering everything from keywords to helping to boost site speed. Others zero in on specific aspects, like improving page titles and meta descriptions. This diversity means you can find a plugin tailored to exactly what your site needs.

The beauty of these plugins is their ability to fine-tune your website’s SEO strategy. Whether you’re looking to enhance your site’s visibility, increase traffic, or improve search rankings, these tools can be incredibly helpful. They’re also designed to be user-friendly, making SEO more accessible to everyone, regardless of technical expertise.

To give your WordPress site an SEO boost, here are ten underrated plugins. Each plugin brings something unique and could be the key to improving your site’s performance in search engine results. These plugins are worth exploring if you’re aiming for a more effective and efficient SEO approach.

Simple & Effective SEO with BoldGrid Easy SEO

Need some helpful suggestions when optimizing your content? Enter a keyword or phrase, and BoldGrid Easy SEO will guide you. The plugin looks at your keyword density, content length, and other page attributes. From there, you’ll gain some valuable hints that can help you level up.

It also scans your image ALT attributes as well. If you’re looking to boost your rankings within Google Image Search, this feature is a must-have.

Meta Tag Manager WordPress Plugin

For those who want complete control over their SEO, Meta Tag Manager is worth a look. As the name suggests, the plugin enables you to create various custom meta tags for your content. You can even add Open Graph tags to enhance social media sharing.

There are two ways to add tags. The first is directly within your WordPress post or page. In addition, you can add global tags that will appear across your site or via specific post types.

Rank Math SEO WordPress SEO Plugin

Rank Math SEO has become one of the bigger names in this category, yet still under the “big two” in terms of name recognition. And there is a ton to like with this package.

Inside, you’ll find a setup wizard, Schema markup, unlimited keywords per post, and integration with Google. There are a massive number of features. However, you can easily disable anything that you don’t need via the settings.

On-site SEO with SEOPress Plugin

SEOPress aims to be a complete solution with features like on-page SEO, HTML/XML sitemaps, breadcrumbs, and structured data. There’s also the ability to manage any 301 redirects, ensuring that your traffic doesn’t suffer from any URLs that have changed.

The included import feature is also handy. You can import settings from other SEO plugins and even import metadata via CSV files. This can make the optimization process quick.

All In One Schema.org Rich Snippets Plugin

Rich Snippets are such an overlooked part of SEO (this post convinced me of it). They provide search engines with extra bits of useful info like reviews, company details (business hours, address, etc.), and a whole lot more.

All In One Schema.org Rich Snippets provides fields within the WordPress post editor that will let you customize the rich snippets in your content. It’s such a simple thing, but it can make your search listings more noticeable.

The SEO Framework WordPress Plugin

The SEO Framework is focused on automating much of the process of optimizing your site. With a little initial guidance, the plugin will change titles, add descriptions (with anti-spam warnings), canonical URLs, Open Graph tags, and structured data.

It will also notify Google, Bing, and Yandex if you’ve enabled their sitemap feature. There’s also a color-coded “SEO Bar” that will show you what areas look good and what needs further tweaking.

Optimize Content with SEO Squirrly

SEO Squirrly takes a different approach to optimizing content. First, you start by entering the topic you plan to write about in a field provided by the plugin. It then ranks keywords in that topic with a color-coded system (green is what you’re hoping for). You’ll also receive “advice” while in the process of writing your post.

The plugin also displays a listing of related, copyright-free images you can use. This is definitely a more handheld approach for those who aren’t well-versed in SEO. One thing to note is that the free version of the plugin only supports up to 5 posts per month. Paid plans are available for sites that publish more content.

ACF Content Analysis for Yoast SEO

Ok, I cheated. ACF Content Analysis for Yoast SEO is meant for those using the ubiquitous Yoast plugin. But hear me out. If your site is publishing content via custom fields – the standard Yoast SEO plugin isn’t counting that in its assessment of your post.

Installing this plugin will ensure that you’re getting accurate SEO grades while using Yoast and Advanced Custom Fields.

Bulk Edit Metadata with WP Meta SEO

WP Meta SEO enables you to edit post and image metadata in bulk – saving you the trouble of clicking into each and every item. Beyond meta, you’re also able to bulk edit image sizes and SEO link titles.

The plugin also features on-page optimization, breadcrumb navigation, social media sharing elements, XML sitemap generation, and a broken link checker. This one is an up-and-coming SEO solution.

WPSSO the Structured Data Plugin for WordPress

WPSSO will take your existing content and create appropriate meta tags and Schema.org markup. Descriptions for various providers such as Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest are included. Your site’s media is also optimized in the deal.

WPSSO is also able to work alongside other SEO plugins and can fill in some functionality gaps.

Small Names, Big Optimization

The plugins above prove there are indeed lots of great tools when it comes to SEO beyond the big names. In some ways, they’re like searching the web in that sometimes you may have to dig a little deeper to find some gold.

Take a closer look and see which ones will help you further optimize your WordPress website.

The post 10 Best Free Niche WordPress SEO Plugins appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.

Even if you’re not 100% sure what structured data is, you’ve undoubtedly run across it in Google. For instance, a search for “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” brings up a wealth of information. I can see where the movie is playing, its listing on IMDB, and aggregate reviews. Much of this comes from structured data pulled from multiple websites.

But this goes beyond just finding the latest movie listings. Structured data can help almost any business, from restaurants to pet stores and everything in-between. Helpful info such as business hours, cafe menus and addresses are just a few examples of what can be mined. That’s really just the tip of the iceberg. To get a better sense of the types of data being used, check out Schema.org’s website.

So, how do you get started? In general, structured data requires adding some attributes to your site’s HTML tags. But thanks to some terrific WordPress plugins, we don’t have to do this manually. Instead, the plugins below provide an easy way to add your website to this data powerhouse.

WPSSO Core WordPress Plugin

With support for over 500 Schema types and sub-types, WPSSO core can provide structured data in many popular formats. It works with Facebook Open Graph, Google Rich Results/Knowledge Graph, Twitter Cards, oEmbed, and Slack.

The plugin will automatically read your site’s content and third-party APIs, then generate the appropriate data. A premium version adds support for WooCommerce, Google Merchant Feed, and several popular WordPress plugins.

Schema WordPress Plugin

Schema will add valid markup to your WordPress website and supports a variety of data types. It’s a great option for publishers, as it will improve articles, blog posts, multimedia content and author profiles.

Need more? There are free extensions for marking up reviews and setting a default image.

Business Profile WordPress Plugin

Structured data spans a vast number of categories. But what if you just want to share basic business information? Business Profile will do exactly that, without all the extras you don’t need.

Enter your business name, hours, etc., and the plugin will generate a “Contact Card” widget that you can place anywhere via a shortcode. It’s an easy way to share your business info with search engines. Support for reviews can also be added via a free companion plugin.

WP SEO Structured Data Schema

For those who really want to micromanage their site, WP SEO Structured Data Schema offers options galore. An options panel will appear on individual pages and posts to let you tweak a plethora of items to your heart’s content.

The available pro version ups the ante by auto-filling page/post data, support for custom post types and more data types.

Markup (JSON-LD) for WordPress

Though a little light on documentation, Markup (JSON-LD) is a fairly straightforward plugin for adding structured data. Within its settings panel, you can choose from a number of different types of data (Article, Blog Post, Event, Local Business, Site Navigation – among others).

Simply click on the data types you want, enable them and tweak settings. While there isn’t much in the way of plugin-specific info, each data type features some helpful Schema.org/Google links for further information.

Schema & Structured Data for WordPress

With Schema & Structured Data for WP & AMP, you have a comprehensive plugin that is both highly tweakable and easy to use. For instance, you can conditionally display markup fields based on a number of criteria, such as post type.

It’s also compatible with Google AMP, putting you into the good graces of the search behemoth.

Schema App Structured Data WordPress Plugin

Schema App Structured Data is another great choice if you prefer something that doesn’t require a complicated setup. Once you activate the plugin and fill out a few basic details, all of your pages, posts, categories, and more will be automatically marked up with compliant Schema.

Optionally, you can also display breadcrumb navigation that will further improve both your site and your SERP listing.

Enjoy the Benefits of Structured Data

Adding structured data markup to your website helps users get the information they need with less hassle. Instead of having to comb through your website to find business hours, they can simply ask Google. This is especially important as voice-based search becomes more prevalent.

Users no longer have to attempt the dangerous combination of typing and driving. Talking to whichever virtual assistant they’re using will provide the answers they’re looking for.

While there are certainly some concerns that users will bypass your site altogether, providing access to this data at least keeps your business in the game. If your competitors share structured data and you don’t, you could lose some potential customers. Plus, the fact that website navigation can be mined could be of some benefit as well.

In short, structured data is too important to ignore. Thankfully, the plugins above can help make the process quick and easy.

The post 7 Best Free Structured Data WordPress Plugins appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.

So, when the Core Web Vitals metrics were announced, the response was pretty predictable. As these changes are based on site performance, our attention has turned to ensuring load times are lightning-fast.

But it’s not always simple. Websites that run a content management system (CMS) such as WordPress can be especially challenging. There are a lot of factors at play. Therefore, improving performance requires a multi-pronged approach.

Where to start? Check out our guide to boosting the Core Web Vitals score of your WordPress website.

Implement Caching

One of the simplest ways to increase the speed of a WordPress website is to implement caching. In many cases, a previously sluggish site will become significantly faster with this single step. This holds true even on relatively cheap hosting.

By default, WordPress pages and posts must retrieve content and settings from the site’s database. This takes time. Cache, on the other hand, will serve up content as static HTML files – cutting out the need for a database call. With the middleman (i.e., database) out of the way, snappier load times will follow.

Some hosting packages, particularly managed WordPress hosting, will include server-based cache. This is often the best option, as it requires very little from web designers and performs quite well. It may need to be cleared out every so often. Otherwise, it’s a hands-off experience. And it can be effectively combined with a plugin to further enhance speed.

Even if your host doesn’t provide caching on the server level, you can still optimize performance via a plugin. Caching plugins vary in scope, complexity and pricing. But they do provide tangible results when it comes to improving load times. That, in turn, is a positive boost for Core Web Vitals as well.

Defer Loading of Render Blocking Scripts and Styles

When testing your website’s performance in Google PageSpeed Insights, the subject of render-blocking resources seems to come up a lot. These are the scripts and styles that aren’t considered “critical” – meaning they’re not required to render the “above-the-fold” page content.

These resources can get in the way of faster load times. Specifically, they impact the “Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)” score in Core Web Vitals. This is the time it takes for the main content area of a page to load. Reducing LCP is, well, vital.

One way to improve the situation is to delay (or defer) when various content elements (images, videos, block-level text) load. This ensures that only the needed scripts and styles load first, while everything else comes in afterward.

Along with minification, many WordPress caching/optimization plugins also happen to include this type of functionality. It can take a bit of experimentation, however, as deferring the wrong resource can be problematic.

Be sure to test out any changes you’ve made and check the browser console for errors. Once you find the right configuration, the number of render-blocking resources on your page should be significantly reduced.

Optimize Images

The widespread use of large hero images and complex sliders only adds to the challenge of performance optimization. These assets may look nice, but can easily add up to megabytes worth of data. That’s not going to get you a passing grade for Core Web Vitals – particularly on mobile.

Thankfully, there are a couple of ways to lighten the load. First and foremost, get rid of any images you deem unnecessary. The removal of even one large image can make a difference.

The rest of your images can be optimized. This will reduce their file size and lessen the impact they have on load time.

How you go about image optimization is up to you. You could download a copy of your worst offenders and compress them using your favorite image editor, then upload them back onto your website. Or, you can automate the process with a helpful WordPress media plugin.

Responsive Images

For mobile users, WordPress includes the ability to serve up responsive images via srcset. In fact, it will automatically do the dirty work for you on images placed within your content. This is incredibly valuable, as it prevents massive desktop-sized media from slowing down the mobile user experience. For images outside of the main content area, you may need to do some custom work to implement this feature.

Modern Image Formats

It’s also worth looking at the file formats you’re using. For example, Google’s WebP format can often reduce file size while maintaining image quality. Note that some newfangled formats aren’t supported in legacy browsers (ahem, IE), so fallback versions may be necessary. Plugins can help with that as well.

Lazy Load All the Things

Lazy load functionality only loads items once they are in the browser’s viewport. By delaying the loading of images, iframes, and other third-party content (such as social media widgets), you can focus resources on the elements users will see first.

WordPress already implements native, browser-based lazy loading to images. When you add an image to a page or post, the loading="lazy" attribute is placed within the <img> tag. That is, provided the image includes height and width attributes.

This is great – but what about other elements, such as videos or iframes? These items can also weigh down a page when loaded right from the get-go.

Iframes are now lazy-loaded by default – so no worries there. Some more complex elements may require custom code or a plugin to implement this functionality.

Clear Out the Clutter

Over time, even a well-maintained WordPress site can become cluttered. A clogged database, unused plugins that are still active, a bloated theme with features you’re not using – it happens. And it can also drag down your Core Web Vitals.

That’s why it’s important to tidy up now and again. Your site’s database can be optimized manually or set to do so regularly. Unused plugins can be deactivated and trashed. Themes can be made leaner or replaced with something better.

Study up on what’s slowing down your website, find the culprits and deal with them. You might be surprised at how much of a difference this can make.

Improve Your Website’s Core Web Vitals

Core Web Vitals complicates the already tricky process of optimizing WordPress website performance. Even a website that scores well in other performance metrics may still fall short in this area. This shines through in mobile testing most of all.

The good news is that there are plenty of little things designers can do to catch up. Implementing cache sets a great foundation and provides an immediate boost. From there, it’s a matter of reducing file sizes and loading up styles and scripts in order of importance.

Taking things even further, it also makes sense to adjust your site’s CSS with Core Web Vitals in mind. This can help with the dreaded Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) score and cut down on bloat.

In general, the things that are good for performance are also good for Core Web Vitals. Scores can improve rather quickly. Just know that it’s going to take some trial-and-error to sort out some of those individual shortcomings.

The overarching goal is to ensure that only the essentials are loaded when a user visits your website. Doing so will make both visitors and Google quite happy.

The post Tips for Improving the Core Web Vitals of Your WordPress Website appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.

Then, search engines came along. Providers such as Yahoo, AltaVista, and (eventually) Google made it easier to find websites.

Almost immediately, humans began trying to manipulate these tools. People would do just about anything to propel their website to the top. Keyword stuffing and adding hidden text were among the “black hat” techniques of the day.

This behavior marked the early days of search engine optimization (SEO). A cottage industry has grown around trying to get Google’s blessing. And it includes people who do play by the rules.

It’s just that the rules keep changing. And they’re not always clear. You might be an SEO champion today. But that could change with a mere hiccup in an algorithm.

The whole thing has left a bad taste in this designer’s mouth. And I wonder if the way we practice SEO is past its prime.

Perhaps we should focus on the basics instead of chasing every new gimmick. Let’s talk about it.

Guessing What Google Wants Us to Do

What I’m about to say may sound obvious – but here it goes: Google makes all the rules. Sure, there are organizations for putting standards in place. And other search providers exist. Only one company has the power to change the game in an instant, though.

Google publishes plenty of information on SEO. However, it tends to be vague. That’s on purpose. We can’t expect them to share the inner workings of their algorithm, can we?

Plus, every website is different. Perhaps the best Google can do is provide general guidelines. There are too many variables at play to offer specifics or guarantees.

The situation leads to a lot of interpretation and speculation. We may “think” we know what Google wants from our website. If we only do this, that, and the other, we’ll stay ahead of the competition.

Sometimes, we hit the jackpot. Our site ranks well and brings in search traffic. But fortunes can change at any time.

Did a competitor outsmart us? Did Google change something important? Could they have made a mistake?

The answers aren’t always obvious. If you find an answer at all, that is. The reasons for a sudden downturn can be mysterious.

Focus on the Fundamentals of SEO

Yes, SEO can quickly become a mess. Tracking Google’s every move will have you spinning like a dog chasing its tail. Is it worth all the trouble?

Here’s the thing: we don’t have to buy into all of the hype. Nor do we have to play guessing games.

The fundamentals of SEO aren’t mysterious or broken. Maybe it’s time to step back and focus on what we can control.

Here are a few SEO practices that never go out of style:

Publish Quality & On-Topic Content

The more we try to please Google, the worse our content gets. In practice, this means repeating keywords ad nauseam. Or artificially inflating word counts.

Sometimes, we train our focus on bots instead of humans. The result is content that doesn’t lead to conversions – or social media shares.

Try to remember the reason your content exists. Think about your audience and the message you want to share. From there, develop a plan to make it work as efficiently as possible.

Content that is informative and helpful will always be a winner. And there are no tricks required.

Take Steps to Organize Your Content

Both users and search engines appreciate well-organized content. Your website will be easier to navigate. Search engines will gain a better understanding of who you are. It’s a win-win situation.

Content management systems (CMS) like WordPress simplify the process. You can use parent/child relationships and taxonomies to organize content. These tools will help you create a logical content structure.

Meanwhile, features such as breadcrumb navigation and related post listings go a step further. They offer convenience and increase content discoverability.

Adding structured data can also be helpful. This data can enhance your SERP (search engine results page) listings. The information displayed could convince users to make that click.

Use Helpful Tools for On-Page Optimization

The right SEO tool can help you optimize content with confidence. It’s like having an expert guiding you through each step.

WordPress users have access to an array of options. Several SEO plugins are available – and they specialize in various tasks. Some are jack-of-all-trades, while others focus on niche use cases.

These plugins are great for ensuring quality. For example, some will “grade” your content based on best practices. You can use them to cover the basics.

Don’t follow these ratings too literally, though. You’ll end up in the same trap of trying to please a bot.

Oh, and be careful about combining SEO plugins. Make sure their functionality doesn’t overlap. That can cause problems.

See the Bigger Picture with Analytics & Search Console

If you want to gauge your SEO progress, start with an analytics app. You’ll get a baseline for your search performance. And you can see how various tweaks impact your numbers over time.

Google Analytics is still free to use. And it works well enough – if you can deal with the changes in version 4. But there are other providers worth checking out. Go with whatever tool fits your budget and needs.

Google Search Console is also a worthwhile tool. You’ll be able to learn more about how Google is indexing your content. It will also alert you of any errors.

Build a Great Website – Not a Shrine to Google

Perhaps the folks at Google are flattered by all the attention we show them. Some of us build websites that aim to please them at every turn. But it’s easy to let the search giant distract us from what matters.

Following the hot new SEO trends tends to lead us nowhere. The rug will eventually get pulled out from under us. And what do we do then?

The safer bet is to focus on the basics. Produce quality content. Make sure your website is organized, performant, and accessible. Use the available tools to ensure proper markup. Measure your progress and adjust as needed.

That will put you in a position to succeed. And it doesn’t mean you should ignore algorithm changes. Just don’t live and die with them. Take them for what they are.

Your goal is to build a website that pleases your audience. Users will be happy. And search engines will take note.

The post It’s Time to Get Back to the Basics of SEO appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.

But fully autonomous websites aren’t a thing yet. So, no matter how many customizations we’ve done, clients are still going to need to do some things for themselves.

As such, they need to have a working knowledge of some relevant skills. They may not be fully aware of what’s involved. Therefore, communicating this information is key.

With that in mind, here are five such web-related skills that clients will need to get the most out of their website.

Basic Image Editing

Modern websites can be very media-intensive. We often include features such as hero areas and slideshows that serve as a showcase for images.

They may require that images be sized according to some specifications we’ve set during the design process. And odds are that standard stock photos will need to be cropped to fit. If your client will be the one updating these elements, they’ll need to know how to accomplish this.

For some, image editing can be intimidating. Therefore, it’s best to advise them based on need. That means we don’t have to necessarily point them towards complicated or expensive tools. Photoshop and GIMP are terrific but may be overkill for someone who just needs a quick way to crop a photo.

Instead, it may be more appropriate to recommend simple tools – even online image editors. They’ll help your client do what they need without overwhelming them.

Content Organization

Here’s a scenario for you. Let’s say you’ve built this beautiful, perfectly-organized website for your client. You train them and are on your merry way. Six months later, they want to add a feature. So, you log in, and… the content structure is a mess.

You might surmise that this is how your client wanted to “organize” things – so be it. What’s the harm? Well, this can devolve into a nightmare in a relatively short amount of time.

For one thing, when there is no clear hierarchy of pages or different types of content are mixed and matched, items can be difficult to find when you need to make changes. This also leads to scatterbrained navigation and URL structures.

It’s important to make mention of the concepts behind keeping content organized. This is especially useful within a CMS, where different post types may have a specific purpose. There’s no guarantee that they’ll listen, but any effort toward a well-organized website is worth doing.

Accessibility and SEO Best Practices

While these two subjects may seem to be separate entities, they do have one very important thing in common: Both require a focus on the end user.

Here, it’s about doing things that not only please the boss but are also in the best interests of the people visiting their website. Accessibility and SEO are prime examples.

This includes ensuring that everyone can effectively access the content. Of course, it’s our job to build sites with accessibility in mind. Still, clients can help the cause by using descriptive ALT text on images and, when applicable, choosing colors that provide an acceptable level of contrast.

When it comes to SEO, this is an area where clients can become confused about who they’re writing for. Sometimes they tend to worry about pleasing an algorithm or automated content analysis tool, rather than real people.

In both cases, it’s important to know the best practices and how they can be integrated into a client’s workflow.

Simple Security Measures

We can’t expect our clients to become full-on security experts (web designers aren’t usually in that group, either). Still, some basic skills in this area can go a long way.

Concepts such as using strong passwords and only providing colleagues the amount of access they need help to make for a safer website. Beyond that, acknowledging the risks associated with installing plugins or granting access to third-party services help to develop a healthy sense of cynicism – which can be a boon for security.

Again, the heavy lifting should fall upon us. But things tend to work best when everyone is on the same page.

Understanding Limitations

Perhaps one of the more overlooked skills a client needs to manage their website is understanding their limits. This is vital, as an adventurous (not to mention careless) soul can do a world of damage to a website.

Now, this doesn’t give us a license to lecture them on good behavior (good luck getting paid afterward). It must be approached delicately.

For example, you might mention that some functionality is very sensitive and can be broken. And let them know that they are welcome to contact you if they are unsure of how to do something.

Just knowing that they have you as a resource to lean on can help avoid a lot of problems. Also, it’s best to avoid giving them access to anything remotely breakable, where possible. That said, instilling a cautious approach is always a good idea.

Helping Clients Help Themselves

It’s a safe bet that most of us don’t have the time to impart all of our wisdom to clients. Still, we can at least make them aware of the skills they’ll need to better manage their website.

If you conduct training sessions, this would be an ideal time to bring up some of the principles mentioned above. In addition, you can share resources that they can use to learn on their own.

The goal is to help clients better understand this incredible new website you’ve built for them. In turn, they can use what they’ve learned to reach their goals more effectively.

The post The Website-Related Skills Your Clients Really Need to Know appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.

Freelancers and small agencies deal with a range of non-design and coding issues. We become the first person our clients contact when they have a question. It happens – even when we aren’t directly involved with the subject matter.

• “I just received this message from Google. What does it mean?“
• “Why can’t I receive email from my website?“
• “My website was hacked. Help!“

Yes, we are the catch-all technical support representatives. No matter the problem, web designers are the solution. That’s what some clients think, at least.

We’re often the link between clients and technology. And perhaps we shouldn’t try to tackle every problem. But it wouldn’t hurt to brush up on a few non-design technologies.

With that in mind, here are a few areas that web designers should study. You know, just in case.

SEO & Site Indexing Basics

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a niche unto itself. Some professionals specialize in making sure websites are indexed and rank well.

That doesn’t stop clients from asking their web designer, though. Site owners want to rank highly in Google search results. And they are often in the dark about how to do it.

To that end, it’s worth learning the basics of SEO. Even if the subject makes your skin crawl.

You’ll be able to explain the hows and whys to clients. That will help them make more informed decisions about content. They may decide to jump in feet first with an SEO professional.

Clients will ask you about SEO. A little background knowledge makes you look smart!

SEO Resources

• Advanced Technical SEO: A Complete Guide by Search Engine Journal
• It’s Time to Get Back to the Basics of SEO by Eric Karkovack
• SEO Basics by Yoast
• The Beginner’s Guide to SEO by Moz

DNS & Email Delivery

Launching or moving a website often includes changing a domain’s DNS settings. These settings ensure that the site directs users to the right place.

DNS is much more than that, though. There are also settings for configuring email as well. That has become a hot topic these days.

Email providers are increasingly requiring domain owners to verify their properties. Domains without DKIM, DMARC, or SPF records may have email delivery issues. For example, Gmail blocks email from unauthenticated domains.

What does this have to do with web design? Well, websites with contact forms can fall victim to these issues. The same goes for eCommerce websites. An unauthenticated domain means clients and users will miss these emails.

Now is the time to learn how DNS works. You’ll want to pay special attention to email. Clients without an IT department may need your help ensuring smooth email delivery.

DNS & Email Resources

• About SPF records by Google Workspace
• What is a DNS DKIM record? by Cloudflare
• What Is DMARC? by Proofpoint
• What is Email Deliverability? Best Tips & Practices by Lindsay Kolowich Cox

Security for Websites and Beyond

We live in an age of online insecurity. Malicious actors don’t take a minute off. Instead, they continue to wreak havoc.

Sure, we talk about web security quite a bit. And we try our best to build a virtual mote around websites. But websites are still being compromised.

We’re learning that security goes deeper than installing updates or tweaking .htaccess files. The fitness of a user’s device also plays a role.

Stolen session cookies are a prime example. Hackers can grab them off of a compromised device. A “bulletproof” website is no match for a phone with an info stealer installed. They can waltz right in and do whatever they want.

Understanding how device security impacts the web is crucial. It’s something that can benefit us and our clients. After all, a single weak link can break the chain.

Website Security Resources

• 5 Things to Tell Your Clients About WordPress Security by Eric Karkovack
• How to Scan WordPress for Malware in 4 Easy Steps by Jeremy Holcombe
• Introduction to WordPress Security by Wordfence
• Security on the Web by MDN
• Seven Important Security Headers for Your Website by Jeff Starr

Command Line Tools

Some of us cringe at the mere thought of using a command line tool. Hasn’t that stuff gone the way of the dinosaur?

Nothing could be further from the truth. Command line tools like WordPress CLI remain popular. Why is that? It’s all about power and efficiency.

The command line doesn’t have the overhead of a graphical user interface (GUI). Thus, it handles bulk operations faster. For example, you can perform a search-and-replace operation on a database more quickly.

You can also do a lot of behind-the-scenes work with your web server. The command line may be the only way to run specific tasks.

It’s worth brushing up on command-line operations. They are a huge time saver in the right circumstances.

Command Line Resources

• Linux Commands Cheat Sheet by Linux Training Academy
• Master the Linux ‘SSH’ Command: A Comprehensive Guide by Peter Hou
• The Linux command line for beginners by Ubuntu
• WordPress CLI Handbook by WordPress

Become a More Well-Rounded Web Designer

The skills above are all adjacent to web design. And the need for this knowledge is growing.

Perhaps that has always been the case with SEO. Meanwhile, security and DNS seem to be just about mandatory these days.

Working with clients means you inevitably will face questions about these subjects. Freelancers and small agencies don’t always have an expert within reach. So, it’s up to us to find answers.

The command line is more about adding another tool to your toolbox. The improved efficiency will benefit you. And the result is better service for your clients.

Web designers tend to be specialists. We focus on the front-end or back-end. But the more we know, the more well-rounded we become.

It’s one way to stay on the cutting edge of the industry for years to come.

The post Those Non-Design Technologies Web Designers Need to Know appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.

Yes, websites often eliminate the need for physical copies of documents. But there was much we didn’t consider in those days.

We didn’t think about massive server farms and the electricity required to run them. Nor did we consider the resources needed to load every image, video, and passage of text in a browser. And what about the costs associated with creating content?

Websites have an impact on our environment. Every site is an offender to some degree. The good news is that we can always do better.

Let’s examine the relationship between the web and the planet. Along the way, we’ll show you how to measure your website’s impact. And we’ll offer tips for reducing its carbon footprint.

The Importance of Sustainable Web Design

Web design is a multifaceted process. We create beautiful user interfaces. But there are other areas of focus. Websites also need to be usable and accessible.

We should now add sustainability to the equation. The world has moved online. Power consumption continues to grow. Thus, it’s worth considering how our decisions impact the environment.

Sustainable web design may sound scary – like it will require drastic measures. Eliminating the use of images due to their carbon footprint, for example. However, it may be more familiar than we think.

Sustainability and performance can go hand-in-hand. Performant practices can also be a win for the planet. It stands to reason that a page that loads quickly will also require fewer resources.

There are areas where the two may diverge, though. Web hosting is a prime example. Using a beefed-up server benefits performance. But that also comes with higher energy usage.

The path to being gentler on Mother Earth isn’t always a straight line. Doing right by your clients and the environment takes careful thought. Web designers must now view these processes through a different lens.

Measure Your Website’s Carbon Footprint

Perhaps you’re now wondering about your website’s environmental impact. So, how can you measure it?

Several web applications are available to help. We’ll choose Website Carbon Calculator for our example. The service has developed a methodology for calculating a site’s carbon footprint.

It measures the amount of site data, energy source, and related metrics. From there, you’ll receive a score based on this formula.

Enter your URL into the calculator and see where your website ranks. The results offer usage examples based on the number of monthly pageviews.

For instance, you’ll see how many trees it takes to absorb the carbon from your website. Or how far an electric vehicle can travel on the energy used. You can change the monthly pageviews to see how it impacts the resources required.

The numbers provided may not be exact. It does offer a glimpse of how eco-friendly your website is (or isn’t), though. You’ll have a better idea if you’re on the right path.

Ways to Reduce Your Site’s Carbon Footprint

We hope your website scored well! If not, that’s OK. That means there is plenty of room for improvement. And you’ll find quite a few places to look.

Here are a few ways you can reduce your website’s carbon footprint.

Use an Environmentally Friendly Web Host

No two web hosts are the same. And that includes their sustainability policies.

Website Carbon Calculator takes this into account when testing your website. You receive a higher score if your host uses “green” energy or carbon offsets. For reference, you can find this data on The Green Web Directory.

Yes, changing hosts can be a pain. However, switching to an environmentally conscious provider might be worth it. You’ll be rewarding them for their efforts. And it’s something you can promote to clients.

Clean Up Your CSS & JavaScript

Websites can become bloated with CSS and JavaScript. Unused styles and scripts eat up precious resources. They’ll slow you down and place an extra strain on your server.

Here’s where performance and sustainability intersect. Loading only the necessary items improves both areas.

Your browser’s developer tools can help. They’ll allow you to assess each page load. From there, you can eliminate anything that isn’t needed.

Optimize Your Site’s Media

Your site’s images, audio, and video are ripe for optimization. And a little effort here can go a long way.

Make sure to use the latest codecs and formats. For example, WebP images can save space while maintaining quality.

It may not seem like much on a per-file basis. But saving a few kilobytes (KB) here and there adds up. You’ll use less bandwidth, less energy, and increase performance.

You might also consider efficiencies like content delivery networks (CDN). Or by hosting your videos on a service like Vimeo or YouTube. These providers fine-tune their servers for specific tasks. All while removing the burden from your web host.

Inspect Your Custom Code

Inefficient code can be costly. It may result in extra hits to your site’s database. Or require more CPU cycles to run. You could also chew up your server’s available memory.

All of this leads to more power consumption. The good news is that there are opportunities to trim the fat.

Spend some time reviewing any code you’ve written. Ensure that it runs as needed and that it does so efficiently. Run performance tests to gauge the effectiveness of your changes.

Third-party code might also be an issue. WordPress plugins can be a culprit. Use software that is actively maintained and supported. Remove or replace anything that’s hurting performance.

Get a Handle on Bot Traffic

Bots from search engines and other services visit your site often. Perhaps more than you might imagine. And that’s not counting the many brute-force attempts from malicious actors.

However, most websites don’t benefit from frequent bot traffic. It’s likely overkill unless your content is frequently updated.

All of this adds up to more carbon emissions. But it’s possible to keep these bots at bay.

WordPress users can turn to the Yoast SEO plugin. Its crawl optimization features allow you to reduce bot traffic. It’s an easy way to turn off features that you aren’t using.

There are other options. A CDN can help you limit bot traffic. Use security apps to ban hackers. And you can still use a robots.txt file to create custom indexing rules.

Small Steps to Creating a Greener Web

Every website we build has a carbon footprint. The worst offenders tend to be outdated websites and those with sloppy code. However, using modern best practices can make a world of difference.

Going further, consider the environmental cost of your design decisions. That means you’ll be building a greener website from the start.

You’ll not only reduce the emissions produced by your site. You might also save some money and improve the user experience.

So, take a moment to measure your site’s environmental impact. Then, look for areas of improvement. The steps you take will benefit everyone.

The post What’s the Environmental Impact of Your Website? appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.

But here I am, attempting to change my own sentiment. Why? Because it’s simply too important to ignore. Both web designers and their clients need to have an understanding of how SEO works. More than that, a healthy realization of its pitfalls is also necessary.

It’s easy to develop the wrong expectations for SEO and the required effort it takes. And the market is littered with dubious claims – making it difficult to determine sound advice from hyperbole.

In an effort to provide some clarity, I reached out to a place I knew would have some answers: Yoast. The free version of their Yoast SEO plugin has over 11 million active installations – making it one of the most popular on the market. In addition, they provide a massive amount of sound advice on their company blog.

Yoast’s Edwin Toonen Talks SEO Essentials

The following is a short Q&A with Yoast content manager Edwin Toonen, where we dive into the essentials of SEO. Some answers have been edited for clarity.

What’s the most common SEO myth or misunderstanding that you see from users?

I think people tend to forget that SEO is a lot of work. While advances in technology have made it a lot easier to build a site, it hasn’t become much easier to rank with that site in search engines. So, you really need to put some effort into it!

At Yoast, we jokingly call SEO Seriously Effortful Optimization as that is what it is. With Yoast SEO, we are lowering the barrier of entry and giving everyone a fair chance at good results in the search engines.

Unfortunately, we can only do so much. We can’t write that epic piece of content for you. We can give you hints on what to improve, but we can’t set out a strategy for you. You need to put in the work.

Some people seem to think that you’re done with SEO once you install Yoast SEO. Of course, that’s not true — it’s only the beginning.

Should every piece of content on a website be optimized, or should the focus be on the most important content?

Ideally, you should have thought about every piece of content on your website. Every article or every page should have a goal.

Of course, that’s hardly how it works in practice. You might have a site with hundreds or thousands of posts and pages collected over many years. That is the reality for many sites.

In cases like this, you have to go through all that content and make hard choices — do I really need this? Do these pieces of content fit my goals? Do they bring traffic? Do they help my brand?

You can start going over everything and improve the pieces of content you want to keep while deleting and redirecting the ones you don’t need. In addition, you can also choose to merge a couple of low-value posts into a single really good one.

And then, there’s cornerstone content. These are the epic, all-encompassing articles that show your expertise and that you want to rank with the search results. These should be your main focus. Cornerstone articles should be updated and improved regularly. Linking your supporting, relevant articles to the cornerstone helps boost their importance.

For a small, local business on a tight budget, what would be the best area to allocate their SEO resources? Is there one investment that stands above the rest?

I always say you have to build an awesome business first. Make something that customers need to have or experience.

From there, get reviews and tend to them. Build a full Google My Business profile, including up-to-date information and great photos.

In addition, make sure that your site is properly optimized for local results and write high-quality, local-oriented content that can get you local links and citations.

If one had to choose between quality content and keyword repetition, what’s the better option? Do search engines really know the difference?

Content quality should be your number one priority. It’s one of the things that Google keeps hammering on about: improve your content. Search engines are smart enough to look beyond keywords, so it is better to find ways of improving your content instead of trying to fit in more keywords.

Of course, things like keyword density have taken on a different meaning as it is no longer about fitting in a certain percentage of keywords based on the length of the text. Today, metrics like this are more like a guide that helps you keep everything in check and warns you when you are overdoing it.

How often should SEO for existing content be reviewed and tweaked?

It depends, this is not set in stone. Some content does really well, even without touching it for years. Other pieces of content need constant tweaking to get results.

The main thing to remember is that you have to keep an eye on your content. You need to know what particular content needs to do and regularly check in Google Analytics if it does what you set out to do.

If it doesn’t work, you need to fine-tune it or replace it with something else. Of course, there’s a lot of room to experiment — and sometimes you get the best results accidentally. And keep at it — SEO is not about quick results.

The Keys to Effective SEO

A hearty thanks to Edwin Toonen and the team at Yoast for taking the time to chat! If anything, I hope this helped to separate some of the fact from fiction when it comes to search engine optimization.

As Edwin points out, SEO requires a good bit of work to find success. But even then, there’s no guarantee that the likes of Google will reward you with high rankings. To be sure, there will be some trial-and-error in the process.

In addition, we learned that content should have specific goals. If you want search engines to prioritize your content, it has to be both high-quality and focused.

Above all, SEO is something that both designers and clients need to stick with for the long haul. The game is always changing. Thus, it requires regular analysis and adjustments to stay on top.

Maybe SEO isn’t quite as bad as I’ve made it out to be? While it’s still not my favorite subject, this talk has helped me exorcise some of those past demons. Hopefully it did the same for you!

The post What Web Designers and Their Clients Need to Know About SEO appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.

This set includes fifty beautifully illustrated icons that are not only visually appealing but also highly versatile. They are fully scalable and infinitely editable, giving you the flexibility to use them in any size or format you prefer. The download package also contains the icons in both SVG and PNG formats for your convenience.

Whether you’re working on a new marketing campaign or trying to improve your website’s SEO, you’ll find a relevant icon in this fantastic set. Best of all, you can use these icons in both personal and commercial projects without any restrictions!

The Free Marketing & SEO Icon Set

Download the Free Marketing & SEO Icon Set

More Free Icon Sets

The post Free Online Marketing & SEO Icon Set (PNG & SVG Formats) appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.

There are plenty of stories and opinions to choose from. But one recent incident caught my eye.

A website owner claimed that their site was being “hammered” by a content scraping bot. The tool img2dataset, catalogs large volumes of images for use in AI tools like Stable Diffusion.

The site’s owner opened an issue on the tool’s GitHub repository. He was advised to opt out of scraping. To do so, he’d have to add specific headers to his website.

This is our new reality. These tools are grabbing all manner of content – copyrighted images included. They’re regurgitating it to their users. Indeed, it’s the world’s biggest mash-up.

What’s more, it’s up to website owners to specify that they don’t want to participate. Is this as outrageous as it sounds? Let’s examine the issue and what it means for website owners.

Scraping Website Content for Profit Isn’t New

On one level, a tool scraping your website isn’t a novel idea. Search engines have been both indexing content and displaying relevant bits in results for years. In addition, RSS has allowed for retrieving text and images since the early days of the web.

And companies like Google have profited massively from these efforts. The more data they collect, the better results they provide. Thus, the more eyeballs they attract. That results in bigger ad revenue.

It’s been the way of the world for a few decades now. Therefore, it’s no surprise that other companies are taking a similar approach.

After all, an AI developer needs a good source of content to “train” its tool. What better way to do so than by collecting as much data as possible? For them, the web is the gift that keeps on giving.

So, the mere fact that a bot is visiting your website and cataloging content isn’t a big deal. But maybe that’s where the similarities end.

Is There Any Benefit for Website Owners?

The big difference is in who benefits. When a search engine indexes your website, you stand to gain something. Better rankings mean more visitors – and potentially more customers. And if you practice search engine optimization (SEO), you’re asking Google to visit.

AI bots may not rise to the level of an uninvited guest. But they’re not exactly visiting to your benefit, either.

For example, when you ask ChatGPT to write code, it’s not thinking back to the computer science course it took in college. The tool is tapping into previously-scraped content. True, it may not be a line-for-line copy (although sometimes it is). But the language model is using what it has “learned” to produce an answer.

Similarly, generating an image of Elon Musk riding a unicorn isn’t magic (sorry to spoil the fun). The various visual components had to come from somewhere. Original (and potentially copyrighted) images are key ingredients.

In both scenarios, the beneficiaries are the AI tool and the end user. The sources used to generate this content? They have more bot traffic added to their monthly bandwidth usage.

The developer of img2dataset has a slightly different take. Among their responses to concerns about requiring an opt-out:

“You will have many opportunities in the years to come to benefit from AI. I hope you see that sooner rather than later. As creators you have even more opportunities to benefit from it.”

Their logic seems to suggest that we’ll all benefit from AI at some point. So, allowing the tool to scrape your content is good for humanity. Or something like that.

To Block or Not to Block?

The decision of whether to block AI from scraping your website is complex. Or it requires multiple stages, at least.

Perhaps the easiest part is identifying your philosophy. Are you OK with your content being scraped? If so, carry on. If not, the other parts of the equation are more complicated.

For one, there’s no universal way to opt out of all AI scraping. The headers for blocking image2dataset work only for that tool. That means keeping track of popular tools and finding methods for blocking them.

And companies like Google and Microsoft are further complicating the conversation. Both own search engines. You likely want them to index your website. But they also have AI tools. Where is the line drawn between these different products?

For its part, Google’s Bard claims that it doesn’t scrape content from websites (I asked!). But in the same conversation, it also says that websites are a part of where it gets data. Make what you will of those answers.

If you’d like to block all manner of AI tools, it won’t be easy. But maybe not for long. I can envision services that will cater to website owners who want nothing to do with content scraping. They may allow us to do so more efficiently.

But until such time, this seems like a losing battle. AI is inevitable. And who has time to catalog every new app that hits the market? Plus, it may be difficult to block these tools without also negatively impacting SEO.

Website Owners Must Fend For Themselves

Not everyone will be as impacted as the frustrated user in our introduction. In that case, it appears that image2dataset was indexing a large volume of images. Unless you’re in the same boat, your site probably won’t experience any problems.

But the issue goes much deeper. It should make us think about how we value our content. And we should question what sort of rights (if any) these tools have. Can they simply take what they want? Or should there be guidelines outlining what is and isn’t permissible?

Meaningful regulation of the industry could be months or even years away. In the interim, website owners are left to fend for themselves.

As part of the effort, it’s important to make your voice heard. Encourage companies to make opting out of scraping a transparent process. Express your concerns to elected officials and others of influence.

It may not slow down the onslaught of AI tools. But it could prevent things from getting too far out of hand. That will benefit us all.

The post AI Tools Are Scraping Your Website. Is That a Good Thing? appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.