ThemeGrill Blog https://themegrill.com/blog WordPress News, Trends and Information Mon, 10 Jun 2024 09:12:42 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.4 https://themegrill.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/tg-favicon.png ThemeGrill Blog https://themegrill.com/blog 32 32 9 Best Elementor Alternatives for Designing Stunning Websites in 2024 https://themegrill.com/blog/best-elementor-alternatives/ https://themegrill.com/blog/best-elementor-alternatives/#respond Mon, 10 Jun 2024 09:03:07 +0000 https://themegrill.com/blog/?p=942888 Looking for Elementor alternatives to build fascinating websites? If so, your search ends here!

We’ve prepared an amazing list of the best Elementor alternatives for you to explore. 

While Elementor is one of the best page builders, there are a few alternatives to it that can help you build faster and more performance-optimized websites.

Other factors, such as budget and design, could also cause you to look for alternatives. So, hang tight with us until the end, and you’ll find the perfect match for you. 

For those who are in a hurry, here are our top picks for elementor alternatives.

Top Picks

1st

Divi Theme Icon
Divi
Features:

Undo, Redo & Revise

200+ Website Demos

Hover State Styling

Import/Export Elements

2nd

BlockArt Blocks Logo
BlockArt Blocks
Features:

Responsive Blocks

Fast Performance

Frequent Updates

One-click Demo Import

3rd

SeedProd Logo
SeedProd
Features:

Draft Mode For Site

20+ Color Schemes

45+ Animations

Subscriber Management

What Should You Look for in an Elementor Alternative? 

Elementor is a popular page builder plugin for creating websites. As of this article’s writing, it has over 5 million active installations, which proves its competence alone.

However, some of its drawbacks, such as cost, complex design, performance, and others, might lead you to consider seeking alternatives.

Several factors matter when looking for the right page builder plugin. Similarly, while looking for Elementor alternatives, the below-mentioned points should be considered for your search: 

  • Ease of use: Elementor isn’t that hard to use. But it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, too. If that’s the case, you should switch to an easier page builder plugin. 
  • Performance and features: Better performance and features should always be the top choices. Hence, if you sense the page builder plugin has better performance and features, try exploring that. 
  • Pricing: Elementor is a freemium page builder plugin. Although the premium version is cheap, you can always find other cheaper alternatives to elementor. 

9 Best Elementor Alternatives to Explore 

By keeping in mind the above and other factors, you can easily find the ideal alternative to Elementor. For now, let’s go through our list of best elementor alternatives.

We have also mentioned the key features of each plugin so that you can review them all before choosing the right WordPress plugin.

1. Divi 

Let’s start things off with an amazing alternative to Elementor, the Divi page builder plugin.

Divi - Alternative to Elementor

Customization options include styling for font, text, color, and much more. You may also configure transformation and effects for elements on your page.

Divi makes working easier. You can select and edit elements in bulk, replace styles across the entire page or specific locations, copy and paste styles, etc.

The plugin is translated into over 30 languages, allowing people of different language backgrounds to easily access your site.

Key Features:

  • Divi AI for content generation and image optimization
  • Header and footer builder
  • Feature-rich contact form builder
  • Sticky headers and stacking content
  • Shape dividers to build transition effects

Pricing: Starts from $89/year

You can also explore alternatives to Divi through our article.


2. BlockArt Blocks 

BlockArt Blocks isn’t just a page builder plugin. It dabbles with the Gutenberg editor, which is probably one of the easiest ways to create websites

BlockArt Blocks - Free Elementor Alternatives

The plugin comes with powerful Gutenberg blocks to help you effortlessly create websites of any niche. 

Talking about ease, you can customize blocks by dragging and dropping them onto your page. You can even copy and paste a block’s style to avoid hassles. 

It’s one of the best free Elementor alternatives. Try it to streamline your site creation process.

Key Features: 

  • Over 25 blocks are available 
  • Optimized for performance and SEO
  • Pre-built templates and sections 
  • Compatible with the best WordPress themes and plugins 
  • Easy to add Google Maps with the block

Pricing: Freemium (Premium version starts from $55/year for unlimited websites.)


3. SeedProd 

With almost over a million active installations, SeedProd is a popular page builder plugin and an excellent alternative to Elementor for creating awesome websites. 

SeedProd - Elementor Alternatives

The renowned page builder has a built-in theme for you to build your site like a designer without being one. You may create your own header, footer, sidebar, etc.

SeedProd was originally known as one of the best landing page builders. Believe us, it still is. There are dozens of landing page templates if you want to get your hands on one of them.

SeedProd offers many blocks, including WooCommerce, to accelerate and ease the site creation process.

Key Features: 

  • Spam protection 
  • Built-in coming soon, maintenance, & 404 pages 
  • Unlimited font combinations 
  • Mobile friendly 
  • Layout navigation to rearrange parts of your site easily 

Pricing: Freemium (Premium version starts from $39.50/year for a single website.)


4. SiteOrigin 

Known for its powerful yet simple-to-use interface, SiteOrigin is an amazing alternative to Elementor. 

SiteOrigin - Elementor Alternatives

The plugin offers you a live editing option to design your website better, allowing you to adjust your content placement effectively. 

If you’re into adding widgets to create pages for your site, SiteOrigin is your go-to plugin. It’s integrated with plugins that add more widgets for you. 

It’s regularly updated to ensure your site keeps up with modern trends. Additionally, the support team is quite friendly and helpful. 

Key Features:

  • Row, cell, and widget styling
  • Option to add custom CSS and classes
  • SEO friendly
  • Redo and undo options are available to explore designs
  • Drag and drop page builder

Pricing: Freemium (Premium version starts from $29/year for a single website.)


5. Beaver Builder

Beaver Builder is a highly versatile, robust, and easy-to-use alternative to Elementor.

Beaver Builder - Alternative to Elementor

It’s lightweight, SEO-friendly, and optimized for maximum speed and performance.

One amazing feature of the Beaver Builder plugin is the ability to allow users to save components of your page to reuse them, reducing redundant tasks.

The plugin also comes with pre-designed templates that you can use without having to start creating your site from scratch. However, the templates are available on the premium version.

Key Features:

  • Full-width, column-based layouts
  • Photo, color, and video row backgrounds
  • Collections of icons to implement on your site
  • Ability to set your own custom widths for different devices
  • Assign elements to hide/show on different devices

Pricing: Freemium (Premium version starts from $99/year.)

Also, read our article on Divi vs. Beaver Builder for further comparison.


6. Brizy

Next on our list is the Brizy page builder plugin, one of the best free Elementor alternatives.

Brizy - Elementor Alternative

The plugin has earned quite a reputation for its AI website builder, which creates a site for you. To do this, you fill in the type of site, its name, and a few more details.

Brizy also allows you to effortlessly take full control over the uploaded images, including focusing, zooming, and resizing, without any image optimization plugin.

You may also change the styles globally, adding the same properties to the elements.

Key Features:

  • White labeling is available
  • Different animations, including Lottie animations, on-entry effects, etc.
  • 40+ shape dividers to add transition effects between content
  • 25+ elements to create content
  • Clutter-free builder

Pricing: Freemium (Premium version starts from $189/year for a single website.)

Explore more through our article on Elementor vs. Brizy.


7. WPBakery

WP Bakery is one of the best Elementor alternatives due to its vast pool of features, easy workflow, and integrations.

WPBakery - Best Elementor Alternatives

The page builder boasts of its AI that creates quality content for your website, generates beautiful CSS and JS codes, translates your site to other languages, and much more.

The plugin allows you to save designs and layouts as templates, so you can always reuse them on any page or post.

Most importantly, WPBakery is compatible with WooCommerce for online stores and Yoast SEO to optimize your site SEO.

Key Features:

  • Frontend & backend editors
  • 40+ predefined grid templates
  • Parallax background for rows and columns
  • Supports multiple languages
  • Compatible with social share plugins

Pricing: The plugin costs $64 on CodeCanyon.net

Read our detailed comparison of WPBakery Page Builder vs. Elementor


8. Visual Composer

Visual Composer is another one of many free Elementor alternatives with a drag-and-drop editing feature.

Visual Composer - Free Elementor Alternatives

The plugin includes content elements, templates, add-ons, integrations, and endless design options to create sites in any niche.

Without any additional lightbox plugins, you can allow users to open images and videos with a lightbox. The element will appear as a pop-up that goes over the website, highlighting the media file.

In the premium upgraded version, you’ll find options to manage user roles on your website, allowing specific access to people.

Key Features:

  • Popup builder
  • Responsive design
  • Maintenance mode without additional maintenance plugins
  • Lazy loading for media files
  • Box shadow option on rows and columns

Pricing: Freemium (Premium version starts from $49/year for a single website.)


9. BoldGrid

Lastly, BoldGrid is a powerful Elementor alternative. Its easy-to-use interface and powerful features and options attract users.

BoldGrid - Elementor Alternative

The page builder is optimized for speed and performance, resulting in fast page loading times.

Adding animations is also never a hassle with BoldGrid, as you can add effects while the user scrolls down your page.

In addition, you can create dynamic content by assigning a set of contents to be displayed while hovering.

Key Features:

  • Google Maps is available
  • Parallax effects
  • Google fonts are available
  • Content and section sliders
  • Advanced control for every element

Pricing: Freemium (Premium version costs $30/year.)


Some FAQs Related to Elementor Alternatives

Should I Purchase the Free or Premium Elementor Alternative Plugin?

It depends on your budget. The free plugins aren’t bad, either. We suggest you try one of the freemium plugins, explore its free version, and get the premium version if it seems right.

What’s Your Recommendation From This List?

Our recommendation is the BlockArt Blocks plugin if you’re into building your websites with blocks. The plugin makes it really easy for you to create your site in just minutes.

Is Elementor Not a Good Page Builder Plugin?

Elementor is, of course, a good page builder plugin. In fact, it’s one of the best ones you’ll find. Over 5 million active installations prove it. However, people also have different tastes for everything. So, looking for an alternative to elementor is not a harm at all.

What Themes Might Go Better with the Gutenberg Page Builder?

There are a lot of themes on the market that are compatible with the Gutenberg page builder. We suggest Zakra and ColorMag. If you want to explore a few more options, here’s an article on the best WordPress Gutenberg themes.


Concluding with the Best Elementor Alternatives!

We’ve finally reached the end of this article. We’re confident that you’ve found the right match as an alternative to Elementor among these nine on our list.

Except for Divi, all the other plugins are free Elementor alternatives. So, if you’re on a tight budget, we advise you to review the rest of the plugins.

The winner for us is the BlockArt Blocks plugin, an amazing Gutenberg plugin with almost everything you need to create a site.

If you want to know more about it, here’s an article on the introduction to BlockArt Blocks.

Check out other informative articles on our blog if you’ve got time on your hands.

Happy website-building!

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Introducing BlockArt Blocks Pro: Explore the Advanced Gutenberg Blocks and Features!  https://themegrill.com/blog/introducing-blockart-blocks-pro/ https://themegrill.com/blog/introducing-blockart-blocks-pro/#respond Fri, 24 May 2024 10:11:08 +0000 https://themegrill.com/blog/?p=942992 Your favorite WordPress Gutenberg page builder plugin has just received an upgrade. We proudly introduce you to our latest release, BlockArt Blocks Pro!

While the free version was a game-changer, the Pro version offers a whole new level of power and possibilities, offering everything you’ve dreamed of and more.

In this article, we’ll discuss everything the pro version of the Gutenberg custom block plugin comes with.

Stay with us to unwrap it and discover what’s included in BlockArt Blocks Pro.

An Overview of BlockArt Blocks – The Best WordPress Gutenberg Custom Block Plugin 

WordPress’s default editor is Gutenberg, which allows you to build your website block by block. 

Dozens of Gutenberg block plugins work with the editor to enhance its potential.

BlockArt Blocks is made just for you to create astonishing websites with its dynamic and robust blocks. 

BlockArt Blocks - Gutenberg Page Builder

All the blocks from the plugin are fully responsive, retaining their look on any device. 

With the plugin, you’ll also receive pre-built templates, sections, and layouts, eliminating the need to build your site completely from scratch. 

It’s optimized for speed and performance, ensuring your users’ experience turns out better than ever!

The best part is that this Gutenberg page builder is compatible with most WordPress themes and plugins!

Hence, BlockArt Blocks is the only Gutenberg page builder you’ll need to create your dream website without touching a single line of code.


Major Features and Upgrades in BlockArt Blocks Pro 

In our BlockArt Blocks pro version, we aimed to excel in user experience and focused more on creating a website efficiently. 

Let’s take a peek at what makes BlockArt Blocks Pro one of the best Gutenberg block plugins:

1. New Block 

Welcome the newest block in the collection, the Split Content block. With this block, you can create content with text and media files side-by-side. 

Split Content Block - BlockArt Blocks Pro

This block offers much room for experimentation, including the positioning of the elements, alignment, styling options, and more. 


2. Upgrade in the Countdown Block 

You’ll also find the newest feature, addition to the Countdown block; i.e. option to select the countdown type as Evergreen.

This option enables the countdown to restart from the timer you set after the expiration. 

Countdown Evergreen Feature - BlockArt Blocks Pro

3. Advanced Features 

We said earlier that we aimed to make things easier for you, and our features on the pro version do just that! 

Custom Fonts and Icons

You can download any custom font from the Internet and upload it to the plugin. Then, you can implement it throughout your website.

Upload Custom Fonts - BlockArt Blocks Pro

Similarly, you can upload any icons, as you did above.


Import/Export Individual Block Styles

Import/Export Block Attributes - BlockArt Blocks Pro Feature

Export block styles as JSON files and import/re-upload them to the other blocks to maintain consistency. 


Custom CSS on Individual Blocks

Custom CSS for Individual Block

Do you know CSS? If so, it’s a plus point, as you can personalize the blocks by adding custom CSS codes.  


Default Block Styles

Default Block Styles - BlockArt Blocks Pro Feature

Set a set of styles as the default for blocks, eliminating the need to style each block individually. 


How Do You Proceed with Upgrading to Gutenberg Page Builder BlockArt Blocks Pro Plugin? 

You’ll need to install the pro plugin to have all these upgrades to your site.

The first step is to visit the official site and purchase the pro version of the plugin. It costs $55/year.

Pricing for BlockArt Blocks Pro - Best WordPress Gutenberg  Block Plugin

After you complete the payment process, you’ll receive a zip file and a license code in your email.

Download the zip file on your computer and save the license code to a secure place.

Go to your WordPress dashboard and navigate to Plugins >> Add New Plugin.

Add New Plugin - BlockArt Blocks Pro

You’ll find a button labeled Upload Plugin in the top left corner. Click on it.

Upload BlockArt - WordPress Plugins

Then, upload the zip file to this section. Don’t forget to click on Install Now.

Upload BlockArt Zip File

A few seconds later, your plugin will be installed. You’ll be asked to enter the license code for the plugin sent to you in your email.

Upon entering, BlockArt Blocks Pro will be activated on your website.

If you’re looking for a detailed guide, here’s an article on installing a plugin.


Ready to Enhance the Power of the WordPress Editor with BlockArt Blocks Pro?

If you have yet to try the BlockArt Blocks, we request testing and trying it.

Switch to the pro version of your favorite Gutenberg page builder if you’re already using BlockArt Blocks’ free version to enhance its power.

Rest assured, your purchase of the pro version of BlockArt Blocks is completely risk-free. If, within 14 days, you find that our plugin doesn’t meet your expectations, we’ll happily refund 100% of your purchase amount.

For more information about the plugin, you can refer to this article.

Also, check out our article on the best WordPress Gutenberg themes. It might help you create websites more efficiently.

Happy-website building!

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29 Best WordPress Plugins for Blogs for Effective Blogging! https://themegrill.com/blog/best-wordpress-plugins-for-blogs/ https://themegrill.com/blog/best-wordpress-plugins-for-blogs/#respond Mon, 06 May 2024 11:07:45 +0000 https://themegrill.com/blog/?p=940834 Looking for the best WordPress plugins for blogs? Then, this article is just the thing for you.

Along with a wide variety of WordPress blog themes, WordPress blog plugins equally help with their functionalities.

Blogs are one of the most popular and important elements of websites, as they help you promote your business and interact with visitors.

But you’ll need to make them as effective as possible, which can be done with plugins. Thus, this article lists some of the best WordPress blog plugins for an effective blogging experience. Let’s start!

Are you in a hurry? Well, here are our top picks for the best WordPress plugins for blogs!

Top Picks

1st

Everest Forms Logo Icon
Everest Forms
Features:

Pre-designed Forms

AI Contact Form

Survey, Poll, and Quiz

Email Marketing Integrations

2nd

BlockArt Blocks Logo
BlockArt Blocks
Features:

Integration with Google Maps

Customizable Social Sharing

Pre-built Sections and Templates

Performance & SEO Optimized

3rd

Yoast WooCommerce SEO Plugin Logo
Yoast SEO
Features:

AI-optimized SEO

Track Your Rankings

Easy To Use

Breadcrumb Block

4th

Spectra Blocks Logo
Spectra
Features:

Fast Loading Fonts

One-click Block Presets

GDPR Compliant

Mobile Friendly

5th

Smush Logo Icon
Smush
Features:

Automated Optimization

Multisite Compatible

Lazy Loading

Image Resizing Option

6th

WP Rocket Logo
WP Rocket
Features:

Highly Compatible

Latency Reduction

Lots of Customize Options

Database Optimization

What Kind of Plugins Do You Need for a WordPress Blog?

Choosing plugins for a WordPress blog could feel like too much work when numerous plugins are available in the market.  

So, let’s review some of the plugins that are essential for blogs and contribute to effective blogging.  

  1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Plugin: Your site needs to rank higher on search engines, as more traffic will be drawn to your site when you rank better on search engines like Google. SEO plugins can be of immense help for WordPress websites and even blogs. So, make sure to choose one for your blog.
  2. Contact Form Plugin: A contact form acts as a medium for communication between you and your audience. Thus, contact form plugins help you create forms to get quick responses or ask for your users’ contact information. Hence, ensure that you use the contact form plugin for your blog.  
  3. Security Plugin: When you use security plugins on your site, your blog and its users are set to be secure from possible spam or hackers. Thus, the security plugin protects your blog from potential threats.  
  4. Cache Plugin: Your blog’s content and performance should be top-notch and smooth. Cache plugins improve your site’s speed and performance, so using one on your blog is beneficial.  
  5. Google Analytics Plugin: With Google Analytics plugins, you can monitor your blog’s progress and growth with the help of different statistics. You can understand your audience type based on such statistics., So, make sure you pick a Google Analytics plugin for your blog.  

29 Best WordPress Plugins for Blogs

Now that we’ve settled on what type of plugins we need, let’s review the best WordPress plugins for blogs and decide which ones are best for us.

1. Everest Forms

Readers captivated by your blogs might want to contact you. And what better way for them to do so than through forms? First on our list is Everest Forms!

Everest Forms - Best WordPress Plugins for Blogs

Whether you’re looking to create forms from scratch or add one from the library, the plugin allows you to do so with no hesitation.

This plugin’s user-friendly customization interface is equipped with drag-and-drop fields. Moreover, you can add an unlimited number of forms with multiple-column support.

Plus, your forms are fully responsive and can be used on any portable device, such as mobile phones and tablets.

Key Features:

  • Shortcode to help add the forms in WordPress blog posts, pages, sidebars, and more
  • Support from Google ReCaptcha to block the spam
  • Redirect the user to a specific page after form submission
  • View form entries from the dashboard of your website
  • Editable form validation message

Price: Freemium (Premium version starts from$48.3/year.)

You can view some more WordPress form builder plugins in one of our articles.


2. BlockArt Blocks

You must be familiar with the popular default block editor provided by WordPress, called Gutenberg.

Guternberg Blocks by BlockArt

Though it offers various blocks, such as Heading, Image, Video, etc., it still has limitations. You require a custom block plugin like BlockArt Blocks to overcome such shortcomings.  

BlockArt Blocks lets you create content effortlessly and quickly expand your block’s range, saving you time and effort.

Above all, the plugin offers several blocks and sections to help you start from scratch without having to deal with the hectic coding process.

Key Features: 

  • Allows to copy and paste style of any block   
  • Caching plugin compatible  
  • There is no limit to layout possibilities  
  • Lightweight and super-fast in speed   
  • Offers responsive editing   

Price: Free


3. Yoast SEO

If you have a blog, one essential thing you must do is focus on its SEO. Yoast SEO is one of the best and oldest plugins for improving SEO.

Best Plugins for Blog Yoast

Yoast has many features that can improve your WordPress blog, including SEO. It can also optimize your keywords and synonyms.   

The plugin also analyzes your blog’s readability and calculates the Flesch Reading Ease score so that your readers can better understand your content.  

But if you want a Yoast SEO alternative, then Rank Math is an equally good SEO plugin that helps optimize your content with built-in suggestions.  

Key Features:  

  • Keyword optimization for synonyms and related keywords 
  • Complete control over breadcrumbs for setting primary categories for posts  
  • No duplicate content with the help of canonical URLs 
  • Content Insights to check the match for chosen keywords 
  • Readability check from Flesch Reading Ease score 

Price: Freemium (Premium version costs $99/year.)

If you want to know more about SEO plugins, read our article on WordPress plugins for SEO.


4. Spectra

Spectra began as a block plugin for WordPress and has evolved into a full-page builder. It has a free version, Spectra, and a premium version, Spectra Pro.

Spectra - Visual Website Builder

Both integrate seamlessly with the WordPress editor and provide a range of blocks, wireframes, and templates for building pages.

As Spectra works with WordPress, there’s very little performance penalty for using it, while the tools can help speed up page building exponentially

With over 30 blocks, your only limitation is your imagination. Think of any design you can, and Spectra will implement it on your site.

Key Features:

  • Free and premium versions
  • Clean code with no performance penalties
  • Lots of blocks and resources
  • Ready-made templates and wireframes
  • Popup, modal, and slider builders with Pro

Price: Freemium (Premium version starts from $49/year.)


5. Smush

When your blog’s content keeps on increasing, and you don’t compress the images, it can take up a lot of space. This can also affect the site’s speed and lead to slow performance.

Smush - Best WordPress Plugins for Blogs

You can use the Smush plugin to compress the images on your blogs. It’s regarded as one of the best image optimization plugins for any website.

It scans the images on your site, maintains their size, and removes any unwanted components.

This plugin can help you optimize your blog images while maintaining quality. As your site’s speed increases, your users’ experience improves!

Key Features:

  • Compress the images without reducing their quality
  • You can also resize the images with a specific height and width
  • Bulk image compression with up to 50 images at a time
  • Incorrect Image Size Detection to locate images slowing the site speed
  • View Smush image stats directly in image blocks

Price: Freemium (Premium version starts from $3/month.)


6. WP Rocket  

Your page speed might still affect your blog even when you produce SEO-friendly content. Users may not have a good experience with a slow site’s content.

WP Rocket - Best WordPress Plugins for Blogs

That’s why you need to make your blog perform faster and better using cache plugins.

WP Rocket is a great cache plugin that offers a vast range of automatic optimization features for your site. It also helps improve your PageSpeed score and loading time.

With it, you can customize the settings per your requirements with advanced options like XML sitemaps, optimized Google Fonts, lazy loading for images, etc.  

Key Features:  

  • Offers browser caching, GZIP compression, and page caching  
  • Cross-origin support  
  • Supports third-party plugins like Jetpack, Yoast, and more  
  • WooCommerce compatible  
  • Multilingual ready  

Price: Cost starts from $59/year


7. Akismet Anti-Spam

Spam can contaminate your site and backend files through various comments or contact form submissions from users.

Akismet - WordPress Blog Plugin

To reduce them, you can use the Akismet plugin – one of the best plugins for dealing with spam.

It’s an anti-spam plugin that examines all your comments and contact form submissions for harmful content.

Additionally, it automatically analyzes the website and removes any content that might be considered spam.

Key Features:

  • Extremely easy backup and restore processes
  • Status history for each comment to view where the spam was found
  • Moderators can view the number of spam comments from each user
  • Discard features that block the worst spam to save storage
  • Fast performance saves a lot of time

Price: Freemium (Premium version starts from $9.95/month.)

If you are interested in the best WordPress anti-spam plugins, please check our article on it.


8. Jetpack

Jetpack is probably one of the best WordPress plugins for blogs if you want to manage your blog’s website effortlessly.

Jetpack - Best WordPress Plugins for Blogs

Developed by Automattic, Jetpack also provides you with various site statistics. With it, you can keep track of the visitors or readers you get on your blogs and work out ways to increase them even more.

This plugin also helps with spam filtering, malware scanning, and brute force attack protection.

Thus, it prevents unwanted intrusions on your website, and your blogs will be in safe hands.

Key Features:

  • Powerful customization tools for the design you desire
  • Faster mobile experience with lazy image loading
  • SEO tools for Google, Bing, Twitter, Facebook, and WordPress.com
  • Top-notch security with brute force attack protection and spam filtering
  • Ability to manage multiple websites from one dashboard

Price: Freemium (Premium version starts from $9.95/month.)


9. UpdraftPlus

Even if you’ve installed security plugins and systems for your blog, your blog might still be vulnerable to illegal activities.

UpdraftPlus Backup WordPress Plugin

You’ll need a backup plugin to avoid harm, and UpdraftPlus is one of the best WordPress backup plugins.

You can back up your content using UpdraftPlus in cloud databases like Dropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, iCloud, and more. Then, you can click on restore to obtain it again with just a single click.

Using this plugin, you can also schedule automatic backups to back up your content to multiple cloud services.

Key Features:

  • Automatic scheduled backup for your contents
  • Use fewer server resources for faster processing
  • Enables you to back up your content on multiple cloud services
  • Easily duplicate or migrate websites with the help of Migrator
  • Free, dedicated expert support

Price: Freemium (Premium version starts from $70/year.)


10. Wordfence  

It is essential to keep your WordPress blog secure for yourself and your users. WordPress security plugins can tackle hackers, spam, or any other threat.

Wordfence Best WordPress Plugins for Blogs

Although various security plugins are available, you can completely rely on Wordfence, one of the best ones.   

The plugin offers malware scans, firewall protection, blocking, and much more. With Wordfence, you can monitor your traffic in real-time and login, log out, report 404 errors, and more.

Further, their two-factor authentication is handy for enhancing your blog’s login security.  

Key Features: 

  • 24/7 incident response team  
  • Centralized management  
  • Offers country blocking in the premium version  
  • Delivers highly configurable alerts via SMS, Mail, and Slack  
  • Offers to compare your core files, plugins, and themes with the ones in the WordPress repository  

Price: Freemium (Premium version starts from $119/year.)


11. ThirstyAffiliates

Affiliate links are one of the most common methods of monetizing a blog. To use them efficiently, you’ll need to cloak them.

ThirstyAffiliates - Best WordPress Plugins for Blogs

ThirstyAffiliates is one of the best WordPress plugins for this.

You can easily cloak the affiliate links and use them on your blogs with the help of this simple WordPress blog plugin.

This plugin creates a new cloak or short link and redirects it to the unnecessary long affiliate link. You can also assign different categories to the links so that it’s easier to manage them as well.

Key Features: 

  • Easy setup and interface to save you a lot of time
  • Option to group your affiliate links into different categories
  • Multiple safe redirect options like 301, 302, or even 307
  • Availability to add an image to the affiliate links
  • Built-in reports and statistics of affiliate links

Price: Freemium (Premium version costs $99.60/year.)


12. WooCommerce

Blogs are also used to promote and sell products. Hence, if you need to sell products through your blog, WooCommerce will be perfect for you.

WooCommerce - Best WordPress Plugins for Blogs

It has been one of the best blog plugins for WordPress for selling products for quite some time.

This plugin has all the features and elements that you will ever need on your blog to sell a product. You can easily set up WooCommerce on your WordPress blog and start selling immediately.

You may even customize and improve the selling process yourself with the help of the vast number of extensions available on the market.

Key Features:

  • Easily set up a store or sell a product with just a few clicks
  • Provides their own user account pages for smooth transactions
  • Flexible and secure payments with multiple gateways
  • Fully responsive, which enables you to manage the orders from your mobile
  • Excellent support and documentation to help you anytime

Price: Free

If you’re interested in knowing about WooCommerce extensions, we’ve got you covered, too.


13. User Registration

In most blogs, people tend to add new registration or login options for users, which increases the interaction between the blogger and the readers.

User Registration WordPress Plugin for Blog

Logged-in users can explore and use more features of the website, such as commenting on posts. 

The User Registration plugin is one of the best WordPress plugins for blogs that allows you to add registration and login options.

It’s also one of the easiest to use, as it has a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface. You can even use its huge range of add-ons to increase the functionality of your blogs, too.

Key Features:

  • Multiple design styles for forms
  • Auto-login after registration to save time
  • WordPress dashboard access based on the assigned roles
  • Admin approval for registration
  • Show/Hide label option in each field

Price: Freemium (Premium version starts from $79/year.)

We’ve listed some more WordPress user registration plugins. Please take a look at it if you want to explore more plugins.


14. Mailchimp for WordPress

Email marketing is also one of the major ways through which you can grow your blogs. To help you with it, Mailchimp for WordPress is the best plugin you can get. 

Mailchimp Best WordPress Plugins For Blog

It’s one of WordPress’s most popular email marketing plugins that can manage subscribers, send emails, and track results in bulk.

This plugin enables you to add more subscribers to your email list easily and helps achieve the target for your email campaign.

Further, it seamlessly integrates with all the major WordPress plugins, so you won’t have any problems while using it.

Key Features:

  • User-friendly interface
  • Translation-ready plugin which can be presented in any language
  • Availability to modify the plugin with code snippets
  • Multiple extensions to increase the functionality
  • Awesome support and well-documented

Price: Freemium (Premium version starts from $99/year.)


15. Newsletter

Using newsletters on your blog is also one of the great ways to gather more readers and keep your current users engaged. For this, you can use the Newsletter WordPress plugin.

Newsletter WordPress blog plugin

As the name suggests, it’s one of the best WordPress plugins for newsletters

The plugin’s drag-and-drop composer makes building newsletters easy. You can create unlimited newsletters; the plugin tracks them and provides stats. 

Moreover, you may extend the plugin’s functionality even further by adding a few extensions.

Key Features:

  • Easy-to-use drag-and-drop composer
  • Unlimited subscribers and newsletters with statistics and tracking
  • Subscription spam check with Akismet and captcha
  • Delivery speed and fine control start from 12 emails per hour
  • WPML and translation are ready

Price: Freemium (Premium version starts f$79/year.year)


16. MonsterInsights  

You can track the growth of your WordPress blog based on various statistics with the help of the best Google Analytics plugin, MonsterInsights.

MonsterInsights

Further, you can understand your audience types and cater to them to boost your blog’s traffic.  

Apart from that, it tracks your user views from multiple platforms and various devices.

This plugin also allows you to run advanced link tracking with custom options, including RSS tracking, Anchor tracking, and much more. 

Key Features:  

  • GDPR Compliance  
  • Offers automatic tracking  
  • Customizable dashboard widget  
  • Offers real-time reports  
  • Integrated with WooCommerce, WPForms, CookieBot, etc.  

Price: Freemium (Premium version starts from $99.60/year.)


17. Ajax Search Lite

A blog needs to have an excellent user interface to help readers search for particular content. In this case, a search plugin like Ajax Search Lite can contribute a lot.

Ajax Search Lite

It’s one of the best WordPress plugins for blogs to help your readers search for topics. 

This plugin is much better than the default search bar, as it also provides category and post-type filters.

It’s also designed to ensure smooth animation throughout your blog when your readers use the search bars.

Key Features:

  • Supports custom post types and field types
  • Automation search replacement options
  • Widget and shortcode-friendly
  • Display images in the search results, too
  • Frontend search settings boxes

Price: Freemium (Premium version costs $39 for a regular license on ThemeForest.net)

Want to explore more such plugins? Here is a collection of the best WordPress search plugins, too.


18. Elementor

Installing a page builder plugin can be helpful for any WordPress website. And if you’ve spent a fraction of the time with WordPress, you might know that Elementor is one of the popular page builders.

Elementor - WordPress Blog Plugin

Furthermore, it can even be one of the best plugins for blogs.

You can quickly get used to using this plugin and modify any part of your WordPress blog within minutes. Its excellent drag-and-drop interface makes the changes you need for your blogs effortless.

Plus, it has a lot of flexibility to create and implement your favorite designs on your website.

Key Features:

  • Easy-to-use drag-and-drop interface
  • Highly customizable design options for your blogs
  • Fully responsive design and accessible on any mobile devices
  • Undo and redo action, along with a revision of the history
  • Built-in maintenance mode for special circumstances

Price: Freemium (Premium version starts from $2.99/month.)


19. SeedProd

As a blogger, you might also want to create high-converting landing pages for your site. SeedProd is the WordPress plugin that lets you do exactly that.

SeedProd WordPress Blog Plugin

It’s useful for building coming soon and maintenance mode pages, as well as beautiful landing pages that convert visitors into subscribers.

That’s not all. This multi-functional plugin can also be used as a WordPress website builder.

It means you can use its intuitive drag-and-drop feature to edit every part of your blog website, like headers, footers, archives, global parts, and more. 

Key Features:

  • Super-fast drag-and-drop page builder
  • Beautifully designed pre-built templates and layout sections
  • Revision history, undo and redo options
  • Live previews of the pages
  • Integration with popular email marketing tools

Price: Freemium (Premium version starts from $39.50/year.)


20. Popup Maker

Your blog can be a standalone website or included as a blog on any other type of website. Either way, the header section or specific popups are one of the first things that readers notice.

Popup Maker

So, adding the Popup Maker plugin can really help your readers get hooked on your blog.

Popup Maker is one of the best blog plugins that allows you to create any popup you like and display it anywhere on your blogs.

Here, you can list the links to your blog’s latest published post or any other interesting areas to keep the readers more engaged. 

Key Features:

  • Fully responsive design suitable for any mobile devices
  • Opt-in form popups, slide-out pop-ups, banner bars, and many more
  • Compatible with major WordPress plugins
  • Dictate the frequency at which the user sees the popups
  • Auto-open triggers to set a timed delay

Price: Freemium (Premium version starts from $99/year.)

If you want to explore more of the best WordPress popup plugins, we’ve got a blog article for that as well.


21. Revive Old Posts  

Social media is an excellent source of blog referral traffic. However, when you manually re-share your content, it can be pretty time-consuming.

Revive Old Posts

Hence, with Revive Old Posts, you can share each post automatically on social media platforms like Facebook. 

Besides, it revives your blog’s articles from the archive and re-posts them to grow its reach. Also, you can set a schedule for your article’s publications as well.

Thus, Revive Old Posts can be used in your blog to grow your social media followers, engage with existing followers, and uplift your site’s traffic. 

Key Features: 

  • Allows to pick a time between social media post-sharing  
  • URL shorteners are compatible  
  • Allows users to choose maximum and minimum age of posts to share on social media  
  • Can automatically generate hashtags  
  • Integration with Google Analytics  

Price: Freemium (Premium version starts from $99/year.)


22. Co-Authors Plus

You may have a few more hands to work on your blog. You’ll probably have to present them as authors to get them to recognize their work.

Co-Authors Plus - WordPress Blog Plugins

Co-Author Plus is one of the best WordPress blog plugins for managing author names for a particular blog post.

The plugin functions with 5 blocks that provide the co-author’s information to help them get recognized better.

It enables you to assign multiple bylines to posts, pages, and custom post types. The co-authors assigned are also allowed to edit the posts they are associated with the help of this plugin.

Key Features: 

  • Assign multiple bylines to posts, pages, and custom post types
  • Easy-to-use interface to help you quickly add co-authors
  • Can be activated with WordPress multisite
  • Availability of template tags to list co-authors
  • Option to disable guest authors whenever necessary

Price: Free


23. wpDiscuz

Adding a comment section is one of the easiest ways to increase user interaction. You can use a plugin to add the comments section.

wpDiscus WordPress Blog Plugin

wpDiscuz is one of the best WordPress plugins for this task.

This plugin is quite fast, responsive, and packed with many exciting features. Depending on your blog post, you can disable or enable the comments.

It also has comment list sorting, where readers can view the comments according to the newest, oldest, or most voted comments.

Key Features:

  • Multilevel comment threads for detailed discussions
  • Anonymous comments without names and emails
  • Full integration with Social Media Login systems
  • Different date formats for the comments
  • Clean, simple, and responsive design

Price: Free (Addons for the plugin is sold separately)


24. Broken Link Checker    

Broken links on your blogging site have a negative impact on your users. Further, it also affects your site’s SEO and ranking on search engines.

Broken Link Checker - WordPress Blog Plugins

That’s why you need to use the Broken Link Checker for your site.

Broken Link Checker is an awesome WordPress blog plugin that checks for broken links and notifies you either via email or dashboard.

It monitors all internal and external links of your posts, pages, comments, etc., and helps you fix them to improve SEO and provide a better user experience. 

Key Features:

  • Check for broken links, images, and redirects
  • It enables searching and filtering links by URL, anchor text, etc.
  • Make broken links display differently in posts
  • Edit the link directly from the plugin’s page without manually updating each post
  • Prevents search engines from following broken links

Price: Free 


25. Redirection   

As we can guess from the name, Redirection is a popular redirect manager plugin for your WordPress site.

Redirection Plugin

It enables you to create and manage redirects for any broken links so that users reach other relevant pages/posts whenever they click on them. 

Besides, you can easily configure this plugin to monitor when the permalinks of your blog pages and posts are changed.

Hence, it automatically creates a redirect to the new URL. Overall, it’s a powerful redirection plugin that helps reduce errors and improve your site ranking.

Key Features:

  • Easily manage 301 redirects
  • Keep track of 404 errors
  • Conditional redirect options (login status, browser, referrer, etc.)
  • Configurable logging options to view redirects occurring on your site
  • No coding skills required

Price: Free


26. Ad Inserter    

If you wish to earn revenue by placing ads on your blogs, Ad Inserter is a must-have plugin for WordPress blogs.

Ad Inserter WordPress Plugin

It comes with top-notch advertisement features and supports all types of ads, such as Google Adsense, Google Ad Manager, Amazon Native Shopping Ads, and more. 

The best thing about this ad manager plugin is that it lets you insert ads on your pages and posts at different places.

Some of those places include before or after posts, content, excerpts, above the header, and footer. 

Key Features:

  • Automatic insertion of ads on pages/posts
  • Disable ads on individual pages/posts
  • Generate codes for banners and placeholders
  • Advanced options for inserting opt-in forms, header scripts, tracking, ad codes, etc. 
  • Easy copying, pasting, and setting of ads using an internal clipboard

Price: Freemium (Premium version starts from €20/year.)


27. Simple Author Box 

Simple Author Box is one of the best WordPress plugins for displaying a responsive author profile at the end of blog posts.

Simple Author Box

It enables you to show the author’s gravatar, name, author description, etc., in a captivating manner. 

The plugin also offers 30+ social profile fields within the author box, where you can display the social icons effortlessly.

Furthermore, Simple Author Box is fully customizable to match your theme’s style, color, size, and text options. 

Key Features:

  • Simple setup and easy-to-use
  • Responsive and mobile-ready author box
  • Ideal for guest posts and guest authors
  • Manually insert the author box on your template file (single.php or author.php) 
  • Premium version for more advanced features

Price: Freemium (Premium version starts from $39/year.)


28. WPML  

Do you want your blogs to reach people worldwide? The WordPress multilingual plugin WPML can help.

WPML Must-have Plugin for WordPress Blog

It’s a powerful WordPress plugin for building a multilingual site, as it enables you to translate all your posts, pages, custom post types, and even the theme’s text to the language you want.

Further, the plugin helps you optimize your site for SEO in multiple languages. WPML also works great with your favorite WordPress themes, plugins, and page builders

As the plugin is compatible with WooCommerce, you can easily set up multilingual and multicurrency online stores and provide users with a localized purchasing process.

Key Features:

  • Reliable and secure WordPress multilingual plugin
  • Translated into over 40 languages
  • Flexible translation methods to fit your needs
  • Stable and secure
  • Seamless integration with popular SEO plugins

Price: The plugin starts from €39/year 


29. Disable Comments       

Yet another free WordPress blog plugin on our list, Disable Comments, lets you enable or disable comments from any post type.

Disable Comments WordPress Blog plugin

Hence, if you are sick of annoying comments spamming your blog website, the plugin will help you prevent it. 

Once you install the plugin, you can easily override the comment settings throughout your website. Do you have multiple websites?

That’s not a problem because this fantastic plugin will effortlessly help you remove all the irrelevant comments on your entire network. 

Key Features:

  • Easily disable comments on posts, pages, and media
  • Hide comment-related sections from the WordPress dashboard
  • Stop spam comments in a click
  • Option to delete comments by type
  • Quick setup wizard

Price: Free


Wrapping Up with the Best WordPress Plugin for Blogs!

These are some of the best WordPress plugins that we’ve gathered for your blog.

You can use the ones that fit you and give the best results for your blogs. However, we encourage you not to use all the plugins at once.

You can experiment with one plugin at a time and measure its performance. Using all of them at once might increase the load on your blog website and make it slower.

Meanwhile, if you want to make your blog website even faster, we also have some tips to speed up your WordPress website.

If you’re wondering how to add a blog to WordPress, we have a tutorial on creating a WordPress website and a collection of the best WordPress blog themes.

Also, follow us on Twitter and Facebook to stay updated on our recent articles.

Happy Reading!

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How to Create Lottie Animations on WordPress? (5 Easy Steps) https://themegrill.com/blog/how-to-create-lottie-animations-on-wordpress/ https://themegrill.com/blog/how-to-create-lottie-animations-on-wordpress/#comments Mon, 29 Apr 2024 09:03:42 +0000 https://themegrill.com/blog/?p=942043 Are you wondering how to create Lottie animations on WordPress?

If your answer is yes, then this comprehensive article is for you.

We’ll mention an amazing multi-purpose plugin that helps you do so and customize it to your needs. 

So, stay with us till the end. 

What are Lottie Animations? 

Years before, exporting animations of the expected quality wasn’t easy. 

When created, they were of huge sizes, which weren’t friendly to the site’s performance. 

Then came Lottie animations, which are highly lightweight, interactive, scalable, and compatible animation files and are the perfect choices to make your WordPress website super engaging and healthy. 

They have become one of the most beloved components for users to add to their website. 


Benefits of Adding Lottie Animations on Your Site 

You’re probably wondering how Lottie WordPress animations benefit your site. There are dozens of reasons why.

Let’s look at five advantages that you’ll gain with them:

  • They look picture-perfect in every resolution.
  • Because they’re small, your site’s speed remains intact, and the site’s SEO is undisturbed.
  • Interactive and based on user’s input, it maintains a positive UI.
  • Customizable animations that you can modify as per your site’s identity.
  • Affordable/free of cost.

These points show that learning how to add Lottie animations in WordPress is one of many amazing decisions.


How to Add Lottie Animation in WordPress? (Step-by-Step Guide) 

Now that we’ve established what Lottie WordPress animations are and why they are useful, let’s proceed with how to create Lottie animations on WordPress. 

Step 1: Create an Account on LottieFiles 

First, you need to create an account on lottiefiles.com. This website allows you to export free Lottie animations. 

You can log in and skip to the next step if you already have an account. 

However, if you don’t have one, click the Sign Up button at the top right corner. 

Sign Up to LottieFiles - How to Create Lottie Animations on WordPress

You’ll view a popup where you can create an account by signing in with your Google, Facebook, or GitHub account. 

Creating New Account LottieFiles - How to Create Lottie Animations on WordPress

There’s also an option to create a unique account only for this site if you’re not up to the above option. 

Choose the option that you prefer and enter the required information. 

There you go; we’ve completed the first step of creating WordPress animations.


Step 2: Choose an Animation and Save it to Your Workspace 

To get Lottie animations for your website, head to the Products menu and select the Free Animations tab. 

Products to Free Animations - Create Lottie Animations

Here, you’ll find awesome yet free Lottie animations for your website. 

Unfortunately, animations with crown icons require you to purchase the premium plans for your account. 

Free Animations Page - Create Lottie Animations

For now, let’s select the first animation for our site. 

Click on it, and you’ll see an interface like this. Press the Download button at the top of the popup, and the animation will be added to your workspace.

Download the Free Lottie Animations

Step 3: Install the BlockArt Blocks plugin 

Next, log in to your WordPress website and go to the dashboard.

There are a lot of WordPress plugins on the market that may allow you to add Lottie animations to your site. 

In this tutorial, we’ll use BlockArt Blocks, one of the most powerful Gutenberg plugins. It has many features and robust blocks that can empower any site. 

Above all, this plugin has an amazing Lottie WordPress block that will help us add animation to our site.

BlockArt Blocks Home Page - How to Create Lottie Animations on WordPress

Go over to Plugins >> Add New Plugin

Navigate to Add New Plugin - How to Create Lottie Animations on WordPress

On the search bar, type “BlockArt Blocks”. 

BlockArt Blocks Installation - How to Create Lottie Animations on WordPress

Install the plugin and activate it.  


Step 4: Add the Lottie Block and Attach the Animation 

After activating the BlockArt Blocks plugin on your WordPress website and setting everything up, we need to add the Lottie block on a page or post

In this article, we’ll be using it on a post. Go to Posts >> Add New Post

Add New Post - How to Make Lottie Animations

This is the post editor. You can add blocks, templates, and much more to create attractive posts for your site.  Click on the “+” icon at the line. 

Block Inserter - Create Lottie Animations

Then, type in “Lottie” and select the block. 

Add Lottie Block to Your Post

You’ll find the option to either upload the Lottie file from your device or insert a URL to the Lottie file on the internet. 

Options to Add Animations - How to Make Lottie Animations

Let’s discuss both processes briefly. 

We’ll be going back to our Lottiefiles dashboard. 

1. Upload the Downloaded File 

To upload the file, you need to download it to your computer. To do this, click on the animation from your dashboard. Then, select this icon in the top bar. 

Download Lottie Animations - Free Lottie Animations

You’ll be given options on which file type to download it from. We’ll be downloading it as a Lottie JSON file. 

File Formats for Free Lottie Animations

Then, download it to your computer. 

Next, open the page that you were editing before. On the Lottie block, click on the Upload button. 

Upload the Free Lottie Animations on the Block

Then, select the animation file from our device.

Select Animation File - Free Lottie Animations

After that, you can see the Lottie WordPress animation on your backend like this,

End Result from the Downloaded File - Free Lottie Animations

2. Insert the URL to the File on the Block 

You may also enter a URL to link the animation file directly to your site. 

To do this, return to your animation on LottieFiles and click the Handoff & Embed button on the sidebar. 

Handoff and Embed - Lottie WordPress

There, enable the Asset Link by clicking on this icon.  

Enable Asset Link - Lottie WordPress

After that, copy the Asset link below. 

Copy Asset Link for Lottie WordPress

Then, back to your page/post editor, click the Insert from URL button on the Lottie block. 

Insert from URL - Lottie WordPress Block

Paste the URL and press Enter

Paste Asset Link to Lottie WordPress Block

Voila, the Lottie animation is visible on your site. 

End Result from the Link  - Free Lottie Animations

Step 5: Customize the Animation and Save the Changes 

Now, let’s explain why we chose the BlockArt Blocks plugin to insert the Lottie animations. 

It has a wide range of customization options and features that you can utilize to enhance the animation even more. 

These settings answer all your questions about how to make Lottie animations attractive.

Let’s find out what’s stored for us! 

i. General Settings 

You can modify how the Lottie animation works on your website from the General settings

  • Layout 

From the Layout panel, you can replace the Lottie animation with another by uploading another file or adding another URL. 

Lottie Block WordPress Animations - Layout Settings

You may adjust the animation width, making it bigger or smaller. 

  • Lottie 

Select the conditions for the animation from the Play On tab. 

Lottie Block WordPress Animations - Lottie Settings

With the Mode tab, you can select whether the animation rewinds or not after its duration. 

If you enable the loop option, the animation will keep playing on the screen. The Show Controls will allow users to control the animations from the front end. 

Below them are options to control speed, delay, and loop count for animations. 


ii. Style Settings 

You have to make your animations attractive. These settings will help you do it quickly. 

Lottie Block WordPress Animations - Style Settings

You can align the animation to the left, right, or center and change the background color of the Lottie animation. 


iii. Advanced Settings 

These settings create flexibility in the animations. 

Lottie Block WordPress Animations - Advanced Settings

You can adjust the block’s spacing, change its Z-index, hide it on specific devices, and add additional CSS to it. 

You can create Lottie animations for your website by utilizing all these settings. 

After you’ve made all the right changes, click on the Publish button at the top right corner, and you’re all set! 

Publish the Saved Changes - How to Make Lottie Animations

So, this is how you can add Lottie animation in WordPress.


Wrapping Up the Tutorial on How to Create Lottie Animations on WordPress! 

Now that this article has ended, let’s review what we’ve learned together.

We successfully added Lottie animations to our WordPress site in 5 simple steps with the help of the BlockArt Blocks plugin.

We also looked at the powerful customization options with the plugin to enhance our animations further. 

We hope our article on how to make Lottie animations was helpful. If you want to learn more about the plugin we used, check out our article on the introduction to BlockArt Blocks.

And, if you still have some time to spend, we suggest you look at our articles on the best countdown timer plugins and timeline plugins.

Have an amazing website-building experience!

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How to Make a Fitness Website? (In 5 Easy Steps) https://themegrill.com/blog/how-to-make-a-fitness-website/ https://themegrill.com/blog/how-to-make-a-fitness-website/#respond Fri, 26 Apr 2024 06:55:10 +0000 https://themegrill.com/blog/?p=941823 Are you wondering how to make a fitness website to attract as many fitness enthusiasts as possible?

In this detailed guide, you’ll learn how to create a fitness website in 5 simple steps.

We’ve also mentioned a few tips and tricks for promoting the site and gaining more customers.

So, let’s get to the good stuff without wasting your precious time.

Why Build a Fitness Website on WordPress? 

We’re all familiar with WordPress. It’s an amazing content management system (CMS) that was first designed to create and manage blogs.

WordPress - Creating a Fitness Website

However, with the latest updates and requirements, WordPress has become a go-to place for creating any niche website. 

There are a lot of WordPress stats that you can look at for proof. Even today, WordPress empowers over 40% of all websites on the Internet. 

With WordPress themes, you can create awesome websites effortlessly without touching a single line of code. 

Similarly, WordPress plugins further enhance the strength of your site by bringing in additional functionalities. 

Both these components will create a smooth and seamless website-building experience. 

These reasons are enough to convince anyone to create their site on WordPress


Benefits of Creating a Fitness Website 

Building a fitness website has many advantages, both directly and indirectly. Below are a few that you may not know about. 

  • You receive an online platform to gain more customers. 
  • You get to show your customers an overview of what you offer. 
  • You can easily run email marketing campaigns and target an appropriate audience. 
  • You can build your business’s credibility and legitimacy. 
  • You can profit a lot with very little investment. 

Further, you can explore the benefits of creating a fitness website. For now, let’s jump into the tutorial. 


How to Make a Fitness Website on WordPress? (In 5 Easy Steps) 

In this tutorial, we’ll show you the simplest way on how to create a fitness website.

So, let’s dive in!

Step 1: Register a Domain Name and Purchase Appropriate Hosting 

The first step in creating a fitness website is to get a domain name. Think of your domain name as the name that helps your users find you. 

You’ll find a lot of domain registrars on the market. However, we’ve got quite a few suggestions that you can look at. 

For your convenience, we also have an article on registering a domain name

After that, you’ll need to purchase a hosting plan. There are a lot of hosting providers that you can look for. 

Here are our handpicked suggestions. 

If you are still confused about the differences between domain registration and hosting, check out this article.


Step 2: Install and Set Up WordPress 

After acquiring your domain name and setting up your hosting, you’ll have WordPress running on your site. 

For a detailed tutorial, visit our article on installing WordPress on your site. 


Step 3: Choose the Right WordPress Theme and Install It 

The next step in building a fitness website is to choose the right WordPress theme for your site.

You may have a preference for a specific WordPress theme. If you don’t, you can explore the best WordPress themes

Also, consider the following things when choosing the best fitness WordPress theme for your site. 

  • Attractive gallery to showcase your equipment 
  • Pre-designed contact form 
  • Compatibility with the best WordPress plugins 
  • Highly customizable 
  • Pre-built pages for available instructors 

If you are interested, you can also check out our article on how to choose a WordPress theme for your site.

Contrarily, if you’re looking for our recommendation, we suggest using the Zakra theme

How to Make a Fitness Website with Zakra Theme

It has a pre-built template to create your yoga site. 

The good news is that the template comes with pre-built pages for lessons, blogs, about us, packages, and more. 

Building a fitness website is a piece of cake with this theme, as you save your time and effort.

Thus, in this article, we’ll use the same template from this theme to create and build a fitness website. 

So, the first step is to install the theme on our website. 

To do so, go to your WordPress dashboard and go to Appearance >> Themes

Appearance to Themes - Creating a Fitness Website

Then, select the Add New Theme button on the top left corner. 

Add New Theme - Build a Fitness Website

On the right side, you’ll see a search bar. There, type in Zakra

Search Zakra - Build a Fitness Website

After that, click on the Install button at the bottom of the theme box. 

Install Zakra - Creating a Fitness Website

Don’t forget to activate it as well. 

Activate Zakra - Creating a Fitness Website

Upon activation, you’ll be redirected to a welcome page. There, you’ll see a button labeled Get Started

Install the ThemeGrill Demo Importer Plugin - Creating a Fitness Website

Clicking on this button will install the ThemeGrill Demo Importer plugin on your website. This plugin allows you to import the demos with just a click.

Then, you’ll be redirected to the Starter Templates page.  

On the search bar, type “Yoga”. 

Hover over the template, and you’ll find an Import button.

Importing Yoga 02 to Create a Fitness Website

Press on it, and you’ll see the dazzling template on your site after a few seconds. 


Step 4: Customize Your Theme 

The workload has been much more manageable as we’ve already imported the pre-built demo for the fitness website. 

After that, we need to customize the theme and replace the existing dummy content. 

The best part is that Zakra offers a variety of options that you can play with. 

For this, go to Appearance >> Customize

Appearance to Customizer Zakra - Building a Fitness Website

You’ll be directed to an interface where you can choose what part of the theme you want to modify. 

Customizer Interface Zakra - Building a Fitness Website

The following settings are accessible to you on the free version of the theme:. 

1. Global Settings 

Global settings include control over the elements on your website. 

Global Settings Zakra - How to Make a Fitness Website
  • Colors: You can adjust the theme’s primary, base, and border colors from here. You can change the color while on normal or hover conditions for links.
  • Container: For the general layout, you can choose wide or boxed and control the container’s width by pixel.
  • Content Area: Choose from two different layouts for your blog and adjust padding by pixels. 
  • Sidebar: Adjust the sidebar by width and use different pre-built layouts for pages and posts
  • Typography: Get complete control over the font’s family, weight, size, etc., and the headings. 
  • Button: Customize buttons all over your site from this panel. 

2. Header and Navigation Settings 

From this section, you can control your site’s header and navigation. 

Header and Navigation Zakra - How to Make a Fitness Website
  • Top Bar: Enable a bar above the header and style it as you wish. You may even add HTML/Text, Menus, and Widgets. 
  • Site Identity: Completely own your website by adding your logo, title, and tagline and customizing them. 
  • Main Header: Choose from pre-built main header styles and layouts, style it, and add border-bottom. 
  • Primary Menu: Enable the primary menu on your site for easy navigation and priority plus navigation. There are 4 pre-designed styles to select from. 
  • Header Search: Enable a search option for users to find what they want easily. 
  • Button: Add a button to the header, style it, and customize it. 
  • Header Media: Insert an image/video on the header to make your site attractive. 
  • Page Header: Create and style a page header by choosing from different layouts. 
  • Breadcrumbs: This setting allows users to view the route of the reached page. 

3. Content 

You want to create articles and stories to inspire people to experience a healthy life. This section helps you make these stories better and more eye-catching.

Content Settings Zakra - How to Make a Fitness Website
  • Blog: Drag-and-drop elements that show up on the blog page. You can also decide whether you want to display the excerpt or the post content of the posts.
  • Single Post: Similar to the Blog settings, you can drag and drop elements of the post.
  • Meta: Choose from two different meta styles.
  • Sidebar: Configure the typography for the widget title and content that you added to the sidebar.

4. Footer 

Take control over your footer, add elements, and beautify them to your preference.

Footer Settings Zakra - How to Make a Fitness Website
  • Footer Column: Add up to four footer columns on your site, style them, and enable widgets.
  • Footer Bar: Customize the footer bar and add text/HTML, widgets, and a menu. 
  • Scroll to Top: Insert a ‘Scroll to Top’ button so users can easily return to the top of the page. 

5. Additional 

This panel has the option to load Google fonts locally on your site. 

Load Google Fonts Zakra - Creating a Fitness Website

The other settings include creating and managing menus, adding widgets to your site, etc. 

Publish Customizer Settings Zakra - How to Create a Fitness Website

After customizing the theme as needed, click the Publish button at the top left of the customizer. 


Step 5: Create Fascinating Content and Publish Them

Your blog page and compelling articles can attract more users to your business.

The template comes with a blog page. All you need to do is create amazing posts to add to the page.

To do so, go to Posts >> All Posts.

Posts to All Posts - How to Create a Fitness Website

There, you’ll find pre-written dummy content that you can modify and publish. Contrarily, you can delete and start from scratch.

Dummy Content from Yoga 02 - How to Make a Fitness Website

If you want to remove the existing content, select all the posts in bulk.

Then, from the dropdown, select Move to Trash.

Move Posts to Trash - How to Create a Fitness Website

After that, click on the Apply button. This will delete all the posts on the page that you’ve selected.

Apply the Options on Posts - How to Create a Fitness Website

Then, click the Add New Post button at the top of the window. This will direct you to a new interface where you can build great content for your fitness website.

Add New Post - How to Create a Fitness Website

How to Grow Your Fitness Website? (5 Tips) 

Just creating a fitness website doesn’t guarantee benefits. You need to be able to grow and sustain it as much as you can.

Lucky for you, we’ve got a few tricks and tips up our sleeves for you to try.

1. Improve the SEO of Your Website 

Improving your website’s SEO after you’ve created it is of the utmost importance. This includes finding the right keywords, managing on-page and off-page SEO, etc.

Improve SEO - Creating a Fitness Website

In return, you’ll receive good traffic to your website, as your page will rank higher on search engine results. 


2. Create Attractive Content Regularly 

After users have entered your site, you’ll want to retain them. Gaining one visitor and losing another isn’t a preferable deal. 

Attractive Content - Creating a Fitness Website

Creating interesting and attention-grabbing content will keep them hooked to your website and boost your sales. 


3. Be Active on Social Media Platforms 

The number of people who use social media platforms is ever-increasing. If you succeed in delivering awesome posts and answering questions to the users, they’re more likely to be captivated. 

Social Media Platforms - Creating a Fitness Website

From there, you can direct them to your website, providing more details about your services.


4. Provide Offers and Discounts 

Who wouldn’t love giveaways and offers? Asking your users to complete certain criteria or rewarding them will more likely drive them to refer your services to others. 

Offer and Giveaway - Creating a Fitness Website

This, in turn, will bring in more new customers and followers who are valuable assets to you.


5. Email Marketing Campaigns 

With a website, you get a platform to collect a user base and run marketing campaigns that increase sales.

Email Marketing Campaign - Building a Fitness Website

You can easily collect such users from a newsletter signup form on your site. However, you do need their consent to send them such emails. 


Wrapping Up the Guide on How to Make a Fitness Website! 

This concludes our article on how to create a fitness website with just 5 easy steps. We hope we’ve accomplished our mission to build a fitness website for you.

We’ve also learned how to promote your website to boost sales.

Following the exact steps and tricks will make you a successful fitness business quickly!

For more articles, you can also check out our tutorial on creating a one-page website and a blog on WordPress.

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9 Best WordPress Countdown Timer Plugins for 2024 (+ How to Use?) https://themegrill.com/blog/wordpress-countdown-timer-plugins/ https://themegrill.com/blog/wordpress-countdown-timer-plugins/#respond Mon, 22 Apr 2024 08:54:06 +0000 https://themegrill.com/blog/?p=941842 Are you wondering how to inform your website’s visitors about events or deals you’re offering? The answer is to use one of the best WordPress countdown timer plugins.

A WordPress countdown timer plugin helps you add a countdown timer to your website in a matter of minutes.

So, in this article, we’ll unlock the best WordPress countdown timer plugins and explain how to use them.

Let’s get started on this!

Are you in a hurry? Here are our top picks for WordPress countdown timer plugins:

Top Picks

1st

Ultimate Blocks Logo
Ultimate Blocks
Features:

Regular, Odometer & Circular

Color Customization

User-friendly Interface

Detailed Documentation

2nd

BlockArt Blocks Logo
BlockArt Blocks
Features:

Drag-and-Drop Builder

Lightweight and Fast

Pre-built Templates

Secure and Well-coded

3rd

HurryTimer Logo
HurryTimer
Features:

Multiple Designs for Timer

WooCommerce Integration

Live Design Customizer

Friendly Support

What are WordPress Countdown Timer Plugins?

WordPress countdown timer plugins allow you to display a digital clock on your website and count down the remaining time until a particular moment.

Such timers can excite visitors for events like sales, product launches, and anniversaries.

For example, you sell WordPress themes and offer discounts on some occasions, like New Year.

Example of Countdown Plugin in WordPress Website

Now, if you put a countdown for the sales happening, it develops a fear of missing out on the good deals among customers. Thus, it sends a message of urgency to visitors to buy the product.

Meanwhile, there are mainly two types of countdown timers:

  • Standard: Counts the time to an event like a website launch and remains the same for every visitor, i.e., the time shown is fixed for everyone.
  • Evergreen: Starts counting the time only when a visitor lands on your website, i.e., it provides a personalized countdown for each visitor.

Hence, using the countdown is also an efficient marketing technique.


Benefits of WordPress Countdown Timer Plugins

WordPress, by default, doesn’t have an option to add a countdown timer on the WordPress website. Thus, you’ve got to rely on the WordPress countdown timer plugin for this.

Meanwhile, using such a WordPress countdown plugin has several benefits:

  • It’s hassle-free, as you don’t have to touch a single line of code to add the countdown timer.
  • Makes your products, events, or offers more desirable among your customers.
  • It boosts sales as it creates a sense of competition among your audience to buy the product as soon as possible.
  • Several plugins provide a variety of designs to choose from for the countdown.
  • Improves user experience by highlighting important events and dates.

Thus, using the WordPress countdown timer plugin is the easiest way to add a countdown to your website.


9 Best WordPress Countdown Timer Plugins

Let’s now look at the nine best WordPress countdown timer plugins:

1. Ultimate Blocks

First on the list of the best WordPress countdown timer plugins, we have Ultimate Blocks. You can install the plugin and use its countdown blocks to attract your audience elegantly.

Ultimate Blocks -One of the Best WordPress Countdown Timer Plugins

Similarly, you can add a stylish countdown timer to your post or page using three appealing designs: circular, regular, and odometer style, to match the timer with your website’s design.  

Meanwhile, you can also customize the color of the timer and set the largest and smallest units in the timer. The time units are weeks, days, hours, minutes, and seconds.

Besides, it isn’t only the timer plugin; it offers interactive content filters, captivating call-to-actions, and 15+ other blocks.

Key Features:

Pricing: Freemium (The premium version costs $49/year)


2. BlockArt Blocks

BlockArt Blocks is a Gutenberg plugin that helps you transform your creative ideas into reality. It offers over 25 powerful and unique pre-built blocks, including a Countdown block. 

BlockArt Blocks Home Page

The Countdown block has units: days, hours, minutes, and seconds that you can set for a pre-determined deadline. You can also effortlessly customize the design and other elements of the block.

BlockArt Blocks are also visually appealing and enhance your webpage’s design. Meanwhile, they are responsive and adapt to various screen sizes and devices.

Overall, BlockArt Blocks offers a comprehensive solution to drive sales by motivating customers to purchase the product ASAP.

Key Features:

  • Lightweight and fast
  • Offers regular update
  • Range of support channel
  • A large collection of templates, sections, and starter packs
  • Compatible with other WordPress plugins

Pricing: Free


3. HurryTimer

HurryTimer is a multi-purpose countdown WordPress plugin for creating one-time, recurring, or evergreen countdowns.

HurryTimer WordPress Countdown Plugin

While the free version offers evergreen and one-time campaigns, the premium version offers recurring campaigns.

It also has cookie and IP detection techniques for the evergreen campaigns. Further, it features a customizable CTA (call-to-action) button.

Using the plugin, you can display the same countdown timer multiple times. Meanwhile, the expiry actions have many options, like redirecting to the URL to hide the “Add to cart” button for WooCommerce products.

Key Features:

  • WooCommerce integration
  • Live design customizer
  • Compatible with page builders
  • Auto-restart for the timer
  • Conditional display available for the countdown

Pricing: Freemium (The premium version costs $39/year)


4. Countdown Timer Ultimate

Countdown Timer Ultimate is another top WordPress countdown plugin that displays the timer inside a circular design.

Countdown Timer Ultimate -WordPress Countdown Timer Plugin

Once you create the timer, you can add them anywhere on your website, including the sidebar. You can also change the color of the circle and background.

Further, it offers multiple options, such as creating an unlimited timer, setting a timer label, adding content, designing, etc.

The plugin is also available in a premium version, which offers advanced features like custom CSS, additional designs, and multi-language support.

Key Features:

  • Fully responsive
  • Proven to drive traffic and increase business revenue
  • Compatible with Gutenberg shortcode block
  • Allows to change background width
  • Easy to integrate eCommerce coupon code

Pricing: Freemium (The premium version costs $79.50/year)


5. Countdown, Coming Soon, Maintenance – Countdown & Clock

Countdown Builder is a WordPress countdown timer plugin offering a wide range of pre-built timers. It has over 15 varieties of countdown types, such as circle countdown, digital, timer, and so on.

Countdown, Coming Soon Maintenance Plugin

In addition, you can insert the timer on your page or posts via shortcode or use it in the popup.

You can easily change the font size, weight, style, and other attributes. You can also change individual text and background colors for different time units.

The plugin also offers other customization features through JavaScript and CSS.

Key Features:

  • Seamless integration with Gutenberg
  • WooCommerce compatible
  • Coming soon page available
  • Quick support team
  • Allows users to turn off blocks to enhance the site’s performance

Pricing: Free


6. Finale Lite

Finale Lite is the WooCommerce timer plugin that allows you to create promotional campaigns through a countdown timer.

Finale Lite Countdown Timer Plugin

Using this countdown WordPress plugin, you can run scheduled sales campaigns, such as seasonal promotions, pre-launch offers, early bird deals, instant discounts, and more.

Meanwhile, it also allows you to add a counter bar to show the status of stocks left in real time. That compels customers to hurry to buy these kinds of things.

Further, you can create your own rules to customize the campaigns.

Key Features:

  • Simple and easy to use
  • Pre-defined rules are available to customize the campaigns
  • Allows to run Happy Hours Deals for only a few hours
  • Option to set a campaign for a specific product or the whole store
  • Allows to run deals until the stocks last

Pricing: Freemium (The premium version costs $29/year)


7. Countdown Timer – Widget Countdown

Countdown Time is another addition to our list of WordPress countdown timer plugins. The plugin provides the best way to create beautiful timers within a few minutes.

Countdown Timer Widget Countdown - A Timer Plugin

The plugin can create countdown timers for posts, pages, and widgets. It’s also beginner-friendly, and you don’t have to use any coding to create the timer.

Further, it’s fully responsive and works perfectly with all WordPress versions. There’s also no restriction on the number of timers you create.

You can also set up a position and choose the distance from top to bottom. Best of all, you can select action after the time has expired and type the necessary message.

Key Features:

  • User-friendly backend
  • Compatible with popular WordPress themes
  • Allows to choose text and background color
  • Over 35 animation effects
  • Premium support available

Pricing: Freemium (The premium version costs $13/year)


8. Sales Countdown Timer

Another WooCommerce countdown timer plugin for WordPress – Sales Countdown Timer, allows shop owners to boost their sales.

Sales Countdown Timer -One of the Best WordPress Countdown Timer Plugins

It assists you in displaying the sales countdown on a single product page or in the entire shop page of your WooCommerce site.

Meanwhile, you can also schedule specific sale times, position the countdown clock, display before and after product prices, use badges, etc.

In addition, the plugin displays a progress bar showing the number of products available for sale, products sold, and products available.

Key Features:

  • Easy-to-use shortcodes
  • Multiple profiles for setting
  • Allows to customize the design
  • It’s easy to change the offer after the countdown timer hits specific values
  • Reset mode available for admin for testing purposes

Pricing: Freemium (The premium version costs $20 for a Regular License)


9. Countdown Block

Countdown Block is a simple WordPress countdown plugin that lets you notify your website’s visitors about upcoming sales, events, or anything else.

Countdown Block - WordPress Countdown Plugin

With this timer plugin, creating a countdown timer in the Gutenberg block editor takes a few minutes.

Besides, the plugin is completely customizable. Not only that, it’s lightweight with no extra resources. Hence, your site’s speed will not be burdened while using the theme.

Backed by a dedicated support team, the plugin is worth a try.

Key Features:

  • Options for evergreen and recurring timer
  • Responsive preview controls
  • Unlimited customization options
  • Advanced border styles
  • Over five design presets are available

Pricing: Free

Now that you know the best WordPress Countdown timer plugins, let’s learn how to add them to your website.


How to Add Countdown Timer to Your Website with WordPress Countdown Timer Plugin?

Among the WordPress plugins mentioned above, we’ll use BlockArt Blocks to add a countdown timer in this guide.

That’s because BlockArt Blocks has a variety of blocks and is flexible in using any of its features. It also maintains a simple user interface, ensuring the plugin is easy for beginners and experts.

Thus, adding a countdown timer to your WordPress website is straightforward with BlockArts Block. All you need to do is follow the steps mentioned below, and you’re good to go.

In the meantime, this tutorial will use a sample website made using the Zakra theme and its starter template, Yoga.

Step 1: Install the BlockArt Blocks Plugin

The first step in using any plugin on a WordPress website is installing it. To install BlockArt Blocks, visit your WordPress dashboard and navigate to Plugins >> Add New Plugin.

Navigate to Add New Plugin

Now, use the search bar to find the BlockArt Blocks. When you find the results, hit the Install Now button.

Install BlockArt Blocks

Again, hit the Activate button.

That’s how you install the plugin. You now have the BlockArt Blocks in your WordPress website to create a countdown timer.


Step 2: Use the Countdown Block on Your Post/Page

As mentioned above, the Countdown block by BlockArt Blocks lets you display a timer of events on your website’s page or post.

Hence, decide where you want to display the countdown timer. Next, open the page or post where you want to add the countdown timer.

Navigate to Posts or Pages

Click on the [+] icon on the top-left corner to use the Countdown block

Block Icon to Add Block

Next, search for Countdown and drag and drop the block on the editor.

Search and Add Countdown Block

The block might appear as shown in the image below:

Drag and Drop Countdown Block

Step 3: Customize the Countdown Block

You can easily customize the Countdown block through the block editing panel on the right-hand side. To do so, click the countdown block and then the Settings tab in the top-right corner.

Click on Block Settings

You’ll get the three options, General, Style, and Advanced, to customize the design and other elements of the block.

Setting Options for Countdown Block

General has the following options:

  • Date and Time: It allows you to set up a time and date from here based on your time zone
  • Design: You can change the overall design of the block from here.
  • Preset: From here, you can choose whether to display your timer as Rectangular or Circular. There are over four layout options to choose from.
  • Label: The labels offered by the block are Days, Hours, Minutes, and Seconds. Switch the toggle to the right to enable the label.
General Setting Options

Similarly, Style lets you change the styling elements through the following options:

  • Properties: From here, you can change the alignment of the labels to left, center, or right. You can also set the alignment for different devices such as Desktop, Tablet, and Mobile.
  • Label: You can change the text color and typography from here. 
  • Digit: If you’re not satisfied with the color of the countdown digit, you can change it from here. Also, you can change the typography of the countdown.
  • Separator: It allows you to separate the digits using the separator. The separator can be colon, line, slash, or none that separates the time units. You can also change the separator’s color and determine the space between the digits.
Style Customization for Countdown Block
  • Box: Use the option to display the countdown timer inside the box. You can further change the background, gap, padding, border, radius, color, and box size.
  • Border: This option allows you to customize the border of the countdown timer. You can choose the border’s type, radius, color, and size from here.

Under Advanced, you’ll get four customization options for the Countdown Block:

  • Spacing: The spacing option allows you to change block margins and padding and set the margins and padding for other devices.
  • Z-Index: This option allows you to set up responsive conditions for desktop, tablet, and mobile devices. Enabling it hides the block on the respective device.
  • Advanced: You can set the CSS ID and additional CSS classes from here. You can style the black using the CSS ID, while the CSS class allows you to add a CSS class and write custom CSS to style the specific block.
Advanced Customization Options for Countdown Block

You can update the page/post once you are satisfied with the customizations.

Update Page After Customization

Below is the webpage sample after adding and customizing the Countdown block by BlockArt Blocks.  

Webpage with Countdown Timer

That’s how you add a countdown timer to your website using the BlockArt Block countdown timer plugin.


Wrapping Up!

We hope this article provided you with an insightful learning experience about WordPress countdown timer plugins and how to use them. So, hurry up and get your hands on the timer plugin.

Any of the above incredible WordPress countdown plugins can help you show the deals for your website.

If you’re still confused about choosing one of these plugins, we recommend you go with BlockArt Blocks. We had an easy time implementing the countdown timer using the plugin.

Besides, the support team will get back to you in no time. So you’ll have a smooth time running the plugin on your site.

If you found the article insightful, why not share it with your friends? Also, you can visit our blog page for other exciting articles.

Follow us on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and LinkedIn for updates and other content. Also, join our Facebook community to share your experience and connect with other WordPress enthusiasts.

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8 Easy Steps on How to Create a Blog on WordPress? (Beginner’s Guide) https://themegrill.com/blog/how-to-create-a-blog-on-wordpress/ https://themegrill.com/blog/how-to-create-a-blog-on-wordpress/#respond Mon, 15 Apr 2024 11:44:04 +0000 https://themegrill.com/blog/?p=941476 Are you looking for an easy guide on how to create a blog on WordPress?

If so, your search ends here! We’ve prepared the easiest tutorial on starting the best WordPress blog effortlessly. 

We’ll also recommend a theme to go with your blog site that offers templates for you to get a quick start. 

So, please stick with us until the end! 

Benefits of Having a Blog on WordPress 

We all know WordPress. It was launched as a blogging platform.

Now, it’s one of the most popular and advanced content management systems, empowering over 43% of all websites on the Internet.

Hence, you can use WordPress to create websites of any niche seamlessly, including online stores, magazines, businesses, etc.

All you have to do is use your imagination and create content. WordPress takes care of displaying it! 

Here are a few benefits of blogging with WordPress: 

  • Share your Passion: Having a blog helps you connect with your audiences by delivering content on what you love. 
  • Advertisements: You can place paid advertisements on your website and monetize your site.
  • Online Exposure: Writing compelling blogs can help you attract attention and opportunities.
  • Affiliates: You can also earn commissions from your blog via affiliate marketing.
  • Inspiring Other People: With your blog, you can inspire and motivate others by sharing your ideas, thoughts, beliefs, stories, etc.

And there are many more! 


How to Create a Blog on WordPress? (Step-by-Step Guide) 

You’re probably tempted to create a blog as soon as possible. Well, we’ve prepared a step-by-step tutorial on how to easily create a blog on WordPress. Let’s start!

Step 1: Set Up a WordPress Website 

First and foremost, you must register a domain name for your blogging website. A domain name is the name of your website. 

For this purpose, you’ll find many domain registrars on the market.

However, here are a few recommendations to narrow down your search:

After registering a domain name, you need to find a proper web hosting service. Web hosting allows you to rent a space to save and store your website’s data and files.

Here are some of our suggestions for web hosting services:

If you wish to explore more options, check out this article on the best web hosting services.

Since you’ve completed registering your domain and purchasing appropriate hosting, you can proceed with installing and setting up your WordPress website


Step 2: Choose the Right WordPress Theme 

The next step is to choose the right theme for your site. There are hundreds of the best WordPress blog themes to explore. 

We’ve narrowed the search to ColorMag, a powerful yet simple WordPress theme with pre-built templates for a blogging website. 

ColorMag Theme - How to Create a Blog on WordPress

It’s also one of the best magazine themes, allowing you to import professionally designed magazine-themed templates instantly. 


Step 3: Install and Activate ColorMag 

You can install the theme in two ways. In this tutorial, we’ll install it from the dashboard. 

Open your WordPress dashboard and go to Appearance >> Themes

Appearance to Themes - How to Create a Blog on WordPress

You’ll see a button labeled Add New Theme on the top-left side. Click on it, and you’ll see an interface like this.  

Navigate to Themes - How to Create a Blog on WordPress

On the search bar, type “ColorMag”. Then click on Install and wait for a few seconds.  

Install ColorMag Theme - How to Create a Blog on WordPress

Then press on Activate

Activate ColorMag Theme - How to Start a Blog on WordPress

There you go. You’ve successfully installed the ColorMag theme. 


Step 4: Import a Starter Template 

You’ll see a welcome message and a Get Started button upon installation of the theme.

Clicking on the button installs the ThemeGrill Demo Importer plugin. It enables importing theme demos with just a click.

Thus, to integrate it into your WordPress site, click the Get Started button.

Install the ThemeGrill Demo Importer Plugin - How to Create a Blog on WordPress

The plugin will be activated automatically, and you’ll be directed to the Starter Templates page.

ColorMag Starter Templates - How to Start a WordPress Blog

We’ll be using the Main template for this tutorial.

However, you may select any other option that meets your requirements. 

Import Main Template ColorMag - How to Start a WordPress Blog

Click on the Import button.  

You can visit the front end of your site and view the template placed on your website. 

Frontend View of Main Template - How to Start a Blog

Step 5: Customize Your Theme 

The pre-built template surely looks great. But surely you want to customize it to your requirements. 

We’ve prepared a detailed guide on how to customize a theme. Be sure to check that out! 

Coming back to the article, let’s customize our blog. 

Go to Appearance >> Customize

Appearance to Customize - How to Start a Blog on WordPress

Then, you’ll see an interface with all the settings to modify your theme. 

Setting Tabs in ColorMag - How to Create a Blog

Head on over to Content. You’ll see four tabs that allow you to change your blogging methods.

Content Tab ColorMag - How to Create a Blog on WordPress

First, go to the Blog tab. You’ll see an organized collection of settings you can modify for your blog page.

  • Post Elements: As you can see, you can show/hide post elements that appear on your blog page. Additionally, you can drag to rearrange the order of the post elements. 
Post Elements ColorMag - How to Start a Blog
  • Post Title: You can change the title’s typography as you need. This includes font, weight, size, etc. 
Post Title Typography - How to Create a Blog on WordPress
  • Post Excerpt: You can display the post excerpt or full content here.
Post Excerpt ColorMag - How to Start a Blog
  • Pagination: You can disable or enable pagination. You can also decide whether to apply the default pagination or number one. 
Pagination ColorMag - How to Start a Blog

When modifying single post settings, return to Content and select Single Post

Here are the settings available for the post: 

  • Post Elements: Similar to the blog page, you can show/hide elements and rearrange their order by dragging them. 
Post Elements Single Post ColorMag - How to Start a Blog on WordPress
  • Featured Image: You may enable or disable the featured image of any post. In addition, you can use the Lightbox feature on the image without any additional Lightbox plugins.
Featured Image Single Post ColorMag - How to Start a Blog on WordPress
  • Related Posts: Display related posts to your users to keep them exploring throughout your content. You can also set Query based on Categories or Tags.
Related Posts Single Post ColorMag - How to Start a Blog on WordPress

Moving on to the Post Meta tab, you’ll find options to rearrange the meta elements i.e. Date, Author, Views, Comments, Tags, Reading Time, and Edit Button of a post.

Additionally, you can also display/hide those elements.

Post Meta Elements - How to Start a Blog on WordPress

And finally, from the Page tab, you can show/hide featured images on the blog page.

Page Settings Featured Image - How to Create a Blog on WordPress

Step 6: Create Your First Blog Post 

Now, let’s start adding content to your blog. You need to create a post, not a page. 

Here’s an article on the difference between pages and posts

 To do so, head on over to Posts >> All Posts.  

Navigate to All Posts - How to Create a Blog on WordPress

You’ll see pre-written blog posts that were imported with the template. Thus, you can effortlessly replace them with your content.

Conversely, if interested, you can also add your posts from scratch. In that case, you can delete the existing content.

To do so, click on the checkbox on the left side of the Title.

Select All Posts in Bulk - How to Start a Blog on WordPress

Next, select the Bulk Actions dropdown and select Move to Trash. Then, click on Apply

Move to Trash - How to Start a Blog

That will clear all the posts on a single page. Repeat that until all the posts are cleared. 

After that, click on Add New Post

Adding New Post - How to Start a Blog

First, add a title for your blog post. Then, proceed to add content.

Adding a Title and Content to the Post - How to Start a Blog on WordPress

Additionally, you can insert appropriate blocks to beautify your content. For this, installing the BlockArt Blocks plugin can be helpful.

The plugin has a bunch of pre-built blocks from which to use. 

Suppose I want to add a map to my post. I can add a Google Map block from BlockArt Blocks.

Inserting Google Map Block - How to Create a Blog on WordPress

After clicking on it and modifying it as needed, you can view the post on the front end to see how it looks.

Frontend View of the Google Map Block - How to Create a Blog on WordPress

Keep adding blocks and content until you’ve created your first amazing post.


Step 7: Publish the Post on Your Site 

Once you complete creating your first post, it’s highly advised to save it as a draft and preview it. 

To do so, you’ll see a button labeled Save as Draft on top. Click on it. 

Save Draft Option - How to Create a Blog on WordPress

Then select this icon and press on Preview

Preview Option - How to Create a Blog on WordPress

You can see how the post appears on the front end and find any mistakes you weren’t aware of. 

If there are any, fix them, and once you’re satisfied, click on the Publish button in the top right corner. 

Publish Option - How to Create a Blog on WordPress

Step 8: Promote Your Blog 

Simply creating a blog and posts isn’t enough. It would be best if you promoted them to reach a larger audience and hit the spotlight.

For this, we’ve listed a few strategies for you to try: 

1. Create Quality Content 

Creating meaningful and helpful content ensures users visit your blog. They are more likely to retain their views if they benefit from it.

2. Social Media Platforms 

The craze of social platforms is a huge ground for gathering users. Be active on your social accounts and post content there for more views. 

3. Optimize Content for SEO 

Implement on-page and off-page SEO strategies to rank your content higher on search engine results.

Here’s a detailed guide on SEO copywriting tactics.

4. Email Campaigns 

Sending out attractive emails to users who’ve given consent will alert them of any new or important articles, driving more traffic to your blog. 

5. Guest Blogging 

Inviting fellow bloggers or writing content for another blog will grow your portfolio, build connections, and create interesting content.  


Recommended Plugins to Choose for Your Blog Site 

Let’s face it: A theme alone can’t guarantee it’ll fulfill all your requirements. That’s why you’ll need the best WordPress blog plugins

Here are our top picks for your blog website. 

1. Everest Forms 

The first thing that comes to your mind is probably a form for your website to communicate with your viewers. Everest Forms is one of the best form builder plugins

Everest Forms - How to Start a Blog

It comes with pre-built form templates for your website. They are highly customizable, powerful, and easy to implement. 


2. BlockArt Blocks 

Since most templates from the theme are made with Gutenberg, you’ll surely not want to miss BlockArt Blocks

BlockArt Blocks - How to Start a Blog

It’s a Gutenberg page builder plugin that offers 25+ dynamic and robust blocks, as well as pre-built sections, to ease the process of site creation. 


3. Yoast SEO 

Just creating a blog isn’t enough. Reaching a greater audience would help. Yoast SEO does the job for you!

Yoast SEO - How to Create a Blog

It’s a fantastic WordPress SEO plugin that will elevate your traffic-generation efforts. With it, your blog will thrive and be easily found by the general audience.


4. Easy Social Share Buttons for WordPress

Do you have excellent content you want to be recognized on social media platforms? Let Easy Social Share Buttons for WordPress do it for you!

Easy Social Share Buttons for WordPress - How to Start a Blog

It’s a social media plugin that allows your viewers to share your content over their social media profiles with just a click. This will help you gain more views.


5. WP Rocket 

Slow-functioning websites are a turn-off to anybody. WP Rocket is a popular caching plugin to boost your site’s performance. 

WP Rocket - How to Start a Blog

It’s easy to set up and use. Your site’s speed plays a vital role in SEO. This, in turn, improves the conversion rate. All with just a single plugin. 

The plugins will undoubtedly accelerate your growth, and soon enough, you’ll have the best WordPress blog in the competition.


Concluding the Tutorial on How to Create a WordPress Blog!

This concludes our article on how to start a blog on WordPress. We’ve successfully created a blog on WordPress using the ColorMag theme. 

In just 8 steps, we were able to create the best WordPress blog for ourselves.

If you want to boost your site’s performance, here’s a guide on speeding up your website.

We hope we helped you create the blog site you’ve been dreaming of!

If you’ve any queries, please let us know!

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How to Create a Stylish WordPress Dropdown Menu? (Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners) https://themegrill.com/blog/how-to-create-wordpress-dropdown-menu/ https://themegrill.com/blog/how-to-create-wordpress-dropdown-menu/#respond Mon, 08 Apr 2024 16:31:41 +0000 https://themegrill.com/blog/?p=934377 Wanna know what the WordPress dropdown menu is and how it works? Then you’ve come to the right place.

In this article, we’re going to show you how to add a dropdown menu in WordPress in just a few easy steps.

Dropdown menus are multi-level menus. As the name suggests, a list of items will drop down when you hover over an item. Most people wonder if that might be hard to create.

Well, it’s not, and we’re here to tell you how. A few clicks here and some drag-and-drop there will create a dropdown menu.

Let’s discuss dropdown menus in WordPress, how they work, and how you can easily create one. We’ll also explain how you can customize your menu to fit your needs.

What is the WordPress Dropdown Menu?

A dropdown menu shows the list of items only when you hover your mouse over the main item. In simple terms, it’s a menu with more than one level.

You only see the first level at the start, but you’ll see other hidden levels when you hover your mouse over it.

As you can see in the image below, a dropdown menu saves space on your website’s window. Also, it allows users to navigate your site in an organized way.

WordPress Dropdown Menu

A simple navigation menu is enough if you are just starting your WordPress website. But as your website grows, it will have more pages and more items to add to the navigation menu.

When you want to avoid cluttering the navigation with too many items, you will want to switch to another type of menu. That’s when dropdown menus become useful.

Dropdown menus are very flexible. You can arrange your items by topics and priorities. If you use some good plugins, you will even be able to change the behavior of your menu.


How to Create a WordPress Dropdown Menu?

Creating a dropdown menu in WordPress is very simple. Just a few tweaks in your menu, and you’re good to go! Here is a step-by-step guide to creating one:

Step 1: Create a WordPress Menu

We already said that you can create a dropdown menu with a few tweaks in your main menu. So, you need a WordPress menu first.

If you already have a menu, you can skip to Step 3 below. If not, let’s go through the steps.

For this article, we’ll use the Zakra theme. It’s a powerful and versatile theme, perfect for creating websites of different niches.

Zakra Home Page

You can install the theme from the official site or directly from your WordPress dashboard.

Note: Here’s a guide on how to install a WordPress theme

After installation, go to the Appearance tab on your dashboard menu and click on Menus

Menu in Appearance

 Put a name for your menu in the Menu Name field and hit the Create Menu button.

Create Navigation Menu

You have created a menu with this. However, this menu is empty, so on to step two.


Step 2:  Add Items to your Menu

Now it’s time to add some items to your menu. Your menu items are simply the links you provide your visitors for easy navigation. 

First, find the Pages in your menu editor window. It’s in the Add menu items section, right next to your dashboard menu.

Add Page to Your Dropdown Menu

Click on View All to see a list of all your site’s pages. Now, select the pages you want to add to your menu using the checkbox and hit Add to Menu.

Save Menu with Pages

If you want to add posts, custom links, or categories, you can follow a similar process. 

Finally, click on the Save Menu button on the right to save the items.

The items you just added will show up in the Menu Structure section of your Menu Editor window.


Step 3: Create Dropdown Menus by Arranging Menu Items

Once you have the list of menu items in your Menu Structure section, it is now time to transform your menu into a dropdown menu.

To do that, we will use the parent-child structure.

The parent item will be the main heading that always appears on your menu. The child items will be the subheadings that only appear once we hover over the main heading.

To begin, click on the child item and drag and drop it under the parent, keeping it slightly to the right. The child item will get the tag sub-item.

Creating Multilevel Menu

Using this process, you can create parent and child items according to the needs of your dropdown menu. Once you’re done, just click on Save Changes.

With this, you have created a dropdown menu for your site. 


Step 4: Publish your Dropdown Menu

The menu that you created in your dashboard is still not on your site. That’s because you have not published it yet. Don’t worry; it’s super easy to do so.

First of all, go to the Manage Locations tab at the top of your Menu Editor window.

Here, find the location you want for your menu. After that, just use the drop-down list to its right and select your new menu from the options.

Select Menu Location

 Finally, hit the Save Changes button.

Your dropdown menu has now been added to your site. Users can interact with it to navigate to your WordPress website’s pages and posts.


Editing your Dropdown Menu

Your dropdown menu may not need changes in the beginning. However, with a growing website, you will need to edit it. Fortunately, WordPress will make it easy. Let’s see how.

Removing an Item from your Menu

Find the menu item in your Menu Editor window and click the arrow icon in the right corner to expand the panel.

Then, click on the Remove button. 

Remove Menu Items

Now, just click on the Save Menu button to save your updated menu.


Reordering the Menu Items

If you ever feel like an item has been misplaced, you can reorder it at any time in just two steps. All you need to do is, find the item, then drag and drop it to the position you want it to be. 

Like before, click on Save Changes to save the position.

Changing Item Order

Removing your Dropdown Menu

If you feel the dropdown menu is unnecessary on your site, you can remove it.

To do so, go to your Menu Editor window and select the menu that you want to remove. 

Selecting Menu

On your Menu Structure section, click on the Delete Menu button at the bottom.

Deleting Menu

With that, you have one less menu on your site now. 


Creating and Editing your Dropdown Menu with Live Preview

Do you know that you can create your menu in real time? This has been made possible by the WordPress customizer.

It allows users to live preview the changes they make on the WordPress website, making the customization process a lot easier. Here’s how.

Step 1: Create a Menu with Live Preview

Go to your WordPress Dashboard. Then, click on Customize under the Appearance tab. 

Customization Navigation

On the right-hand side of the screen, just click on Menus.

Creating Dropdown Menu in WordPress

Now, click on Create New Menu to make a new menu.

Create New Menu from Customizer

Type a name in the Menu Name field and check the boxes under Menu Locations to select where the menu appears. Then, just click on the Next button.

Add Menu Name

Step 2: Add Menu Items with Live Preview

Don’t worry; stacking up menu items in Live Preview is the same as stacking them in Dashboard. 

Click on the Add Items button below your Menu Name. This will show the list of pages, posts, categories, etc., that you have.

Add Items to Navigation Menu

All you need to do now is click on the items that you want to add.

If you want to add posts, click on Posts and then on the name of the posts you want to add. The same goes for categories and tags

To add custom links, you need to type the link and name for the custom links. 

Add Menu Items

To add your menu to your site, click on Publish at the top of your Live Preview window.

Publish Menu

Step 3: Create Dropdown Menus by Arranging Items with Live Preview

After adding items to your menu, it’s time to transform your menu.

We’re going to use the same drag-and-drop process and parent-child structure as we did on the dashboard.

As mentioned before, just drag the child item under the parent item, and the child item will be indented under the parent item.

Click on Publish to transform your site menu.

Creating Dropdown Menu in Live Preview

E) Customizing your Menu with Live Preview

If you want to see the change you applied instantly, then it’s quite easy.

First, go to your Live Preview window and click Menus.  Now select the menu you want to customize. 

Reordering Menu Items with Live Preview

Trying different items in different orders can result in a good menu. It gets even better if you can see the changes in the order being applied in real time.

To reorder items, drag and drop them to the desired location. Then, click on Publish to apply the changes to your site. 

Chaning Item Order In Live Preview

Deleting Menu Items with Live Preview

First things first, click on your menu item to show its panel. After that, just click on Remove at the bottom of the panel.

Removing Menu Items in Live Preview

Hit the Publish button to save your changes, and you’re good to go.


Deleting a Menu with Live Preview

With the live customizer, deleting an entire menu is also quite simple.

Just click on the menu you want to remove and scroll to the bottom. Now click on the Delete Menu button.

Deleting Menu in Live Preview how to add dropdown menu in WordPress

After you click on that, you will return to the list of your site’s menus. Lastly, hit the Publish button to apply your decision to the site. 

Publish Button

Now, you have one less menu to worry about.


Wrapping up

This was our article on adding a dropdown menu in WordPress. Although it may seem unlikely, dropdown menus can improve the quality of navigation on your site.

Dropdown menus help you increase the user experience while fully utilizing the small space on your webpage. 

It’s easy to create a WordPress dropdown menu, but the number and menu location depend upon the theme you’re using.

Thus, choose a WordPress theme with many customization options. WordPress themes like Zakra, ColorMag, Spacious, and others have many customization options.

For more, visit our blog page. We have awesome listicle articles in various categories, such as one-page themes, minimalist WordPress themes, and more.

We hope we provided you with information about the WordPress dropdown menu you sought. If you think we did, why not share it?

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How to Create a One Page Website in WordPress? (Easy Guide) https://themegrill.com/blog/how-to-create-a-one-page-website/ https://themegrill.com/blog/how-to-create-a-one-page-website/#respond Fri, 05 Apr 2024 07:20:06 +0000 https://themegrill.com/blog/?p=940997 Do you want to know how to create a one page website? If your answer is yes, then this tutorial is for you! 

You may think it is hard to keep all your important content on a single page without cluttering it. 

We’ll help you avoid that and create a stunning single-page website effortlessly. 

So, please stick with us until the end! 

Why Create a One Page Website? 

There are a lot of people who don’t need the burden of having page after page on their website. 

It becomes a hard and tiring job to manage them all and have them compete against others in the market. 

Here are a few reasons why a one-page website can be beneficial: 

  • It requires fewer resources and time than multi-page websites. 
  • The website’s performance, such as speed, is comparatively faster. 
  • You have less but enough content for a single page. 
  • It’s as cost-effective as creating and maintaining one, perfect for small business or personal use.
  • It helps you send a focused message to your users without distracting them.

We’re sure you’re convinced how useful a single page website is. Now, let’s head on to creating one!


How to Create a One Page Website? (Step-by-Step Tutorial)

Below is a step-by-step guide on how to create a one page website. We’ve tried to make it as simple as we could for you! 

Step 1: Register a Domain Name and Purchase Hosting 

The first step is to register a domain name, i.e., a name for your website. For this, you’ll find several domain name registrars like Namecheap, Domain.com, GoDaddy, etc.

If you want to view more options, here’s an article on the best domain registrars.

However, we suggest registering your domain name with Bluehost if you ask us.

Bluehost - WordPress Hosting

It’s a powerful hosting provider offering a free domain name for a year. So, you don’t need to worry about registering and getting hosting separately.

If you are confused between registering a domain name and purchasing hosting for your site, check out our article on the difference between web hosting and a domain name.

Contrarily, as per your requirements, you may choose other hosting providers, such as Hostinger, SiteGround, or Dreamhost.


Step 2: Install and Set Up WordPress

After registering your domain and purchasing the appropriate hosting, you can easily install and set up your WordPress website.

Check our article on how to install WordPress on your site.


Step 3: Choose the Right One Page WordPress Theme and Install It

In the next step, you must get an awesome one-page WordPress theme. 

Lucky for you, we have a suggestion: Try the Flash theme! It includes the Flash OnePage template, which has almost everything you need to create a single page website. 

How to Create a One Page Website with the Flash theme

The template is created using the page builder plugin, SiteOrigin. Hence, you must use the same plugin to change the demo. 

Here’s why Flash is an optimal choice: 

  • Pre-built important sections with navigated menus  
  • Attractive gallery section with animations 
  • Simple yet attractive Contact Us section 
  • In-built search bar 

Now that we’ve established the advantages of using Flash, let’s install the theme and set it up. 

Firstly, go to the Appearance section from your WordPress dashboard and then to the Themes section. 

On top, you’ll see a button for Add New Theme.

Appearance to Themes - How to Make a One Page Website

Then, on the right side, you’ll see a search bar. 

Navigate to Themes and Add a New One

Type in Flash. The theme will be listed first. Please install and activate it.

Flash WordPress Theme - How to Create a One Page Website

After the installation, you’ll see a welcome message and an option to Get Started with Flash

Install ThemeGrill Demo Importer Plugin - Single Page Website Template

Clicking on the button will install the ThemeGrill Demo Importer plugin.

You’ll then be greeted with several templates you can import with a click.

Lucky for you, with Flash, you also get a free One Page website template. Thus, it’s perfect for beginners and users on a tight budget. Moreover, it eliminates the need to create a one page website from the ground.

Flash OnePage - Single Page Website Template

So, click the Import button at the bottom of the template, and you’re all set up. 


Step 4: Add a New Section and Menu 

The Flash theme comes with essential sections to make your work easier. However, not everything that meets your requirements can be there. 

So, you must add a section and create a menu on the header for smooth navigation. 

Here, we’ll give you an example of how we can add a gallery section to showcase beautiful images on our site.  

As the template is created with SiteOrigin, we’ll use the same page builder’s help to create a menu. 

Head on over to the All Pages section from Pages. There, click on the Edit option from the Home page. 

Navigating to All Pages - How to Create a One Page Website

You’ll see an interface like this. Please don’t get confused by it. It feels a lot easier to work with than just looking at it. 

SiteOrigin Page Builder Interface

On this bar at the top, choose the “Add Row” option. You can select the number of columns you want to add to this row. 

Add Row On Your Single Page Website

You can add up to 12. The plugin automatically divides the size among the columns, but you can manually divide it. 

In this tutorial, we’ll add just 1 column to our gallery. After selecting the size, click on Insert

Adding Columns To The Row On Single Page Website

You can drag the row up and down wherever you see fit. 

Drag and Drop Rows in SiteOrigin Page Builder - How to Create a One Page Website

Next, click on the row. Then, head to the top and press the Add Widget button. You can select from a variety of widgets. 

Add Widget To Your Single Page Website

Let’s choose the Gallery widget from the library to add a gallery to our site.

Gallery Widget In SiteOrigin Page Builder

After that, you’ll be asked to enter a title for it and add images to the widget. 

Title & Images For Gallery Widget

Upload the images you want to add to your site and click Done in the bottom right corner of your screen. 

Reload your page, and you’ll see the changes. 


Create a New Menu

Go to Appearance >> Menus.

Appearance to Menu - How to Make a One Page Website

Delete the existing one and create a new one by naming it anything you want.

Delete Existing Menu On Single Page Website

On the Menu Settings, you’ll find checkboxes to choose where to display the menu. Select the Primary option.

After that, click on the Create Menu button at the bottom.

Creating New Menu In Single Page Website

There you have it, and a new menu is created to add navigations around your site.


Step 5: Add Menu Navigation 

For seamless navigation around the page, you can add a custom ID that, upon click, will take the users to the designated section. 

To do so, go to Pages >> All Pages. From there, click on edit for the main page. 

Navigating to All Pages - How to Create a One Page Website

Then, visit each section by clicking on Edit.

Edit Gallery - Create a One Page Website

Select Attributes from the right-hand side, and on the Widget ID, add text to it to be used as a link. 

Widget ID - How to Create a One Page Website

Then, press Done

Do this for each section, and last, click on Update

Update Your Site - How to Make a One Page Website

You’ve set up links for each section of your site so far. But how do you display them as menus?

To do that, go to Appearance >> Menus. Since we’ve already created a new menu from the previous step, go to Custom Links.

Custom Links - How to Create a One Page Website

There, add the links for each section on the URL field and the text that highlights the section. After filling both fields, click on Add to Menu.

Saving Custom Links - How to Create a One Page Website

If you visit the front end of your page after this, hover over the menu at the top, and you’ll see a link attached to it. 

Gallery Menu on the Frontend - How to Create a One Page Website

Click on each menu to check whether you’re getting directed to the section that you’re meant to visit. 


Step 6: Modify WordPress Settings 

The next step in our tutorial on how to make a one page website is to modify the necessary WordPress settings.

Before publishing the website, we’ll need to configure a few important settings to improve the website’s overall performance.

Below, we’ve mentioned a few settings you can begin with!

1. Add a Unique Title and Tagline for Your Site 

A unique title and tagline recognize your website and give the user a hint of what to expect.

They’re likely to stay engaged on your site when that’s attractive. 

To add the title and tagline, go to Settings >> General

General Settings - How to Create a One Page Website

You’ll see the area where you can change your title and tagline in the first two fields.

Adding Title and Tagline for your Single Page Website

After you replace it, go to the bottom and click on Save Changes

Save Changes for General Settings - How to Create a One Page Site

2. Configure Permalinks 

WordPress sets a default URL that is cluttered and not SEO-friendly. 

To fix these issues, head on over to Settings >> Permalinks.

Permalinks - How to Make a One Page Website

There, you’ll see a list of pre-defined permalink structures.

Choose Permalinks for your Single Page Website

Choose one that you think is good and click the Save Changes button.

Saving Changes for Permalink Settings - How to Create a One Page Website

3. Enabling Search Engine Indexing 

Previously, we discussed the importance of search engine optimization. By default, your website’s indexing is turned off. 

To enable it, go to Settings >> Reading.  

Reading Settings - How to Create a One Page Website

You’ll see a checkbox next to Search Engine Visibility at the last option.  

Search Engine Indexing for your Single Page Website

If it’s disabled, that’s fine. But if it’s enabled, disable it and click the Save Changes button.

Save Changes for Reading Settings - How to Create a One Page Website

It would be best if you went through these basic settings. This is a small part to play, but it is important in the long term.


Step 7: Publish Your Single-Page Site

After you’ve made and implemented the necessary changes and are ready to take the final leap, click Update on the right. 

Update Your Site - How to Make a One Page Website

You’ll see the changes you’ve made at the front end. If you see something that’s not what you desire, modify it and save the changes again. 

So, this is how you create a one page website on WordPress.


BONUS: Essential Plugins to Install on Your Single Page Website

To enhance the functionality of your one-page website, you can also install some essential WordPress plugins on your website.

Luckily, we’ve got a few recommendations that can be a lifesaver to you.  

1. Yoast SEO 

Just creating a site doesn’t guarantee an audience. You’ll need to optimize it so users can find your website at the top of search results.

Yoast SEO - WordPress SEO Plugins

Yoast SEO is one of the best SEO plugins to do so. It’ll ensure your single page site reaches your targeted audiences and drives traffic to your site.


2. UpdraftPlus 

You’re probably concerned about all the harmful and notorious activities happening online. You’ll need a strong tool to back up all your stuff. 

UpdraftPlus - WordPress Backup and Migration Plugin

UpdraftPlus is a powerful backup plugin that comes in handy as it integrates with multiple cloud storage options to protect your backup in case your one page site gets attacked.


3. WP Rocket 

Only creating a website and adding content to it isn’t a healthy thing to do. You’ll need to keep your site optimized for speed. 

WP Rocket - WordPress Caching Plugin

WP Rocket is a caching plugin that optimizes the loading time and Core Web Vitals. A one page website is fast. But with this plugin, your site becomes much quicker.


4. User Registration

The User Registration plugin is an advanced user registration and management plugin. It allows you to create user IDs, dynamic forms, and more.

User Registration - WordPress User Registration Plugin

If you’re want to create a single page site with a membership feature, User Registration is the perfect tool.


5. OptinMonster 

Lastly, if you’re looking to generate subscribers, leads, and sales, OptinMonster does it! 

OptinMonster - WordPress Lead Generation Plugin

It’s an amazing lead-generation plugin used to grow email lists, improve web conversions, etc. This allows you to run email campaigns for your viewers.


Summarizing How to Create a One Page Website! 

Coming to an end, let’s revise what we’ve learned throughout this article.

We learned about domain registration, hosting, creating a single-page website, essential WordPress settings and plugins, etc.

We used the Flash theme, as its single-page website template is the perfect choice for quickly creating a great site.

If you still have time, we suggest you explore more of our blogs on creating restaurant sites, and real estate websites in WordPress.

We hope we successfully guided you on how to create a one page website by yourself.

If you’ve any queries, feel free to let us know!

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GeneratePress vs Zakra: Which is the Best Free WordPress Theme for You? https://themegrill.com/blog/generatepress-vs-zakra/ https://themegrill.com/blog/generatepress-vs-zakra/#respond Fri, 05 Apr 2024 06:07:00 +0000 https://themegrill.com/blog/?p=941171 Wondering which is the best free WordPress theme between, GeneratePress vs Zakra? Find out from this article.

Choosing the right theme is most important when building a website because it drives desired functionality and overall user experience.

But when it comes to choosing between the two best themes, it’s pretty tough. GeneratePress and Zakra are the two most popular multipurpose WordPress themes, with thousands of active users.

Both themes excel in terms of features, templates, add-ons, support, and other aspects. However, a detailed comparison of these two themes in every aspect can help you choose the best.

So, read the article until the end to find the best WordPress theme between Zakra vs GeneratePress.

GeneratePress vs Zakra: Overview

Before we begin to compare these two WordPress themes, let’s briefly introduce them:

GeneratePress Overview

GeneratePress is a popular WordPress theme that is well-known for its lightweight foundation.

It offers the right amount of customization, allows you to build websites in various niches, and seamlessly integrates most WordPress plugins.

GeneratePress Homepage for GeneratePress vs Zakra

Besides, it supports over 20 languages; thus, language is not a barrier. Using valid HTML/CSS and following WordPress coding standards, the theme provides complete security.

As of the date of writing this article, it has a whopping 600K+ active installations and 5 out of 5 stars in the WordPress repository.


Zakra Overview

Zakra is a powerful multipurpose WordPress theme that is beginner-friendly, allowing you to create a professional-looking website in any field without using any coding knowledge.

It suits every purpose, from a restaurant website to a large travel booking site, as the theme offers over 100 starter templates.

Zakra Home Page For GeneratePress vs Zakra Comparison

From letting you quickly set up a website to customize the pre-built template from header to footer, it’s the theme you’ll love using.

It has only been a few years since the theme was introduced, and the active installation is already over 50K. Also, it has 4.9 out of 5 stars as of the date of writing this article.


GeneratePress vs Zakra: Starter Templates

Templates are the pre-designed WordPress website layouts developed by the themes. They contain every element, such as header, footer, page, sidebar, and so on.

Both these themes are multipurpose. But one might have more options or genres than the other. Hence, let’s look at the templates offered by both of these themes:

TemplatesGeneratePress ThemeZakra Theme
Number of templates100110
Categories of templates39
Page-builder support✅ ✅ 
In-house block usedGenerateBlocksBlockArts Blocks

GeneratePress Starter Templates

GeneratePress has 100 templates available, including both free and premium. The categories for the templates include Business, E-commerce, and Blog.

Top Picks

GeneratePress Demo for Website
Search
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ModerndDesign

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Lightweight

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Built with Generate Blocks

GeneratePress Demo for Decor
Decor
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User-friendly Interface

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eCommerce site with WooCommerce support

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Scroll to the top button available

GeneratePress Demo for Business
Mason
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Clean and minimalistic

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Lots of Customize Options

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Fully responsive

GeneratePress Demo for Portfolio Website
Lens
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Unique design

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Compatible with contact form plugins

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SEO-friendly

GeneratePress Demo for eCommerce Website
Shop
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Simple and aesthetic

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Supports WooCommerce

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Shopping cart

GeneratePress Demo for Freelance Website
Freelance
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Multiple sections on the homepage

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Social media icons

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CTA buttons

The theme also uses GenerateBlocks to build some of these templates. You can import the template with just a single click and use it accordingly.


Zakra Starter Templates

Zakra offers 110 free and premium templates for different niches. It has nine categories of templates: Blog, Business, eCommerce, LMS, Magazine, Non-Profit, One-Page, Portfolio, and RTL.

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Zakra Demo for Agency
Agency 03
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Built-in sorting

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Built-in cart page

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Integrates Google map

Zakra Demo for Business
One Page
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Single page

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Slider to display team members

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Smooth scrolling

Zakra Demo for Fitness Website
Gym V2
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Multiple CTA buttons

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Over 10 sections on the homepage

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Built-in contact form

Zakra Demo for Job Portal
Job Portal V2
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Clean and distraction-free homepage

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Built-in FAQs page

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Multiple grids to display job categories

Zakra Demo for News Website
Kantipur News
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Attractive grid layout

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Space to display ads

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Scroll to the top button

Zakra Demo for Lawyer Website
Lawyer V2
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Built-in page for practice areas

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Beautifully displays past works

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Newsletter subscription form

Those templates are made with Gutenberg, Elementor, and Brizy. Meanwhile, you can also suggest a demo site to the Zakra developers through their website.

And yes, importing the template is just a matter of a click.

Our Verdict:  Between GeneratePress vs Zakra, Zakra has much more options and categories for the templates. So, clearly, Zakra is the winner in the case of starter templates.


GeneratePress vs Zakra: Key Features

To find the best free WordPress theme, let’s compare the free features of Zakra vs GeneratePress.

Features Comparison (Free Version)

Here’s a brief overview of the features offered by these themes on their free version.

FeaturesGeneratePress ThemeZakra Theme
Weight 1.01 MB (gzipped)3.06 MB (gzipped)
Gutenberg compatible✅ ✅ 
Page builders and plugin compatibility✅ ✅ 
WooCommerce support✅ ✅ 
Fully responsive✅ ✅ 
TranslationOver 25 languagesOver 25 languages
Color control60+Unlimited
Dynamic typography✅ ✅ 
Widget areas 912
Sidebar layouts66

For advanced features, you can try their premium versions.

Our Verdict: Comparing the features between Zakra vs GeneratePress, both the themes offers similar features. Hence, it’s a win-win situation for both the themes.


GeneratePress vs Zakra: Pricing

Have a look at the different pricing plans offered by the themes and find out the most affordable theme between Zakra vs GeneratePress:

Plans GeneratePress ThemeZakra Theme
Free ✅ ✅ 
Premium$59/year$55/year
Lifetime $249$199
Other Plans❌-All Themes from ThemeGrill at $103/year and $319 for a lifetime
-All ThemeGrill Company Products at $299/year and $999 for a lifetime

GeneratePress Pricing Plans

GeneratePress is available for free and in premium versions. The premium plan has two pricing plans: Annual and Lifetime.

The yearly price of the theme is $59, with one year of updates, premium support, and access to the site library.

GeneratePress Pricing Plans

The Lifetime plan costs $249 and provides lifetime access to the site library. Both plans have a 30-day money-back guarantee.


Zakra Pricing Plans

Zakra also has a free plan and premium plans. The pricing plan for the premium version starts from $55 per year.

The updates and premium support are available for up to one year for the annual plans. You can also renew the plan and upgrade accordingly.

Zakra Multipurpose theme Pricing Plans

Since ThemeGrill developed Zakra, you can get all of the company’s products for just $299 annually under the ThemeGrill Agency plan.

Meanwhile, it also has a lifetime plans.

Zakra Lifetime Pricing Plan

You also get Companion Addons for Elementor and future plugins with all the plans. Zakra also offers a 14-day money-back guarantee for the Zakra Pro package.

Our Verdict: Zakra is much cheaper than GeneratePress. Also, the ThemeGrill Agency plan and All Theme Plan are more profitable than GeneratePress’s Lifetime plan. Zakra is, without any doubt, the winner here.


GeneratePress vs Zakra: Customizer Interface

WordPress market is flooded with many themes these days, offering flexibility in customization.

Although some offer mind-blowing features, users often find them useless due to their complex interface while customizing.

Hence, the WordPress customizer is one of the most important aspects of any theme and should not be ignored.

However, the complex user interface might not be an issue if you habitually navigate through complexities. Let’s compare the customizer interfaces of both themes.

GeneratePress Customizer

GeneratePress has a clean and easy-to-use customizer interface. You get the options for customizing at the left, while you can preview the changes on the right of the same interface.

GeneratePress Theme Customizer

The customizer allows you to modify the header and navigation content, copyright messages, sidebar layout, footer widgets, and more.

You can also use the free GenerateBlocks plugin to build every aspect of your website without touching a single line of code.

Besides, you can easily add logos and icons to menus and adjust featured images using the customizer. 


Zakra Customizer

Zakra also has a simple and easy-to-use customization interface.

Compared to GeneratePress, Zakra offers more customization options and the option to apply customization globally.

Zakra Theme Customizer

You can also edit the header, navigation, and footer, add menus and widgets, and modify another setting through a Customizer. Meanwhile, Zakra offers twelve widgets area in the free version.

Our Verdict: The customizer interfaces of GeneratePress and Zakra are similar and easy to use. So, it’s a tie for us when comparing Zakra vs GeneratePress in terms of interface.


GeneratePress vs Zakra: Performance

The theme directly influences your website’s performance. It also influences user experience and overall search engine optimization.

So, let’s compare the speed between GeneratePress vs Zakra. We’ve used three tools, Pingdom, GTmetrix, and Google, to find the speed of the themes.

Here’s the result for both themes obtained using those tools:

Speed Testing ToolsGeneratePress Theme ScoreZakra Theme Score
PingdomA sample page to test the speed of the theme isn’t available to the public199ms
GTmetrixA sample page to test the speed of the theme isn’t available for the public 100%
Google’s PageSpeed Insights 100% 100%

GeneratePress Performance

Although the sample page used to test the theme’s speed is visible in the image below, GeneratePress has not made it available for the public to use.

GeneratePress Performance Test Result Taken From its Website

Thus, the test result of PageSpeed Insights for GeneratePress was taken from its website.


Zakra Performance

The speed test for the Zakra theme was done using the https://performance.zakratheme.com. It’s the sample page created using the Zakra theme by the theme developer.

Here’s the Pingdom test result obtained for Zakra:

Zakra Speed Test Using Pingdom Tool

Here’s the GTmetrix test result obtained for Zakra:

Zakra Performance Test Using GTmetrix

Here’s the Google’s PageSpeed Insights test result obtained for Zakra:

Zakra Performance Test Using PageSpeed Insights

Meanwhile, if you’re also testing the performance of the Zakra theme using these tools, know that the result might vary slightly.

That’s due to server load and location, network conditions, caching, device, browser, content delivery network (CDN), and other resources.

Our Verdict: Since the sample page to test the speed of GeneratePress isn’t available for public, we had to rely on the information from its website. Thus, in terms of performance, Zakra wins due to its transparency in performing the speed tests.


GeneratePress vs Zakra: Integration and Add-ons

If you’re new to WordPress and trying to figure out the best free WordPress theme, know that theme is not only the ultimate product you’ll be using.

As soon as you start building your website, you’ll need to enhance its functionalities through contact forms, image optimization, SEO, and so on.

You’ll need plugins, add-ons, and other integrations to do so. Hence, let’s find out if these two themes support other integration and add-ons.

CompatibilityGeneratePress ThemeZakra Theme
Plugins✅ ✅ 
Page Builders✅ ✅ 
WooCommerce✅ ✅ 
LMS✅ ✅ 
RTL✅ ✅ 

GeneratePress Integration and Add-ons

GeneratePress is built using the highest coding standard and supports most plugins and page builders, including Beaver Builder and Elementor.

Also, it follows the WCAG 2.0 standard to support both LT and RTL. Hence, language is not a barrier in GeneratePress’s case.

Likewise, the theme is fully compatible with WooCommerce. Thus, creating an eCommerce website with GeneratePress is not a problem.


Zakra Integration and Add-ons

Zakra follows the latest WordPress coding standard. Thus, the theme is compatible with most plugins like BlockArt, Everest Forms, WP Rocket, and more.

Similarly, Zakra supports SEO plugins like Yoast SEO and Rank Math. You can also seamlessly use page builders like Gutenberg, Elementor, Brizy, and so on.

Meanwhile, the theme is compatible with WooCommerce and LMS, such as Masteriyo. Hence, creating a LMS site with eCommerce features is also possible with Zakra.

Our Verdict: Both themes are compatible with extra integration and add-ons. Thus, it’s a tie between Zakra and GeneratePress in terms of integration and add-ons.


GeneratePress vs Zakra: Support and Documentation

Support and documents are the most important aspects of buying any product. Whether it’s a theme, plugin, domain service, or hosting an excellent support team must accompany you.

Hence, let’s compare how these themes offer WordPress support and documentation.

Support Channel GeneratePress ThemeZakra Theme
WordPress Forum✅ ✅ 
Knowledge Base✅ ✅ 
Live Chat❌✅ 
Support TicketAvailable for premium usersAvailable for premium users

GeneratePress Support and Documentation

For free version users, GeneratePress provides support through a WordPress forum. You can simply log in and ask them on the WordPress forum.

If you want to use the premium version, you must first create an account and get the Support Key. Once you have the Support Key, you can proceed with your queries.

GeneratePress also has a knowledge base to support you with common questions and tutorials.

GeneratePress Knowledge Base

It offers a wide range of documentation covering general queries, customization tutorials, and queries related to modules and developers.


Zakra Support and Documentation

Support for the free theme can be gained through the WordPress forum. Zakra responds pretty quickly. Meanwhile, live chat is available 24/7 to help everyone with their queries.

You can also join their Facebook community.

Premium users can get support through a support ticket. If you’re using the Zakra Child theme, you can simply fill out the form and get support.

Zakra also has extensive documentation on how to get started and use every feature.

Zakra Knowledge Base

Meanwhile, they regularly update the documents with every new version release.

Our Verdict: Regarding support, Zakra wins over GeneratePress with multiple support channels. Getting support for the Zakra theme is also hassle-free.


Final Verdict!

Did you find a winner between GeneratePress vs Zakra? Well, if not, here’s our view.

Both WordPress themes – GeneratePress and Zakra, offer flexible designs with extensive features and customization options. And you’ll not go wrong with anyone either.

However, after reviewing the details of each theme, it’s clear that Zakra dominates GeneratePress in many aspects.

It offers an efficient way to kickstart your website with an extensive set of templates that support a range of page builders.

Its compatibility with WooCommerce and LMS empowers you even to get your hands on the LMS website.

Meanwhile, Zakra also provides premium plans at a comparatively low price compared to GeneratePress. Getting a multipurpose theme with over 100 templates at just $55/year is worth the investment.

If you’re just starting out or have a professional practice in creating a website, Zakra is a great option to consider. Therefore, Zakra is a clear winner for us as the best free WordPress theme.


Conclusion

Both GeneratePress and Zakra are fabulous free WordPress themes that can help you build a website for any niche.

However, choosing a winner also depends on your needs and business preferences. Hence, choose the theme that best fulfills your needs.

We hope this article helped you choose between Zakra and GeneratePress. For more such articles, visit our blog page.

We have an amazing collection of AI plugins, cloud hosting providers, and more. For more updates, follow us on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and LinkedIn.

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