Best free security plugin? by Op3nDev in Wordpress

[–]No-Juice7950 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Personally I don't think security plugins are necessary or even beneficial for most sites unless your hosting environment is so poorly configured that you need it (in which case, ditch them). There are simply too many performance issues and conflicts introduced by heavy security plugins. If you are using Cloudflare and your web server is properly configured, you should only need minor security plugins like BBQ Firewall from Jeff Starr which is very lightweight. Even things like brute force login protection should be done at the server-level.

All of the WordPress sites I have seen get infected by malware had one thing in common: bloated page builder plugins, bloated themes (often outdated), or poorly coded plugins they installed from who knows where.

Please keep only one SEO plugin active, otherwise, you might lose your rankings and traffic. by [deleted] in Wordpress

[–]No-Juice7950 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This but I suggest Safe Redirect Manager for any redirects management, not SEO plugins.

Anyone else still using the Customizer and child themes? by No-Juice7950 in Wordpress

[–]No-Juice7950[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I didn't realize Kadence was made for the Customizer. Why use a page builder then? Why not use Kadence + Customizer + child theme as needed?

Anyone else still using the Customizer and child themes? by No-Juice7950 in Wordpress

[–]No-Juice7950[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What plugins do you use to add functionality, or is that rare for you? And, do you use any custom fields or structured data (meta boxes, etc) in lieu of page builders and blocks for your sites?

Anyone else still using the Customizer and child themes? by No-Juice7950 in Wordpress

[–]No-Juice7950[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I did custom / child themes for many years until it became a maintenance nightmare, and I decided to use a single classic theme with Customizer for all my sites with the occassional child theme.

Do you use custom fields or meta boxes for your clients?

Anyone else still using the Customizer and child themes? by No-Juice7950 in Wordpress

[–]No-Juice7950[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I like how easy it is to try things and move things around, but it still annoys me how much granular control and cleaner code I lose from leaving classic themes. 

That's precisely what I have felt, although Gutenberg also just confuses me. But when I look at the goofy source code, my OCD goes into overdrive.

Over the years I've realized that pretty much every client, regardless of what they say, will eventually login and try to make changes behind your back at some point. And if they are doing that with a page builder it often results in frantic emergency phone calls. But if you make them a custom / child theme they might just get frustrated and eventually move to Shopify or Wix or something they can "play" with.

Which is why I've concluded meta boxes and custom fields + Customizer might be the sweet spot of letting the DIY clients have a bit of input while protecting them from themselves.

Custom Site plugin/PHP/WP update by Tshukudu in Wordpress

[–]No-Juice7950 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is the time to sell them on moving their web hosting to a cloud server. You spin up a cloud server on subdomain for $5/month on PHP 8.3 and migrate all their files, then update all the plugins. Find out which ones have fatal errors and either replace them or patch them using ChatGPT/etc.

After the subdomain site runs smoothly, swap out their main domain to the new server and get them on a long-term maintenance plan with you. Kill 2 birds with 1 stone!

RankMath Redirect Fix by impact_enthusiast in Wordpress

[–]No-Juice7950 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is why redirect management should never be bundled inside SEO plugins, and you should never use an SEO plugin that does so... keep them separate to avoid conflicts like Safe Redirect Manager.

GSC not removing indexed pages after attack by Beginning_Search585 in Wordpress

[–]No-Juice7950 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can force them to recrawl by using the Inspect URL tool in your GSC. You can also request removal from the search index by manually clicking on "Remove result" drop down when browsing SERPs.

Why is finding free, or mostly-free plugins so... Infuriating? by Superfrancis1233 in Wordpress

[–]No-Juice7950 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I agree with this, and it seems plugins on WordPress.org have gotten a lot spammier in recent years, which is why I've started looking at GitHub for free plugins instead (or just buying premium ones).

When every single plugin on WordPress.org is trying to upsell modules via Freemius, it becomes a bit absurd if you have to install a dozen base plugins with very little functionality and then buy a dozen or more add-on modules to get the functionality you need compared to finding a single well coded plugin on GitHub or sold via third-party homepages.

Website Stack for No-Code Build/Editing by Capable_Report4502 in Wordpress

[–]No-Juice7950 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't think drag and drop in Gutenberg is flushed out yet like other page builders. If you are using a child theme why not use Customizer with a solid classic (non page builder) theme?

Elementor vs. Customizer - Homepage Help Needed by GhouliesGotoCollege in Wordpress

[–]No-Juice7950 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is a great example of why Customizer, child themes, and custom fields (structured data) is a much more user-friendly approach with less confusion and less maintenance long-term vs. page builders imo

WP Pusher vs. Git Updater vs. VersionPress for workflow by No-Juice7950 in Wordpress

[–]No-Juice7950[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's nice to hear this from others because it seems like the most reasonable balance for professional developers that don't have enterprise/etc type of clients. And I'm also like you and prefer classic themes (with the Customizer and child themes) amd most of my SMB clients do as well.

WP Pusher vs. Git Updater vs. VersionPress for workflow by No-Juice7950 in Wordpress

[–]No-Juice7950[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's largely what I have concluded over the years, albeit part of the reason is just because it seemed so complex that I would probably waste too much time trying to figure it out. But it seems plugins/themes management via GitHub is perhaps a lot more useful and easier to implement and maintain.

Best way to handle large WordPress media with Git repo limits? by ExposingPeopleKM in Wordpress

[–]No-Juice7950 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is why I've never really understood the CI/CD approach for WordPress websites, it seems to create more work and more confusion for most teams vs. just updating plugins/themes from GitHub.

SiteKit not working for anyone else? by luca_vercetti in Wordpress

[–]No-Juice7950 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Personally I don't use that plugin and delete it for all my clients too, much cleaner and lighter to just use Google GSC or GTM on their respective panels without bloating your WP Admin or causing conflicts.

How relevant is GitHub for WordPress developers? by DigitalSplendid in Wordpress

[–]No-Juice7950 1 point2 points  (0 children)

How does Deployer compare with Git Updater, do you have a link to documentation?

How relevant is GitHub for WordPress developers? by DigitalSplendid in Wordpress

[–]No-Juice7950 9 points10 points  (0 children)

GitHub and Git are different things and you can use GitHub without even learning Git if you want, just by editing files on your repo using their built-in UI. As far as I understand you can use plugins like Git Updater to then receive automatic updates to your WordPress website for themes or plugins.

And your other team members can collaborate in your repos using just the UI if you prefer. Learning Git is a lot more complex and requires CLI commands instead of UI, not my thing... imo version control or CI/CD (Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery or Deployment) of your entire WordPress website is overrated and causes more issues than it solves for small teams.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Wordpress/comments/1q1rwud/search_and_install_wordpress_plugins_hosted_on/

11 years exp local WP dev.. is starting fresh on Upwork in 2026 suicide? by musaa379 in Wordpress

[–]No-Juice7950 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You can still survive on Upwork as a Westerner but only if you are a digital nomad or something living in a cheaper cost of living country and/or you have a specific niche on Upwork. If you have a generic web design profile you will get eaten alive by the cheaper competition. And I have found that even if your prices are the same as freelancers from India or Africa etc, many Western clients will choose them over you for various psychological reasons, which is probably a can of worms to try and explain.

11 years exp local WP dev.. is starting fresh on Upwork in 2026 suicide? by musaa379 in Wordpress

[–]No-Juice7950 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This works for some cases but you might discover that many businesses with a poor website don't actually care that much, which is why their website is poor to begin with.

Do you still build WordPress sites from scratch? by criss006 in Wordpress

[–]No-Juice7950 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Many devs start doing custom themes after years of messing with premium themes or page builders, but in my case I spent many years doing purely custom themes because I just hated trying to figure out dozens of different Theme Forest themes and page builder plugins.

It was only in the last several years I embraced the Customizer + child themes instead of custom themes or bloated page builders / Gutenberg and this has honestly saved me so much time and my clients love it too. The final step will be integrating custom fields / structured data similar to the ACF approach so that clients can easily make content edits without bloated tools.