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How to Get a Free SSL Certificate for Your WordPress Website

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How to Get a Free SSL Certificate for Your WordPress Website

Do you want a free SSL certificate (HTTPS) for your WordPress site?

Everyone needs an SSL certificate to accept online payments and secure their site during this task. Starting today, July 1st, 2018, Google Chrome will show all sites which are not using HTTPS as insecure. In this post, I shall show you how to get a free SSL certificate for your WordPress site with ease.

What is SSL?

SSL refers to Secure Sockets Layer. It is an internet protocol for securing data transfer between the browser of the user and the website they are visiting.

Every web user transfers info when they visit sites. This information can often be sensitive such as credit card information, payment details, or login details.

Using the normal HTTP protocol means this information can be taken over by rogue people. This is where SSL or HTTPS is useful.

Websites using HTTPS require an SSL certificate issued by one of the recognized certificate issuing authority. This certificate is verified and highlighted in the browser of the user’s address bar with HTTPS and green secure sign instead of using HTTP.

ssl secure website

Do I need an SSL Certificate for my WordPress website?

SSL / HTTPS is suggested for all websites on the web. However it is absolutely needed for all websites that collect user information such as credit card information, login information, payment details and so on.

If you are running a membership site, an online store, or ask users to log in, then you need to get an SSL certificate straight away.

Most online payment services also ask your website to use SSL/HTTPs before you start receiving payments.

Apart from security, SSL certificate also gives a positive impression of your brand on your visitors. Google also suggests using SSL and provides a tiny bump to SSL enabled sites in the search engine or search results.

Last but not least, if your website is not using a SSL certificate, then Google Chrome will show your visitors that this website is not secure. It creates a negative impression.

not secure ssl

How Does SSL Certificate Work?

SSL protects information by encrypting the data transfer between the website and the browser of the user. When a user visits an SSL/HTTPs website, their browser first verifies if the SSL of the website is valid or not.

ssl security

If everything is working fine, then the browser uses special keys to encrypt the data transfer. This data is then sent back to the intended server (website) where it is decrypted with the help of unique SSL key.

How Much Do SSL Certificates Cost?

The price of SSL Certificates is different from one certificate authority to another. Their cost could be anywhere between $50-200 per year. Some providers provide add-on services with their certificates which may also affect the pricing of your SSL certificate.

If you are going to purchase an SSL certificate, then I suggest GoDaddy. They are the largest domain name registration service in the whole world, managing more than 76 million URLs.

They have simple SSL certificate plans starting from $69.9 per year. After you have bought an SSL certificate, you can ask your hosting provider to install it for you.

How Can I Get a SSL Certificate for Free?

A number of website owners are hesitate to use SSL because of the additional cost. This left many of these sites vulnerable to data and information robbery.

A non-profit project known as Let’s Encrypt decided to fix this by establishing a free certificate authority. Due to the importance of the project, it quickly got the support of major companies including Facebook, Google Chrome, WordPress.com, Shopify and so on.

If you want to install Let’s Encrypt by yourself, then you should have the know how of coding, server knowledge, and Shell / SSH access to use command line tools. Therefore, it is quite difficult for beginners to properly setup Let’s Encrypt SSL on their website.

Thanks to the best WordPress hosting companies are now also offering free SSL certificate or HTTPS along with their hosting plans. Selecting one of them saves you from the irritation of installing a SSL certificate on your own.

Here are the best WordPress hosting companies that provide free SSL certificate with their hosting plans.

  • Bluehost
  • WPEngine
  • GreenGeeks
  • Liquid Web
  • Dreamhost
  • SiteGround
  • InMotion Hosting

If you are already using hosting of one of these companies, then you can turn on your free SSL certificate from your hosting dashboard with ease. You can also ask your hosting provider’s support to set it for you.

If your web hosting company does not offer free HTTPS, then you have to switch your hosting provider and move your site to the hosting listed above.

Setting up WordPress After Enabling Free SSL Certificate

Once you have enabled your free SSL Certificate, you have to set up WordPress to begin using HTTPS instead of HTTP in all your URLs.

The easiest way to do this is by finding and installing the Really Simple SSLplugin on your WordPress. For more details, see our step by step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

After activation, the plugin will check to see if your SSL certificate is working. After that, it will turn on http to https redirect the URLs and change your site settings to start using SSL/HTTPs.

ssl enabled wp

While this plugin tries to fix all mix content problems, there may still be some files loading from HTTP instead of HTTPS. To solve that, you will need to find those files with the help of Inspect tool and fix them.

Most commonly, these files are loaded by poorly coded WordPress plugins. If you are unable to get rid of them, then feel free to uninstall those plugins and find a suitable replacement for it.

I hope that you liked the post on how to get a free SSL certificate for your WordPress site.

You may also want to see my guide on How to Add SSL and HTTPS in WordPress.

Do not forget to share this post.

How to Get a Free SSL Certificate for Your WordPress Website Do you want a free SSL certificate (HTTPS) for your WordPress site? Everyone needs an SSL certificate to accept online payments and secure their site during this task. Starting today, July 1st, 2018, Google Chrome will show all sites which are not using HTTPS as insecure. In this post, I shall show you how to get a free SSL certificate for your WordPress site with ease. What is SSL? SSL refers to Secure Sockets Layer. It is an internet protocol for securing data transfer between the browser of the…

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How to Add Your Etsy Store in WordPress

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How to Add Your Etsy Store in WordPress

Recently one of my readers asked:

Is it possible to connect an Etsy store to WordPress website?

If you have integrated your WordPress site with your Etsy shop then it will help you to sell more products online. In this post, I shall show you how to add your Etsy store in WordPress.

Why Add Your Etsy Store in WordPress?

Etsy shops consist of limited features if we compare them with other popular eCommerce platforms such as Shopify or WooCommerce. It is because Etsy is an online marketplace for creative goods whereas WooCommerce and Shopify are complete eCommerce platforms.

Etsy shops have harsh product guidelines with limited payment choices, which may not be available in several countries. You also don’t have the ability to add advanced features to your Etsy Shop which you can use in a WooCommerce online store.

However, Etsy gives you more exposure to a niche customers looking for handcrafted, artistic, and different products. It is very easy to use, and you don’t have to spend enough time on finding consumers because they are already there.

If you want to increase your business, then you may want to use WordPress to make a website to better showcase your Etsy shop items.

After this discussion, let’s have a look at how to add your Etsy store in WordPress easily.

Adding Your Etsy Store in WordPress

First of all, you need to install and activate the Etsy Shop plugin. For more details, see my post on how to install a WordPress plugin.

After activation, you need to visit the Settings > Etsy Shop page and enter your Etsy API key to connect your store with the plugin.

Note: If you currently do not have an Etsy API key, then simply click the link to get one from your Etsy store.

add etsy api key

When you will click on the link, it will ask you to create a new app. You need to put the name for your app, describe your app, and add the URL of your WordPress website. After that, you need to choose the best choices for your app and click on the Create App button below.

create new etsy app

You will now get a success message of registering your app with your Etsy API key. Go ahead and copy the key from here.

copy etsy api key

Now, you need to return to your WordPress admin area and paste the Etsy API key which you copied. After doing so, click on the Save Changes button, and the plugin will validate your API key and connect to your Etsy store.

add valid etsy api key

After attaching your Etsy store successfully, you can show and sell products from your Etsy shop right on your WordPress site.

To add the Etsy shop products in WordPress, you need to make a new page in WordPress or edit an existing page. On this page, you have to add the following shortcode to the edit area of your page.

[etsy-shop shop_name="MyShopUSDesign"

section_id="55895579"]

Do not forget to change the shop name and section ID in this shortcode with your Etsy store name and ID.

To get these two details, you need to visit your Etsy store and click on the Shop Manager tab from top right corner of the screen.

Note: You need to ensure that you are already logged in to your Etsy account.

open shop manager

On this page, you have to click the link in the left menu to get access to your shop.

go to shop name etsy

First of all, you have to copy the name of your store and then click on the Edit Shop button to locate the section ID.

edit shop for section id etsy

From here, you will have to click on Listings tab available in the left menu.

edit listings for section id

On this page, you will be asked to choose the section in which you have added your items or products. You can select the Sections from the dropdown menu as shown in the screenshot below.

select section

The section ID of your store will be shown in the page URL when your selected section is loaded. Now copy this section ID to replace in the shortcode.

section id etsy

After adding the shortcode with your store name and section ID, you can go to the post/page to see your Etsy store in your WordPress website.

my etsy store

You can add the same shortcode to multiple posts or pages in WordPress to show your Etsy store. To display different listings, you need to change the section ID available in the shortcode. However, the shop name can remain same.

I hope that you liked the post on how to add your Etsy store in WordPress. You may want to see my post on:

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How to Add Your Etsy Store in WordPress Recently one of my readers asked: Is it possible to connect an Etsy store to WordPress website? If you have integrated your WordPress site with your Etsy shop then it will help you to sell more products online. In this post, I shall show you how to add your Etsy store in WordPress. Why Add Your Etsy Store in WordPress? Etsy shops consist of limited features if we compare them with other popular eCommerce platforms such as Shopify or WooCommerce. It is because Etsy is an online marketplace for creative goods whereas WooCommerce and Shopify are…

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How to Add a Search Bar to WordPress Menu (Step by Step)

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How to Add a Search Bar to WordPress Menu (Step by Step)

Do you want to add a search bar to your navigation menu in WordPress?

If yes, then you are in the right place.

Search form can be really beneficial for your users to find what they are looking for on your website. In this post, I shall show you how to add a search bar to your WordPress menu.

Why You Should Add a Search Bar in Menu?

A search bar allows your users to find what they’re looking for with ease. They do not have to scroll to all the pages.

If you add a search bar to your top navigation menu, then it will be visible on all pages that show the menu, and your users can search and find all the content on your site with ease.

There are a number of search plugins that you can use to add a search bar to your website. Let’s have a look at how to add a search bar to your WordPress menu.

Adding a Search Bar to WordPress Menu

First of all, you need to install and activate the Add Search to Menuplugin. For more details, read our step by step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

After activation, you need to visit the Settings > Add Search To Menu page in your WordPress admin area to add search bar to your menu.

add search to menu plugin

In this area, you need to choose the menu where you want to add the search bar. This list of menus (Primary Menu and Social Links Menu) is a property of your WordPress template. If you change the template of your website, then the list will be automatically upgraded with the available menus within your template.

After selecting, the search bar will be added to your navigation menu. You can define the search post types, search menu title, search form style, manage mobile display for search, and so on. These settings will also help you to control the search results for your users.

After doing so, you can go to your site to see the search bar in the WordPress navigation menu.

add search to menu

You can also add the search bar to all other available menus of your website. Simply choose the menu from plugin settings where you want to show your search form.

I hope that you liked the post on how to add a search bar to WordPress menu.

You may also want to see our guides on

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How to Add a Search Bar to WordPress Menu (Step by Step) Do you want to add a search bar to your navigation menu in WordPress? If yes, then you are in the right place. Search form can be really beneficial for your users to find what they are looking for on your website. In this post, I shall show you how to add a search bar to your WordPress menu. Why You Should Add a Search Bar in Menu? A search bar allows your users to find what they’re looking for with ease. They do not have to scroll…

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9 Best Testimonial Plugins for WordPress

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9 Best Testimonial Plugins for WordPress

Are you searching for the best testimonial plugins for your WordPress website?

Testimonials add social proof to your site that enables the visitors to trust your website. in this post, I have selected carefully the best WordPress testimonial plugins which you can use on your site.

1. Testimonial Rotator

Testimonial Rotator

Testimonial Rotator is the first WordPress testimonial plugin in my list which is easy to use. It enables you to create a testimonial carousel and add rotating testimonials anywhere on your site. In addition, you can also make multiple rotators and manually enter the data of customer including job title, feedback, and photo.

2. Easy Testimonials

Easy Testimonials

Do you want to allow your customers to submit reviews and display them on your website?

If yes, then you are at the right place.

It is because Easy Testimonials enables you to add customer feedback form to your site. So in this way, you can collect testimonials. You can also enter testimonials from the admin area of your WordPress manually.

After doing so, you can show testimonials using a simple shortcode with ease.

3. Testimonials Widget

Testimonials Widget

Testimonials Widget is another flexible WordPress testimonial plugin for your WordPress site. Apart from its name, it enables you to add testimonials anywhere on your site.

It has a sidebar widget allowing you to show testimonials in sidebars with ease. Testimonials are shown in a carousel with a beautiful slide-in and fade effects.

4. Strong Testimonials

Strong Testimonials

Strong Testimonials is another WordPress testimonial plugin for WordPress which is the most customizable plugin. It has multiple display options such as grid layout, testimonial slider, masonry layout, single column layout and so on.

It also has a custom form that enables your customers to add their testimonials and reviews with ease. If your customers are giving reviews on social media, then this plugin can also embed Twitter, Facebook and Youtube etc.

5. Testimonial Basics

Testimonial Basics

It is a complete testimonial management solution for your website and it is the 5th plugin in this list. It supports multiple display styles including sidebar widget and a feedback form to get user testimonials. User submitted testimonials use Gravatar to get the photo of the client. However, you can upload photos directly from the admin area of your WordPress manually.

6. WP Testimonials with rotator widget

WP Testimonials with rotator widget

WP Testimonials is one of the Best testimonial plugins for WordPress which is also highly customizable. It enables you to add testimonials and sort them into tags and categories.

After creating testimonials, you can show them with a shortcode. This shortcode has several parameters that enable you to customize the appearance of testimonials. The plugin also has a widget like a shortcode.

7. BNE Testimonials

BNE Testimonials

BNE Testimonials is also an easy option to use, to add testimonials on your site. It also has a shortcode and a sidebar widget to show testimonials with ease.

It consists of a slider and plain list layout for testimonials that inherits the style of your theme for display.

8. Testimonial

Testimonial

Testimonial has simple options that is why it is a straight forward WordPress testimonial plugin. You can select your own colors in it.

It supports draggable box items and enables you to select different fonts, text color, font sizes and featured photo. The plugin does not contain a rotator or slider therefore, testimonials will be shown in grid or list style.

9. Testimonial Slider

Testimonial Slider

Testimonial Slider seems to be a modern WordPress testimonial slider which improves the user experience. It has a slider as well as plain list layout. In addition, you can also add a front-end contact form to get customer testimonials.

You can add testimonials anywhere using the sidebar widget or shortcode. Testimonial slider is mobile friendly and works great on all size of screens.

I hope that you liked the post on Best Testimonial Plugins for WordPress.

You may also want to see my best PDF plugins for WordPress.

Do not forget to share this post.

9 Best Testimonial Plugins for WordPress Are you searching for the best testimonial plugins for your WordPress website? Testimonials add social proof to your site that enables the visitors to trust your website. in this post, I have selected carefully the best WordPress testimonial plugins which you can use on your site. 1. Testimonial Rotator Testimonial Rotator is the first WordPress testimonial plugin in my list which is easy to use. It enables you to create a testimonial carousel and add rotating testimonials anywhere on your site. In addition, you can also make multiple rotators and manually enter the data…

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How to Deactivate All Plugins When Not Able to Access WP-Admin

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How to Deactivate All Plugins When Not Able to Access WP-Admin

While troubleshooting, often several websites will suggest deactivate all the plugins and activate them one by one.

What is the worst part?

At times, you get locked out of your WordPress admin area, then you cannot deactivate a single plugin with this easy way. If you have ever seen a white screen of death, then you can think exactly what I am talking about. In this post, I shall show you how to deactivate all WordPress plugins when you are unable to access wp-admin area.

There are two ways to disable your plugins. One needs you to use phpMyAdmin and the other one needs to use FTP.

Deactivate All Plugins Using FTP

In this way, you will have to use FTP client or file manager of your host.

First of all, you have to connect your site using File Manager in cPanel or FTP client. After connecting, you need to go to /wp-content/ folder.

wp content ftpview

When you open wp-content folder, you will see a folder named plugins. That is the place where WordPress stores all the plugins you installed on your site.

Rename the plugins folder by doing right click. Change the name of the folders of plugin according to your own choice. In my opinion, I call it ‘plugins deactivate’. After doing this, all the plugins of your site will be deactivated.

deactivate plugins

Generally, this method is useful when you are locked out of your admin area in WordPress. If the issue was due to your plugins, then you should go to admin area of WordPress by login to it.

After doing that, go to your /wp-content/ folder and rename ‘plugins deactivate’ back to plugins. Now activate one by one plugin untill your website breaks again. While doing it, you will know exactly which plugin is causing the problem with ease.

Deactivate all plugins using phpMyAdmin

In my opinion, the FTP method is easier one but you can also deactivate all plugins using phpMyAdmin.

First of all, you need to login to the dashboard of your web hosting. in this example, I am showing you a cPanel dashboard. The dashboard of your hosting account may look different.

You need to click on phpMyAdmin icon available under ‘Databases’ section.

cpanel phpmy admin

it will launch phpMyAdmin in a new browser window. You need to choose your WordPress database, if it is not already selected. Now you will be able to see database tables of WordPress.

php my admin db view

As you can see that all tables in the database contain wp- prefix before table name. Your tables may consist of different prefix.

You need to click on wp- options table, there are rows of different options inside wp- options table. Now find the option ‘active plugins’ and then click on ‘Edit’ link text to it.

edit option

On the next screen, you need to change option-value field to a:0:{} and now hit Go button to save the settings.

reset plugins

That is how you have deactivated all WordPress plugins using phpMyAdmin successfully. If it was a plugin which was stopping you from accessing the admin area of WordPress, then you should be able to login now.

I hope that you liked the post and it helped you to deactivate all plugins in WordPress.

You may want to see our Best WordPress backup plugins.

Do not forget to share this post.

How to Deactivate All Plugins When Not Able to Access WP-Admin While troubleshooting, often several websites will suggest deactivate all the plugins and activate them one by one. What is the worst part? At times, you get locked out of your WordPress admin area, then you cannot deactivate a single plugin with this easy way. If you have ever seen a white screen of death, then you can think exactly what I am talking about. In this post, I shall show you how to deactivate all WordPress plugins when you are unable to access wp-admin area. There are two ways…

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