WordPress Gutenberg – Embedding Shopify Buy Button

With WordPress Gutenberg moving along. It is a good time to look at how you can embed a product or a collection from Shopify onto your WordPress using Gutenberg.

There are quite a few steps, but it is easier than it looks. Make sure you already have the buy button sales channel before you begin: https://help.shopify.com/manual/sell-online/buy-button/setup

  1. On Shopify create your buy button code by clicking on the Buy Button.
  2. Then select product or select collection.
  3. Once you selected, you can customized it and then click Generate Code.
  4. In the next pop-up click copy embed code to clipboard.

Either create or goto the post / page you are wanting to put this code. With Gutenberg you will need to select Gutenberg when creating a new post or page:

Add new Gutenberg

There are two ways to add a block in Gutenberg.

1) Click on the plus icon to pull up the menu for adding blocks.

Gutenberg Block Menu

Now search for Custom HTML and click on the block result.

Gutenberg Block Search Result

2)  You can also add a new block by hovering your mouse below or above a content block and you see a dark grey line.

Gutenberg grey line indicator

When you click it, this creates a new block below and you can click on HTML button. It is tricky.

Gutenberg Alternate Add Block

With either of those steps, this will add the block to your content.

Gutenberg HTML Code block

Now you paste your code into this new block.

Gutenberg HTML Block with code

You can preview the code by clicking on the preview tab.

Gutenberg HTML Block preview code

Now you can Save draft, Preview or Publish your changes 🙂 Since I used Gutenberg to create this post, I have a working version of a buy button below:

Thanks for following along in this tutorial, if you have need other neat tips let me know by contacting us 🙂

WordPress 5 and beyond

As 2017 comes to an end. I take time to think about what the next year will bring and one of the biggest changes to WordPress is coming.

Introducing a new way to WordPress

If you haven’t heard WordPress will be getting a new editor called Gutenberg. This new editor enables you to write and build neat page layouts on the fly. It also changes how themes and plugins will work in the new WordPress.

Up till now people have bought themes that have all these neat added plugins and page builders. At first this is cool, however it does create problems. Mainly support problems. It you don’t get licenses to those added plugins and such you don’t get updates. Sometimes when you decide to switch to a new theme you discover that other page builder created ugly shortcodes everywhere. Even with plugins some of them are still being used even if they are 2 years old and no longer supported.

WordPress 5 is slated to change it up. With Gutenberg, everything you need for a blog post is essentially a block that is added with a click of a button. Ad blocks, image alignments and more will become a little easier. Don’t worry for a short season WordPress will have the classic editor, but you should plan on that going away.

In fact you should honestly not click that UPDATE button so quickly. This is honestly the biggest change yet and probably will break something. I can’t express how big of a change it is, but honestly a Trump “HUGE” meme comes to mind. You will likely need to re-approach everything you use. That is because all of those old plugins have to find a new way to work with Gutenberg.

In the new WordPress you won’t be needing to go buy a new theme anymore since new themes will be more just styling your website. Plugins become mere Gutenberg blocks for the editor.

The new WordPress will be better for bloggers as a whole and that is where it is awesome!

I will continue to watch this change coming since it means my role will now change. Support will be a little easier since old outdated plugins and theme will be no more. However the new WordPress will be more DIY. I may very well see less support email or get less people wanting a website on my hosting plan.

But alas I have very diverse skills and will keep myself busy.

I have begun to explore other E-commerce solutions like Shopify since WooCommerce will be drastically changed as well. Also Shopify can embed with WordPress. If you curious about Shopify drop me an email.

I also work with other CMS like Drupal for more advanced websites.

I guess I want to stress that I will still be here for you when you need me. This new change sounds big and it is but eventually the dust settles.

Flywheel Hosting – Review

Flywheel

TLDR; Flywheel Hosting Rocks. Go Sign-up today.

I discovered Flywheel Hosting while searching for reliable managed WordPress hosts. I wanted to team up with a solid host in 2012. At first I was hesitant because I tried a few other managed WordPress hosts in the same arena with mixed results. After starting a live chat and asking my questions, I took the leap.

Trying it out

Since Flywheel offers a free 15 day trial which gave me plenty of time to test site speeds. Creating a new WordPress website was super easy. I absolutely love the random temporary domains, they can be quite fun. They also provide free site migration if you have a website ready to move over to their hosting.

You can even choose a Data Center near your region.

Flywheel provides great features out of the box:

  • Security
  • Nightly Backups
  • Stellar Speeds
  • Easy to use SFTP
  • Free SSL

One thing to note: if you need an email using your @domain.com. This will have to be run through an alternate service like – Google Apps, Zoho Mail or Rackspace Email.

More information here: https://getflywheel.com/wordpress-support/will-flywheel-host-my-email/

I also recommend reading what plugins are allowed. There is a general list available here: https://getflywheel.com/wordpress-support/what-plugins-are-not-allowed/.

Pricing

If in doubt start at the Tiny package, unless you already have tons of traffic then go with Personal. They don’t charge any overage IF for some reason you go over the monthly visits. When in doubt you can always contact them.

https://getflywheel.com/pricing/

Support

The hours of standard support they offer is available during certain times, they do have 24/7 emergency support. https://getflywheel.com/wordpress-support/#contactus

Need a new host?

I highly recommend Flywheel. Be sure to go and check our Flywheel today!

WordPress Hosting & Maintenance

Secure Host + WordPress Updates = 💕

Learn More

Blog Services And Software

There are many different ways that you can blog. You can blog with a hosted service, such as one listed here under Blog Services. You can also download Blog Software and host your own blog (this would require some technical knowledge on your part).

Blog Services

Blog Software

If you know of any other FREE blog services or software, please let us know!

Locking Down WordPress – Preventing Brute Force Attacks

Locking Down WordPress – Preventing Brute Force Attacks

*updated July 4, 2017

People hacking WordPress is not something new.

We have helped many clients protect and/or recover their hacked WordPress sites over the past couple years and we wanted to share some of our best tips with you.

What We Recommend

Basic Ways To Prevent An Attack

  1. Log in and remove any unfamiliar admin users.
  2. Change your WordPress username (no more admin).
  3. Change your WordPress password
    1. Strong Password Generator
    2. Cloudwards Password Generator
    3. Setup a Strong Password
  4. Set a new nickname (username and nickname should NOT be the same).
  5. Turn off user registration unless you are running a member site.
  6. Change your FTP password.
  7. Change your control panel password.
  8. Change your passwords on any emails associated with your blog/website and your domain.
  9. Keep your WP, themes, and plugins updated.
  10. Delete themes and plugins that you are not currently using.

If you have already been attacked (but don’t know it yet) the hacker may have inserted a backdoor to come back and use later. In this case, simply changing all your passwords will not prevent this. Read on.

Backing Up Your Blog, Beefing Up Security, and Improving Performance

PLEASE NOTE: Some blogs are recommending Limit Logins Attempt as a way to protect your blog/website from the latest attack, but you do need to do much more. The way this attack is being done, installing this plugin alone will not protect you alone.

Have a backup

Use CloudFlare to improve site performance and security.

Security plugins

Spam Protection

Malware Protection

Limit Logins Attempts

Cache Software

*** You will need a cache plugin to help balance the load for the important plugins you are installing.

Database Optimize

Check how safe your website is:

Google’s Safe Browsing Diagnostic – http://www.google.com/safebrowsing/diagnostic?site=YOURDOMAIN.COM/

Alernative methods would also be using a Managed WordPress Host, who handles the security of the website.

Even More Things You Can Do

  1. Disable logins from certain IP’s or blacklist every IP except your own (can cause problems if you are on a dynamic IP).
  2. Update the WordPress secret keys.
  3. Reinstall WordPress.
  4. Scan each computer that accesses your website admin area for spyware, malware, viruses, keyloggers, rootkits, and botnet software.

Asking For Help

  1. We have a Maintenance Plan ($25 a month) that includes REGULAR maintenance of your blog, security, back ups, and support if you have any issues at all. 
  2. If you have been hacked, we can help you try and recover your site. Contact Us

Resources And Further Reading

We have read several articles on this latest attack:

  1. Brute Force Attacks And Their Consequences
  2. Mass WordPress Brute Force Attacks
  3. Hackers Point Large Botnet at WordPress Sites
  4. Global WordPress Brute Force Flood
  5. WordPress Attack
  6. Protecting WordPress Login Page From Attacks
  7. Huge Attack On WordPress Sites Could Spawn Never Before Seen Super Botnet
  8. WordPress Global Attack
  9. Global WordPress Brute Force Attacks
  10. Major Brute Force Attack
  11. Brute force attacks on WordPress continue as CloudFlare fends off 60m requests in 1 hour
  12. Patching the Internet In Realtime: Fixing The Current WordPress Brute Force Attack
  13. Brute Force Attacks Build WordPress Botnet
  14. 8 Steps To Secure Your WordPress Blog
  15. Defeat The WordPress BotNet

And many other articles on similar topics:

  1. How To Handle A Hacked WordPress Install
  2. Clean Link Injections Hacked Websites
  3. How To Find A Backdoor In A Hacked WordPress Site And Fix It
  4. Help Prevent WordPress Site Breaking Hack
  5. Top WordPress Security And Spam Plugins
  6. Hardening WordPress
  7. How To Completely Clean Your Hacked WordPress Installation
  8. Removing Malware From A WordPress Blog

Protecting your computer

Windows Malware Removal and Prevention

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