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- Stop Fighting Your Website: Absolute Positioning vs. Fluid Design
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- The Wix Harmony Lock-In: When “Easy” AI Website Building Gets Expensive
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Search Results for: analytics
Are Personal Websites Still Worth It? Why Ownership Still Wins in the AI Era
There’s a question that keeps resurfacing in different forms:
Are personal websites still worth it?
It shows up in slightly different searches:
- “do I need a personal website anymore”
- “are websites still relevant”
- “is it worth having a personal site in 2026”
And underneath all of them is the same assumption:
If social platforms and AI handle discovery, does owning a website still matter?
The short answer is yes - but not for the reasons most people think.
The longer
... Continue reading
Posted in Ask David!, Social Media
Tagged ai optimization, AI search, aio, AIO optimization, algorithm, are websites still worth it, audience retention, brand positioning, build trust, content consumption, conversion, convert leads, creator economy, customer retention, digital branding, email marketing, engagement, generative engine optimization, geo, GEO optimization, instagram, linkedin, mailing list, medium, ownership, personal websites, search engine optimization, seo, seo strategy, social media, social platform, substack, trustworthy, twitter, user retention, visibility, website ownership, youtube
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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 effectively 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 is
... 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
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The WordPress Backdoor Scandal: Why 30+ “Trusted” Plugins Just Turned Malicious
This recent security breach in the WordPress ecosystem is a massive wake-up call for website owners. A portfolio of over 30 plugins was sold to a new owner who immediately weaponized them with backdoors.
If you use UltimateWB, you are in a much safer position than the average WordPress user - and here is why.
The Attack: What Happened?
A portfolio of 30+ plugins (formerly under "WP Online Support," now "Essential Plugin") was sold on Flippa for a six-figure
... Continue readingDoes 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
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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
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The Curious Case of an Internet Explorer 11 Visitor in 2025
It’s late 2025 - you’d probably assume everyone browsing the web is on Chrome, Safari, Edge, or Firefox. And for the vast majority of sites, that is true. But recently we spotted a visitor using Internet Explorer 11 - the last major version of “IE” - and it reminded us that even discontinued browsers aren’t completely gone.
Earlier this year, we shared how someone landed on our website using IE9 - a browser from 2011! That visit
... Continue reading
Posted in General
Tagged accessibility, awstats, browser compatibility, Browser usage trends, chrome, clean code, compatibility, cross browser compatibility, css, edge, fast load times, fast website, firefox, google analytics, html, ie 11, IE11 traffic, internet explorer, Internet Explorer 11, javascript, Legacy browsers, mobile-friendly, outdated browsers, polyfills, Progressive enhancement, responsive, safari, security risks, web browser, web standards, website compatibility
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Power Outage Tips: How to Protect Your Computer, Devices, and Website During Blackouts
Is your power out? Power outages are widespread across Northern California right now, from San Francisco to Oakland, San Bruno, and the North Bay. Blackouts aren’t just inconvenient - they can interrupt your work, damage electronics, and even complicate managing your website.
Whether it’s a short outage or several hours without electricity, a few precautions can save you lost data, damaged hardware, and wasted time. Here’s a detailed guide on what to do before, during, and after an
... Continue readingWebpage direct visits: bots, crawlers, or real visitors?
"Are webpage visits coming from a direct visit (vs a search) from bots or crawlers vs real visitors, or perhaps AI scrapers?"
Yes - a significant portion of direct webpage visits can come from bots, crawlers, and AI scraping content, not just real human visitors. But how much depends on the site, traffic level, and what kind of page you’re looking at.
Below is a clear breakdown.
1. What “Direct” Traffic Really Means
... Continue reading
Posted in Ask David!, Website Traffic
Tagged ai, AI crawling, ai scrapers, analytics accuracy, bot traffic, bots, bots vs humans, content scraping, crawlers, direct traffic, fake direct traffic, fake traffic, google analytics, matomo, raw server logs, real visitors, robots, seo, SEO analytics, server logs, traffic analysis, web crawlers, website analytics, website monitoring
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Are free website builders worth it for small businesses?
Or do free website builders hurt more than they help?"
When you’re growing a small business, keeping expenses low feels like the only smart move. So it’s natural to try every free website builder you can find - Wix free plan, Weebly free plan, Webnode, Google Sites, you name it.
On the surface, they seem perfect:
✔ quick setup
✔ no upfront cost
✔ drag-and-drop builder
✔ decent starter templates
But here’s the real question every small business eventually
... Continue reading
Posted in Compare Website Builders
Tagged bounce rate, build trust, cookie-cutter, custom domain, drag-and-drop website builder, fast website, fast-loading times, free website builderes, generate leads, Google Sites, growth, meta tags, mobile-friendly, outdated, red flag, reliability, responsive, scalability, seo, sitemap, slow website, trust, webnode, weebly, Wix
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Why Google Search Console’s 24-hour report suddenly shows all zeros
If you rely on Google Search Console to keep an eye on your site, you may have noticed something unsettling recently: the “last 24 hours” view showing flat zeroes - no clicks, no impressions, nothing. You might be thinking... Google Search Console is broken!
Or, if you are not in tune with your traffic stats via another channel, your first thought might the obvious one:
“Did Google drop my site?”
Short answer: no.
Long answer: this is a Google
Posted in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Website Traffic
Tagged analytics, analytics issues, google analytics, Google indexing, Google Search Console, GSC data delay, GSC reporting issue, hosted website builders, raw server logs, search engine optimization, SEO reporting, seo tips, SEO troubleshooting, website analytics, website performance, website traffic
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