We needed to up the “Maximum upload file size” limit on a client’s WordPress site hosted on WPENGINE. It starts at 50mb by default but we had media (audio) files that were often a bit more than that. We decided to raise the limit to 75 MB. This can be accomplished by adding this to […]
Ultimate Checklist for Migrating a WordPress Website to HTTPS / SSL
Need a comprehensive checklist to follow when migrating a WordPress site to use HTTPS? The below is the list our WordPress agency uses to make sure our SSL / TLS migrations go smoothly and nothing gets missed. If you want the nitty-gritty we also have a full guide to Properly Migrate a WordPress Website to HTTPS (SSL […]
Correctly Setting Up Google Analytics in WordPress
Setting up Google Analytics on a WordPress site is easy but care has to be taken to do it correctly. 1. Create the Account in Google Analytics Go to https://analytics.google.com/analytics/web/ Create a new account. When filling in the details pay special attention to whether your site is http or https and if you are using www […]
Subdirectory and Following Pages Global Redirect on WPENGINE
Here is a good way to globally redirect a subdirectory and anything that follows to a final destination. originasite.com/first-folder/other-folder/slug-here/ originasite.com/first-folder/other-folder/other-slug-here/ would be redirected to finalsite.com/new-location/ Source: ^/first-folder/other-folder/.+ Destination: https://www.finalsite.com/new-location/ Carryover the Path If you want to preserve the part you are redirecting and it go to an equivalent page you would use: Source: ^/first-folder/other-folder/(.+) Destination: https://www.finalsite.com/new-location/$1 […]
How to See Facebook Share Counts for a Specific Post / Page
Ever wanted to see what the actual share count is for a URL? This trick is handy for troubleshooting share plugins (*ahem* MashShare) or even doing some competitive research. All you need to do is form and access this URL: http://graph.facebook.com/?id=URL_HERE See for instance, this URL for a client post: http://graph.facebook.com/?id=http://blog.joemcnally.com/2016/10/13/royal-photographic-society/ Returns a share count of […]
The SEO Danger of Multiple 301 Redirect “Hops”
We migrated a site from one domain to another www.originalsite.com to www.newsite.com and also made it https at the same time. I had just added the old domain in the WPENGINE Domain section to redirect to new site. It was redirecting as it should to the new equivalents. BUT In the months since the launch, […]
WordPress Multisite Reverse Proxy Setup on WPENGINE
A comprehensive overview of the setup for a WordPress Multisite subdirectory install hosted on WPENGINE running through a Fastly Load Balancer to a client’s server in Reverse Proxy configuration This tutorial represents much time, frustration, and eventual joy. Our team hopes it will be helpful to others. Please feel free to comment and help us […]
Deceptive Headings – My Beef with LinkedIn’s Blogging Tool
I’ve been experimenting with publishing blog posts on LinkedIn’s blogging platform. I’ve seen some posts do really well due to the massive audience they can reach. I do really like the tool. However… They’re messing with reality! It all comes down to Headings, you know <h1>, <h2> etc. Here is what the editor looks like… So […]
How to Enable Let’s Encrypt SSL on Your WPENGINE Website
Learn how to enable a WPENGINE website to use HTTPS (SSL / TLS) using Let’s Encrypt. “Click Let’s Encrypt. Click ‘Yes’. Gett [sic] https on the front of you domain thing.” – Josh Horneck This is super easy to enable. Just a couple quick clicks. However, if this is an existing site you’ll need to take some extra […]
How to Properly Migrate a WordPress Website to HTTPS (SSL / TLS)
Learn the right way and steps to migrate your WPENGINE WordPress website to use HTTPS Your website really needs to be secured with HTTPS! Making your site HTTPS is easy but there are some key steps to make sure this migration is done right! This guide assumes you’re on WPENGINE but the principles apply to other hosts. BONUS: We’ve shared our […]
Properly Setting Email SPF Records for WPENGINE, Google Apps, Etc.
An SPF record (Sender Policy Framework) is a DNS record that determines where mail appearing from your domain is allowed to originate from. Having a properly set SPF record means someone spoofing email is much less likely to have any success. These records are only for servers that SEND mail on behalf of your domain. Caveat: SPF (and […]
How to Set Up the DNS for a Website Hosted on WPENGINE
This tutorial will show you how to properly set up the DNS (CNAMEs / IP Addresses) for your WPENGINE-hosted website. 1. Decide where you want the website to “live” Options are: www, non-www, or some other subdomain. e.g. www.limecuda.com, limecuda.com, blog.limecuda.com Canonical Domain If you decide the site will reside at something like limecuda.com then the www version […]
Single Page 301 Redirect on WPENGINE
This is what I have found as the ideal format for redirecting a single page with a Permanent (301) Redirect in WPENGINE. Source ^/url-path-here/?$ What this does is… ^ means that this is the beginning of the URL ? will let this apply whether there is a trailing slash or not $ forces the redirect […]
Global Site Redirect to Equivalent URLs on WPENGINE
Here is a good way to globally redirect an entire site from one domain to another and preserve the site paths. originasite.com/here-is-a-path/ would be redirected to finalsite.com/here-is-a-path/ Source: ^/(.+) Destination: https://www.finalsite.com/$1 (or similar if there is another path like /blog/ you want this to go after) Further Reading and Tools Redirect Checker – useful […]
How to Flush Your Computer’s DNS Cache (Windows / Mac)
First, the “why”… Your computer stores (caches) the IP addresses of sites that you visit. It does this so that if you visit them again the lookup is instantaneous. This is great but what if your server moves or the website’s IP address (home on the web) changes? For a time you’d be seeing the old […]
Low Bounce Rate to a High Bounce Rate? One possibility…
On a recent project, the client had an existing bounce rate of 7-9% which makes little sense. Once we launched the updates for the site, the client suddenly saw their bounce rate jumped to around 60%! Review: it is a general rule that your site should have a low bounce. A typical bounce rate, depending […]