What Google’s Mobile-First Index Means for Your WordPress Website

Mobile-friendliness has been an important factor in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for a while. Now, Google is rolling out an update that’ll make mobile websites even more important. It’s a significant change, and it could have a negative impact on your SEO if you’re unprepared. Google’s new update is called the ‘mobile-first index’, and it’s […]

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How to Use ‘Symlinks’ to Store Your Plugins and Themes Off-Site

As you may already be aware, WordPress websites running on the same server each require separate plugin and theme installations. It makes sense, but does come with some drawbacks, especially if your sites use similar plugins and themes. Updating each site individually in this instance can become a ‘timesink’, not to mention the potential impact […]

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2018 Social Media Marketing Industry Report

Do you wonder how fellow marketers are using social media? Wondering if you should focus more on ads or bots? In our tenth-annual social media study, more than 5,700 marketers reveal where they’ll focus their social media efforts. This industry r…

How to Indirectly Apply Section Dividers to Your Design (Part 2: Modules)

Welcome to part two of the blog post on indirectly applying section dividers to rows and modules! In part one of this post, we’ve applied section dividers to rows and created a unique and stunning design step by step. In the second part of this post, we’ll do the same thing but for modules. For […]

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How to Indirectly Apply Divi Section Dividers to Your Design (Part 1: Rows)

With the arrival of Divi’s new section dividers, creating stunning websites without extra CSS code has become incredibly easy. By default, section dividers are used to create elegant transitions for your sections. But you can use section dividers for other purposes as well. In a previous post, How to Create Background Textures with Divi’s Section Dividers, […]

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Facebook F8 Announcements: What Marketers Need to Know

Welcome to this week’s edition of the Social Media Marketing Talk Show, a news show for marketers who want to stay on the leading edge of social media. On this week’s Social Media Marketing Talk Show, we explore Facebook F8 announcements, n…

Marketer to Instagram Influencer: The Josh Horton Story

Want to become an Instagram influencer? Wondering how to maximize the exposure of your Instagram posts? To explore how to become a full-time Instagram influencer, I interview Josh Horton. More About This Show The Social Media Marketing podcast is an on…

Are You Hurting Your Website By Not Using a .com Domain?

When it comes to domains, .com is king. Most people will always opt to use .com domains whenever they can. That brings up the question – can using alternatives to .com impact the way users see your website? From a technical standpoint, there’s no difference between using a .com domain or any other type. However, using an alternative can impact your site in other […]

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How to Easily Change 16×9 Video to Square Video on Your Phone

Want to use more square videos in your social media marketing? Concerned you filmed in the 16×9 format? In this article, you’ll discover how to change landscape video into square video using your mobile device. #1: Shoot Your Video If you al…

Divi Feature Update! The Divi Design Initiative 2.0: Doubling Down On Great Design

The Divi Design Initiative 2.0 We are double down on design, doubling the size of our design team and double the amount of design resources we will be giving away to the Divi community! We are always looking for ways to over-deliver, to surprise and delight you with even more value and to prove just […]

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How to Retarget People Who Click on Curated Content

Do you share curated content on social media? Wondering how to retarget people who click on the third-party content you share? In this article, you’ll discover two ways to retarget people who click links to content you share, whether that content…

How to Blacklist IP Addresses and Users to Protect Your WordPress Site

No matter how large or small your website is, security is crucial. One of the most effective ways to protect your website is to block IP addresses and harmful users from having access to your website. This is known as blacklisting and it can be done several ways. By blacklisting IP addresses you can avoid […]

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11 Best WordPress Subreddits You Should be Reading

In a lot of ways, Reddit is the internet. It’s slogan as being the front-page of the internet is pretty spot on. Websites fear and desire the Reddit “hug of death,” and professionals, hobbyists, and everything in between gather in forums called subreddits to discuss almost every subject imaginable. WordPress and web development are no different. […]

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How GDPR Impacts Marketers: What You Need to Know

Are you confused by the European Union (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)? Wondering how GDPR affects your marketing? In this article, you’ll find a plain-language overview of GDPR, how it could impact your data collection, and what y…

How to Use Versioning to Update Your Cached WordPress Content

Leveraging browser caching can improve your website’s loading times for repeat visitors. However, it also means that users might sometimes see outdated content when they visit your site. The best way to avoid this issue is to implement ‘versioning’ for your WordPress content. That way, users will always get the latest version of your website, […]

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GDPR and Social Media Privacy Reform

Welcome to this week’s edition of the Social Media Marketing Talk Show, a news show for marketers who want to stay on the leading edge of social media. On this week’s Social Media Marketing Talk Show, we explore how marketers are preparing …

How to Emphasize Your Image’s Colors Using Patterns (Download 7 Free Patterns!)

When you’re including images on your website, you want them to draw attention at first sight. One of the things that can bring your image to life is using patterns that emphasize the colors that are being used within the image itself. Not only will it emphasize your image’s colors, it will also take your […]

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Facebook Groups: How to Develop Engaging Communities

Want to create an engaged Facebook group? Are you looking for creative ways to develop a loyal community inside a Facebook group? To explore how to develop an engaged and responsive community with Facebook groups, I interview Caitlin Bacher. More About…

Divi Feature Update! Introducing The New Visual Builder Interface Enhancements

Introducing The Latest Visual BuilderInterface Enhancements Divi 3.2 brings various enhancements to the Visual Builder interface that will speed up your design workflow. Today, Divi’s Visual Builder gets even faster and more intuitive thanks to a collection of really awesome interface improvements that will greatly enhance your website building experience. While developing Divi as a […]

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How to Protect Your Business From a Social Phishing Scam

Are you ready to respond if someone pretends to be you on social media? Wondering how to protect your customers and brand from a social phishing attack? From erroneous links to outright brand impersonation, social phishing is becoming more frequent. In…

4 Tools to Help Rank Your YouTube Videos

Are your YouTube videos ranking in YouTube search? Looking for tools to optimize your titles, keywords, and tags? In this article, you’ll discover a four-step process to reveal high-performing keywords for your YouTube content. #1: Gauge Topic In…

4 Tools to Help Rank Your YouTube Videos

Are your YouTube videos ranking in YouTube search? Looking for tools to optimize your titles, keywords, and tags? In this article, you’ll discover a four-step process to reveal high-performing keywords for your YouTube content. #1: Gauge Topic In…

What We Know About Google AMP for Email (And How It May Affect Your Campaigns)

It’s been almost two years since the launch of the Google AMP Project. Its aim from the start was to help foster better web standards, which could result in an improved mobile experience for users. Now, the project is turning a new leaf and expanding towards email, which brings us to how this shift might […]

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How to Customize Your Instagram Story Highlights Cover

Do you use Instagram story highlights? Wondering how to make them more recognizable to your followers? In this article, you’ll discover how to change your Instagram story highlights cover from the default view to a branded cover image. Why Brand …

12 Overlooked Facebook Features That Help Marketers

Do you need to streamline your Facebook marketing activities? Have you explored all of the functions Facebook has for marketers? In this article, you’ll discover 12 overlooked Facebook features that help you better manage your content and communi…

Divi Plugin Highlight: Mhmm

Divi includes lots of styling features for the header, but what if you wanted to build your own header using the Divi Builder? A third-party plugin called Mhmm does exactly that. It lets you create headers with any Divi module or layout and style them with the Divi Builder. Mhmm is short for Mighty Header […]

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How to Check If Your WordPress Plugins Are Compatible With Gutenberg

Gutenberg development has come a long way since its announcement in 2017. There are still a lot of mixed feelings concerning the new editor, but that hasn’t slowed down its advance. However, plugin compatibility remains one of – if not the most – significant issue when it comes to the new editor. There are thousands […]

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How to Use Facebook Lookalike Audiences With Custom Audiences

Want to expand your ad reach on Facebook? Looking for new ways to target potential customers? To explore creative ways to combine Facebook lookalike audiences with custom ad audiences, I interview Rick Mulready. More About This Show The Social Media Ma…

How to Use Facebook Ad Dayparting to Optimize Your Results

Want to make sure you serve Facebook and Instagram ads when your followers are online? Have you considered dayparting your ad campaigns? In this article, you’ll discover how to use dayparting to schedule Facebook and Instagram ads to pause and ru…

How to Effectively Use Letter Spacing to Create a Stunning Design with Divi

Have you ever tried experimenting with font families and letter spacing at the same time? Let me tell you that it can bring eye-catching results. It gives an abstract feeling to your design and it also matches design trends in 2018. Not only can you add extra letter spacing to your text, you can also use […]

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2 Ways to Fix the WordPress Mixed Content Error

Setting up a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificate for your website is easier than ever. However, in some cases, you’ll go through the entire process only to run into a ‘mixed content’ error in WordPress once the certificate is set up. This particular error occurs when there’s a problem with your HTTPS/SSL configuration. More specifically, […]

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6 Instagram Stories Design Tools for Marketers

Want to create more professional-looking Instagram stories? Wondering how to easily add design elements or music to your stories? In this article, you’ll discover six easy-to-use design tools that will make your Instagram stories more interesting…

How to Use a Filterable Portfolio and Post Navigation to Organize Case Studies with Divi

Case studies can be an extremely valuable marketing tool. Consumers love a good case study because they love a good story. And it does seem that the companies/brands that tell the best stories are the best marketers, especially if their stories are backed with quality products and services. If you have a lot of great […]

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How to Host a Facebook Watch Party in Your Facebook Group

Want to build more engagement in your Facebook group? Have you heard of a Facebook watch party? Now your group can watch and comment on videos together. In this article, you’ll discover how to run a Facebook watch party inside your Facebook group…

Nonprofit Board and Committee Management Made Easy with WordPress

When you get people together, even to work toward an overtly positive goal, things go haywire. The most organized people are often balanced by the haphazard. Tangents occur, off-topic discussions happen, and before you know it, the allotted meeting time us up, and the only thing that you’ve been able to decide on is whether […]

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How to Reshare an Instagram Post to Your Instagram Stories

Wish you could easily reshare someone else’s Instagram post? Have you heard of Instagram’s Add Post to Your Story feature? In this article, you’ll discover how to add any public post to your Instagram story and how this feature can be…

How to Use Snagit for Blogging

It’s not an exaggeration to say that Snagit has made my daily routine more efficient three times over, if not more. At its base, Snagit is screen capture software. But when you use it for a bit, you will see it’s a bit more than that. If you’re a blogger and haven’t checked out Snagit […]

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How to Connect to Your Website Via SSH (And Why You’d Want To)

It’s easy enough to change the way WordPress behaves and looks using your site’s dashboard. If you have a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) client, you can even edit the platform’s core files. However, neither tool enables you to directly interact with and manage your server. That’s where Secure Shell Access (SSH) comes in. SSH is […]

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Instagram Rolls Out Focus Portrait Mode

Welcome to this week’s edition of the Social Media Marketing Talk Show, a news show for marketers who want to stay on the leading edge of social media. On this week’s Social Media Marketing Talk Show, we explore the new LinkedIn profile lay…

How to Create an Abstract Gradient Hero Section with Divi (6 Gradient Color Palettes!)

Gradients can easily elevate your web design. Usually, they’re used in a subtle way. But you can also create sections on your website that are exclusively made out of gradients combinations. They make your design look modern and abstract at the same time. To help illustrate that, we’re going to recreate a section that’s made exclusively […]

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What the “Destination Folder Already Exists” Error Is (And How to Fix It)

Running into problems while using WordPress is never much fun. However, as far as error messages go, we prefer the ones that are more descriptive. The “Destination folder already exists” error, for example, is conveniently straightforward. That’s because in this case, the error message tells you exactly what the issue is, so you can deal […]

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Design a Striking Divi Product Layout with Image Perspective and Colorful Abstract Waves

When designing a product page to promote your product, it helps to include striking images combined with clean backgrounds, succinct content, and clear CTA’s. To make your page unique, adding a few creative elements can also help. So, if you are looking for a fresh product layout and a few inspirational design tips, this post […]

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How to Research and Plan Your Blog Content for a Year

Do you use a blog to connect with customers and prospects? Wondering how to plan and publish strategic content on a consistent schedule? In this article, you’ll discover how to set your blog’s editorial calendar for an entire year. #1: Set …

Using Sideways and Vertical Text to Create a Unique Landing Page with Divi

When looking at the past few years’ web designs, you can’t help but notice a pattern of bright colors, asymmetric shapes, and duotones, Truly unique website designs are trending right now. And what’s bolder than taking your words that just lie there flat most of the time and making them into vertical text? So let’s […]

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How to Add Vehicle Parts Search to Divi’s Auto Repair Layout Pack Shop Page

Every week, we provide you with a new and free Divi layout pack which you can use for your next project. Along with every layout pack, we also share a use case that’ll help you take your website to the next level. This week, as part of our ongoing Divi design initiative, we’re going to […]

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How to Stop WordPress Forum Spam

“Cool post. I wrote one similar at [insert link here]. Check it out!” “Great idea, [user name]. I wrote about this at length on my blog [insert link here].” “Thanks! [insert link here]” And my personal favorite: “[insert link here] 🙂 [insert link here] 😉 [insert link here]” See something you recognize? Of course you […]

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How to Stop WordPress Forum Spam

“Cool post. I wrote one similar at [insert link here]. Check it out!” “Great idea, [user name]. I wrote about this at length on my blog [insert link here].” “Thanks! [insert link here]” And my personal favorite: “[insert link here] 🙂 [insert link here] 😉 [insert link here]” See something you recognize? Of course you […]

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How to Use Customer Lifetime Value to Clone a Facebook Audience

Need to increase the effectiveness of your Facebook ads? Want to target better-quality audiences with your ads? In this article, you’ll discover how to reach a highly targeted lookalike audience of your best customers using Facebook custom audien…

Divi Plugin Highlight: Facebook Comments Module

WordPress has a built in commenting system that works really well, but many prefer to use Facebook comments for their WordPress websites. There are several ways to get Facebook comments into your Divi website, but placing them within your layouts usually requires a shortcode. A third-party plugin called Facebook Comments Module adds the Facebook commenting […]

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Facebook and Instagram Data and Privacy Updates

Welcome to this week’s edition of the Social Media Marketing Talk Show, a news show for marketers who want to stay on the leading edge of social media. On this week’s Social Media Marketing Talk Show, Erik Fisher and Kim Reynolds explore Fa…

It’s a New Era! Submit Your Best Original Content for Publication on the Elegant Themes Blog

Starting today the Elegant Themes blog is open to all submissions. This is a big step for both us and (we hope) the entire WordPress Community. Up until this point we’ve relied solely on staff and regular freelancers to create our content. And while we have absolutely no plans to get rid of our amazing […]

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How to Combine Facebook Ads and Content for Better Results

Want to optimize the content in your Facebook ads? Wondering how to build connections that improve conversions? To explore strategic ways to combine content and Facebook ads, I interview Keith Krance. More About This Show The Social Media Marketing pod…

How to Use Opacity, Padding, and Negative Margins to Layer Divi Modules

One of the most underused and underrated features of Divi is the opacity slider. You can find it in many different places in the builder, giving you minute control over exactly how all of your modules and their elements appear in relation to others near them. You can also combine Divi’s opacity features alongside transparency […]

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How to Use Google Sheets to Create a Metrics Dashboard for Your Business

Data management is imperative to understanding what your business is doing well, and where you could be putting in extra effort. Tools like Google Analytics, SEMRush, Moz Pro, and even Jetpack give you these much-needed insights into your business. But to really make the most of them, you have to go to where that data […]

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Chat and Messenger Bots: New Research for Marketers

Wondering why chatbots are gaining popularity? Interested in how savvy businesses are using bots to improve communications with their customers? In this article, you’ll discover insights from research that show how bots are evolving and affecting custo…

Recreate Stunning Product Sections with Functioning Add-to-Cart Buttons with Divi

The products on your eCommerce website need to pop–I think that’s something we can all agree on. The more attention they pull and the clearer they are, the more chances you have to turn visitors into customers. WooCommerce is often the obvious choice when you’re creating an online store with WordPress. But sometimes, it’s hard […]

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5 WooCommerce Alternatives You Should Consider For Your Online Store

WooCommerce is the de-facto e-commerce king when it comes to WordPress websites. However, it’s not the only player in town and in fact, it may not be the perfect option for your store. In fact, there are plenty of WooCommerce alternatives available that might suit your needs better. Choosing the right ecommerce tool for your […]

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How to Create a Facebook Local Event for Your Business

Do you market a local business on Facebook? Have you heard about the Facebook Local app? In this article, you’ll discover how to use Facebook Local to create events that drive in-store foot traffic. What Is the Facebook Local App? Facebook Local (iOS a…

Does Having Too Many Plugins Active Affect Your WordPress Site’s Performance?

People always talk about how using too many WordPress plugins at once can affect your website’s performance. It stands to reason, considering plugins need resources to work. However, the real question is whether the impact plugins have on your performance is noticeable and if there’s a limit on how many you should use. Instead of […]

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