August 2023 - Page 4 of 4

Wix makes attempt to mock WordPress

3 August 2023/0 Comments/in NewsFlash

WordPress is free to use and has an open license, allowing you to use it for any purpose you want. WordPress, therefore, doesn’t have a sales team, doesn’t send invoices, and as far as I know, doesn’t engage in advertising to convince you to use WordPress.

It’s peaceful and non-binding.

It’s a different story with WIX, another CMS for creating websites. With WIX, it’s all about the money, profit. This often leads to the commercial gimmicks you frequently see with companies focused on revenue.

In addition to regular advertising, WIX has taken a peculiar path. They have created ads that mock WordPress, adopting an Apple versus Windows idea.

You can watch one of the ads here: [link to video]

Matt (Founder of WordPress) blogs about it [here](https://ma.tt/2021/04/wix-dirty-tricks/) and gives a little pushback.

Normally, the WordPress landscape is very calm because there is little to no competition since WordPress is free. This is a peculiar turn of events, like a soap opera.

I’m curious to see what the future holds. Although WIX has a small share in the online world and is not a real competitor, it does bring some excitement to the scene.

Secretly, these videos where companies try to one-up each other can be quite entertaining.

Which email service is best?

2 August 2023/0 Comments/in Email

Ask colleagues or friends which email service is the best, and you’ll receive different answers.

Usually, preference is shaped by availability. Which email service was available when you needed it? Think of Outlook, Live Mail, AOL, or Yahoo, which were available in the early years of the internet and are still in use today.

Or perhaps you’ve been using webmail or an email program provided by your web host because you have your own business with your own domain name/website. As a serious entrepreneur, you can’t just use a Live or Outlook account for email, right?

Times change. Let’s first look at the email services available today.

Gmail
Gmail is familiar to many, especially since it comes with every Android smartphone. You need a Google account to use your Android phone, and the Gmail app is often pre-installed.
In recent years, Gmail has become an accepted address for many entrepreneurs and small businesses.
ProtonMail
Huh? What? ProtonMail is an email service based in Switzerland. It offers the added benefit of strict rules/laws regarding data storage and sharing.
In other words, your email is less likely to end up in the hands of governments or authorized individuals.
This is partly because no IP addresses are stored and because the emails are encrypted.
In a time of privacy concerns (and the lack thereof), this might be an interesting choice.
Especially when compared to Gmail, where much is known about its practices.
Microsoft Exchange
Microsoft Exchange is an email service commonly used by businesses. Microsoft servers are heavily monitored and filtered to prevent spam. Microsoft uses a comprehensive system to allow or block emails, and various security protocols are in place.
The learning curve may be slightly steeper than with Gmail or other email services, but as a business, you can get much more out of it.
Webmail – Server mail
This refers to email that is sent and received through your hosting provider or via your website.
You have your own email box on your web package, you can create custom email addresses (as long as they end with your website address), and in some cases, you can set up filters and rules. This option has its advantages, but you need to have a bit more knowledge compared to Gmail, where everything is taken care of for you.
ISP mail – Your internet service provider
Various internet services also offer email services. Think of providers like Ziggo, Delta, KPN.
In many cases, this service is free, and you can choose an email address or get one automatically with your internet subscription. Convenient! But keep in mind that an ISP has access to a lot of your information, including your address and IP address. There have been legal cases and rulings in the past stating that “a provider reading email without the user’s permission is not illegal.”

Which email service is the best?

We can’t determine that for you 😉
We’ve listed a few options for you, and now it’s up to you to decide which one YOU prefer.

Now that you know, you can consider the following:

Where is the email stored, and who can access it? (Server administrators, Google?)
Do I want
my email to be encrypted? (ProtonMail)
Do I want a professional email address or an address ending with Gmail, KPNmail, etc.?
Is email crucial for my business, and do I need to ensure its delivery? (Microsoft Exchange)

Additional Information

Webmail (via the browser)
Almost every service has a web version, which means you can access your email through a browser. This is convenient when you don’t have your laptop or smartphone with you.

Emailing with a program
Almost every email service allows you to send and receive email through a program, also known as an email client. You’ll need the POP/IMAP and SMTP settings, along with your email address and password.

Security
If privacy and security are crucial to you, pay attention to multiple factors.
Ensure that your emails are encrypted, that you use HTTP/SSL for sending emails, that your browser or email program doesn’t share data, that your ISP and/or web host cannot access or view your data, and that the receiving party also meets these requirements.

Does FSE have the future? A test with WordPress Full Site Editing

1 August 2023/0 Comments/in Featured, Featured Newspage, Gutenberg, Themes

What if you could style not only the content but the entire website using Gutenberg?

With Full Site Editing (FSE), which stands for Full Site Editing, this may be possible in WordPress 5.8.

I have been testing FSE with the beta theme called TT1 Blocks and the latest Gutenberg release to see if it is truly convenient.

Full Site Editing Beta test

I have installed the experimental theme called TT1 Blocks.
This TT1 Blocks theme is a variation of the default WordPress 2021 theme called Twenty Twenty-One.

With this TT1 Blocks theme, I can see if it is possible to create a “professional sample website” without using any other editor or theme builder.

You can edit both the content, header, and footer in the same way! No additional theme plugin, child theme, or settings page is required.

Ps: At the time of writing, the TT1 Blocks theme is still in development, which is why the build number is still 0.4.5. There will be changes in the final theme and the functioning of FSE and Gutenberg.

My current experience with the experimental theme and Gutenberg

I spent 20 minutes playing around with the theme to see if I can work with it.
I have only been using Gutenberg for 1 hour because I usually work with the Visual builder, Enfold builder, on other sites.

A fun test to see if Full Site Editing with Gutenberg is easy to use and has potential, right?

A deep dive into FSE

I dive right in and create a homepage. In my imagination, I should be able to modify both the content and the header and footer. But that’s not the case.

I see a new button at the top in the black bar, Customize Site.

Now I can customize the header and footer using blocks and the standard Gutenberg editor.

Okay, we can design the site.

I envision a website with a “professional look.”
I go for a dark red header, not too tall, and a footer with a gray background. The overall page background should be predictably white or very light gray.

Let’s see if I can achieve that!

The header

Adjust color – CHECK

Modify title and slogan – CHECK

Adjust header height – FAIL

Even though I set the padding/spacing to 10px and removed any space blocks in the header, it is still three times taller than desired due to empty space.

The column height in the header
It appears that the logo and slogan are contained within a column. At the time of writing, the column height is not adjustable.

With some CSS, it is possible to adjust it by adding a class name to the column, setting the height, giving the h1 a margin of -100, and so on.

But we don’t want to do that; we shouldn’t have to code!

Changing the H1 to a Paragraph doesn’t help much either; in fact, it makes the column even taller.

EPIC FAIL!

Tip: Don’t dwell too long on something that isn’t working, move on and come back to it later.

The content

Inserting content is a breeze. Adding a photo, text next to it, adjusting with the so-called “spacers.”

Ps: I’m not saying this is the easiest way to create content. But Gutenberg works in general and is used by many 😉

Styling the footer

Similar to the header, changing the color is easy, and being old-fashioned, I also want to add a widget, which is straightforward. GREAT!

WordPress and FSE: 1-0

Adjusting the page background

The page background is still light green, the (awful) default color of the theme.
The theme currently does not have a separate settings page where this can be modified. That is likely to remain the case as we move towards Full Site Editing with Gutenberg.

I’m using the CSS Customizer to adjust the body color (Go to your admin panel, navigate to Themes, click on the current theme, and then click the blue “Customizer” button).

Result

I added some CSS, but ultimately, I managed to create a sample website that resembles what I had in mind. – Well, approximately, given the short timeframe of 1 to 2.5 hours that I wanted to dedicate to using Gutenberg in combination with the new FSE features.

Using FSE already?

No! Currently, in April 2021, FSE is still in beta. The official version is yet to be released, and many changes still need to be made.

When FSE is officially launched, you can take a look, but I recommend waiting for another 2-3 months even then. Often, some necessary updates are made when something is widely used. Consider compatibility with certain plugins, widgets, alignment, etc. There are probably still some minor bugs that WordPress will address in the months following the official release, as was the case with Gutenberg when it was officially introduced into WordPress.

Final Verdict: Does FSE have a future?

Absolutely! We know that Automattic (the company behind WordPress) closely collaborates with WordPress users. It is highly likely that the theme or the Gutenberg editor will have the missing functionalities in the official release.

Why FSE?

You can easily make various adjustments such as color without having to search for a theme editor or theme settings.
You can easily add and rearrange elements in the header and footer.
The base theme is well-supported and maintained by WordPress itself and is free, unlike premium themes.
Fewer plugins are needed to achieve what you want.

Contrary to expectations!
I am not yet a fan of Gutenberg, but this works quite well and is simple. Once you can manage the blocks, you can basically do anything.

Note: Designing is a separate skill, and technical knowledge and experience are still required to create a website.