MainWP Blog - Sebastian Moran

If you are looking for an alternative option for being able to serve images in the correct optimized image format for customers then ImageKit is worth checking out. ImageKit includes automatic image optimization, will work with a number of external object storage options such as AWS S3, Digital Ocean Spaces, Google Cloud Storage, and Firebase. ImageKit uses AWS Cloudfront as the built-in global fast CDN for serving out site images. Imagekit will also integrate with a number of CDN providers Continue reading the post...

Having a fast site which serves the smallest sized optimized images is something that everyone wants. We have already covered options within the ShortPixel CDN and if using the Polish feature in the Cloudflare CDN. We are going to cover two other plugin options to be able to serve site images in the next-gen WebP image format. The first plugin that we are going to cover is the WebP Express plugin. After you have installed and activated the plugin you Continue reading the post...

WordPress 5.6 which is on track to be released on the 8th December includes a new opt-in feature for major WordPress core auto-updates. There is a filter that will be added in WordPress 5.6 which means that the auto-updates feature can be disabled using a code snippet. MainWP offers a solid extension that allows code snippets to be executed on all connected child sites. add_filter( 'allow_major_auto_core_updates', '_return_false' ); If you want to keep the UI but not have it checked Continue reading the post...

Being able to find new theme options that are not bloated and are performance-based can be a struggle to have to look through which works well. One of the newer themes is Blocksy which is performance-focused. The Blocksy theme works with page builders like Beaver Builder, Elementor, and the block editor in WordPress core. Blocksy has a child theme which can be installed, along with a companion plugin which extends the feature of the Blocksy theme. The theme includes a Continue reading the post...

If you are looking for a privacy-focused, lightweight, and simple web analytics solution for your child sites, then I would recommend looking at using Plausible Analytics. Plausible Analytics script is only 1KB in size which means it will not slow your site down by having to load a number of scripts on load like a number of other analytics solutions like say Google Analytics. You can sign up for a free 30 day trial that does not require a credit Continue reading the post...

ShortPixel is a well-used plugin for image optimization on sites. The plugin includes a number of filters and constants. You can hide your ShortPixel API key from the plugin’s settings by defining the API key in a constant in the sites wp-config.php file. Replace out the APIKEY with your actual API key for ShortPixel. define('SHORTPIXEL_API_KEY', 'APIKEY'); define('SHORTPIXEL_HIDE_API_KEY', true); If you are using the ShortPixel plugin and service on sites which are hosted on FlyWheel then you might run into an Continue reading the post...

Being able to send reliable newsletters from your site is a complex issue to deal with. There are a number of plugins out there for sending out email newsletters from your site. One of the best options for being able to send email newsletters is the AcyMailing plugin. The AcyMailing plugin adds a clean UI into wp-admin after the plugins have been installed and activated. Go through the configuration settings in AcyMailing to setup the mail settings first. You can Continue reading the post...

There is a new marketing and CRM solution for WordPress called FluentCRM. FluentCRM has all of the features which you would inspect to be in SaaS CRM solutions. After you have installed and activated the FluentCRM plugin on your site it will walk you through the setup wizard. After you have completed through the setup wizard you can get started by importing your existing contacts or if needed to create new lists, tags, or use dynamic segments. It is straightforward Continue reading the post...

Being able to easily run a visual compare when plugins have been updated on your site and then to make sure that nothing was broken visually can be a very complex process to deal with. But there is a solid service which deals with this called Diffy. Diffy also provides an easy to use WordPress plugin to be able to integrate it with your site. Visual testing allows you to confirm any updates did not break anything visually on your Continue reading the post...

Easily being able to send new posts to site users can be a pain to deal with depending on which service you are using to broadcast new posts to an email list or segment. But luckily there is a new plugin called Newsletter Glue which makes it very simple to publish and post and then have that post sent in a newsletter email to users in a list. Newsletter Glue supports a number of dedicated email newsletter services like Mailchimp, Continue reading the post...