Ebook - WordPress Decoded For Businesses

1
WordPress
Decoded For
Businesses -
Table of Contents
About Author
Debunk 4 Myths About WordPress Shortcodes
Debunk 5 Common Myths About WordPress Updates
Why Everybody Loves Visual Composer
12
Revolution Slider Plugin And Amazing Things
16
Debunk 7 Common Myths About WordPress Speed
20
To Do List To Raise WordPress Page Speed Grade
23
Debunking 10 Myths About WordPress Backups
29
List of WordPress Communities You Should Join and Why
33
Must-Follow People From The WordPress Community
37
Differences Between WordPress.com and WordPress.org
38
Navigation & The Unknown Facts of Sticky Menu
43
Rethink Your Responsive Design Strategy
51
A New Method To Walk Into Your Customers Shoes
56
References
61
Conclusion
62
2 WordPress Decoded For Businesses - From lunartheme.com
About Author
e are a team of young and enthusiastic designers, marketers and

developers who are specialized at creating professional premium
WordPress themes.
Our mission is to build userfriendly, clean and modern designs in order to

help more and more users improve their livelihood. The best thing is our products are
conceived in innovation. To us, customer is king. We guarantee that we will invest all
of our skills and strengths into products and support.
Our products are currently available on Themeforest.net including Lincoln
Education Material Design WordPress Theme, Jakiro Fashion Shop WordPress
Theme, INK Elegant Magazine Blog WordPress Theme and its PSD version.
Besides, some other products are also upcoming.
This book is not only a practical gift to your customers but also a helpful
handbook to consolidate knowledge of WordPress for yourself.
You will get from this book much more than what you can imagine:
Debunk common myths of building websites with WordPress and WordPress
most popular plugins.
Practical case studies of successful businesses and celebrities websites using
WordPress.
Bonus Tips for Design and UX from various well-known authors.
WordPress Decoded For Businesses - From lunartheme.com
Debunk 4 Myths About WordPress Shortcodes

There is a big chance when you write new content for your website that you will
repeatedly use the same code to insert needed functionality in particular pages.
Often you repeat the same HTML and CSS
code on a daily basis and the task becomes tedious
and error-prone.
The way you can avoid this problem is by
using shortcodes. They are a WordPress features,
which allows you to call useful pieces of code
regularly, and in the same time lower the chance
of making errors.
WordPress shortcodes allow you to cut down on repetitive HTML strings and
insert them wherever you require them. For example, you can make a shortcode that
displays a Google AdSense ad or inserts a call to action button.
But what do these look like?
Shorcodes are descriptive and inserted into square brackets. One such example is
[adsense] a shortcode used to visualize a block of ads from Google.
There are, however, some myths in circulation that surround WordPress shortcodes,
and I will attempt to debunk them. These are as follows:
1. WordPress shortcodes do not save your time
Examine the following line of code I have made to serve the needs of one of my clients:
<a class="button" href="http://
www.yahoo.com"><span>Yahoo</span></a>
If my client wants to use the code, he would have to remember to both wrap the
button in a span tag and assign a class to a link.
Take the time to consider it
Each time my client needs to add a button, he would have to go through these
two steps and remember them.
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This is a very tedious task for a non-technical person and it is best to avoid it.
In order to present my client with a better way of accomplishing the same task, I
made a shortcode, which is both easier to use and makes more sense:
The aforementioned shortcode generates a button with the Go to Yahoo code
and links to Yahoo.
[button link="http://yahoo.com"]Go to Yahoo[/button]
2. Creating shortcodes is a difficult and time-consuming task
WordPress allows you to create shortcuts in an easy way. Let us, for example,
discuss how we can implement the [adsense] shortcode into our own code. We should
first define a function for the actual code of Adsense. The code below could be added
to the function.php file of your theme or a plugin file:
function get_adsense($atts) {
return '<script type="text/javascript"><!-google_ad_client = "pub-546321545321589";
google_ad_slot = "54321565498";
google_ad_width = 336;
google_ad_height = 280;
//-->
</script>
<script type="text/javascript"
src="http://googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">
</script>
';
}
This pretty straightforward function only serves to return a string of my

Google Adsense code. My shortcode will be replaced with whatever this function
returns. Instead of Google Adsense code, I could have as easily returned the html for
a Facebook widget or anything else with the same function.
After creating a function that outputs what we need, we should hook that to a
shortcode. It is where the WordPress API comes to our aid. Let us examine more
closely how we can do it and explain the mechanism behind it.
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The call to set up this particular Adsense shortcode would look like this:
add_shortcode('adsense', 'get_adsense');
That is all we need to do! The above functions first parameter is the name of the
shortcode we created (adsense). It instructs WordPress to create the shortcode [adsense]
using the results of our function get_adsense.
It isnt too bad? Is it? By employing simple shortcodes, WordPress grants us the
option to do so much more, even to add parameters.
Now it is time to use the shortcode. It should be added either in the Visual or
HTML views of a WordPress post or page. That is all that has to be done. You have
easily created your first shortcode.
3. Shortcodes are hard to edit and dont make much of a difference.
In just a few words, a shortcode will allow you to have access to whatever kind
of functionality it has. It could range from the very simple task of inserting an icon and
altering the color of a particular text to inserting an image gallery of images that slide
on the page, creating an astonishing experience for the user.
A strong example of how the use of shortcodes can make big difference is when
someone creates page layouts. Nowadays it is very common to stumble upon a fullwidth page layout having text paragraphs spanning throughout the pages entire width
that screams in the face of whoever has just discovered it I AM JUST ANOTHER
LARGE PIECE OF UNREADABLE CONTENT!
With good number of decently set layout-type shortcodes, the author could have
sorted the problem easily. In fact, there is no reason for him not to do so. Why not to
narrow the columns a bit with a shortcode? Why not reduce the impact of all that text
by inserting accordions and a few tabs, for example? It is even possible to add a
number of images in a gallery or slider to ensure the page is more appealing to the
reader.
4. All shortcodes must be created in advance

Actually, it is possible that your current theme already has built in shortcodes. In
order to determine which shortcodes your particular theme has, you need to open your
themes documentation and read through it. Some themes even have demos that list all
the shortcodes you can apply using them. Another alternative is to search for a bundled
shortcode plugin, and these can be both free and premium.
If you are interested in creating your own shortcodes, the Shortcode API Codex
of WordPress.org is a good place to start from.
The WordPress shortcodes have a lot of untapped potential. They are very helpful
at allowing WordPress users to insert complex content areas, even though they have no
technical background, with ease. The same is true for those will a lot of technical
knowledge. They find WordPress shortcodes very beneficial for better managing
duplicate content areas. The use of WordPress shortcode makes the management of a
website easier.
Debunk 5 Common Myths About

WordPress Updates
WordPress is a CMS which has enjoyed a rapid growth in popularity throughout the
years. However, the system is far from being perfect and we all require different
features from it that dont come out-of-the-box. That is the reason why we are
constantly on the lookout for new themes and plugins and the updates their new
versions contain.
If you are a WordPress fan, there is a big chance that you have installed a load
of themes and plugins to cater for the needs of your website.
WordPress is a constantly evolving project. There are literally tens of thousands
of themes and plugins available on WordPress.org and other websites that offer
premium or not so premium WordPress themes and plugins for sale. Installing these is
only the first step.
Developers are hard at work to improve this CMS and ensure that it is a robust
and reliable platform. A considerable effort is also spent on ensuring the available
themes and plugins are also constantly looked after. In order to prevent potential
problems with the code and prevent the occurrence of bugs and vulnerabilities in
themes and plugins as well as in the system itself, it is of paramount importance that
these are constantly updated.
In this article I outline the most common myths about WordPress updates:
1. It is not necessary to update WordPress to its most recent version.
You are mistaken. As I have already mentioned, the latest updates address
critical vulnerabilities in not only the CMS but also the themes and plugins it uses.
Always make sure all of these are updated to their latest version but first ensure
whether, for example, the newest version of a particular plugins works with the
latest WordPress version.
2. An update is a one click process and you dont need backup before you
begin.
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It is quite the opposite. Before you consider updating your WordPress

installation, it is important that you have a complete backup of all your sites data. This
will allow you to easily restore your website once something goes wrong. There are a
number of tools on the Internet, both free and paid, which will grant you the option to
streamline this process.
3. I dont need an update because I probably wont need the new features in
a plugin or a theme.
Themes and plugins for WordPress are like all other types of software your
computer uses. From time to time developers introduce new updates that not only
provide new features but fix known problems with bugs.
Even if the new features and functionalities are not something you are
interested in, you must still be concerned about bugs. These come in a variety of sizes
and shapes. A software bug could prevent users from using a plugin or it could only
affect a certain part of a theme. It is also not unusual for bugs to introduce holes in
security.
No matter how severe these bugs are, they should be dealt with. When a new
software update addressing a bug is being introduced, you as a user should update as
fast as possible to preserve the security of your website.
It isnt difficult to update a plugin or a theme from the WordPress dashboard, so
what is stopping you from doing so?
4. It is a tedious task to always monitor when new updates are being introduced
When a new WordPress version is made available, you can easily spot it. The
system will prompt you to update by displaying a message on almost any page of your
administration panel.
It is a bit different for themes and plugins, but if these are listen on
WordPress.org, then the system will notify you whether a new version is released. The
only thing you require is to visit the WordPress dashboards section for updates. It will
notify you of the number of updates you can apply.
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5. WordPress automatically updates all my plugins and themes for me and

notifies me if there are any updates.
If fact, WordPress does not check whether a new version is made available for
all your themes and plugins. It only checks whether that is the case for those listed on
WordPress.org.
If a theme or a plugin hasnt been uploaded to WordPress.org, the CMS will not
suggest an automatic update through a single click.
In order to be able to update a theme, a plugin, or the WordPress installation
itself, the CMS must be given the right to overwrite files. What that means is that the
files of the WordPress installation must be owned by the user of the web server. The
user must be able to write the files.
After having said all this, it is not difficult to conclude that updating this
software to its latest version is of paramount importance. Although there is more than
one way to install updates, the automatic one click installation method is the simplest
and best way to apply them. It saves you time and you are less likely to encounter
errors. Lack of time is simply not an excuse not to update WordPress!
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Why Everybody Loves Visual Composer

WordPress is an astonishing blogging platform, and its popularity is truly deserved.
The problem with it arises when you try to use it for something more that a simple
platform for blogging. This is when things start to get truly complicated and difficult.
However, there is a WordPress plugin that can be of help to you should you wish to
dive deeper into a more advanced territory.
If your knowledge of HTML and CSS is not good enough, what you need is a
plugin that allows you to make changes to your WordPress-based website in as simple
way as possible. That is when a page builder plugin steps in, and out of all page
building software solutions, there is one that clearly stands out from the rest. It is the
Visual Composer plugin for WordPress.
It presents users with a simple to use interface and allows for the creation of posts
and pages almost instantly through the use of a drag and drop interface. No prior
knowledge of HTML, CSS or programming languages is needed.
Current pages are easily copied and reused on a website. Templates can be saved
so that they are available for use later. The multilingual-ready plugin has .mo and .po
files as well as PF, ES, DE, BR, RU and PL added by users.
The skin builder of Visual Composer grants you the option to generate your own
color theme. The responsive layout is also a feature that works equally well will mobile
and regular desktop devices. These is a support for any conceivable post type,
including custom post types.
The latest version of Visual Composer comes with 44 content blocks, available
for use right away:
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Visual Composer has an avalanche of available features such as:

Drag and drop intuitive interface it is both easy and light to use. The generation of
new pages has never been done so easily. No prior programming experience is
assumed and your clients are sure to love the final product.
Backend editor Are you used to working on backend? The native content
management of Visual Composer on the backend will serve you well with a range of
options and functions.
Frontend editor It introduces the principle What you see is what you get,
streamlining the page creation process with a strong frontend editor. You are given a
glimpse of how your content will look on the frontend of your website without
unnecessary switches and clicks.
Easily extendable It is possible to create your own Visual Composer plugin for
your theme and even sell it on CodeCanyon. All third party developers are welcomed
to join the party!
Multilingual-ready - .mo and .po files are included to make translation easier.
Object-oriented code In order to ensure best results for your website, Visual
Composer makes the most out of the best programming practices.
Responsiveness The content you add will look great on both mobile and desktop
devices. The responsive design feature of the plugin allows you to take control over
the layout of your site, granting you control over defining the size of columns, display
options, and offsets. You can observe how your content is being displayed.
System for templates Copy the existing pages to reuse them later and save
templates. You can make the most out of WPBakery.coms predefined layouts to
generate your posts and pages.
Support for custom posts types Custom post types are also supported. The plugin
works with any post type.
User access support for WordPress Website administrators determine what
elements can be used by certain user groups.
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Dedicated and professional support support team consisting of high-quality and

dedicated professionals is always available to serve your needs and offer assistance
with whatever difficulties you may be facing.
Free of charge lifetime update All updates are free of charge and applied
automatically. Visual Composer allows you to stay up-to-date with the plugins latest
enhancements and releases.
Options for design The new design options allow you to control the display of
elements. You are able to set margins, borders, background, and paddings with just
few clicks. The color panel is a great way to enhance your design. The easy creation
of modern designs is easily accomplished.
Support for a range of languages With Visual Composer you can build multilanguage sites. The plugin is compatible with mqTranslate and qTranslate.
One of the newest features of the plugin is that it is extendable. On the request
of theme authors, this feature has already been made available. You are now able to
use your own set of shortcodes to extend Visual Composer. You only need to define
them in functions.php and the plugin with take care of the rest for you automatically.
WordPress is a great content management system but it isnt easy for newbies
to create a website that is both attractive and functional when they have no knowledge
of coding and are inexperienced. That is the reason why those who wish to create their
own websites are often relying on specialists to do complicated webpage setups for
them. The answer to this problem is a page builder, and from all those pagebuilders
available on the market, Visual Composer clearly stands out.
It seems that every review of the WordPress plugin Visual Composer is
positive, and many of these, which draw a comparison between the plugin and its
market rivals, conclude that Visual Composer is the superior choice. No one should
claim that the plugin is perfect. Some other plugins with similar functionality have
better interfaces, for example. However, Visual Composer is most probably better than
all of them.
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WordPress Decoded For Businesses From lunartheme.com
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If you are faced with the task of creating complicated webpages, for example
large sales pages having numerous elements, Visual Composer will probably be the
best tool in your inventory. If you use it, you will be able to deal with short codes in
the default editor of WordPress more easily. Even without additional extensions, the
plugin grants you all you need to create a professional website.
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Revolution Slider Plugin And Amazing Things

The developers behind Revolution Slider are ThemePunch. This plugin serves to add
new functionality to your WordPress website a slider. Traditionally, a slider adds
image transitions to a banner. The use of Revolution Slider in particular allow us to
add a slider featuring advanced image transitions and at the same time place very
appealing animations on certain slides. When a slider is added to a website, especially
one built for e-commerce purposes, it increases the appeal of a website to visitors and
clients. When used to display content for mobile and tablet devices, the slider is
particularly beneficial.
The interface of the Revolution Slider Plugin allows for an easy use. Coming
with an easy to understand and follow instructions, it comes packed with a lot of
settings. The plugins most recent version comes with a substantial improvement to
its interface.
The plugin also allows for few basic
settings, which most people expect from a slider
to have. There are, however, some plugins on
the market that do not feature these basic
settings. With Revolution Slider it is possible to
set features like the placement of the slider, the
width and height of the slider, navigational
interface, image navigation features, etc.
All slides default background is customizable and it is possible to
individually edit each created slide. One major highlight of the Revolution Slider is
its ability to add layers to slides, and if you choose so, these can visualize along a
timeline. In this way it is possible to animate both slide transitions and individual
slides when layers are used. A layer can take advantage of an added image, video or
text. Each layer allows the setting of animation transitions from the large number of
provided transitions. It can also have an added link so that the link is present in any
slide of the slider.
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Benefits of the Revolution Slider:
Instead of using Flash, the plugin uses
Revolution Slider has a
CSS transitions, and in order to ensure faster
multi-language and multi-site
performance, it makes use of the Greensock
support.
Animation Platform (GSAP).
The use of the Revolution Slider allows
feature grants the option to add
for the creation and editing of a number of
alt tags to the images the slider
sliders but also their import and export to and
uses or the image in the
from a simple text file.
background.
Images with alt tags the
The plugin is easy to place on a page.
When a new slider is created, a shortcode is

automatically generated through the slider alias.
The shortcode is a convenient and easy way to
place the slide in a widget or a post. What is
more, it is easy to place a slide on any page of
your website simply by changing the html of
the theme.
The responsive layout feature is a big
Disadvantages of Revolution Slider
asset to the Revolution Slider. It sets the width
Although it is possible to link the
and height of the slider dynamically and in
layer to another website, it is not
accordance with the screen size of a particular
linkable to a page or post
device. Alternatively, it is possible to set a
When images are places on a
custom or fixed layout in accordance with your
slide, it affects the websites load
personal preferences.
time.
It is not possible to copy one
The layers of the plugin allow for adding
styles and editing them.
slide from another.
A common layer cannot be
It makes the most out of caption
animations.
added to all slides of a slider.

A number of advanced 3D
transitions are not working with
IE9.
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Although Revolution Slider packs a lot of advanced features and allows for easy
customizations, it also has rivals on the market. One such alternative is LayerSlider.
If you compare the features of these two products, you will notice one
substantial difference. Both LayerSlider and Revolution Slider offer unique interfaces,
granting you the option to generate outstanding image slideshows of a range of
pictures. I would recommend that you try both products in order to determine which
interface is more appealing to you.
At USD 18 the Revolution Slider is a little bit more expensive than LayerSlider,
which costs only USD 17, but such a small difference in price is hardly a deciding
factor.
Another rival of Revolution Slider is Layer Slider. Thanks to its large number of
available options, the plugin allows you to boost the appearance of your website with
beautiful slides. However, just as it is the case with Revolution Slider, Layer Slider also
has a learning curve. You may find it hard to create better than averagely looking slides
in the beginning but this shouldnt discourage you from trying.
Spend a day to familiarize yourself with the product and create a number of
slides with the Layer Slider for WordPress. It allows you to combine images, videos,
audio, text, effects, and transitions. Once you get used to it, it will allow you to create
slides with ease.
But how to choose one slider over the other? Both of them basically offer the
same features. Both are mobile optimized, multilingual-ready, have a drag and drop
slide builder, are multisite compatible, SEO friendly, use various effects and slide
transitions, and fancy a range of various other options.
Both of them allow you to create great looking slides and no matter which one
you pick, you cant go wrong. Personally, I prefer Revolution Slider to Layer Slider but
that doesnt mean that the former is better in any measure. Revolution Slider is just
easier for me to use.
I believe that the main problem here lies in how to find high-quality pictures for
your projects rather than choosing one slider over the other.
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If you are looking for a WordPress slider plugin of high-quality, you can choose
one of these two. If youre undecided, choose the cheaper one.
To conclude, I would like to say that Revolution Slider is a slider plugin of
premium quality, and if you want to use it in your WordPress website, you would have
to pay a few dollars. However, it is a great addition to the slider inventory of
WordPress and you should definitely give this one a try.
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Debunk 7 Common Myths About WordPress

Speed
There has been a lot of talk during the years about website speed, and it is commonly
accepted that the speed of your website reflects on the customer experience, which in
turn reflects on your Pagerank and increases or decreases your websites conversion
rate. However, there are a lot of myths in circulation surrounding website speed and in
particular the speed of the popular content management system WordPress.
The speed performance of WordPress relies on the following major points.
How streamlined the code of your theme is Searching on the web for a free
WordPress theme is rarely the best way to discover a fast loading and well-coded
theme.
How fast your hosting provider is One of the easiest ways to score a big hit here
is to invest in a fast hosting provider.
Installing only trustworthy, well coded, and well documented plugins Since
every plugin adds functionality to your website, it also makes your website more
complex, which affects its speed.
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Not I will attempt to dispel some of the most common WordPress myths.
These are as follows:
1. WordPress lacks sufficient speed.
Although it is true that the slow speed of a website is a big disadvantage, to
presume that websites using WordPress are slower than those running under another
CMS is false. One can make WordPress as fast as he needs it to be. If your website
that runs under WordPress is slow, this can be the result of many factors. You could
be either flooding your website with many plugins or you may be using a not so good
and cheap hosting provider. It may also be the case that your site is slow because of
the theme you are using.
2. If you use fewer plugins, website speed will not be an issue.
Injecting an overwhelming number of rich features into your website through a
single plugin or two can be very detrimental to your site and can result in more harm
than good. It is true that a large number of WordPress plugins will slow your website
but a single plugin of low quality can be even more harmful in this respect. Some
plugins are even coded by hackers who are looking for an unauthorized access into
your website.
3. Inactive plugins are also slowing down your website.
This is quite not so. An inactive plugin has nothing to do with your websites
speed. It is however worth mentioning that an inactive plugin should also be kept upto-date, as an outdated version of a plugin may pose risk to security.
4. Inactive themes slow down your website.
Just as it is the case with inactive plugins, these do not affect the speed of
your website. Make sure they are updated to their most recent version so that they
dont present a security risk.
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5. Revisions are slowing a WordPress website.

These have no effect on the speed of a website. Both WordPress and MySQL
are clever enough to ignore the number of revisions on the front end of a website.
Revisions only affect the available space in a database.
6. The number of plugins is the single thing that affects website speed the
most.
If fact, it is the quality of plugins and not their quantity that affects the speed of
a website the most. When people claim that using fewer in number plugins will boost
the speed of a website, this is not necessarily 100 per cent true. Usually it is a single
plugin that increases our page load time because it either uses a lot of scripts or its
database requests are not optimized.
If you believe that your site is slow because of a particular plugin, you dont
need to be a hardcore developer to determine whether that is true. You can just
deactivate all of your plugins from the dashboard of your website and examine
whether this impacts performance. If your website starts to load much faster as a
result, try to activate the plugins one by one in order to discover which one causes the
problem. Once you discover the culprit, it is only a matter of finding a suitable
replacement.
7. Keeping a lot of trash or not emptying your trash bin brings your website
speed down.
While it is true that the trash takes up more space, it has no effect on the speed
of your website.
Although all of these claims are clearly not true, the CMS has room for
improvement in terms of speed. You can always look for the perfect solution and try a
range of plugins with similar functionalities but affecting your websites speed
differently. Acquiring paid plugins and premium themes is by far the best method for a
non-technical person to ensure his site is secure, looks great, and runs fast.
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To Do List To Raise WordPress

Page Speed Grade
I must admit to you that Im addicted to speed, and no, Im not talking to you about
any stimulant. I only have website speed in mind. I am not the only one in this kind of
quest though. Google has already announced that website speed is a determining
factor for search engine ranking for them.
I almost forgot to mention that your revenue stream can literally disappear due
to slow website speed. According to the websiteoptimizaton.coms experts, transition
from a page with 10 results loading in 0.4 seconds time to a page listing 30 results and
loading in 0.9 seconds will decrease both ad revenue and traffic by as much as 20 per
cent.
Similar tests conducted at Amazon showed nearly the same results: a load time
increase of 100 ms decreased sales by 1 per cent.
All this makes it clear that people dislike slowly loading websites. Having said
that, it is only logical that we ask ourselves how to improve the speed of our
WordPress websites? If you continue to read this article, Ill show you tips of what
steps you should take to speed up your website.
How is website page speed
determined?
The Google Page Speed and
Yahoo! YSlow plugins for Mozilla
Firefox determine the speed of your
website against universally accepted
website performance rules. However,
they dont give you advices on what to
do with the performance scores provided
by them.
My task is to outline the top recommendations for performance and show you the
way you can take advantage of them to improve your websites speed.
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1. Bring down the number of HTTP requests.

What this means is to limit the number of
A lot of designers do not
files used to display content on your pages.
compress the images they use in
When your website is visited by someone, the
their designs before uploading
necessary files are sent to the browser of that
them to a host, and an image-
person. These are references to a JavaScript
intensive design can have a
library, CSS files, and loads of images.
drastic impact on the overall site
As you may have already guessed for
performance.
yourself, each file used to enhance the design of
Another mistake inexperienced
your website limits its speed. In a similar way,
webmasters make is when they
plugins from the WordPress repository are
upload to their website an image
known to inject extra CSS code in the head
far larger than their design
section of your website and preventing you
r e q u i r e s . U n f o r t u n a t e l y,
from adding the needed styles to your style.css
WordPress allows this and many
file manually.
website owners upload huge
The important point here is to remember
graphics taken directly from their
that one should always strive to remove what is
digital cameras to their sites.
unnecessary. You should always be mindful of
With freely available applications
how the plugins you like and use impact the
such as Image Optimizer and
performance of your website. A particular
Picnik, there is no place for an
plugin may not be worth the extra page-load
excuse not to optimize and resize
time it requires to operate.
photos. Both your server and your
2. All images should be optimized and

correctly displayed.
visitors will be thankful to you if

you use them.
This means that all images should be

made as small as possible, without sacrificing
much quality. Many images, depending on the
3. It is a good practice to minify
format they use, carry a heavy load of metadata
your CSS, HTML and JavaScript
that can dramatically increase a files size.
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code.
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Before serving the code
The high-performance network of servers
to your visitors, it is a good
called CDN is able to replicate your websites
practice to remove all white
static assets and serve them from the closest POP
spaces from it. All the tabs,
to your visitors.
spaces and structured code on
It may be hard for you to grasp this but the
your website has the purpose of
good news is that we are not required to have an
making the code readable. Both
understanding of the mechanics governing
browsers and servers care little
Content Delivery Networks to use their potential
of what the code looks like.
and power. What you have is a group of servers
They are only concerned
that distribute the static assets of your website to
whether it validates and
your visitors all over the world.
executes without errors. If you
CDNs are considered one of the most
want your files to perform
effective ways to boost the speed with which our
better on the server, you should
websites load.
remove the white spaces before

uploading them.
5. Compress components and Gzip.

Before sending your files to the server,
Since it isnt always a
compress them at the server level. If you have to
good idea to dispose of white
throw a piece of paper across a distance so that it
spaces from often edited files, it
goes as far as it can, would you not squeeze and
is practical to use plugins like
crumple it as much as you can? The same applies
W3 Total Cache and WP-
here we must allow our webserver to use
Minify to only handle this at
compression on our files before they are served
runtime and leave the files you
to our visitors. This is easily accomplished
edit unaffected.
through a few lines of code added to
4. Use a CDN or Content
our .htaccess file:
Delivery Network.
A
C D N
c a n
turbocharge the performance

of your server and lighten the
#Begin gzip and deflate

<IfModule mod_deflate.c>
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE
text/html text/css application/xjavascript text/plain text/xml image/
x-icon
</IfModule>
load on it.
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Although the aforementioned code may
Unstyled content should
look intimidating, actually it is not that much
never be displayed to visitors.
complex. We just check to see whether the
Files that control the
Apache mod_deflate module is there and if it is
appearance of our website
so, choose to serve plain files, favicons, CSS,
should load first so that they
HTML and JavaScript using the gzip compression
affect all HTML while it is
method.
loading
You should note that it asks for the

mod_deflate module and the Apache webserver.
8. The place for scripts is at

the bottom.
In order for the gzip compression with NGINX to
All files that relate to
be enabled, you should ensure that a couple extra
functionality can load after the
lines of code are included into the appropriate
content has loaded. As we a
directive. These are:

server {
gzip on;
gzip_types text/html text/css
application/x-javascript text/plain
text/xml image/x-icon;
}
mindful of how we serve the

content to our visitors in the
fastest possible way and the
steps that users will take
subsequently, it is a good
practice to prioritize in the
following way:
6. The <link> method should always be chosen

over the @import method.
When your stylesheets are included, make
The content should be
served to visitors as fast as it is

possible.
sure you link to the files instead of relying on the
@import reference. The reason for this is the
not load in the browser, and all
fact that IE deals with them differently. The
CSS should load in the <head>
browser in question loads them as a reference at
section of a page.
the bottom of the document.
7. The stylesheet should be put at the top.
interaction, certain external API
Unstyled content should
The files that handle
calls, tabbed widgets and so on

All references to stylesheets should be
should load last.
included in your documents head section.
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9. Use catching.
With catching, we are asking the browser to
I should have pointed out that
always rely on particular files for a certain time
the code above is for
period. When a visitor requires the files once again,
your .htaccess file. In NGINX,
the browser loads them from its local cache and
the same setting will look this
doesnt request them from the browser again.
way:
To run a website without catching is the

same as going over to the nearby store to fill up a
location ~* \.(jpg|png|
gif|jpeg|css|js)$ {
expires 1h;
}
glass of water each time you feel thirsty. It is

shortsighted and impractical to say the least
because it takes so much more time and work.
10. Consider using CSS sprites.

These load one very
The directive dubbed ExpiresByType is in
optimized graphic for your
use to let browsers know what types of files to
design with the aim to improve
cache and for how long to use them to display
on performance.
content. The following example informs the
In essence, a CSS sprite
browsers of your visitors to cache images, favicons,
represents an image that is
CSS, HTML and JavaScript for a period of 3600
made up of other images. Your
seconds:
design uses such sprites as a
<IfModule mod_expires.c>
map that lists the locations of
ExpiresActive On
all the images on a particular
ExpiresByType text/html M3600
sprite. When all the coordinates
ExpiresByType text/css M3600
are known, some smart CSS is
ExpiresByType application/xjavascript M3600
employed to point to the
ExpiresByType image/bmp M3600
necessary sections of the sprite
ExpiresByType image/gif M3600
when the browser loads your
ExpiresByType image/x-icon M3600
design.
ExpiresByType image/jpeg M3600

</IfModule>
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The topic of sprites is an extensive one
While it is good to know how
and there are a range of resources on the web
things like HTTP requests and
that explain the mechanics behind CSS sprites
database calls work, we dont
and how we can create such sprites for our
need to grasp these concepts in
projects. An example of a utility that helps
detail in order to use them to our
generate a sprite and the associated with it code
advantage in our websites.
is SpriteMe.
Should you decide to implement some of
these techniques, you will witness a dramatic
and immediate improvement in the performance
of your website.
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Debunking 10 Myths About

WordPress Backups
Backing up your WordPress installation is something you should not take lightly.
However, not everyone pays enough attention to it. Unfortunately, some individuals
have fallen for the common backup myths surrounding WordPress and have relied on
false information, endangering their websites in the process.
Here we will try to dispel the most common myths surrounding WordPress
backups.
It is critical for everyone to be able to backup and restore his/her website
when the need arises. Do you remember how much time and effort you invested in
developing your website? Why not try to protect it then? Let us attempt to debunk the
myths around WordPress backups:
1. WordPress creates an automatic backup of my website.
That is quite not so. WordPress doesnt has the functionality to automatically
backup your sites data. It doesnt come out-of-the-box.
It does, however, has an export feature that allows you to export an XML file
that has your pages, posts, custom fields, comments, tags and categories. However, it
is not an automatic feature and you have to do the task yourself. Besides, it doesnt
come with any kind of restore for you and it doesnt grant you everything you would
require to completely backup and restore your website.
2. A backup of the websites database is good enough.
No, it isnt. A backup of the database, irrespective of whether it is a complete
backup or a simple WordPress export from the dashboard, only contains the content of
your website. You will have secured the posts and pages on your website, but nothing
more.
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The process will not backup your media, design, plugins, settings, themes, or the
customizations of your website. It will simply preserve your content, but you will
require a lot more to ensure you can safely resurrect your website. A complete
backup of your WordPress website will include everything mentioned above.
3. Im sure my webhosting provider will restore my site for me.
It could be the case. Many hosting providers will offer to backup your website,
but you wouldnt want to rely solely on them to bring your website back online. While
it is helpful to rely on their support, they are not a backup solution on which you can
count on 100%.
You are not really in control of how your hosting provider maintains your
backups. How you access such backups is entirely up to them. Do you ask yourself in
what way you can restore such a backup? What if it is the case that you need such a
backup after having problems with your hosting provider? Such a problem could have
affected the backup you were relying on. It could even be the case that they are quite
too busy with problems of their own and have no time to examine your website. What
would you do then?
A backup on your host is a good last ditch resort. However, you should not rely
on it as the only backup your WordPress website needs.
4. I will not need a backup ever!
These are common words people say just before a disaster strikes them. You
tend to believe you will never need a backup until your entire website goes down for a
variety of reasons. Then you learn that you should always be prepared.
5. Im not as clumsy and stupid as I need to be to break my website.
Such an arrogance can often be your downfall. Even if we assume you are a
person with technical background who will not kill his only WordPress site, it does
not matter.
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Someone else could bring your website down, an update could go wrong, or a problem
could be the work of a hacker. You need to ensure that your website is protected not
only from your own mistakes but also from the interference of others.
6. Hackers care little about my website.
It doesnt really matter how unnoticeable your website is. Hackers will always
try to tamper with it one way or another, and they may be trying even now.
If you still dont believe me. Give the free iThemes Security plugin a try. Install
it and begin to observe the logs. Hackers will try to log into your website by means of
cracked and stolen passwords, and robots will hunt for malicious code.
The reality is much more sober than you might think.
7. I already made a backup and I will be ok.
An interesting claim. And how old is the backup in question? How much has
the content on your website changed since you first made it? Since you are regularly
updating your website, you need backups on regular basis.
You need to ensure your backups are automatic and consistently scheduled. It is
not difficult for the last backup you made last month to become the backup of your last
year. What would you do then?
8. Backing up a website is a complex and hard task. Im better off without it.
Do you really believe so? You definitely havent given the WordPress backup
plugins a try. Most of them are automatic and offer schedules for your backups. You can
be safe and secure with your website in minutes.
You should check your backups periodically and ensure that everything is in
order. After all, backing up with WordPress isnt that hard.
9. A single backup of my website locally is enough
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Not quite so. Using a single location for backing up your website is never enough.
When you put all your eggs into a single basket, you are only waiting for a disaster to
strike.
If you use your computer for a storage location for your backup, it could get
stolen, crash, or be affected by natural disasters.
Your best choice is to have a number of both local and off-site locations for
backup. WordPress plugins often offer such an option.
10. You only need a backup in case of catastrophic failures.
It may be the case you believe you will never allow your website to experience
such failures or that youre lucky enough for such problems to concern you. Even if it is
so, a complete WP backup could be very helpful in your everyday chores when:
You delete an image accidentally. Single files can be easily restored.
The restore feature of many WP plugins allows for an easy transfer of an entire
website. Website developers often use such plugins to create websites in their local
development environment before these are uploaded on a live host.
Certain plugins can scan for malware and even perform repairs to your database.
Often it is more than backing up.
9. A single backup of my website locally is enough
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List of WordPress Communities

You Should Join and Why
The task of finding a solution to your problem is quite a daunting one. It is especially
true when what we are dealing with are problems associated with web design, web
development and programming.
While it is known that the largest WordPress community is the one at
WordPress.org, you are sometimes required to rely on other helpful sources of
information, which may make your task more difficult and miserable as a result.
Im an active blogger and I constantly use search engines to discover new
sources of information on the topics Im interested in. Normally I end up joining
communities that can provide answers to my question as I always try new things,
playing with my WordPress installation, introducing changes to it and testing whether
things work better as a result.
I usually have questions around styling issues, new database queries or
optimization issues around my websites speed and performance. Sometimes a deeper
understanding of the WordPress CMS and expert technical knowledge are needed for a
particular problem.
Ive invested time and effort to compile a list of WordPress communities, which I
believe are very helpful and instrumental in providing answers to my problems. I hope
these communities will be helpful for you too.
Before I list the communities I want to outline a number of things for you so that
you are aware of the common standards these communities share. These will improve
your chances to receive help, connect with people with similar interests, and increase
your reputation.
Respect the opinions of others
Conduct your own research prior to submitting your enquiry
Share insights and valuable content
Address people by their names
Compliment others and honor them when their answers are helpful
Try to be yourself
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I will not attempt to lecture you on how to go on with each of those steps. Just
ensure that you have these points in mind when you expect to be respected in return.
WordPress Development Stack Exchange
The WordPress Development Stack Exchange is one of the best communities for
WordPress enthusiasts to enroll in. If you aim to acquire technical and intellectual
answers, this community will help you a lot if you present yourself as person seeking
genuine help.
The community itself is located at http://wordpress.stackexchange.com/
and
these are my tips for interacting with it:

Research whether there isnt a similar topic to yours and that your problem is
not already resolved in it.
Make sure your question is in a proper format and that it is not difficult for the
audience to understand what you ask about.
Give thanks to those whose answers you deem helpful.
Avoid getting into conflict by telling someone he is not right in his statements.
Be loyal as a member of the community.
The community is not only about finding answers to your enquiries. You will
find that it is also a great place for establishing new contacts with developers and
webmasters, most of which maintain their own WordPress websites.
WordPress Reddit
It is not much different from Stack Exchange, except that it is a board for
discussions. Although it is friendlier to WordPress beginners, you will still have to
observe the rules on the sidebar to ensure you comply with the communitys rules.
Presently it has 16,000 users, and this particular subreddit allows you to stay upto-date with the latest WordPress features and releases. For the most part the members
are developers, while the rest are experienced users who have been with the CMS for a
long time already. You should ask for help whenever you need it. That is behind the idea
o f R e d d i t a f t e r a l l . Yo u c a n t a k e p a r t i n t h i s c o m m u n i t y a t
http://www.reddit.com/r/Wordpress/
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Advanced WordPress
AdvancedWP is one of those communities that are not yet saturated and haunted
by spammers. AdvancedWP is a community of experts, enthusiastic WordPress users,
and helpful individuals who are always on the lookout to learn and innovate.
You will need a Facebook account to join this particular community, and you will
have to acquire the permission of an administrator. The process helps reduce the number
of people who attempt to join the community in order to spam the discussion board,
mostly with unrelated advertisement. Among the communitys members are people like
Chris Coyier and Yoast, who also enter in discussions and help improve their value for
a l l .
T h e
d i r e c t
l i n k
t o
t h e
c o m m u n i t y
i s :
https://www.facebook.com/groups/advancedwp/.
Quora
Quora is a community in a question-answer format. Its reach is much wider than
that of WordPress. It also stands as one of the largest communities, which currently
boosts around 62,000 followers. It is important to note that most followers are only
subscribers though.
An important thing to have in mind for Quora is that you are almost ensured of
receiving the answer to your enquiry. You are also presented with the opportunity to
post questions or ask experts to help with a problem by inviting them to a discussion.
Quora is a perfect place for asking WordPress-related question on a given topic or other
issues troubling you.
You should also try to report and avoid spam whenever you stumble upon it. It is
one of the matters the community is yet to deal with. You can learn more about the
community or decide whether to enroll in it at http://www.quora.com/WordPress.
As a conclusion, I would like to point out that these communities have been in
existence for years and it has taken them a considerable amount of time to develop.
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Having said that, it is logical that they are a source of great wealth for those
who are in need of them. It may seem difficult for some to become better introduced to
how these work in the first couple of weeks after registering, but it should not
discourage them from trying.
These are some of the best, if not the best, WordPress communities in existence,
and if you want to promote something WordPress-related or you look for contacting
WordPress professionals, these are definitely places you should visit.
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Must-Follow People From The

WordPress Community
WordPress is a content management system that boosts the largest community
worldwide and is enjoying constant growth and improvement. Whether you design or
develop with WordPress, if you need to be more successful in the community and grow
stronger in it, you will need its support. It will allow you to learn faster and grow your
business more successfully. Personally, I have been involved in the WordPress open
source community for several years already and I have gained invaluable knowledge
from a range of people. It will be a great mistake not to connect with other individuals
and learn from the wealth of their experience and expertise.
Having said that, I have come up with the idea to generate a list of influential
and well-known people from the WordPress community. The following is my list of
bloggers and developers who use the WordPress content management system to share
their knowledge of its different aspects. They can be very instrumental in enhancing
our understanding of WordPress one way or another.
Morten Rand-Hendriksen
The number one choice from this list and
my personal best is Morten RandHendriksen. He is a well-known WordPress
theme developer and blogger as well as staff
author at Lynda.com. His personal site is
located at http://mor10.com . He is easily
approachable on both his website and on
wordpress.org where he answers questions
related on the WordPress theme he
maintains, called My Simone.
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Chris Lema
Chris Lema is another famous name from the
community of WordPress. On his very helpful
and informative blog he shares knowledge and
insights with all those interested in the CMS.
Additionally to the excellent content Chris
conveys through his blog posts, he is also a
prominent speaker at the WordCamp events
and has a wealth of courses and e-books he is
ready to share with anyone.
The blog of Chris is full of useful information
for all entrepreneurs and blog owners. His blog
is located at http://leavingworkbehind.com.
Joost de Valk aka Yoast

His free WordPress for SEO plugin is
considered to be the supreme choice for both
your clients and your own projects by many
people. Yoast and his team also maintain a
blog that covers many interesting areas that
may concern you from social media and
usability to conversion rate optimization and
keeping you well-informed about the most
recent WordPress developments that can
allow your business to expand. The blog of
Yo a s t
is
accessible
via
https://yoast.com/cat/wordpress/.
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Joyce Grace
As a WordPress developer and online
marketer, Joyce has a wealth of experience
in SEO. She maintains one of the largest
WordPress blogs in existence and is ready to
share her experience and knowledge with
the community. One can get in touch with
her at http://www.joycegrace.ca/
Carrie Dils
She is another excellent Lynda.com staff author
and freelance consultant. She focuses her efforts
on WordPress theme development and has vast
experience on the Genesis framework along with
several video courses on the subject. You can
count on her to provide you with a wealth of
materials, including tutorials, development tips
and great design advices. She is approachable via
her website at http://www.carriedils.com/.
Davesh Sharma
He maintains a range of prominent sites using
WordPress, among them WP Kube a website
with many useful articles concerning the content
management system. If you strive to learn the
latest about the themes and plugins development
at WordPress, you should definitely follow his
reviews and news as he covers many subject of
interest to the community. The url of his blog is
http://www.wpkube.com/
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Kristi Hines
Are you looking for tips to market your
business? If the answer is yes, then you should
definitely follow the blog of Kristi as a website
full of information you are interested in. She has
tops of articles on strategies concerning
marketing. Kristi has also contributed to a range
of blog pages with high-profile. Her blog is
located at: http://kristihines.com/.
Pippin Williamson
The prominent entrepreneur Pippin has
successfully used the eco-system of
WordPress to carve out a living. One of
his and his friends plugin,
EasyDigitalDownloads, has gained quite a
popularity and fame. The website of
Pippin does not only serve as his creators
plugins homepage but it is also a valuable
resource for the latest reviews and news
on WordPress products.
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Building Your Business Website on WordPress.com

or WordPress.org?
Are you thinking about using WordPress to start your own business? Many people
already use WordPress.com as their platform of choice for their blogs, but
WordPress.com can also become the home of your online business. They have all the
features and tools you may ever require to spearhead your professional presence on the
web. Should you have any enquiries, they also provide the needed support.
Whenever someone decides on establishing an online presence for his business, he
should focus on creating a standard website instead of a blog. Although WordPress.com
is a great blogging platform, it can easily adapt to serve your needs for a website. If you
want to create a website with them, you should take some important steps. These are as
follows:
Use pages instead of posts.
Generate a static page to serve as your

homepage.
The two distinguishable content

types at WordPress.com are posts and
pages. The post type is the supreme
choice for bloggers. If you, on the other
hand, want to establish your online
presence through a website, the page
content type grants you the option to
generate static content. Quite often new
users of the CMS create an About post,
not realizing that what they should have
done instead is to create an About page. In
order for someone to generate the
necessary structure for a website, he
should publish pages containing important
By default, your website at

WordPress.com displays a chronological
order of your most recent posts. When
you create a website, you would probably
wish to use a welcome page as your home
page so that your potential clients can
learn more about your business.
Setting up a static front page can be
as easy as selecting the desire page
through the Reading Settings of your
WordPress dashboard.
You should consider adding a blog
page too.
information services, hours, their
It may look like a blog is unnecessary for
location, etc.
a new business website.
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However, you can always set a
Secondly, apart from using a
Blog or News page separately from the
custom widget and header, you can also
home page of your site to display the most
make the most out of services for photo
recent, fresh and easily updated content.
editing like PicMonkey to create a
But what about the business themes
unique header. You can also improve the
on WordPress.com? How can small
appearance of your website through the
business owners choose which theme to
use of Image Widgets in your sidebar.
use for their website?
The idea here is to apply customization
For the users of the WordPress.com

Business upgrade, the best place to look
without the need to purchase the Custom

Design upgrade.
for themes is the Theme Showcase. There
And thirdly, the custom domain is
users can choose any number of premium
also a necessary upgrade. It ensures your
themes for their websites. However, if a
website looks more professional and you
user has acquired his theme from another
can keep it by renewing it. Owners of
theme repository, it would not be possible
businesses invest great amount of effort
to use this theme for a WordPress.com
in their company, which means you
Business website.
should ensure you have registered and
Although WordPress.com Business
secured the right domain.
is a costly upgrade for some budgets at a But should a business owner choose
price of USD 299 per year, there are some WordPress.com over WordPress.org and
tips that may be of help to you.
what differentiated the two?
First of all, nearly all of the
features and upgrades the WordPress.com
Business upgrade offers can be purchased
separately, with the only exception being
the unlimited premium themes and live
chat.
If this upgrade is too costly for you,
you can always start with a free theme
featuring a customizable widget area and a
header.
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WordPress.org is the place where

you can download the installation files of
the CMS, which is an open source system
that powers 23 per cent of the Internet at
present. The website also offers you tons
of plugins and themes at no cost at all.
What is more, WordPress.org contains the
most thorough documentation of the
CMS, has the strongest community
support
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and is the source of the latest WordPress
Another difference for Business
news. It allows developers to actively
owners, and not only, is that the
contribute to the development of the core
WordPress.com is a hosted service. This
code of the CMS, its accessibility and
means that you dont need to look for a
translation.
reliable web hosting service or worry
I n c o n t r a s t t o Wo r d P r e s s . o r g ,
about installing the CMS. All this is
WordPress.com is a commercial website
included in the service.
where you are limited with the amount of
But how should business owners choose
customizations you can make if you want
WordPress.com over WordPress.org
to host a free site. Otherwise, you will be
and vice versa?
required to pay a fee each year to remove
There are several considerations to take
restrictions, although the website uses the
into account before you make your choice
same software freely available at
on one of them. These are limitations and
WordPress.org.
freedoms, cost, development and
Another difference for Business owners,
maintenance.
and not only, is that the WordPress.com is a
Comparison of costs
hosted service. This means that you dont

need to look for a reliable web hosting
service or worry about installing the CMS.
All this is included in the service.
I n c o n t r a s t t o Wo r d P r e s s . o r g ,
WordPress.com is a commercial website
where you are limited with the amount of
customizations you can make if you want
to host a free site. Otherwise, you will be
required to pay a fee each year to remove
restrictions, although the website uses the
same software freely available at
WordPress.org.
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Even though WordPress is a free

CMS, hosting a WordPress website is
not. In order to host such a site, you
need a domain and hosting, and if you
decide on WordPress.org, you can
purchase a pretty cheap host from
BlueHost or Go Daddy. You will also
need to register a domain, which
usually costs no more than USD 10 per
year.
Once you have your website set
up, you will need to decide which
themes and plugins to use.
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As mentioned earlier, WordPress.org
And if you need to make a lot of
has tons of freely available themes and
customizations at the lowest cost
plugins. Although they are not so advanced
possible, you should stick with
as some themes and plugins used by
WordPress.org.
business websites and online stores, they
Limitations and freedoms
are a good first start. Premium themes and
If you install WordPress on your own
plugins can be bought later from websites
web server, you are not limited to what
like ThemeForest.
you can do with the CMS.
WordPress.com, on the other hand,
You can use any number of free
comes with upgrades and plans. The basic
and premium plugins and themes, use
plan is free but only includes basic
cPanel or FTP to add, remove and edit
customization, shows adds, grants only
files, play with server settings to boost
3GB of space and doesnt allow video
performance, and fully control your
storage, eCommerce or the use of premium
content without displaying any adds.
themes. The premium and business plans
WordPress.com, on the other hand,
cost USD 99 and USD 299 respectively,
comes with certain limitations. This is in
allow advanced customizations, more
the business model of WordPress.com,
space, and many more features.
which provides the convenience of a
If you aim for the most inexpensive
r e a d i l y a v a i l a b l e Wo r d P r e s s
solution, the free basic plan of
environment. Because they maintain the
WordPress.com is the one for you.
CMS, you dont have to deal with code
However, you will be limited to their free
or have thoughts about security and any
themes and will not be able to use a custom
such related issues. You have the choice
domain name.
of whether to pay for certain upgrades in
WordPress.coms plans can be very

expensive for a business owner, though.
order to activate a different theme or

remove adds.
If your first concern is the full
control over your website, you should go
with WordPress.org.
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Development and maintenance

Being fully in control of your
You will rest assured that plugins
website is a big responsibility. It asks for
wont break after you upgrade your
both regular maintenance and updates.
WordPress installation or that your
Security and vulnerability are also issues
website will go down because your host
you will have to take into account.
is experiencing problems.
Additionally, should you experience
If you dont want to deal with
problems with your server, you will be
technical issues and dont have the skill
required to contact your hosting provider.
to maintain your website, you should
Unless you hire someone to take care of the
sign up with WordPress.com.
website for you, maintaining it may not be
In contrast, if your skills permit it

and you have the necessary time, then go
easy.
On the other hand, the professionals
with WordPress.org.
at WordPress.com will take over the

responsibility of development and
maintenance for you.
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Navigation & The Unknown Facts of Sticky Menu

The elements of navigation
The navigation bar of a website is similar to a level directory in a library. For
example, if there is no menu bar you will be disoriented virtually and will not know
how to find your destination. So, navigation of web design plays a important role in
creating convenience for users and their returns to the website.
However, to create a effective navigation, besides the menu bar, other elements
of navigation is also very important. A designer will need to notice to words, symbols,
pictograms and icons. With your knowledge about the linguist, you can analyze the
meaning of sentences, words and letters in different context; especially; terms of
morphology, syntax and phonology, or raise the questions why words are used.
Furthermore, symbols, pictograms and icons are useful elements to enhance the
effectiveness of textual expressions. You should have a set of icons and labels and
testing different interaction for one specific icon. Make sure that, with the appropriate
icons, website users will find things they need quickly, which means that you need to
pay attention to the perception of website users.
For example, lets think about this question: Do you see the floppy disk exist in
this 21st century? Yet, how anyone can recognize that it is the symbol of file saving in
Words? If you use the floppy disk icon for Next button, what can happen? Make sure
that you dont colorize the word green in red. Dont make users think.
Another thing that will bring effective navigation to users is type of menu you
select. From my standpoints, I make suggestion to use sticky menus. You want to why
we should use it, please see the below section.
Sticky Menu
Actually, the recent trend that designers love a lot in designing main menu is
the use of sticky navigation which allows the navigation of a website to remain in the
same position as the user scrolls up and down the screen.
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Therefore, the user can quickly access the navigation no matter where they are in the
site. Sticky Navigation is generally useful despite this, it is not always easy to use or
access. And sometimes it can be extremely annoying. With my experiences, I see that
sticky menus has both pros and cons.
Pros
Great Usability
The advantages of sticky navigation bars is evident. They make navigation time
of users far shorter. Because when the user scrolls down the page navigation bar will not
disappear, users dont have to scroll back to the top of the website to access the
navigation menu. Its proved that the sticky menu has allowed users to search quickly
and easily.
Have you known about the optimal speed of fixed navigation? So amazing that a
recent usability study suggests that fixed navigation bars can reduce browsing time by
up to 22% (by Hyrum Denney). If only stop at this figure, you will see that it is
meaningless, but 22% will suddenly becomes a mass of time when you consider the
average internet using time daily on social networking.
A recent usability study suggests that fixed navigation bars can reduce
browsing time by up to 22%
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Quick and easy flow through a website is extremely important. It not only
makes users comfortable when using but also never need to worry about confusion or
disappearance of navigation. You can see obviously at the form of everyones favorite
social media: Facebook and Twitter. That is also a form of sticky menu. Coming here,
make sure that you also imagine convenience and efficiency of the fixed navigation
bars.
100% of the surveyed users preferred sticky navigation without realizing it
(retrieved from Hyrum Denney, Smashing Magazine).
According to the survey, to choose between two interfaces, one with fixed
navigation bars and one without, 34 out of 40 users preferred the latter. Only 6 users
replied that they had no preference. Actually, sticky navigation works to great effect.
The fact that the trend is becoming more and more popular, and I believe that you will
have a strong support to sticky navigation. However, with my experiences sticky
menus is not totally useful. They still have some disadvantages.
Cons
Besides the great benefits of the sticky menus, some users, sometimes, still find
it distracting; especially; when a website has a clear website structure, or a lack of
content to move through, a fixed navigation bar can often be seen as the unnecessary.
Beyond simple space constraints, a fixed navigation can be made the problem
with mobile format though the problem isnt universal. Another problem is that a
complicated design can also increase page load times, which is always a major cause
of concern.
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In conclusion, regards from 2 minor cons listed above, the benefits of sticky
menu is undeniable, its just the matter of using it smartly. So, I still make a suggestion
that you should use the sticky navigation because it not only creates conveniences for
users but also does it increase effectiveness of interaction between website users and
website.
Some fantastic examples of navigation menu in Web Design
Jakiro Fashion Shop WordPress Theme
The Music Bed
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Prollective
Eagle - Creative Business Website Template
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Rethink Your Responsive Design Strategy

All of us, WordPress users are familiar with the concept of Responsive Design.
Undoubtedly, it is considered as a prevalent trend in Web Design now and in the future.
In the below articles, we will mention the practices of responsive design, its
shortcoming and how to optimize responsive design for performance.
What are responsive design and its trend?
Responsive web design, originally defined by Ethan Marcotte in A List Apart,
meets the growing needs of users using different devices. A responsive design simply
means a website that has been constructed so that all of the content, images and
structure of the site is rearranged logically on any device. Therefore, Responsive
Design has been regarded as a new trend, a new way of thinking about design. The
chart below is the most tangible evidence for the trend of using mobile device
compared to using PC.
What is shortcoming of responsive designs?
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We cant deny the role of responsive design in web section. However, it also
brings some problems for WordPress users. Continue reading to understand two
most common issues: loading time and text arrangement in website and their
solutions.
1. Loading time
According to a study from marketingland.com, 69% of 155 prominent
responsive websites including Starbucks.com, Engadget.com took four seconds or
more to load on a Smartphone.
http://marketingland.com/study-load-time-69-mobile-sites-deemedunacceptable-81126.
Meanwhile, according to a study mentioned in book Getting the New Baseline in
Web Design Right, composed by Smashing Magazine, 64% Smartphone users
expect websites to load in 4 seconds or less. So how to enable responsive web design
as well as enhance users experience in a meantime? This is major concern of all
WordPress designers, especially manager and coders.
2. Mobile-specific content management
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Content organization to fit all devices type is also hard to solve problem.
Displaying website content is troublesome story because of different behavior patterns
between Smartphones 'users and Desktop users. Mobile users are typically busy and
need access to quick, reference information. Desktop users have more time to read indepth on a topic and casually browse. Building different yet proper device-based
contents can greatly improve your websites user experience.
Moreover, to reach global consumers, content should be used by users native
language. To be more precise, on the one hand, different languages require different
lengths. So content gradually becomes the first resolved issue.
How to optimize responsive design?
As far as I'm concerned, there are 2 most efficient ways to optimize responsive
web design up to now
1. Reducing image Dimension
Image is considered as the primary element leading to website weight when
studying 155 responsive websites.
It can be seen that images take over a half of website load time in all websites.
So this article will present an attractive way for high-resolution images optimization:
RESS. RESS stands for Responsive design with server-side components based on
Lukew model. The biggest effect RESS brings in is reducing image payload.
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WordPress Decoded For Businesses - From lunartheme.com0
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To implement RESS, you will use huge variables a component that has
device class optimized implementations for it on the server to give the page template
in different sizes. The key point to distinguish a server-side solution RESS from a
client-side solution like Responsive Image using Java Scripts is that the overall
layout of any page containing this variables is covered by flexible grids and media
queries but optimizing what we send to any given device is taken care of on the
server.
For example, according to Lukew, for image optimization solution, he shows
using a server side component by adding a variable {{>userimage}} in theme and
creating it in different sizes:
userimage.html which contains
<img class="biguserimage" height="300" width="300" alt="{{username}}"
src="{{biguserimage}}">
and
mobile_userimage.html which contains
<img class="userimage" width="50" height="50" alt="{{username}}"
src="{{userimage}}">
Besides, RESS helps optimize unexpected JavaScript & CSS files for each
mobile device. RESS will make your website performance better. Ok, I guess that you
are breathing out strongly and thank god for giving us WordPress, which is already
integrated with RESS. Calm down, its just not enough. Lets move to the second
point.
2. Better designing your content for all different screen sizes.
It is said that your breakpoints in responsive website is based on better
designing content, not device screen widths. While the old approach is checking
screen sizes of popular handsets and applying the majority rules to responsive
design, the practical method is needed because the mobile screens are becoming
more & more varied and unpredictable. Each year, there are millions of handsets
with new screen ratio produced. Instead of adjusting a design to fit the portable
device you should find out solution to the content width challenge.
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Choosing number of characters and words is that answer. According to a book

The Elements of Typography Style by Robert Bringhurst, anything from 45 to 75
characters is widely regarded as a satisfactory length of line for a single-column page
set in a serried text face in a text size. Moreover, according to Jossef Muller
Brockmann writing in the book Grid in Graphic Design/Raster Systeme Fur Die
Visuele Gestaltung, it is said that an easy-to-use column needs 10 words in line. So a
new idea drawn from two above authors: the ideal design is growing the width of the
main content from either 75 characters or 10 words. Sure!
However, the tricky point is in choosing font and font size because of different
languages cause to different length of line.
Lets start to design from small screen to ever bigger screen! Based on
the theory of Oliver Reichenstein, font size depends on the distance between our eyes
and the device we use and as we tend to hold mobile phones closer to our head than
laptops, the font size will become smaller whenever the measure is smaller than 45
characters. A single column is enough in smaller devices. For bigger screens or ever,
you can only add columns or some media queries and then to adjust the layout, either
to make website better and to show more information such as navigation, images or
some relevant content. He creates a responsive font size-based website because
according to him, everything is based on font size and the layout does not break when
the font size of the browser is increased. Briliant, is it?
So, there are some good ideas for optimizing responsive design from top-notch
people. In my opinion, the most important thing belongs to experience of designers.
So what do you think? Rethinking your responsive design strategy today and give us
your ideas about our blog post. Dont forget to support our new
free and premium responsive WordPress themes.
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A New Method To Walk Into

Your Customers Shoes
One of the most important factors that bring success to user experience is to fully and
profoundly understand your users. Not only do you want to know who they are, but you
want to dive deeper into understanding their motivations, mentality, and behavior. This
deals with tailoring or customizing your products to fit the specific needs of a certain
group of customers.
Responsive web design, originally defined by Ethan Marcotte in A List Apart,
meets the growing needs of users using different devices. A responsive design simply
means a website that has been constructed so that all of the content, images and
structure of the site is rearranged logically on any device. Therefore, Responsive
Design has been regarded as a new trend, a new way of thinking about design. The
chart below is the most tangible evidence for the trend of using mobile device
compared to using PC.
Earlier on, people tend to use the personas method to approach to the
customers and identify their needs. It brings many benefits to the sellers, however
customers are of different types, and this method certainly is not the most effective
tool to cover it all. After some research, Ive known about another method to explore
our assumptions about users, so-called the matrix technique.
The method was discovered when I was under the process of building our
Lincoln multi-purpose theme and ran into a lecture of Mr. David Rollert, a designer
with extensive experience. In his lecture, Davis showed a wide range of user
experience tools, including a way to model groups of users, which I especially found
interesting. The brainstorming process is well structured and divided into the following
steps:
Step 1: Draw Your Matrix
In this case, it would be best if you choose a 3 x 3 grid to start brainstorming,
mostly because it provides enough variation without being too detailed therefore
helping you avoid over-analyzing the situation.
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Step 2: Identify Important Axes

The next step is to determine how many of categories of our users can exist in the
system. Let's talk about the example of a multi-purpose theme, which normally has a
bunch of functions and lots of features that can meet various needs of the customers.
The question is, for the potential customers of this theme, can we come up with what
kinds of attribute behavioral? In this step, try to think in terms of opposing attributes.
You might end up with a list looking like this and the corresponding user stories:
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explorative
I want a new way to experience, I want to check out the latest features.
competitive
I have to create a website which stands out among the competitors.
frequent
I update my website a lot, several times a week to everyday.
occasional
I update my website once a week or less, just for posting information or presenting
new product(s).
Your axes might then look like this:
explorative competitive
frequent occasional
Depending on the project you are working on, you may or may not know
something about the users you are talking about.
As you go through this exercise, keep in mind what you know about your
users and what are assumptions only. From the list above, choose the axes that most
interest you or that you think are worth exploring. Choosing might be difficult for
beginners in this method; in which case, the best thing to do is to dive in and see
what happens. If it doesnt work or if ideas stuck at some points, change your axes
and keep going.
Step 3: Identify Key Questions
Now this is the tricky part: Ask a question! I generally like, What would these
users want to do? Or, even more simply, What do they want? The latter question
would cover what users want to know and what they would want to do. You could
also ask questions like, How would they feel when using the theme? as a kind of
emphatic exercise. As you think up questions, keep a list handy. Youll need it later. In
this example, lets stick with What can they do? Or, from a users perspectives
What can I do with this theme?
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Step 4: Fill It Up
Try your best to fill in the matrix. If you already gathered some insights from
research, then make sure to mark the ones you know for sure, as opposed to things you
believe to be true but have nothing to confirm it.
Gradually, by the time you finished the first matrix, youll have a fairly good
idea of what information you already know about your users and what further research
might be required.
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This step is particularly important, as thanks to that, you can know what it takes
to meet your customers needs. For example, for PI-the latest multi-purpose theme of
lunartheme, the developers have strictly followed the method and the above matrix,
and included some awesome features that are suitable for some groups of customers,
e.g. for the ones whose first priority is homepage interface and effectivity, the theme
has included mega menu in the navigation bar, which make it easier to do homepage
surfing.
Step 5: Iterate
Once you are done with the first matrix, set that aside, and draw another blank
grid.
You can do one of two things:
Change one of your axes to something different, but stick to the same question;
or
Pick another question from your list, e.g. What do these users need from us?
Start filling in the matrix again from the top. Remember, this is a brainstorming
process. Putting down ideas that you can refine later is more important, so try to move
rapidly through each iteration.
When you have done as much as you can with this iteration of the matrix, do
the dance again: pick another question, or switch another axis. Its best when your
team collectively chooses which questions and spectrums to think about. Rinse and
repeat. Youll likely find that you can generate a lot of matrices in the space of just an
hour, even if it may be a slow start at first.
Remember that no study or methodology is perfect or all-encompassing. Many
people cross over from one group to another. However you can still have an effective
research by analyzing the habits and lifestyles of several existing customers with
whom you are familiar. Consider which category/axe they fit into and try to fill in their
features in the matrix. At the same time, have a friend or family member read this
article and then attempt to identify which category you fit into. After finishing the
brainstorming process, we have to move on to analyzing and studying key insights,
which I would present in the next article. Make sure to subscribe to lunartheme to get
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updated.
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References
1. Navigation & Interaction (2013), retrieved from http://www.smashingmagazine.com/
2. Rethink UX (2013), retrieved from http://www.smashingmagazine.com/
3. Responsive Web Design (2013), retrieved from http://www.smashingmagazine.com/
4 . M a r c o t t e , R e s p o n s i v e We b D e s i g n ( 2 0 1 0 ) , r e t r i e v e d f r o m
http://alistapart.com/author/emarcotte
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Conclusion
This eBook is for all those who love learning, discovering interesting things
about WordPress. We have created the eBook with passion in WordPress, desire to
share knowledge what we get through experiences to spread out to all people who
have the same passion anywhere. So, this eBook is a special gift for you with the
greatest articles of various well-unknown authors in the WordPress community.
With the spirit of constant learning and creativity, we always create the best
products for our users, so there is no reason to stop stepping forward. Lets grab the
eBook and find inspiration for yourself. We ensure that it will not make you
disappointed.
By the way, if you want to get more in-depth information about WordPress
themes, lets visit my website to get the high-quality products such as
Lincoln, Jakiro, Iink, etc.
If you like this eBook, lets share it with your friends and follow us on social
media, including Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn to update the latest
information or leave your contact on any social media or send to email:
lunarthemex@gmail.com. You can also visit or website for more useful information
and themes details.
We are always beside you to support you any time.
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1

Debunk 4 Myths About WordPress Shortcodes

Debunk 5 Common Myths About WordPress Updates

Why Everybody Loves Visual Composer

Revolution Slider Plugin And Amazing Things

Debunk 7 Common Myths About WordPress Speed

To Do List To Raise WordPress Page Speed Grade

Debunking 10 Myths About WordPress Backups

List of WordPress Communities You Should Join and Why

Must-Follow People From The WordPress Community

Differences Between WordPress.com and WordPress.org

Navigation & The Unknown Facts of Sticky Menu

Rethink Your Responsive Design Strategy

A New Method To Walk Into Your Customers Shoes

2 WordPress Decoded For Businesses - From lunartheme.com

e are a team of young and enthusiastic designers, marketers and

Our mission is to build userfriendly, clean and modern designs in order to

Debunk common myths of building websites with WordPress and WordPress

most popular plugins.

Practical case studies of successful businesses and celebrities websites using

Bonus Tips for Design and UX from various well-known authors.

WordPress Decoded For Businesses - From lunartheme.com

Debunk 4 Myths About WordPress Shortcodes

WordPress Decoded For Businesses - From lunartheme.com

This pretty straightforward function only serves to return a string of my

WordPress Decoded For Businesses - From lunartheme.com

WordPress Decoded For Businesses - From lunartheme.com

4. All shortcodes must be created in advance

WordPress Decoded For Businesses - From lunartheme.com

Debunk 5 Common Myths About

WordPress Decoded For Businesses - From lunartheme.com

It is quite the opposite. Before you consider updating your WordPress

WordPress Decoded For Businesses - From lunartheme.com

5. WordPress automatically updates all my plugins and themes for me and

WordPress Decoded For Businesses - From lunartheme.com

Why Everybody Loves Visual Composer

WordPress Decoded For Businesses - From lunartheme.com

Visual Composer has an avalanche of available features such as:

WordPress Decoded For Businesses - From lunartheme.com

Dedicated and professional support support team consisting of high-quality and

WordPress Decoded For Businesses From lunartheme.com

WordPress Decoded For Businesses - From lunartheme.com

Revolution Slider Plugin And Amazing Things

WordPress Decoded For Businesses - From lunartheme.com

Benefits of the Revolution Slider:

Instead of using Flash, the plugin uses

Revolution Slider has a

CSS transitions, and in order to ensure faster

multi-language and multi-site

performance, it makes use of the Greensock

Animation Platform (GSAP).

The use of the Revolution Slider allows

feature grants the option to add

for the creation and editing of a number of

alt tags to the images the slider

sliders but also their import and export to and

uses or the image in the

from a simple text file.

Images with alt tags the

The plugin is easy to place on a page.

When a new slider is created, a shortcode is

The responsive layout feature is a big

Disadvantages of Revolution Slider