Tips Tuesday – YouTube SEO, Cloudflare Plugin, StellarSites with Kadence
Tips this week include:
- YouTube SEO workshop this Thursday
- Bing CoPilot AI Search is easier
- Post Status is now a non-profit
- WP 6.8 RC2 released
- Automattic Cans 16% of workforce
- A review of the Cloudflare plugin functions
- Kadence introduces StellarSites – an op-ed on what this means for us
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BlogAid Happenings
Zak and I both spent last week recuperating from all the exhausting yard work of flood debris cleanup before the next heavy storms came. I hope everyone affected by those storms is okay. They impacted client work a bit too, as my clients and I had to turn off our equipment when those big lightning storms were coming through.
But I’m back in the groove now and ready to hit it this week!
Client work picks up this time of year and I’ve got some exciting SEO workshops coming up.
SEO Tips
YouTube SEO Workshop on Thursday
Things have changed at YouTube. There are a bunch of new settings.
So, I made a checklist that we’ll go through in our YouTube workshop in the DIY SEO Everywhere course this week. That will also serve as a good reference for anyone who is setting up a new YouTube channel.
I’ve got all manner of tips for how to do videos and that help you get seen and make more money, so I think we need to split that off into a mastermind type session so we can see more examples and everyone can discuss and ask questions too.
Bing CoPilot AI Search
Microsoft just launched CoPilot AI Search in the Bing browser.
In our recent AI SEO workshop in the DIY SEO Everywhere course, we looked at the ways you could already access Bing AI Search.
But, having it right in the browser under CoPilot makes it even easier now.
This new layout is really good about making the links to the original articles easy to see and click too. So, perhaps we can look forward to more site traffic from it.
WordPress Tips
Post Status is Now Non-profit
Congratulations to the folks at Post Status!!!
I’m delighted that owner Joost de Valk took it in this direction since he and his team acquired it.
This is from their official announcement:
“Post Status is now a nonprofit organization! This has allowed us to change our sponsorship structure, lower our membership fee, and enable Slack Pro. Now your private conversations and channel discussions remain intact without a time limit.”
Post Status is where WP industry pros hang out and they run a publication that I count on to hear the real scope on what’s going on in the whole WP ecosystem.
I especially enjoy reading what members are up to.
WP 6.8 RCs Released
The Release Candidate 2 for WP 6.8 is out. I expect RC3 today, which may be the last one.
I’ll begin my testing this week, as well as a post that documents what to expect in the new release.
I’ve already sent some deeper material on core changes to my Webmaster Training members for review.
The final release to the public is expected on April 15.
Automattic Cans 16% of Workforce
I just don’t get Matt’s thinking.
Just 6 months ago he offered a severance package to anyone who wanted to resign, where about 200 people chose to walk because they didn’t agree with the unnecessary fight Matt started with WP Engine.
Once they were gone he said no more layoffs.
But now he has let go of another 16% of his employees from Automattic. That’s 281 more people across 90 countries. And their severance package is a fraction of what that first set of folks received.
This, in the wake of saying that they would have to back off how many updates a year WP would have for lack of enough volunteers, that he pissed off, to work on it, and burn out among Automattic employees who were trying to take up the slack.
WTF, Matt?
This is the reason he gave:
“We have reached an important crossroads. While our revenue continues to grow, Automattic operates in a highly competitive market, and technology is evolving at unprecedented levels. To support our customers and products, we must improve our productivity, profitability, and capacity to invest.”
I guess we’re going to see how much blood he can squeeze out of the turnips he has left or invest and buy new ones as he continues to acquire new companies, plugins, and services.
Plugin Tips
Cloudflare Plugin Function
Let’s review the role of the Cloudflare plugin and what it can and can’t do because it is not what most folks think it is.
To run your site through Cloudflare you point your domain to it at your domain registrar. And then you point Cloudflare to your host server IP. In other words, it sits in the middle between resolving your domain and hitting your host. It acts as a gate for what visitors can go through to your hosting and site.
The two steps mentioned above control the connection.
You are not required to have the Cloudflare plugin installed on your site as it has zero bearing on the connection.
But here’s why I suggest having the Cloudflare plugin.
All of your traffic is coming through Cloudflare’s IPs. Cloudflare knows the original IP of where that traffic originated. The plugin delivers that original IP info to your site, making that data available to your GA4 analytics, like demographic info and the trail of URLs clicked by that visitor.
Plus, there is one setting in the plugin that is not on the Cloudflare site. It’s good to have it on, but it is optional.
Everything else you see in the Cloudflare plugin is simply a replica of some of the settings you have in your Cloudflare account. In fact, most of what’s in the interface didn’t used to be there.
But, it does give you an easy way to purge Cloudflare’s cache without having to log into your Cloudflare account.
Of course, if you’re using WP Fastest Cache and have it properly connected to Cloudflare, when you purge all caches in it, then the Cloudflare cache should get purged too.
That interface also has a replica of the Dev Mode setting, which is handy for designers as it bypasses Cloudflare’s caching, but not the security.
So, if you’re ever troubleshooting and want to run end around Cloudflare, deactivating the plugin will have zero effect on that.
And if you ever think you do need to run end around Cloudflare, contact me first, as there are good and bad ways to do that.
Theme Tips
Kadence Introduces StellarSites
I have mixed feelings about this, y’all. And I want to share this news with you as evenly as I can and let you make up your own mind.
In fact, I wish you would see this interview with Ben at StellarWP about the new StellarSites product they are launching first, and then return here and read my op-ed about it below. There is a video and a transcript of the interview.
Okay, here’s what I have to say about it.
The StellarWP Influence on Kadence
StellarWP is the parent company of Kadence.
About 1.5 years ago Ben, at StellarWP, pushed AI into Kadence with a new starter package type thing.
I don’t think it ever worked well (and still doesn’t, IMO). And I even had a convo with Ben about it, as I don’t believe he knew who the core audience for Kadence was and why they had zero use for this.
I was not the only one who felt that way, or was confused by the marketing they tried to do with it.
To this day, I don’t see it heavily adopted. What I do see are the same nagging issues it has had since the day of release. Half the time it fails to load/launch properly, and folks still can’t figure out how to use it.
StellarSites
But this new StellarSites product is different.
In brief, they want a super easy way to spin up a new site that is fast, secure, and turnkey to the point that you add your content and launch. And they want to use Kadence for the theme and starter content.
Hosting and Security
Even though StellarWP is owned by Liquid Web, which is primarily a hosting company that also happens to own dozens of WP-related businesses, they chose to use Cloudflare Enterprise for their hosting with StellarSites.
I’ve worked with several clients who were on a Cloudflare Enterprise hosting setup.
I have yet to see a single one that had security at the same level that I set for my clients. In fact, the security settings are necessarily just as open as those on any other host.
Think about it.
Each server at a host has multiple sites on it. And each of those sites could be doing business with folks anywhere in the world, and using any number of features that require access from 3rd party services.
The host can only lock down security just so far to accommodate the needs of all sites on those servers.
Beyond that, too many hosts relax their basic security further so that clients don’t complain when they run into issues by tripping security wires in ModSecurity.
READ:
- What is ModSecurity and Should You Turn it Off?
- Fixes for Update Failed Not Valid JSON Response in WordPress
Case in point, I had one new client who was having issues with the Cloudflare setup I had for her that was blocking something with her skank ads network. And instead of giving me the opportunity to address it, she moved to another host that used Cloudflare Enterprise and her issue went away – not because they fixed it, but because they removed the security measure with their open/lax settings.
So, instead of educating clients on why they are seeing these errors, these hosts just relax the security on the whole server to stop the tickets, and that puts all sites on the server at risk.
This is EXACTLY why me, my clients, my Webmasters and their clients are on Iridium Hosting.
We educate site owners and the host keeps the servers super secure for everybody.
Cloudflare Zone
All that said, there is a way to be on a Cloudflare Enterprise host and get superior security.
If allowed, you can put your site on your own Cloudflare Zone and lock it down tighter for your needs.
That’s exactly what Shopify offers, as it is on Cloudflare Enterprise.
But, there are restrictions on what settings you can change in your Zone, as they cannot be set to conflict with what Shopify needs to run. Think of it like exclusions you add for caching on ecomm sites and such.
So, if StellarSites can hook up that kind of configuration, site owners might be able to get the real security they need.
It’s All About Ease
I definitely don’t expect StellarSites to offer a Cloudflare Zone, or any other access to the client for shoring up security.
The whole point of this new product is ease.
And Ben even said in that interview how much he doesn’t want to deal with the tech side of things. Most designers don’t. And, of course, most site owners don’t even know to care about it.
WP Engine and Genesis
Remember years ago when WPE acquired Genesis?
Yeah, they were all excited about offering free Genesis themes to their hosting clients.
And for a while, they put a lot of energy into Genesis development.
Well, that’s over, as I’ve reported in recent Tips Tuesdays.
Are we seeing StellarWP take Kadence on a similar journey? I hope not.
The Future of Kadence
To date, Kadence is one of the best themes that is well supported.
They not only keep current with WP core, they are also innovators. But, they don’t try to get so far ahead of WP core that things break, like the way Astra does that caused us to have to leave them.
The ONLY issues I’ve had with Kadence have come from the influence of StellarWP on them.
I totally get that they need to broaden their user base.
That was the motivation behind the inclusion of AI and, most recently, the announcement to develop FSE themes.
Neither of those things appeals to their core base of users, who are bloggers like us.
But, this new SaaS product will most definitely appeal to designers who build and maintain sites for small businesses, as most of those designers can’t convince their clients to be concerned about speed and security beyond the basics.
The bottom line for their clients is that they would rather pay more for a host that takes care of it, like WPEngine or Cloudflare Enterprise.
And now that the popularity juice is coming out of Genesis and onto Kadence, this SaaS product of StellarSites makes perfect sense to fill that hole in the market.
What About Us?
I took a lot of comfort in one thing Ben said during that interview.
Kadence, as is, will always be available.
And if we don’t want to make use of these new innovations and products, we don’t have to.
Bottom line for us – by broadening their user base with innovative products, Kadence will have the funds for continued support.
That includes keeping current with WP and new blocks for the features we need so that we can reduce the number of plugins required to make our sites work as we want.
What Do You Think?
Now you know why I have mixed feelings about these changes.
But, you also know why I’m standing firm on using and recommending Kadence.
What is your take on the interview and my op-ed?
Let us hear from you in the comments, or anywhere you see this post online.
