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If you have a WordPress site, you’ve probably gotten a notification before letting you know that a new update is available. You may wonder if you should update now or if it’s okay to wait and do it later. So what could happen if you decide you don’t want to update anything? 

Everyone who reads the hasOptimization blog knows that I make no apologies when it comes to how hard I drag web hoster GoDaddy for their web hosting offerings, whether it comes to their price gouging for SSL certificates, charging for services that don’t actually do anything, their poor security, or any variety of shady business practices they have. However, I’ve never been public on the blog about my dislike of Bluehost as a registrar and a web hoster. Based on my experiences with Bluehost, I’d never recommend them to anyone.

Bloat can happen to anyone and strike at any time – often times when we are most unaware! But when you get the dreaded email from your hosting company about how you’re about to hit your hosting limit, you’re probably asking how or why this is happening to your WordPress site. 

DNS, short for domain name system, can be really hard to wrap your brain around, but is an integral part of the way websites work. If you’ve ever been confused about DNS, DNS records, or DNS management, I hope to clear up any confusion you may have about how it works. Let’s break down what DNS is, and how it serves a website.

When small businesses first start dipping their toes into the waters of Google Ads, they often think “I’ll just send the traffic to my home page and let people figure it out from there.” And this works… sort of. Yes, people see the ads and click and view the website, and they may even convert. However, those ads are probably costing a lot more money than they need to.

Listen, I know you really love that handwriting font. You think it’s cute, and you think that it brings a level of personalization to your website and your branding… A bit of whimsy, perhaps. It’s less… Well, less structured than a traditional serif or sans-serif font. There has been research to suggest that utilizing handwritten fonts can increase sales. In some cases, I’d agree with you! I use what could be considered a “handwriting font” on my personal website, a font called “Permanent Marker”, which invokes a feeling of someone writing with permanent marker. But these loopy, curvy, handwriting fonts…

When it comes to building a website for your business or brand, little matches the versatility of building on the WordPress CMS. Used by some ridiculous percentage of the web (around 40%) from simple to complex websites, this CMS (Content Management System) is a go-to for many. With an open-source library boasting thousands of themes and plugins alike, why wouldn’t it be? Still, many people opt not to build in the WordPress CMS, and that’s okay too – WordPress is not for everyone. We’ll talk about the pros and cons of using WordPress to DIY your site and help you…

People choose to move or transfer a domain for many reasons. A lot of those times, consolidation is the reason, given that having your domain in the same place as your host makes billing easier and less confusing. However, domain transfers can also occur when a company is sold, or a registrar is not living up to everything you thought they would be. Here’s how you can expect a domain transfer to work, and the steps needed for you to transfer a domain. This is a non-inclusive list and a general guide to what you can expect, not a how-to;…

hasOptimization is here once more to proudly announce the launch of a new website for the North Andover Merchants Association! North Andover Merchants Association, or NAMA for short, is a chamber of commerce-esque non-profit organization dedicated to helping local North Andover businesses succeed.

I like to think of myself as an educator far more than as a sales person or even a marketer. As such, I think a lot about the ways I can make complex, technical information accessible to the average person. Just as I don’t know all the details of, for example, how to repair an engine, build a bathroom, or argue a legal case, I don’t expect that my clients will understand the ins and outs of website development, search engine optimization, or advertising.  One of the topics I explain with great regularity to a wide variety of people from…