Hosting & Maintenance - Tower Marketing

Interested in learning more about the different types of hosting methods because you are ready to launch a new site, or make upgrades to your existing one? Maybe your site is, more often than you would like, creating problems for your organization, and you don’t quite understand how to fix them.

This blog will take a high-level overview of the key differences between shared vs. dedicated vs. cloud hosting. We will dive into the pros and cons of dedicated hosting, shared hosting, and cloud hosting.

Before we get into all that you may ask yourself, what is shared hosting? Or cloud hosting? Or dedicated hosting? And why may one be better for my organization? Don’t worry, we will cover that too.

Factors to Consider

Before you decipher through the different hosting options, ask yourself the following questions:

How many visitors come to my site monthly? The amount of traffic coming to your site helps determine the number of resources you need to run a successful site. If you have a smaller amount of traffic, shared hosting probably has enough resources.

What is your budget? With each hosting service, there will be differing costs based on whether you have a single server just for you or share a server with other organizations. There is also an option to pay an additional fee for managed hosting, which is like AAA Car insurance but for your website.

What are your website needs? Consider what your website’s purposes are. Users could be coming to your site to read blogs, get information, make payments, purchase a product or service, or fill out a form and request more information about your company.

What is Shared Hosting?

The main difference between shared vs dedicated hosting is the allocation of resources. In shared hosting, you “share” resources of one server with multiple companies. You’ll often see this referred to as “multi-tenant hosting”. This type of hosting benefits small businesses with low traffic, blogs, and personal websites.

Think of shared hosting as living in an apartment building. The building itself is shared by multiple people, and you may hear your neighbors through the walls or experience power outages all at once, but you are in your own space.

Advantages

Since you are sharing your resources, this type of hosting is the most economical. Also, since you do not own the server, there’s usually a web hosting company that can help you when there are issues with your website. This will depend on whether you decide to pursue managed vs unmanaged hosting, which is explained later in this blog.

Another benefit of shared hosting is simplicity. You’re not expected to manage the server yourself and many tools are often available to get your site up and running quickly. You’ll not require a dedicated person to operate and maintain the web server.

For smaller businesses that feel they don’t need a ton of resources to run a successful website, shared hosting may be your best option. This allows you to save some money and still get enough assets required for your site.

Disadvantages

While shared hosting does provide an economical solution, it isn’t without some drawbacks. Because shared hosting relies on a shared pool of resources, one site could affect other sites on the server. This could range from slow performance to being impacted by server crashes due to resource exhaustion.

If you become a repeat offender, you may end up in violation of a Terms of Service clause and may be evicted from the platform.

The simplicity of shared hosting may not be best for those who need something more complex. For example, if your website requires special software to be installed, your hosting provider may not be able to comply.

A special software could include an older version of PHP that is necessary for your site to run. In this case, because older versions of PHP may no longer be supported, your hosting provider may refuse your request, and you’d be unable to run the code that would need that version of PHP.

Just like living in an apartment building, sometimes a problem arises that affects the whole building. For example, a pipe bursts and floods a floor. The same applies to shared hosting. Sometimes your website may be impacted by an issue from another website on the same server.

A close up of a dedicated hosting server

What is Dedicated Hosting?

This type of hosting dedicates a server to a single business customer, meaning you have the most control of your physical hosting resources. Since all the resources are allocated to your server, and you have full control, dedicated hosting is the most expensive option.

If your website brings in high levels of traffic (300,000 or more page views monthly), and you’ll need all the resources, you may consider spending the extra money to provide dedicated hosting to your company.

Also, if you’re looking to build an e-commerce site where users need to make payments, dedicated hosting is the most secure option. Since credit card and personal information will be inputted into these types of sites, a more secure hosting option would be best.

Advantages

When comparing dedicated vs shared hosting, dedicated hosting allows you to have the most resources as well as the most control. You will not compete with other websites on your server for resources, since the server is strictly for you.

As your resources are only yours, so are your issues. With other hosting options, you have the potential to be affected by other websites’ problems. Dedicated hosting keeps everything isolated, so this not only makes your website more secure, but it keeps your website performing smoothly.

Disadvantages

Although having all the resources for yourself can be a dedicated hosting benefit, it may be the most expensive option. Additionally, dedicated hosting requires very skilled and technical management. Maintaining a server is an art unto itself and ensuring reliable and stable operation requires specialized knowledge and training.

VPS Hosting

VPS (Virtual Private Server) hosting is a hybrid solution between shared hosting and dedicated hosting. It has a similar foundation to shared hosting, but the resources are specifically allocated to you. Because of this, VPS hosting is arguably the most popular type of hosting.

Advantages

This type of hosting runs on its own operating system and offers flexibility and a high level of performance. Having a VPS will give you full control of your allocated resources and what you want to do on the server. For many, a VPS may be the solution for cost and benefit.

Disadvantages

Since VPS is a blend of the best of both worlds, it may have those same drawbacks, but to a lesser degree. For example, a VPS may require technical expertise, as you may need to manage the server instance yourself, but you won’t have to worry as much about hardware issues.

Similar to shared hosting, you still have issues with rowdy neighbors, as hosting providers will frequently have many VPS instances sharing a server. This is comparable to living in a city, you have your own space, but you’ll still be able to hear what your neighbors are doing from time to time.

What is Cloud Hosting?

A completely virtual hosting service, cloud hosting uses distributed computing resources. You’ll often see this referred to as PaaS (Platform-as-a-service), SaaS (Software-as-a-Service), or IaaS (Infrastructure-as-a-service). With the ability to move between regions relatively easily and quickly, cloud hosting is an effective solution for servers that need to be elastic and resilient.

Advantages

Cloud hosting allows you to pick and choose services you need without having to deal with resources that aren’t relevant to your needs. Your cloud vendor may also provide the means of easily scaling your resource needs on demand.

A good scenario would be planning for a surge in traffic and employing load-balancers to manage traffic load, spinning up additional servers to cover the surge, and then decommissioning those resources when the surge has subsided. Many times, a hosting company will partner with a Cloud Hosting provider to provide a solution for end-users.

Disadvantages

While cloud hosting has a lot of technological benefits, it can also be very complex and very costly. Many cloud services operate on an “à la carte” style price model, where your bill is based on the number of resources you use.

This structure may be affordable for low-resource sites, but you need to be aware of your usage so you don’t end up with a massive bill at the end of your term. It’s not uncommon to hear of a story where a company ran up a several thousand dollar invoice on Amazon Web Service because of some technical issue.

In the same vein as the high-tech aspect of cloud hosting, setting up a site on a cloud hosting platform can be complex and may require more professional knowledge. In some cases, cloud hosting providers take a hands-off approach to your server and will only cover support for the infrastructure surrounding it, leaving you to fend for yourself if an issue occurs.

Unmanaged vs. Managed Hosting

Now that we’ve determined the differences between shared vs. dedicated vs. cloud hosting, you have to decide whether your company will benefit from unmanaged or managed hosting. When comparing unmanaged vs managed hosting, consider the ability and goals of your organization.

Managed hosting means paying extra but gaining support services. So, when your site goes down, or you run out of resources, you won’t have to worry about how to fix it. You’ll simply call your web development team to help you out. With unmanaged hosting, you’ll be tasked with performing these issues yourself with minimal support from your vendor.

Managed hosting allows you to focus on your organizational goals and achievements rather than the technical management of your website. Here are some services that could be included in your managed hosting.

Automated Backups
Performance Monitoring
Malware Scanning and Removal
Hardware and Software Maintenance

Partnering with a Web Hosting Service

Once you compare shared vs cloud vs dedicated hosting and decide what’s best for you, your next step will be partnering with a web hosting service. Investing in a group of web developers and a marketing agency can help you focus on your organization’s success, with the assurance your site is taken care of.

At Tower Marketing, you have the opportunity to work with a full-service, innovative marketing agency with real people on the other side of the phone. Our development team works with WPEngine as a hosting solution provider for the majority of our WordPress clients.

Our developers also have the flexibility to utilize AWS (Amazon Web Services) for clients that require cloud computing solutions and use Linode and Digital Ocean for clients that need non-WordPress solutions.

Allow your organization to focus on what matters – your growth, your goals, and your future. Contact us today to learn more about our managed hosting and maintenance services.

If you haven’t read Part 1 of this blog, we recommend you do so first before continuing. We will reference and build on topics like DMARC, SMTP and DNS servers, and adding records.

In Part 1 of this blog, we provided a high-level overview of how to set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC for BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification) email authentication. Now that you have a solid understanding of these email authentication basics, you’re ready to take a deep dive into the necessary steps for you (or a trusted developer) to set up a BIMI record on your own domain!

What are the steps for implementing BIMI email authentication?

There are two main components of setting up BIMI on your domain.

1. Your email must be authenticated using a DMARC record.
2. You must publish a BIMI record alongside your other DNS records.

Although these requirements are fairly simple and straightforward, the work that goes into them has the potential to be complex and time-consuming. Let’s walk through how to set up BIMI step by step.

Step 1) Authenticating your email using DMARC

To comply with BIMI, your DMARC TXT record must be set to “reject” or “quarantine”. In addition, the “pct” (percent) element must be set to nothing less than 100. If you omit it entirely, it will be 100% by default.

Here are some BIMI compliant DMARC record examples:

"v=DMARC1; p=reject; pct=100; rua=mailto:leads@towermarketing.net"
"v=DMARC1; p=quarantine; rua=mailto:leads@towermarketing.net"

Setting up your logo

In order to display correctly in the inbox, your logo will need to be in SVG format. This is a web-friendly vector format using code to create the image, meaning it can scale to any size. Specifically, your logo will need to be converted to the SVG Tiny Portable/Secure (SVG P/S) format.

If your logo already exists in another vector file type like .ai, .eps, or .pdf, you should be able to export it as a standard .svg file. Unfortunately, there is no easy way to export an image as the SVG P/S file type directly from Adobe Illustrator or other vector design programs. You can download a standalone SVG to SVG P/S converter tool for Windows or Mac on the BIMI website, or you can download a script designed to export this file type and add it to your Illustrator program.

If a vector version of your logo does not exist, it will need to be recreated by a graphic designer familiar with the programs used to generate these formats. Now may also be a good time to reevaluate the effectiveness of your current logo and consider an update before further steps are taken.

Uploading your logo

Once your logo is correctly formatted as a SVG P/S, you will need to upload the file to a public, web-accessible directory (more than likely, the same place you host your other website files) so you can generate a URL and link to it in the BIMI record.

Step 2) Purchasing a VMC (Verified Mark Certificate)

A Verified Mark Certificate provides proof of ownership for your logo. Although it is not strictly required for creating a BIMI record, some email recipient servers will require it to display your logo in the inbox, so it is strongly suggested that you purchase one.

The very first step in the process is ensuring that you own your logo in the form of a registered trademark. If you haven’t done so already, it’s recommended that you begin the process immediately as it can take some time to complete.

After you’ve registered the trademark for your logo, you can begin the VMC process. There are numerous organizations that sell VMCs, but the two recommended by the Authindicators Working Group are DigiCert and Entrust.

A VMC offered by these Mark Verifying Authorities (MVAs) can cost between $1000-$1500, and lasts for one year (the renewal price is the same as the initial purchase price). They will also ask you/your organization for documentation proving that you own the trademark of your logo.

It’s important to note that the acceptance of your VMC can vary by mail service provider. There is a chance a mail service provider may only accept certificates from a specific MVA, or it may not accept them at all. . This decision is entirely up to the recipient’s mail service provider, but having a VMC can only help the likelihood of your logo displaying for your customer.

Uploading your VMC

After you’ve purchased your VMC and proven you legally own your logo, you’ll receive a Privacy Enhanced Mail (PEM) certificate file. Just like your logo’s .svg file, you will need to upload this .pem file to your web server and add its resulting URL to the BIMI record.

Step 3) Setting UP BIMI Record

Your BIMI specifications are added to your DNS server as a TXT record, just like DMARC. Here is a BIMI record example:

v=BIMI1;l=https://images.yourdomain.com/brand/your-bimi-logo-file-name.svg;a=https://images.yourdomain.com/brand/your-certificate-file-name.pem

This example is comprised of three parts:

v=BIMI1 – this indicates that it is a BIMI record.

l=https://images.yourdomain.com/brand/your-bimi-logo-file-name.svg – this is a link to your logo’s image.

a=https://images.yourdomain.com/brand/your-certificate-file-name.pem – this is a link to a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC). This element is optional, but highly recommended, as some email recipient servers will require it.

Step 4) Testing your BIMI compliance

Once you’ve added your BIMI record to your DNS, including a link to your SVG logo and (optional) VMC, you can test for compliance using this tool on the official BIMI website. It will check to see if the necessary email authentication protocols are in place, as well as look for the BIMI record and a SVG logo image.

If your BIMI record is working correctly, you’ll be able to see an inbox preview and even check what your logo will look like if the recipient’s phone is in dark mode.

If you make any changes to your BIMI record, it may take some time to correctly reflect. You can reduce this delay by lowering the TTL (time-to-live) value for the DNS record to its lowest possible value (this value varies based on your DNS Provider). TTL is measured in seconds, so we recommend setting an initial value to be 300, which would be a 5-minute wait.

Still struggling with how to setup BIMI? Our web developers are available to meet all your hosting and maintenance needs.

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If you’re familiar with the world of email marketing, you’ve probably heard about the Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI) specification and are excited to try it out for yourself. Having your company’s logo on display next to each email you send? Pretty sweet!

As you begin to research how to set up BIMI email authentication, however, you may find yourself overwhelmed by the technical requirements. Most documentation around email security is written for web developers already familiar with the subject, not your typical marketing professional or business owner.

Yes, you will probably still need help from an IT Specialist to implement SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and BIMI, but you don’t need one to understand what those terms are and why they’re important. This blog will explain all the basics of authenticated email, so you can be one step closer to setting up your own BIMI email marketing.

What is Email Authentication?

Email authentication is the process and practice of confirming an email actually came from the person or business it alleges to be from. Setting up email authentication is important for keeping your sender rating and deliverability rates high .

It’s the responsibility of the brand’s domain to make sure they aren’t being impersonated by malicious actors. How do you accomplish this? By putting in place a series of rules and parameters that must be met for an email that claims to be sent on the domain’s behalf to actually be delivered to the recipient’s inbox.

Specifically, you will need to add TXT records to your DNS server(s) and SMTP server(s) to set up your SPF, DKIM, and DMARC specifications. (We’ll break all that jargon down for you next.)

What Is a TXT Record?

TXT records (short for text records) are strings of characters (letters, numbers, and symbols) meant for human-readable purposes. They are also used now by applications to read data (for example, domain ownership verification checks).

What Is a DNS Server?

A Domain Name System server tells your browser and others servers where resources (such as a website) are located. Typically, you can access your DNS configuration by logging in as an administrator on GoDaddy, Bluehost, or wherever you purchased your domain. Or, you may have an external vendor manage your DNS such as AWS or CloudFlare. You (or a trusted developer) can add TXT records here.

What Is a SMTP Server?

A Simple Mail Transfer Protocol server is used to distribute outgoing and incoming email (you can think of them like a mailman). In most cases, this server will belong to a 3rd-party email service provider you’ve set up an account with, like MailChimp, ConstantContact, or ActiveCampaign.

What is SPF?

SPF (Sender Policy Framework) is an email authentication open standard based on a list of allowed IP addresses or hostnames your emails can be sent from. You can think of SPF like a bouncer outside of an exclusive club; if the sender’s IP address isn’t on the list, the email won’t pass the authentication check.

For example, here is the SPF TXT record for towermarketing.net:

"v=spf1 include:relay.mailchannels.net include:_spf.google.com ip4:192.241.241.153 ip4:192.241.244.84 ip4:198.199.78.17"

What is DKIM?

DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) is an authentication method that uses encryption to ensure your message content hasn’t been tampered with.

To set up DKIM, you must first create a pair of keys: one public and one private. There are several third-party tools you can use to generate these keys, or you may be able to create them through your email service provider.

The public key is added as a TXT record to your DNS server. Here is an example of a public key:

v=DKIM1;t=s;p=MIIBIjANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQEFAAOCAQ8AMIIBCgKCAQEA7PMp1AWOJW5PnLA7Z5iW55kDbGImt3R7iZ4mykO4dhxLgm7ePK7vBurVCyY1thnAH3ZuBRgwRNjq/2awWHDGkQqvmrKoHWl8PE72aayHh0QorOZJEWG3b9rRruglIVKKKQ7y59Q0fEbFKIjSUFJFOr/tmEjWN5aMsQkULbazzJDRhGdatymabJGfBUX9nI4PDVoIwEkqt/7iDsLaSyur769RxFeHW/39tDSmt6Mpg20m3VmKWjVXdXyLQKn+vEtZYT2zlgfpkV8NIQJGBrzo6FPk14e7xbG5E5RbblLo7fPwOvzJSht90UJV0vrAoDPdwekj2OMuQfSbZIZDfzkY2wIDAQAB

The private key, stored on your SMTP server or with your email service provider, is used to generate a signature before the email is sent. This signature is comprised of several parts, but the header and body content are converted into unique strings of letters and numbers called “hashes .” These hashes are then used in the encryption, decryption, and validation processes to prove the content is legitimate and has not been modified by someone else before it arrives in your inbox.

What is DMARC?

Your DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) policy is a TXT record added to your DNS server. It is used by a sender to indicate their messages adheres to SPF and DKIM, and provides instruction to the recipient with what to do with an email that isn’t authenticated by SPF and DKIM. It can be set to one of the following:

None: Do nothing and allow the email into the inbox even though it failed authentication. For obvious reasons, this is not a recommended approach.
Quarantine: Send the email to the spam folder.
Reject: Do not deliver the message at all.

In addition to checking the pass or fail results of SPF and DKIM, DMARC adds an extra layer of security by ensuring that the email’s sender domain (in our case, towermarketing.net) is the same as the email address listed in the DMARC record.

Here is an example of a DMARC record:

"v=DMARC1; p=quarantine; rua=mailto:leads@towermarketing.net"

If you’re like me, it helps to have a visual aid when trying to understand a complex topic like authentication. Learndmarc.com provides step-by-step explanations and examples of SPF, DKIM and DMARC in action.

What is BIMI?

Brand Indicators for Message Identification (pronounced bih-mee) is an industry specification for message identification that builds on your DMARC policy. If your email passes SPF, DKIM, and DMARC authentication, you can then set up BIMI to display your pre-approved logo in inboxes that support this functionality.

BIMI is the brainchild of The AuthIndicators Working Group, a collection of companies including Fastmail, Google, Mailchimp, Proofpoint, Twilio SendGrid, Validity, Valimail, and Verizon Media (the owners of Yahoo). Their joint goal is to improve inbox security and reduce fraudulent messaging by making authentic emails instantly recognizable.

BIMI is a way of rewarding people for putting in the hard work of securing their emails by allowing them to put their brand’s logo on display. This also builds brand recognition and trust with your email recipients.

In part two of this blog, I’ll explain all the specifics of setting up BIMI for yourself.

Before you jump into the world of SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and BIMI, it’s important to understand the basics of email marketing. Creating a strategic plan, a healthy customer list, and relevant messaging are all keys to success–and if you need some help, Tower has you covered.

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With 50,000+ free and paid WordPress plugins available, it can be time-consuming and overwhelming to choose the best ones for your website. There’s a plugin for every need or problem, but this wealth of options can complicate your decision-making, especially if you don’t have web development experience.

If you’re asking yourself, “what are the best plugins for WordPress?” or “what WordPress plugins do I need?”, you’ve come to the right place. In this blog, we’ll review ten of the best WordPress plugins in alphabetical order, including their main features, cost(s), and pros and cons.

You can also use the index to the left (or above if you’re on mobile) to jump to any of the most popular WordPress plugins based on the capabilities you’re looking for.

1. Advanced Custom Fields

This WordPress tool allows you to easily add extra content fields (known as Custom Fields) to your WordPress edit screens without writing any code. This means you can build your website more quickly, regardless of your theme template or web development skills. You can use Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) on any of the following WordPress edit screens:

Attachments
Categories
Comments
Custom Posts
Custom Taxonomies
Menus
Options
Pages
Posts
Taxonomies
Users
Widgets

Advanced Custom Fields comes standard with 30+ field types, and there are also hundreds of user-created fields available. These field types include basic, choice, content, jQuery, layout, and relational, among others. The plugin also provides PHP functions that developers can use to display stored field information in their front-end templates.

What It Costs

Advanced Custom Fields is a free plugin. However, there is also a paid version (ACF PRO) that includes five premium features: repeater field, gallery field, flexible content field, clone field, and options pages. You can find ACF PRO pricing below:

ACF PRO Personal (1 website): $49/year
ACF PRO Freelancer (10 websites): $149/year
ACF PRO Agency (unlimited websites): $249/year

Pros & Cons

Advanced Custom Fields make it easy to create and manage custom fields for WordPress, making it one of the best WordPress plugins for blogs. However, it may require some web development knowledge to implement your custom fields into WordPress themes and plugins.

2. Bulk Page Creator

Bulk Page Creator allows you to generate multiple pages in bulk batches, which can save you time when you create your WordPress site. Once you’ve added all of your pages, you can create them with a click of a button. This plugin also offers backwards capability, which means the full length of the short description will be used and the markdown parsed if a section is missing.

What It Costs

Bulk Page Creator is a free, open-source plugin that you can download from the WordPress plugin library.

Pros & Cons

If you already know the structure of your new website, Bulk Page Creator is a great way to quickly generate all of your pages. However, you can only bulk create pages – not posts or custom post types. That means it’s more useful for setting up new sites with existing content than building out established ones.

3. Gravity Forms

This plugin allows you to quickly create and build WordPress forms using an intuitive visual editor tool. You can easily select fields, configure options, and embed forms on your website to create a superior, streamlined user experience.

Gravity Forms comes standard with 30+ ready-to-use form fields, allowing you to create customized forms that facilitate your marketing goals. Plus, built-in conditional logic means you can configure your form to show or hide fields, sections, pages, and the “submit” button based on your needs.

Additional Gravity Forms features include:

Advanced calculations
Email autoresponders
Entry limitations
Form scheduling
File upload fields
reCAPTCHA, Really Simple CAPTCHA, and Akismet
Responsive design
Save partially-completed forms
WordPress Post creation

Depending on the license you choose, Gravity Forms includes a variety of add-ons and integrations. These include ActiveCampaign, Constant Contact, HubSpot, Mailchimp, PayPal, Square, Zapier, and many more.

What It Costs

Gravity Forms is a paid plugin with three license tiers: Basic, Pro, and Elite. You can find pricing below:

Basic License (1 website): $59/year
Pro License (3 websites): $159/year
Elite License (unlimited websites): $259/year

Pros & Cons

As one of the best WordPress form plugins, Gravity Forms offers easy form creation and is highly customizable to meet any need. However, it’s a paid plugin, and the Pro and Elite licenses offer many more useful features than the Basic one.

4. Intuitive Custom Post Order

Intuitive Custom Post Order allows you to arrange Custom Post Types, Custom Taxonomies, Pages, Posts, and Sites using drag-and-drop, sortable JavaScript. You can use the parameters included in your WordPress theme and override auto-converted parameters for additional customization.

What It Costs

Intuitive Custom Post Order is a free, open-source plugin that you can download from the WordPress plugin library.

Pros & Cons

One of the best free WordPress plugins, this tool is great for rearranging the order of your Pages and Posts, even if they’re customized. It also allows for custom sorting and is useful if you need to order items anachronistically. However, it’s important to realize that your designated order will remain the same even if you remove the plugin. And depending on your page build, Intuitive Custom Post Order may not be helpful since posts are naturally ordered by descending date.

5. Query Monitor

This essential WordPress plugin is geared towards web developers and allows you to inspect and debug many aspects of your website. These include database queries, PHP errors, theme template files, rewrite rules, and more. Query Monitor presents information in a logical, organized manner, allowing you to efficiently determine which plugins, themes, and functions are underperforming.

What It Costs

Query Monitor is a free, open-source plugin that you can download from the WordPress plugin library. It’s also included in some of the most popular WordPress platforms, including Altis and WordPress.com VIP.

Pros & Cons

This plugin is great for checking theme template file errors and inspecting and debugging your website. However, if you don’t have a web development background, you may need to consult a developer to fully utilize its capabilities.

6. Regenerate Thumbnails

Regenerate Thumbnails allows you to recreate all thumbnail sizes for any images you’ve uploaded to your WordPress Media Library. You can also delete old thumbnails to free up space on your server, making it one of the best WordPress gallery plugins. This plugin is particularly useful if you want to:

Update the thumbnail size of past uploads
Change the dimensions of existing thumbnails
Update thumbnail sizes to match a new WordPress theme

What It Costs

Regenerate Thumbnails is a free, open-source plugin that you can download from the WordPress plugin library.

Pros & Cons

This plugin is ideal for resizing images if you’ve changed the dimensions of the three default WordPress image sizes (thumbnail, medium, and large) in your Media Library settings. It’s also useful if you’ve created a custom image size after already uploading images. Plus, it can fix issues with image sizes, especially if new ones have been uploaded. However, it doesn’t work with WebP image formats or upscale images to fit sizes larger than the original.

7. Safe SVG

This plugin for your WordPress website allows you to safely upload scalable vector graphic (SVG) files to your Media Library. Safe SVG includes features like SVGO optimization, Gutenberg block compatibility, previous file upload scans, and restricted upload capabilities.

Scalable vector graphics are used to render two-dimensional images and are optimized for search engines, programmable, and capable of dynamic interactions. However, they’re also inherently insecure because they open your server up to XML-based attacks.

What It Costs

Safe SVG is a free, open-source plugin that you can download from the WordPress plugin library. There’s also a paid version (called WP SVG), but it’s currently unavailable from the third-party developer.

Pros & Cons

Another one of the best WordPress plugins, Safe SVG provides a secure, convenient way to upload SVGs to your Media Library and embed them via code. However, it hasn’t been tested in WordPress 5.5 yet, so it may be unsafe in newer versions until it’s updated by the developer. It’s also somewhat hampered by how WordPress incorporates SVGs and may be inaccessible to users who are unfamiliar with this file type.

8. The Events Calendar

The Events Calendar allows you to manage your organization’s events in one place, making it one of the best calendar plugins for WordPress. You can share important dates with users while keeping details organized using categories and tags. It’s also fully responsive, developer-friendly, and designed for use on the go.

There are two versions of The Events Calendar: free and Pro. With the free version, you can choose from day, month, and list calendar views, all of which integrate seamlessly with your WordPress theme. You can also promote featured events to boost user engagement and attendance.

The Pro version offers all of the capabilities of the free one, along with the following additional features:

Photo grid, map, week, and summary calendar views
Monthly, weekly, and custom recurring events
Shortcodes for easy embedding
Advanced widgets
Premium support
Elementor integration
Custom fields
Location search

What It Costs

If you upgrade from the free version, The Events Calendar Pro costs $99/ year for one website.

Pros & Cons

While this WordPress tool makes it easy to manage and create or edit events, the free version is rather limited in comparison to The Events Calendar Pro.

9. WooCommerce

With everything you need to start selling merchandise online, WooCommerce is WordPress’s premier eCommerce plugin. It’s developer-friendly and built with a REST API, and you can add extensions from the WooCommerce Marketplace to extend your store’s functionality. These range from customer relationship management and product types to shipping and subscriptions, among many others.

WooCommerce allows you to customize your homepage, site structure, menus, and payment and shipping options. Plus, it comes bundled with the ability to accept major credit cards, bank transfers, checks, and cash on delivery. Best of all, there are no fees on transactions beyond that of the payment service provider, making it the most affordable way to sell your products online.

You can also take advantage of WooCommerce Payments, WooCommerce Marketing, and WooCommerce Shipping, all of which help make it the best eCommerce plugin for WordPress.

What It Costs

WooCommerce is a free plugin that you can download from the WordPress plugin library. Some of the extensions you may choose to add cost extra, though.

Pros & Cons

Because it’s a free plugin, WooCommerce is very popular among users who are new to eCommerce. However, it’s important to understand that it requires additional plugins for enhanced functionality, which often vary in cost and quality.

10. Wordfence Premium

Wordfence Premium is an endpoint firewall and malware scanner plugin that’s specifically designed for WordPress. It pairs a firewall and security scanner and is armed with the newest firewall rules, malicious IP addresses, and malware signatures. Because it runs at the endpoint (your server), Wordfence Premium provides superior protection than cloud alternatives.

This plugin also includes the following standard features:

Two-factor authentication (2FA)
Source code verification
Country blocking
Malicious network blocking
Live traffic monitoring
Leaked password protection

What It Costs

Wordfence Premium is a paid plugin that costs $99/year for one license. However, there are percentage discounts available if you purchase additional licenses or extend your license span.

Pros & Cons

Arguably the best WordPress security plugin, Wordfence Premium is customized to protect your WordPress website. However, it costs money and requires knowledge to properly secure your WordPress installation.

The smartest way to select the best WordPress plugins for your website is by partnering with a digital marketing agency like Tower Marketing. Contact us today and connect with our web developers to outfit your WordPress website with the right plugins.