WordPress events updates The first WordCamp to be held in Africa in 2023, WordCamp Entebbe, is well underway and set to take place on March 10-11. Don’t miss these other upcoming WordCamps: WordCamp Asia 2023 in Bangkok, Thailand, is only two weeks away! Check out the livestream schedule if you are attending virtually. // Team WPLift WORDPRESS NEWS AND ARTICLES [...]
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Are you looking for the best WordPress Crossfit themes?
Considering the number of themes out there, choosing the right one can be quite overwhelming. You’ll have to find a balanced theme that has the right features and the perfect look for a health and fitness-related website.
In this article, we will share some of the best WordPress themes for Crossfit, health, and fitness websites.
If you look around the health and fitness industry, you will notice many top brands using WordPress. That’s because WordPress is extremely flexible and easy to use.
WordPress is the most popular website builder in the world. It powers over 43% of all websites.
However, you need to make sure that you are using the right type of WordPress. Often people get confused between WordPress.com vs WordPress.org. You need to use WordPress.org to get all the features and functionality of WordPress.
To get started, you will need a domain name and WordPress hosting. A domain name is your site’s address on the web, like wpbeginner.com or google.com. Web hosting is the storage for all your website files.
We recommend using Bluehost for web hosting. They are one of the largest hosting companies in the world, and an official WordPress recommended hosting partner.
The best part is that WPBeginner users get a free domain name and free SSL certificate.
After purchasing hosting, the next step is to install WordPress. You can follow our guide on how to make a website with step-by-step instructions.
Next, you need to install a WordPress theme. Select a theme from our expert pick below and follow the instructions on how to install a WordPress theme guide.
Now that we’re ready, let’s check out some of the best WordPress themes for CrossFit and fitness websites.
This list contains both free and paid themes, and all of them are mobile responsive.
Astra is a popular WordPress theme with multiple templates. It has a built-in website demo for gym, CrossFit, and fitness websites. This includes sections for about me, awards, training, schedule, rates, image gallery, and more.
Astra has multiple layout choices allowing you to create a unique homepage layout and custom landing pages. To make it even easier, it works great with drag-and-drop page builders like Beaver Builder and Elementor.
Plus, Astra is designed for good WordPress search engine optimization (SEO). This helps your crossfit site to be found in search engines like Google.
SeedProd is the best WordPress website and theme builder on the market. It lets you make your own CrossFit and gym theme, and then you can use this custom theme for your website.
SeedProd is easy to use for anyone and requires no coding knowledge. It comes with a powerful drag-and-drop builder that you can use to design your theme, make your website, and create landing pages.
To make it more simple, SeedProd provides built-in theme templates for different business niches. These templates are ready-to-use, and you just need to replace the content to launch your site.
Divi is a powerful and stylish WordPress theme designed to create all types of WordPress websites. It has multiple ready-made layouts and Divi Builder support to create your own pages using powerful drag-and-drop tools.
It includes photo galleries, events, schedules, and an about section. This theme has custom widgets for social media integrations, featured posts, and more. Divi fully supports eCommerce and can be used to create an online store for your fitness products.
OceanWP is an all-purpose WordPress theme, including a ready-made website template for gyms, health, and fitness websites. It includes easy-to-manage sections to add instructors, classes, locations, and more. It also allows you to show different classes, training sessions, and pricing tables.
The theme setup is easy, and it also has a 1-click demo content installer. It has many flexible customization options to upload your own logo, choose custom colors, or change fonts. OceanWP is eCommerce-ready and optimized for SEO.
Ultra is a modern WordPress theme designed specifically for gyms, CrossFit, health, and fitness training businesses.
Its Fitness template comes with a built-in section for memberships, training, amenities, and apparel. It allows you to easily manage schedules, classes, and training sessions. It also includes an activity section where you can add different activities.
Ultra is a highly flexible WordPress theme with tons of options, multiple layouts, custom widgets, sidebars, and unlimited colors. Plus, it’s translation ready and can be used to create multilingual websites using a translation plugin such as WPML.
Landing is a modern multi-purpose WordPress theme designed to create one-page websites. It’s super flexible and comes with multiple ready-to-use pages that you can install with 1-click. It has multiple header styles, an events section, a portfolio, and eCommerce support.
Other features include a theme options panel, parallax background, video background, and Themify Builder.
Neve lets you tell your fitness story through your diet plan and photography. It’s a beautifully crafted WordPress theme with a minimalist design and gorgeous image galleries. It includes sections for portfolio, featured content, and eCommerce products.
Wellness also has a pain-free setup process and even includes a theme setup guide, so you can get online within minutes.
Aspire is a modern and stylish WordPress theme for gyms, fitness centers, CrossFit, and sports websites. It features a beautifully crafted homepage with a fullscreen header background and popup-style subscription box. It offers flexible options for different layouts, headers, templates, and more.
Other notable features include WooCommerce support, widget areas, custom page templates, photo galleries, etc.
StudioPress is now part of WP Engine, the most popular managed WordPress hosting company. You can get this theme and all 35+ other StudioPress themes when you sign up for WP Engine hosting to build your website.
Bonus: WPBeginner users also get an additional 20% OFF. Get started with WP Engine today!
Hestia Pro is an excellent WordPress multi-purpose theme that can be used for gyms, fitness, and health websites. It ships with a fullscreen image slider, an eCommerce-ready layout, a separate blog page, and call-to-action buttons. This theme has homepage sections for your featured content.
Hestia Pro comes with its own set of companion plugins that you can activate to add new features to your website. It’s fully compatible with drag-and-drop page builders such as Visual Composer. All the theme options can be easily set up using the live theme customizer.
With Hestia Pro, your site will always look great on mobile devices. The theme is fully responsive and retina ready.
VW Fitness is a free WordPress theme designed for gyms, fitness, and weight training websites. It includes a banner section, testimonials section, appointment form section, call to action button, and social media buttons.
All the theme options can be easily set up using the live theme customizer. It has a limited slider for the homepage. More features can be added using third-party WordPress plugins. For instance, you could easily add a contact form to your site.
Stack is a multi-purpose and metro designed theme. It makes a great CrossFit WordPress theme and can be easily used for gym fitness, CrossFit, or sports website.
It features a sidebar-based navigation menu, a custom logo, and social icons. Two key features of this theme are the masonry layout and infinite scrolling. It supports drag-and-drop page builders to design your own layout. Stack is easy to get started with and comes with a theme setup dashboard included.
Extra is a modern WordPress theme for personal trainers, gyms, and sports websites. It features a polished professional look with a beautiful slider and parallax effects. It includes custom page templates, unlimited color choices, multiple header layouts, and menu styles.
Inside, you will also find the Divi drag-and-drop page builder, sidebars, multiple layout choices, Google Fonts, several custom widgets, a custom admin panel, and more.
Consulting is a free WordPress theme perfect for fitness bloggers, CrossFit, and gym consultants. It includes multiple-page templates that allow you to show your classes, training, and schedule. It has a beautiful full-width homepage slider.
Consulting uses blurbs to display recent posts and featured content. All theme options can be set up using the live theme customizer.
Spencer is a stylish WordPress theme that can be used to create websites for CrossFit, gyms, and fitness businesses. It ships with a sticky navigation menu, newsletter sign-up form, fullscreen header background, and call to action button.
The theme setup is quite simple. The homepage uses a widgetized layout, so you just drag and drop content widgets to set it up. Spencer supports all popular page builder plugins out of the box.
Corner is an excellent WordPress multipurpose theme. It comes with a 2-column layout and a sidebar navigation menu where you can easily add your pages, welcome text, and social icons.
There’s a featured slider on the homepage to display photos. You can also add call-to-action buttons on slider images to redirect users to CrossFit and gym landing pages.
Moreover, it supports WooCommerce to sell gym equipment and collect payments online. The theme is easy to set up using page builder plugins and WordPress live customizer.
Listable is a WordPress theme that allows you to build a local directory of businesses and places. For instance, you could create a directory of local gyms, fitness training, and adventure events.
It lets users submit their listings, add listings to favorites, and manage their places from your WordPress site. And you can charge for a listing submission and service request to make money online.
This theme also includes beautiful colors and fonts, social media integration, and tons of customization options.
Pranayama Yoga is a free WordPress theme for yoga and health-related websites. It features a simple, spacious layout with bright colors. It includes a custom menu, a welcome banner, about information, courses, trainers, and testimonial sections.
It has footer widget areas and a right sidebar with custom widgets. All the theme options can be set up using the live theme customizer, and you can see a live preview of your website while making changes.
Inspiro is a multipurpose WordPress theme with a beautiful fullscreen video background, video gallery, and a lightbox popup to view videos. This makes it a great option to use videos to inspire your customers or promote your business.
Inspiro has a powerful portfolio section that you can use to showcase your gym inspiration, fitness videos, or photo galleries. It also includes uniquely designed templates and a drag-and-drop page builder to create your own layouts. It’s easy to customize and comes with a powerful theme options panel.
Flevr is a highly customizable WordPress multipurpose theme for all kinds of business websites. It features a clean white navigation menu on top of a fullscreen background image with a welcome message and a call to action button. The homepage uses a widgetized layout, which allows you to just drag and drop content widgets to create your homepage.
It also uses parallax effects on the homepage to create a visually stunning user experience. It includes multiple color choices, page templates, social media widgets, content discovery widgets, and a beautiful slider.
Poseidon is a free WordPress theme designed for health and fitness websites, sports blogs, and gyms. It has a minimal layout with a custom logo and navigation menu on top. It features a fullscreen image slideshow to grab the user’s attention.
It uses a magazine-style layout to display your blog posts on the homepage with post format support. The theme setup is straightforward, and the theme can be easily customized with the live customizer.
Breakthrough is an iconic and simple WordPress theme for weight training, CrossFit, and bodybuilding websites. It features a neat layout with a welcome message alongside the call to action button. It’s built on the robust Genesis Framework, so it’s a great theme for fast WordPress performance.
Inside you will also find beautiful page templates, custom widgets for social media, and eCommerce support. Breakthrough can be easily edited using the page builder or the live theme customizer.
Eclecticon is a portfolio WordPress theme to share your adventure, sports, and CrossFit portfolio. It has a clean, minimalist layout with a sidebar navigation menu and a fullscreen image slider. The theme homepage also utilizes beautiful parallax effects and CSS animations.
It has a theme options panel to manage the theme settings easily. Eclecticon fully supports eCommerce and uses responsive design to look great on all devices.
Float is another great choice for gyms, CrossFit, and fitness training websites. It’s a highly flexible WordPress theme featuring a modern layout with bold colors. It includes an easy theme setup with drag-and-drop options.
Inside you will find a 1-click demo installer, social media integration, custom logo upload, multilingual support, and more. It also includes beautiful templates for your homepage, blog, and photo galleries.
Indigo is a super flexible WordPress theme to start a blog or any other kind of website. It ships with several ready-made websites which you can install with one click. After that, you can just replace the content with your own, and you are good to go.
If you want to create your own layouts, then Indigo makes that easy too. It has ready-to-use modules that you can drag and drop on any page to create your own layouts. It includes beautiful typography, templates, sliders, and many customization options.
Meridian Fitness is a WordPress theme for health, fitness, and gym websites. It includes built-in sections for classes with schedules and trainers. This allows you to easily add a gym schedule, workout routines, and trainer profiles to your website.
It also includes custom widgets, multiple color schemes, a class schedule template, a parallax effect, and more. It’s easy to set up, and all the theme options can be configured using the live customizer.
We hope this article helped you find the best WordPress themes for CrossFit, gyms, and fitness websites. You may also want to see our guides on WordPress SEO guide for beginners and how to make a gym website in WordPress.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
The post 25 Best WordPress Themes for CrossFit (2023) first appeared on WPBeginner.
Do you want to show Google, Facebook, or Yelp reviews in WordPress?
Customer reviews encourage people to trust your website and buy from your business. There are lots of third-party sites where potential customers can see your reviews, but it’s also a good idea to show this content on your own website.
In this article, we will show you how to display business reviews from Google, Facebook, and Yelp in your WordPress site.
There are lots of different websites where customers can review your company such as Google, Yelp, and Facebook. However, potential customers will need to visit these third-party websites in order to see the reviews.
With that being said, it’s a good idea to add Google, Yelp, and Facebook reviews to your WordPress website so that everyone can see them. For example, you might show positive reviews on your WooCommerce product pages, or your About Us page.
These reviews can convince customers to trust your company, even if they haven’t bought from you before.
You can even use reviews to reduce your cart abandonment rates, by adding them to your custom WooCommerce checkout page.
With that said, let’s see how you can easily add Yelp, Google, and Facebook reviews to WordPress. Simply use the quick links below to jump straight to the platform you want to use.
You could simply copy and paste the best reviews into your site, and then show them using a customer review plugin. However, depending on the plugin you use, you may need to add new reviews manually, which can take a lot of time and effort.
There will also be a delay between customers posting on sites like Yelp and Facebook, and those reviews appearing on your WordPress website.
With that in mind, it’s a good idea to create a review feed that updates automatically using the Reviews Feed Pro plugin.
This single plugin allows you to show reviews from all the biggest review platforms.
It also comes with pre-designed templates, so you can display your reviews in different layouts including showcases, carousels, grids, and more.
The Reviews Feed automatically copies your website’s design so the reviews look like a natural part of your website, rather than content embedded from another platform.
First, you’ll need to install and activate the plugin. If you need help, then please see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Upon activation, click on Reviews Feed in the left-hand menu. You can then add your Reviews Feed Pro license key and click on the ‘Activate’ button.
You’ll find the license key under your account on the Smash Balloon website.
After activating the plugin, you’re ready to show reviews from Google, Facebook, or Yelp.
Yelp is a popular website where visitors can review restaurants, brands, services, products, and more.
If your business already has some positive Yelp reviews, then adding them to your website can get you more sales, members, appointments, and more.
If you don’t already have a Yelp account, then you can claim your Yelp business page.
Since Yelp is a public site, you can show reviews from any business that has a Yelp listing. For example, if you own a business listing blog or membership site, then you could show Yelp reviews for different local businesses on your website.
To add reviews to your website, you’ll need to create a Yelp API key. Simply go to the Yelp Developers page and type in your email address.
Then, click on the ‘Send Login Link’ button.
Note: If you don’t already have an account, then go to the Yelp signup page and follow the onscreen instructions to register.
After a few moments, Yelp will send a one-time login link to your email address. Simply open the email and use the ‘Click to Log in’ button.
This takes you to the Yelp Developer Portal.
In the toolbar, click on Manage API Access.
On this screen, type a name for your Yelp app into the ‘App Name’ field. This is just for your reference so you can use anything you want.
After that, open the ‘Industry’ dropdown and choose the industry that best reflects your website or business.
After that, type in your email address and add a description.
With that done, read the terms and conditions. If you’re happy to go ahead, then check the terms and conditions box, decide whether you want to get email updates from Yelp, and pass the captcha.
Finally, click on the ‘Create New App’ button.
After a few moments, you’ll see the following message ‘Great, your app has been created! Check your App ID and API Key below.’
You’ll need to add this information to your WordPress website.
Simply go to Reviews Feed » Settings in the WordPress dashboard.
Then, scroll to Manage API Keys and click on the small pencil icon next to ‘Yelp.’
In the popup, add your Yelp API key.
Then, click on the ‘Add’ button.
With that setup out of the way, you’re ready to add Yelp reviews to your website.
Simply go to Reviews Feed » All Feeds. Then, click on the ‘Add New’ button.
On the next screen, click on ‘Add New’ again.
In the popup that appears, select ‘Yelp’ and then click on the ‘Next’ button.
You can now add the URL of the Yelp page that you want to use. This can be a page that you own or any public third-party page.
After that, click on ‘Finish’.
Smash Balloon will now show this Yelp page as a possible source.
To go ahead and create the feed, simply check the box next to the Yelp page and then click on ‘Next.’
You can now choose a template to use for the review feed, such as a showcase carousel, grid carousel, or even a single review template.
After choosing a design, click on the ‘Next’ button.
Smash Balloon will now show the Yelp review feed in its editor, ready for you to fine-tune.
For instructions on how to customize the feed and then add it to your site, skip to the end of this guide.
Google Reviews is another place where customers can review your business online. Once again, positive reviews are important for building trust and getting conversions, but these reviews can also affect where your site appears in the search results.
Lots of positive Google reviews and high rankings may improve your business’s search ranking, especially in local search results.
Google also shows your reviews on relevant search engine result pages.
By adding these reviews to your website, you can encourage people to visit your Google listing and leave you a positive review.
This may improve your WordPress SEO and the overall star rating that appears in relevant search engine results.
With that being said, let’s see how you can add Google reviews to your WordPress website.
To start, you’ll need to create a Google API key, so head over to the Google Console and sign in using your Google account.
Once you’re logged into the console, click on ‘Google Home.’
If you’re logging into the Google Console for the first time then you’ll need to accept the terms and conditions.
With that done, click on ‘New Project.’
You can now type in a name for the project. This is just for your reference so you can use anything you want.
Once you’ve done that, click on the ‘Create’ button.
After that, click on the lined icon in the upper-left corner to open the menu.
In the menu, select ‘APIs and services’ and ‘Credentials.’
You will now see all your Google projects.
Simply find the project we just created and give it a click.
In the search field, start typing ‘Places API.’
When the right API appears, give it a click.
This takes you to a screen where you can activate the key for making Places API requests.
To do this, simply click on the ‘Enable’ button.
With that done, press the backwards arrow to return to the main Google Cloud Console dashboard. Here, click on ‘Create Credentials.’
Go ahead and select ‘API key’ from the dropdown menu.
After a few moments, you’ll see an ‘API key created’ popup.
You’ll need to add this information to your WordPress blog or website, so make a note of it.
By default, all of Google’s API keys are unrestricted. To stop other people from using the API key, you’ll need to restrict it by clicking the ‘Edit API Key’ link inside the popup.
This opens a screen showing all your Google API keys. Simply find the key you just created, and give it a click.
Note: If you closed the popup by accident, then don’t worry. You can reach the same screen by selecting ‘Credentials’ in the left-hand menu.
Under ‘Application restrictions,’ click on ‘HTTP referrers (websites).’
Under ‘Website Restrictions,’ click on ‘Add.’
You can now type in the address of your WooCommerce store or WordPress website, and then click on ‘Done.’
To make sure Smash Balloon can access the Places API, you’ll also need to type in www.googleapis.com and click on ‘Done.’
Under ‘API restrictions,’ select the button next to ‘Restrict key.’
With that done, click on the ‘Select APIs’ dropdown menu and check the box next to ‘Google Places API.’
Now we’re ready to click on ‘OK.’
The next step is adding the API key to your site. In the WordPress dashboard, go to Reviews Feed » Settings.
Under ‘Manage API Keys,’ click on the pencil icon next to ‘Google.’
In the popup, add your Google API key.
After that, click on the ‘Add’ button.
Now you’ve added an API key, you’re ready to create a feed showing all your Google Reviews.
To do this, go to Reviews Feed » All Feeds, and click on the ‘Add New’ button.
On the next screen, click on ‘Add New.’
In the popup that appears, click on ‘Google’ and then select ‘Next.’
Now you’ll need to enter the Place ID of the cafe, restaurant, or other venue that you want to use in your feed.
To get the ID, go to Google’s Place ID page and scroll to ‘Find the ID of a particular place.’
In the Google Maps search bar, start typing the address or name of the place that you want to feature. When the right place appears, give it a click.
Google will now show the place ID in a small popup.
Go ahead and copy the place ID.
Now, switch back to the WordPress dashboard and paste the ID into the ‘Enter Place ID’ field.
With that done, click on ‘Finish.’
To go ahead and create the feed, you need to check the box next to the Google place you just added, and then click on ‘Next.’
You can now choose the template you want to use for the review feed, and click on ‘Next.’
Smash Balloon will now create a feed showing all your Google reviews.
Do you want to change how the feed looks? Skip to the end of this post for a detailed step-step guide on how to fine-tune the Google Reviews feed, and then add it to your website.
Many businesses, websites, and online stores use Facebook to connect with their audience. Facebook also has its own built-in review system, so you may want to add these reviews to your website.
Unlike Yelp and Google, your Facebook page belongs to you, so this is also a way to promote your profile and get more social media followers.
To create a Facebook review feed, go to Reviews Feed » All Feeds.
Then, click on the ‘Add New’ button.
On the next screen, click on ‘Add New’ again.
In the popup that appears, click on ‘Facebook’ and then select ‘Connect with Facebook.’
On the next screen, select the radio button next to ‘Page.’
Once you’re done with that, click on ‘Connect to Facebook.’
This opens a popup where you can log into your Facebook account and choose the pages where you’ll get the reviews from.
After that, we’re ready to click on ‘Next.’
Facebook will now show all the information that Smash Balloon will have access to and the actions it can perform.
To restrict Smash Balloon’s access to your Facebook page, just click any of the switches to turn it from ‘Yes’ to ‘No.’ However, be aware that this can affect the content that appears on your website.
With that in mind, it’s a good idea to leave all the switches enabled.
When you’re happy with how the Facebook permissions are set up, click on ‘Done.’
After a few moments, you should see a message confirming that you’ve connected your WordPress website and your Facebook page.
That done, click on the ‘OK’ button.
Smash Balloon will automatically take you back to the WordPress dashboard, where you’ll see the Facebook page you just connected to your website.
Simply select the checkbox next to the Facebook page and then click on the ‘Next’ button.
You can now choose the template you want to use for the Facebook reviews feed.
After making the decision, click on ‘Next.’
Smash Balloon will now create a feed showing all your Facebook reviews.
Smash Balloon automatically copies your WordPress theme so any reviews feed you create will fit perfectly with your site’s design. However, Smash Balloon also has an advanced feed editor so you can fine-tune every part of the feed.
No matter whether you create a feed using Google, Facebook, or Yelp, Smash Balloon will open its feed editor automatically.
Note: If you accidentally closed the editor then don’t panic. Simply go to Reviews Feed » All Feeds in the WordPress dashboard, and then click on the ‘Edit’ icon next to the feed.
Smash Balloon shows a live preview of your review feed to the right. On the left is a menu that shows the different settings that you can use to change how the feed looks.
To see what changes you can make, start by clicking on ‘Layout’ in the left-hand menu. Here, you can choose from a Grid, Masonry, or Carousel layout.
As you click on the different layouts, the live preview will automatically update to show the new layout. This makes it easy to try different layouts and find the one you prefer.
You can also change the spacing, how many reviews you include in the feed, and the number of characters WordPress shows from each review.
As you make changes, remember that the feed may look different on smartphones and tablets, compared to desktop computers.
With that being said, it’s a good idea to test the mobile version of your feed using the row of buttons in the right-hand corner. In this way, you can create a review feed that looks just as good on smartphones and tablets, as it does on desktop computers.
Finally, if you select the Carousel layout then you can change how the reviews scroll using the ‘Pagination’ settings.
For example, you can enable autoplay so the reviews scroll automatically or increase the interval so visitors have more time to read each review.
When you’re happy with these changes, click on the small arrow next to ‘Customize.’
This takes you back to the main Smash Balloon review feed editor.
The next setting you can explore is ‘Header,’ which controls the text that appears at the top of your feed.
By default, Smash Balloon shows a ‘Review’ headline, your average star rating, and a ‘Write a review’ button.
This header helps visitors understand the content, while also encouraging them to leave their own review. However, if you prefer then you can remove the header using the ‘Enable’ toggle.
If you do show the header, then you can add or remove content using the Heading, Button, and Average Review Rating checkboxes.
To change the padding and margins, simply use the settings under ‘Element Header Spacing.’
If you want to change any of the text that appears in the header, then simply click on either Heading, Button, or Average Review Rating. This takes you to an area where you can change the text color, size, and more.
You can also replace the standard text with your own custom messaging by typing into the ‘Content’ field.
When you’re ready to return to the main editor screen, just click on the ‘Customize’ link at the top of the left-hand menu.
The next setting you can look at is ‘Reviews,’ so give this option a click. Here, you can choose between ‘Post Style’ and ‘Edit Individual Elements.’
If you select ‘Post Style,’ then you can change how the individual reviews look inside the feed. For example, you can switch to a boxed layout, add a shadow, and change the corner radius to create curved edges.
As you make changes, the preview updates automatically so you can try different settings to see what looks the best on your website.
If you choose ‘Edit Individual Elements,’ then you’ll see all the different content that Reviews Feed Pro includes in each review such as rating, author and date, and the review text.
To remove a piece of content, just click to uncheck its box.
You can also customize how each type of content looks by clicking on it.
For example, in the following image, we’ve changed the color and size of the review content, known as the ‘Review Paragraph.’
When you’re happy with how the review feed looks, click on ‘Customize’ to return to the main Smash Balloon editor.
You can now move to the next settings screen by selecting ‘Load More Button.’
The ‘Load More’ button allows visitors to scroll through more reviews, so the plugin adds it by default. Since it’s such an important button, you may want to help it stand out by changing the background color, hover state, label, margins, and more.
You can also replace the default ‘Load More’ text with your own messaging by typing into the ‘Text’ field.
If you prefer, then you can remove the button completely by clicking the ‘Enable’ toggle.
When you’re happy with how the review feed looks, don’t forget to click on ‘Save.’ With that out of the way, you’re ready to add Google, Facebook, or Yelp reviews to your site.
Now you can add the review feed to your site using a block, widget, or shortcode.
If you’ve created more than one feed using Reviews Feed Pro, then you’ll need to know the feed’s shortcode if you’re going to use a widget or block.
To get this information, go to Reviews Feed » All Feeds and then look at the value under ‘Shortcode.’ You’ll need to add this code to the block or widget, so make a note of it.
In the following image, we’ll need to use [reviews-feed feed=2]
If you want to embed the feed in a page or post, then you can use the Reviews Feed block.
Just open the page or post where you want to show your Yelp, Google, or Facebook reviews. Then, click on the ‘+’ icon to add a new block and start typing ‘Reviews Feed.’
When the right block appears, click to add it to the page or post.
The block will show one of your review feeds by default. If you want to show a different feed, then find ‘Shortcode Settings’ in the right-hand menu.
Here, simply add the shortcode you got earlier, and then click on ‘Apply Changes.’
If you’re happy with how the review feed looks, then you can go ahead and publish or update the page.
Another option is to add the Reviews Feed widget to your website. This is a great way to show positive customer reviews on every page of your site. For example, you might add the widget to the sidebar or WordPress footer.
To add the Reviews Feed widget to your site, head over to Appearance » Widgets. You can then click on the blue ‘+’ icon towards the top of the screen.
In the panel that appears, type in ‘Reviews Feed’ to find the right widget.
Then, simply drag the widget onto the area where you want to show the reviews, such as the sidebar or similar section.
The widget will automatically show one of the feeds you created using the Reviews Feed plugin. If this isn’t the feed you want to display, then type the feed’s shortcode into the ‘Shortcode Settings’ box.
After that, click on ‘Apply Changes.’
You can now make the widget live by clicking on the ‘Update’ button. For more information, please see our step-by-step guide on how to add and use widgets in WordPress.
Another option is embedding the Google, Facebook, or Yelp reviews on any page, post, or widget-ready area using the shortcode.
Simply go to Reviews Feed » All Feeds and copy the code in the ‘Shortcode’ column. You can now add this code to any Shortcode block.
For help placing the shortcode, please see our guide on how to add a shortcode.
Are you using a block-enabled theme? Then you can use the full-site editor to add the Reviews Feed block anywhere on your website.
In the WordPress dashboard, go to Appearance » Editor.
By default, the full-site editor will show the theme’s home template. If you want to add the Google, Facebook, or Yelp feed to a different template, then click on the arrow next to ‘Home.’
You can then choose any design from the dropdown, such as the footer template.
After choosing a template, simply hover your mouse over the area where you want to show the reviews.
Then, click on the ‘+’ button.
Once you’ve done that, type in ‘Reviews Feed.’
When the right block appears, click to add it to the template.
As always, Reviews Feed will show a feed by default. You can change this feed by adding a shortcode following the same process described above.
We hope this article helped you learn how to show Google, Facebook, and Yelp reviews in WordPress. You can also go through our guide on the best email marketing services for small businesses and how to create an email newsletter.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
The post How to Show Google, Facebook, and Yelp Reviews in WordPress first appeared on WPBeginner.
Recently one of our readers asked if there is an easy way to add box shadows in WordPress?
Shadows can make your most important content stand out and grab your visitors’ attention. They can also help flat website designs appear more engaging and interesting.
In this article, we will show you how to easily add box shadows in WordPress, step by step.
A box shadow, sometimes also known as a drop shadow, is a visual effect that makes it look like an onscreen object is casting a shadow.
We tend to pay more attention to objects that appear closer to us. That’s why many website owners add box shadows to their most important content to make it look like it’s hovering above the page.
For example, if you add a big shadow to a call to action button, then it will look physically closer to the visitor. This will draw the person’s attention toward this important button.
With that said, let’s see how you can add box shadows to your WordPress blog or website. Simply use the quick links below to jump straight to the method you want to use.
When adding box shadow, the best practice is to only add it on your most important website elements. If you add a unique shadow effect to each WordPress block, then it can make your site look messy and confusing.
It’s also important that you keep your box shadows consistent across the site. The best way to do this is by defining the style in CSS using WPCode.
WPCode is the best code snippets plugin used by over 1 million WordPress websites. It makes it easy to add custom code in WordPress without having to edit the functions.php file.
With WPCode, even beginners can edit their website’s code without risking mistakes and typos that can cause many common WordPress errors.
The first thing you need to do is install and activate the free WPCode plugin. For more details, see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Upon activation, head over to Code Snippets » Add Snippet.
Here, simply hover your mouse over ‘Add Your Custom Code.’
When it appears, click on ‘Use snippet.’
To start, type in a title for the custom code snippet. This can be anything that helps you identify the snippet in the WordPress dashboard.
After that, open the ‘Code Type’ dropdown and select ‘CSS Snippet.’
In the code editor, add the following code snippet:
.shadow-effect {
box-shadow: 5px 5px 0px 2px #a9a1a1;
}
In the above snippet, you may need to replace the px values depending on the kind of shadow you want to create.
To help you out, here’s what the different px values mean, going from left-to-right:
When you’re happy with the snippet, scroll to the ‘Insertion’ section. WPCode can add your code to different locations, such as after every post, frontend only, or admin only.
We want to use the custom CSS code across our entire WordPress website, so click on ‘Auto Insert’ if it isn’t already selected. Then, open the ‘Location’ dropdown menu and choose ‘Site Wide Header.’
After that, you’re ready to scroll to the top of the screen and click on the ‘Inactive’ toggle, so it changes to ‘Active.’
Finally, click on ‘Save Snippet’ to make the CSS snippet live.
Now, you can add the custom CSS class to any block.
In the WordPress content editor, simply select the block where you want to add a box shadow. Then, in the right-hand menu click to expand the ‘Advanced’ section.
Here, you’ll see fields where you can add different classes.
In ‘Additional CSS Class(es),’ type in shadow-effect.
When you’re ready to publish the box shadow, just click on the ‘Publish’ or ‘Update’ button.
Now if you visit your website, you’ll see the box shadow live.
If you’re not comfortable writing code, then you might prefer to create shadows using Drop Shadow Box. This free plugin allows you to add box shadows to any block using the built-in WordPress page and post editor.
First, you’ll need to install and activate the plugin. If you need help, then please see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
There are no settings to configure, so you can start using this plugin straight away.
To add a drop shadow, simply click on the ‘+’ icon and start typing in ‘Drop Shadow Box.’ When the right block appears, give it a click to add it to the page or post.
This adds the drop shadow as an empty box, so the next step is adding some content.
To do this, go ahead and click on the ‘+’ inside the Drop Shadow Box block.
Then, simply add the block you want to use and configure it as normal.
For example, in the following image we’ve added an Image block and selected a picture from the WordPress media library.
With that done, click to select the Drop Shadow Box block. In the right-hand menu, you’ll see all the settings you can use to style this block.
WordPress sets the shadow’s width automatically but you can change this by opening the ‘Width’ dropdown and then choosing either ‘Pixels’ or ‘%.’
You can then resize it using the settings that appear.
The Drop Box Shadow plugin comes with a few different effects such as curved edges and an eye-catching ‘Perspective’ effect.
To preview the different effects, simply open the ‘Effect’ dropdown and choose from the list. The preview will update automatically so you can try different styles to see what you prefer.
You can also change whether the plugin shows the shadow inside the box, outside the box, or both using the ‘Inside Shadow’ and ‘Outside Shadow’ toggles.
After that, you can change the color of the box and border using the settings under the ‘Colors’ header.
Just be aware that ‘Background’ refers to the inside of the Drop Shadow Box, while ‘Border’ appears outside of the block.
If you want to create a softer, curved shadow box then you can enable the ‘Rounded corners’ toggle. Finally, you can change the alignment and padding, similar to how you customize other blocks in WordPress.
To create more box shadows, just follow the same process described above.
When you’re happy with how the page looks, simply click on ‘Update’ or ‘Publish’ to make all your new box shadows live.
If you want to add box shadows to landing pages, custom homepages, or any part of your WordPress theme, then we recommend using a page builder plugin.
SeedProd is the best drag and drop WordPress page builder. It allows you to design custom landing pages and even create a custom WordPress theme without having to write a single line of code.
It also lets you add box shadows to any block using its advanced drag-and-drop editor.
First, you need to install and activate the SeedProd plugin. For more details, see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Note: There’s also a premium version of SeedProd that comes with more professionally-designed templates, advanced features, and WooCommerce integration. However, we’ll be using the free version as it has everything you need to add box shadows in WordPress.
After activating the plugin, SeedProd will ask for your license key.
You can find this license key under your account on the SeedProd website. After entering the information, click on the ‘Verify Key’ button.
After entering your key, go to SeedProd » Landing Pages in your WordPress dashboard.
SeedProd comes with 150 professionally designed templates that are grouped into categories. Along the top you’ll see categories that let you create beautiful coming soon pages, activate maintenance mode, create a custom login page for WordPress, and more.
All of SeedProd’s templates are easy to customize, so you can use any design you want.
When you find a template that you like, simply hover your mouse over it and click on the checkmark icon.
You can now type in a name for your landing page into the ‘Page Name’ field. SeedProd will automatically create a ‘Page URL’ using the page name.
It’s smart to include relevant keywords in your URL wherever possible, as this can help search engines understand what the page is about. This will often improve your WordPress SEO.
To change the page’s automatically-generated URL, simply type into the ‘Page URL’ field.
When you’re happy with the information you’ve typed in, click on ‘Save and Start Editing the Page.’ This will load the SeedProd page builder interface.
This simple drag-and-drop builder shows a live preview of your page design to the right. On the left is a menu showing all the different blocks and sections you can add to the page.
When you find a block that you want to add, simply drag and drop it onto your template.
To customize a block, go ahead and click to select that block in the SeedProd editor. The left-hand menu will now update to show all the settings you can use to customize the block.
For example, if you click on a Headline block then you can type in your own text, or change the text color and font size.
As you’re building the page, you can move blocks around your layout by dragging and dropping them. For more detailed instructions, please see our guide on how to create a landing page with WordPress.
To create a box shadow, click to select any block in the SeedProd page editor. The settings in the left-hand menu may vary between blocks, but you’ll typically need to click on an ‘Advanced’ tab.
Here, look for a ‘Shadow’ dropdown menu under the ‘Styles’ section. Simply open this dropdown and choose a shadow style such as Hairline, Medium, or 2X Large.
The preview will update automatically, so you can try different styles to see what looks the best on your page design.
If you don’t want to use any of the ready-made styles, then click on ‘Custom.’
This adds some new settings where you can change the color, blur, spread, and position of the custom shadow.
That done, you can continue working on the page by adding more blocks and box shadows.
When you’re happy with how the page looks, click the ‘Save’ button and then choose ‘Publish’ to make it live.
If you’re not comfortable working with code but still want to create advanced box shadows, then you can try CSS Hero. This premium plugin allows you to fine-tune every part of your WordPress theme without having to write a single line of code.
CSS Hero allows you to create a unique shadow for each block, so it’s also a great choice if you want to create lots of different shadow effects.
First, you need to install and activate the CSS Hero plugin. For more details, see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Upon activation, you’ll see a ‘Proceed to Product Activation’ button at the top of the screen. Go ahead and click on this button.
This will take you to the CSS Hero website where you can log into your account and get a license key. Simply follow the onscreen instructions, and you’ll be redirected back to your site in a few clicks.
Next, click the ‘Customize with CSS Hero’ text in the WordPress admin toolbar.
This will open the CSS Hero editor.
By default, clicking on any piece of content will open a panel with all the settings you can use to customize that content.
This is great if you want to add a box shadow to your website’s homepage. However, if you want to customize any other page then you’ll need to switch from ‘Select’ mode to ‘Navigate’ mode, as this allows you to interact with menus, links, and other content as normal.
To do this, click on the ‘Select / Navigate’ toggle in the toolbar so that it shows ‘Navigate.’
You can now navigate to the page or post where you want to add the shadow.
As soon as you reach that page, go ahead and click on the ‘Select / Navigate’ toggle again so that it shows ‘Select.’
With that done, click on the paragraph, image, button, or any other content where you want to add a box shadow.
In the left-hand panel, click on ‘Extra.’
You can now go ahead and click on ‘Make Shadow,’ which shows all the settings you can use to create a box shadow.
To start, you can change whether the shadow appears inside or outside the block using the ‘Shadow Position’ settings.
After making this decision, you can fine-tune the shadow’s orientation using the small dot in the ‘Orientation’ box.
Simply drag and drop the dot into a new position to see it move in the live preview.
When you’re happy with the shadow’s position, you can change its color, blur, and spread.
CSS Hero will show these changes immediately, so you can try different settings to see what looks the best.
To add a box shadow to other blocks, just follow the same process described above.
When you’re happy with how the page looks, click on ‘Save & Publish’ to make it live.
We hope this tutorial helped you learn how to add a box shadow in WordPress. You may also want to learn how to create a table of content in WordPress, or check out our list of the best WordPress popup plugins.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
The post How to Easily Add Box Shadow in WordPress (4 Ways) first appeared on WPBeginner.
Are you wondering what to add to the footer of your WordPress site?
The footer is the area at the bottom of your website. Although it’s easy to overlook, the footer can improve the user experience on your site in lots of significant ways.
In this checklist, we will share the top things that you should add to the footer of your WordPress website.
The footer is the area that appears below the content part of your website. It is a common website design feature used by millions of websites.
‘Footer’ can also refer to the footer code area. Third-party services like Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, and many others may ask you to add code snippets to your website’s footer.
This sort of footer code doesn’t appear to visitors but it allows you to add features, services, and other content to your WordPress website.
With so many options, beginners may struggle to decide what to add to the footer area. As a result, many website owners miss out on opportunities to improve their sites and provide a better visitor experience.
That being said, let’s take a look at some of the things to add to the footer of your WordPress site, and how to make it more useful.
Here are all the things we’ll add, so feel free to jump straight to the items that interest you.
Many websites add links to the footer area. This helps visitors find your site’s most important content such as the about page, products page, checkout, contact form, and more.
All popular WordPress themes come with a footer widget area where you can add different content and elements.
To add links to the footer area, go to the Appearance » Menus page and click on the ‘create a new menu’ link.
After that, type in a name for the menu. This is just for your reference so you can use anything you want.
With that done, click on the ‘Create Menu’ button.
Now, check the box next to each item that you want to add to the menu.
Then, click on ‘Add to Menu.’
When you’re happy with how the menu is set up, click on the ‘Save Menu’ button to store your changes. For more help, see our guide on how to create navigation menus in WordPress.
Now you’ve created a menu, let’s add it to the footer area of your website by going to Appearance » Widgets. Here, click on the blue ‘+’ button.
In the ‘Search’ field, type in ‘Navigation Menu.’
When the right block appears, drag and drop it onto the ‘Footer’ or similar area.
After that, open the Select Menu’ dropdown and choose the footer menu you created earlier.
You may also want to type in a title, which will appear above the links in your website’s footer.
With that done, click on the ‘Update’ button.
Now, if you visit your website you’ll see all the links in the footer area.
You can also add links to the footer using a drag-and-drop page builder plugin like SeedProd. You can even create different footers for individual WordPress pages.
For step-by-step instructions, check out our guide on how to edit the footer in WordPress.
Adding a Menu to Your Footer with the Full-Site Editor
If you’re using a block-based theme such as ThemeIsle Hestia Pro or Twenty Twenty-Three, then the process of adding a menu to the footer is slightly different.
Simply create a navigation menu following the same process described above. Then, go to Themes » Editor in the WordPress dashboard to open the full-site editor.
Here, click on the downwards-pointing arrow in the toolbar and select the ‘Footer’ template.
In the footer area, go ahead and click on the ‘+’ button to add a new block.
In the ‘Search’ bar, type in ‘Navigation.’
When the right block appears, click to add it to the footer area.
The full-site editor will show one of your navigation menus by default.
If you want to show a different menu instead, then open the ‘Select menu’ dropdown in the right-hand panel and choose the menu you want to use.
When you’re happy with how the menu looks, click on ‘Save’ to make your changes live.
Sometimes you may need to add snippets to your WordPress blog or website’s footer.
You could edit your theme files directly and paste the new code in the footer.php template. However, this isn’t recommended as the custom code will disappear if you change the WordPress theme, or update that theme.
Editing your theme files directly can also be risky. Even a simple typo or mistake could cause lots of common WordPress errors.
The best way to add code in the WordPress footer is by using a code snippets plugin. WPCode is the best code snippets plugin for WordPress. It makes it easy to insert code into your WordPress site’s headers and footers without needing to edit your theme files.
First, you need to install and activate the WPCode plugin. For more details, see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Upon activation, go to Code Snippets » Header & Footer. From here you can paste your code snippet into the ‘Footer’ box.
Don’t forget to click on the ‘Save Changes’ button to store your changes. For more detailed instructions, please see our article on how to add header and footer code in WordPress.
To comply with GDPR and other privacy-related laws in different countries, you need to add a privacy policy page in WordPress and then link to it from all the other pages.
Since the footer appears across your entire website, it’s the perfect place to add this URL.
First, you need to go to Settings » Privacy in the admin area. You’ll notice that WordPress has already created a Privacy Policy page draft for you.
To use the default Privacy Policy page, simply click on ‘Use This Page.’ If you want to use a different page instead, then open the dropdown menu and choose a new page from the list.
You can also create a new privacy policy page from this screen. Simply click on the ‘Create’ button and WordPress will generate a new post with some basic privacy policy text.
No matter how you create the privacy policy page, you can edit it just like any other page in WordPress. For example, you can add more information about your requirements, and terms and conditions.
When you’re happy with the information you’ve entered, click on the ‘Publish’ button to make the privacy policy live.
With that done, you’ll need to add a link to your website’s footer. To add a navigation menu to the footer area, simply follow the same process described above.
You may also want to add a copyright date in the WordPress footer area to let visitors know that your content is copyrighted. One way to do this is by simply adding the text to your theme settings.
Many top WordPress themes allow you to add text in the footer area, so it’s worth checking whether your theme has this setting.
Simply go to the Appearance » Customize page and look for any footer settings in the left-hand menu. These are usually labeled ‘Footer Options,’ ‘Footer Settings’ or similar.
To add the copyright symbol, simply paste the following into the ‘Footer Credits,’ ‘Copyright Text’ or similar section.
© Copyright 2016-2023. All rights reserved.
The WordPress Theme Customizer will update automatically so you can see how the copyright text will look on your website.
Depending on your theme, you may also be able to change the font size and text alignment using the theme settings.
If you’re happy with how the copyright notice looks, then click on the ‘Publish’ button to make your changes live.
Pro Tip: With this approach, you’ll still need to update the copyright notice every year. To add the new year automatically, see our guide on how to add a dynamic copyright date in the WordPress footer.
Adding a Copyright Date to Your Footer with the Full-Site Editor
If you’re using a block-enabled theme, then it’s easy to add a copyright date to the footer. Simply go to Themes » Editor to open the full-site editor.
Then, scroll to the footer section and click on the ‘+’ to add a new block. You can now start typing in ‘Shortcode’ and select the right block when it appears.
In the shortcode block, add the following:
© Copyright 2016-2023. All rights reserved.
After that, simply click on the ‘Save’ button to make the copyright notice live.
Some free WordPress themes add links to the footer area. Typically this is a ‘Powered by WordPress’ disclaimer that links to the official WordPress website, but some theme developers also include links to their own websites.
These outgoing links encourage visitors to leave your website and can have a negative effect on your WordPress SEO. With that in mind, it’s a good idea to remove them from the footer area by going to Appearance » Customize.
Some themes make it difficult to remove these links so you may have to spend time looking through the different settings.
To start, we recommend looking for any settings labeled ‘Footer Options,’ ‘Footer & Copyright Options,’ or similar.
Here, you should be able to delete the links or even replace them with your own URLs.
Some themes hard-code the links in the theme files and don’t give you the option to remove them using the WordPress Customizer.
In that case, you can remove these links by editing the footer.php file. For step-by-step instructions, please see our guide on how to remove the powered by WordPress footer links.
Removing Powered By Links with the Full-Site Editor
To remove the ‘Powered By’ links in a block-enabled theme, simply open the full-site editor by following the same process described above.
In the editor, find the ‘Proudly powered by WordPress’ or similar text. You can replace this with your own text by typing into the ‘Paragraph’ block.
If you want to remove the text completely, then simply click to select the ‘Paragraph’ block. After that, click on the three-dotted ‘options’ button.
Finally, click on ‘Remove Paragraph’ to delete the block.
You can then go ahead and click on ‘Save.’ Now, if you visit your website you’ll see that this text has been removed.
Do you regularly post beautiful photos and videos to Instagram?
People won’t see your Instagram content if they just visit your website. With that in mind, you may want to show recent Instagram photos in your website’s footer.
This is an easy way to promote your social media page and encourage more people to follow you on Instagram.
The easiest way to add a photo feed in the WordPress footer is by using Smash Balloon Instagram Feed. It is the best Instagram plugin for WordPress and allows you to easily add a photo feed to your website.
After adding the social media feed to your footer, Smash Balloon will fetch new Instagram photos automatically. In this way, your footer will always show your latest Instagram photos to the people who visit your website.
If you run an online store, then you can even get more sales by adding Instagram shoppable images to the WordPress footer.
Smash Balloon has all the tools you need to fine-tune how the Instagram feed looks in your footer. For example, you can choose between different layouts, add a ‘Follow’ button, optimize your feed for mobile devices, and more with the user-friendly Smash Balloon editor.
For step-by-step instructions, please see our guide on how to how to easily embed Instagram in WordPress.
When you’re happy with how the feed looks, it’s time to add it to your website’s footer. Simply go to Appearance » Widgets and click on the blue ‘+’ button.
In the search field, type in ‘Instagram Feed’ to find the right block. Just be aware that WordPress has a built-in Instagram Feed button, so make sure you use the block that has the official Instagram logo.
You can now drag and drop the block onto your site’s footer.
With that done, simply click on ‘Update.’ After that, you can visit your website to see your Instagram feed in the footer.
Adding an Instagram Feed with the Full-Site Editor
It’s easy to add the Smash Balloon Instagram feed to a block-enabled WordPress theme.
Simply open the full-site editor following the exact same process described above, and then click on the ‘+’ button in the footer template.
With that done, type in ‘Instagram Feed’ and select the right block when it appears to add it to the footer.
The full-site editor will automatically show the Instagram feed you created.
With that done, simply click on ‘Save’ to make the Instagram feed live.
Want to show special offers or notifications in the footer area?
You can create a footer bar that stays stuck to the bottom of the screen as the visitor scrolls.
To create this kind of sticky footer bar, you’ll need OptinMonster. It is the best conversion optimization software in the market and allows you to turn website visitors with a high bounce rate into users and customers.
OptinMonster also comes with powerful display rules so you can show personalized custom messages in your website’s footer.
First, you’ll need to sign up for an OptinMonster account.
After that, install and activate the OptinMonster plugin on your WordPress website. Upon activation, select Connect Your Existing Account.
You can now type in the email address and password for your OptinMonster account.
Once connected, go to the OptinMonster » Campaigns page and click on the ‘Create your first campaign’ or ‘Add New’ button.
On the next screen, choose ‘Floating Bar’ as your campaign type and then select a template.
To preview an OptinMonster template, simply hover your mouse over it and then click on the ‘Preview’ button.
When you find a template you like, click on its ‘Use Template’ button.
You can then type in a name for the campaign. This is just for your reference so you can use any title you want.
With that done, click on Start Building.
This will take you to OptinMonster’s drag-and-drop campaign builder where you can design the footer bar. Simply click on any element you want to edit, or drag and drop new blocks from the left-hand column.
When you’re happy with how the campaign looks, simply click on the ‘Publish’ button.
Then, select ‘Publish’ to make the campaign live.
You can now select the ‘Save’ button to store your changes and then click on the ‘X’ in the upper-right corner to close the OptinMonster campaign builder.
Back in the WordPress dashboard, open the ‘Status’ dropdown and select ‘Published.’
Finally, click on ‘Save.
Now, visit your WordPress website to see the floating footer bar in action.
You can use OptinMonster to create all kinds of high-converting campaigns including slide-in footer popups, countdown timers, and targeted footer notifications that can help you recover abandoned cart sales.
Another good way to use the footer space in your WordPress theme is by displaying social media icons. This is an easy way to promote your different profiles and get more followers on Twitter, Facebook, and other popular platforms.
The best way to add these buttons is by using the Social Icons Widget plugin. This plugin supports all the major social networks and comes with multiple icon styles that you can choose from.
After activating Social Icons Widget, go to the Appearance » Widgets page. You can then click on the ‘+’ button and search for ‘Social Icons Block.’
When the right block appears, drag and drop it onto the footer area.
By default, the Social Icons Block already has a few social media icons built-in.
To link any of these icons to your own social profiles, simply give it a click. In the little bar that appears, type in the URL of the page you want to promote.
Want to use a different icon for this social media platform?
Then simply click on the ‘Edit Details’ link. This opens a window where you can choose a new image for the social icon.
Simply repeat this process for each built-in social media icon.
If you want to remove one of these default icons, then click on the ‘Delete icon.’
There are countless social media platforms and other websites that you may want to add to the footer area.
To do this, click on the ‘+’ button.
You can now choose a social media icon and add a link by following the same process described above.
When you’re happy with how the social media icons are set up, click on ‘Update.’ Now, simply visit your website and scroll to the footer area to see the social buttons in action.
Bonus: Want to add more social features to your website? Take a look at our expert pick of the best social media plugins for WordPress to grow your audience.
Adding Social Buttons with the Full-Site Editor
Are you using a block-enabled theme? Then you can add social icons to the footer by going to Themes » Editor.
In the footer, click on the ‘+’ button and then type in ‘Social Icons block.’
When the right block appears, click to add it to the footer.
This adds a block with the default social icons.
You can now customize these icons and add new social buttons, by following the same process described above.
When you’re happy with how the buttons look, simply click on the ‘Save’ button. Now if you visit your website you’ll see the social icons in the block-enabled footer.
If you offer customer support over the phone, then adding your phone number in the WordPress footer area can help users contact you.
For this, you’ll need a business phone number. We recommend using Nextiva, which is the best business phone service for small businesses.
Nextiva allows you to make cheaper calls and use advanced features like call forwarding, unlimited free domestic calling, voicemail to email and text, and more. You can also use the same number on multiple devices and handsets, and manage calls from any device that has an internet connection.
Once you have a business phone number, you’ll need to add it to your website. The easiest way is by using the WP Call Button plugin, which adds a click-to-call button to your WordPress site.
After activating the plugin, go to Settings » WP Call Button in the WordPress dashboard.
Here, click on the ‘Call Now Button Status’ switch so it shows ‘Active.’
Next, type your business phone number into the ‘Phone Number’ field.
By default, the button shows ‘Call Us’ text but you can replace this with your own custom messaging by typing into the ‘Call Button Text’ field.
After that, scroll to the Call Button Position section and choose where you want to show the button on your website. For example, you can show the button in the bottom-right corner, or create a banner that covers the whole footer area.
When you’re happy with how the button is set up, click on ‘Save Changes.’ After that, simply head over to your website to see the call-to-click button in action.
Don’t want to use a click-to-call button? Then see our guide on how to add clickable phone numbers in WordPress for some different options.
Your website’s footer doesn’t have to be a dead-end. If you’ve added a navigation menu following the process described above, then you’re off to a great start. However, you can also encourage customers to connect with you by adding a contact form to the footer area.
This is where WPForms comes in.
WPForms is the best WordPress contact form plugin and comes with a ready-made Simple Contact Form template that allows you to create a contact form with just a few clicks.
After activating the plugin, go to WPForms » Add New and type in a name for the contact form. This is just for your reference so you can use anything you want.
Simply find the ‘Simple Contact Form’ template and click on its ‘Use Template’ button.
WPForms will now open the template in its form builder. The template already has all the fields you’ll typically need, but you can add more fields by dragging them from the left-hand menu and dropping them onto your form.
You can also click on any field to edit it, and rearrange them in the form using drag and drop.
To delete a field, simply hover your mouse over it and then click on the small trash can icon when it appears.
When you’re ready, click on the ‘Save’ button to store your changes.
To add the contact form to your footer, head over to the Appearance » Widgets page in the WordPress dashboard.
Here, click on the ‘+’ button and search for ‘WPForms.’ When the right block shows up, drag and drop it onto your theme’s footer area.
After that, open the ‘Form’ dropdown and select your contact form.
You can also add an optional title, which will appear above the contact form.
Once you’ve done that, click on the ‘Update’ button.
Now, if you visit your website you’ll see the new contact form in the footer.
Adding a Contact Form with the Full-Site Editor
Want to add a contact form to the footer of a block-enabled theme?
Then you’ll need to head over to Themes » Editor. Here, scroll to the bottom of the screen and click on the ‘+’ in the footer area.
With that done, type in ‘WPForms’ to find the right block.
Give this block a click to add it to the footer area.
In the WPForms block, open the ‘Select a Form’ dropdown and choose the contact form we just created.
When you’re ready to make the contact form live, simply click on the ‘Save’ button.
We hope this article helped you decide which things to add to your WordPress footer to make it more useful. Next, you can see our guide on how to improve your WordPress website speed and performance, and our expert pick of the best WordPress plugins to use on your site.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
The post Checklist: 10 Things To Add To The Footer on Your WordPress Site first appeared on WPBeginner.
It’s 2023, which means that responsive web design is no longer an option but a necessity. With 92.3% of Internet users accessing the web via mobile devices and close to 60% of all global web traffic coming from mobile, WordPress themes simply must be fully responsive if they are going to meet the needs of [...]
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Do you want to create an anonymous website?
Some users may need to create a website anonymously to protect their privacy and additional security.
In this step-by-step guide, we’ll show you how to easily create a truly anonymous website. We’ll also talk about protecting your identity online.
An anonymous website conceals the identity of who runs or owns a particular website.
Some users may want to remain anonymous for a number of reasons.
Creating an anonymous website makes it difficult to find out who created and runs the website.
Important: Please keep in mind that there is no guaranteed way to remain completely anonymous. While you can make it difficult to trace, there is still a chance that it can be tracked.
You’ll need the following items to create a basic anonymous website.
Now, let us explain why you’ll need those things.
First, you will need to create a new separate email account. You’ll be using that account to manage your website.
To remain anonymous we recommend creating an email account using privacy-focused email services like Proton Mail.
Next, you will need to hide is your IP address. The easiest way to do that is by using a VPN service. We recommend using IPVanish.
Once you have created an email account and turned on the VPN on your computer, you can go ahead and buy a hosting plan.
Normally, you can just go to any of the top hosting companies and start a website in a few minutes.
However, many of these companies require credit card information. This means your personal information will be stored and can be traced back to you.
That’s why we recommend using Hostinger.
Currently, they are giving WPBeginner users a generous discount and a FREE domain name. Basically, you can get started for $2.78 per month.
→ Click Here to Claim This Exclusive Hostinger Deal ←
Hostinger is one of the best WordPress hosting companies on the market and allows you to pay using Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to keep your purchase as anonymous as possible.
First, you need to make sure you have VPN turned on whenever you are working on your anonymous website.
After that, you need to visit the Hostinger website and click on the ‘Start Now’ button.
This will bring you to the pricing and plans selection page.
We recommend choosing a 48-month plan which gives you the best discount. Plus, you wouldn’t need to worry about future payments for a long time.
Click to select the plan you want to buy, and then go to the payment section.
From here, first, you need to provide the anonymous email account you created earlier.
After that, you need to select ‘Coingate’ as the payment method and then click on the ‘Submit Secure Payment’ button.
This will take you to the payment wizard.
First, you need to select a cryptocurrency that you want to pay with and click Continue.
Next, you need to enter your anonymous email address and click on the ‘Continue’ button.
Note that you don’t need to create a Coingate account to pay using this method.
On the next screen, you’ll see the QR code to make the payment through your Bitcoin wallet app.
You can also pay manually, by sending the amount to the Bitcoin wallet address mentioned on the screen.
Upon completion of the transaction, you will be redirected back to the Hostinger website.
You will receive an email from Hostinger with a link to log in to the hosting control panel.
Once you log in to your hosting account control panel, you’ll see a notification to claim your free domain name.
During domain registration, ICANN requires website owners to provide their personal information such as name, address, email, and phone number.
You need to provide at least the email address you created earlier so that you can be reached for verification.
During the registration, you may also see an option to turn on Domain Privacy.
This feature hides any information you provide during domain registration from WHOIS searches. Anyone who checks will see Hostinger’s proxy info.
After domain registration, you may receive an email to verify your registration.
Now that you have completed the domain name and hosting setup, it is time to install WordPress.
Hostinger allows you to easily create a WordPress website. Click on the ‘Manage’ button next to your URL under the hosting panel.
This will bring you to your back-end dashboard.
From here, you need to visit the Website » Auto Installer page and then click on the ‘Select’ button under WordPress.
This will launch the auto-installer wizard.
Simply follow the on-screen instructions to finish the setup.
After that, you will see your new website options under the Hostinger control panel.
From here, first, you need to click on the ‘Install’ button next to the ‘SSL Certificate’ option.
After that, you need to click on the toggle next to ‘Force HTTPs’ option.
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) allows your website to use secure HTTPs. Using it improves your WordPress security by encrypting all traffic to and from your website.
Having an SSL certificate is also a factor in ranking well in search engines and a part of a solid website SEO plan.
Finally, click on the ‘Edit Website’ button to launch and start editing your new WordPress website.
By design, WordPress is privacy-conscious software to the extent that you can choose what information you want to share on your website.
First, you may want to visit the Users » Profile page and choose a pseudonym for the default admin or author of your website.
Don’t forget to click on the ‘Update Profile’ button to save your changes.
Next, you need to decide whether you want to allow users to comment on posts and pages across your website.
Simply go to Settings » Discussion page to configure comments. Uncheck all options under the ‘Default Post Settings’ section to disable comments, trackbacks, and pingbacks.
Don’t forget to click on the ‘Save Changes’ button to store your settings.
WordPress comes with two default content types called posts and pages. Posts are part of a blog and are displayed in reverse chronological order, meaning that newer posts appear first.
Pages are standalone pages that are not part of a blog. They are used to create a website structure and layout. See our list of must-have WordPress pages for all types of websites.
To add a page, simply visit the Pages » Add New to create one.
WordPress comes with a powerful editor called the Block Editor. See our complete WordPress block editor tutorial to familiarize yourself with the interface.
Similarly, to create a post you will need to visit Posts » Add New page.
WordPress comes with a powerful templating engine that allows you to change the appearance of your website by installing themes.
There are thousands of free and paid WordPress themes available. You can choose one that looks closer to what you have in mind for your website.
You can look for themes under the Appearance » Themes page. It will show you a bunch of default themes that come with your WordPress install.
For more themes, click on the ‘Add New’ button at the top to find more free themes.
For premium or paid WordPress themes, you can try trusted WordPress theme shops like SeedProd, Thrive Themes, Astra, Elegant Themes, and more.
However, there is such an abundance of WordPress themes that it may become difficult for beginners to decide which theme they want to use.
We recommend choosing a minimalist design with plenty of white space. This provides you plenty of room to customize the theme and make it your own.
For more details, see our guide on how to choose the perfect theme for your website.
Plugins are like apps for your WordPress website. They allow you to add new features and extend the functionality of WordPress.
There are more than 60,000 free plugins available in the WordPress.org plugin directory alone. Plus, there are premium WordPress plugins sold by third-party developers with priority support and guaranteed updates.
However, you also need to consider which plugins you need to use to keep your WordPress website secure, private, and anonymous.
Following are our top picks for the best WordPress plugins to install on your anonymous website.
For more plugin recommendations, see our full list of essential WordPress plugins for any kind of website.
Following are some of the most commonly asked questions about creating an anonymous website.
1. Is it possible to create a fully anonymous website?
Yes, it is possible to create a fully anonymous website. However, you’ll need to be very vigilant about it. Each internet activity creates an information trail leading back to the person who initiated the activity. This trail can be traced by hackers, government agencies, and ISPs. As an anonymous website owner, it will be your job to anonymize all activities.
You can do this by minimizing the activities around your website and using a VPN to hide your IP address. Be careful about any social interactions as they may reveal personally identifiable information.
2. What is anonymous offshore hosting?
Anonymous offshore hosting is a website hosting service that allows users to purchase hosting and domain name without providing real name or credit card information.
Some of these lesser-known companies host their servers in countries with stricter privacy laws. These companies also promise to not store user logs or share them with third-country agencies.
However, these anonymous offshore hosting companies often have very bad customer service and outdated technology.
3. Can a website owner be traced?
Yes, a website owner can be traced even if they are trying to remain anonymous. However, an anonymous website owner can use privacy tools to make it harder to be traced.
Even then if someone is determined to figure out and has the technology, tools, and resources, then they may be able to find out who is running an anonymous website.
4. Can I buy a domain name anonymously?
Yes, you can buy a domain name anonymously from a domain name registrar that accepts cryptocurrencies as a payment method.
Hostinger, also allows you to register additional domain names using cryptocurrencies. During the registration, you can use a separate anonymous email account as the contact address for your domain name.
We hope this article helped you learn how to create a truly anonymous website. You may also want to see our guide on how to create a private blog or take a look at our complete WordPress security guide to keep your anonymous website secure.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
The post How to Create a Truly Anonymous Website (Step by Step) first appeared on WPBeginner.
Do you want to enable automatic updates for major WordPress updates?
Automatic updates are enabled for minor releases on WordPress. This means that the WordPress.org team can automatically install security updates without requiring user input.
However, it does not automatically update your website when there is a new major release. Luckily, you can easily turn on automatic updates for major releases as well.
In this article, we’ll show you how to enable automatic updates in WordPress for major versions.
The automatic updates feature was introduced in WordPress 3.7. This allowed WordPress to automatically install new minor releases to improve the security of your WordPress website.
There is an option to disable automatic updates in WordPress. However, we recommend that you keep automatic updates enabled because they usually address crucial security issues and vulnerabilities.
Now if you just run one or two WordPress websites, then you can simply follow our guide to safely update your WordPress site when there is a new major WordPress release. However, updating WordPress manually can be time-consuming if you manage multiple sites.
Luckily, managed WordPress hosting providers like WP Engine automatically update WordPress for all new releases, not just minor ones.
You can also enable auto-updates on a shared hosting provider like Bluehost and SiteGround. But first, you’ll just need to make sure that you have a proper backup system in place in case something goes wrong.
With that being said, let’s take a look at how to easily set up automatic updates for major WordPress releases. Here’s what we’ll cover in this tutorial:
The most important layer of security you can add to any website is to set up a backup system. Whether you turn on automatic updates or not, you should always have an automatic backup system in place for every WordPress website.
There are several helpful WordPress backup plugins that you can use to set up automatic backups on your WordPress site.
We recommend using Duplicator because it is the best WordPress backup plugin on the market, and it’s free. Duplicator allows you to easily set up automatic backups of your complete WordPress website.
It also allows you to automatically store your backup files in a remote location such as Google Drive or Dropbox or Amazon S3.
Once you have set up automatic WordPress backups, you can go ahead and turn on automated WordPress updates for major releases.
When you visit the Dashboard » Updates page in your WordPress admin area, you will see the message, ‘This site is automatically kept up to date with maintenance and security releases of WordPress only.’ These are the minor releases we mentioned above.
If you would like all WordPress updates to be handled the same way, then simply click the link labeled ‘Enable automatic updates for all new versions of WordPress.’
Now major WordPress releases will be automatically installed as well.
If you decide to turn off automatic updates in the future, then simply return to the Dashboard » Updates page and click the link that says ‘Switch to automatic updates for maintenance and security releases only.’
Now major WordPress versions will not be installed automatically, just minor releases and security updates.
The plugin method gives you more control over what is updated on your site. For example, it includes options to automatically update WordPress core, plugins, themes, and more.
First, you need to install and activate the Easy Updates Manager plugin. For more details, see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Upon activation, you need to visit Dashboard » Updates Options page to set up the plugin.
Under the ‘Quick configuration actions’ section, you should click the ‘Custom’ button. After that, click the ‘Auto update all releases’ button under the ‘WordPress core updates’ section.
Note: Be cautious clicking the ‘Auto update everything’ button under ‘Quick configuration actions’. This will turn on automatic updates for everything, including WordPress core, plugins, themes, and translations.
The plugin will automatically store your settings and enable the major WordPress releases to be automatically updated.
If you would also like to use this plugin to automatically update your plugins and themes, then see our detailed guide on how to better manage automatic WordPress updates.
This method requires you to add code to your WordPress files.
First, you need to add the following line of code to your site’s wp-config.php file.
define( 'WP_AUTO_UPDATE_CORE', true );
There is one little problem with this code. It also enables what are called ‘nightly’ updates, or ‘nightlies.’ These are still under development and may contain bugs, so should not be installed on a live WordPress website.
To disable nightly builds and development updates, you need to add the following code to your theme’s functions.php file, or to a using a code snippets plugin such as WPCode.
add_filter( 'allow_dev_auto_core_updates', '__return_false' );
This filter will disable automatic updates for nightly builds or development updates.
Your WordPress site is now ready to automatically update itself without your input whenever there is a new WordPress version available.
1. Why do I need to install WordPress updates?
WordPress is a regularly maintained software. Thousands of developers contribute to making WordPress better and more secure.
You need to install WordPress updates as soon as they are available. This ensures that your website has the latest security patches, new features, and the best speed and performance.
2. Are updates safe for my website?
As the world’s most popular website builder, WordPress updates immediately become available to millions of websites. The core team works very hard to ensure that they are absolutely safe for all websites to install.
However, we recommend everyone always back their WordPress website before updates. This allows you to quickly revert back in case anything goes wrong after an update.
3. Can I also automatically update WordPress plugins?
By default, WordPress requires you to manually install plugin updates. However, you can enable automatic updates for plugins as well.
See our guide on how to enable automatic updates for WordPress plugins.
4. Can I install updates on all my websites from a single dashboard?
By default, you’ll need to log in to each WordPress website to install updates. Luckily, you can use tools to manage multiple WordPress sites. These tools make it easier to install updates on all your WordPress sites without having to log in to each site.
Learn more in our guide on how to manage multiple WordPress sites from one dashboard.
We hope this article helped you learn how to enable automatic updates in WordPress for major releases. You may also want to learn how to choose the best web design software, or see our list of email marketing services for small business.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
The post How to Enable Automatic Updates in WordPress for Major Versions first appeared on WPBeginner.
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With over 9,000 free themes and thousands upon thousands more premium themes out there, finding that one theme that best suits the needs of you and your visitors can be a time-consuming chore. Trust us; we’ve spent more than our fair share of hours trawling through different theme directories looking for that perfect theme, so [...]
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