Category: WordPress

What’s the best SEO plugin for WordPress? Like all complex questions the answer is: “it depends.” And as always, the best tool is the one you use. In this post I’ll let you know the WordPress SEO plugin I use. It’s RankMath. I pay for the Pro Version which is $59 per year. 

Does Your WordPress Website Need a SEO Plugin?

You need water, air, shelter, and food. Do you need a SEO plugin? No, you don’t need a SEO plugin for WordPress. WordPress has technical architecture (sitemaps, permalink structure, excerpt) that helps with SEO from the technical side. 

Will a SEO plugin replace old-fashioned intuition or a SEO consultant? No. A plugin never replaces a human. But Both Yoast and RankMath help guide you as you write, especially if you write in the WordPress editor. And you’ll want to make the best use of your meta descritpion/summary/snippet.

“For best results, we recommend communicating the page’s main takeaway and including a clear Call To Action (CTA).”

WPCity

If you want to ensure that Open Graph data is available for social sharing, you can use an Open Graph plugin and skip SEO plugins for your WordPress site all together. “Open Graph and Twitter Card Tags” looks like a good choice in the WordPress plugin directory. And, it’s free. So what do you have to lose?

(Don’t go crazy and install a plugin without backing up your site, though.)

What’s the Best SEO Plugin for WordPress?

In the exercise of defining the best, let’s look at the worst SEO plugin for WordPress. The worst SEO plugin is not having one. I mean, we’ve established the fact that you don’t need one, but why wouldn’t you have one? It’s a lot better for your website than a slider. (The best slider for your website is no slider. Yep. Ever. No. Don’t do it. Please. Okay. Read this.)

Decision fatigue is a real problem. Meanwhile, you keep writing and writing and writing and your content meanders and there are so many run-on sentences and wait that bird just hit my window I wonder if I should go walk by the river today? I mean. Stop. Just slow down.

This is what the SEO plugin does. 

RankMath — The WordPress SEO Plugin I Use

The WordPress form plugin I use is It’s RankMath. I pay for the Pro Version which is $59 per year. Why? I used Yoast originally and I liked it fine. I have even produced a tutorial on how to set it up for your social sharing. I’m not a huge fan of their constant notifications on the WordPress admin, but free is free. Right?

I was introduced to RankMath from Jason Tucker. While writing the show notes for The Smart Marketing Show, I get to see the tools that he uses on WPwatercooler.com. 

The downside of RankMath, however, is that it doesn’t auto update in the WordPress dashboard/admin. It’s not the end of the world but it should be noted.

Here’s what I like about RankMath.

• It has a clean interface.
• I like the numerical scoring.
• It has content suggestions in the post.
• It works with the new WordPress editor and Classic Editor Plugin.
• It reminds you to use the keyword in your slug (link), alt text, and headings.
• As you accomplish the tasks, your numbers go up. It’s super helpful.

Here’s what I don’t like about RankMath.

• It wants me to use a table of contents. I literally don’t know how to do that.
• It wants my title to have a number. So clickbait.

Which SEO Plugin Should You Use?

Honestly, it doesn’t matter which SEO plugin you use for your WordPress website. To keep your writing focused and clear, you should use a SEO plugin. Yoast and RankMath are both excellent choices and I’ve used them both.

What’s the best form plugin for WordPress? Like all complex questions the answer is: “it depends.” How about if I tell you what WordPress form I use and why instead?

What’s the Best Form Plugin for WordPress?

The best form plugin for WordPress is the one you use. Yes. I have a saying, “the best tool is the one you use.” 

People get so hung up over what the best thing is that they end up using no thing. No, that’s not a typo. I literally mean they use no thing. 

If you’re not going to use a form, then the question about what the best WordPress form plugin is moot. 

Also, it does depend. What are you going to use the form to do? Do you need a lot of advanced features? Most of the WordPress plugins have similar features. If you go by most popular, you’ll get results that show you the ones who have been around the longest; that doesn’t mean they’re the best.

Like most consumers, I made my buying decision because of loyalty. 

I always say affinity leads to loyalty. Loyalty leads to sales. 

Caldera Forms — The WordPress Form Plugin I Use

The WordPress form plugin I use is Caldera Forms. Why? Because Josh Pollock is my friend. Yes. It’s that simple. I first came across him from The WP Crowd in 2015.

"I like to think of post types as boxes [to put your content in]." @Josh412 on @TheWPCrowd http://t.co/rmSPKfCoRE

— Bridget Willard (@BridgetMWillard) October 14, 2015

I was super excited to meet Josh at WordCamp San Diego in 2016. He’s so amazing and humble. That’s rare. 

Yay! Selfie with my friend @Josh412 !#GuruSelfies #WCSD pic.twitter.com/hP5b6uQxOu

— Bridget Willard (@BridgetMWillard) April 23, 2016

Both Josh Pollock and James Laws were on The Smart Marketing Show back when it was called WPblab (and we had a theme song).

Seriously, though. This video has over 600 views for a reason. If you’re not familiar with marketing strategy behind forms, watch this video.

When I started creating landing pages in 2017, suddenly I needed a contact form that did more than send me an email. Back in 2016, when that video was made, I didn’t have a contact form.

“I have a job, I don’t need a contact form. They can find me on social media.” Bridget Willard

But then, I went all-in on my freelance business. So, all of a sudden, a contact form became important. 

As a fun aside, Caldera Forms is now part of the Saturday Drive family including Ninja Forms, who is one of my favorite clients.

Do You Need a Contact Form?

If you have a landing page, you need a contact form. If you have a mailing list, you need a contact form. If you have a sales page, you need a contact form. 

I have a different contact form for every single landing page that I have. Why? This is important so that you can control what goes where. 

For example, I have a contact form on my pricing page that has checkboxes for the services. The email that goes to the visitor is specific to that page. After form submission they’re directed to a specific thank you page. On that page, there’s a video about Twitter. 

One of my recent clients said that the specific landing page with the video sealed the deal for him. Every point of contact matters. 

I currently have three automated drip campaigns that Amy Hall has set up for me in Mailchimp. So, I purchased the Mailchimp add-on for Caldera. It’s only $29 for some reason. It could be $79 and I still would have purchased it. 

I have one email marketing drip for social media tips, one is for the new book about marketing plugins, and the other one is for the plugin I’m working on with Ron Huereca. 

What Contact Form Should You Use?

The contact form you should use is the one you want to use. The best WordPress contact form is the one that is easiest for you. With that said, I hear a lot of heartache with Contact Form 7. People love Gravity Forms, Ninja Forms, Caldera Forms (of course), and WPForms. 

Pick one. Make your landing pages, specific thank you pages, and drips. Get your marketing into gear. 

Are you wondering how to use , well, better? The best route is to hire a designer. They can build modules and templates for you to use!

Can I Build My Website Myself?

Yes. WordPress is for everyone. And, yes, anyone can build a website. Your biggest hurdle is having high-quality versions of your logos and photos as well as information about your business ready for print, as they say.

Pick a free theme, enter your information, and boom. You’re done. This is especially true for a basic site that has home, about, contact, and a blog.

Hey. I built my own and for the last construction company I worked on. It’s hard. Believe me. And don’t even get me started on the black hole of choosing a theme. If you’re doing it yourself, pick an easy theme. Heck. I wish I had started with from the beginning.

Why Hire A Designer?

You should hire a designer because you are not one. Seriously. They’re educated. They’re faster. They think of solutions better than you.

Please learn from my mistakes. I’ve done so many things the hard way because I didn’t know better. I’m not a designer. Neither are you.

I couldn't do my own landing pages without @beaverbuilder and saved modules that @FatDogCreatives built for me.https://t.co/6A7I8EKQm9 #WordPress #Marketing

— Bridget Willard (@BridgetMWillard) July 31, 2020

Hiring a designer to build you layouts and modules in Beaver Builder — if not your whole site — is the best way to go.

The second best way to go is to buy, along with Beaver Builder, Soul Sections which are ready to go! Like, seriously. Responsiveness (how your website looks on mobile devices) is baked in and Dave Bloom is awesome. (Also, my client, but still. He’s awesome.)

Here is my . I’ve been using it for over 3 years. My site is built on Beaver Builder Theme using Beaver Builder. It’s worth every single penny.

Thanks for the @BeaverBuilder plushie, @RobbyMcCullough #WCUS. pic.twitter.com/EktauOeWwK

— Bridget Willard (@BridgetMWillard) December 8, 2018

Easily Replicate a Landing Page Template

In this video, I show you how to easily replicate one of your landing pages so that you can build another (using my two books as examples) that is consistent with your site.

You don’t need the landing page to be in the main menu or navigation. It’s for internal linking, and search results.

If you’re curious about best practices for landing pages, I’d suggest watching the episode of The Smart Marketing Show with Jen Miller. There is also a Part II that goes into strategy.

Beaver Builder Video Tutorial

Here is the video tutorial on how to replicate your layout to make another landing page on your site.

Photo by niklas_hamann on Unsplash

With the recent announcement that my friend Joost de Valk has been appointed the Marketing & Communications Lead whose role includes leading the Marketing Team, this is an ideal time for me to retire from my role on the Make WordPress Marketing Team.

“Secondly, Joost de Valk ( @joostdevalk ) will take on the role of Marketing & Communications Lead. You might know him as a long time core contributor and plugin author. His role will be to lead the marketing team and oversee improving WordPress.org, related websites, and all its outlets.” Matt Mullenweg

Leadership in the WordPress Project is meant to ebb and flow. My good friend and mentor Andrea Middleton gave a great talk at WordCamp Cincinnati describing it as a bazaar where people come in and out. You should watch it.

As a single woman who is self-employed, this is a good opportunity for me to spend my billable time on something, well, billable, and doing much-needed client work.

Leadership is Behavior Not a Title

I am ridiculously proud of the work that I’ve done over the last two years building a marketing team that was previously lacking momentum and motivation. I built a team of eight Team Reps. We have published over 50 pieces of content including the About Page for 4.8, a Case Study for Rolling Stone, and the Trac Quickstart Guide. We now have 202 people on our Trello Board. That’s up from maybe a dozen people at Contributor Day WCUS 2016. By the time I was leading at WordCamp Europe in 2017, we had 30 people.

It’s the job of the leader to see who is participating and what their passions and skill sets are. I’m proud of the Team Reps I’ve recruited and the company culture we have created in Slack — someone is always being warmly welcomed as soon as they join the team.

I picked up Dwayne in Atlanta, who along with Yvette who I got in Paris, have set up and managed our Trello board and tasking system. Dwayne has been my right-hand man, scrum master, and collector of tears. Yes, there were tears. It was a tough job leading a Marketing Team with no front-facing publishing ability besides the Marketing Blog and WordPress.TV. Together, we formulated a vision that would be successful and be a good use of the highly-qualified marketers that were donating their (very expensive) billable time to this beautiful project.

Jen has been my SEO editor and champion for the team, always welcoming everyone and helping at Contributor Days. Maedah has been a great rep, always helping with notes and eventually being the one who publishes them. She and Yvette do that now.

Mike has taken on the initiative of high-level projects like Five for the Future and interfacing with the Growth Council and their projects. Harry has been a great project manager, setting the week’s agenda, and has taken over leading the case studies that David Skarjune began before he retired. Siobhan joined us after Nijmegen and has been trained by Dwayne to lead the weekly meetings in addition to taking on an editorial role.

All of them have helped us build a handbook and partner with the design team to create a brand and style guide to help guide how the team functions.

I am confident that we have a working and well-oiled machine. There is good infrastructure and leadership for this transition with Joost. Since Joost has been a major part of the Meta Team, the Marketing Team is now in a position to help contribute to front-facing projects on dot org.

Would I do it again? Yes.

Whether or not Team Rep or Team Lead is the appropriate title, I’m proud of my behavior and if asked to do it again, knowing what I know now, I would absolutely do it again. I am proud of the high-level strategies, work recruiting, and relationships that I’ve built in order to make this project be as successful as it is, given the handicaps it had, in a short period of time.

Retiring from the Team Rep role does not mean I’m leaving the community or the project. I believe in the WordPress Project. I believe in the WordPress community. I believe in the people that I have met in this project. At my core I believe in the mission of WordPress to “democratize publishing“ and “give a voice to the voiceless.“