Can I move my websites to a UK based hosting server, even those with a majority of US-based visitors?
Do I have to keep paying for the USA-based hosting as well?
I did an experiment with my cycling website - turns out it's not a problem. At least when comparing those two locations.
In June there will be more data and the results will probably be more conclusive.
@bikegremlin said:
Can I move my websites to a UK based hosting server, even those with a majority of US-based visitors?
Do I have to keep paying for the USA-based hosting as well?
I did an experiment with my cycling website - turns out it's not a problem. At least when comparing those two locations.
In June there will be more data and the results will probably be more conclusive.
If you were to use a good cdn like Bunny for big media files and a good shared hosting provider I doubt there'll be that much of a difference. Make sure your website is optimized, too. So, if you like UK Shared Hosting more, go for it.
Oh, wait. Was that more of a rhethorical question and you actually posted the answer in form of an article on your blog? :P Because the article already reads like the answer to your question.
@bikegremlin said:
Can I move my websites to a UK based hosting server, even those with a majority of US-based visitors?
Do I have to keep paying for the USA-based hosting as well?
I did an experiment with my cycling website - turns out it's not a problem. At least when comparing those two locations.
In June there will be more data and the results will probably be more conclusive.
If you were to use a good cdn like Bunny for big media files and a good shared hosting provider I doubt there'll be that much of a difference. Make sure your website is optimized, too. So, if you like UK Shared Hosting more, go for it.
Oh, wait. Was that more of a rhethorical question and you actually posted the answer in form of an article on your blog? :P Because the article already reads like the answer to your question.
Yes and no.
The jury is still out - waiting for more test results by the start of June this year.
So far - based on the currently available results (2 x 31 days of metrics) I see no measurable detriments of hosting my website in the UK.
While management is a bit faster when the server is closer to home.
Still have more than a year to decide where I'll move all the websites (or even if I'll still keep both the US and UK reseller accounts, that's about 200 $ more per three years, unless the prices go up again in the mean time).
@bikegremlin said:
Can I move my websites to a UK based hosting server, even those with a majority of US-based visitors?
Do I have to keep paying for the USA-based hosting as well?
I did an experiment with my cycling website - turns out it's not a problem. At least when comparing those two locations.
In June there will be more data and the results will probably be more conclusive.
If you were to use a good cdn like Bunny for big media files and a good shared hosting provider I doubt there'll be that much of a difference. Make sure your website is optimized, too. So, if you like UK Shared Hosting more, go for it.
Oh, wait. Was that more of a rhethorical question and you actually posted the answer in form of an article on your blog? :P Because the article already reads like the answer to your question.
Yes and no.
The jury is still out - waiting for more test results by the start of June this year.
So far - based on the currently available results (2 x 31 days of metrics) I see no measurable detriments of hosting my website in the UK.
While management is a bit faster when the server is closer to home.
Still have more than a year to decide where I'll move all the websites (or even if I'll still keep both the US and UK reseller accounts, that's about 200 $ more per three years, unless the prices go up again in the mean time).
Ah, fair enough. Thanks for sharing regardless. Definitely helps to show that with CDNs and good optimization can go a long way and location does not matter as much anymore. Time to sign back up on GenHost(dot)in for 500GB reseller jk. Should still pick performant hosting
@Ympker said: Personally, I am super happy with being able to focus 100% on my Websites and leave it to the Shared Hosting/Reseller
Yeah, I am trying to get into a mindset of trusting a shared/reseller provider for some sites so I can do exactly that, focus on the websites these days and stop being a whiny little bitch about trust. I have real trust issues when it comes to relying on other hosts since I sold my own a while back.
Although I like DA probably going to switch back to cPanel, Jetbackup only seems to provide the option of having your own external source for backups like S3. Does not appear to be available in the DA version unless I am mistaken. Makes me feel a lot more comfortable using a reseller where I have the ability to backup to my own location.
I hear you. Very happy that, with HM reseller I can use cPanel and it has daily backups on JetBackup. Additionaly, I have scheduled weekly/monthly JetBackups remote backups to GDrive. A feature still missing for DA @MikePT is also waiting for this as much as I am probably. As for trust, just make sure to pick a well-established provider with good performance and features. Imho cant go wrong with Ramnode/HM/Mike.
Send me another ticket, there's a waiting list, I can check if the plugin is available now
@Ympker said: Personally, I am super happy with being able to focus 100% on my Websites and leave it to the Shared Hosting/Reseller
Yeah, I am trying to get into a mindset of trusting a shared/reseller provider for some sites so I can do exactly that, focus on the websites these days and stop being a whiny little bitch about trust. I have real trust issues when it comes to relying on other hosts since I sold my own a while back.
Although I like DA probably going to switch back to cPanel, Jetbackup only seems to provide the option of having your own external source for backups like S3. Does not appear to be available in the DA version unless I am mistaken. Makes me feel a lot more comfortable using a reseller where I have the ability to backup to my own location.
I hear you. Very happy that, with HM reseller I can use cPanel and it has daily backups on JetBackup. Additionaly, I have scheduled weekly/monthly JetBackups remote backups to GDrive. A feature still missing for DA @MikePT is also waiting for this as much as I am probably. As for trust, just make sure to pick a well-established provider with good performance and features. Imho cant go wrong with Ramnode/HM/Mike.
Send me another ticket, there's a waiting list, I can check if the plugin is available now
So I tried out ShortPixel, threw them a $10 one-off recharge and ran a couple of WP Blogs through it. That is after LiteSpeed had already compressed them. The result was a further 20% saving overall with no visible loss of quality. Quite impressed overall with their plugin.
@Lee said:
So I tried out ShortPixel, threw them a $10 one-off recharge and ran a couple of WP Blogs through it. That is after LiteSpeed had already compressed them. The result was a further 20% saving overall with no visible loss of quality. Quite impressed overall with their plugin.
They are quite awesome If you run out of credits and need them for inital setup of your websites, I do have some spare credits (renew monthly with the LTD). Let me know
@Lee said:
So I tried out ShortPixel, threw them a $10 one-off recharge and ran a couple of WP Blogs through it. That is after LiteSpeed had already compressed them. The result was a further 20% saving overall with no visible loss of quality. Quite impressed overall with their plugin.
They are quite awesome If you run out of credits and need them for inital setup of your websites, I do have some spare credits (renew monthly with the LTD). Let me know
Better than manually done with tinypng etc?
I believe in good luck. Harder that I work ,luckier i get.
@Lee said:
So I tried out ShortPixel, threw them a $10 one-off recharge and ran a couple of WP Blogs through it. That is after LiteSpeed had already compressed them. The result was a further 20% saving overall with no visible loss of quality. Quite impressed overall with their plugin.
They are quite awesome If you run out of credits and need them for inital setup of your websites, I do have some spare credits (renew monthly with the LTD). Let me know
Better than manually done with tinypng etc?
I never tried but at some point I stopped getting lost in comparison once I foind a solution that works well for me :P Can be quite time consuming as @Lee probably can tell (Blocksy performance testing). I'd say you won't do anything wrong using ShortPixel. The performance has been great imho and they are well established. If tinypng works good for you and you are happy with the results, I guess there is no need to change, either
@Lee said:
So I tried out ShortPixel, threw them a $10 one-off recharge and ran a couple of WP Blogs through it. That is after LiteSpeed had already compressed them. The result was a further 20% saving overall with no visible loss of quality. Quite impressed overall with their plugin.
They are quite awesome If you run out of credits and need them for inital setup of your websites, I do have some spare credits (renew monthly with the LTD). Let me know
Better than manually done with tinypng etc?
You can use jpegoptim(png has a similar tool) in Linux / Mac to run a batch and compress multiple images. So technically no need to use any compression tool. Why use them then? Could be a mix of:
Convenience
Backup of originals,
CDN
Compression to support new image types (AVIf/HEIC/Webp)
GUi versus CLI
You can build your own list.
I ran jpegoptim on a couple of screenshots- testing Bodhi Linux. One image I compressed using jpegoptim.
I never tried but at some point I stopped getting lost in comparison once I found a solution that works well for me
I had written a few posts on the topic last year. Each solution has their advantages and limitations. For e.g. Tinypng is better in compression ratio than Shortpixel but their CDN is terribly expensive.
Could be due for a refresh, but now, as nicely summed up by @ympker, sticking with what works.
Also did what @Lee mentioned. Pay the $ 10, get some Shortpixel credits (used to be one time 12,000 image compression credits earlier, not sure about the amount now). Later I got a 25,000 credits/ month plan. Took a second plan last year but refunded because I didn't need.
On related note- I think even Shortpixel has moved to BunnyCDN.
@Chievo said: Better than manually done with tinypng etc?
I would say so, I personally don't want to be spending time optimizing images then uploading them. If there is a plugin that manages it well, even it means a few $'s then I am all for it
@Chievo said: Better than manually done with tinypng etc?
I would say so, I personally don't want to be spending time optimizing images then uploading them. If there is a plugin that manages it well, even it means a few $'s then I am all for it
Definitely more comfortable that way
@vyas ahh, I remember this article, I think :P Nice one! But yeah, sticking to what works these days.
I prefer manual compression. Why?
Some images (screenshots of command prompt, menus etc.) get smaller files when saved as a .png, with 256 colours, or even fewer (this forum screenshot could look perfectly fine with only 10, or 20 colours .png).
While other images result in much smaller files using .jpg.
I also often crop images before uploading them.
So while I'm already doing all that, it's just one more step to do the compression, test various rates with the image quality.
If I have a lot of images that hadn't been properly compressed, then it makes sense to use an automated tool and save time, even with slightly inferior results. For that, Litespeed does a good job, especially if you enable lossy compression and set it to 80 on "WordPress image quality control" option.
Going over that results in larger files, going below results in noticeably lower image quality.
Has anyone had any experience with "Hotel Booking System"-like WordPress plugins? I know there are many out there but no first hand experience yet. My landlord in Spain asked if I could build a website for their business (they rent shared flats to people). Since I am busy now, work will likely start in August/September but can't hurt testing the waters a bit, already
Was playing with Elementor Pro today, which is a really nice site builder if you have a flair for design unlike me. Still, a fair bit you can't control or adjust but still, best site builder I have seen thus far. Takes a while to really understand it though.
@Lee said:
Was playing with Elementor Pro today, which is a really nice site builder if you have a flair for design unlike me. Still, a fair bit you can't control or adjust but still, best site builder I have seen thus far. Takes a while to really understand it though.
Yeah, it is probably among the market leader but recently changed licensing and screwed over even existing clients (iirc) , so gonna stay away for now. Also, these days, I use either Divi or a good theme and a nice block builder
Not saying the builder itself is bad, though.
@Ympker said: recently changed licensing and screwed over even existing clients (iirc)
Noted that, I suspect they have established the amount using it in a commercial capacity has prompted the increase. Not going to hold that against them for being popular in that respect. But beyond 3 sites it is a bit expensive.
@Ympker said: recently changed licensing and screwed over even existing clients (iirc)
Noted that, I suspect they have established the amount using it in a commercial capacity has prompted the increase. Not going to hold that against them for being popular in that respect. But beyond 3 sites it is a bit expensive.
Probably that is the case. Still, leaves a sour taste. Regardless, with Divi they are probably the biggest page builder out there and they certainly offer lots of features. So, if it fits your need (esp only few websites) it might just be worth a try
It looks great but tried their demo and just seemed to be limited in terms of the way you could create specific layouts.
When I looked for solutions like moving the image in the post list module to the left of the meta/excerpt rather than the top, it was a case of changing the code, adding CSS and so on. That seemed too much hassle for a page builder to do something relatively simple.
Of course, maybe I was not doing it right but the solution came straight from the Divi creators in one of their support posts.
It looks great but tried their demo and just seemed to be limited in terms of the way you could create specific layouts.
When I looked for solutions like moving the image in the post list module to the left of the meta/excerpt rather than the top, it was a case of changing the code, adding CSS and so on. That seemed too much hassle for a page builder to do something relatively simple.
Of course, maybe I was not doing it right but the solution came straight from the Divi creators in one of their support posts.
I definitely agree Divi could have handled some things differently. It can be very annoying sometimes to get the design you want. Not necessarily, because you don't know the CSS code, but because there are just so many custom CSS fields that you first need to figure out where to put it and hope that there is not some default setting that overwrites it😂😅 This is one of the reasons why I use Microthemer sometimes to adapt the CSS, or YellowPencil (allows to drag basically ANYTHING exactly where you want it). Other than that, Divi offers lots of options and a lifetime license. With Divi I feel like they sometimes tried to add too much taking away ease of use. While they have lots of docmuentation the builder layout/design changes too fast for them to keep up all the guides in the Knowledgebase since they have so many features.
@Lee said: Takes a while to really understand it though.
I am getting old. Took me a while to get a gasp of that. Site builders feels confusing to me these days
Likewise, I feel they are drifting away from intuitivity trying to add all features and getting more complicated for the end user by the second. Also more bloated. Imho Gutenberg block builders and a theme like Blocksy/Generate Press are way more clean and intuitive at this point.
@Ympker said: Gutenberg block builders and a theme like Blocksy/Generate Press are way more clean and intuitive at this point.
I agree to a point, but there is only so much they can offer. For me, themes like Blocksy are great but lack the ability to tweak designs enough. In fact, on the Blocksy comments on their FB page, I can see a lot of people using Elementor on top of Blocksy. It was seeing that which made me look closer at Elementor.
@Lee said: Takes a while to really understand it though.
I am getting old. Took me a while to get a gasp of that. Site builders feels confusing to me these days
Likewise, I feel they are drifting away from intuitivity trying to add all features and getting more complicated for the end user by the second. Also more bloated. Imho Gutenberg block builders and a theme like Blocksy/Generate Press are way more clean and intuitive at this point.
@Ympker said: Gutenberg block builders and a theme like Blocksy/Generate Press are way more clean and intuitive at this point.
I agree to a point, but there is only so much they can offer. For me, themes like Blocksy are great but lack the ability to tweak designs enough. In fact, on the Blocksy comments on their FB page, I can see a lot of people using Elementor on top of Blocksy. It was seeing that which made me look closer at Elementor.
I hear you.
For designs you could have a look at MicroThemer/YellowPencil. Really cool tools Yeah, Elementor is probably the "best" page builder right now in terms of compatibility with other themes and features. Divi Builder offen bugs if not used with Divi theme.
LiveCanvas is also great because you can really (HTML/CSS) style it your way (since it is Bootstrap basically).
If nothing else I like that Elementor code is both clean and does not leave a trail. Try changing away from Divi and you have tag soup left in its wake, whilst with Elementor you turn it off and use another theme, no problem.
As always it's use what works best for you. If I got really used to Elementor I would be whining at getting to the point of paying $199 per year vs $89 for everything you get with Divi or $99 for Blocksy unlimited. But then I would also be whining at not having granular control without something like Elementor.
@Lee said:
If nothing else I like that Elementor code is both clean and does not leave a trail. Try changing away from Divi and you have tag soup left in its wake, whilst with Elementor you turn it off and use another theme, no problem.
As always it's use what works best for you. If I got really used to Elementor I would be whining at getting to the point of paying $199 per year vs $89 for everything you get with Divi or $99 for Blocksy unlimited. But then I would also be whining at not having granular control without something like Elementor.
Basically, I am always whining..
Nicely put. There are different use cases for all of these and I think it always comes down what works out best for you. Glad to hear Elementor works nice with Blocksy, though. Even the Elementor "free" edition should be able to do something already
Is there a decent plugin that just simply adds a lot more functionality to Gutenberg Blocks without it being a 'builder'? But still allows a reasonable amount of customization of those block.
Stackable seems quite decent and appears to be integrated into blocksy which is a plus.
@Lee said:
Is there a decent plugin that just simply adds a lot more functionality to Gutenberg Blocks without it being a 'builder'? But still allows a reasonable amount of customization of those block.
Stackable seems quite decent and appears to be integrated into blocksy which is a plus.
Gutenberg doesn't suck?
I just feel lost if classic editor isn't enabled.
Tried Gutenberg again just a few weeks ago, but never got past the first anti reaction ...
@flips said:
Gutenberg doesn't suck?
I just feel lost if classic editor isn't enabled.
Tried Gutenberg again just a few weeks ago, but never got past the first anti reaction ...
I hadn't liked the first versions.
But it has been improved. Now I prefer it to the classic editor. Makes a lot of things simpler.
As far as page builders go - I'm with Elementor. I had to pick one (not enough time to figure them all out).
Elementor has all the needed options, lots of tutorials, and even the free option can be made to do all kinds of stuff with a minimal amount of coding.
Brizy lifetime looks tempting, but I can't justify to myself paying for it - just to have it in case I start using it.
Regret if you buy, regret if you don't.
I do like Divi. Haven't tested Elementor for a long time. (Don't remember what the limits of the free version was.) Though Divi ain't perfect, I've found the front-end editing to be nice enough for some customers to edit their own pages. (I just have to clean up some mess, restore some global modules etc. every now and then.)
@flips said:
I do like Divi. Haven't tested Elementor for a long time. (Don't remember what the limits of the free version was.) Though Divi ain't perfect, I've found the front-end editing to be nice enough for some customers to edit their own pages. (I just have to clean up some mess, restore some global modules etc. every now and then.)
I also like Divi, however more and more of my customers are having trouble even editing the front-end/changing text with Divi.
One of the reasons being that they, for example want to edit the font size, however unlike in Word the font size option is not in the toolbar but in the design tab text settings.
Would be definitely easier for ppl if it was listed in this toolbar. Don't know why they did not do that.
Anyway, that is just one thing. Customers more frequently try to change "minor things" (like font size) and I am often surprised, how "hidden" for newcomers the respective features are. I don't notice it much myself because I know where to look or just do it intuitively but Divi gets less newcomer friendly/end-user friendly with every update it seems.
@Ympker said: One of the reasons being that they, for example want to edit the font size, however unlike in Word the font size option is not in the toolbar but in the design tab text settings.
Gotcha ...
My problem has been more that my clients do change the font size, colors etc in the Text tab in Divi, and not in the Design tab ... Trying to educate them to use global colors, default presets etc.
Also they copy and paste from LibreOffice Writer or something, and get lots of crappy code inserted.
@Ympker said: One of the reasons being that they, for example want to edit the font size, however unlike in Word the font size option is not in the toolbar but in the design tab text settings.
Gotcha ...
My problem has been more that my clients do change the font size, colors etc in the Text tab in Divi, and not in the Design tab ... Trying to educate them to use global colors, default presets etc.
Also they copy and paste from LibreOffice Writer or something, and get lots of crappy code inserted.
Yeah, it can really become a mess, quickly😅 Need to really teach them or use a KISS editor/builder.
@Ympker said: Yeah, it can really become a mess, quickly😅 Need to really teach them or use a KISS editor/builder.
Ever tried letting an end user edit using Live Canvas?
Too risky or complicated?
(I'm having trouble understanding what my end users find simple and complicated. Just had to explain basic math more than twice to the same person in a form setup.)
@Ympker said: Yeah, it can really become a mess, quickly😅 Need to really teach them or use a KISS editor/builder.
Ever tried letting an end user edit using Live Canvas?
Too risky or complicated?
(I'm having trouble understanding what my end users find simple and complicated. Just had to explain basic math more than twice to the same person in a form setup.)
I haven't setup an end user with LiveCanvas yet but (for me) it would seem to be very intuitive to edit texts/images there. But I totally get that it is not always easy to understand what is easy for customers and what is not.
But I have to say. Elementor is good, but I go back to Blocksy and I am just like, this is so much faster and easier to use. I just need to find something like stackable that extends Gutenberg but gives more granular control.
@Lee said:
But I have to say. Elementor is good, but I go back to Blocksy and I am just like, this is so much faster and easier to use. I just need to find something like stackable that extends Gutenberg but gives more granular control.
I think Blocksy wanted to add more starter sites and also own blocks in the future. Maybe that will add some more possibility. However, I agree something like Qubely/Stackable is just easier to use than a regular "page builder". Have you tried Qubely yet?
Thanks, will have a look, had heard of this one but not looked into it.
It has a free and a paid version so you can try the free version first You will also see the "Pro" Sites and Blocks iirc you just can't use them with the free version.
It also integrates well with Blocksy and is usually recommended in the Blocksy FB group when someone asks for a block builder to go along with Blocksy.
Edit: It is worth noting that at this moment in time, Qubely Development is kind of on-hold/slowing down because the developers (Themeum) have posted in the FB group that they are currently focusing on their Tutor-LMS plugin because that one generates about 70% of their revenue and recurring revenue at that (Qubely was/is sold as lifetime deal also). That being said the way it is right now it is still a pretty good tool and I hope they will pick up active development of new features soon again. They are still updating it to work with latest wp versions/doing maintenance iirc.
Be careful when visiting Stackable Builder website and double-check for any malware if you have visited Stackable Website recently.
Just read this on their fb group:
Comments
Can I move my websites to a UK based hosting server, even those with a majority of US-based visitors?
Do I have to keep paying for the USA-based hosting as well?
I did an experiment with my cycling website - turns out it's not a problem. At least when comparing those two locations.
In June there will be more data and the results will probably be more conclusive.
The testing method and the results:
Hosting server location impact on website speed
🔧 BikeGremlin guides & resources
If you were to use a good cdn like Bunny for big media files and a good shared hosting provider I doubt there'll be that much of a difference. Make sure your website is optimized, too. So, if you like UK Shared Hosting more, go for it.
Oh, wait. Was that more of a rhethorical question and you actually posted the answer in form of an article on your blog? :P Because the article already reads like the answer to your question.
Ympker's VPN LTD Comparison, Uptime.is, Ympker's GitHub.
Yes and no.
The jury is still out - waiting for more test results by the start of June this year.
So far - based on the currently available results (2 x 31 days of metrics) I see no measurable detriments of hosting my website in the UK.
While management is a bit faster when the server is closer to home.
Still have more than a year to decide where I'll move all the websites (or even if I'll still keep both the US and UK reseller accounts, that's about 200 $ more per three years, unless the prices go up again in the mean time).
🔧 BikeGremlin guides & resources
Ah, fair enough. Thanks for sharing regardless. Definitely helps to show that with CDNs and good optimization can go a long way and location does not matter as much anymore. Time to sign back up on GenHost(dot)in for 500GB reseller jk. Should still pick performant hosting
Ympker's VPN LTD Comparison, Uptime.is, Ympker's GitHub.
Send me another ticket, there's a waiting list, I can check if the plugin is available now
Done
Ympker's VPN LTD Comparison, Uptime.is, Ympker's GitHub.
So I tried out ShortPixel, threw them a $10 one-off recharge and ran a couple of WP Blogs through it. That is after LiteSpeed had already compressed them. The result was a further 20% saving overall with no visible loss of quality. Quite impressed overall with their plugin.
They are quite awesome
If you run out of credits and need them for inital setup of your websites, I do have some spare credits (renew monthly with the LTD). Let me know 
Ympker's VPN LTD Comparison, Uptime.is, Ympker's GitHub.
Better than manually done with tinypng etc?
I believe in good luck. Harder that I work ,luckier i get.
I never tried but at some point I stopped getting lost in comparison once I foind a solution that works well for me :P Can be quite time consuming as @Lee probably can tell (Blocksy performance testing). I'd say you won't do anything wrong using ShortPixel. The performance has been great imho and they are well established. If tinypng works good for you and you are happy with the results, I guess there is no need to change, either
Ympker's VPN LTD Comparison, Uptime.is, Ympker's GitHub.
You can use jpegoptim(png has a similar tool) in Linux / Mac to run a batch and compress multiple images. So technically no need to use any compression tool. Why use them then? Could be a mix of:
You can build your own list.
I ran jpegoptim on a couple of screenshots- testing Bodhi Linux. One image I compressed using jpegoptim.
Literally- Spot the difference
blog archives
I had written a few posts on the topic last year. Each solution has their advantages and limitations. For e.g. Tinypng is better in compression ratio than Shortpixel but their CDN is terribly expensive.
https://amarvyas.in/which-is-the-best-image-optimization-service/
https://amarvyas.in/image-compression-services/
Could be due for a refresh, but now, as nicely summed up by @ympker, sticking with what works.
Also did what @Lee mentioned. Pay the $ 10, get some Shortpixel credits (used to be one time 12,000 image compression credits earlier, not sure about the amount now). Later I got a 25,000 credits/ month plan. Took a second plan last year but refunded because I didn't need.
On related note- I think even Shortpixel has moved to BunnyCDN.
blog archives
I would say so, I personally don't want to be spending time optimizing images then uploading them. If there is a plugin that manages it well, even it means a few $'s then I am all for it
Definitely more comfortable that way
@vyas ahh, I remember this article, I think :P Nice one! But yeah, sticking to what works these days.
Ympker's VPN LTD Comparison, Uptime.is, Ympker's GitHub.
I prefer manual compression. Why?
Some images (screenshots of command prompt, menus etc.) get smaller files when saved as a .png, with 256 colours, or even fewer (this forum screenshot could look perfectly fine with only 10, or 20 colours .png).
While other images result in much smaller files using .jpg.
I also often crop images before uploading them.
So while I'm already doing all that, it's just one more step to do the compression, test various rates with the image quality.
If I have a lot of images that hadn't been properly compressed, then it makes sense to use an automated tool and save time, even with slightly inferior results. For that, Litespeed does a good job, especially if you enable lossy compression and set it to 80 on "WordPress image quality control" option.
Going over that results in larger files, going below results in noticeably lower image quality.
🔧 BikeGremlin guides & resources
Has anyone had any experience with "Hotel Booking System"-like WordPress plugins? I know there are many out there but no first hand experience yet. My landlord in Spain asked if I could build a website for their business (they rent shared flats to people). Since I am busy now, work will likely start in August/September but can't hurt testing the waters a bit, already
Ympker's VPN LTD Comparison, Uptime.is, Ympker's GitHub.
Was playing with Elementor Pro today, which is a really nice site builder if you have a flair for design unlike me. Still, a fair bit you can't control or adjust but still, best site builder I have seen thus far. Takes a while to really understand it though.
Yeah, it is probably among the market leader but recently changed licensing and screwed over even existing clients (iirc) , so gonna stay away for now. Also, these days, I use either Divi or a good theme and a nice block builder
Not saying the builder itself is bad, though.
Ympker's VPN LTD Comparison, Uptime.is, Ympker's GitHub.
Noted that, I suspect they have established the amount using it in a commercial capacity has prompted the increase. Not going to hold that against them for being popular in that respect. But beyond 3 sites it is a bit expensive.
Probably that is the case. Still, leaves a sour taste. Regardless, with Divi they are probably the biggest page builder out there and they certainly offer lots of features. So, if it fits your need (esp only few websites) it might just be worth a try
Ympker's VPN LTD Comparison, Uptime.is, Ympker's GitHub.
It looks great but tried their demo and just seemed to be limited in terms of the way you could create specific layouts.
When I looked for solutions like moving the image in the post list module to the left of the meta/excerpt rather than the top, it was a case of changing the code, adding CSS and so on. That seemed too much hassle for a page builder to do something relatively simple.
Of course, maybe I was not doing it right but the solution came straight from the Divi creators in one of their support posts.
I definitely agree Divi could have handled some things differently. It can be very annoying sometimes to get the design you want. Not necessarily, because you don't know the CSS code, but because there are just so many custom CSS fields that you first need to figure out where to put it and hope that there is not some default setting that overwrites it😂😅 This is one of the reasons why I use Microthemer sometimes to adapt the CSS, or YellowPencil (allows to drag basically ANYTHING exactly where you want it). Other than that, Divi offers lots of options and a lifetime license. With Divi I feel like they sometimes tried to add too much taking away ease of use. While they have lots of docmuentation the builder layout/design changes too fast for them to keep up all the guides in the Knowledgebase since they have so many features.
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I am getting old. Took me a while to get a gasp of that. Site builders feels confusing to me these days
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Get your buddy @jsg to help you
Likewise, I feel they are drifting away from intuitivity trying to add all features and getting more complicated for the end user by the second. Also more bloated. Imho Gutenberg block builders and a theme like Blocksy/Generate Press are way more clean and intuitive at this point.
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I agree to a point, but there is only so much they can offer. For me, themes like Blocksy are great but lack the ability to tweak designs enough. In fact, on the Blocksy comments on their FB page, I can see a lot of people using Elementor on top of Blocksy. It was seeing that which made me look closer at Elementor.
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I have enjoyed using Gutenberg,
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I hear you.
Yeah, Elementor is probably the "best" page builder right now in terms of compatibility with other themes and features. Divi Builder offen bugs if not used with Divi theme.
For designs you could have a look at MicroThemer/YellowPencil. Really cool tools
LiveCanvas is also great because you can really (HTML/CSS) style it your way (since it is Bootstrap basically).
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If nothing else I like that Elementor code is both clean and does not leave a trail. Try changing away from Divi and you have tag soup left in its wake, whilst with Elementor you turn it off and use another theme, no problem.
As always it's use what works best for you. If I got really used to Elementor I would be whining at getting to the point of paying $199 per year vs $89 for everything you get with Divi or $99 for Blocksy unlimited. But then I would also be whining at not having granular control without something like Elementor.
Basically, I am always whining..
Nicely put. There are different use cases for all of these and I think it always comes down what works out best for you. Glad to hear Elementor works nice with Blocksy, though. Even the Elementor "free" edition should be able to do something already
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I have elementor but I have begun to prefer Brizy.
Alternatively, Blocksy or Generatepress or a good theme by Anders Noren to suit your taste.
Also check out https://gutenberghub.com/templates/
blog archives
Is there a decent plugin that just simply adds a lot more functionality to Gutenberg Blocks without it being a 'builder'? But still allows a reasonable amount of customization of those block.
Stackable seems quite decent and appears to be integrated into blocksy which is a plus.
Stackable is/was on Appsumo lifetime deals
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Gutenberg doesn't suck?
I just feel lost if classic editor isn't enabled.
Tried Gutenberg again just a few weeks ago, but never got past the first anti reaction ...
I hadn't liked the first versions.
But it has been improved. Now I prefer it to the classic editor. Makes a lot of things simpler.
As far as page builders go - I'm with Elementor. I had to pick one (not enough time to figure them all out).
Elementor has all the needed options, lots of tutorials, and even the free option can be made to do all kinds of stuff with a minimal amount of coding.
Brizy lifetime looks tempting, but I can't justify to myself paying for it - just to have it in case I start using it.
Regret if you buy, regret if you don't.
🔧 BikeGremlin guides & resources
I do like Divi. Haven't tested Elementor for a long time. (Don't remember what the limits of the free version was.) Though Divi ain't perfect, I've found the front-end editing to be nice enough for some customers to edit their own pages. (I just have to clean up some mess, restore some global modules etc. every now and then.)
I also like Divi, however more and more of my customers are having trouble even editing the front-end/changing text with Divi.
One of the reasons being that they, for example want to edit the font size, however unlike in Word the font size option is not in the toolbar but in the design tab text settings.
Would be definitely easier for ppl if it was listed in this toolbar. Don't know why they did not do that.
Anyway, that is just one thing. Customers more frequently try to change "minor things" (like font size) and I am often surprised, how "hidden" for newcomers the respective features are. I don't notice it much myself because I know where to look or just do it intuitively but Divi gets less newcomer friendly/end-user friendly with every update it seems.
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Gotcha ...
My problem has been more that my clients do change the font size, colors etc in the Text tab in Divi, and not in the Design tab ... Trying to educate them to use global colors, default presets etc.
Also they copy and paste from LibreOffice Writer or something, and get lots of crappy code inserted.
Yeah, it can really become a mess, quickly😅 Need to really teach them or use a KISS editor/builder.
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Ever tried letting an end user edit using Live Canvas?
Too risky or complicated?
(I'm having trouble understanding what my end users find simple and complicated. Just had to explain basic math more than twice to the same person in a form setup.)
I haven't setup an end user with LiveCanvas yet but (for me) it would seem to be very intuitive to edit texts/images there. But I totally get that it is not always easy to understand what is easy for customers and what is not.
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But I have to say. Elementor is good, but I go back to Blocksy and I am just like, this is so much faster and easier to use. I just need to find something like stackable that extends Gutenberg but gives more granular control.
I think Blocksy wanted to add more starter sites and also own blocks in the future. Maybe that will add some more possibility. However, I agree something like Qubely/Stackable is just easier to use than a regular "page builder". Have you tried Qubely yet?
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Thanks, will have a look, had heard of this one but not looked into it.
It has a free and a paid version so you can try the free version first
You will also see the "Pro" Sites and Blocks iirc you just can't use them with the free version.
It also integrates well with Blocksy and is usually recommended in the Blocksy FB group when someone asks for a block builder to go along with Blocksy.
Edit: It is worth noting that at this moment in time, Qubely Development is kind of on-hold/slowing down because the developers (Themeum) have posted in the FB group that they are currently focusing on their Tutor-LMS plugin because that one generates about 70% of their revenue and recurring revenue at that (Qubely was/is sold as lifetime deal also). That being said the way it is right now it is still a pretty good tool and I hope they will pick up active development of new features soon again. They are still updating it to work with latest wp versions/doing maintenance iirc.
Latest Changelog:
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Be careful when visiting Stackable Builder website and double-check for any malware if you have visited Stackable Website recently.
Just read this on their fb group:
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Elementor 50 % discount "Sale"...
for those interested.
https://elementor.com/pages/bday2021
blog archives
Maybe something for @Lee since he currently is playing around with it iirc
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Nobody uses oxygen builder?