How to Keep Your WordPress Blog Secure

Sometimes, people don’t bother with security measures for their WordPress websites until they experience issues or get hacked. As a new blogger, preventing hacks should be your priority. When your blog is hacked, your data and content could get stolen and your website suffers downtime. Here are a few simple security measures that you should implement on your blogs.

Now we all know how important plugins are in WordPress. You can almost find any plugin with a specific functionality or feature that cater to your needs and one of these are security plugins. A new post on How To Make My Blog discusses how important security plugins are and why you should activate one on your WordPress website:

Activate a security plugin

WordPress is the most widely used CMS (content management system) for publishing content online. WordPress’ popularity makes sites hosted on it a regular target to brute force login attempts and other hacking attacks.

Several security plugins can help protect your site and prevent any hacking attempts. Two of the best options are Wordfence Security and Sucuri Security.

They both do quite a few things to make your site safer. This includes forcing you to use stronger passwords, and making you delete the admin username. They also do block bot traffic and help you do regular security scans.
Via howtomakemyblog.com

There are plenty of security plugins that are available and free in WordPress and they only differ with the features they have. It is entirely up to you if what kind of security plugin you want and what functionalities you need.

WordPress is one of the most popular platforms for blogs which is why it is much prone to such attacks. You should always keep in mind that you need to update your WordPress to the latest version if possible. A recent post from Best Online Blog talks about the importance of keeping your WordPress up to date:

Keep all WordPress stuffs up-to-date

Every one say that WordPress is a secure platform. But, why hackers can easily hack wordpress blog easily. It is due to one reaseon. WordPress is not secure if you didn’t update wordpress in time. Hackers can find loop holes in your site through outdated files, themes and plugins.

So, you should update WordPress version, All plugins, themes in time.
h/t bestonlineblog.com

In doing so, you’ll get rid of potential exploits and vulnerabilities from old versions of WordPress. The good thing is you don’t need to worry when updating your WordPress version since you’ll get a notification in your dashboard if ever there is a new update available.

Lastly, one of the most common tactics is to set a stronger password. A recent post from WP Explorer talks about why you should create a stronger password for your website.

Create Stronger Passwords

However, we always have your best interests at heart, and as such, we’ve put together several measures you can use to bolster WordPress security and reduce the chances of hosting uninvited guests.

With these WordPress security best practices, we want you to have the most secure of WordPress sites. We will do our best to break down the points, but should you need help with anything, ask your questions and/or share your opinion in the comments.

Weak passwords will get you hacked. Similarly, that admin username you hold onto so dearly will make it easy for hackers. Create personalized usernames when installing WordPress, and use the strength indicator when creating your password. That should be enough, but if you’d like to go the extra mile, you should checkout the 1Password and KeePass tools.
Read more at wpexplorer.com

With today’s technology, a weak password for your website is not enough to prevent anyone from hacking it. Hackers can use tools that could help brute force their way to your website. So make sure that you create stronger passwords or use tools that will help make a complex password for your websites.

[caption id="attachment_1728" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Strong password can go a long way in keeping your blog secured![/caption]

The post How to Keep Your WordPress Blog Secure See more on: https://www.mohammad-makki.com

Why You Should Start Your Blog in WordPress

If you’re thinking of starting your own blog, there are a few things you need to consider. First is finding and choosing a blogging platform that works well for you. Unsurprisingly, we recommend WordPress. It is perfect for beginners and serious bloggers alike and comes with a lot of features that you could take advantage of your own blogs. Here are a few reasons why you should start your blog on WordPress.

Some bloggers, especially those who are inexperienced on starting a blog, would like as much as possible to avoid spending money. This is one reason why WordPress is extremely easy for someone starting a blog. A recent post from WP Explorer talks about why it is so affordable to use WordPress as a blogging platform:

Because It’s Affordable

You can start blogging for free with a WordPress.com blog. This gives you a completely free place to share your thoughts, upload image or videos or write guides. Many people start this way every day.

To start a self-hosted blog you really just need hosting, since you can find some pretty awesome free WordPress themes and plugins to use on your website for styling and added features. You can get good, shared hosting for $2.95 per month (for the first year) from Bluehost which includes a free domain (for the first year) and more than enough resources for a new blog. So for about $35 this year you can have your very own WordPress blog! That’s a ridiculously low price to have your own place on the web – so why not start a blog? Via wpexplorer.com

Other than plugins and themes, there really is no cost in using WordPress unless you want to pay for the plugins and themes. Another thing to remember is that you won’t regret using it since you don’t have to pay for it if ever you dislike using it for your blogs.

Next, you have control when using WordPress since it is self-hosted. A new post from Gate Blogs discusses the importance of a self-hosted blog in WordPress:

Control

Since WordPress is self-hosted, you can move your content to one of many hosting providers, or run it on your own server. If you’re like me, and want to customize the source code, you can do that, because it’s open-source. You can create your own themes for free, and you can make your own plugins for free. Everything is written in PHP, CSS, JavaScript, or HTML, so if you’ve been making your own sites, WordPress shouldn’t be that new to you. h/t gateblogs.com

This is specifically important if you want to move content to other hosting providers which is likely to happen. Also, you can freely customize your WordPress blog the way you like it by using free plugins and themes but if you would like a unique design and functionalities for your blog you can create your own themes and plugins.

[caption id="attachment_1715" align="aligncenter" width="300"] WordPress has great social media support![/caption]

Lastly, it has the best social media support and integration. Social media sharing is valuable to all blogs since you want to reach as much audience as you want and you can do that through the use of social media. A recent post from SKT Themes shares the reason why social media support is vital in WordPress:

Social Media Support

Social media platforms are what making the blog go viral and therefore, it is important for your blogging platform to provide you all the support for social media integration. This is another spot where WordPress is way ahead.

It is a known fact that WordPress has the best set of plugins for social media sharing and profile integration.

Visitors on your website can see your activities on the social media platforms. They can seamlessly like, share and follow you and your followers’ number will increase exponentially. Read more at sktthemes.net

There are countless free plugins you can easily access in WordPress that will help you integrate and improve the social media support of your blog. There are also paid plugins you can buy if you are willing to or create your own plugin with features you want.

Why You Should Start Your Blog in WordPress See more on: www.mohammad-makki.com

Essential Plugins for Your WordPress Blog

There are various options that you can use to make your blog successful, one of this is through the use of WordPress plugins. With so many websites powered by WordPress and so many people building a functional website, WordPress plugins are pretty much essential for a unique blog. Here are a few free WordPress plugins that you can use to make things easier.

There are already numerous plugins that you can install on your website and each one serves a different purpose. But when it comes to SEO which every blog should need, the most popular plugin you can use is Yoast SEO:

Yoast SEO

This one is the best SEO solution. It combines what two of the most popular plugins ever used to do. It helps you optimize your on-page SEO (META Title, Description and Keywords) and generates an XML sitemap for search engines to easier find and index your content. It does much more too such as add Open Graph social data so social network display your content properly when it's shared. Via howtomakemyblog.com

SEO is essential. As a blogger, making your blogs optimized is an important factor to help improve its rankings and visibility. The plugin also comes with different features that you can use for blogs like the XML sitemap for indexing your content.

[caption id="attachment_1702" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Search engine optimize your blog for higher ranking results![/caption]

One important factor of a successful blog is reader engagement. It is essential for a blog to make the audience engage with the content you’re creating. So how do you keep track of your visitors, or where they’re located? You can do this through the Google Analytics Dashboard plugin for WordPress:

Google Analytics Dashboard

Removing barriers between your blog and your readers can be tricky to diagnose without taking a good look at how your visitors are using your site.

Google Analytics Dashboard for WP (also known as GADWP) connects to your WordPress dashboard via your Google Analytics account. This plug-in shows all the Google analytics reports right on your blog’s dashboard. Sometimes things that are out of sight really are out of mind, so having the data in front of you whenever you log into your blog is a great reminder to listen to what your readers are “telling” you by their behavior. h/t blogging.com

It is necessary for a blog to be secure. The Akismet Anti Spam plugin is all you need for your blog’s security system. A recent post from Purposeful Mothering talks about the Akismet Anti Spam plugin to help prevent any spam comments that appear on your website:

Akismet Anti-Spam

Akismet is a security system for your blog/website. This is probably the most important and necessary plugin on this list. Blogs are a lot of hard work and require immense amounts of time- the last thing needed is for a bunch of spam to appear on your site.
One of the features of Askimet is its ability to block malicious or fake comments on posts. Since I started blogging, it’s prevented 34 spam comments- and considering I started back in September, that’s a pretty decent amount of spam.
The plugin also monitors the website even when you aren’t logged on. For a free plugin, it goes above and beyond. Read more at purposefulmothering.com

Spam comments get annoying. The good thing about Akismet is that it's commonly pre-installed when you use WordPress so you don’t have to worry about installing it.

The post Essential Plugins for Your WordPress Blog is available on https://mohammad-makki.com

How To Make Your WordPress Blog Stand Out

More and more blogs are created every day, and it can be hard to stand out from the others. Blogging benefits your brand or business in many ways and it's difficult for it to get noticed if you don’t know how to differentiate yourself. So if you want your blog to stand out from the pack, here are a few valuable tips to start.

First, think of a catchy name for your blog. The name of your blog is an important aspect of its success. This is an essential factor in attracting your audience and giving a best first impression.  A recent post from e2logy explains why a name represents the identity of your blog:

A name represents identity

Think of a catchy name for your blog and create strong and epic content for it.

- Use killer headlines to entice your target audience to your posts. For this, it would be good if you know your target audience well.
- Pick unique topics or you can even write one something common with a unique point of view. You’ll definitely have an advantage
- if you write about juicy and exciting topics as per the likes and preferences of your target niche.
- Make your readers remember your posts long after they’ve read it by integrating interesting stories in your content.
- One thing to remember here is to never use too much textual content on your blog or it would look monotonous to your readers.
- Include other media formats and great visuals (such as videos, audios, graphics, infographics, gifs, images, and other visuals) in your blog.
- You can make your blog look influential by interviewing well known people in your field and including them in your blog or even by reviewing a number of books in your category.
- Another quite important aspect considered to make any blog taste success is by having a consistent publishing schedule for your content. Via e2logy.com

This also applies to creating a good title for your blog posts. A good title helps grab attention and entice people to read your post. It also helps in targeting specific audiences for your post. For that reason, a perfect title can be vital to the success of your blog post.

One of the most important ways to make your blog stand out is to make your content easy to read and scan. You don’t want your visitors to leave your blog because it's disorganized, and people nowadays tend to scan before they read. A new post from Click Start Club shares the importance of making your content easy to read for your audiences:

Make your content easy to read

According to Blogger.org, in 2016, there were 6.7 million people blogging on blogging sites and 12 million on social media. That’s a lot of blogs! With those figures in mind, it’s clear that if you want to have a successful blog, you have to stand out from the crowd. So here are some tips on how to make your blog stand out.

Short sentences and paragraphs, sub-headers for easy scanning, and an easy on the eyes font and color scheme, all make a difference in the readability of your blog. h/t clickstartclub.com

Nobody likes to view content that is unpleasing to the eyes. The readability of your blog goes a long way. The structure of your content should also be organized to enable easy scanning.

[caption id="attachment_1689" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Readability is important![/caption]

Lastly, use different kinds of media. Make use of images, graphics, videos, infographics, etc. since these are great ways to deliver information to your reader. A recent post from Blogging WP discusses how blog post with images and graphics make it stand out.

Make use of images and graphics

Blog posts with images have a 650% higher engagement rate than posts with text alone. Visual content is pleasing to the eyes. It boosts your message and enhances your brand.

No matter how much you write, a picture tells a better story. You can describe the beaches and sunny weather but it won’t have the same impact as an image. Thus, add relevant pictures and graphics to all your posts. Read more at bloggingwp.com

Visual content is engaging. Adding a visual element to your blog post will catch the attention of readers who are more visually oriented. It also strengthens the message of your content and improves the readability of your blog. You should also make sure to use the highest resolutions for your visual content.

The article How To Make Your WordPress Blog Stand Out was first seen on www.mohammad-makki.com

How to Improve Your WordPress Blog

Blogging is tough nowadays, what with the rise of social media and increased competition. It’s no surprise that if you want your blog to be popular and get more traffic, a few improvements it is necessary. It does not matter whether your blog is already popular or still new; there is always room for improvement. Here are a few valuable tips on how to improve your blog.

When it comes to blogging, content is everything. It's the most valuable aspect of a site that you can improve. A recent post from Technical Ustad explains the importance of creating outstanding content for your blog:

Content is everything

When you are a beginner to blogging then a question that always comes to your mind is that why a visitor come on your blog to read your content while there are so many other websites available with the same content?

Because you have shared valuable content on your blog and you help your visitors in your unique way. Writing informative, valuable content is an essential part of blogging and this makes your blog so special.

So it is important for you to create such content that people want to share over there social media profiles. Sharing is one of the most important factors in 2017 and of course, this will also an important factor in 2018. When people will share your content then it can be very easy for you to rank higher in the search engines.

For example, a blog has more than 1K shares then you will trust more on this blog content and also you will take its content more seriously. One thing you need to keep in mind is that people always share such content that helped them in some way. Via technicalustad.com

As you create content on a regular basis, you’ll have more of an opportunity to improve the quality of your content. It is important that you create quality content to engage with your audience.

Next in our list goes hand-in-hand with our first tip. With the rise of social media, social sharing has become essential and is a valuable marketing tool. A recent article from Blogging Wizard shows why you should update your social sharing buttons:

Update your social sharing buttons

Do you like your social sharing buttons or do they cause more headaches than they are worth?

While there are many social sharing button plugins available out there ­– both free and paid – not all are created equal.

Many social sharing plugins:

- Lack customization options and have poor hard-coded values
- Lack common features and aren’t mobile-friendly
- Are not supported or maintained – this raises security concerns
- Are dated and aren’t up to date with the latest social media networks h/t bloggingwizard.com

When you have great content it is more likely to be shared by the audience to social media platforms. That is why updating your social sharing buttons is vital if you want to promote your blog. We use Monarch, an extremely customizable choice, but there are countless options.

[caption id="attachment_1683" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Update your social media sharing buttons![/caption]

Lastly, you should focus on search engine optimization, or SEO, for your blog. As we all know, SEO helps improve your blog in the best way: generating organic traffic. Growing Forward emphasizes why optimizing your SEO is a great way to improve your blog:

Focus on SEO

If you want to get found by new readers, then you need to be looking at your search engine optimization, or SEO for short. When you focus on this, it means that you are using relevant keywords that will help to give your website a boost, as well as making sure that your titles match up to what the content is about. Search engines love new content, so get new content out as much as you can (but still focusing on quality). Link back to previous posts that have been written, and engage your audience with questions. You can also use website analytics to check what words people are searching to find your website, and then how long they stay on your site. It shows if you are using the right keywords if they are finding you and then staying on your site for a while. These are just some of the basic steps to take, but when done well, it can make a big difference in how far up the search engine pages you come. Read more at growingforward.net

Getting your blog content optimized not only brings traffic to your blog, but also gives you a wider reach. SEO is essential to bloggers to make your blog visible to more people who are interested in your blog content.

 

The following blog post How to Improve Your WordPress Blog was first published on https://www.mohammad-makki.com/

How to Increase Traffic on Your WordPress Blog

Starting up your own blog and creating  content is easy: what’s difficult is getting more traffic. This is why a few bloggers quit blogging; they they somehow fail to generate traffic to their website. Having quality content is useless if you don’t know how to get eyes on it. Here are a few ways to help you increase engagement and traffic on your WordPress blog.

First and foremost, make your content SEO-friendly. It is important that your articles are SEO- friendly because this affects your website’s ranking on search engines. Having top placements on search engines means more exposure for your website and more traffic:

Make Your Content SEO-Friendly

That kind of thing. Here’s the trick with SEO. You want to go basic. While you might write “How can I strengthen my triceps?” because you’re a personal trainer and know that the muscle on the back of the upper arm is called a tricep, your ideal blog reader might just know it as “that jiggly back part of my arm”. Using the words your readers use helps the Google Gods (or any other search platform gods) find your blog. These words are often referred to as “keywords” and it’s recommended that you use your main set of keywords over and over again in your content.

Writing for SEO is great in theory but many bloggers miss the boat on this one. There are two kinds of keywords: short tail keywords and long tail keywords.

Short tail keywords are single words and long tail keywords are phrases. Think “potatoes” versus “how to make the fluffiest mashed potatoes”. Of course, long tail keywords have a lower volume of traffic since they’re more specific but think about how that specificity can lead to the best readers you can imagine for your blog. Via convertkit.com

If you have your website show up on top of the search results, you will likely get more engagement and traffic.

Speaking of engagement, that's another thing you gotta work on. One obvious way to do this is by sharing your own content or having sharing options for your readers. A new post from Jetpack discusses why sharing increases website traffic and engagement:

Increase engagement with sharing options

So, how do you get started? There are several ways to promote your content, including sharing posts on your social media channels or improving your site’s search engine optimization.

Sharing your own content is great, but if you want to further increase your website traffic, make sure that your readers can share your content with their followers as well.

Sharing increases your site engagement, as your website visitors can interact with you and your content. If site visitors have the option to share your blog post about the benefits of teaching horseback riding to children with their followers, they will be more likely to remember and care about your business. h/t jetpack.com

Nowadays, engaging with your audience is vital. The ability for your visitors to share your content to well-known social media platforms can help you get traffic and exposure to your blog since millions of people are already using Twitter, Facebook, and other social media platforms.

[caption id="attachment_1676" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Take advantage of social media sharing![/caption]

Lastly, make your content more visual. If visual content is not included in your strategy to drive more traffic, then it is now the time to do it. The trend of visual content is one of the biggest drivers of traffic. The latest post from Blogging Wizard explains why visual content is a big deal when it comes to driving traffic to your blog:

Make your content more visual

There are a lot of tactics listed below and when used in the right way they can have a huge impact on your traffic.

For example, I’ve seen people put only a few of these tactics into action and see a 400%+ increase in traffic. Awesome right?!

Visual content is a big deal – fact.

And there are plenty of statistics on the web that highlight just how important it is.

Visual content will get you more shares, earn you more likes and ultimately get you more traffic.
Read more at bloggingwizard.com

Visual content has many benefits to your blog, it does not only drive traffic to your website but also improves the engagement to your audience. It is more successful than any other form of communication so bloggers who incorporate visual content the right way with their blogs will have higher returns than those who don’t.

The following post How to Increase Traffic on Your WordPress Blog is available on https://www.mohammad-makki.com

How to Find Your Blogging Niche with WordPress

How to Find a Niche for Your Blog

Blogging is becoming more and more popular. Every day, hundred of blogs are created, and there are countless ones out making good money. If you’re thinking of blogging for business, or just want to start your own blog for fun, then you need a plan. The first problem you’ll encounter when you start your blog is figuring out your blogging niche. In this article, we’ll share a few valuable tips on how to find your perfect blogging niche.

So how do you choose a perfect niche? First thing’s first: figure out the purpose of your blog. By knowing the purpose of your blog, you can decide whether you want your blog to be just a hobby or you want to make a money from it:

Purpose

The first question to ask yourself when choosing the niche for your blog is, “What is the purpose of my blog?

Is my blog something I want to make money from?
This is quite a fundamental question that you should not skip over lightly.

There is absolutely nothing wrong in having a blog as a hobby, and whatever you decide, you need to enjoy doing it otherwise it will just get neglected and eventually abandoned.

If you definitely want to make money from your blog, then there are other considerations which we’ll come to later on.

But making money varies, and for some people it might mean making a full-time living from it, whilst for others it might mean making some pocket money, or at least enough money to cover the costs of running a blog; e.g. domain, hosting, theme, plugins, etc. Read more at wpsuperstars.net

If your intention is to make money, you should consider a niche that is more popular where you can make a living.

[caption id="attachment_1642" align="aligncenter" width="300"] What is the purpose of your blog?[/caption]

Next is to ask yourself what you’re passionate about. Since you’ll be the one creating and making your own blog then it should be topics that you’re interested to write about in a daily manner. A recent post from WP Explorer explains the importance of passion:

Ask Yourself What You're Passionate About

Before you break into a blogging niche, consider what you’re passionate about. Since you will be responsible for creating consistent content about that topic, it should be something you’re interested in and have a lot to say about. What’s more, your blog posts will sound more authentic and less like a sales pitch when you are passionate about your topic.

Therefore, you can start by making a list of your passions, interests, and hobbies. Then focus on the ones you have something unique to say about, and that you think you can write about for years to come. You may also want to consider your goals at this point. If you plan to monetize your blog, for example, you need to be sure your niche is profitable (more about this in a moment). Alternately, you might be looking to increase awareness about an issue, or share educational information. Whatever you want from blogging, your niche should be able to provide it. h/t wpexplorer.com

What’s good about picking a niche that you’re passionate about is that you’ll have prior knowledge about that subject. This is a great advantage when you're starting out since you won’t waste time researching for a topic that you have limited knowledge on.

Last but not least, look for a niche topic that people want and ask for. If there isn't an audience for it, you won't have much potential for growth:

Look for a niche topic that people want and ask for

Successful blogs are not built on passion and ideas alone. Just because your heart comes alive at a calling doesn’t mean that there is an audience for it.

You need to consider the reality in the market, the demand and interest from an audience. Look for something real people are already trying to do, then help them do it and solve their problems.

These are topics that are important to them, and real pain points too as people have taken their time to ask questions about them. So how do you find what people want and ask for? Via howtomakemyblog.com

There are some niches that are a lot easier to build because they have an audience already and makes more money than others. You should look for a niche that caters to the demand of the audience.

How to Find Your Blogging Niche with WordPress Find more on: Makki's Blog