-
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
Categories
Category Archives: Ask David!
Personal Website vs. Substack? Why You Need to Own Your Site
The debate over Substack versus a personal website is fundamentally about digital ownership. While platforms like Substack offer convenience, they leave writers vulnerable to the discretion and algorithmic shifts of a third party.
Building a brand on a platform you do not own is a strategic risk. Establishing a dedicated website is the only way to ensure true independence.
The Myth of Ownership on Third-Party Platforms
Substack makes it easy to start, but that ease comes at a cost. When
... Continue reading
Posted in Ask David!
Tagged authority, backlinks, brand strategy, branding, content ownership, custom domain, digital assets, digital independence, digital ownership, online presence, personal branding, personal website vs substack, professional blogging, scalability, search engine optimization, self-hosted, seo, substack, web development, web sovereignty, website builder
Leave a comment
Is Google AdSense Allowed on Free Website Builders Like Google Sites?
If you are looking to monetize your content, you might be tempted by the "free" price tag of builders like Google Sites. However, there is a massive catch that most users don't discover until they’ve already put in the work: You cannot install and run Google AdSense on Google Sites.
Even if you are an expert at creating content, these platforms are structurally designed to keep you from profiting from it. Here is the breakdown of why the "free" route
... Continue reading
Posted in Ask David!, Compare Website Builders
Tagged ads.txt fix, ads.txt Google Sites, avoid free website builders, best builder for AdSense, earn money from website, file-level access, free website builder, free website builders, google adsense, Google AdSense verification, Google Sites, Google Sites monetization, Google Sites vs UltimateWB, head, head tag access, header, html, monetize Google Sites, monetize website, professional blog monetization, professional website publishing, root access, small business website tips, website backend access, website builder comparison, website monetization restrictions, website ownership
Leave a comment
How to Audit Your Website Disk Space: A Step-by-Step Guide
If you’ve received a notification that your disk space is full - or if it seems to be filling up faster than expected - it’s time for a "digital deep clean." Most of the time, the culprit isn't the website itself, but hidden files, unoptimized media, or software "hoarding."
Here is how to find exactly what is taking up the room.
1. Get the Stats in cPanel
Don't guess where the space is going. Use the Disk Usage tool in
... Continue reading
Posted in Ask David!, Web Hosting
Tagged cpanel, cPanel Disk Usage tutorial, cPanel tutorial, disk space, disk space cleanup, disk usage, integrated blog vs full site, optimize website images, plugins, security, security risks, technical seo, third-party plugins, web hosting storage, website disk space, website performance optimization, WordPress bloat, WordPress storage audit
Leave a comment
Does Google still use PageRank to rate your website?
"Ask David" short answer: yes. While you can’t see it anymore, PageRank is still a "core" part of how Google determines which websites are trustworthy and important.
Related: What Makes a Simple Website Feel Trustworthy? (From Real User Experience, Not Theory)
However, the PageRank of today is very different from the simple "0 to 10" score people obsessed over in the early 2000s.
How PageRank Works in 2026
In the early days, PageRank was the primary way Google ranked
... Continue reading
Posted in Ask David!, Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Tagged ahref, Ahrefs Domain Rating, authority, backlinks, E-E-A-T, experience, expertise, google, google algorithm, google pagerank, google ranking, high value link, important, internal linking, Larry Page, link spam, low value link, moz, Moz Domain Authority, new york times, pagerank, reasonable surfer, seed set, stanford, trustworthy, useful, wikipedia
Leave a comment
Does “Test Live URL” help Google index your webpage faster?
Does clicking on the "Test Live URL" on Google Search Console after using the "Request Indexing" link make Google index your page sooner? Or was it just a coincidence?
“Ask David” answer: The short answer is no, if you experienced Google indexing your page soon after testing the Live URL, it was just a coincidence. Clicking
... Continue readingUsing a URL Shortener and Passing the SEO Link Juice
Does using a URL shortener like azipURL or TinyURL not pass on the SEO link juice of having a backlink posted somewhere?
"Ask David" answer:
Actually, using a URL shortener like azipURL, TinyURL, or Bitly generally does pass on the SEO
... Continue readingWill AI Really Replace Junior Frontend Developers?
"Ask David" Question:
I’m a junior frontend developer with about a year of experience, and lately I’ve been uneasy about how fast AI tools are advancing. I keep seeing claims that junior developers are the most at risk, and it makes me question whether the skills I’m building now will still matter a few years from now. From a practical, technical standpoint, how concerned should I be - and what should I actually be focusing on to stay relevant?
Answer:
Posted in AI, Ask David!
Tagged accessibility, ai, AI and web development, AI limitations, AI replacing developers, css, frontend developer, frontend developer skills, frontend development careers, javascript, junior developer, junior frontend developer, responsive, responsive design, responsive user experience, user experience, web developer, web development future
Leave a comment
Do you really own your WordPress website?
Popular Plugins Are Subscription-Based and SaaS - How to Get the Same Features Built-In
When you first install WordPress, it feels free, flexible, and entirely under your control.
And at the core, it is.
The Full Short Answer: Yes, you own the core open-source WordPress code and your database content. However, if your business relies on premium subscription plugins, SaaS integrations, or proprietary themes to function, your ownership is functionally compromised. If you stop paying annual licensing fees, your site
... Continue reading
Posted in Ask David!, Compare Website Builders
Tagged bloat, performance, plugin dependencies, plugins, saas, saas plugins, scripts, self-hosted websites, third-party plugins, website maintenance costs, website ownership, WooCommerce subscriptions, WordPress, wordpress plugins, WordPress scalability, WordPress updates
Leave a comment
SEO Is Working – So Why Aren’t Sales Increasing?
Ask David: "My traffic statistics have grown organically, so SEO is working, but sales are not growing - how do I know I am on the right track or what else should I be doing?"
This is a very common situation, and it’s also one of the most confusing for website owners.
The important thing to understand is that organic traffic growth and sales growth are related - but they are not the same metric.
If
... Continue reading
Posted in Ask David!, E-commerce, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Website Traffic
Tagged call-to-action, conversion friction, conversion rate optimization, conversions, convert leads, engagement, increase sales, leads, messaging, organic traffic, reach, sales, search engine optimization, seo, small business websites, trust, trust signals, trustworthy, website builders, website conversions, website optimization
Leave a comment
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
... Continue reading
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
Leave a comment