WordPress can get hacked. It’s just one of those things.

With the huge range of themes and plugins available its inevitable that security breaches happen.

The other week, when PopcornTheme.com got hacked, I was able to quickly clean and secure the site using the Malcare Plugin.

Malcare is a full security suite that not only can clean your website but protects it too.

Malcare is a free plugin, with premium plans available. that includes

• It has 7 layers of protection and has features like:
• Real-time Firewall
• Login Protection
• Bot Protection
• Daily Malware Scans
• Vulnerability Monitoring
• Instant Malware Removal

The clean up process was quick and easy.

How to clean your WordPress website with Malcare

Here’s how I did it:

Install the plugin

Add you sites URL and then you can install the plugin.

Either submit a WordPress login or download the plugin and install it manually.

Run a Scan

Once installed the plugin will run a full scan of your website.

Malcare will identify any malware or problems as well as secure your site so your protected from future threats.

Clean your site

Click the button to get your site clean.

You can reset your passwords and security keys here too.

And that’s it!

You can run a scan again to check that your site is clean.

Let me know in the comments if you were able to secure and clean your site with Malcare.

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Why you shouldn’t use raw affiliate links

There are several reasons why copying and pasting affiliate links into your content isn’t great.

Reasons like:

• They look messy
• They’re hard to remember
• You can’t track the clicks in your website
• You can’t update them easily

That’s where a link management plugin comes in as it provides a solution to all these problems.

I’ve used plugins like PrettyLinks and Lasso before and they are both really good, however they are quite expensive.

Introducing ClickWhale

I was recently introduced to ClickWhale, and I’ve been really impressed with it as it’s far cheaper than those two while still providing excellent functionality.

ClickWhale

Super good value link management plugin

• Easy affiliate link management
• Link Pages
• Affiliate link statistics
• Tracking code functionality

Get ClickWhale

Here’s what you get with ClickWhale

Link Management

This is the main feature of the plugin.

Easily manage all your affiliate links in one place.

They’re super easy to add and edit and you get:

• Nice easy to remember URLs that you can set yourself
• An easy way to update your links if you need to
• You can organize them in categories
• You can set if they are no-follow and/or sponsored

Link Pages

A link page is a sweet-looking page that contains affiliate links.

You can choose which links go on here.

Maybe you’ll use it for your most popular or useful ones. It’s a bit like my essentials page.

They are really easy to set up and share. They also look great on mobile!

Statistics

ClickWhale tracks the clicks on your affiliate links and presents them to you in a really nice, visual way.

This is perfect for seeing which links are performing well or for double-checking that your affiliate links are tracking correctly.

Other Features

Clickwhale also has a number of other cool features:

• Tracking codes (easily embed code into your site)
• Import and Export functionality
• Migration from other plugins like PrettyLinks

You should check it out! I think you’ll really like it

Spectra is a really cool page builder for WordPress.

The free version offers lots of features that make WordPress so much better, including extra blocks, templates and a popup builder.

The pro version adds extra functionality for the popup builder, more blocks, a loop builder, and dynamic content support.

Spectra Review Overview

• It doesn’t slow your site down
• Loads of amazing templates
• Really cool extra blocks
• Popup Builder
• Includes Forms

• Uses the block editor which can be confusing
• Quite a steep learning curve

Get Spectra Pro

What I like

It’s fast

I’ve criticized page builders in the past because they can have a negative effect on the performance of a website.

However, this isn’t the case with Spectra. After installation, the effect on performance is minimal.

If you use it with something like Airlift, you can still get green scores on Google Pagespeed without a problem.

Loads of cool templates

To help you create great looking pages and posts quickly and easily Spectra is loaded with templates.

You’ll find templates for sections as well as complete pages.

They’ve all been professionally designed, which makes working with Spectra a dream. You can create eye-catching layouts in minutes.

Extra blocks (lots of them!)

One of the best things that happens when you install Spectra is that you get lots of extra blocks you can use when crafting your content (don’t worry, you can turn off the ones you don’t need).

Having extra blocks gives you far more flexibility when you’re publishing posts and pages.

Some of my favorites are:

• FAQs
• Star Ratings
• Post Carousels
• Containers with Flex
• Forms
• Call to actions

The extra blocks are a good enough reason alone to install Spectra.

Popup Builder

A popup can be a good way to increase the conversion rate on your website.

Maybe you need to guide people to a certain product or encourage them to join your email list.

Spectra has a popup builder built-in so you can easily create one using the block editor.

No need for extra plugins.

You can find out more by watching my recent video where I created a really good-looking one (even if I do say so myself. )

Forms

Every website needs forms, right?

Spectra includes a form block so you can easily add simple forms.

It’s not for complex uses, for sure; for that, go for something like WPForms or Gravity, but it’s perfect for a basic contact form or similar.

What I don’t like

Spectra’s not perfect. Here’s a couple of things I spotted that could be a problem

It uses the block editor

This might not be a bad thing if you’ve got experience with creating sites with the WordPress block editor.

But for newcomers and those not familiar with WordPress it might be a problem.

Other page builders like Elementor and Divi are far more graphical and user-friendly with their interface.

A learning curve

There is a bit of a learning curve with Spectra.

Especially when using things like the container block and the popup builder.

It’s not too much of a problem as more and more tutorials are being published on YouTube and other places all the time.

With a bit of playing around and a few videos you’ll be creating some wonderful things with Spectra.

I’ve recently been playing around with a really good plugin that makes your WordPress website really fast without the hassle of ticking boxes and configuring a load of settings.

The plugin is called Airlift and is FREE!

Here’s how to get it setup.

Make your WordPress website FAST with Airlift

Step 1: Test your current website speed

You’ll want to know where you’re starting from.

Head over to the Google Pagespeed score and enter your URL.

It will let you know your score. If you’re not getting 100 or very close, move to Step 2.

Step 2: Signup for Airlift

Head over to Airlift and get yourself signed up.

It’s easy, enter your email address and password.

Step 3: Enter your site URL

Enter your URL (website address) into the box. Easy!

Step 4: Download and install the plugin

On the next page click on the big green button to download the plugin..

Once you’ve downloaded it to your computer, login to your website and install it.

You can do this by going to Plugins -> Add New -> Upload

Once it’s uploaded, click Activate.

Step 5: Connect Airlift to your website

To connect your website and test everything is working, click the Test Plugin Button.

Step 6: Wait 5 minutes, and you’re done!

Hopefully your plugin has connected successfully.

If it has, it will analyze your site and come back with an improvement on your Google pagespeed score.

This process can take up to 5 minutes.

I’d love to know what scores you’re now getting on your website.

Let me know in the comments!

In this video, I take you through my first impressions of the Spectra page builder.

In a nutshell, I really like it!

It’s got loads of cool things like:

• Loads of cool blocks
• Templates for individual elements and complete pages
• Popup Builder
• Flex layouts
• Forms built in
• And loads more cool stuff.

You can try out the free version by installing it from the plugin section within WordPress.

Check out the Super Pro version here.

Using this method with this plugin, you can change any bit of text you like that’s part of WordPress.

Here’s how to change the ‘Leave a Reply’ text that’s above the comment form.

How to change the ‘Leave a Reply’ WordPress Text

Step 1: Install the ‘Say What‘ Plugin

Login to your website and head to ‘plugins‘. Click add new and search for ‘Say What‘. It should be the first one that comes up. Click ‘install‘ and then ‘activate‘.

Step 2: Add a new text string

Once the plugin is activated, click ‘Tools -> Text Changes’ and then the ‘Add new’ button.

Step 3: Enter the text you want to change and what you want to change it to

In the first box (Original String) enter the text you want to change. In this case it would be ‘Leave a Reply’. It’s important that it matches exactly. It’s case-sensitive.

Ignore the next two boxes (Text Domain and Text Context), and in the final box, enter the text you want to change it to. Once you’re done click ‘Add‘.

You’re done! You’re new text should be showing on your website

Check your website to see if you’re changes have been applied.

Key Takeaways

• A premium caching plugin provided the most significant improvement to site speed and performance metrics.
• A favorite free plugin also offered a noticeable increase in performance, which is ideal for those on a budget.
• Some caching plugins can negatively impact site speed, highlighting the importance of careful selection and testing.

My AI website canyouwash.it is doing pretty well.

It’s ranking well and bringing in traffic..

It’s also pretty fast as it’s using hosting from Spidrweb and running Popcorn Theme.

So, I thought it was time to test out some caching plugins to see if I could add some extra points to my score and increase the site’s performance.

Here are the top-line figures:

The Results

The Best WordPress Caching Plugin

The number one choice for me is WP Rocket. I’ve been using it for many years on all my sites.

It always delivers a great speed and is supported by a friendly, helpful team.

WP Rocket (Premium)

WP Rocket is my favourite caching plugin

• Best for Google PageSpeed Scores
• Responsive Support
• Image Optimization
• Easy to setup

Get WP Rocket

The Best Free WordPress Caching Plugin

If you’re tight on cash and want to get some cache (see what I did there) – then a free plugin is the best option for you.

And there are lots of free caching plugins; and in my experience WP Fastest Cache is the best..

WP Fastest Cache (Free)

The best Free Caching Plugin

• Free version delivers a big boost
• Easy to setup
• Fastest GT Metrix scores
• Premium version available

Get WP Fastest Cache

WordPress Caching Plugins to Avoid

I tested out three other plugins.

Two didn’t offer much of a performance increase, and the third actually had a negative effect!

In conclusion, WP Rocket is a sound investment for site speed optimization if a premium, feature-rich plugin is within your budget.

WP Fastest Cache stands out as a robust, free alternative for those seeking a cost-effective solution.

Steer clear of Auto Optimize based on my experience.

Translate WordPress Content with WPML!

Why Choose WPML for Your Website?

WPML (WordPress Multilingual Plugin) is a plugin for WordPress for translating your content into different languages.

By translating content, you’re basically adding more content, but in a different language, so it’s a great way to easily increase the amount you publish.

This, in turn, should increase your reach on search engines in different countries, leading to more traffic.

In this guide, I’ll take you through setting up WPML and automatically translating your content.

Installing and Setting Up WPML

Initial Setup and Configuration

Choosing the Right WPML Plan

WPML offers various pricing tiers, catering to different needs. The mid-tier plan at $99 per year is a popular choice, providing essential features and translation credits. Consider your website’s requirements to select the most suitable plan.

Installing and Activating WPML

To get started, download WPML from your WPML account and upload it to your WordPress website.

You can upload plugins from within your WordPress Dashboard. Go to Plugins > Add New Plugin.

Click the Upload Plugin button and choose the file you just downloaded from the WPML website.

Activate the plugin and register it using the site key in your WPML dashboard.

Configuring Language Preferences

WPML allows you to add multiple languages. Start with a primary language like Spanish, and then expand to others as needed. I wouldn’t try and do more than one language at once.

Automatic vs. Manual Translation

WPML supports both automatic and manual translations. Automatic translations are quick and efficient, suitable for basic content.

If you’ve ever used translation software though, you’ll know that they are not always that accurate.

For nuanced or specialized content, manual translation or review by native speakers is recommended for accuracy.

Translating Content with WPML

WPML’s Translation Management module makes it easy to translate posts, pages, and custom types. You can use the automatic translation feature or manually edit translations for greater control.

Adding a Language Switcher

Integrating a language switcher is crucial for user accessibility. WPML allows adding language switchers to menus, widgets, or as a standalone option in your website’s footer or header.

You can customize its appearance to match your website’s design.

Translating Theme and Plugin Texts

WPML can translate texts from your theme and plugins. Use the String Translation and Theme and Plugin Localization features to ensure all aspects of your site are multilingual.

However if everyone accessing your dashboard is English you probably don’t need to worry about this.

WPML and SEO

URL Structure and SEO

Choose a URL structure that is SEO-friendly. Languages in directories or subdomains are generally preferred for their clarity and impact on search engine rankings.

Optimizing Translated Content

Ensure your translated content is SEO-optimized. Pay attention to keywords, meta descriptions, and alt texts in each language to maintain high SEO standards.

You might need to get the assistance of a native speaker to help you with this.

Frequently Asked Questions