As a result, it helps open the door for more unique content creators to shine. And it’s really easy to implement because the plugin uses shortcodes that you can copy and paste anywhere on your website.

Today, I will demonstrate how to use Smart Post Show to customize your post layout in WordPress.

What Is Page Layout in WordPress?

For web design, page layout refers to how the visual elements on a page are arranged. It also takes into consideration the size, shape, color, font, and other various design elements on that page.

The end result is, hopefully, a stunning page that can wow visitors.

In the past, website developers would have to use code to create the layout they want to use. But that is no longer the case.

In WordPress, web developers can utilize plugins that focus on page layout or page builders to easily construct unique layouts. This allows virtually anyone to create a beautiful site for any purpose.

Also, in many cases, premium themes come with a variety of templates that include unique layouts. These tools have simplified the process as a whole so that any web developer can create a unique experience for their website.

Of course, this all begins with a good WordPress hosting service. You want to make sure your site is fast and functional when putting your designs together.

How to Use Smart Post Show to Customize Post Layouts

Step 1: Install Smart Post Show

Smart Post Show is all about adding more customization options for posts. With it, you can create a WordPress post carousel or category grid in minutes. And like most things in WordPress, it doesn’t require any coding.

Instead, all you need to do is copy and paste the shortcode in the desired location. It’s also worth noting that this plugin is SEO-friendly, built for speed, and fully responsive. Thus, it’s the perfect fit for any website.

Let’s start by clicking on Plugins and selecting the Add New option on the left-hand admin panel.

Search for Smart Post Show in the available search box. This will pull up additional plugins that you may find helpful.

Scroll down until you find the Smart Post Show plugin and click on the “Install Now” button and activate the plugin for use.

Upon installation, you will be brought to the help section of the plugin. Here, you can find a helpful video to help you get started. It covers some of the basics of the plugin and I recommend watching it.

Step 2: Settings

This plugin doesn’t have a lot of general settings to configure. Most websites can choose to leave the settings as they are, but in case you are curious, let’s quickly cover what you can configure.

On the left-hand admin panel, click on Smart Post Show and select the Settings option.

The settings are broken up into four sections that include Advanced Settings, Scripts & Styles, Accessibility, and Custom CSS & JS.

The Advanced Settings contains one option, which is to delete all plugin data upon removal. I would recommend checking the box if you plan to delete the plugin and never use it again.

The Scripts & Styles section to enqueue or dequeue JS and CSS code. If you don’t know what this means, just leave the settings as they are. Otherwise, pick the option that suits your needs.

The Accessibility section enables accessibility options for carousels. This basically means displaying helpful messages like having the words “Previous Slide” over the back button.

And finally, the Custom CSS & JS section allows you to enter custom CSS and JS into the plugin. This is to help the plugin match the rest of your website if you utilize custom code on other pages or posts.

Step 3: Create A New Show

With that taken care of, all that’s left is to do is start creating new page layouts. The plugin gives you a lot of possibilities, so let’s get started.

Note: The plugin refers to everything as a show.

Click on the Add New option.

At the top, you can enter a title, and I recommend being very direct. For instance, if you create a post carousel, name it Post Carousel. It should be very easy to locate as you will probably create multiple with slight variations.

A good naming structure will just help you find specific projects easier at a later date.

The first option is to choose a layout, and there are eight to choose from if you have the Pro version. Simply pick the one that suits your needs.

Below this, you will find the customization settings. However, the options available change depending on the layout you pick. For instance, if you pick Carousel, you will find the Carousel Controls tab. Whereas if you pick Grid, that option doesn’t appear.

The general tabs include Filter Content, Display Options, Detail Page Settings, and Typography.

One thing to keep in mind is that there is a preview button in the bottom right corner. This will allow you to see the final result minus any of the actual content. In some cases, it might be more helpful with actual content to see the changes.

Let’s cover each tab.

Filter Content

These settings are all about choosing which content to use and are critical if you are creating something like a post grid that focuses on a specific category in WordPress.

You can also manually enter the post ID if you want to manually select what content to use.

The Advanced Filtering section at the bottom allows you to select specific variables to filter by. These include things like taxonomy (categories & tags), authors, status, keywords, and more.

By checking the corresponding box, more options will appear that you can customize.

Display Options

The Display Options are all about changing the visual appearance of your layout. For instance, in a WordPress category grid (or any grid for that matter), you can select the number of columns, column margin, border width & color, content fields, and more.

There are also options for the orientation. However, most of these are locked behind the Pro version. Free users will only have the default option available. And towards the bottom, you can enable the Preloader (lazy load) feature.

Carousel Controls

This section is only applicable to carousels and dictates their behavior. For example, you can adjust the time it takes for an image to switch or you can turn autoplay off so that the visitor has to manually switch slides.

Other key settings in this section include lazy load, pagination, touch-swipe (for mobile), pause on hover, and much more.

Detail Page Settings & Typography

These sections allow you even more customization, but they are locked behind the Pro version. Detail Page Settings include things like popups, content & background colors, and other finer details.

The Typography section deals with all things font-related. The style, color, size, and anything else you can possibly imagine.

Step 4: Display the Layout

With all of the settings complete, there’s only one thing left to do; add it to your website. Luckily Smart Post Show makes this easy by using shortcodes.

After clicking the “Publish” button, a new box will appear under it with the shortcode. Copy the Smart Post shortcode that is displayed.

Simply go to any post or page on your website and paste the code into a shortcode block. The layout you created will appear on your website.

If you need to make changes, you can do so by editing the show you created. This will not change the shortcode, so the changes will go live immediately.

Congratulations on setting up the Smart Post Show plugin.

Consider Upgrading to Pro

If you liked this plugin, consider upgrading to the Pro version for even more options. It’s a versatile tool that can really help you make your content look the way you want, and it’s compatible with a lot of page builders like Elementor.

Combining the two really gives you an almost unlimited amount of customization.

What type of layout did you create? Did you enable the lazy load options?

The post How to Add Post Grids and Carousels with Smart Post in WordPress appeared first on GreenGeeks.

This plugin stores each version of your content onto the blockchain where it can be verified as the original. It’s essentially a more secure system to determine the date. After all, you can manually change this information in WordPress.

Today, I will demonstrate how to protect your content with WordProof Timestamp.

Why Do I Need To Do This?

It’s very common to have your content stolen and reposted on the internet. It doesn’t matter how big or small your website is, someone will steal your work, and there’s not much you can do to actually prevent this by someone who is determined.

Instead, the focus is on proving you own the content and created it.

This allows you to send out cease and desist notices if it gets that far. However, keeping a detailed record of this can be problematic. In WordPress, you can actually alter the date a piece of content is posted to make it appear like it was the original.

In fact, it’s really easy to do this and there are even plugins that make it simple. Yet, if you should know anything about blockchains, it’s that data is not changed easily because the blockchain is constantly being looked at by other users.

This makes it nearly impossible to hack, thus it is the safest storage location for data.

How to Use WordProof Timestamp

Step 1: Install WordProof Timestamp

WordProof Timestamp might have sounded complicated, but let me assure you, it’s not. All most everything is done automatically for you and it just requires the click of a button to verify your content.

And to be perfectly clear, while this plugin does utilize blockchain technology, it does not require you to buy any cryptocurrency. That said, there is a premium version you may be interested in upgrading to if you like the features it offers.

Note: The free timestamp server this plugin provides you with access to 10 timestamps per month. This might be enough to cover your newest posts and pages. If you need more, your only option is to upgrade to a paid account.

First, click on Plugins and select the Add New option on the left-hand admin panel.

Search for WordProof Timestamp in the available search box.

Scroll down until you find the WordProof Timestamp plugin and click on the “Install Now” button and activate the plugin for use.

Step 2: Setup Wizard

Upon installation, you will be asked to go through the setup wizard. Click on the “Launch Setup Wizard” button.

First, you need to select the mode. It is highly recommended to pick automatic because choosing to use your own blockchain account requires going through the settings manually.

Click on the “Start the set-up” button to proceed.

In this step, you must connect your website with WordProof. If you already have a site key click on the “Yes!” button and input the information. If not, click on the “No, create my key” button.

This will take you to the WordProof website and ask you to enter a name, email, and password. Check the box to agree and click on the “Create Account” button.

Once your account is set up, you need to add your website to it. Click on the Account tab and select the Add Website option.

A small pop-up will appear, enter your website URL, and select the WordPress platform. Use the drop-down to select the EOS blockchain (recommended).

Click on the “Add Website” button to finish.

This will generate a site key. Copy the site key and paste it into the textbox in the setup wizard. Click on the “Validate” button.

Choose which types of content you want to automatically verify and if you want to allow visitors to see revisions of the content.

Now, you need to customize the verification link. At the bottom of your content, there will be a link that shows the blockchain verification pop-up. This is also how visitors will access revisions if you enabled that feature.

Simply change the link to whatever you want it to be or leave it as default.

This concludes the plugin setup.

Step 3: Use WordProof Timestamp on Existing Content

Now, the end result of this setup should be that all of your newly published content is automatically verified. However, this doesn’t cover your existing content. Instead, if you want to verify this, you are going to have to do it manually.

Go to the content type you selected to be verifiable in the wizard (posts and/or pages). On the right-hand side of the content, you should notice a new column for WordProof. This lets you see if the content is verified or not.

Just remember that you have limited timestamps, so going back for older content might not be the best use of them on a free account.

Simply click on the “Timestamp this post” button (if in posts) and the content will be verified.

Congratulations on setting up the WordProof Timestamp tool. It’s an easy way to verify your content.

Is This the Future of SEO?

Blockchain technology is still in its infancy stage. However, there is a ton of speculation on where this technology can be applied and which businesses can take advantage of it. And search engines have been a big area of speculation.

As I stated earlier, a blockchain is an extremely safe place to store data due to its high security. This makes it safe for search engines, or anyone for that matter, to trust that the information is legitimate.

Many believe that a possible outcome could be for search engines to use this technology to verify who posted a specific topic first. Then grant the original post a higher ranking, which would lead to less content scraping.

Instead, content creators would be more likely to create new content instead of regurgitating existing stuff.

Of course, there is a counterargument that content creators will rush their content out the door to be first. This would lead to lower quality content ranking higher, which is definitely the most likely outcome.

Obviously, this is all speculation, but I am willing to bet that blockchain technology will eventually be used by search engines in 20+ years.

Confront Content Thiefs

Content thieves use stolen content to add a variety of materials to their own websites. They believe this will help them grow faster. If you notice your content has been stolen, the first thing you should do is contact that website.

This can typically be done through a Contact Us page. Give it a week to see if they respond or remove the content.

In many cases, they will comply. If not, then it’s time to file an actual DMCA complaint. One way is to go through Google to get the content removed. You can also track down who the website owner uses as a web host and try contacting them.

Keep in mind this can be a long process and might not be worth doing for smaller pieces of content.

What do you think about the future of blockchain technology and search engines? Did you find WordProof Teimstamp easy to use?

The post How to Protect Your Content with WordProof Timestamp in WordPress appeared first on GreenGeeks.

There are times when a site owner builds a website and over time adds so many categories that it can be hard for a reader to follow all of it. Many readers go to specific websites to find certain content only. We have all done it, we don’t really want to browse, we want to find a specific topic or article and read it.

If your reader is only interested in following one WordPress category, then you now have a way to allow this by using a smooth plugin that we will talk about below.

What are WordPress Categories?

Simply put, categories are a way to sort blog posts in WordPress so that they have structure and are displayed in a way that helps the reader find the articles and content they want to read. 

A great example of using WordPress categories is a music-related website. The music site may be geared toward all genres of music. However, a reader needs to know how to find the musical type they want to read about. So in this case, categories on a music site would look something like this:

• Rock
• Alternative
• Rap
• Hip-Hop
• Pop

This gives readers a clear way to search for the music they want and find it more easily within a website.

Today, I am going to show you how to allow your site readers to easily subscribe to a WordPress category without having to follow the entire site for updates.

Let’s take a look at the plugin we are going to use today and see what all it has to offer.

Subscribe to Category

Subscribe to Category is a smooth and lightweight plugin that allows a user to easily subscribe or unsubscribe to the exact WordPress category they want. Whenever a user subscribes to a category, they will receive email notifications with a link to a new post anytime that post is published in the category they are subscribed to.

As stated above, the plugin is lightweight and will not slow your website down when you use it. It also comes packed full of great features that make it easy to set up and use. Some of the main features include:

• Email notification templates with placeholders
• Custom posts
• Custom taxonomies
• Enhanced keyword search across the plugin
• Email notification timer
• Works on newly created and updated posts
• Compatible with the classic editor or block editor
• Easily import and export subscribers
• Use with a widget or a shortcode

As you can see, the Subscribe to Category plugin gives you everything you need to allow your site readers to easily subscribe to the category of their choice.

Let’s get the plugin installed and setup together and you will be off and running in no time at all.

Set Up Subscribe to Category in WordPress

Step 1: Install and Activate the Plugin 

In order to allow users to subscribe to a category only in WordPress, you first need to install and activate the plugin. You can do this by jumping over to the Plugins page in the WordPress admin dashboard.

Just use the available search field on the page and search the plugin by name. Once you see it pop up, install and activate it right from there.

Step 2: Access the Settings Page

Now that the plugin has been installed and activated, we need to access the main settings page so that you can configure it how you want.

To do this, click on STC Subscribe > Settings, located on the left side menu area of the dashboard.

You will see this is now an available option because you went ahead and activated the plugin.

Step 3: Configure Plugin Settings 

At this point, you should be on the settings page for the plugin. You will see that there are quite a few settings you will want to configure. Most of them have to do with the way email notifications act, but there are settings available for all aspects of the plugin.

At the top part of the page, go ahead and select all the email configuration settings how you prefer.

Now scroll down just a little and configure all the seatings for custom post types.

Scrolling down a little more, you will find sections that have email templates and attribute settings available. Go ahead and fill these in as well.

At this point, we are nearing the end. Scroll down just a little more and configure the settings for rescheduling and resending if applicable.

Below that, you will see a few options for stylesheet settings and plugin deactivation. 

Last but not least, at the bottom of the page are the import and export tools provided by the Subscribe to Category plugin. Use those if you need to.

Step 4: Place the Subscribe to Category Widget on Your Site

Now that all your configurations are in place, let’s head over to the widgets area of your site and place the widget where you would like to display it.

Click on Appearance > Widgets, located on the left side menu area of the dashboard.

Scroll down until you see the “Subscribe to Category” widget and drag that in the widget area of your site that you want it to display on.

Note: Your categories will show under attributes. We have no categories on this demo site, so nothing is displaying.

Step 5: View the Subscribe Widget Live

When you get the widget placed where you want, go ahead and go to the front end of your website and check it out. 

If you feel like you need to make changes, then head back to the configuration page and update whatever you need.

That’s it! You are now giving your website users the ability to easily subscribe to a specific category on your WordPress site.

Are Categories the Same as Tags?

No, categories and tags in WordPress are two different things, and they have different functionality. A category in WordPress will help the user find categories and content in a specific area of the site. For example, if someone comes to your music website, perhaps your categories are:

• Rock
• Hip-Hop
• Country
• Classical
• Alternative
• R&B

Your site user clicks through these main categories and finds what they want.

On the other hand, tags act as somewhat of a sub-category within the main category. They help with website structure, but they have no effect on website SEO. A tag is simply a tool that helps a site user find content that is even more targeted.

For example, what if your website has a main category titled “Classical?” You might include some of the following tags to narrow down a search:

• Violin
• Piano
• Beethoven
• Orchestra

They are simply ways to break down content within a category.

Final Thoughts

Allowing site users to subscribe to a category of interest instead of making them subscribe to your entire site opens the doors for readers to come back. Not only are you giving them the exact content they want to follow, but you are allowing them a way to follow all updated and new content from a specific category.

I hope this tutorial showed you how easy it is to have users subscribe to a category on your site.

Have you ever tried this using another tool? If so, what was the final outcome, and did your technique work?

The post How to Let Users Subscribe to a Category of Content in WordPress appeared first on GreenGeeks.

You can go about this using your own custom code and build from the ground up. However, there is a much easier way to create a WordPress content template. If you have the right plugin, then you are able to create a simple template any time you want.

Why Create a Content Template?

A content template in WordPress is basically a design that defines how single posts and pages will display live on the front-end of your website. By setting up a specific layout of your content, you can create similar pieces of work.

For example, what if you wanted to follow a specific flow for using headers when writing a review? Perhaps you want all posts to include a snippet at the bottom or some advertising code.

This is a good thing if you are good to go with having one type of WordPress content template. This is called a one-and-done process. However, what if you wanted to have a bunch of different simple content templates that worked as a stand-alone template away from the others? 

To accomplish this, you need to create alternative content templates and apply them appropriately when and where they are needed. This can be difficult without the right tools, as custom coding will come into play as well as some other technical items you may not want to deal with.

Today, I am going to show you how to easily create as many simple templates as you want using a smooth and easy-to-understand plugin.

Let’s take a look at the plugin in question and see all that it has to offer.

Simple Content Templates

Simple Content Templates gives WordPress website owners the ability to easily create content templates for their posts and pages. The plugin works pretty easily and can be managed quickly from the back end of your WordPress admin dashboard.

When you go to create a new post, you will have the option to use one of the existing content templates available. The choices you have will be based on the different templates you create using the plugin.

Simple Content Templates allows you to build and easily define a title, post body, and excerpt. Sounds simple right? It is, and these templates you can build can add a new level of professionalism and uniqueness to your site.

The plugin is also lightweight. When activated, it won’t slow your site down at all. You simply use it to create a template. Once you have created the template you want, you can go to any post or page. 

You will see an option to “Load a Content Template.” You simply load the template you want, create your post or page, and publish it. The content you create will show live on your site based on the template you chose to use.

Let’s get the plugin installed and set up together.

Note: There is a pro version of Simple Content Updates. it offers a bit more functionality and fields. If you feel this is something your website needs, then feel free to check it out. The rest of this tutorial is based on the free version of the plugin.

Add a Content Template to Your WordPress Site

Step 1: Install and Activate the Plugin

Before you can start building templates for your site, you first need to install and activate the Simple Content Templates plugin. You can do this by heading over to the Plugins page of the WordPress admin dashboard.

Simply use the available search field to search the plugin by name. When you see it pop up, go ahead and install and activate it right from the dashboard.

Step 2: Go to the Settings Page

Now that the plugin is installed, you need to go configure a few of the settings before adding your first template. To do this, click on Content Templates > Settings, located on the left side menu area of the dashboard.

You can see that this is now an available option because you activated the plugin.

Step 3: Configure the Plugin Settings

At this point, you should be on the main settings page for the plugin. Notice that there are three main tabs on this page. They include:

• Settings
• Support
• Upgrade

We are going to ignore the Support and Upgrade tabs for now. If you need extra plugin support, then visit that tab. If you are interested in upgrading to the pro version of the plugin, then you can visit its tab as well.

Let’s concentrate on the actual settings real quick. They are simple and straightforward. You are basically going to check the boxes that you want to make templates available for.

You will also choose if you want to auto-load any created templates. Go ahead and make those choices, click the “Save Changes” button, and let’s move on.

Step 4: Click on the Add Template Option

On the left menu area, you will see the “Add Template” tab link. 

Go ahead and click on that and let’s add a new template together.

Step 5: Add Template Content and Publish It

This is a simple and fast process, especially with the free version of the plugin. You are simply going to title your template and publish it.

You can also add a post body and an excerpt, both of which will be pre-defined for later.

Step 6: Use Your New Template

Now that you have created your first new template, let’s go use it. Simply open any new post or page you want.

When the editor opens up, you will see that there is now a new box called Simple Content Templates to the top right of the page. Click on the dropdown menu and select any of the available templates you have built. 

Click on the “Load Template” button and the new template will load up. You can now edit and publish whenever you are ready.

That’s it. You can repeat the steps above and create as many different WordPress content templates as you want.

When Should You Use a Content Template?

In the right situation, having the ability to use a different content template can be very valuable. Maybe you are trying to bump just a little of the content around some, or maybe you need to put ads or other banners in certain places on the page. These are both great reasons to have different WordPress templates available when needed.

Remember, you are more than welcome to do this using your own custom code. However, for most people, this is just too complicated and time-consuming. Not only that, but if you need or want several different types of content templates, then you are looking at even more work.

There are just several really good reasons to use the Simple Content Templates plugin to build unique templates for your WordPress site. Some of these include:

• The plugin will save you a ton of development time
• You can save templates on your site instead or on your computer
• Reduce overall mistakes
• Have different contents for different subjects available right at your fingertips

Whatever your reason might be, this plugin makes the entire process of creating WordPress content templates simple, effective, and fast.

Final Thoughts

The Simple Content Templates plugin is a fantastic tool to have on your site if you need different templates for different situations. Not only can you create quickly and easily, but it keeps you away from any type of custom code situation.

I hope this article was able to show you how easy it really is to add a content template to your site. Again, you can add as many as you want and build a unique site.

Do you prefer to code your templates from the ground up yourself? Have you tried this plugin yet to help save some customization time?

The post How to Set Up Simple Content Templates in WordPress and Why appeared first on GreenGeeks.

You’ll be able to show multiple authors in WordPress in just a few clicks. This will allow visitors to see their name, biography, and avatar. This plugin even supports guest authors, so it’s a great choice regardless of what type of website it is.

Today, I will demonstrate how to display multiple authors with Publish Press.

Why Show Multiple Authors in WordPress?

Multiple authors allow websites to produce more content at a faster pace. It also helps raise the quality of the work because you can spend more time on every post. However, each author has their own writing style, and simply labeling them under one author is a disservice to the work of others.

Thus, most websites choose to display each author in their employment.

It’s also quite common for some readers to specifically look for an author. They may like their opinion on a certain topic or just prefer their writing style. Showing off the author’s name can help the content they write to find a reader base.

And if they are a freelance writer, having their name appear in the author box allows them to easily add their work in a resume. As a result, they will be able to find more work easier as a result of their experience.

Luckily, the process is simple, so website owners shouldn’t have trouble adding an author.

How to Easily Display Multiple Authors

Step 1: Install PublishPress Authors

PublishPress Authors allows web developers to display multiple authors on their website. The author box it adds allows you to enter the author’s name, biography, and display their avatar. It supports an unlimited number of authors and even supports guest authors.

It also fully supports co-author posts, which are posts that have multiple creators. These are ideal for group projects that the whole team worked on. The plugin is easy to use and should only take a few minutes to set up, so let’s begin.

Click on Plugins and select the Add New option on the left-hand admin panel.

Search for PublishPress Authors in the available search box. This will pull up additional plugins that you may find helpful.

Note: There are multiple PublishPress plugins, make sure the one you locate is the “Authors” tool.

Scroll down until you find the PublishPress Authors plugin and click on the “Install Now” button and activate the plugin for use.

Step 2: Settings

This plugin has a short settings section that will help you set up automatic author profiles every time an Author user role is created. There is also an option to create author profiles for existing author user roles, which is necessary if you are installing the plugin on an existing website.

On the left-hand admin panel, click on Authors and select the Settings option.

The settings are divided into three tabs that include General, Display, and Maintenance. I will give a brief description of each one.

General Tab

In the General tab, you can choose to add author cards to all posts and all pages, automatically create author profiles when a specific user role is created, if you want the author’s username to be displayed, and top-select a default author for each new post.

Click on the “Save Changes” button when you are done.

Display Tab

In the Display tab, you can select whether to show the author box at the bottom of the content or not, the title for the author box, the layout of the box, show an email link to contact the author, and display a link to the author’s personal website (useful for guest writers and freelancers).

When you have made your choices, click on the “Save Changes” button.

Maintenance Tab

Note: It is strongly recommended to make a backup of your website before interacting with any of the options in this tab.

And finally, on the maintenance tab, there is a series of buttons that you can use to make sweeping changes. This is, by far, the most important part of the settings process. You can have the plugin scan your website, locate posts that do not have an author assigned, and fill it in automatically with the “Create missed post authors” button.

Another extremely useful button you can find here is the “Create missed authors from role” button. This one will scan your existing users and if they have a specific role that should have an author profile, it will generate one. This is necessary if you are installing the plugin on an existing website.

If you used a previous version of PublishPress and did not upgrade from version 3.7.4 or below for quite some time, there is an option to automatically update all of the author profiles.

Luckily each option has an explanation alongside it, so make sure to read everything carefully before pushing any buttons.

Step 3: Customize Author Profiles

All that’s left is to actually customize the user profiles that will appear as authors. These profiles should have an avatar and biography in place.

To add them, click on Users and select the All Users option.

If a user has an author profile, you will see an Edit Author option appear when you hover over their name. If they do not, you will see a Create Author option instead. Click on either option to begin customizing the author profile.

Here, you can find text boxes to add their name, email, add a custom avatar, a link to their personal website, and the biographical info section. Simply fill in the information and click on the “Update” button.

You can now view the author’s profile box on any post it should appear on your website to see the changes.

Note: The design of the author box will match the theme you are using, so it will fit in on any website. If you change themes, the author box will change its design automatically. Thus, there is no extra work.

Congratulations on learning how to display author boxes in WordPress with the PublishPress Authors plugin.

Author Boxes Add A Professional Touch

When looking at content on a website, seeing an author box really does add a professional touch to the website. Many readers want to make sure that the content they are reading is from a reliable source, and sometimes the website name may not be enough.

For example, if you run a legal blog, you might have a lawyer as a guest writer. Seeing an author card that reveals a real lawyer wrote the post helps add credibility to the content and it can help the guest writer connect with new customers.

It’s a win-win situation.

It’s also beneficial if you are working on a collaboration project with another website to be able to list yourself and the collaborator as authors of a single post. This is necessary for research environments to properly credit each researcher.

How easy did you find the PublishPress Authors plugin to use? Does your website utilize guest writers?

The post How to Show Multiple Authors in WordPress with PublishPress appeared first on GreenGeeks.

In order to have a checklist right inside your website, you need to find a WordPress checklist plugin that will give you the tools necessary to set it up. Luckily, I have found a solid plugin to add a checklist to a post.

Why Have a Post Checklist?

Having a post checklist in-place will allow you to bang out more solid content than you ever have before. Why? Think of this checklist as a list of things to do before you hit publish. Or, you can even think of it in terms of a rough draft.

This is especially helpful if your focus is on-page SEO.

Remember, most people write a couple of drafts before they are ready to publish their content on a website. The checklist that you can build on your website will help you determine what you have done, what you still need to do, and when is the right time to publish the content.

Let’s take a look at the plugin we are going to use today to create a post checklist on a WordPress site.

PublishPress Checklists

PublishPress Checklists is one of the best tools to use if you want to ensure that your content is ready to go live. The plugin allows you to create your own post checklist using a set of pre-publishing requirements. You can easily define the task you want to be completed before any of your content ever goes live.

There are a number of things you can do with the PublishPress Checklist. You can make sure your posts have a featured image, force post authors to use certain tags and categories, and even make sure a certain number of words is met.

The plugin is lightweight yet very powerful. It provides you with a lot of options but will not slow your site down. Once the plugin is installed and configured, authors will see a checklist box next to every post or page. This box will contain a list of things they have to make sure are done before content can be published.

The tasks put in the post checklist can either be recommended or required. You can set this up how you want after the fact, which gives you full control of the content being created.

As your authors, or you, complete the tasks in the post checklist, a red X will automatically turn into a green checkmark, letting everyone know that item has been dealt with.

The plugin comes with a number of great checklist requirement options. You can require:

• Excerpts to be written
• Number of categories used
• Amount of tags used
• Maximum or minimum number of words

Basically, this post checklist plugin will give you all the tools you need to create a fully functioning post checklist that your authors will have to follow.

Let’s get the plugin installed and set up together.

Note: There is a pro version of this plugin that makes more checklist items available and provides more functionality. If you feel that is something you need, then go ahead and give that a look. The rest of this tutorial is based on the free version of the plugin.

How to Create a Post Checklist

Step 1: Install and Activate the Plugin 

In order to create a post checklist, you first need to install and activate the PublishPress Checklist plugin. You can do this very quickly and easily by heading over to the Plugins page in the WordPress admin dashboard.

Simply use the search field to search the plugin by name. Once you see it pop up, install and activate it right from there.

Step 2: Go to Settings

Now that the plugin has been installed and activated, it is time to head over to the main settings page for it so that you can configure what you need to before adding a post checklist.

To do this, click on Checklists > Settings, located on the left side menu area of the dashboard.

You can see that this is now an available option because you activated the plugin.

Step 3: Configure the Plugin Settings

At this point, you should be on the main settings page for the plugin. Here, you can configure the settings how you want before moving on and creating a to-do list for your posts.

There are not a lot of configurations there. Select the options you are comfortable with and click on the “Save Changes” button.

Step 4: Click on the Checklists Tab

Now, in order to add a post checklist, click on the “Checklists” tab on the left menu area of the dashboard.

This will take you to the page where you can define everything you want on your post checklist.

Step 5: Create and Define Checklist Tasks

You should now be on the page where you can create and define checklist tasks. The PublishPress Checklists plugin has several pre-defined tasks that you can configure and add to your checklist.

These tasks include the following:

• Character Counts
• Word Count
• Number of Categories
• Number of Tags
• Excerpt Character Count
• Number of Internal Links
• Valid Format for Links
• Alt Text for Images
• Featured Image
• Latin Characters in Permalink
• Approve by User in Role

Go through them all and create the configurations for the post checklist that you want. When you are finished, click on the “Save Changes” button.

Step 6: View the Post Checklist on Post or Page

Now that everything has been configured and set up, you can go to any post or page and see that there is now a checklist on the right side of the editor.

You will also see that there is a red exclamation mark on the “Publish” button as well. This is letting the author know that the checklist is not finished.

If the author tries to publish the content without first going through the checklist, then they will get this popup box blocking them from publishing.

That’s it! At this point, you are running a post checklist based on what you want done before content can be posted.

Can I Add Other Custom Tasks?

Yes, even with the free version of the plugin, you are able to add custom tasks to the post checklist.

In order to do this, go back to the “Checklists” page that you built above. At the bottom of the page, you will see a button titled “Add Custom Task.” 

Go ahead and enter a task name and configure it. You can add as many custom tasks as you want.

Note: Custom tasks you create do not complete automatically. Users MUST check the box to show they have completed the task.

Final Thoughts

Adding a post checklist to your website will ensure that you are getting content published the way you want, no matter who is writing it. Since PublishPress won’t allow posts to be published without the checklist being done, you will be able to relax a little more knowing content that is being published is meeting the guidelines of your post checklist.

You can use this in conjunction with other PublishPress plugins as well.

Have you ever created a post checklist before? Do you do it manually or use another plugin?

The post How to Use a Post Checklist in WordPress to Ensure Quality Content appeared first on GreenGeeks.

You might be a great content writer. That being said, oftentimes this isn’t enough. Having a plan in place can be beneficial because it allows you to see everything that is coming, understand what needs to be done, and do the things that will get your site ranking higher.

Just because you plan on writing a post a day does not necessarily mean you will be able to follow that plan in the long run. There are tons of benefits that come with having a solid WordPress editorial calendar on your site.

Why Should I have a WordPress Content Calendar?

As great of a platform as WordPress is, oftentimes they don’t make it easy to see when your posts are scheduled. A solid content calendar gives you an overview of your blog and when each post will be published. There are also a number of other related tools built-in that you will be able to enjoy, depending on the plugin you choose.

Despite well-intentioned planning and solid effort, content creation, edits, upcoming post drafts, and schedule can get muddled and hard to follow without a plan in-place. The need for a WordPress content calendar can’t be overstated. Here are some other solid benefits to think about:

• Helps keep you organized and on track
• Perfect for brainstorming
• Helps with consistency
• Will keep an audience engaged
• Provided visibility across departments
• Helps you stay in-the-know
• Keeps track of overall performance

Today, I am going to show you how you can use the PublishPress Editorial Calendar plugin to achieve all of the above and more. Let’s take a look at the plugin and see all that it has to offer.

PublishPress

PublishPress is a plugin that provides you with all the tools you need to properly manage WordPress content. The plugin also comes with a built-in editorial calendar, to help you plan and manage all upcoming content.

If you own a WordPress site that has even a decent amount of content filtering out, then PublishPress is for you. Don’t get bogged down with content creation and post drafts. With this plugin, you will be able to collaborate much more effectively. 

The PublishPress Editorial Calendar is also perfect if your site has multiple users. As a matter of fact, the plugin is built toward that, as managing multiple users and the content they are putting out can also be difficult without a plan.

The plugin comes with a ton of functionality and features. However, even with all the built-in tools and features, the plugin remains lightweight and smooth. It will not slow your site down.

Some of the main features of the PublishPress Editorial Calendar plugin include:

• Dynamic Editorial Calendar
• Content Notifications
• Content Overview
• Custom Statuses
• Editorial Comments
• Editorial Metadata
• User Roles
• Slack Notifications
• Reminder Notifications
• Import From Edit Flow
• Bug Reports

The plugin is smooth and will give you just about any tool you need to properly manage, create, and publish content without losing your way.

Let’s get the plugin installed and operational together.

Note: There is a pro version of this plugin that will provide you even more features and benefits. If this is something you feel you need, then go ahead and take a look at that. PublishPress also has a number of other related plugins that all work together to help you create content and stay on top of things. The rest of the tutorial below is based on the free version of the plugin.

How to Use PublishPress

Step 1: Install and Activate the Plugin

In order to start using the PublishPress Editorial Calendar plugin, you first need to install and activate it. You can do this by hopping over to the Plugins page in the WordPress admin dashboard of your site.

Simply use the search field and search the plugin by name. When it pops up, go ahead and install and activate it right from there.

Step 2: Access the Settings Page

Now that the plugin has been installed and activated, you want to head on over to the settings page and configure the plugin settings. To get there, click on PublishPress > Settings, located on the left side menu area of the dashboard.

You can see that this is now an available option because you activated the plugin.

Step 3: Configure the Plugin Settings

At this point, you should be on the settings page for the PublishPress Editorial Calendar plugin. You will see that there are four main tabs to go through and configure. These include:

• General 
• Calendar
• Metadata
• Statuses

Let’s go over these together real quick before moving on.

General 

This is where you will set all the main and general settings for the plugin. This will include things like post types, notifications, workflows, logs, and features. Go ahead and configure all of these settings to your liking.

Calendar

This tab is going to house all the settings for the actual calendar. Configure these as well. These configurations will interact with the calendar layout, so you can always come back and make adjustments when needed.

Metadata

Set all the metadata actions here and configure the options that you want to have on your calendar. You can add to post types, and configure the metadata on post drafts and assignments.

Statuses

Last but not least, edit and configure all the data you want for statuses. Change label colors, add descriptions, see what posts are assigned, in draft, in review, and published.

Step 4: Go to the Calendar

Congrats, all of the configurations for the plugin are now finished. It is time to head over to the main calendar and see how it all looks. Click on the “Calendar” link tab that is housed under the main PublishPress tab on the left side menu of the dashboard.

Note: Right now your calendar will be empty. However, when you start creating content and assignments, then it will fill out and look the way you configured it.

Step 5: Create Calendar Content

Now that you have landed on the Calendar page, you will see a blank calendar that you can start adding content to.

Click on any of the calendar dates and a popup box will appear.

Fill out all the relevant information needed within the popup box. When you are done, click on the “Create” button and your calendar will auto-fill with that piece of content.

That’s it! You are now up and running with the PublishPress Editorial Calendar. You can add as much content to the calendar as you want and start navigating your way to creating better posts.

Other PublishPress Options

PublishPress also has a few more important tabs you can click on to view important items and data when needed. You can access all of them on the left menu area, as they are all housed under the main PublishPress link tab link.

These items include things like content overview, notifications, notifications log, and roles. Again, a lot of the items will fill out over time.

Final Thoughts

Giving yourself and other publishers on your site the ability to create and manage content in a way that is not jumbled and confusing is very important. This leads to better pieces, easier navigation, and better overall results.

I hope this article was able to show you how easy it really is to get a solid WordPress content calendar running on your site. A tool like the PublishPress Editorial Calendar can really start taking your site content in a better direction.

What other practices have you put in place to help with content creation and management? Is there another editorial calendar plugin that you like better?

The post How to Use the PublishPress Editorial Calendar in WordPress appeared first on GreenGeeks.

There are a number of different ways to display author information in WordPress. You can use Gravatar, another WordPress authors plugin, or build full bio pages from scratch using the WordPress editor.

Today, I am going to show you how to use a smooth plugin in order to fill out display detailed author profiles on any WordPress post or page.

Why Display Authors in WordPress?

Displaying authors in WordPress has a few different benefits. Not only are you properly giving credit to the author of the post, but you are also allowing them to get their name and information out there for readers to see.

Oftentimes, website owners who hire writers to write content will allow them to submit an author bio that includes things like:

• Headshot
• Website URL
• Social Media Profiles
• Work Info
• Links to Content

Of course, these are just some examples of what can be included in an author’s bio. More complex author bios in WordPress may include a full page of information, background, photos, work history, and much more.

You can create these bios using several different methods as described above. However, today I am going to show you how to do it using a plugin. Let’s dig right in.

About Author

About Author allows you to build full author profiles and display them anywhere on-site using shortcodes that are generated each time you build a profile.

You can build small, compact profiles and show them at the end of articles. However, you can also build full, stylish profiles and add those to any post or page as well.

The plugin allows you to use multiple shortcodes on multiple posts and pages. So, if you want to list several author profiles in one spot, or on one page, then this plugin has you covered. You can also use multiple widgets to display authors in a sidebar or other widget area of your WordPress website.

It is lightweight and will not slow your website. The plugin has quite a bit of functionality built-in. Some of that includes features like:

• Complete Author Profile
• Author Bio
• Author Name
• Description of Author
• Author Website
• 2 Author Templates Built-In

Simply put, this plugin gives you everything you need to create customized bios with tons of features and easily display them on your WordPress website.

Note: The plugin does have a pro version. It does include quite a bit more functionality. If this is something you are interested in, then feel free to give it a look. However, the tutorial below is based on the free version of the plugin.

How to Add a Bio in WordPress

Step 1: Install and Activate the Plugin

In order to use the plugin, you first need to install and activate it. You can do this by jumping over to the Plugins page of the WordPress admin dashboard.

Simply use the search field provided on that page and search the plugin by name. Once you see it pop up, install and activate it from there.

Step 2: Go to Author Settings

Once the plugin has been installed and activated, you need to access the main settings page before you add your first bio in WordPress.

To do this, click on About Author > Author Settings, located on the left-side menu area of the dashboard.

You see that this is now an available option for you after the plugin has been installed and activated.

Step 3: Configure the About Author Settings

At this point, you should be on the main settings page for the plugin. There are just a few things to configure how you want.

Go ahead and make your author selections and template layout configurations here. These are pretty basic and simply lay the groundwork for using the plugin.

Click the “Save” button when you are finished to apply all the changes.

Step 4: Add a New Author

Now you are ready to add a new author. This will be the first of many you add. Click on the “Add New” tab that is located on the left-side menu under the main plugin menu area.

This takes you to the author bio page where you can add a new bio and create your first shortcode to display it.

Step 5: Configure Your Author Bio

You can see that there are several great options available to you on the author bio editor page. Let’s get started.

First, add a bio title and select a template.

Now, scroll down a little and select the profile image you want to use, along with the layout.

Scrolling down a little more will take you to layout settings, color options, and name text settings.

Now go ahead and add the Website Text and Description Text for the bio. This is where a lot of the meat of the bio is handled.

Almost finished.

Scrolling down a little more, you will see the social link settings, colors, and size. Go ahead and fill those out appropriately based on what you want to be displayed.

Finally, if you know how to add custom CSS and want to do that, you can use the box at the bottom of the page to do so.

When you are satisfied with how you built your bio, go ahead and publish it to make it live.

That’s it! You have built your first bio. Go ahead and repeat this process as many times as you want to create other bios.

Note: All of your bio shortcodes that are generated will be house under the “All Shortcodes” section of the plugin.

To add a bio anywhere on the site, simply copy and paste the relevant shortcode where you want that bio to display. Easy as that.

What Additions Does About Author Pro Plugin Add?

As I stated above in a brief note, this plugin does have a pro version. The free version does have plenty of options, as we showed above. However, in many cases, the pro version may give you a little something extra that is important to what you are doing.

The main additions to the pro version of this plugin include:

• A Responsive Design
• 10 Author Templates
• 12 Social Media Profiles
• Over 500 Google and Generic Fonts
• Multiple Author Image Layouts
• Tons of Display Options For All Content
• Multiple Widget Display Options
• Live Preview in Admin Dashboard

So, if these are some things you feel are important, then go ahead a take a quick peek at the pro version.

Final Thoughts

Displaying author profiles and bios does not have to be a difficult process. There are multiple solutions, but the About Author plugin makes it simple, easy, and fun. You can build as many author bios as you want and easily display them on a post or page using a generated shortcode.

I hope this tutorial showed you how easy it is to add a professional bio in WordPress using the plugin above. It has everything you need in one place to properly display content.

Have you tried building author bios using different methods? Did you find that using the editor alone was more difficult?

The post How to Add a Professional Bio in WordPress with About Author appeared first on GreenGeeks.

As all content creators know, content optimization is one of the most effective ways of boosting web traffic. Unfortunately, the rules set by search engines, mostly Google, are constantly changing. As a result, so do the writing techniques you utilize.

Today, I will demonstrate how Textmetrics can help you write better content for search engines.

Why Writing SEO Friendly Content Matters

The majority of a website’s traffic will come from search engines. And to get the best result, content must be written in a particular manner. This is because search engines use bots to crawl through your website’s content looking for specific phrasing and formating.

Websites that follow these rules will rank higher in search results, thus, they will get more traffic.

However, the rules set by Google and other search engines are constantly changing and they do not provide this information to writers and developers. Instead, it’s up to content creators to figure out what gets the best result on a search engine.

And to be perfectly honest, even with millions of content writers and SEO specialists, no one really knows how Google works.

Thus, utilizing a tool that has assembled a great deal of SEO information is one way to get better results.

How to Improve Your Content with Textmetrics

Step 1: Installing Textmetrics

Textmetrics (formerly known as webtexttool) is an SEO writing tool that provides tips on how to improve your content directly in the WordPress editor. As a result, you can make changes as you are writing the content from scratch, which can save you from making revisions later on.

The plugin provides tips in a variety of areas including keyword suggestions, tips to increase readability, social and SEO meta tags, SEO tracking tools, and much more. It’s a great addition to any website for anyone looking to improve a website’s rankings.

Let’s start by clicking on Plugins and selecting the Add New option on the left-hand admin panel.

Search for Textmetrics in the available search box. This will pull up additional plugins that you may find helpful.

Scroll down until you find the Textmetrics plugin and click on the “Install Now” button and activate the plugin for use.

Step 2: Create An Account

Before you can use the plugin, you must do one thing, create an account. The plugin will not work without this information, but it is very easy to do. However, keep in mind that the plugin will only provide limited features without an actual plan.

There is also an API Key, but that is not available unless you have a plan with Textmetrics.

On the left-hand admin panel click on Textmetrics and select the Dashboard option.

First, you need to create an account. Click on the “here” link and fill out the sign up information.

Note: WordPress will automatically fill in the username and password with your website information if you have it saved on your web browser. This is not the correct login information for the account.

Sign up only includes providing an email, creating a password, and agreeing to the terms of service.

After signing up, return to your website and sign in.

The free version only includes 10 keyword credits for a month, which probably isn’t enough for any active blog. But if you like the services they provide, you can purchase a premium plan.

Step 3: Settings

The plugin comes with a variety of settings you can configure. However, it is already set up in a way to help your website be more SEO friendly. As such, it isn’t recommended to change most of the settings unless you know what you are doing.

Nonetheless, I will cover where you can find them and what they include for those who are curious.

If you click on Settings, which are broken up into 5 tabs.

Here you can customize the metadata of titles, descriptions, choose a title separator, taxonomies, archive settings, and post type settings.

If you click on Social, you will be able to customize more general settings and social media account preferences.

Again, the settings are generally perfect for the majority of websites and don’t require any changes, but they are there for the websites that want them.

Step 4: Using Textmetrics

Using Textmetrics is simple and it’s all done directly in the WordPress editor. Keep in mind that you can only use the Keyword suggester in the free version.

Go to any post or page, and on the right-hand side, you will notice a Textmetrics section.

In the first option, you will see is the keyword suggester. This will allow you to pick a Google search based on a specific region and see how popular it is.

Note: Keep in mind the free version only gives you 10 free suggestions, so use them wisely.

The second section is the real-time suggestions. If you don’t have anything written, there will be no suggestions. However, as you write a blog or post, the plugin will make suggestions if it notices that there can be an improvement made.

You can also use it to analyze existing content as well.

On the right-hand side, click on Page Settings.

Click on the Content tab and click on the “Analyze Content” button.

Note: This option is only available to those with a plan, but it will highlight changes you might want to consider making.

Congratulations on learning how to use the Textmetrics plugin. Remember, you need to go into your existing posts to analyze them for improvements.

Looking For A Free Option, Try Yoast SEO

While Textmetrics is a great service, most smaller blogs may find the prices to be a tad high and in those cases, I would strongly recommend using the Yoast SEO plugin.

While there are paid plans in Yoast, you can get basic SEO tips for free. It can track your readability score, passive tone usage, catch consecutive sentences, analyze subheading distribution, check the average sentence length, check paragraph length, track keyword usage, and much more.

It even makes adding post meta descriptions a breeze.

These are all very basic, but it will have tremendous results on your blog if you follow the tips. However, don’t take my word for it, Yoast SEO one of the most popular plugins in WordPress with over 5 million active installs.

Its popularity is proof of the results and Yoast is free to use.

Your Writing For Humans Not Bots

Unfortunately, beginners often forget that they are actually still writing for humans when focusing on SEO. While bots will decide your website’s ranking, it’s important that the content is readable for a human.

While this might sound like a no-brainer, trust me when I say, it’s more common of a problem than you think.

Always keep the reader in mind when writing content. After all, if their experience wasn’t good, even if you rank highly, visitors may actively avoid your website or click off immediately. This will destroy your bounce rate.

How easy did you find the Textmetrics plugin to use? Do you think they should provide a more robust free option like Yoast SEO?

The post How to Make Optimized Content with Textmetrics in WordPress appeared first on GreenGeeks.

As a result, it takes less than a minute to add a WordPress ToC to any post or blog on your website. And the best part is that the table is built automatically, which means its as simple as adding a block in Gutenberg.

Today, I will demonstrate how to use the Heroic Table of Contents plugin in WordPress.

Why Add A Table of Contents in WordPress

A table of contents is a navigational tool that is intended to help readers find the information they are looking for. These appear in almost any type of written content and simply consist of a list of the chapters or sections in a piece of content.

As content creators uncover the secrets of the Google algorithm, one thing is clear: longer content performs better. But that doesn’t mean it’s good for the readers.

In fact, you might notice your bounce rate increase alongside your word count.

Longer content contains more information, but as a result, it’s much harder to find what the reader is looking for. Especially when 43% of people admit to just skimming blog content.

Instead, letting visitors find exactly what they are looking for is something that can dramatically lower your bounce rate and help retain visitors. Especially if it is at the beginning of your content.

How to Use Heroic Table of Contents

Heroic Table of Contents is a WordPress ToC plugin that can automatically generate a ToC in any post by simply adding its block. As a result, it’s one of the easiest ways to add a ToC in WordPress.

However, it also has additional customization options to choose from including multiple templates for the ToC, expand and collapse options, your choice of bullets, number or plain text, and more.

It’s a great plugin that’s easy to use, so let’s get right into it.

Step 1: Installing Heroic Table of Contents

Let’s start by clicking on Plugins and selecting the Add New option on the left-hand admin panel.

Search for Heroic Table of Contents in the available search box. This will pull up additional plugins that you may find helpful.

Scroll down until you find the Heroic Table of Contents plugin and click on the “Install Now” button and activate the plugin for use.

Note: This plugin only works with the Gutenberg editor. It is entirely block-based, thus, if you are still using the classic editor, this plugin is not for you.

Step 2: Adding the Heroic Table of Contents Block

This plugin does not have a settings section, instead, everything is handled within the block itself.

Open an existing post or page on your website that you would like to add a ToC too. Keep in mind that if you create a new one for testing, you will need to create some headers, or else the plugin won’t have anything to make.

Click on the “+” button and search for the Heroic Table of Contents block.

Place the block where you want the ToC to appear on the post or page. Like all blocks, you can move this around later if you are unsure.

Step 3: How It Works

If you already had headings in place on the post or page, you should notice the block automatically generates a ToC. It’s actually that easy.

Regardless of where you place the block in the post or page, it will include all headers. This means it will include a header that is located above as well as below it. Thus, the location of the block does not matter.

The block uses the header structure to generate the ToC. The hierarchy follows H2>H3>H4 and so on. The subsequent headers will be counted as subheadings/subsections until the next equal one is found. Here is an example of what mine looks like:

Thus, more than ever the header hierarchy you select is more important than ever. It can also help your website’s SEO, so it’s beneficial to always use proper header structure.

Step 4: Customizing the ToC

As I said at the beginning, you can customize the appearance of your ToC.

Click on the Heroic Table of Contents block to begin editing. Next to each section, you should notice a small pencil and a crossed-out eye icon. The pencil allows you to edit the appearance, while the crossed-out eye allows you to hide the item.

Note: Editing just means you can change what the section says, not the appearance.

You can also click on the “+” button to add a new link. But for the most part, this is unnecessary. After all, the plugin will generate them automatically.

On the right-hand side, you should notice the block settings. At the top, there are four styles you can choose from. These will affect how the ToC looks. Click on each one to see what it looks like and select the appearance you want.

Underneath, you will see a “Default Style” option. Select the style the block will automatically use whenever it is placed. This is important because all of your ToC’s should look the same.

The rest of the block settings include a toggle option for visitors to select if the ToC is visible or not, if the ToC is open or closed by default, which headings the plugin looks for, and if you want to add custom CSS.

Go through the settings and save your work. The ToC will now be fully functional on that post or page.

Congratulations on setting up the Heroic Table of Contents plugin. Unfortunately, there is no quick way to add the block to every post, so you will need to manually do this.

Use It on Long Content

Keep in mind that a ToC is better suited for longer pieces of content.

For example, if you can view all of the headers without scrolling down the page, you definitely do not need a ToC.

In fact, including one on such content looks absolutely ridiculous to a visitor.

Instead, a ToC is best utilized on longer content that has several headings and subheadings. But every website is different, so do what works best for you. Just try to be consistent in both the type of content and location of the ToC.

Improve Your Bounce Rate

A ToC is a powerful navigational tool that visitors can take advantage of to find what they are looking for quickly and effectively. As a result, it can help lower your bounce rate in longer pieces of content.

Generally speaking, if a visitor can’t find what they are looking for within a few seconds, they’re likely going to leave the page. So make sure the ToC is at the beginning of the post to get the best results.

After all, if they can’t see the ToC, they won’t use it.

How easy did you find the Heroic Table of Contents plugin to use? Have you noticed your bounce rate improving since using a ToC?

The post How to Add Heroic Table of Contents to WordPress appeared first on GreenGeeks.