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Recent Posts
- Thinking About Switching From WordPress? What Should You Consider Before You Move?
- The Airtable Acquisition Raises a Bigger Question: Do You Really Own the Software Your Business Runs On?
- How to Use Google Search Console’s New Generative AI Data to Improve Your SEO
- How to Update the Same Website Content on Multiple Pages at Once
- Discovered vs. Crawled Not Indexed in Google Search Console: What’s the Difference and How to Fix Each
- The Small Business Guide to Auditing Google Ads and Website Costs
- Do Professional Writers Still Need SEO in the Age of AI?
- Search Engine First vs. People First Content: Why Generic FAQ Dumps Harm Your SEO
- Looking for a Website Builder Without AI? Which One Should You Choose?
- Keyword Cannibalization: How to Find and Fix the Pages Stealing Your Own Google Traffic
- Why Great Content Gets Stuck on Page 8 (And How to Fix It)
- Why MySQL FULLTEXT Search Returns 0 Results (And How to Fix It)
- The Reality of Domain Speculation on New TLD Launches: Is It Still Worth It?
- The Hidden Domain Name Lock-In: Which Registrars Restrict Nameservers?
- Paying $10,000 a Month for SEO? Here’s How to Tell If You’re Getting Your Money’s Worth
- Introducing New WordPress Magazine Layouts in UltimateWB 9 (With Early Access)
- How to Fix the WordPress “Critical Error” on the Widgets Page After a PHP Upgrade
- The Hidden Risk of SaaS Website Builders: Lessons from the Recent Wix Outage
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The Danger of Premature Site Pruning
One of the biggest mistakes new website owners make is assuming that fewer pages automatically means higher quality.
They open Google Search Console, see warnings, discover that some SEO influencer recommends deleting "low-value" pages, and suddenly they're on a mission to clean house. Tag pages disappear. Archives vanish. They slap noindex tags across entire sections of their site.
The result is often the exact opposite of what they intended.
Instead of improving rankings, they erase the very signals that
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Posted in Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Tagged 301 redirect, authority, backlinks, build authority, canonical tags, crawl paths, duplicate content, engagement, Google Search Console, Googlebot, internal links, long-tail traffic, low-value pages, noindex, search engine ranking, seo, site pruning, stability, topical authority, topical relevance, trust signals, user experience, visibility
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Stop Fighting Your Website: Absolute Positioning vs. Fluid Design
If you’ve ever used the standard Wix editor, you probably know the frustration: move a button on the desktop layout, and suddenly the mobile version looks broken. That is not a glitch - it is a direct result of how many drag-and-drop website builders are designed.
The Hidden Tradeoff in Traditional Drag-and-Drop Builders
Many “easy” website builders like Wix rely heavily on absolute positioning. In simple terms, elements are assigned fixed X and Y coordinates on the page, almost like
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Posted in Compare Website Builders, Website Design
Tagged absolute positioning, drag-and-drop alternative, drag-and-drop website builder, flexibility, fluid design, grid layout, hosted vs self-hosted websites, hosted website builders, mobile friendly, responsive, responsive app, responsive design, rigid design, squarespace, squarespace alternative, website design, Wix, wix alternative, wix editor
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Meta Descriptions Too Short? What Bing’s Warning Really Means and How to Fix It
If you’ve been using Bing Webmaster Tools, you may have noticed a warning like:
“Meta descriptions on many of your pages are too short.”
This doesn’t mean your pages are broken. It’s a moderate warning specific to Bing that may affect how your pages appear in Bing search results, though Google handles descriptions differently. Let’s break down what it means, why it happens, and how to fix it.
Related: Why You Should Be Using Bing Webmaster Tools (Even If
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Posted in Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Tagged bing, Bing search, bing webmaster tools, click-through rates, ctr, meta description, meta description length, meta descriptions, search engine optimization, SEO best practices, seo tips, user engagement, website optimization, website tips
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If You Were Learning Web Development in 2026, Would You Start From Scratch?
That’s an interesting "Ask David!" question! I learned web development from scratch - HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, server setup, MySQL databases, all of it. That experience was valuable, but if I were starting today - or even starting a new project as an experienced developer - I wouldn’t begin from a blank folder.
Rebuilding solved problems slows real progress. In 2026, the smarter approach is to use tools that remove unnecessary friction while still letting you
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Posted in Ask David!
Tagged advanced web features, beginner web development, code from scratch, coding efficiently, coding standards, css, database, dynamic websites, flexibility, html, HTML CSS JavaScript, javascript, learn web development 2026, maintainability, maintenance, mysql, php, PHP development, server setup, web development tips, website builder
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Goodbye Dial-Up Connection: AOL’s Iconic Internet Service Is Officially Signing Off After 34 Years
Remember that unforgettable sound of your dial-up modem screaming, squealing, and finally connecting you to the vast unknown? That nostalgic beep-boop-whirr was AOL’s way of saying, “Welcome to the internet!” But after 34 years, AOL is finally pulling the plug on its legendary dial-up internet service - and it’s kind of the end of an era.
AOL Dial-Up: The Internet’s OG Gateway
Back in the early 90s,
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Posted in Technology in the News
Tagged 1990s internet, aim, aol, aol chat, AOL dial-up shutdown, AOL ending dial-up, aol instant messaging, AOL Shield browser, broadband, dial-up internet, instant messaging, internet evolution, internet history, internet service providers, online nostalgia, You’ve Got Mail
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Is Domain Front-Running Real? And Which Companies Might Be Doing It?
If you’ve ever searched for a domain name, only to return a few hours or days later and find it mysteriously registered by someone else, you’re not alone. This frustrating phenomenon has led many to ask: Is domain front-running real? And are some registrars secretly registering domains based on our searches?
Let’s break it down.
The Truth About Domain Front-Running
Domain front-running is the practice of a registrar using search data to register or "reserve" domains that people are
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Posted in Ask David!, Domain Names
Tagged automated bots, bots, buy domain name, check domain name, check domain name availability, domain availability, domain backorder, domain front-running, domain monitoring, domain name, domain watchers, godaddy, icann, icann accreditation, industry practices, namecheap, reputation, user experience
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Why “You Don’t Own Your Website” is a Red Flag: A Warning About Subscription-Based Web Design Models
Imagine spending thousands of dollars over the next few years on your website... only to find out that when you stop paying, you’re left with nothing but your domain name.
It’s happening more often than you’d think - and many small business owners don’t realize it until it’s too late.
There’s a growing trend in the web design industry where customers are offered “low monthly pricing” instead of a traditional one-time design fee. These subscription-based website models often
... Continue readingUltimateWB: Streamlining Website Management, Even for Simple Sites
For website owners, maintaining consistency across pages while ensuring flexibility for updates is crucial. This is where a tool like UltimateWB can make a significant difference, even for simple websites.
The Challenge of Manual Changes
Traditionally, updating headers or footers on multiple pages involved manual edits to each individual HTML file. This can be time-consuming and error-prone, especially for websites with many pages.
UltimateWB's Solution
UltimateWB addresses this challenge by
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Posted in Announcements
Tagged cms, easy updates, efficiency, flexibility, footer, header, scalability
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Is Google Drowning in Ads?
Google shows more "Sponsored" results - i.e. ads - than organic results now…
Remember the good ol' days of Google? A simple search yielded a clean list of relevant results, a gateway to information. Today, however, that experience feels increasingly cluttered. Ads – sometimes disguised as results – dominate the page, pushing organic content down the rabbit hole. This begs the question: is Google prioritizing profit over its core function – providing unbiased search results?
And it has been going
... Continue readingWhat are some best practices for designing a homepage that converts visitors into customers?
A homepage that converts visitors into customers should be designed with a clear understanding of your target audience and their needs. Here are some key best practices to follow:
Focus on Value Proposition:
- Clear and Concise Headline: Your headline should immediately communicate what your product or service does and its key benefit to the visitor.
- Benefit-Oriented Content: Instead of technical jargon, explain how your product or service solves the visitor's problem or improves their life.
- Visually Appealing Hero Section: The
Posted in Ask David!, Website Design
Tagged a/b testing, benefit-driven features, benefit-oriented content, call to action, clean design, clean layout, contrast, conversions, cta, fast loading times, headline, hero banner, homepage, mobile friendly, page history tool, simple layout, social proff, technical jargon, testimonials, trust signals, user experience, user friendly, value proposition
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