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Weekly Links Roundup – Monetizing Blogs, Payment Gateways, Managing WordPress, Tabs Plugins

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This week’s WordPress and web marketing links.

Thinking about monetizing your blog and are not sure how to get started? Here’s a podcast transcript from ProBlogger that describes 6 common ways that beginners start making money from their blogs. He recommends affiliate marketing as one of the best ways to monetize.

And speaking of money…. just yesterday I chatted with a client about how easy it is to take credit card payments from her site. Thanks to companies like Stripe, it’s super-simple to set up and get started. Here’s a roundup of the top 5 ecommerce payment gateways for WordPress sites. I’ve used all of them except Braintree, and Stripe is by far my favorite. It integrates with the most common plugins I use, like Gravity Forms and WooCommerce, and is very easy to deal with when it’s time to do your accounting (one of the reasons I don’t use Paypal very often).

Here’s something that all of us can benefit from: How to Manage a WordPress Site Like a Pro. You’re a pro, right? Pay special attention to #1 – Good Hosting. This is so important, so basic, and bad hosting is behind so many of the client complaints I receive. Slow websites, slow or poor support, outdated server software, obscure server setups that don’t allow WordPress to run at its best. So many problems can be traced back to a low-quality host.

I can’t recommend our host of choice WP Engine enough, they are the best I’ve ever used since my first site in the mid-90’s. Contact me if you’re interested in getting the best hosting at a significant discount.

Finally, here’s a roundup of 12 of the best plugins for tabs and accordions on your WordPress site. Tabs and accordions can be great for presenting a lot of information in a smaller space and also give a nice interactive experience for your visitors.

The Right WordPress Host Can Make a Big Difference in Performance

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This week I moved a client’s site from a popular big-box ‘managed WordPress’ host to WP Engine. Here are the results of performance tests before and immediately after the move was complete:

Page performance test

(The ‘C’ is in part because WP Engine was adding files to its CDN at that time, and the site does need performance tweaks in addition to just switching hosts…)

The most important thing to note is First Byte. Time to First Byte (TTFB) is affected by three things1:

  1. The time it takes for your request to move through the network to the web server.
  2. The time it takes for the web server to process the request and generate the response.
  3. The time it takes for the response to move back through the network to your browser.

1Check out the MOZ article on improving search ranking by optimizing TTFB.

You can see TTFB on the old host was 3.53 seconds. WP Engine’s is 0.11 seconds. That’s a huge improvement, 97% less time. MOZ says ideally you should be under 1/2 second for TTFB – WP Engine meets that benchmark easily.

My client said:

“I’m posting dozens of articles to [my site] this a.m. (as fast as I possibly can) and am absolutely delighted with the speed I’ve gotten back after moving to WP Engine hosting. The CMS is operating at lightening speed, similar to the way it once functioned when we were hosted at the defunct MediaLayer.”

So yes – good hosting does make a difference!

Check out our site care plans including WP Engine hosting.

Faster WordPress Hosting

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WP Engine logoClients will frequently ask me for hosting recommendations for their WordPress sites. Typically, they’ve either had an awful experience with a big-box host or are just tired of the slow load times or underinformed support staff that often comes with a cheap shared hosting account.

My recommendation is usually going to be WP Engine. I use them for my WP Minder clients, and also for my own design and development clients. They are not cheap, but they are well worth the cost, mostly because:

  1. They have outstanding support staff available 24/7.
  2. They help sites perform better with their optimized servers and built-in CDN.
  3. Instant site restores can be a lifesaver for a frantic client in the middle of the night.

I’ve never had an experience with a WP Engine customer support tech that was less than excellent. I can’t say that about any other other hosts I’ve used in the past.

Case Study of Faster WordPress Hosting Providers

A new hosting client recently wanted to know if WP Engine is fast – here’s the article I shared with her. It’s a case study of the fastest WordPress hosts and included the following popular hosting services:

  • WP Engine
  • Page.ly
  • Synthesis

You can read about the testing process and results, but I’ll give you a spoiler: WP Engine was the winner.  I highly recommend them if you’re looking for a high-quality host for your WordPress website.