Blaze Miskulin

@stemcpt

Before I delete AIOSEO, I’m hoping I can find an alternative that preserves all the Title and Description info I’ve built up over the past year. Do you have a recommendation?

My site is (fortunately) a small, locally-focused one with only a few thousand readers, but I’d still like it to present information properly to search engines.

I have now received the link and key. Thank you.

Understood.

Thank you for explaining.

The limits I’m referring to are the 3 “upgrade to pro” boxes under the overview. I can understand limitations from Google. However, you’re offering this information on the pro version, so you must have access to it.

The “top posts/pages”, for example, is a very important stat. The free version could show the top five only.

“New vs. Returning” could, in the free version, show a simple pie chart.

“Device Breakdown” could, in the free version, show the top device only.

All of these could then offer more details when upgrading to pro.

The biggest benefit I see from Monster Insights is that you present the stats in a much cleaner and efficient format. That’s why I use you (since, obviously, I can get much more info directly from Google).

You have a great plugin and I recommend it clients (or just install the free version for them). But a little more “tease” would be good.

Most of the clients I work with have Google Analytics accounts, but they don’t utilize them (which is frustrating). And they’re not always willing to give me access to their Google account (including linking).

If MI could “tease” a little more, I could convince clients to “pay for this plugin, so you don’t have to give me access to Google”.

More money for you, more data for marketing people like me. Win-win.

@bensibley

I missed the e-mail notice for your reply (but got the notice for the reply by @spedadvocate) so I didn’t see this until today. Sorry.

After trying lots of combinations, I found that “Default Template” and “No sidebar – Wide” is the combination that works. I don’t know if that’s a result of you fixing a bug or me just stumbling on the right combination of settings.

Either way, it’s all good now (if I can remember the right settings–which I never can). ?? Thanks. Even though I didn’t see it, I appreciate the prompt and helpful response.

(And you’re on my list of “upgrade to pro” once I start making money from the site.)

@joyously

Now this is getting more complicated than my meager skills might be able to handle. Hence my hoping that there was a plugin that could do it all for me. ??

(I’m a writer and marketer, not a coder.)

@joyously

OK, you are using a different definition of feed than I am.

I thought that might be the case. In old-school talk, the “feed” is all the news that comes in or goes out. And RSS feed is a subset of that: “news that goes in/out via RSS”

You can define a custom post type based on post and set all the old posts to that type.

Thanks. I’ll look into that. My DB skills are somewhat rusty, but I can call in help.

I don’t see the benefit of doing this. Having a full database that is never shown seems strange. People couldn’t browse the old, only search it. Strange.

It’s a “reboot”. The value of the site is the domain name and the reputation of people associated with it.

The new approach of the site is 99.44% different from what it previously was. Allowing the old content to have the same value as the new content would muddle the message and cause problems.

On the other hand, deleting all the old content would make it look like the site is trying to deny what it used to be–not a good thing for a newspaper to do.

This sort of compromise is not uncommon in the publishing world; older volumes are “put in the archives”–not publicly displayed, but available for anyone that wants to dig through the filing cabinets.

@joyously

I don’t see how this differs from what WordPress does by default.

Every WP theme I’ve seen has a “view previous” or “view older” link in the feed. It allows you to go back and view every post every made. I want the “view previous” to stop at a given date.

e.g., WP install has 15 years worth of posts. As of 2020-01-01, I want everything published previous to that date to NOT show up when you click “view previous” (disappear from the feed), to NOT show up if you view the category they’re in, to NOT show up on the posting calendar. The ONLY way to find them is to use the search box.

@visiondigital

While a technically valid solution, it would be problematic from a practical standpoint.

That would require that every editor, author, and contributor know that they have to click that checkbox, and actually do so. I’m too much of a realist to expect that to happen. And, if we’re dealing with something time-sensitive, missing that one checkbox could be a serious issue.

I’m looking for a solution where any new posts appear by default, but any old posts aren’t displayed (except in a search).

I was hoping there’s an existing plugin that does this. If not, I’m willing to manually add a flag in the DB and something in WP (if [archive]=1 then “only display in search”). I’m just worried that any manual tweaks will disappear during an update.

@joyously

In “new-school” terms, I want archived posts (in an existing installation of WP) to not be visible in the feed, but still able to be found in a search.

The site is changing from a “place for a few people to rant” into a legitimate journalism site (at least I hope so).

The existing content doesn’t fit into the new mission of the site, so I don’t want it openly displayed. In the spirit of good journalism, however, I do not want it to be deleted or “unfindable”.

Am I explaining that clearly? I cut my teeth in journalism with paste-boards and screen photostats, so I’m not always up on how the cool kids do things these days. ??

@ Ipstenu

My apologies. I did not mean to post this topic in this forum.

The layout of the forums page is so bad, that topics overlap each other in my browser (unless I increase zoom to 150%). I thought I was clicking a link to the “themes” forum. Thank you for moving it.

@otto42

That’s the problem. The classic editor was broken. Very, very much so. It needed to be fixed.

In what way was it broken?

The problem is that the underlying system is built on those blocks.

Nope. The underlying system was built on rendering HTML. Automatically adding paragraph marks isn’t the same as blocks.

Bringing those to the surface, showing them to you, giving you control over them, that’s the fix here.

I had control over them. It’s called “HyperText Markup Language”. I could change the formatting of any bit of text I want–either through the TinyMCE editor (I used the “advanced” plugin)–which is just a simply WYSIWYG that’s been around since the early days of the Web–or directly through HTML editing.

Are blocks rendering anything that can’t be rendered with HTML? If the answer is “no”, then they are not giving me anything. They’re just adding complexity.

The new editor is simply better. I’m sorry that you don’t like it, but your opinion doesn’t actually change anything.

And this is the heart of the matter: You’re right, we’re all wrong, “just deal with it”.

You’re ignoring the first rule of business:

Quality is conformity to customer requirements.

You can’t just shove something into production and insist that it’s “better because I say so”. 72% of the feedback is saying “This isn’t better” or “This is worse”. But you’re not listening.

I have yet to see anyone explain, exactly, <i>how</i> Gutenberg is better.

• What, exactly, are the “problems” that it “fixes”?
• What “control” does it give me that I did not have before?
• How does the higher level of complexity benefit the majority of users?
• How is the added investment in time going to benefit me? (What’s the ROI?)

Unless you can provide answers to those questions which satisfy 80% of your users, it’s not “simply better”.

So, your story here is that you couldn’t figure out how to work a touchscreen in a car, because instead of taking the time to learn the system before driving, you jumped in and tried to multitask. That didn’t work out so well for you.

And there’s the 2nd issue with the “Gutenberg attitude”: Your approach isn’t “I should build something that is intuitive and simple to use”, it’s “deride the people that don’t understand my new-fangled way of doing things.

The thing you should be taking away from your own story is that you could have spent a few minutes familiarizing yourself with the unfamiliar interface, instead of making assumptions that ended up with you driving in the cold for 100 miles. The error was your own, not the interface’s.

{sigh} I’ve been driving for over 35 years. I’ve driven a dozen types of vehicles (including some that require a CDL). I shouldn’t have to “familiarize myself” with anything. It should be intuitive.

In a car, there are a couple systems that are basic and constantly used. “Heat” is one of them. It should be a big button on the screen. Touch that, and there should be a slider that has “cold” on the left and “hot” on the right. Slide the slider and change the temp.

It is absolutely the fault of the interface (or, more specifically, the UI designers) if it requires detailed reading and multiple-level menus to get to something as basic as “heat/AC”.

People want to have more control over the way they publish on the web, and better systems to give them more control are needed. This is the start of such a system.

I already use Elementor on several of my sites. I’ve taught a couple other people to use it. I’m not opposed to page-building tools–for those who want them. They can be great. Elementor has a few quirks I’m not happy with, but, overall, it provides “added value” to me. And a major part of that value is that I get to choose which pages I use it on.

Gutenberg isn’t providing “added value”. It’s requiring that everyone change the most basic way that they interact with the product–regardless of what the users want or need, and irrespective of how they actually use it.

I’ll be clear: I don’t expect for a second that WP will change course on this. But I want them to understand that Gutenberg has a large, strong, and vocal opposition. At least then they might understand why people are leaving.

@ginetteadmin

Someone earlier in the thread mentioned a fork of WordPress. It’s called ClassicPress, and it looks to be a reasonably well-supported fork that is dedicated to keeping the classic editor, while maintaining all other support and updates.

There have been a number of semi-contentious changes to WP over the years (though most of the changes only mattered to power-users and purists), but this is the first time I’ve heard of a change severe enough to cause a legitimate fork to the project.

(@otto42)

I’ve been at this longer than you have.

You’ve been using WP since before v1? That would be an interesting tale to hear.

Why do you think that having blocks matters, exactly?

Because “blocks” separate the content. It’s not a flow. It’s not a continuous text.

As I understand it, blocks are also dependent on Javascript. Text should always be rendered as text It may include markup, but that markup is a universal standard that is easily read by any browser or other utility.

If the blocks don’t interfere with my writing ability, then why should I care how the backend is organized?

That’s exactly the point. Or, one amongst many. Blocks absolutely interfere with my writing. That’s been the primary feedback across the board.

You seem to be opposed to the very idea of blocks on some deep level that I do not understand.

A) I use Elementor on a few of my own sites. I have not problem with separating content into “blocks”–as long as it makes sense.

B) Page-builders (like Elementor) are add-ons. They’re an advanced tool for those who are interested in using advanced tools. I work with clients who wouldn’t know a header tag from a hole in the ground. I’ve been on the internet since before there was a “World Wide Web”–and I couldn’t figure out how to use Gutenberg.

They give you more control, not less.

They introduce (and require) more complexity where none is needed.

A couple years ago, I flew back home form overseas and rented a car to get from ORD to my home town.

1. The car didn’t have a key. It took me a couple minutes to figure out how to open the door, and another couple to figure out how to turn on the engine.
2. The controls for the heating were all on a touch-screen. Rather than being able to reach over and turn a knob, I had to navigate a series of menus–which required me to direct my eye and my attention to an unfamiliar series of screens, while trying to drive in interstate traffic around Chicago. I drove in the cold for 100 miles because I had a choice of paying attention to the touch screen or paying attention to the road.

“Blocks” are an unnecessary, and overly complicated, “solution” to a “problem” that doesn’t exist. And, just like the touch-screen controls in that rental car, they add levels of complexity that have no value–and make it harder to actually accomplish what the user wants.

If you feel that Gutenberg is of value to you, great; add it as a plugin (just like I’ve added Elementor to several sites I manage). But please don’t insist that I have to adopt some overly-complicated, contrived “advancement” that just adds layers of complexity to an existing, elegant, tool.

I say: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

@otto42

When you write, then you can just write everything in paragraphs like you did before, and not need to worry about formatting until later. It splits things into blocks for you to make that later editing much simpler.

Unless things have changed in the past 3 weeks or so, “write everything in paragraphs” isn’t an option–unless you mean “write each paragraph as a separate block”.

And… I don’t wan’t it to “split things into blocks”. I don’t want “blocks” at all. “Blocks” are counter-intuitive to how I’ve been writing things for the past 45 years.

It splits things into blocks for you to make that later editing much simpler.

No. It is not “much simpler”. In no way is it “much simpler”. It is, in fact, needlessly complicated. It’s adding layers of complexity to what should be simple HTML.

I wrote my first professionally-published work about 30 years ago. Over the past 15 years, publishing in WordPress (and coaching others in how to do so) has been a significant aspect of my career.

I joked with a friend of mi Becane–who is an accomplished novelist–that I probably write more words in a day than he does (though his is much better). Because, on a productive day, I might write 10k words.

I am very aware of the tools available to me, and I am very picky as to which increase or hamper my efficiency.

Absolutely nothing about Gutenberg is “much simpler”. And nothing about it is more efficient. If it were, I’d be one of the first to adopt and recommend it.

Don’t tell me what’s “the best way for me to write”. It’s a fair bet that I’ve been writing longer than you’ve been living. I’ve had plenty of time to develop my workflow. And you coming in and insisting that your new-fangled whatsit is suddenly superior to the centuries tried-and-true does not make me change my mind.