Dec 4 2024
Accessibility Champ: Wix, WordPress, Squarespace, Duda, Or…? via @sejournal, @martinibuster

The HTTP Archive published its report on the state of accessibility on the web, based on scores generated with the Lighthouse Accessibility Audit, a feature of Google’s Lighthouse website auditing tool that also measures website performance, best practices, and SEO. The report compared traditional content management systems with website building platforms, with WordPress scoring surprisingly well.

Lighthouse is a feature available through Chrome DevTools built into every Chrome-based browser and as one of the audits on the standalone PageSpeed Insights tool.

HTTP Archive

The research was conducted by the HTTP Archive, a community driven open source project that tracks data about how how sites are built and perform. They offer a configurable report of how different content management platforms perform that is updated monthly.

The accessibility report was done using data collected by the The WebAim Million study which is based on the top one million website home pages. WebAim Million uses data from the Tranco list which itself is based on six different sources to come up with the list of million sites, a list that is designed to be resistant to manipulation.

The Tranco List site explains:

“Researchers in web security or Internet measurements often use rankings of popular websites. However, in our paper we showed that these rankings disagree on which domains are most popular, can change significantly on a daily basis and can be manipulated (by malicious actors).

As the research community still benefits from regularly updated lists of popular domains, we provide Tranco, a ranking that improves upon the shortcomings of current lists. We also emphasize the reproducibility of these rankings and the studies using them by providing permanent citable references.

We currently use the lists from five providers: Cisco Umbrella (available free of charge), and Majestic (available under a CC BY 3.0 license), Farsight (only for the default list), the Chrome User Experience Report (CrUX) (available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license), and Cloudflare Radar (available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license). Tranco is not affiliated with any of these providers.”

Top CMS Accessibility Performance

HTTP Archive performed it’s research to identify the best performing platforms and shortcomings of each.

Accessibility: Traditional CMS

Adobe Experience Manager and Contentful were the top traditional content management systems when it came to accessibility, tied with a score of 87%, followed by Sitecore and WordPress in second place. An interesting fact about the top ranked CMSs is that, except for WordPress, three of the four top ranked CMSs were closed source, Adobe Experience Manager (AEM), Contentful and Sitecore .

Accessibility Scores By CMS:

  • Adobe Experience Manager 87%
  • Contentful 87%
  • Sitecore 85%
  • WordPress 85%
  • Craft CMS 84%
  • Contao 84%
  • Drupal 84%
  • Liferay 83%
  • TYPO3 CMS 83%
  • DNN 82%

What’s going on with the CMS scores? HTTP Archive explains:

“When most folks think about CMS, they think about the ones that you can download and install yourself. This is predominantly made up of open source tools, but not exclusively. Adobe Experience Manager (AEM), Contentful and Sitecore were the most accessible three in this list of top 10. A possible explanation for this is that closed-source software like AEM is more likely to be used by larger corporations, which have more resources to address accessibility issues. Additionally, open-source software gives website owners a lot of freedom, which in some cases can lead to worse accessibility.”

Accessibility: Website Platforms

This comparison is by website building platform, comparing platforms like Wix, Duda, and Squarespace. The accessibility scores for the platforms were higher than the scores for traditional CMSs, reflecting how private platforms are better able to control variables as opposed to an open source CMS that offers users a more open ended experience.

Accessibility Scores By Website Platform

  • Wix 94%
  • Squarespace 92%
  • Google Sites 90%
  • Duda 87%
  • Hubspot CMS Hub 87%
  • Pixnet 87%
  • Weebly 86%
  • GoDaddy Website Builder 85%
  • Webnode 84%
  • Tilda 83%

Wix Beats Out All CMS & Platforms

What’s notable about these scores is that sites built with Wix score higher for accessibility than all other sites built on any other CMS or website building platform. Ninety four percent of sites built with Wix have a That’s a reflection of Wix’s well-known effort to create a product that is strong in performance, SEO and accessibility.

Here is the list arranged in descending order by percentage:

1. Wix – 94%
2. Squarespace – 92%
3. Google Sites – 90%
4. Adobe Experience Manager – 87%
5. Contentful – 87%
6. Duda – 87%
7. Hubspot CMS Hub – 87%
8. Pixnet – 87%
9. Sitecore – 85%
10. WordPress – 85%
11. GoDaddy Website Builder – 85%
12. Weebly – 86%
13. Craft CMS – 84%
14. Contao – 84%
15. Drupal – 84%
16. Webnode – 84%
17. Liferay – 83%
18. TYPO3 CMS – 83%
19. Tilda – 83%
20. DNN – 82%

Website Accessibility

SEOs are understandably motivated by best practices for ranking better. For example, many didn’t prioritize site performance until it became a ranking factor, even though website performance improves sales and advertising performance and may have indirect impact on rankings.

Accessibility also has indirect advantages for improved search performance. For example, about .5% of the female population and 8% of males are color blind. Why would anyone who cares about their rankings alienate, frustrate and exclude approximately 4.5% of website visitors?

Wix and Squarespace are prioritizing accessibility. Everyone else should as well, because it’s both ethical and a sound business practice.

Read the HTTP Archive report here.

Featured Image by Shutterstock/Happy_Nati

Ecommerce MGMT 0 Comments
Dec 3 2024
Maximize SEO Efforts: How To Fix Website Issues That Drain Time, Money & Performance

This post was sponsored by Bluehost. The opinions expressed in this article are the sponsor’s own.

Your website’s hosting is more than a technical decision.

It’s a cornerstone of your business’s online success that impacts everything from site speed and uptime to customer trust and overall branding.

Yet, many businesses stick with subpar hosting providers, often unaware of how much it’s costing them in time, money, and lost opportunities.

The reality is that bad hosting doesn’t just frustrate you. It frustrates your customers, hurts conversions, and can even damage your brand reputation.

The good news?

Choosing the right host can turn hosting into an investment that works for you, not against you.

Let’s explore how hosting affects your bottom line, identify common problems, and discuss what features you should look for to maximize your return on investment.

1. Start By Auditing Your Website’s Hosting Provider

The wrong hosting provider can quickly eat away at your time & efficiency.

In fact, time is the biggest cost of an insufficient hosting provider.

To start out, ask yourself:

  • Is Your Bounce Rate High?
  • Are Customers Not Converting?
  • Is Revenue Down?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, and no amount of on-page optimization seems to make a difference, it may be time to audit your website host.

Why Audit Your Web Host?

Frequent downtime, poor support, and slow server response times can disrupt workflows and create frustration for both your team and your visitors.

From an SEO & marketing perspective, a sluggish website often leads to:

  • Increased bounce rates.
  • Missed customer opportunities.
  • Wasted time troubleshooting technical issues.

Could you find workarounds for some of these problems? Sure. But they take time and money, too.

The more dashboards and tools you use, the more time you spend managing it all, and the more opportunities you’ll miss out on.

For example, hosts offering integrated domain and hosting management make overseeing your website easier and reduce administrative hassles.

Bluehost’s integrated domain services simplify website management by bringing all your hosting and domain tools into one intuitive platform.

2. Check If Your Hosting Provider Is Causing Slow Site Load Speeds

Your website is often the first interaction a customer has with your brand.

A fast, reliable website reflects professionalism and trustworthiness.

Customers associate smooth experiences with strong brands, while frequent glitches or outages send a message that you’re not dependable.

Your hosting provider should enhance your brand’s reputation, not detract from it.

How To Identify & Measure Slow Page Load Speeds

Identifying and measuring slow site and page loading speeds starts with using tools designed to analyze performance, such as Google PageSpeed Insights, GTmetrix, or Lighthouse.

These tools provide metrics like First Contentful Paint (FCP) and Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), which help you see how quickly key elements of your page load.

Pay attention to your site’s Time to First Byte (TTFB), a critical indicator of how fast your server responds to requests.

Regularly test your site’s performance across different devices, browsers, and internet connections to identify bottlenecks. High bounce rates or short average session durations in analytics reports can also hint at speed issues.

Bandwidth limitations can create bottlenecks for growing websites, especially during traffic spikes.

How To Find A Fast Hosting Provider

Opt for hosting providers that offer unmetered or scalable bandwidth to ensure seamless performance even during periods of high demand.

Cloud hosting is designed to deliver exceptional site and page load speeds, ensuring a seamless experience for your visitors and boosting your site’s SEO.

With advanced caching technology and optimized server configurations, Bluehost Cloud accelerates content delivery to provide fast, reliable performance even during high-traffic periods.

Its scalable infrastructure ensures your website maintains consistent speeds as your business grows, while a global Content Delivery Network (CDN) helps reduce latency for users around the world.

With Bluehost Cloud, you can trust that your site will load quickly and keep your audience engaged.

3. Check If Your Site Has Frequent Or Prolonged Downtime

Measuring and identifying downtime starts with having the right tools and a clear understanding of your site’s performance.

Tools like uptime monitoring services can track when your site is accessible and alert you to outages in real time.

You should also look at patterns.

Frequent interruptions or prolonged periods of unavailability are red flags. Check your server logs for error codes and timestamps that indicate when the site was down.

Tracking how quickly your hosting provider responds and resolves issues is also helpful, as slow resolutions can compound the problem.

Remember, even a few minutes of downtime during peak traffic hours can lead to lost revenue and customer trust, so understanding and monitoring downtime is critical for keeping your site reliable.

No matter how feature-packed your hosting provider is, unreliable uptime or poor support can undermine its value. These two factors are critical for ensuring a high-performing, efficient website.

What Your Hosting Server Should Have For Guaranteed Uptime

A Service Level Agreement (SLA) guarantees uptime, response time, and resolution time, ensuring that your site remains online and functional. Look for hosting providers that back their promises with a 100% uptime SLA.

Bluehost Cloud offers a 100% uptime SLA and 24/7 priority support, giving you peace of mind that your website will remain operational and any issues will be addressed promptly.

Our team of WordPress experts ensures quick resolutions to technical challenges, reducing downtime and optimizing your hosting ROI.

4. Check Your Host For Security Efficacy

Strong security measures protect your customers and show them you value their privacy and trust.

A single security breach can ruin your brand’s image, especially if customer data is compromised.

Hosts that lack built-in security features like SSL certificates, malware scanning, and regular backups leave your site vulnerable.

How Hosting Impacts Security

Security breaches don’t just affect your website. They affect your customers.

Whether it’s stolen data, phishing attacks, or malware, these breaches can erode trust and cause long-term damage to your business.

Recovering from a security breach is expensive and time-consuming. It often involves hiring specialists, paying fines, and repairing the damage to your reputation.

Is Your Hosting Provider Lacking Proactive Security Measures?

Assessing and measuring security vulnerabilities or a lack of proactive protection measures begins with a thorough evaluation of your hosting provider’s features and practices.

  1. Review Included Security Tools

Start by reviewing whether your provider includes essential security tools such as SSL certificates, malware scanning, firewalls, and automated backups in their standard offerings.

If these are missing or come as costly add-ons, your site may already be at risk.

  1. Leverage Brute Force Tools To Check For Vulnerabilities

Next, use website vulnerability scanning tools like Sucuri, Qualys SSL Labs, or SiteLock to identify potential weaknesses, such as outdated software, unpatched plugins, or misconfigured settings.

These tools can flag issues like weak encryption, exposed directories, or malware infections.

Monitor your site for unusual activity, such as unexpected traffic spikes or changes to critical files, which could signal a breach.

  1. Make Sure The Host Also Routinely Scans For & Eliminates Threats

It’s also crucial to evaluate how your hosting provider handles updates and threat prevention.

  • Do they offer automatic updates to patch vulnerabilities?
  • Do they monitor for emerging threats and take steps to block them proactively?

A good hosting provider takes a proactive approach to security, offering built-in protections that reduce your risks.

Look for hosting providers that include automatic SSL encryption, regular malware scans, and daily backups. These features not only protect your site but also give you peace of mind.

Bluehost offers robust security tools as part of its standard WordPress hosting package, ensuring your site stays protected without extra costs. With built-in SSL certificates and daily backups, Bluehost Cloud keeps your site secure and your customers’ trust intact.

5. Audit Your WordPress Hosting Provider’s Customer Support

Is your host delivering limited or inconsistent customer support?

Limited or inconsistent customer support can turn minor issues into major roadblocks. When hosting providers fail to offer timely, knowledgeable assistance, you’re left scrambling to resolve problems that could have been easily fixed.

Delayed responses or unhelpful support can lead to prolonged downtime, slower page speeds, and unresolved security concerns, all of which impact your business and reputation.

Reliable hosting providers should offer 24/7 priority support through multiple channels, such as chat and phone, so you can get expert help whenever you need it.

Consistent, high-quality support is essential for keeping your website running smoothly and minimizing disruptions.

Bluehost takes customer service to the next level with 24/7 priority support available via phone, chat, and email. Our team of knowledgeable experts specializes in WordPress, providing quick and effective solutions to keep your site running smoothly.

Whether you’re troubleshooting an issue, setting up your site, or optimizing performance, Bluehost’s dedicated support ensures you’re never left navigating challenges alone.

Bonus: Check Your Host For Hidden Costs For Essential Hosting Features

Hidden costs for essential hosting features like:

  • Backups.
  • SSL certificates.
  • Additional bandwidth can quickly erode the value of a seemingly affordable hosting plan.

What Does This Look Like?

For example, daily backups, which are vital for recovery after data loss or cyberattacks, may come with an unexpected monthly fee.

Similarly, SSL certificates, which are essential for encrypting data and maintaining trust with visitors, are often sold as expensive add-ons.

If your site experiences traffic spikes, additional bandwidth charges can catch you off guard, adding to your monthly costs.

Many providers, as you likely have seen, lure customers in with low entry prices, only to charge extra for services that are critical to your website’s functionality and security.

These hidden expenses not only strain your budget but also create unnecessary complexity in managing your site.

A reliable hosting provider includes these features as part of their standard offering, ensuring you have the tools you need without the surprise bills.

Which Hosting Provider Does Not Charge For Essential Features?

Bluehost is a great option, as their pricing is upfront.

Bluehost includes crucial tools like daily automated backups, SSL certificates, and unmetered bandwidth in their standard plans.

This means you won’t face surprise fees for the basic functionalities your website needs to operate securely and effectively.

Whether you’re safeguarding your site from potential data loss or ensuring encrypted, trustworthy connections for your visitors, or need unmetered bandwidth to ensure your site can handle traffic surges without penalty, you’ll gain the flexibility to scale without worrying about extra charges.

We even give WordPress users the option to bundle premium plugins together to help you save even more.

By including these features upfront, Bluehost simplifies your WordPress hosting experience and helps you maintain a predictable budget, freeing you to focus on growing your business instead of worrying about unexpected hosting costs.

Transitioning To A Better Hosting Solution: What To Consider

Switching hosting providers might seem daunting, but the right provider can make the process simple and cost-effective. Here are key considerations for transitioning to a better hosting solution:

Migration Challenges

Migrating your site to a new host can involve technical hurdles, including transferring content, preserving configurations, and minimizing downtime. A hosting provider with dedicated migration support can make this process seamless.

Cost of Switching Providers

Many businesses hesitate to switch hosts due to the cost of ending a contract early. To offset these expenses, search for hosting providers that offer migration incentives, such as contract buyouts or credit for remaining fees.

Why Bluehost Cloud Stands Out

Bluehost Cloud provides comprehensive migration support, handling every detail of the transfer to ensure a smooth transition.

Plus, our migration promotion includes $0 switching costs and credit for remaining contracts, making the move to Bluehost not only hassle-free but also financially advantageous.

Your hosting provider plays a pivotal role in the success of your WordPress site. By addressing performance issues, integrating essential features, and offering reliable support, you can maximize your hosting ROI and create a foundation for long-term success.

If your current hosting provider is falling short, it’s time to evaluate your options. Bluehost Cloud delivers performance-focused features, 100% uptime, premium support, and cost-effective migration services, ensuring your WordPress site runs smoothly and efficiently.

In addition, Bluehost has been a trusted partner of WordPress since 2005, working closely to create a hosting platform tailored to the unique needs of WordPress websites.

Beyond hosting, Bluehost empowers users through education, offering webinars, masterclasses, and resources like the WordPress Academy to help you maximize your WordPress experience and build successful websites.

Take control of your website’s performance and ROI. Visit the Bluehost Migration Page to learn how Bluehost Cloud can elevate your hosting experience.

This article has been sponsored by Bluehost, and the views presented herein represent the sponsor’s perspective.

Learn more about Bluehost’s latest migration promotion

Image Credits

Featured Image: Image by Bluehost. Used with permission.

Ecommerce MGMT 0 Comments
Oct 30 2024
The SEO Agency Guide To Efficient WordPress Hosting & Management via @sejournal, @kinsta

This post was sponsored by Kinsta. The opinions expressed in this article are the sponsor’s own.

Managing client sites can quickly become costly in terms of time, money, and expertise, especially as your agency grows.

You’re constantly busy fixing slow WordPress performance, handling downtime, or regularly updating and backing up ecommerce sites and small blogs.

The solution to these challenges might lie in fully managed hosting for WordPress sites.

Opting for a fully managed hosting provider that specializes in WordPress and understands agency needs can save you both time and money. By making the switch, you can focus on what truly matters: serving your current clients and driving new business into your sales funnel.

WordPress Worries & How To Keep Clients Happy

For SEO agencies managing multiple client sites, ensuring consistently fast performance across the board is essential. Websites with poor performance metrics are more likely to see a dip in traffic, increased bounce rates, and lost conversion opportunities.

Managed hosting, especially hosting that specializes and is optimized for WordPress, offers agencies a way to deliver high-speed, well-performing sites without constantly battling technical issues.

Clients expect seamless performance, but handling these technical requirements for numerous websites can be a time-consuming process. While WordPress is versatile and user-friendly, it does come with performance challenges.

SEO agencies must deal with frequent updates, plugin management, security vulnerabilities, and optimization issues.

Challenges like bloated themes, inefficient plugins, and poor hosting infrastructure can lead to slow load times. You also need to ensure that client WordPress sites are secured against malware and hackers, which requires regular monitoring and updates.

With managed hosting, many of these tasks are automated, significantly reducing the workload on your team.

Managed hosting for WordPress simplifies the process by providing a full suite of performance, security, and maintenance services.

Instead of spending valuable time on manual updates, backups, and troubleshooting, you can rely on your hosting provider to handle these tasks automatically, resulting in reduced downtime, improved site performance, and a more efficient use of resources.

Ultimately, you can focus your energy on SEO strategies that drive results for your clients.

Basics Of Managed Hosting For WordPress

Managed hosting providers like Kinsta take care of all the technical aspects of running WordPress websites, including performance optimization, security, updates, backups, and server management.

We take over the responsibilities ensure the platform runs smoothly and securely without the constant need for manual intervention.

Kinsta also eliminates common performance bottlenecks in WordPress include slow-loading themes, outdated plugins, inefficient database queries, and suboptimal server configurations.

Key Benefits Of Efficient Managed Hosting For SEO

1. Performance & Speed

Core Web Vitals, Google’s user experience metrics, play a significant role in determining search rankings. Managed hosting improves metrics like LCP, FID, and CLS by offering high-performance servers and built-in caching solutions.

CDNs reduce latency by serving your website’s static files from servers closest to the user, significantly improving load times.

Kinsta, for example, uses Google Cloud’s premium tier network and C2 virtual machines, ensuring the fastest possible load times for WordPress sites. We also provide integrated CDN services, along with advanced caching configurations, which ensure that even resource-heavy WordPress sites load quickly.

And the benefits are instantly noticeable.

Before the switch, Torro Media faced performance issues, frequent downtimes, and difficulties scaling their websites to handle traffic growth. These issues negatively affected their clients’ user experience and SEO results.

After migrating to Kinsta, Torro Media saw noteable improvements:

  • Faster website performance – Site load times significantly improved, contributing to better SEO rankings and overall user experience.
  • Reduced downtime – Kinsta’s reliable infrastructure ensured that Torro Media’s websites experienced minimal downtime, keeping client websites accessible.
  • Expert support – Our support team helped Torro Media resolve technical issues efficiently, allowing the agency to focus on growth rather than troubleshooting.

As a result, Torro was able to scale its operations and deliver better results for its clients.

2. WP-Specific Security

Security is a critical component of managed hosting. Platforms like Kinsta offer automatic security patches, malware scanning, and firewalls tailored specifically for WordPress.

These features are vital to protecting your clients’ sites from cyber threats, which, if left unchecked, can lead to ranking drops due to blacklisting by search engines.

Downtime and security breaches negatively impact SEO. Google devalues sites that experience frequent downtime or security vulnerabilities.

Managed hosting providers minimize these risks by maintaining secure, stable environments with 24/7 monitoring, helping ensure that your clients’ sites remain online and safe from attacks.

3. Automatic Backups & Recovery

Automatic daily backups are a standard feature of managed hosting, protecting against data loss due to server crashes or website errors. For agencies, this means peace of mind, knowing that they can restore their clients’ sites quickly in case of a problem. The ability to quickly recover from an issue helps maintain SEO rankings, as prolonged downtime can hurt search performance.

Managed hosting providers often include advanced tools such as one-click restore points and robust disaster recovery systems. Additionally, having specialized support means that you have access to experts who understand WordPress and can help troubleshoot complex issues that affect performance and SEO.

Importance Of An Agency-Focused Managed WordPress Hosting Provider

For SEO agencies, uptime guarantees are essential to maintaining site availability. Managed hosting providers, like Kinsta, who specialize in serving agencies, offer a 99.9% uptime SLA and multiple data center locations, ensuring that websites remain accessible to users across the globe.

Scalability and flexibility matter, too. As your agency grows, your clients’ hosting needs may evolve. Managed hosting platforms designed for agencies offer scalability, allowing you to easily add resources as your client portfolio expands.

With scalable solutions, you can handle traffic surges without worrying about site downtime or slowdowns.

Agency Dashboard - Managed Hosting for WordPress

1. The Right Dashboards

A user-friendly dashboard is crucial for managing multiple client sites efficiently. Kinsta’s MyKinsta dashboard, for example, allows agencies to monitor performance, uptime, and traffic across all sites in one centralized location, providing full visibility into each client’s website performance.

Hosting dashboards like Kinsta’s MyKinsta provide real-time insights into key performance metrics such as server response times, resource usage, and traffic spikes. These metrics are essential for ensuring that sites remain optimized for SEO.

2. Balance Costs With Performance Benefits

For agencies, managing hosting costs is always a consideration. While managed hosting may come with a higher price tag than traditional shared hosting, the benefits, such as faster performance, reduced downtime, and enhanced security, translate into better client results and long-term cost savings.

Kinsta offers flexible pricing based on traffic, resources, and features, making it easier for agencies to align their hosting solutions with client budgets.

By automating tasks like backups, updates, and security management, managed hosting allows agencies to significantly reduce the time and resources spent on day-to-day maintenance. This frees up your team to focus on delivering SEO results, ultimately improving efficiency and client satisfaction.

Don’t think it makes that big of a difference? Think again.

After migrating to Kinsta, 5Tales experienced:

  • Improved site speed – Load times dropped by over 50%, which enhanced user experience and SEO performance.
  • Better support – Kinsta’s specialized support team helped troubleshoot issues quickly and provided expert-level advice.
  • Streamlined management – With our user-friendly dashboard and automated features, 5Tales reduced the time spent on maintenance and troubleshooting.

Overall, 5Tales saw an increase in both client satisfaction and SEO rankings after moving to Kinsta.

3. Managed Hosting & Page Speed Optimization

Tools like Kinsta’s Application Performance Monitoring (APM) provide detailed insights into website performance, helping agencies identify slow-loading elements and optimize them. This level of transparency enables faster troubleshooting and more precise optimization efforts, which are critical for maintaining fast page speeds.

It’s also easy to integrate managed hosting platforms with your existing tech stack. Kinsta works seamlessly with SEO tools like Google Analytics, DebugBear, and others, allowing agencies to track site performance, analyze traffic patterns, and ensure sites are running at peak efficiency.

Conclusion

Managed hosting is not just a convenience. It’s a critical component of success for SEO agencies managing WordPress sites.

By leveraging the performance, security, and time-saving benefits of a managed hosting provider like Kinsta, agencies can improve client results, enhance their relationships, and streamline their operations.

When it comes to SEO, every second counts. A fast, secure, and well-maintained website will always perform better in search rankings. For agencies looking to deliver maximum value to their clients, investing in managed hosting is a smart, long-term decision.

Ready to make the switch?

Kinsta offers a guarantee of no-shared hosting, 99.99% uptime guarantee, and 24/7/365 support, so we’re here when you need us. Plus, we makes it easy, effortless, and free to move to Kinsta.

Our team of migration experts have experience switching from all web hosts. And when you make the switch to Kinsta, we’ll give you up to $10,000 in free hosting to ensure you avoid paying double hosting bills.

LEARN MORE

Image Credits

Featured Image: Image by Kinsta. Used with permission.

In-Post Image: Images by Kinsta. Used with permission.

Ecommerce MGMT 0 Comments
Oct 4 2024
The 10 Best Headless CMS Platforms To Consider via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

Headless CMSs are becoming more popular as companies want more flexible content management tools.

These systems separate the content creation from how it’s displayed, giving more options for publishing content across different platforms.

In this article, we’re reviewing ten top headless CMS options. We’re examining them based on the following criteria:

  • How well they work with other tools.
  • How easy they are for developers to use.
  • How flexible they are for organizing content.

We’ve included enterprise-level systems and free, open-source ones to cover different needs and technical skill levels. This comparison should help teams understand their options and figure out which platforms might work best for their specific projects.

Here are the best headless CMS platforms to consider.

Why Should You Use A Headless CMS Platform?

Headless CMS platforms have become increasingly popular for good reasons.

They offer several advantages over traditional content management systems, including:

  • Flexibility: Publish once, display anywhere – from websites to apps to smart devices.
  • Developer-Friendly: Devs can use their favorite tools, speeding up project timelines.
  • Performance: API-driven content delivery often means quicker load times.
  • Future-Proof: Easily adapt to new tech without overhauling your whole system.
  • Security: Backend separation reduces exposure to potential threats.
  • Scaling: Grow your content or expand to new markets without hitting technical roadblocks.
  • Teamwork: Features like real-time editing streamline the content creation process.

While not a one-size-fits-all solution, a headless CMS is worth considering if you need a flexible, scalable content system that can keep up with changing tech.

10 Best Headless CMS Platforms

1. Sanity

Screenshot from: sanity.io, July 2024.

Sanity is a good fit for small to medium-sized teams prioritizing real-time collaboration and a customizable content studio.

In practice, Sanity works well for structuring and managing content, such as product information, for e-commerce sites. Its GROQ query language allows for flexible content retrieval and filtering.

Why It’s Good:

  • Real-time collaboration with live multi-user editing.
  • Flexible, schema-driven content modeling for structured content.
  • Customizable Content Studio for intuitive editorial experience.
  • Pay-as-you-go pricing is suitable for scaling projects.

Potential Drawbacks:

  • Steeper learning curve for non-technical users compared to traditional CMSs.
  • Requires development resources for initial setup and ongoing maintenance.

Tips and Tricks:

  • Use GROQ queries for flexible content retrieval and filtering.
  • Leverage Portable Text for rich text content with embedded objects.
  • Customize input components in Content Studio for optimal editorial UX.

Best Hack:

  • Set up a real-time preview using Next.js and Sanity’s Listener. Changes in the Content Studio will instantly update the front end, providing a true WYSIWYG editing experience for content teams.

2. Storyblok

Screenshot from: storyblok.com, July 2024.

Storyblok’s key selling point is its visual editor, which empowers marketers to create and manage content independently.

It’s been successfully used for multilingual corporate sites. The visual editor simplifies content updates, while features like field-level translations streamline localization.

Why It’s Good:

  • Visual editor for drag-and-drop page building.
  • Reusable block system for modular content creation.
  • Field-level translations for multi-language content.
  • Roles and permissions for content governance.

Potential Drawbacks:

  • Some technical setup is required to fully leverage the visual editor.
  • Pricing can add up for larger-scale projects with higher content needs.

Tips and Tricks:

  • Utilize nested components for flexible, reusable page sections.
  • Set up Language Fallbacks to gracefully handle missing translations.
  • Integrate with Sketch/Figma for a design-to-CMS workflow.

Best Hack:

  • With Storyblok’s Visual Composer within Content Stages, you can build and preview pages in a draft stage before pushing them live.

3. Hygraph

Screenshot from: hygraph.com, July 2024.

Formerly GraphCMS, Hygraph stands out for its GraphQL-native approach and Content Federation capabilities for unifying data from disparate sources.

Hygraph has been used to power blogs with user-generated content. Authors can submit posts via forms, which are managed in Hygraph. Content Federation allows merging this with e-commerce data to create shoppable posts.

Why It’s Good:

  • Intuitive GraphQL API for efficient content querying.
  • Visual schema builder for modeling content without code.
  • Content Federation is used to unify data from multiple sources.
  • Webhooks and API extensions for custom integrations.

Potential Drawbacks:

  • Content preview capabilities are limited compared to some other headless CMSs.
  • GraphQL learning curve for teams new to this query language.

Tips and Tricks:

  • Leverage remote fields to enrich content with external API data.
  • Use Scheduled Publishing to automate content releases.
  • Set up Webhooks to trigger external actions based on content changes.

Best Hack:

  • Combine Hygraph’s Content Stages with Vercel’s Preview Deployments. Configure a webhook to trigger a new preview deployment whenever content is updated in a draft stage. This allows stakeholders to review changes in a live environment before publishing.

4. Contentful

Screenshot from: contentful.com, July 2024.

Contentful is an API-first headless CMS geared towards large organizations with complex content requirements.

It’s well-suited for global, multi-site content platforms. Content types and relationships allow for well-structured, multi-locale content. The app framework enables customizing the editorial experience.

Why It’s Good:

  • Flexible content modeling with validations and relationships.
  • App framework for extending functionality.
  • Localization features for multi-language content.
  • Multiple API options (REST, GraphQL, Content Delivery API).

Potential Drawbacks:

  • Higher learning curve due to extensive features and concepts.
  • Pricing can be prohibitive for smaller projects.

Tips and Tricks:

  • Use Link Fields to model content relationships and references.
  • Leverage Environment Aliases to streamline content promotion across spaces.
  • Extend editorial capabilities with app framework and UI extensions.

Best Hack:

  • Integrate Contentful with Gatsby Cloud for a powerful JAMstack setup. Contentful’s webhook triggers a new build in Gatsby whenever content changes, ensuring the static front end displays the latest published content.

5. Contentstack

Screenshot from: contentstack.com, July 2024.

Contentstack is another enterprise-focused headless CMS, with strengths in content localization and publishing workflows.

It’s been successfully used to build global product catalogs. Content types mirror hierarchical product data, varying by locale. Workflows enable synchronized multi-region releases, with granular roles and permissions ensuring proper governance.

Why It’s Good:

  • Roles & permissions for fine-grained access control.
  • Localization features for managing global, multi-language content.
  • Content scheduling and versioning capabilities.
  • Stackable per-locale publishing for phasing releases across regions.

Potential Drawbacks:

  • UI can feel complex for content teams used to simpler traditional CMSs.
  • There are some limitations around content relationships compared to other enterprise CMSs.

Tips and Tricks:

  • Utilize the pre-built Field Editor extensions to customize the editorial interface.
  • Leverage webhooks to trigger external processes or rebuild content changes.
  • Use the CDN-powered Content Delivery APIs for optimal performance.

Best Hack:

  • Combine Contentstack’s Release Workflows with Netlify’s Deploy Previews. Create a workflow automatically generating a deploy preview whenever content is moved to a new workflow stage.

6. Strapi

Screenshot from: strapi.co, July 2024.

Strapi is a popular open-source headless CMS that prioritizes developer experience and customization.

It’s been used as a backend for developer-focused SaaS applications. Custom content types mirror application data structures, while the plugin system allows application-specific features to be added to the admin panel.

Why It’s Good:

  • Fully customizable API with the ability to define endpoints and logic.
  • Extensive plugin library for extending functionality.
  • Open-source, self-hosted option for maximum control.
  • GraphQL support is available in addition to REST and JSON:API.

Potential Drawbacks:

  • It requires more technical setup and maintenance than hosted solutions.
  • Less built-in functionality out-of-the-box compared to paid options.

Tips and Tricks:

  • Utilize Community and Custom Plugins to add project-specific features.
  • Leverage Strapi’s JWT authentication to secure API access.
  • Use Strapi’s Draft System for content staging and approval workflows.

Best Hack:

  • Deploy Strapi on Heroku with PostgreSQL database. Set up GitHub integration in Heroku to automatically deploy from a repository branch. Any custom plugin code changes pushed to GitHub will trigger a rebuild of the Strapi backend on Heroku.

7. Directus

Screenshot from: directus.io, July 2024.

Directus is a unique headless CMS that sits on top of new or existing SQL databases, instantly providing RESTful API and GraphQL endpoints.

It’s proven helpful for projects with existing SQL databases. Installing Directus on top provides an instant content management layer and API without data migration. The platform allows for tailoring the admin panel to project needs.

Why It’s Good:

  • Instantly generates APIs from new and existing SQL databases.
  • Supports various SQL databases (MySQL, PostgreSQL, MS-SQL, Oracle).
  • Extensible platform with custom endpoints, webhooks, and event hooks.
  • Open Data Platform for powering data-driven projects beyond typical CMS use cases.

Potential Drawbacks:

  • Requires SQL database skills for initial setup and data modeling.
  • Less content-focused out-of-the-box compared to other headless options.

Tips and Tricks:

  • Use Directus Fields to shape how your database data is presented in the admin.
  • Leverage Flows for automating data processing tasks on backend events.
  • Enable Data Accountability for granular activity tracking and versioning.

Best Hack:

  • Connect Directus to Metabase for powerful data visualization. By leveraging Directus’ SQL mirroring, Metabase can query and chart your content data directly, enabling advanced content analytics and reporting dashboards.

8. Umbraco Heartcore

Screenshot from: umbraco.com/products/umbraco-heartcore/, July 2024.

Umbraco Heartcore is the headless offering from the team behind the popular open-source Umbraco CMS.

It’s a natural fit for existing Umbraco users looking to adopt a headless architecture.

Document Types and Templates from the standard Umbraco CMS can be reused in Heartcore, easing the transition for content editors and .NET developers.

Why It’s Good:

  • Smooth transition path for existing Umbraco users.
  • .NET-based for integrating with Microsoft stack.
  • Umbraco Cloud for managed hosting and deployment.
  • Familiar, feature-rich editor experience.

Potential Drawbacks:

  • Less adoption compared to some other headless options.
  • Requires .NET development skills for implementation.

Tips and Tricks:

  • Use Umbraco’s Compositions for reusable content structures.
  • Leverage Umbraco Deploy for moving content and configuration between environments.
  • Explore the Umbraco Marketplace for editor and developer tools.

Best Hack:

  • Integrate Umbraco Heartcore with Azure Cognitive Services for AI-powered content features. By calling Azure’s APIs from an Umbraco Controller, you can add capabilities like automated tagging, sentiment analysis, and image recognition to your editorial workflow.

9. Kontent.ai

Screenshot from: kontent.ai, July 2024.

Kontent.ai differentiates itself with features geared towards content operations and planning. It’s been successfully used for large-scale content marketing initiatives.

The content calendar provides a high-level overview of content across channels while ‘Assignments’ and ‘Tasks’ keep teams in sync.

Why It’s Good:

  • Structured, reusable content models and components.
  • Collaboration features like suggestions and comments.
  • AI-powered content insights for optimizing content performance.

Potential Drawbacks:

  • Relatively higher pricing compared to some other options.
  • Less developer-focused compared to highly extensible options like Strapi.

Tips and Tricks:

  • Use Linked Items to connect related content across your project.
  • Set up Webhooks to trigger builds or notifications on content changes.
  • Customize the Web Spotlight interface for a tailored, inline preview experience.

Best Hack:

  • Sync Kontent with Airtable for a versatile content planning setup. Use the Kontent webhooks to send content data to Airtable. Then, leverage Airtable’s views, filters, and fields to plan and track your content production pipeline.

10. Prismic

Screenshot from: prismic.io, July 2024.

Prismic is a developer-friendly headless CMS focusing on sliced-based content modeling and multi-language support.

It’s been used for multilingual documentation sites with modern frameworks like Nuxt.

Prismic’s slices allow for componentizing common elements like code snippets and callouts, while the localization features enable translation management.

Why It’s Good:

  • Content Slices for modular, reusable page components.
  • Strong multi-language features with built-in translation management.
  • API browsers and development kits for popular frameworks.
  • Simple, clean UI for content editors.

Potential Drawbacks:

  • Fewer collaboration and workflow features compared to some enterprise options.
  • Slice-based model can take some getting used to for traditional CMS users.

Tips and Tricks:

  • Utilize Slice Machine for local Slice development and testing.
  • Set up preview URLs to preview on-page content before publishing.
  • Use Prismic’s Integration Fields with tools like Shopify and Magento for e-commerce projects.

Best Hack:

  • Integrate Prismic with Cloudinary for advanced media management. Using a webhook to send Prismic image data to Cloudinary, you can leverage Cloudinary’s transformation and optimization capabilities while managing images within your CMS.

Choosing The Right Headless CMS For Your Needs

To select the ideal headless CMS, consider these factors:

  • Content Complexity: Match your content structure needs with platform capabilities (e.g., Contentful for complex hierarchies, Strapi for customizable architecture).
  • Team Skills: Align with your team’s tech expertise (e.g., Hygraph for GraphQL users, Directus for SQL pros).
  • Localization: For multilingual content, prioritize platforms with strong localization features, such as Contentstack or Contentful.
  • Integration: Ensure compatibility with your existing tech stack through APIs, SDKs, or plugins.
  • Collaboration: For large teams, consider platforms with advanced workflow management (e.g., Kontent.ai) or real-time collaboration (e.g., Sanity).
  • Pricing and Scalability: Balance cost with features and growth potential. Open-source options like Strapi offer savings, while enterprise solutions like Contentful provide high-end features.

Explore options, run proof of concepts (POCs), and gather team feedback before deciding.

A well-chosen headless CMS and ongoing optimization will equip you to handle current and future content challenges.

More resources: 

Featured Image: A9 STUDIO/Shutterstock

Ecommerce MGMT 0 Comments
Sep 26 2024
Squarespace Update Strengthens Its Robust Website Builder via @sejournal, @martinibuster

Squarespace announced updates to their Blueprint AI, automating website creation, and enhancing their tool suite—further strengthening their website building platform for small and medium-sized businesses.

Squarespace

Squarespace is known for their easy to use drag and drop interface that allows user to select a template, modify it with a few clicks and to drag and drop web page elements in order to create a professional looking website. Over 2% of all websites are reported to use Squarespace, showing that it’s a popular choice website building platform for small to medium size businesses.

Blueprint AI

Blueprint AI, launched in late 2023, is Squarespace’s proprietary AI website builder that helps users create a website by answering questions related to what kind of site they’re trying to create. The AI then creates a template based on the answers to the questions. Users can then use Squarespace’s full suite of editing features to further modify their website then modify to suit their needs and create a true custom website.

Other Improvements

Squarespace also announced other improvements that help users switch web page layouts and apply changes, a one-click style changer that instantly creates new style combinations, and a new hub for managing the website brand identify.

The announcement explained:

“Layout Switcher:
An adaptive layout menu that enables faster website design experimentation—offering a set of flexible compositions with one’s content automatically embedded, then applied instantly to a page.

Site Themes:
One-click styling combinations that make it easier to preview and apply a new website aesthetic—via handpicked font pairings, color palettes, button styles and more, with recommendations aligned to a customer’s brand personality.

Brand Identity Management:
A central hub for crafting and storing one’s unique brand identity that guides Squarespace’s AI writer to instantly generate first draft, on-brand copy populated across key surface areas, including website text, content descriptions, and client documents, among others.”

Takeaways

Squarespace has about 20 years experience helping businesses easily build websites and start doing business online. This announcement shows that Squarespace continues to improve the already excellent platform that gives businesses the chance to effectively compete online.

Read Squarespace’s announcement:

Squarespace Refresh 2024: Introducing a New Era for Entrepreneurs

Featured Image by Shutterstock/IB Photography

Ecommerce MGMT 0 Comments
Jul 19 2024
The 10 Best Website Builders To Consider 2024 via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

Choosing the right website builder may depend on your goals. They have a variety of features, and some platforms excel in areas that others don’t.

Not all builders will fit if you need advanced SEO or ecommerce capabilities.

We compared 10 website builders based on price, data limits, core use cases, and whether they provide domains.

The 10 Best Website Builders Compared

Website Builder Starting Price Free Option Premium Content Gates Limits Free Domain Great For Extras We Like
WordPress.com $9/month Yes Yes 1-50 GB Yes (annual plans only) Blogging and text-based sites
  • Easily work between the .com and self-hosted sites.
  • Customizability.
Wix $17/month Yes Yes 2 GB-Unlimited Yes Small businesses & entrepreneurs
  • Educational programs and support.
  • Scheduling.
  • Ad management.
  • Email campaigns.
Duda $25/month 14 days Yes 1-4 sites No Getting started
  • Excellent help and support.
  • Zapier integration.
  • Multiple language sites.
  • Content library and free assets.
HubSpot $15/month Yes Yes Up to 30 pages on the free plan No Scaling
  • Conversational bots.
  • Wide range of free tools for sales, marketing, and services.
  • Extensive site and business owner education.
  • Mobile app.
Squarespace $25/month 14 days Yes Unlimited bandwidth, 30 minutes of video storage Yes (annual plans only) Quick, no-fuss sites
  • Custom product creation without worrying about fulfillment and shipping.
  • Integrated ecommerce on larger plans.
Webflow $18/month Yes Yes Starts with 1 GB bandwidth and 50 CMS items Yes Designers & Agencies
  • Schema markup and structured search support.
  • Pre-built interactions.
IONOS $6/month No No 50-75 GB Yes Small businesses on a budget
  • Affordable.
  • Competitor tracking.
  • Online booking included.
  • Built-in privacy and SSL.
Shopify $5/month 3 days No Unlimited products, bandwidth, and online storage No Ecommerce
  • Wide range of ecommerce features.
  • Large app store for extensions.
Weebly $12/month Yes No Unlimited storage Yes Beginners
  • Ease of use.
  • Built-in SEO tools.
Hostinger $2.99/month No No 25,000 visits,
100 GB SSD storage,
400,000 files		 Yes Budget sites
  • Very affordable plans.
  • 24/7 customer support.

10 Best Website Builders For 2024

1. WordPress.com

WordPress webpageScreenshot from WordPress.com, June 2024

With 62.7% of the market share held between WordPress.com and .org, WordPress is the largest and most prominent website builder.

Key Features

  • Over 50,000 plugins and 8,000 themes for customization.
  • Ability to transition between hosted and self-hosted options.
  • With paid plans, custom domains, site security, and advanced features are available.

Benefits & SEO Highlights

  • User-friendly interface suitable for beginners.
  • Flexibility to create various types of websites.
  • Built-in SEO tools and options to optimize your site for search engines.

Cost

  • $0-$70/month ($0-$45/month, billed annually), plus custom options.

2. Wix

Wix webpageScreenshot from Wix.com, June 2024

Wix controls only 4% of the CMS market, but that small number translates into hundreds of millions of users and makes it one of the most popular website builders.

It offers ease of use and flexibility, making it suitable for creating professional websites with expanded functionality.

Key Features

  • Customizable templates with drag-and-drop editing.
  • Wide range of elements and third-party apps for added functionality.
  • Comprehensive business solutions, including ecommerce and marketing tools.

Benefits & SEO Highlights

  • Suitable for beginners and those needing advanced features.
  • SEO Wiz tool for optimizing your site’s SEO settings.
  • Extensive help, resources, and guides for website creation and promotion.

Cost

  • $0-$159/month, plus custom options.

3. Duda

Duda.coScreenshot from Duda.co, June 2024

Duda is a website builder that balances ease of use with advanced customization options, making it popular among designers and developers.

Key Features

  • Drag-and-drop interface and customizable templates.
  • Widgets and add-ons for expanded functionality, including ecommerce.
  • Mobile editor for creating mobile-friendly versions of your site

Benefits & SEO Highlights

  • Suitable for businesses and individuals seeking a professional website.
  • Built-in SEO optimization features, including meta descriptions and sitemaps.
  • Excellent customer support with live chat, email, and resources.

Cost:

  • $25-$199/month ($19-$149/month, billed annually), plus custom options.

4. HubSpot

HubSpot webpageScreenshot from HubSpot.com, June 2024

HubSpot is an all-in-one marketing, sales, and customer service platform with a powerful website builder.

Key Features

  • Drag-and-drop interface and customizable templates.
  • Pre-built modules for forms, CTAs, and social media integration.
  • Integrated CMS, marketing automation, and sales tools.

Benefits & SEO Highlights

  • Ideal for businesses seeking a comprehensive solution.
  • Built-in SEO tools for keyword research, on-page optimization, and analytics.
  • Scalable platform that grows.

Cost

  • $0-$450/month, plus custom options.

5. Squarespace

SquarespaceScreenshot from Squarespace, June 2024

Squarespace is a website builder that offers beautifully designed templates and powerful ecommerce features.

Key Features

  • Customizable templates that work across devices.
  • Ecommerce tools for inventory management, order tracking, and payment processing.
  • Marketing tools for SEO, video, and audience management

Benefits & SEO Highlights

  • Ideal for businesses focusing on ecommerce and brand promotion.
  • Built-in SEO features and integration with Google Analytics.
  • Mobile app for managing your site on the go.

Cost

  • $25-$72/month ($16-$52/month, billed annually), and enterprise plans.

6. Webflow

Homepage of webflow.comScreenshot from webflow.com, May 2024

Webflow is a website builder offering advanced design and development features suitable for users of all skill levels.

Key Features

  • Free plan for getting started with basic features.
  • Ecommerce plan with advanced tools for selling products and managing orders.
  • Team plan with collaboration features and client billing.

Benefits & SEO Highlights

  • Suitable for individuals and teams looking for advanced customization options.
  • Advanced SEO features, including schema and Open Graph.
  • Unique features like scheduled publishing, logic flows, and animations.

Cost

  • $0-$235/month ($0-$212/month, billed annually), including enterprise plans.

7. IONOS

Homepage of ionos.comScreenshot from: ionos.com, May 2024.

IONOS is an affordable and simple website builder that offers all the essential features for creating a functional and beautiful site.

Key Features

  • Three-step site design process: choosing a design, adding content, and promoting.
  • Search engine-optimized templates built for performance.
  • Presence Suite for managing and promoting your site

Benefits & SEO Highlights

  • Ideal for quick website setups, test projects, and DIYers.
  • Templates are pre-optimized for search engines.
  • Affordable pricing plans with essential features.

Cost

  • $6-$15/month ($4-$8/month billed three years in advance).

8. Shopify

Screenshot from: Shopify.com, June 2024.

Shopify is a comprehensive ecommerce platform that enables businesses to create online stores and sell products easily.

Key Features

  • Customizable templates and drag-and-drop editing.
  • Powerful ecommerce tools for inventory management, payment processing, and shipping.
  • The app store has thousands of apps to extend functionality.

Benefits & SEO Highlights

  • Ideal for businesses of all sizes looking to create an online store.
  • Built-in SEO features and the ability to edit meta tags, URLs, and site structure.
  • 24/7 customer support and extensive documentation.

Cost

  • $19-$399/month ($29-$299/month billed annually).

9. Weebly

Screenshot from: weebly.com, June 2024.

Weebly is a user-friendly website builder that offers a wide range of features for creating professional websites and online stores.

Key Features

  • Drag-and-drop interface and customizable templates.
  • Ecommerce functionality with inventory management and payment processing.
  • Blogging platform and app center for additional features.

Benefits & SEO Highlights

  • Suitable for beginners and small businesses.
  • Built-in SEO tools, including meta descriptions, alt tags, and sitemaps.
  • Responsive customer support and community forum.

Cost

  • $$0-$29/month ($10-$26/month billed annually).

10. Hostinger

Screenshot from hostinger.com, June 2024.

Hostinger offers an easy-to-use website-building tool in its web hosting plans, designed to help users get sites up and running fast.

Key Features

  • Intuitive and user-friendly interface.
  • Suitable for beginners and those needing a website up and running quickly.
  • Free domain, website migration, email, and SSL are included in the hosting package.

Benefits & SEO Highlights

  • Optimized for speed using LiteSpeed Web Server technology, advanced cache solutions, and Object Cache for WordPress.
  • Advanced security features, including unlimited SSL certificates, DDoS protection, automatic backups, and a 99.9% uptime guarantee.

Cost

  • $2.99-$9.99 for the first month ($7.99-$19.99/month on renewal).

Find The Right Website Builder For Your Needs

When choosing a website builder, consider your needs, budget, and skill level.

  • WordPress.com offers flexibility and customization for bloggers and content-heavy sites.
  • Small businesses and entrepreneurs may prefer all-in-one solutions like Wix or HubSpot for marketing integration.
  • Ecommerce stores should evaluate dedicated platforms like Shopify for robust selling tools.
  • Beginners can start with user-friendly builders like Weebly, while designers and agencies may prefer more advanced options like Webflow.

With the variety of website builders available, there’s a solution for every need.

More resources:

Featured Image: Kaspars Grinvalds/Shutterstock

Ecommerce MGMT 0 Comments
May 30 2024
Core Web Vitals: WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, Joomla, Duda, & Drupal via @sejournal, @martinibuster

The Core Web Vitals technology report shows that five out of six of the most popular content management systems performed worse in April 2024 when compared to the beginning of the year. The real-world performance data collected by HTTPArchive offers some clues about why performance scores are trending downward.

Core Web Vitals Technology Report

The rankings for Core Web Vitals (CWV) are a mix of real-world and lab data. The real-world data comes from the Chrome User Experience Report (CrUX) and the lab data is from an HTTP Archive public dataset (lab data based on the websites included in the CrUX report).

The data is used to create the Core Web Vitals technology report which can be sliced and diced to measure the mobile and desktop performances for a wide variety of content management systems in any combination, as well as provide data on JavaScript, CSS HTML and image weight data.

The data reported in the Search Engine Journal articles are based on measurements of mobile data. The scores are in the form of percentages which represent the percentages of website visits that resulted in a good Core Web Vitals (CWV) score.

This is the background on the HTTP Archive scoring for CWV:

“Core Web Vitals
There may be different approaches to measure how well a website or group of websites performs with CWV. The approach used by this dashboard is designed to most closely match the CWV assessment in PageSpeed Insights”

This is the background information about the HTTP Archive lab data:

“HTTP Archive measures individual web pages, not entire websites. And due to capacity limitations, HTTP Archive is limited to testing one page per website. The most natural page to test for a given website is its home page, or the root page of the origin.”

Source of quotes, HTTP Archive.

Top Core Web Vitals Performance

The highest performing content management system (CMS) of the six CMS under comparison is Duda, a closed-source website builder platform that is used by agencies and developers for creating and managing large portfolios of client sites. 71% of website visits resulted in a good core web vitals score. Duda’s score is 13 percentage points ahead of the second place winner, Squarespace, another closed source website building platform.

Sites built with Duda consistently have higher CWV performance rates than any other CMS, by a wide margin. Squarespace, Drupal and Wix are bunched together with similar performance scores, with the Joomla and WordPress scoring in fifth and sixth place.

WordPress Is Faster But Other Factors Slowing It Down

Although WordPress is ranked in sixth place, it’s performance did not drop as much as the other leading content management systems, quite possibly reflecting the many performance improvements in
present in each new version of WordPress. WordPress 6.5, released in early April 2024, featured over 100 performance improvements to the backend and the front end.

The performance score for WordPress was slightly lower in April 2024 than in the beginning of the year, but less than one percentage point. However, that percentage drop is lower than the top ranked CMS, Duda, which experienced a drop of 5.41 percentage points.

Chrome Lighthouse is an automated tool for measuring website performance. The Lighthouse scores for WordPress in January of this year was 35%, which means that 35% of measured WordPress sites had a good Lighthouse CWV score. The CWV score took a dip in February and March but it zipped back to 35% in April, perhaps reflecting the many performance improvements in WordPress version 6.5.

The scores for the average Page Weight is likely where the performance lagged. Page Weight is the average number of bytes sent over the network, which could be compressed. The average Page Weight of WordPress sites started out at 568.48 in January and increased to 579.92, an increase of 11.44.

The average download size of images when compared from January to April 2024 increased by 49.5 Kilobytes but that’s something that has more to do with how publishers use WordPress and not how WordPress is being used. These could be contributing to the essentially flat performance change this year. But again, virtually no change in performance is better than what’s going on with other content management systems which experienced larger drops in their performance rates.

Top CWV Performance By CMS

The list of CWV performance represents the percentage of sites using a given CMS that has a good CWV score. Here is the list of the top performers with their respective percentage rates:

  1. Duda 71%
  2. Squarespace 58%
  3. Drupal 54%
  4. Wix 52%
  5. Joomla 43%
  6. WordPress 38%

Performance Drops By CMS

Comparing the performance drop by CMS shows a weird trend in that four out of six content management systems had relatively high drops in performance. The following is a comparison of performance drops by percentage points, indicated with a minus sign.

List By Performance Change

  • Wix -7.11
  • Duda -5.41
  • Joomla -2.84
  • Drupal -2.58
  • WordPress -0.71

As can be seen above, WordPress had the lowest drop in performance. Wix and Duda had the steepest drops in performance while Squarespace was the only CMS with an increase in performance, with a positive score of +3.92.

Core Web Vitals Scores – Takeaways

Duda is clearly the Core Web Vitals performance champ, outscoring every content management system in this comparison. Squarespace, Wix and Drupal are close behind in a tight pack.  Out of the six platforms in this comparison only Squarespace managed to improve their scores this year.

All of the other platforms in this comparison scored less well in April compared to the beginning of the year, possibly due to increases in page weight, particularly in images but there might be something else that accounts for this anomaly that isn’t accounted for  in the HTTP Archive reports.

The WordPress performance team continues to score notable improvements to the WordPress core and the slight performance drop of less than one percent may be because of how publishers are using the platform.

It’s safe to say that all the platforms in this comparison are winners because all of them show steady improvements in general.

Explore the HTTP Archive Core Web Vitals report here.

Featured Image by Shutterstock/Roman Samborskyi

Ecommerce MGMT 0 Comments
May 8 2024
Top 15 Ways To Secure A WordPress Site via @sejournal, @inmotionhosting

Thankfully, there are plenty of steps you can take to protect your WordPress website.

Easy WordPress Security Basics

When setting up your WordPress site security, there are some basic things you can do to beef up your protection.

Below, we will take a look at some of the first things you should do to help protect your website.

1. Implement SSL Certificates

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificates are a standard technology that establishes an encrypted connection between a web server (host) and a web browser (client). This connection ensures all data passed between the two remains private and intrinsic.

SSL certificates are an industry-standard used by millions of websites to protect their online transactions with their customers, and obtaining one should be one of the first steps you take to secure your website.

2. Require & Use Strong Passwords

Along with obtaining an SSL certificate, one of the very first things you can do to protect your site is use strong passwords for all your logins.

It might be tempting to create or reuse a familiar or easy-to-remember password, but doing so puts both you and your website at risk. Improving your password strength and security decreases your chances of being hacked. The stronger your password, the less likely you are to be a victim of a cyberattack.

When creating a password, there are some general password best practices you should follow.

If you aren’t sure if you are using a strong enough password, you check the strength of one by using a free tool like this helpful Password Strength Checker.

3. Install A Security Plugin

WordPress plugins are a great way to quickly add useful features to your website, and there are several great security plugins available.

Installing a security plugin can add some extra layers of protection to your website without requiring much effort.

To get you started, check out this list of recommended WordPress security plugins.

4. Keep WordPress Core Files Updated

As of 2024, there are an estimated 1.09 billion total websites on the web with more than 810 million of those sites using WordPress.

Because of its popularity, WordPress websites are oftentimes a target for hackers, malware attacks, and data thieves.

Keeping your WordPress installation up to date at all times is critical to maintain the security and stability of your site.

Every time a WordPress security vulnerability is reported, the core team starts working to release an update that fixes the issue.

If you aren’t updating your WordPress website, then you are likely using a version of WordPress that has known vulnerabilities.

There is especially no excuse for using an outdated version of WordPress since the introduction of automatic updates.

Don’t leave yourself open to attack by using an old version of WordPress. Turn on auto updates and forget about it.

If you would like an even easier way to handle updates, consider a Managed WordPress solution that has auto updates built in.

5. Pay Attention To Themes & Plugins

Keeping WordPress updated ensures your core files are in check, but there are other areas where WordPress is vulnerable that core updates might not protect such as your themes and plugins.

For starters, only ever install plugins and themes from trusted developers. If a plugin or theme wasn’t developed by a credible source, you are probably safer not using it.

On top of that, make sure to update WordPress plugins and themes. Just like an outdated version of WordPress, using outdated plugins and themes makes your website more vulnerable to attack.

6. Run Frequent Website Backups

One way to protect your WordPress website is to always have a current backup of your site and important files.

The last thing you want is for something to happen to your site and you do not have a backup.

Backup your site, and do so often. That way if something does happen to your website, you can quickly restore a previous version of it and quickly get back up and running.

Intermediate WordPress Security Measures That Add More Protection

If you’ve completed all the basics but you still want to do more to protect your website, there are some more advanced steps you can take to bolster your security.

Let’s take a look at what you should do next.

7. Never Use The “Admin” Username

Never use the “admin” username. Doing so makes you susceptible to brute force attacks and social engineering scams.

Because “admin” is such a common username, it is easily-guessed and makes things much easier for scammers to trick people into giving away their login credentials.

Much like having a strong password, using a unique username for your logins is a good idea because it makes it much harder for hackers to crack your login info.

If you are currently using the “admin” username, change your WordPress admin username.

8. Hide Your WP Admin Login Page

On top of using a unique username another thing you can do to protect your login credentials is hide your WordPress admin login page with a plugin like WPS Hide Login.

By default, a majority of WordPress login pages can be accessed by adding “/wp-admin” or “/wp-login.php” to the end of a URL. Once a hacker or scammer has identified your login page, they can then attempt to guess your username and password in order to access your Admin Dashboard.

Hiding your WordPress login page is a good way to make you a less easy target.

9. Disable XML-RPC

WordPress uses an implementation of the XML-RPC protocol to extend functionality to software clients.

Most users don’t need WordPress XML-RPC functionality, and it’s one of the most common vulnerabilities that opens users up for exploits.

That’s why it’s a good idea to disable it. Thanks to the Wordfence Security plugin, it is really easy to do just that.

10. Harden wp-config.php File

The process of adding extra security features to your WordPress site is sometimes known as “hardening” because you are essentially giving your site some extra armor against hackers.

You can “harden” your website by protecting your wp-config.php file via your .htaccess file. Your WordPress wp-config.php file contains very sensitive information about your WordPress installation including your WordPress security keys and the WordPress database connection details, which is exactly why you don’t want it to be easy to access.

11. Run A Security Scanning Tool

Sometimes your WordPress website might have a vulnerability that you had no idea existed. That’s why it’s wise to use some tools that can find vulnerabilities and even fix them for you.

The WPScan plugin scans for known vulnerabilities in WordPress core files, plugins and themes. The plugin also notifies you by email when new security vulnerabilities are found.

Strengthen Your Server-Side Security

So you have taken all the above measures to protect your website but you still want to know if there is more you can do to make it as secure as possible.

The remaining actions you can take to beef up your security will need to be done on the server side of your website.

12. Look For A Hosting Company That Does This

One of the best things you can do to protect your site from the very get-go is to choose the right hosting company to host your WordPress website.

When looking for a hosting company, you want to find one that is fast, reliable, and secure, and will support you with great customer service.

That means they should have good, powerful resources, maintain an uptime of at least 99.5%, and use server-level security tactics.

If a host can’t check those basic boxes, they are not worth your time or money.

13. Use The Latest PHP Version

Like old versions of WordPress, outdated versions of PHP are no longer safe to use.

If you aren’t on the latest version of PHP, upgrade your PHP version to protect yourself from attack.

14. Host On A Fully-Isolated Server

Fully-isolated virtual private servers have a lot of advantages and one of those advantages is increased security.

The physical isolation offered from a cloud-based VPS is inherently secure, protecting your website against cross-infection from other customers. Combined with robust firewalls and DDoS protection, your data remains secure against potential threats and vulnerabilities.

Looking for the perfect cloud environment for your WordPress website? Look no further.

With InMotion Hosting’s Platform i, you receive unparalleled security features including managed server updates, real-time security patching, web application firewalls, and DDoS prevention, along with purpose-built high-availability servers optimized for fast and reliable WordPress sites.

15. Use A Web Application Firewall

One of the final things you can do to add extra security measures to your WordPress website is use a web application firewall (WAF).

A WAF is usually a cloud-based security system that offers another layer of protection around your site. Think of it as a gateway for your site. It blocks all hacking attempts and filters out other malicious types of traffic like distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks or spammers.

WAFs usually require monthly subscription fees, but adding one is worth the cost if you place a premium on your WordPress website security.

Make Sure Your Website & Business Is Safe & Secure

If your website is not secure, you could be leaving yourself open to a cyber attack.

Thankfully, securing a WordPress site doesn’t require too much technical knowledge as long as you have the right tools and hosting plan to fit your needs.

Instead of waiting to respond to threats once they happen, you should proactively secure your website to prevent security issues.

That way if someone does target your website, you are prepared to mitigate the risk and go about your business as usual instead of scrambling to locate a recent backup.

Get Managed WordPress Hosting featuring robust security measures on high-performance servers, complete with free SSL, dedicated IP address, automatic server updates, DDoS protection, and included WAF.

Learn more about how Managed WordPress Hosting can help protect your website and valuable data from exposure to hackers and scammers.

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Feb 27 2024
WordPress, Wix & Squarespace Show Best CWV Rate Of Improvement via @sejournal, @martinibuster

A comparison of January 2024 core web vitals scores of the top content management systems (CMS) shows that all platforms are improving, with Squarespace, WordPress  and Wix showing the strongest year over year rate of growth in improvement when compared to the previous year.

Core Web Vitals is comprised of a suite of metrics that represent how fast a website performs. The Core Web Vitals Technology Report shows real-world performance scores organized by CMS. The scores come from the Chrome UX Report (CrUX) dataset which is a record of actual scores and from the HTTPArchive dataset comprised of lab measurements of the exact same sites in the CrUX dataset. The two dataset scores and measurements are combined to create the Core Web Vitals Technology Report.

This article compares the year over year rate of growth in core web vitals scores of Drupal, Duda, Joomla, Squarespace, Wix and WordPress for the months of January 2024 and 2023.

All performance scores discussed in this article are from measurements of websites visited with mobile devices.

The growth rate of the improvements between two years is a percentage of the increase between two values representing the 2023 and 2024 scores and were calculated with ChatGPT and double-checked with Google Gemini.

The growth rate percentages differ from the absolute differences in rates (which is the difference between the two years in actual number of percentage points).

The growth rate formula is expressed like this:

Growth rate percentage formulaScreenshot image by ChatGPT

YoY Growth Rates Of Improvement

The year over year (YoY) improvement scores shows how fast each CMS is improving.

1. Squarespace

The rate of growth increase from 2023 (34.7%) to 2024 (54% ) is a whopping 55.62%.

The meaning of that percentage is that there is a 55.62% increase when comparing the 2023 score of 34.7% to the 2024 score of 54%.

Another incredible data point is the absolute percentage point difference between 34.7% and 54% which is 19.3 points.

2. WordPress – 28.29% Rate Of Growth

The hard work of the WordPress Performance team, which coordinates performance best practices with the core development team, continues to pay off with a substantial increase in site performance over the previous years score. In fact, WordPress has the strongest year over year performance improvements out of the four CMS compared.

The percentage of WordPress sites showing good core web vitals performance in January 2023 was a total of 30.4%. The percentage of WordPress sites with a passing score in 2024 jumped to 39.0% of sites. The difference between 2023 (30.4%) and 2024 (39.0%) represents a percentage increase of 28.29%. The absolute percentage difference between 2023 and 2024 (30.4% vs 39.0%) is 8.6%.

3. Wix – 19.07% Rate Of Growth

In second place is Wix. In January 2023 49.3% of Wix websites had a good CWV score and the January 2024 score came in at 58.7%. That represents a rate of growth percentage of 19.07%, placing second behind the WordPress rate of increase of 28.29%.

The absolute percentage difference however for Wix is 9.4% versus 8.6% for WordPress.

4. Joomla – 15.46% Rate Of Growth

Joomla ranked number three in year over year rate of growth. The percentage of Joomla sites with passing Core Web Vitals scores is 40.1% in 2023 and 46.3% in 2024.

The difference between 2023 (40.1%) and 2024 (46.3%) represents a rate of growth percentage of 15.46%, just behind Wix.

Expressed as an absolute percentage difference, there is a 6.2 percentage point increase between 2023 and 2024.

5. Drupal – 10.78% Rate Of Growth

Open source CMS platform Drupal came in fourth with a rate of growth of 10.78% and an absolute percentage point difference of 5.5%.

6. Duda – 7.50% Rate Of Growth

Duda is ranked #5 in the rate of growth from 2023 and 2024. The difference between 2023 (70.7% passing CWV) and 2024 (76.0%) represents a percentage increase of 7.50%.

A possible reason for the slower rate of growth is that websites created with the Duda platform haves extraordinarily high core web vitals scores, the highest of all the platforms in this comparison.

Despite the incredibly high number of Duda-built sites passing the core web vitals measurements, Duda still managed to improve their scores year over year.

Changes In Number Of Measured Sites

An interesting twist in Drupal’s scores is that the higher 2024 scores are based on less measured websites. There were about 129,000 Drupal sites measured in 2024 versus 147,000 in 2023.

That correlates with usage figures reported on Drupal.org which show a year over year decline in usage between 2023 (981,659 sites) and 2024 (795,595 sites), a total decline of 186,064 Drupal websites.

The WordPress were also based on slightly less measured sites, a difference of 20,368 measured WordPress websites.

Joomla experienced a decline of 30,243 measured websites while the amount of measured Duda sites remained stable (with only a slight decrease of 52 measured websites).

Wix and Squarespace are the only platforms in the group that had an increase in sites measured (between 2023 and 2024) by the Core Web Vitals Technology report.

Top Core Web Vitals Champions

While WordPress had the highest rate of growth of the six content management systems reported by the Core Web Vitals Technology report, the actual top performers are ranked in a different order, with Duda continuing to wear the crown for top core web vitals scores.

Top Ranked CMS By Core Web Vitals Scores:

  1. Duda 76.03%
  2. Wix 58.75%
  3. Drupal 56.5%
  4. Squarespace 53.97%
  5. Joomla 46.26%
  6. WordPress 39.02%

While WordPress has the lowest number of passing websites, the rate of growth statistics show that it is rapidly improving, which is a notable accomplishment considering the thousands of third party themes and plugins that aren’t necessarily optimized for page speed.

View the official HTTPArchive report:

Core Web Vitals Technology Report

Featured Image by Shutterstock/G-Stock Studio

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Oct 23 2023
Duda Adds SEO Automation To Their AI Assistant for Enhanced Efficiency via @sejournal, @martinibuster

Duda, the closed-source website builder for developers and SEO agencies, announced a new SEO automation to complement their existing AI Assistant tool, increasing the ability to scale SEO while simultaneously decreasing costs of servicing clients.

The new SEO component allows companies to scale specific SEO tasks, improving efficiency and client satisfaction.

Duda AI Assistant

Duda has a strong emphasis on serving the needs of agencies and developers who build and manage websites for their clients at scale.

Ease of deployment of attractive and functional websites are core to Duda’s platform and so is SEO.

Duda has been a leading exponent of deploying solutions that help agencies scale their services.

That’s why Duda has been a leader in deploying AI to their platform to offer users the ability to leverage the technology to better serve clients.

The Duda AI Assistant, a part of that focus of helping heir users scale, offers the ability to create, edit and revise content with AI, personalize at scale, and quickly build websites.

Duda announced the addition of an SEO component to their AI assistant to round out the offerings that increases implementation of metadata by a factor of five to ten times.

It achieves these capabilities with built-in prompts, automating the process of analyzing web content and adding titles and meta descriptions site-wide at scale.

These kinds of capabilities were at one time only available at enterprise-levels at significant cost but are built-into Duda’s standard offerings at no extra cost.

Duda’s announcement explains:

“Instead of manually creating these for each site page, users can now instantly generate meta titles and description tags for all site pages from a single dashboard.

Users can generate new meta tags for the entire site at once, or view and generate only missing tags, across multiple site languages.”

Duda’s website builder platform was already a game-changer for many agencies and developers because it allowed them to service far more customers than without having to add more employees, thereby reducing costs while simultaneously increasing revenues.

The SEO component of their AI assistant builds on top of those benefits, keeping Duda in the top ranks of website builders.

Read Duda’s announcement:

Duda Launches Industry-Leading AI-Powered SEO Assistant

Featured Image by Shutterstock/bsd studio

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