18 tips for starting a WordPress blog in 2018

Regardless of what year it may be, beginning a WordPress blog can be a touch of energizing, a bit of befuddling, and infrequently even a bit of disappointing. There are such a large number of things to learn, and it can be a ton to take in. Along these lines, out of appreciation for the up and coming new year, here are 18 hints for beginning a WordPress blog in 2018!

18 hints for beginning a WordPress blog in 2018

We're going to take a gander at some incredible tips for beginning a WordPress blog, so prepare agreeable and get the opportunity to learn.

Have a blog center or plan.

Do bunches of research.

Attach Yoast SEO.

Timetable time for blogging.

Appropriately utilize classifications and labels.

Get associated with the blogging group.

Cling to the 80/10/10 run when sharing substance.

Be thoughtful to guests.

Try not to be reluctant to arrange.

Measure movement.

Tell Google you're there.

Compose one of a kind and connecting with content.

Urge your guests to remain longer.

Create special materials.

Consider composing supported posts.

Get a SSL.

Pick the correct topic.

Keep your normal everyday employment.

Prepared to go ahead? How about we make a plunge!

Tips For Starting WordPress Blog Laptop

1. Have a blog center or plan

Without a concentration, goals for your blog may wind up noticeably hazy to your guests. It is a great deal like a marketable strategy, just laying out what you mean to do with your blog. From this arrangement, you can make things like a stone strong About page, a concise presentation for your blog's first page, and cleaned presentations — on the off chance that you go to systems administration occasions.

This concentration likewise enables you to design watchwords, how you mark yourself as a blogger, what your web-based social networking advertising technique will be, and substantially more. On the off chance that you don't have one, and have begun blogging over the most recent couple of months, at that point you have to take a seat and make your blog design. Here's a layout to kick you off.

2. Do heaps of research

Beside catchphrase inquire about, tips for beginning a WordPress blog incorporate looking for motivation from different bloggers in your specialty by handling comparative subjects. You may think this is replicating. Be that as it may, it's just replicating in the event that you are composing everything precisely like another person. You SHOULD cover these points on the grounds that your perusers are in all likelihood inspired by them.

Without a doubt, you may have initially begun a blog spontaneously. In any case, your goal with a blog was to contact a more extensive group of onlookers, which implies … you need to cover some of their interests. Consistently, billions of individuals are seeking on Google and Bing. In case you're not touching up on those subjects, at that point that is activity missed.

Professional tip: Even on the off chance that you think you know who your blog rivals are, there are some free online instruments that can rapidly contrast your site and indexed lists on Google. It gives you a general thought of what you have to go for. Spyfy and Moz are only a couple of numerous apparatuses that offer this.

3. Attach Yoast SEO

Yoast is one of the main WordPress SEO apparatuses. The familiar adage is the WordPress is SEO-prepared out of the container, yet it doesn't look at that as a new introduce is unique in relation to setting pictures, substance and customizations on your blog.

Yoast SEO is extraordinary for starting bloggers, as it contains a substance examination highlight to control you through the way toward making a more upgraded blog entry.

Furthermore, Yoast SEO has a great deal of different highlights to exploit. (In case you're utilizing Drupal, this works the same. I've made a great deal of instructional exercises for Drupal clients.)

4. Calendar time for blogging

It's fine in the event that you blog at whatever point the mind-set hits, however as you get more genuine as a blogger you will need to begin booking time to blog. Actually, from the get-go you should consider blogging a business, particularly on the off chance that you are adapting your blog.

Professional tip: Don't simply make a psychological timetable. Have a logbook or something to that affect. Google Calendar is free and you can plan and get updates.

5. Appropriately utilize classifications and labels

In WordPress, classifications and labels are known as scientific categorizations, and they sort out blog entries. Classifications are general in nature, and shouldn't be utilized too often. Labels are more characterized terms and not to be mistaken for watchwords — despite the fact that bloggers will frequently have comparable terms amongst catchphrases and labels. Catchphrases are really happen in the substance of blog entries and are expected for web indexes, while labels are entirely for the inner association of your blog.

In case you're pondering on what number of classes you ought to have, four to eight ought to be fine. With respect to labels, the number doesn't make a difference, however how you utilize them is VERY vital. Ensure your labels are significant to your blog entry's substance.

6. Get engaged with the blogging group

A standout amongst other tips for beginning a WordPress blog is connect with different bloggers in your specialty by remarking on their web journals. Huge numbers of your guests will likewise be bloggers. It's critical to endeavor to connect and associate with them. They can turn out to be a portion of the best teammates and team promoters that you will require with a specific end goal to develop as a blogger.

Tips For Starting WordPress Blog Community

7. Hold fast to the 80/10/10 manage when sharing substance

In doing this, you complete a couple of things. In the first place, you exhibit learning of what's happening in your specialty and need to share that data. Second, it can enable you to interface with compelling bloggers in your specialty. This is an aggregate win-win circumstance as you're building incredible karma in the blogosphere. The 80/10/10 rules is:

80 percent sharing other individuals' substance on your social streams.

10 percent sharing your non-offering content.

10 percent sharing your limited time content (in case you're offering an item or administration or sharing a supported post).

8. Be benevolent to guests

Make it simple for individuals to discover things on your site with an inquiry frame. In the event that individuals can't discover what they require, they will take off. A pursuit shape can enable your guest to discover an article they're hoping to peruse. On the off chance that you don't have it, a few guests might be sufficiently caring to recommend theme thoughts for you.

9. Try not to be reluctant to organize

Think about joint efforts with different bloggers, similar to interviews or getting together to talk about points.

Joint efforts are awesome approaches to construct associations with different bloggers, and furthermore to acquire activity.

When working with another blogger, they will probably impart the substance to their group of onlookers. Beside picking up movement, it could pick up endorsers and more social offers, as well!

10. Measure activity

Numerous tips for beginning a WordPress blog center exclusively around composing. Nonetheless, estimating your blog's movement is critical. You can see who has been going to your site, what pages or posts are the most gone to, and afterward utilize that data to make an arrangement for making more substance for your blog. To track activity, add Google Analytics to your WordPress site. Why Google Analytics? Indeed, it's free, also most trusted by organizations hoping to work with bloggers.

11. Tell Google you're there

Bear in mind to add your webpage to Google Search Console to monitor your blog's wellbeing. Google Search Console has bunches of free devices to enable you to know how Google sees your site. You can even learn if your site has been hacked or how to enhance your site's heap speed.

12. Compose one of a kind and drawing in content

Individuals return to bloggers who are engaging and have novel methods for conveying everything that needs to be conveyed. It's imperative to influence your identity to radiate through when you're blogging, vlogging or notwithstanding podcasting. Here are a few assets for composing marvelous blog content:

Furthermore, recall, it's to your greatest advantage to make a publication schedule.

13. Urge your guests to remain longer

The more drawn out guests stay, the more probable they are to share articles, buy in to bulletins, contract you for administrations, or purchase items you are advancing. You can do this by including highlights like Related Post areas under individual posts by means of the Yet Another Related Post Plugin. It pulls in related substance (more often than not a couple of blog entries) that gives perusers a chance to pick on the off chance that they need to take in more about the theme they simply read.

You can likewise include the WordPress Popular Posts gadget to show a rundown of your latest posts.

Need to pull in considerably more consideration? You can put resources into Popular Post Bars. This mainstream gadget is clear and draws in the guest's eye. Here's a case of Popular Post Bars in real life:

14. Create limited time materials

Set up together a media pack so it's anything but difficult to share details and promotion rates with potential publicists. On the off chance that you need to profit blogging, you will require a media pack. A media pack contains details and data that lets you rapidly pitch your site. Speculators may employ you as a blog mark diplomat or purchase promoting space on your blog.

15. Consider composing supported posts

Supported posts incorporate limited time content, more often than not an item or administration from an organization that has enlisted you to blog about them. This is only one of numerous approaches to profit as a blogger. Remember, however, it's vital to pick items and administrations that are identified with the substance that you ordinarily blog about. Else, it could befuddle perusers — and really look like spam.

16. Get a SSL for your blog

This is a standout amongst the most critical tips for beginning a WordPress blog. A SSL is rapidly turning into a vital component that bloggers should actualize. A SSL is most generally found in the URL or address bar in your web program:

SSL is an acronym for Secure Sockets Layer. This is scrambles data, similar to shape sections, that is sent through the program to the server where your site is facilitated. Short story is that this clouds data from being stolen by programmers. As of October 2017, Google has begun requesting that site proprietors include a SSL — particularly locales that incorporate structures.

With WordPress, cases of this would be remark structures, enrollment and login frames, pamphlet select in shapes,

18 tips for starting a WordPress blog in 2018

Regardless of what year it may be, beginning a WordPress blog can be a touch of energizing, a bit of befuddling, and infrequently even a bit of disappointing. There are such a large number of things to learn, and it can be a ton to take in. Along these lines, out of appreciation for the up and coming new year, here are 18 hints for beginning a WordPress blog in 2018!

18 hints for beginning a WordPress blog in 2018

We're going to take a gander at some incredible tips for beginning a WordPress blog, so prepare agreeable and get the opportunity to learn.

Have a blog center or plan.

Do bunches of research.

Attach Yoast SEO.

Timetable time for blogging.

Appropriately utilize classifications and labels.

Get associated with the blogging group.

Cling to the 80/10/10 run when sharing substance.

Be thoughtful to guests.

Try not to be reluctant to arrange.

Measure movement.

Tell Google you're there.

Compose one of a kind and connecting with content.

Urge your guests to remain longer.

Create special materials.

Consider composing supported posts.

Get a SSL.

Pick the correct topic.

Keep your normal everyday employment.

Prepared to go ahead? How about we make a plunge!

Tips For Starting WordPress Blog Laptop

1. Have a blog center or plan

Without a concentration, goals for your blog may wind up noticeably hazy to your guests. It is a great deal like a marketable strategy, just laying out what you mean to do with your blog. From this arrangement, you can make things like a stone strong About page, a concise presentation for your blog's first page, and cleaned presentations — on the off chance that you go to systems administration occasions.

This concentration likewise enables you to design watchwords, how you mark yourself as a blogger, what your web-based social networking advertising technique will be, and substantially more. On the off chance that you don't have one, and have begun blogging over the most recent couple of months, at that point you have to take a seat and make your blog design. Here's a layout to kick you off.

2. Do heaps of research

Beside catchphrase inquire about, tips for beginning a WordPress blog incorporate looking for motivation from different bloggers in your specialty by handling comparative subjects. You may think this is replicating. Be that as it may, it's just replicating in the event that you are composing everything precisely like another person. You SHOULD cover these points on the grounds that your perusers are in all likelihood inspired by them.

Without a doubt, you may have initially begun a blog spontaneously. In any case, your goal with a blog was to contact a more extensive group of onlookers, which implies … you need to cover some of their interests. Consistently, billions of individuals are seeking on Google and Bing. In case you're not touching up on those subjects, at that point that is activity missed.

Professional tip: Even on the off chance that you think you know who your blog rivals are, there are some free online instruments that can rapidly contrast your site and indexed lists on Google. It gives you a general thought of what you have to go for. Spyfy and Moz are only a couple of numerous apparatuses that offer this.

3. Attach Yoast SEO

Yoast is one of the main WordPress SEO apparatuses. The familiar adage is the WordPress is SEO-prepared out of the container, yet it doesn't look at that as a new introduce is unique in relation to setting pictures, substance and customizations on your blog.

Yoast SEO is extraordinary for starting bloggers, as it contains a substance examination highlight to control you through the way toward making a more upgraded blog entry.

Furthermore, Yoast SEO has a great deal of different highlights to exploit. (In case you're utilizing Drupal, this works the same. I've made a great deal of instructional exercises for Drupal clients.)

4. Calendar time for blogging

It's fine in the event that you blog at whatever point the mind-set hits, however as you get more genuine as a blogger you will need to begin booking time to blog. Actually, from the get-go you should consider blogging a business, particularly on the off chance that you are adapting your blog.

Professional tip: Don't simply make a psychological timetable. Have a logbook or something to that affect. Google Calendar is free and you can plan and get updates.

5. Appropriately utilize classifications and labels

In WordPress, classifications and labels are known as scientific categorizations, and they sort out blog entries. Classifications are general in nature, and shouldn't be utilized too often. Labels are more characterized terms and not to be mistaken for watchwords — despite the fact that bloggers will frequently have comparable terms amongst catchphrases and labels. Catchphrases are really happen in the substance of blog entries and are expected for web indexes, while labels are entirely for the inner association of your blog.

In case you're pondering on what number of classes you ought to have, four to eight ought to be fine. With respect to labels, the number doesn't make a difference, however how you utilize them is VERY vital. Ensure your labels are significant to your blog entry's substance.

6. Get engaged with the blogging group

A standout amongst other tips for beginning a WordPress blog is connect with different bloggers in your specialty by remarking on their web journals. Huge numbers of your guests will likewise be bloggers. It's critical to endeavor to connect and associate with them. They can turn out to be a portion of the best teammates and team promoters that you will require with a specific end goal to develop as a blogger.

Tips For Starting WordPress Blog Community

7. Hold fast to the 80/10/10 manage when sharing substance

In doing this, you complete a couple of things. In the first place, you exhibit learning of what's happening in your specialty and need to share that data. Second, it can enable you to interface with compelling bloggers in your specialty. This is an aggregate win-win circumstance as you're building incredible karma in the blogosphere. The 80/10/10 rules is:

80 percent sharing other individuals' substance on your social streams.

10 percent sharing your non-offering content.

10 percent sharing your limited time content (in case you're offering an item or administration or sharing a supported post).

8. Be benevolent to guests

Make it simple for individuals to discover things on your site with an inquiry frame. In the event that individuals can't discover what they require, they will take off. A pursuit shape can enable your guest to discover an article they're hoping to peruse. On the off chance that you don't have it, a few guests might be sufficiently caring to recommend theme thoughts for you.

9. Try not to be reluctant to organize

Think about joint efforts with different bloggers, similar to interviews or getting together to talk about points.

Joint efforts are awesome approaches to construct associations with different bloggers, and furthermore to acquire activity.

When working with another blogger, they will probably impart the substance to their group of onlookers. Beside picking up movement, it could pick up endorsers and more social offers, as well!

10. Measure activity

Numerous tips for beginning a WordPress blog center exclusively around composing. Nonetheless, estimating your blog's movement is critical. You can see who has been going to your site, what pages or posts are the most gone to, and afterward utilize that data to make an arrangement for making more substance for your blog. To track activity, add Google Analytics to your WordPress site. Why Google Analytics? Indeed, it's free, also most trusted by organizations hoping to work with bloggers.

11. Tell Google you're there

Bear in mind to add your webpage to Google Search Console to monitor your blog's wellbeing. Google Search Console has bunches of free devices to enable you to know how Google sees your site. You can even learn if your site has been hacked or how to enhance your site's heap speed.

12. Compose one of a kind and drawing in content

Individuals return to bloggers who are engaging and have novel methods for conveying everything that needs to be conveyed. It's imperative to influence your identity to radiate through when you're blogging, vlogging or notwithstanding podcasting. Here are a few assets for composing marvelous blog content:

Furthermore, recall, it's to your greatest advantage to make a publication schedule.

13. Urge your guests to remain longer

The more drawn out guests stay, the more probable they are to share articles, buy in to bulletins, contract you for administrations, or purchase items you are advancing. You can do this by including highlights like Related Post areas under individual posts by means of the Yet Another Related Post Plugin. It pulls in related substance (more often than not a couple of blog entries) that gives perusers a chance to pick on the off chance that they need to take in more about the theme they simply read.

You can likewise include the WordPress Popular Posts gadget to show a rundown of your latest posts.

Need to pull in considerably more consideration? You can put resources into Popular Post Bars. This mainstream gadget is clear and draws in the guest's eye. Here's a case of Popular Post Bars in real life:

14. Create limited time materials

Set up together a media pack so it's anything but difficult to share details and promotion rates with potential publicists. On the off chance that you need to profit blogging, you will require a media pack. A media pack contains details and data that lets you rapidly pitch your site. Speculators may employ you as a blog mark diplomat or purchase promoting space on your blog.

15. Consider composing supported posts

Supported posts incorporate limited time content, more often than not an item or administration from an organization that has enlisted you to blog about them. This is only one of numerous approaches to profit as a blogger. Remember, however, it's vital to pick items and administrations that are identified with the substance that you ordinarily blog about. Else, it could befuddle perusers — and really look like spam.

16. Get a SSL for your blog

This is a standout amongst the most critical tips for beginning a WordPress blog. A SSL is rapidly turning into a vital component that bloggers should actualize. A SSL is most generally found in the URL or address bar in your web program:

SSL is an acronym for Secure Sockets Layer. This is scrambles data, similar to shape sections, that is sent through the program to the server where your site is facilitated. Short story is that this clouds data from being stolen by programmers. As of October 2017, Google has begun requesting that site proprietors include a SSL — particularly locales that incorporate structures.

With WordPress, cases of this would be remark structures, enrollment and login frames, pamphlet select in shapes,

How To Change WordPress Admin Login URL For Improved Security

One of the most common types of hacking on WordPress is a brute force attack. In this kind of attack, a hacker attempts to try various permutations & combinations of usernames & passwords to get inside of your WordPress blog.

Especially when we all know that the common WordPress admin URL is “wp-admin”, any hacker can easily get started with brute force attacking.

There are many free security WordPress plugins out there that help you prevent brute force attacks

. One major step you can take right now is by changing the WordPress admin URL. This way, hackers will not be able to find the login link & this reduces the chance of getting attacked.

In this WordPress security series, I will be showing you how you can use two plugins to change your URL. One plugin is simply used to change the login URL of WordPress from a security perspective, and the other one is for improving the user experience.

At the end of this guide, I have also shared more useful resources that you can follow to improve the overall security of your WordPress blog.

So without further delay, let’s learn about some useful plugins to change the WP login URL.

How To Change WP Login URL with WPS Hide Login Plugin:

With over 90,000+ downloads, WPS Hide Login is the simplest & most straightforward WordPress plugin for changing the admin URL. You can install this plugin by searching for “WPS Hide Login” from your WordPress dashboard (here is the WP repo plugin page).

Once you have installed & activated the plugin, go to Settings > General to configure the options. Scroll down & at the bottom, you will see the option to configure the “WPS Hide Login” plugin.

You can put anything in the blank space & that will be your new login URL. 

If you are the only person handling your blog, you can use any word that you can remember or use something like “dsajkuiksdak” & save this unique login URL into your browser bookmark.

The idea is to make your login page hard to discover. This way, you improve your WordPress login page security to a great extent.

It doesn’t literally rename or change any files in the core, nor does it add rewrite rules. It simply intercepts page requests and works with any WordPress website.

If you are looking to do more than simply hardening your WordPress login page security, you should look for the below-mentioned solution. This one helps in better branding of your WordPress login & register page by giving them a memorable page URL.

Changing WordPress Login & Registration URL For Better Branding:

There are a few plugins that let you rename your WordPress login, register, password reset & logout URLs.

This is useful when you have a multi-author blog or are using WordPress in a way where multiple users need to regularly register or log in.

The most popular plugin is iThemes Security, however it’s not highly recommended as this plugin offers much more than just customizing the URL of your WordPress registration & login page.

The other plugin which is developed just for renaming WordPress admin login, registration & other pages is the Custom Login URL plugin. This is another simple to use plugin.

Once you have the plugin installed & activated, go to Settings > Permalinkto configure.

You can rename the login URL, registration URL, lost password URL, logout URL & authentication redirects. Authentication redirects are the URLs which users will be redirected to after loggin in or logging out. A simple tweak in this area can be very effective for your WordPress blog branding & security.

While we are on it, you can further customize the look & feel of the login URL. You can use the Tesla Login Customizer plugin or pick any good looking plugin from here.

Conclusion:

From a security perspective, it’s a good idea to change your WP-admin login URL to make it hard for hackers to guess.

This will strengthen the security of your WordPress blog to a great extent. At the same time, if you are running a multi-author blog or using it in a way where you & others need to regularly interact with the login & registration page, use the other plugins to change the URL.

The second option is optional, however I recommend you implement the first option (change your wp-admin URL) right away for improved security

How to Securely Send WordPress Emails Using Gmail SMTP with WP Mail SMTP

Looking for a secure SMTP plugin that helps you receive email notifications from your WordPress contact forms? With WP Mail SMTP, you can fix delivery issues by authenticating emails through your Gmail or G Suite account — all while keeping your login credentials safe.

In this post, we’ll show you how to set up WP Mail SMTP for sending WordPress emails with your Gmail or G Suite email address.

Why You’re Not Receiving Notifications

By default, WordPress uses the PHP mail function to send emails generated by WordPress or any contact plugin like WPForms.  The most common reason for not getting emails is that your WordPress hosting server is not configured to use PHP mail function.

In addition to this, anti-spam efforts by email providers can impact your emails as well. As part of their filtering process, many email providers will check whether your email originates from the same domain noted in the From Email. For example, if your email claims to be sent from your Gmail address but is actually sent from your website’s server (rather than Gmail’s server), your email may be sent to spam or not be delivered at all.

You can fix this by using SMTP instead of the PHP mail function. SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is the industry standard for sending emails reliably.

Why Use the WP Mail SMTP Plugin?

The main benefit of using the WP Mail SMTP plugin is that it lets you send WordPress emails securely using your Gmail or G Suite account without requiring to enable less secure apps in your account.

In addition, unlike many other SMTP options, you won’t need to enter your Gmail username and password in your WordPress dashboard where other site users can see them. By using this method, you’ll help to keep your WordPress site secure.

Let’s take a look at how to set up WP Mail SMTP for sending WordPress emails.

Step 1: Install the WP Mail SMTP Plugin

The first thing you need to do is to install and activate the WP Mail SMTP plugin. For step-by-step instructions, 

After installing and activating WP Mail SMTP, go to Settings » WP Mail SMTP to open the plugin settings page.

At the top of this page, you can set theFrom Email and From Name. By default, these will fill with your site’s admin email and site name.

For the From Email, be sure this is set to your Gmail or G Suite email address before continuing.

After these basic settings are ready, you’ll need to scroll to the Mailer field and select the Gmail option.

We also recommend checking the Return Path option to Set the return-path to match the From Email. That way, you’ll be notified about bounced emails, just as you would when using your email normally.

Next, you should see a new Gmail section appear. Here, you’ll see fields for Client Secret and Client ID.

To get the information for these fields, you’ll need to create a web application through your Google account. This doesn’t require any coding, and we’ll show you exactly what to do.

Step 2: Create a Web Application

To create an application, you’ll first need to sign in and access Gmail’s application registration. Clicking that link should open this Google page in a new tab or window, and you’ll want to keep your site settings open (we’ll return to those later).

Once you’ve followed that link and logged into your Gmail account, you should see a form named “Register your application for Gmail API in Google API Console”.

In the dropdown labeled Select a project where your application will be registered, leave the default option ofCreate a project. Then, go ahead and click the Continue button.

Next, you should see a screen that says “The API is enabled”. To proceed to the setup page, click the Go to credentialsbutton.

In the next page, you’ll be prompted to determine the credentials you need. Here are the fields on this page and the options you’ll need to select:

• Which API are you using? Gmail API
• Where will you be calling the API from? Web server (e.g. node.js, Tomcat)
• What data will you be accessing?User data

Once you’ve made these selections, click the What credentials do I need? button to go to the next step.

For this step, you’ll be creating an OAuth client ID. OAuth, or Open Authorization, is what will provide permission for your website to use your Gmail account to authenticate emails.

For the Name field, enter anything you like or leave the default name. This is only for reference within your Google account.

For the Authorized JavaScript origins, you’ll need to enter your site’s URL.

Last, we need to fill out the Authorized redirect URIs field. To get the URI for your site, you’ll need to go back to the tab or window with your WordPress site. Still on the Settings » WP Mail SMTP page, you’ll need to look under the Gmail section for the field labeled Authorized redirect URI.

The value in this field should be your site’s URL followed by some extra details. You’ll need to copy this value, which is easily done by clicking the button with the copy icon.

After copying the URI, return to the Google APIs page and paste it into the field under Authorized redirect URIs.

After that, you can click the Create client ID button.

For the last step in the app creation process, you’ll need to set up the consent screen. This screen will never be seen by your users since you’re only granting permission for your own site to use the Gmail account you own.

You’ll just need to check your email address and then enter a Product name shown to users (such as the title of your website). When you’ve completed these fields, click Continue.

You’ve now successfully created a Gmail web application!

Now we need to see the full details. On the last screen, click I’ll do this later to go to the Credentials page.

Step 3: Grant Permissions and Send Test Email

On the Credentials page, you can now see the details of the web application you just created. To view Client ID and Client Secret, click the edit icon.

This will open all of the details for your app. On this page, you’ll need to copy theClient ID and Client secret values.

Each of these will need to be copied into your WP Mail SMTP settings back in your WordPress admin.

After saving these settings, the page will refresh. Before Google allows this information to be used to connect to your account, however, you must grant permission.

To do this, scroll to the bottom of this page and click the button labeled Allow plugin to send emails using your Google account.

This will open a login screen for Google. Go ahead and log into the account you’re setting this SMTP up with. Then, you’ll see a screen asking for permission for this site to send email on your behalf.

When you’re ready, click the Allowbutton to proceed.

Next, you’ll be returned to your WP Mail SMTP settings and a success message will be displayed. Now that the connection is complete, you’re ready to send a test email under the Email Testtab.

Once the Test Email tab is open, you’ll need to enter a valid email address and click the Send Email button. Be sure to use an email address you have access to so you can confirm the email is delivered.

When the test message has been sent, you’ll see a success message at the top of this tab.

You should also soon receive a test email at the email address you entered.

That’s it! You’ve successfully configured SMTP on your WordPress site

Best WordPress Podcast Plugins – 2 Best Podcasting Plugins Compared

Did you know that in America alone, 67 million people listen to podcasts on a monthly basis? Would you also believe when I say this number was half of what it is now in 2013? Clearly, it is a spectacular growth in terms of user base. Additionally, podcastadvertising revenues grew by as much as 70% each year between 2015 and 2017.

With those numbers, it would be safe to say that podcasting is a massive growth industry right now in terms of both audience and revenue.

But if you’re thinking of creating a podcast, you will need a website to help promote it. As is usually the case, WordPress is a great option to make a podcast website – but you’re going to need the right WordPress podcast plugin for a list of things, like:

• Publishing your podcast feeds
• Creating a user friendly player
• Viewing the download statistics

To help you out, I have looked into some of the best WordPress podcast plugins in this post.

Best WordPress Podcast Plugins For 2018

1. Blubrry PowerPress

Blubrry PowerPress is the most popular WordPress podcast plugin available at WordPress.org. Beyond raw popularity, it also has great reviews – it has maintained a 5-star rating over 130 reviews.

Blubrry PowerPress is packed with lots of helpful functionality, but here are some of the most important features:

• Automatically imports podcast feed from SoundCloud, LibSyn, PodBean, Squarespace or other services
• Creates iTunes compliant podcast feeds
• Subscribes page shortcode to help you get more subscribers
• Has built-in social share buttons
• Has built-in “show notes” link to provide listeners with more information
• Visitors can change playback speed or skip forward/backward

Best of all, the Blubrry PowerPress plugin is free. Blubrry makes its money by selling access to advanced statistics and/or dedicated podcast hosting. Both subscriptions are helpful, but not required to use the plugin.

If you want to see Blubrry PowerPress in action, you can check out the popular WordPress podcast, Matt Report.

3. Smart podcast player

If you’re a blogger, you’ve probably heard about Pat Flynn’s Smart Passive Income website, as well as its associated podcast.

Smart Podcast Player is Pat’s own creation that he uses to manage the actual Smart Passive Income podcast. And, if you’re willing to pay, you can get it for your own podcast.

Here are some things that are unique about Smart Podcast Player:

• It includes an email capture feature built into the player
• Visitors can skip forward or backward by chunks just like on most smartphone podcast players
• Visitors can also change the speed of your podcast
• You can display unlimited podcast episodes, including pagination and search
• It includes built-in social sharing buttons to help boost your social shares
• The player follows responsive design principles and looks great on mobile devices

Additionally, Smart Podcast Player has the best out-of-the-box design of any option on this list.

The only potential downside of Smart Podcast Player is that it uses SaaS-style monthly billing. That means you’ll need to pay to continue to use the plugin.

Smart Podcast Player costs $96 per year or $12 per month.

3. Seriously Simple Podcasting