Blogging Tips Archives

15 Reasons to Choose SiteGround for Your WordPress Blog

01/25/2024 by Roy Sutton

INTRODUCTION:

SiteGround is a popular web hosting provider that offers high-performance, reliable hosting solutions for various types of websites.

Some of the reasons to choose SiteGround include:

Exceptional uptime,
Fast loading speeds,
Excellent customer support, and
Competitive pricing.

SiteGround also offers a range of features, such as:

SSL certificates,
Daily backups, and
A staging environment

This makes it a versatile choice for both beginners and experienced web developers.

Additionally, SiteGround has a strong reputation for its security measures, including daily malware scans and a web application firewall.

Overall, SiteGround is a reliable and secure web hosting provider that is well worth considering.

Affiliate Disclosure: This website is a SiteGround affiliate and will receive a small commission should you purchase a plan via one of the links. There will be no additional cost to you, but you will be helping to support this website. So, thank you.

Do you need more information? READ ON.

15 REASONS TO CHOOSE SITEGROUND FOR YOUR WORDPRESS BLOG:

1. Speed and Performance

SiteGround consistently ranks among the fastest WordPress hosting providers, thanks to their SSD storage, automated caching, and global CDN. This translates to lightning-fast loading times for your blog, keeping visitors engaged and improving SEO. SiteGround also has a strong track record of high uptime, ensuring that your WordPress blog remains accessible to your audience with minimal interruptions.

2. WordPress Optimized Hosting

SiteGround offers hosting plans specifically optimized for WordPress. From one-click WordPress installs and auto-updates to WP-CLI access and staging environments, SiteGround makes managing your WordPress blog a breeze. They take care of the technical aspects, letting you focus on creating content.

3. Free WordPress Installation and Migration

For beginners or those switching from another host, SiteGround offers free WordPress installation and a free site migration service, making the transition smooth and easy.

4. Expert WordPress Support

Their customer support team is known for its WordPress expertise. They provide fast and knowledgeable assistance, which is particularly beneficial for WordPress-specific issues.

5. Free CDN and Caching Tools

They include free CDN (Content Delivery Network) services and caching tools to improve the loading speed and performance of your WordPress site globally.

6. Enhanced Security

SiteGround takes website security seriously, offering features like automatic backups, security monitoring, and intrusion detection systems. They also provide free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates for secure connections.

7. Scalability and Uptime

Whether you’re starting a small blog or have a high-traffic website, SiteGround offers various hosting plans to meet your needs. They also boast impressive uptime guarantees, ensuring your blog is always accessible to visitors. As your blog grows, you can upgrade your hosting plan to meet the increasing demands of your website.

8. User-Friendly Interface

SiteGround’s control panel is intuitive and easy to navigate, even for beginners. Managing your hosting account, installing WordPress, and setting up your blog is straightforward and user-friendly.

9. Developer-Friendly Tools

SiteGround offers tools and features that developers love, like Git access, WP-CLI, and staging environments. They also support advanced caching plugins and custom PHP configurations.

10. Daily Backups and Easy Restoration

They provide automatic daily backups of your website and easy restoration options, ensuring that your data is safe and can be quickly restored in case of any issues.

11. Staging Environment

SiteGround offers a staging tool that allows you to test changes and updates to your WordPress site in a secure environment before making them live, reducing the risk of errors on your actual site.

12. Excellent Customer Support

SiteGround is known for its responsive and helpful customer support team. You can reach them 24/7 via live chat, phone, or email, and they’ll be happy to assist you with any technical issues or questions.

13. Positive Reviews and Reputation

SiteGround enjoys a positive reputation in the hosting community, with numerous user reviews praising their speed, security, and customer service. This can provide peace of mind knowing you’re choosing a reliable provider.

14. Environmentally Conscious

SiteGround is committed to being an environmentally friendly company. They use renewable energy sources to power their data centres and offer carbon offset programs for customers who want to take their eco-friendly efforts further.

15. Value for Money

SiteGround’s hosting plans are competitively priced, offering great value for the features and performance they provide. You get your money’s worth with reliable hosting, excellent support, and advanced tools.

CHOOSING A PLAN:

HOW EASY IT IS TO SET UP A WORDPRESS WEBSITE WITH SITEGROUND?

If you’re still feeling unconvinced, dear reader, let me reassure you about the ease with which you will be able to set up a website on SiteGround. You don’t need to be afraid; it’s not hard to make a start. Let me explain.

SiteGround’s simplified 3-step installation process will install WordPress with a theme and the most common plugins in under 2 minutes, with almost no effort from your side. The custom-developed WordPress Starter plugin is available to all clients and is designed to help people take their first steps in the WordPress world like professionals.

Let’s walk together through the steps of setting up your website with SiteGround!

STEP 1: EASY WORDPRESS INSTALLATION

First, you’ll need to install the application for building your website, in this case, WordPress. When you log in for the first time in your client area, you’ll see a welcome message and a button labelled “SET UP WEBSITE” which will take you directly to the installation process.

In the next step, select Start New Website and WordPress as your application of choice.

Finish the installation process by choosing whether to add extra services, such as SG Site Scanner, which scans your website every day and alerts you immediately if your website has been hacked or compromised with malicious code.

At the end, click on Finish and wait while WordPress is being installed.

STEP 2: CHOOSE A THEME

Once the WordPress installation has finished, you will be prompted to use the WordPress Starter wizard. Simply click on Start Now. You can choose a theme from a wide selection of free SiteGround-curated, modern, and professionally designed themes.

Note that the theme will come with pre-filled sample content, enabled by the intuitive drag-and-drop page editor that SiteGround provides by default. This will help you easily visualize how the actual content would look like before you substitute it with your own website copy.

STEP 3: ADD PLUGINS TO EXPAND FUNCTIONALITY

Once you get the right design for your site, on the next step, you can add some useful plugins, such as:

Contact Form– so your website visitors have an easy way to contact you;
WooCommerce– transform your site into an online store;
Google analytics plugin– to help you monitor your website traffic;
Grow Subscribers list– a plugin that will help you to capture your visitor’s emails;

When you’ve made your choice, click Complete. In minutes, your new website will be ready with the content and functionalities you have added. Just log in to your site from http://yourdomain.com/wp-admin and start adding content using the custom WordPress dashboard.

CONCLUSION:

What are you waiting for? Unleash your creative talent and share it with the world. And make some money along the way.

SiteGround fuels lightning speed, top-notch security, and beginner-friendly tools. Ditch slow servers and sleepless nights, join the SiteGround family, and watch your traffic soar!

Start building today. Don’t wait; you’ve got value you can share with the world.

About the author:

Roy Sutton is an experienced blogger whose main website has generated more than 350,000 page views per month. Before becoming a blogger, he was a businessman and CEO of a national telecom operator and had a professional background in telecom systems engineering and information technology.

Best tools for bloggers to take you to a professional level

01/24/2024 by Roy Sutton

The best tools for bloggers will, to some degree, depend on your specific needs and preferences.

However, there are some essential tools and resources that I believe will help bloggers be more productive, creative, and successful.

In summary, these are:

1. Domain Name Registration:

Registering your domain names separately from your web hosting is always wise. Then, if you get into a dispute with your web host, you can move your website to another host and redirect your domain name accordingly.

The last thing you want is someone having potential control over your domain name.

Popular domain name registrars include:

Namecheap
TSOHost
GoDaddy

2. Hosting:

There are many web hosting providers for bloggers, but among the best, in my experience, are:

SiteGround
Bluehost
Hostinger

3. Content Management System (CMS):

Unless you’re experienced in coding, using a content management system is the best way to create a self-hosted website. And in my opinion, there’s an obvious choice for CMS:

WordPress: WordPress is one of the most popular and user-friendly CMS platforms for bloggers. It offers a wide range of themes and plugins to customize your blog.

4. Essential WordPress Plugins:

Plugins are useful for adding additional features to a WordPress website. There are literally hundreds of plugins available, but there are a few that are essential, in my opinion:

Sucuri: This is a great plugin for making sure that your website is secure.
Wordfence: This is another useful security plugin.
WP Rocket: Page speed matters. This plugin will boost page speed.
Google Site Kit: Provides all sorts of useful analytics.
Monster Insights: Another great source of analytics
Yoast SEO: This is a useful tool for optimizing posts for SEO.
Rankmath: This is another great tool for optimizing posts for SEO.
UpdraftPlus: This is particularly useful for backing up your blog regularly.

All the above plugins are useful. However, it’s worth remembering that it’s not a good idea to use too many plugins, as they can slow your website down. And Google will penalize a slow website in search results.

5. Keyword Research and SEO Tools:

Creating a website is easy. Getting traffic to that website is much harder. There are literally billions of websites out there, so how do you get noticed?

The simple answer is to ensure that Google and other search engines are your friends.

Search engines are trying to provide their users with the most relevant answers to their search queries.

The most relevant answers appear on the first page of an organic search. And as few people look beyond the first page, if your webpage is to be the answer to their prayers, then it needs to appear on the first page.

How is that achieved?

Do keyword research and make sure that your web pages and blog posts are relevant to the queries being searched for and that they contain appropriate keywords and phrases.

It sounds difficult, but there are plenty of tools to help you. These include:

Google Keyword Planner: This helps you find relevant keywords for your content, and it’s free.
Keywords Everywhere: A great Chrome extension that is very reasonably priced and very useful. This is a “must-have” tool for bloggers and creators.
Ubersuggest: SEO tools for keyword research, competitor analysis, etc.
AnswerThePublic: SEO tools for keyword research, competitor analysis, etc.
Ahrefs: SEO tools for keyword research, competitor analysis, etc. It is an excellent tool and very useful, but a bit expensive for beginners.
SEMrush: SEO tools for keyword research, competitor analysis, etc. Another excellent tool, very useful but also a bit expensive for beginners.

6. Content Creation and Graphics:

If you’re a blogger, you’ll need images, infographics, and video. There are plenty of useful tools to help you create them.

However, remember this: the more you can create images, etc., that are uniquely yours, the better it will be. Stock photos can be useful, but they’re not unique, and they’re used repeatedly, thousands of times. If you want to stand out, create something special of your own.

Tools you should consider include:

Canva: This is a must-have, user-friendly graphic design tool for creating blog graphics, visuals, and videos, and it should be in every blogger’s toolbox.
Adobe Creative Suite: This is professional-class design software for more advanced graphic and video editing. There’s an excellent and powerful set of tools within the suite, but it’s not cheap, and there’s quite a steep learning curve involved.
GIMP: This is an image editor available for GNU/Linux, macOS, and Windows, and it’s free software available for download.
Photopea: This is an advanced image editor, and it’s free to use.
Unsplash: This is a source of high-quality, royalty-free stock images for your blog.
Pixabay: This is a source of high-quality, royalty-free stock images for your blog.
Pexels: This is a source of high-quality, royalty-free stock images for your blog.

7. Writing and Editing Tools:

Being a blogger is all about creating content, and that includes written content. Content needs to be well written, and some tools to help with that include:

Grammarly: This is a grammar and spell-checking tool to help you write error-free content.
Hemingway Editor: It helps you simplify and improve your writing style.
Microsoft Office Suite: This includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, and Outlook. This is a professional-class suite of software and is worth the monthly subscription.
Google Docs: This is a versatile online word processor for collaborative writing and editing.
Scrivener: This is a popular writing app used by writers and researchers. It allows users to write, organize, and edit their content in one place, with features like creating outlines, citation management, and file syncing.

8. Essential social media:

In addition to optimizing your content for search engines, social media can be a powerful means of driving traffic to your website.

The most useful channels include:

Pinterest: This one is the best of the lot, by some considerable margin, particularly when used in conjunction with Tailwind.
Instagram: This is a great way to promote your domain name through memes.
Reddit: Get something on Reddit to go viral, and you’ll get plenty of traffic.
Facebook: This is a great way to promote your domain name through memes.
LinkedIn: This is great for promoting your domain name through links to your website pages and posts.
YouTube: Create videos to go with blog posts, and this is a powerful means for generating traffic.

9. Social Media Management:

The trick with social media is to post when your target audience is likely to be looking. That means you need scheduling tools to help you. Some you should consider include:

Tailwind: This tool is designed for scheduling and optimizing Pinterest and Instagram posts. This is just the best, in my opinion. It’s another must-have tool and it’s well worth the subscription.
Hootsuite: This is a tool to schedule and manage social media posts.
Buffer: This is another useful tool to schedule and manage social media posts.

10. Email Marketing:

Creating an email list is essential if you’re an affiliate marketer. Useful tools for list creation include:

ConvertKit: This is ideal for bloggers looking to create targeted email campaigns.
Mailchimp: This is a popular email marketing platform for building and nurturing your email list.

11. Analytics and Performance Tracking:

It pays to keep an eye on website performance, so naturally, some tools to help are essential:

Google Analytics: This offers in-depth insights into your blog’s traffic and user activity. It’s available through the Site Kit plugin.
Monster Insights: This is another great source of analytics.

12. Monetization and Affiliate Marketing:

Unless it’s just a hobby to amuse you, creating a blog means you’re creating a digital asset that will make money for you even when you’re sleeping.

Google AdSense: This allows you to display ads on your blog and earn money through clicks, right from the start.
Ezoic: This will also allow you to display ads and generate more income right from the start.
Mediavine: This is a better medium for display ads, but you need to achieve 50,000 sessions before they’ll consider you.
Amazon Associates: This is a popular affiliate program for bloggers to earn commissions on product sales.

13. Backup and Security:

Backing up a website regularly is essential. Webhosts will usually create backups, but it’s worth creating one of your own daily. This can be done automatically using a combination of UpdraftPlus and Dropbox.

Security is another essential activity for bloggers. Protect your digital asset, or it won’t be long before it’s compromised. Both Sucuri and Wordfence are excellent security solutions.

Another aspect of security well worth considering is the use of a VPN, particularly when you are updating your websites on the move and in public places. The best tool for this is ExpressVPN.

14. Collaboration and Productivity:

The art of generating an income should be as productive as possible. There’s also much to be gained from collaborating with fellow bloggers. Useful tools include:

Trello or Asana: These are project management tools to help you stay organized.
Google Workspace (formerly G Suite): This is for email, document collaboration, and more.

15. Grammar and Style Guides:

AP Stylebook, or The Chicago Manual of Style: These are useful for maintaining a consistent writing style.

16. Legal and Compliance:

It’s always wise to keep an eye on the law to ensure no costly errors are made through ignorance. Some useful tools include:

Privacy policy generators: Ensure compliance with data protection laws.
DMCA.com: This helps protect your content from copyright infringement.

Conclusion:

No list of tools can ever be comprehensive. However, in this list, there are many powerful tools that the average blogger will find useful.

Now your choice of tools will depend on your specific niche, budget, and technical expertise. So, it would be unwise to sign up for too many paid tools too quickly.

It’s essential that you evaluate and select the tools that best suit your blogging goals and needs.

However, there are some tools that you really will find useful, and it is worth spending some money on them to help you in your quest to build lucrative digital assets.

About the author:

Roy Sutton is an experienced blogger whose main website has generated in excess of 350,000 page views per month. Before becoming a blogger, he was a businessman and CEO of a national telecom operator and had a background in telecom systems engineering and information technology.

12 Benefits of Canva and why you should use it

11/13/2023 by Roy Sutton

In this post, I will outline 12 benefits of Canva and why you should use it.

If you’re an online entrepreneur, a blogger, or a T-shirt designer, then you’ll need images and a lot of them. Equally, if you’re in business and presentations are a regular part of your sales activity, then you’ll need to be able to create images and infographics that have an impact on your customers.

The question is, if you’re not an experienced graphic designer, how can you produce images and infographics easily and cheaply?

Well, I use and recommend Canva Pro. I’ve used it for several years, and I couldn’t work without it. For my business, Canva Pro is an essential resource.

What is Canva?

Canva is one of the most widely used and popular graphic design and visual content creation platforms that offers a wide range of benefits for individuals and businesses.

It offers a user-friendly interface that makes it easy to create professional-looking designs without any prior design experience.

Using Canva, you can create visual images, custom graphics, logos, presentations, videos, and more. It has a wide range of templates and stock images that you can use to create designs quickly and simply.

Not only does this save you a lot of time, but it also allows you to collaborate with others, making it easy to work with a team on a project.

Overall, the benefits of Canva include ease of use, time and effort savings, and improved collaboration.

Key benefits of Canva:

There are many benefits of Canva, but here are what I believe to be the 12 most compelling benefits of Canva that make it an essential resource for every business, whether you’re a sole trader or a multinational corporation: –

User-Friendly Interface: Canva is known for its intuitive and user-friendly interface, making it accessible to people with varying levels of design experience. You don’t need to be a graphic design expert to create professional-looking designs.
Templates for Various Purposes: Canva provides a vast library of templates for different types of projects, including social media posts, presentations, flyers, posters, business cards, infographics, and more. These templates can save you time and effort when creating visuals.
Customization Options: While the templates are pre-designed, you can easily customize them to suit your specific needs. Canva offers a wide range of tools for adjusting colours, fonts, images, and layouts.
Stock Photo and Video Library: Canva includes a large library of stock photos, illustrations, icons, and even videos that you can use in your designs. This can save you the hassle of searching for and purchasing stock assets separately. You can also import your own images, videos, and soundtracks for use within your designs.
Collaboration Features: Canva allows multiple users to collaborate on a design project in real time. This is particularly useful for teams working on marketing materials, presentations, or other shared design tasks.
Export and Sharing Options: You can easily export your Canva designs in various formats, such as PDF, PNG, or JPEG. Additionally, Canva offers sharing options, allowing you to share your designs directly with others or publish them on social media platforms.
Mobile App: Canva has a mobile app that enables you to create and edit designs on the go. This is especially useful for individuals who need to work from smartphones or tablets.
Branding Tools: Canva offers brand kit features that allow businesses to upload their logos, fonts, and colour palettes, ensuring consistency in their visual branding across all designs.
Educational Resources: Canva provides a wealth of tutorials, articles, and design courses to help users improve their design skills and make the most of the platform.
Cost-effective: While Canva offers a free plan with basic features, it also offers a Pro subscription with additional features and assets. The Pro subscription is generally more affordable than hiring a professional graphic designer or purchasing expensive design software.
Integration with Other Tools: Canva integrates with various other platforms and tools, such as Dropbox, Google Drive, and social media networks, to streamline your design workflow.
Analytics and Performance Tracking: Canva Pro users have access to analytics and performance tracking tools, allowing them to monitor how their designs are performing on social media and adjust their strategies accordingly.

Canva pricing:

The good news is that Canva offers a free version, albeit with limited access to many of its best features.

However, the pricing plans start at around $11.95 per user per month for the pro version.

Essentially, there are three versions of subscription, as follows:

Canva Free: This is for anyone to design anything, on their own or with family, friends, or others. No experience is required.
Canva Pro: This is for individuals, solopreneurs, and freelance designers who want unlimited access to premium content to create professional designs with ease and scale their productivity.
Canva for Teams: All the great features of Canva Pro, plus we think you’ll love these features designed to allow teams of all sizes to collaborate with ease.

Benefits of Canva Pro:

Canva Pro includes features like 100+ pages, custom elements, and access to advanced collaboration tools.

It allows teams to create professional-quality visuals and presentations and adapts to changing business needs over time.

If you have any questions about pricing plans, the support team is available by email, phone, or live chat.

Pros and cons of Canva:

Canva is an excellent choice for both beginners and experienced designers alike. It is known for its ease of use, its extensive library of templates and design elements, and its affordable pricing.

Pros:

- Easy to use, even for beginners.
- Large library of templates and design elements.
- Affordable pricing.
- Collaborative features for teams.
- Wide range of integrations with other tools.

Cons:

- There are not as many advanced design features as on some other platforms.
- The free version has limited features.
- Some templates and design elements can be expensive if you’re not a Pro user.

Conclusion:

Overall, Canva is a versatile and user-friendly tool that can benefit individuals, small businesses, and large organizations by simplifying the design process and helping to create visually appealing content for a wide range of purposes.

Canva Pro is the platform that I use constantly for my websites, and I’ve used it for several years. I never cease to be amazed by the quality of the images that I’ve been able to create.

So, do yourself a favour, sign up for Canva today, and see for yourself how easy it is to create beautiful images that will help you grow your business or blog.

About the author:

Should you separate domain registration and web hosting?

01/08/2023 by Roy Sutton

Introduction:

Every blog or website needs both a domain name and web hosting, amongst other things. A question frequently asked is, should you separate domain registration and web hosting?

In fact, many hosting companies will often offer a ‘free’ domain name as an integral part of the web hosting package they offer.

Obviously, they want it to appear cost-effective because they want your business. However, that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.

The argument for separation:

When you’re setting up a new blog or website, it’s easy to lose sight of what might happen in the future.

You might choose a web host, only to find that it isn’t good enough to meet your needs for whatever reason. There might be an issue with speed, it might be poor technical support, or it might be the host’s website is not user-friendly. Then again you might just find better value for money elsewhere.

Whatever the reason, it doesn’t matter. One thing of which you can be sure of is that at some point you will choose to move a website from one host to another because bloggers always do. And if you do, the last thing you want is any potential for complications.

7 reasons why separation matters:

1. Separate Services:

It is a fact that domain registration and web hosting are two separate services. So, it makes sense to keep them separate.

2. Not all hosts offer both services:

Whilst most of the big names do offer both services, this is not universally true. Some web hosting services may not offer the option to register a domain name directly through them.

If this is the case, then you will need to register your domain separately regardless, in order to use it with this type of web host.

3. Freedom of Movement:

A free domain name included with a hosting plan means you’ll have to keep hosting your website with them to keep that domain name.

By registering your domain separately, you’ll have more flexibility in terms of where you host your website.

4. Ease of Migrating:

If you have your domain registration and web hosting with different companies you can switch hosts easily, when necessary, without having to transfer your domain registration too.

5. Hosting Multiple Websites:

Hosting companies like SiteGround, which I use, allow you to set up multiple websites on the same unique account. This can be cost-effective when you have multiple web projects running concurrently.

At some point, you may choose to sell one or more of those websites. In doing so, you’ll need to transfer whatever is being sold to the host of the buyer.

Now, if you’ve been provided with a ‘free’ domain, you may not have the freedom to transfer the domain name from your account. So, if that were associated with a website you’re selling, an unnecessary complication over the domain name could prove to be a deal-breaker.

6. Ability to manage them independently:

If you keep your domain name registration and web hosting service separate, this will allow you to manage them independently.

For example, you will be able to renew your domain registration without having to worry about renewing your hosting plan at the same time. And you can migrate a website from one host to another without worrying about moving the domain name registration at the same time.

7. Greater control over your online presence:

Separating your domain name registration from your web hosting service means you’ll have greater control over both aspects of your online presence.

This is especially important if you’re running a business website, as you will want to ensure that your domain and hosting are both reliable and properly configured, always.

Conclusion:

The underlying message today is that it’s wise to keep your domain name registration and web hosting quite separate to avoid any potential pitfalls, such as domain name loss.

Registering your domain name separately from your web host gives you greater flexibility and more control over your online presence.

If you were to have a falling out with your web host, the last thing you’d want is for them to have any control over the use of your domain name.

If you have control over the domain name registration, you can simply migrate your website to another host if you’re no longer happy with your existing web host.

What do I use?

I have always kept the registration of my domain names separate from my web hosting.

Except for the domain name for this website, all my domain names are registered through Namecheap. They provide great service and the best prices. If you’d like to know more about Namecheap you can LEARN MORE HERE.

The domain name for this website is registered through TSOHost, for historical reasons. If you’d like to know more about TSOHost you can LEARN MORE HERE.

For web hosting I use SiteGround and I have multiple websites hosted on that platform currently. If you’d like to know more about SiteGround you can LEARN MORE HERE.

DISCLOSURE: Readers should be aware that references to Namecheap, TSOHost and SiteGround in this section all include affiliate links. Should you choose to subscribe via these links then we will receive a small commission. However, there would be no additional charge to you. Any commissions are used simply to cover the costs of operating this website. Your support dear reader is truly appreciated. Thank you.

Why use a VPN? 10 reasons why it’s essential

12/30/2022 by Roy Sutton

If you’ve landed on this webpage, you’re probably considering using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) and wondering whether it really makes good sense to do so.

Perhaps you’re not very technical but people keep telling you it’s a good idea to use one, but they never quite explain why.

So, let’s consider the issue in detail.

What is a VPN?

Essentially, a VPN creates a secure connection between your computer and the internet.

Think of it as a secure tunnel between your computer and your VPN provider’s network through which only your data can pass and with which only you have access.

This enhances your security, privacy, and anonymity every time you use the internet and is particularly useful when you’re using applications such as online banking where security is paramount.

Take a quick look at this video before you read on.

If you’d like to see more videos on the subject then click the link here and take a look at the ExpressVPN YouTube Channel.

Why use a VPN?

1. Security:

Your VPN will encrypt all data passing from and to your computer through your internet connection. This makes it much more difficult for hackers or cybercriminals to intercept that data.

The use of a VPN connection is particularly important if you regularly use public Wi-Fi in coffee shops, airports, and other public facilities.

Equally when you’re accessing sensitive information online, such as banking, this additional layer of security is insurance against becoming a victim of cybercriminals.

2. Privacy:

Using a VPN will hide your IP address and your location.

Essentially, a VPN changes your IP address, which makes it much harder to determine your identity and real geographic location.

This will make it more difficult for websites and advertisers to track your online activity. The advantage here is that it prevents you from being targeted with advertising, and you can browse online with greater anonymity.

In short, using a VPN will help protect your privacy.

3. Access to restricted content:

If you travel frequently, you may have noticed that in certain countries or regions of the world, you’re often blocked from accessing some websites and services that are hosted in other parts of the world. This is particularly true with streaming services and the like.

It’s also true when you’re trying to access online banking in countries like the USA from geographic locations outside the USA.

Using a VPN will help you access such sites and services by connecting your computer to a server in a different geographic location via a secure tunnel.

For instance, VPN providers like ExpressVPN have US-based servers. Therefore, if you’re trying to access a US-based bank from overseas, by using ExpressVPN the bank’s computers will think you’re within the US. And therefore, you’ll be able to do whatever you need to do without restriction.

4. Protection from ISP tracking:

If you’re unfamiliar with how internet service providers (ISPs) operate, you may not realise that they can see everything you do online. That means they have access to valuable data relating to you and your preferences which, in theory at least, they can sell on for profit.

If you’d prefer to keep your own business private, then using a VPN will help prevent your ISP from tracking your online activity and selling that data to third parties.

That alone must be worth the price of a VPN subscription.

5. Improved online performance:

If you do a lot of video streaming and you regularly download large data files, then you may occasionally experience buffering. And when you do, I’m sure you find it frustrating, yes?

Well, using a VPN can help improve online performance by reducing lag and buffering when you’re downloading a lot of data.

The time you’ll save, again, is worth the price of a subscription.

6. Better search results:

When you use search engines like Google or Bing, they will profile you over time to build up knowledge of your preferences and link this to your location, IP address, and device.

The problem with this is that it results in what is known as search bias.

And the problem with search bias is that this means when you’re searching for things, you’ll get customized results based on what they think you want rather than all the possibilities you might actually wish to consider.

By using a VPN, you can eliminate search bias, thereby giving you access to unbiased search results.

7. Protection from cyber threats:

Network security is one of the biggest issues facing internet users today.

Malicious threats are a constant source of danger for internet users and the number of those threats is on the increase all the time.

By encrypting your internet connection using a VPN, you can help protect yourself from malware, phishing attacks, and other cyber threats, as well as prevent you from connecting to malicious websites.

8. Bypass censorship:

Internet censorship is on the increase in most countries, even in those countries that in theory support the idea of free speech.

Increasingly what we’re allowed to see and hear is being controlled through online censorship by politicians and public institutions.

By using a VPN, you bypass such restrictions and potentially access blocked content.

If you believe that you should be able to judge what you read and hear, then using a VPN will mean you’re better able to do so.

9. Protect against surveillance:

Surveillance of individuals is another issue that is on the increase.

In many countries, governments and other organizations and institutions often monitor internet activity to gather information about individuals.

If you encrypt your internet connection through a VPN, you can help protect yourself against this type of surveillance by hiding your online activity.

That’s worth thinking about, surely?

10. Protection for mobile devices:

Now, you might imagine, at this stage, that the use of a VPN only applies to personal computers.

What about that little computer in your hand, also known as a smartphone?

Well, the use of a VPN can also provide security and privacy for your mobile devices too.

This is particularly important when you’re using these devices over public Wi-Fi or if you’re connecting to the internet whilst you’re travelling.

When should you use a VPN?

Ideally, you should use a VPN every time you connect to the internet.

The VPN runs in the background, so it won’t get in your way.

Situations, where it’s particularly useful to use a VPN, include: –

- - Travelling
  - Using Public Wi-Fi
  - Banking
  - Online Shopping
  - Gaming
  - File Sharing

Convinced?

So, dear reader, I’ve given you 10 excellent reasons to consider using a VPN.

The question now is, are you convinced?

If you are, you may be wondering what things you need to consider before you choose a VPN provider.

Criteria for choosing a VPN provider:

1. Free or paid subscription:

There are VPN providers offering free services but ask yourself this, how do they make their money?

There’s an old saying, if you can’t see how they make money from the product then you are the product.

There’s no such thing as a free lunch.

Either they make their money from subscriptions, or they make money from you. And chances are, the way they would make money from you is not in your interests.

So, if you want a decent service, in my experience, you’re better paying for it. Simple!

2. Security and privacy:

The first thing you need to ensure is that you choose a VPN provider that offers strong encryption and has a clear privacy policy.

Specifically, you must look for a VPN provider that does not log your online activity nor sell your data to third parties.

In signing up for a service, you must ensure that this is guaranteed.

3. Server locations:

This issue might not seem important, but it is if you’re likely to need to access content that may be restricted in certain geographic regions.

Given we’re all digital nomads these days and we all like to travel, this means everyone, really.

So, choose a VPN provider with servers in multiple geographic locations.

4. Speed and performance:

There’s nothing more frustrating than a webpage that’s slow to download or a video that’s constantly buffering.

Using a VPN provides additional security, but it’s not meant to slow down your internet user experience. In short, it shouldn’t affect your online performance.

So, look for a VPN provider with fast servers and a good track record for operational performance.

5. Compatibility:

There are so many different devices today. PCs, Chromebooks, MacBooks, iPads, tablets, smartphones, and so on.

They’re all different.

So, make sure the VPN provider you choose is compatible with the devices you regularly use.

You may find that some VPN services may not work on all devices, or they may require some special configuration.

6. Customer support:

Digital services are great, and they’ve added so much value to our lives. However, it’s when they go wrong that they can prove to be challenging.

Whenever you’re considering any digital service, always look hard at how well they do customer support.

Choose a VPN provider with a good reputation for excellent customer support services.

Things will go wrong occasionally, they always do, and that’s when you’ll want effective help quickly.

So, look for VPN providers that offer live chat or email support, as well as comprehensive documentation and guides.

7. Cost:

Once you’ve decided on all the above, then it comes down to who you think offers the best value for money. And allow me to stress here, it’s not about the cheapest. It really is all about the best value relative to what is being provided.

Which VPN provider should I choose?

There are many good VPN providers but the VPN that is regularly voted the best all-rounder by experts and users, and the one I use personally on all my devices, is ExpressVPN.

ExpressVPN offers a choice of 3,000 servers in 94 countries around the world. It’s extremely fast, reliable, and secure and it works with all popular platforms and services. It also offers 24/7 online customer support.

In summary, ExpressVPN includes: –

Reliable connection;
User-friendly;
Best-in-class security and encryption;
3,000 ultra-fast servers in 94 countries;
Split-tunnelling;
No activity logs and no connection logs;
24/7 customer support by live chat;
Unmatched Netflix Streaming;
Built-in password manager: ExpressVPN Keys;
30 days risk-free. Not satisfied? Money back, no questions asked.

Next Step:

Given that you can try it risk-free for 30 days, what have you got to lose?

Why not take a closer look? You can LEARN MORE HERE.

Just click the link and check it out.

15 Reasons to Choose SiteGround for Your WordPress Blog

15 REASONS TO CHOOSE SITEGROUND FOR YOUR WORDPRESS BLOG:

1. Speed and Performance

2. WordPress Optimized Hosting

3. Free WordPress Installation and Migration

4. Expert WordPress Support

5. Free CDN and Caching Tools

6. Enhanced Security

7. Scalability and Uptime

8. User-Friendly Interface

9. Developer-Friendly Tools

10. Daily Backups and Easy Restoration

11. Staging Environment

12. Excellent Customer Support

13. Positive Reviews and Reputation

14. Environmentally Conscious

15. Value for Money

CHOOSING A PLAN:

HOW EASY IT IS TO SET UP A WORDPRESS WEBSITE WITH SITEGROUND?

STEP 1: EASY WORDPRESS INSTALLATION

STEP 2: CHOOSE A THEME

STEP 3: ADD PLUGINS TO EXPAND FUNCTIONALITY

CONCLUSION:

About the author:

Other articles that may be of interest:

Best tools for bloggers to take you to a professional level

1. Domain Name Registration:

2. Hosting:

3. Content Management System (CMS):

4. Essential WordPress Plugins:

5. Keyword Research and SEO Tools:

6. Content Creation and Graphics:

7. Writing and Editing Tools:

8. Essential social media:

9. Social Media Management:

10. Email Marketing:

11. Analytics and Performance Tracking:

12. Monetization and Affiliate Marketing:

13. Backup and Security:

14. Collaboration and Productivity:

15. Grammar and Style Guides:

16. Legal and Compliance:

Conclusion:

About the author:

Other articles that may be of interest:

12 Benefits of Canva and why you should use it

What is Canva?

Key benefits of Canva:

Canva pricing:

Benefits of Canva Pro:

Pros and cons of Canva:

Pros:

Cons:

Conclusion:

About the author:

Other articles that may be of interest:

Should you separate domain registration and web hosting?

The argument for separation:

7 reasons why separation matters:

1. Separate Services:

2. Not all hosts offer both services:

3. Freedom of Movement:

4. Ease of Migrating:

5. Hosting Multiple Websites:

6. Ability to manage them independently:

7. Greater control over your online presence:

Conclusion:

What do I use?

Other articles that may be of interest:

Why use a VPN? 10 reasons why it’s essential

What is a VPN?

Why use a VPN?

1. Security:

2. Privacy:

3. Access to restricted content:

4. Protection from ISP tracking:

5. Improved online performance:

6. Better search results:

7. Protection from cyber threats:

8. Bypass censorship: