Need help building a proper Directory based website

  • So I currently have a website built that has been running on X Theme Pro with some added functionality. But I’ve struggled with a lot of compatibility errors with the theme and other plugins I must have to present my website properly.

    I have 4 elements I need to have my website consist of:

    Blog
    Videos
    Shop
    Directory (for Doctor & Dispensary profiles that also show on a google map)

    The Dispensary & Doctor Directory is also a very important and vital component to my website and it’s brand. Right now I’m using a 3rd party plugin called Web Directory 2.0. While it’s a great app, it’s also causing speed problems on my website.

    I had hundreds of Google Search Console errors that I was able to get mostly cleared up. But I still have a bundle of speed issues I can’t seem to clear out because of Javascript errors. This is continuing to severely affect my Google Search Ranking.

    These errors mostly come from a combination of:

    Modern Events Calendar (currently disabled)
    Revolution Slider
    Woocommerce
    Essential Grid (currently disabled)
    Web Directory 2.0

    I really need all of the functionality that these 4 plugins also offer to my platform.

    I really wanted to switch over to the theme “Lounge” by BoldThemes, it’s exactly the look and feel I’d like to present to my audience:

    https://bold-themes.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Lounge-scaled.jpg

    But they weren’t sure what Directory may be compatible with their theme and couldn’t really offer any solutions.

    I’ve also downloaded SmushPro & Hummingbird Pro to help with images and cache and stuff and while these are setup pretty good, I don’t think their completely optimized yet and probably need a Pro to really help with that.

    Does anyone have any suggestions for me?

    Do I ditch X Theme Pro & try something new like BoldTheme’s Lounge and try to incorporate a Directory?

    Or something else entirely?

    Thanks!

    • This topic was modified 4 years, 10 months ago by Jan Dembowski.

    The page I need help with: [log in to see the link]

Viewing 7 replies - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)

  • @johnnyscience

    Can you provide the correct URL?

    Thread Starter JohnnyScience

    (@johnnyscience)

    Hello it is: https://www.ohiocannabs.com

    Thanks!

    @johnnyscience

    Same as before :

    View post on imgur.com

    Thread Starter JohnnyScience

    (@johnnyscience)

    whoops sorry typo:

    https://www.ohiocannabis.com

    @johnnyscience

    You’re using the CDN from WMPU ?

    I would be curious to know why BoldThemes thinks their theme would not be compatible with the Web DIrectory plugin?

    You site is kind of a beast with Woo and the theme and the Directory – it loads very very slow. But it loads a tonne of images and a tonne of css.
    Even the text on your homepage is images :
    https://824033.smushcdn.com/1623112/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Upcoming-Events-768×61.png?lossy=1&strip=1&webp=1
    also you’re accessing a cdn for the images :
    https://824033.smushcdn.com/1623112/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/leaf-2.jpg

    If it were me, I would ditch WooCommerce.
    On the dispensaries pages, load a landing page, and let the user choose their criteria for a dispensary that is relevant to them.
    Here’s some more insight :

    View post on imgur.com

    Your question is kind of broad to provide a lot of help – the short answer is there’s lots of issues to work on!

    Thread Starter JohnnyScience

    (@johnnyscience)

    Hello, yes I am using the CDN from WMPU.

    Bold Themes didn’t necessarily say that it wasn’t compatible, just that they can’t guarantee it is because they’ve never ran tests for it. They also couldn’t suggest a Directory plugin that was compatible with their Theme.

    And after trying a couple of different ones out, I’ve come to like Web Directory 2.0 plugin as it allows me to present my Dispensaries & Doctors the way I’d like to visually with a map and individual profiles in columns & rows.

    But even this one is giving me major speed issues on the website.

    Is there any way I can create a columned list with profile info & pictures in a visually appealing way, without having to use a Directory plugin?

    What I want really isn’t difficult I don’t think and I have less than 100 entries/profiles between Dispensaries & Doctors.

    I’ve tried stripping a lot of the plugins out for now to try and increase speed as I rebuild things. But that flip-side to that is now my website has less functionality that I’d like/need it to.

    I’m not tied to Woo-Commerce, but I honestly don’t know what a good alternative would be. They seem to have the market cornered for e-commerce within WordPress.

    What would your suggestion be? I don’t plan on carrying tons of products, probably less than 20 overall. So I could run a very light-weight e-commerce solution.

    As far as all of the images, I’m trying to make my site very visually appealing with graphics and art. How can I attempt this without bogging my site down?

    For instance, the text that I have as images; Upcoming Events, Ohio Cannabis News & Shop CBD Products (I’ve sinced removed Upcoming Events & Ohio Cannabis News, but Shop CBD is still on my home page as an image. So how can I optimize this design concept?

    I made these look really cool with a gradient in photoshop.

    Is there any way to create the text with a gradient outline like I did without making it an image that slows the site down?

    I’m also still having issues with background images on my home page being a major problem for the speed of my website.

    For whatever reason, the way that X Themes Content Builder works and I added those images to the background, Smush Pro can’t seem to Smush any of the background images I have on my home page.

    What is a more optimized size I can re-upload the background images on my homepage with?

    I’ve tried playing with the scale within the content builder, but it always just ends up blurring the image or not scrolling the image with the Parallax effect properly.

    I’d like to keep the resolution/presentation the way the images currently populate, with the scrolling image with the Parallax effect as they currently are. I think it adds a really nice visual touch to the website.

    However, if it’s one of the reasons the website is bogged down, I will get rid of itt.

    I know this is bit winded and complicated and I REALLY appreciate any help & insight into fixing my websites load time.

    Thank you!

    • This reply was modified 4 years, 9 months ago by JohnnyScience.

    I can see why there is appeal for the Web Directory 2.0
    The nice part is that it delivered structured data to your site, and provides lot of options. The downside is that you pay for those options in complexity and speed – whether you choose to use them or not. IMO it’s a bit overkill, but you know your business best.
    And you should know your user market and you expect them to search or find the data they are looking for.

    > Is there any way I can create a columned
    > list with profile info & pictures in a visually appealing way

    Sure. There’s loads of ways. The (good) old fashioned way would be to use a Page Builder like :
    https://elementor.com/features/
    or,
    https://www.wpbeaverbuilder.com/

    Or you could build out a custom post type using Advanced Custom Fields :
    https://www.advancedcustomfields.com/

    If you continue to grabble with the *functionality* of your site, do not move onto thinking about a theme or layout. Site down and decide what you want your users to be able to do ? How do you want them to use your site ? *Functionally*.
    Once you know this, the theme and layout is easy.

    > now my website has less functionality that I’d like/need it to

    Again, would be great if you wrote it down specifically. And shared it here .

    > I’m not tied to Woo-Commerce, but I honestly don’t know what a good alternative would be

    If you want something hosted, then Shopify is excellent. I have only just signed on to use Ewclid last week, but I have heard great things about them as well. I have several clients on Shopify, and I use it for my own eCommerce business as well. Basic plan is $30 USD per month.

    > So I could run a very light-weight e-commerce solution

    WooCommerce + lightweight e-commerce do not go hand in hand.

    If you can get SVG for your images, then do that.
    Otherwise, just make sure you are compressing your images as much as possible before uploading them to WordPress.
    https://tinypng.com/

    > So how can I optimize this design concept
    Use an image, with a text overlay.
    https://www.w3schools.com/howto/howto_css_image_text.asp

    > I made these look really cool with a gradient in photoshop.
    LOL. Yes! They are cool. ??
    Is there *value* in them been slow but cool to the customer tho ?

    > What is a more optimized size I can re-upload the background images on my homepage with?
    1920 ?

Viewing 7 replies - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)
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