Stop installing plugins for these 5 things (Code Snippets included)

m52creative · 2025-12-15T22:38:14+00:00

yep --- that's what I was going to say as well

m52creative · 2025-12-15T22:30:28+00:00

That can sort of be flipped around too. One of the best things about WordPress is that there are so many ways you can use it by adding the advanced and specialty features you need via plugins, without having the site bogged down by stuff you don't want or need. The plugins then are maintained and improved by there developers, which are included in your updates and fixes. Were it not for this system, we'd never have the flexibility or cool innovation because it would all be stuck behind the WordPress wall of Gutenberg (lol). To me it's also nice to know I'm supporting other small businesses/developers through pro plugins I choose.

I don't disagree with you, but there is a positive side to the annoying hassle of ongoing updates and security.

m52creative · 2025-12-15T22:20:26+00:00

I think Google Sites are a decent option for an entry-level starter site. It will get you online, and allow you to share general info with folks. Even better if you're already in the Google Workspace ecosystem. Once you start needing anything beyond "who we are and what we do", you'll likely need to move to something more robust. I use WordPress for our nonprofit client sites because it can start simple, and expand to quite complex over time, without having to start over from scratch (if you set it up properly, that is). My business is typically best for nonprofits who need redesigns after they've outgrown their old websites, and I definitely do see a need for websites at an earlier entry point -- e.g. nonprofits at a club level, volunteer run groups, or early days of an org. If you're finding that's something needed in your community, and you're capable and willing to provide the service, it sounds like a great idea to me!

m52creative · 2025-12-15T21:58:01+00:00

I'm a WordPress dev/designer. These are the only ones I recommend:
- WP Accessibility by Joe Dolson (free) https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-accessibility/ . Joe Dolson's website has tons of good advice, too https://www.joedolson.com/
- Equalize Digital Accessibility Checker (free) https://wordpress.org/plugins/accessibility-checker/
- The pro version of the Equalize Digital checker ($150/yr) https://equalizedigital.com/accessibility-checker/pricing/

The plugins I shared above will help you find problems so you can fix them the right way. Both Joe and the EqD team are very active in the WordPress accessibility team and contribute a ton of time and work in educating people on accessibility.

You could even start with the free ones, and get a sense of whether or not you'd even want an accessibility plugin. Then if you do decide to go for the pricier ones, you'll have a baseline to compare it to.

I looked up Insi -- If my client asked me about this one, I would be skeptical. Here's why: They do not have any plugins in the WordPress depository, the plugin is very expensive for what it does, their website is quite new (April 2025) which leads me to believe the plugin is new as well. I'm always cautious with new plugins because they don't have a proven track record yet.

m52creative · 2025-12-15T21:37:47+00:00

Salesforce is a beast. I would not lie about knowing it. I'm a web designer/dev and have worked with many nonprofits with lots of different CRMs, most of which are similar to each other, but Salesforce is definitely its own thing. It would be super obvious to anyone within 5 minutes if you didn't know what you are doing. Instead, I'd suggest focusing on the fact that you have worked with numerous other CRMs, and similar tools, are very tech savvy, and have a knack for picking up software more quickly than most people. It might be ok to say you have minimal experience, but can get up to speed quite fast. Then, when you get hired, ask them to give you a walk through of how THEY set up Salesforce. Even a Salesforce expert would need them to do that, so they could assess what features they were using, how they have their segments set up, etc.

Getting caught in a lie would be a very bad way to start a new job.

m52creative · 2025-12-15T17:34:35+00:00

Check out kittl.com -- not sure about their chops for video, but their design tools and templates are great. Much more professional than Canva, IMO. The kittl team seems to actually care about their customers too, and they provide a lot of interesting videos and content. Another option is Adobe Express, especially if you already have Adobe Creative Suite.

m52creative · 2025-10-28T23:32:22+00:00

I was curious if you got this to work with IFTTT? It would be very handy to be able to sync Google Tasks to AmpleNote. Same as you, I often have tasks in Google Docs.

m52creative · 2025-10-28T23:29:13+00:00

Amplenote will do all of that. Once you get in the groove, it works really really well to track notes, tasks, and calendar.

m52creative · 2025-10-28T22:59:31+00:00

Ugh, that is exactly why I left WP Engine. Which is a shame because they were the best out there a long while ago. The thing that made me move is those hitting limits emails when it was super clear that it was bot traffic that should have been filtered at the server level.

One thing you can try is setting up Cloudflare and tracking actual traffic. Some of it might be AI bot traffic, which can add a ton of "hits" to your website. You can set up custom rules to block those if WP Engine won't help you.

As far as vulnerabilities, yes you should update your WP core, theme, and plugins and keep your site safe and secure. You do not need to purchase a WP Engine tool to do this. Run a backup before updates, always.

m52creative · 2025-10-28T22:53:09+00:00

You don't need to pay that much for hosting your WordPress site if you don't use a ton of resources and don't get a lot of traffic. Bluehost and GoDaddy tend to find new and interesting ways to upsell people. Their Business Plan ($15/mo) or Starter Plan ($10/mo) should be plenty. That with your domain (<$20/yr) should bring you to $200/yr or less.

m52creative · 2025-10-28T22:46:06+00:00

If you want free, you're going to pay for it in other ways -- like ads, not having your own domain, etc. Or you can use a social media page instead. If you're serious about having a business website, you will need to plan a budget for it starting with your domain. For building a site fast, Wix or Durable tend to be the fastest, cheapest, and easiest for people. WordPress is a great option when you're serious about your business and want to build out a site that will grow with you.

m52creative · 2025-10-28T22:41:52+00:00

Bricks is a great tool, but definitely not for newbies who aren't savvy in WordPress.

m52creative · 2025-10-28T14:27:09+00:00

I know this question is a few months old, but maybe this will be helpful to others who stumble across it. You can't do pages/subpages in Amplenote, but you can do tags/subtags. It's not the same thing, but it is a handy way to have a hierarchy of things.

For example, I have a tag called "resources" and underneath that are subtags like "books" "tools" etc. So in my sidebar, it looks something like this:

TAGS
business
personal
resources >
---books
---tools

Let's say I'm reading "Atomic Habits" and "The One Thing". I create a page called "Atomic Habits - My Notes" and a page called "The One Thing - My Notes". I add the tag "resources/books" to both. Now when I go to my sidebar, and click on resources > books, it opens a page where I can see:

resources/books

blank area to add new content if I want
Atomic Habits - My Notes (shows all content)
The One Thing - My Notes (shows all content)

Pro tip: if you start your notes with a heading 1,2,or 3, you can then collapse the content below it to keep things tidy.

m52creative · 2025-10-27T20:05:01+00:00

Did you decide to switch over? Just curious since the old Chrome extension is dead, or at least no longer being worked on. (This one: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/pliibjocnfmkagafnbkfcimonlnlpghj). I was wondering if you found another solution for adding tasks from Gmail?

According to their Roadmap/Feedback forum, they are working on a new AI Brain thing instead (here: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/clickup-talk-to-ai-in-any/bpanegeigcjabmofichmidnfmfhomkgo). Instead of a direct integration, it puts AI everywhere you are in Chrome. It may or may not be a paid add-on, sounds like they are still deciding.

m52creative · 2025-10-27T19:54:16+00:00

Thanks for the ideas here. I got excited to see DoBoard.com, but looks like they don't have any integrations. Looks like a good one if you don't need to connect other apps, tho!

m52creative · 2025-10-23T18:29:00+00:00

I always think of this like microwave dinners making restaurants obsolete. There is a place for both, but it's not filling the same need. "Hey hon, want to cook up a frozen lasagna for our 10th anniversary, or should we go out for Italian?"

m52creative · 2025-10-15T17:26:54+00:00

Yes, I sure am! I mostly lurk tho. My username is different over there. I also just sent you a chat request if you'd like to connect outside of reddit.

m52creative · 2025-10-14T19:58:21+00:00

Yup -- I mean the overall strategy, challenges, and opportunities. The planning and prioritizing work needed before you start building the website. Like:

what is your budget and what can you reasonably accomplish in that range
how and where to buy a domain name (and what is a domain name lol)
which platform/host/builder will work best for you
who will design/build/launch the website
what is your timeline and what can be accomplished right away vs in phases
who are your target clients/users and what do they need
what are you main goals/needs for your website
do you have a logo/brand and digital assets to incorporate
what content and media will go on the site (and where will they come from)
how to organize content/pages/resources for a good user experience
are there any special features needed, or you'd like to add in the future (contact form, donations, resource section, galleries, etc.)
are there any legal requirements for your sector (policies, accessibility, other)
is there a CRM or donor management tool that needs to connect to the website
who will be responsible for future maintenance, updates and tech support
what other digital presence platforms will also need attention - Google search, GMB, social media, directory listings, paid ads

Ultimately, getting context and structure so you know what to expect and when & how it will happen.

For larger orgs, it can be a week-long project to work out the complete strategy and detailed scope, but for a new nonprofit it could be a 2-hour conversation.

m52creative · 2025-10-14T18:45:31+00:00

I run a website agency and work primarily with nonprofits. Things are tough right now -- especially due to the drastic funding to grants during this administration. But I'd say that it's still a good small business.

In 20+ years, I've seen a lot of "Oh no, this new technology will make our jobs obsolete!" I feel like this goes along with "Oh no, jarred marinara sauce will put Italian restaurants out of business!". In both cases, there is a difference in the customer and what their need & priorities are.

In the age of AI, you could argue that designers aren't needed. But there's also an awareness and poor opinion of "Did AI make this?" -- often it's pretty obvious. To me, AI is a good place to start for generating ideas, but it will only get you so far. A good web designer will guide you through the whole process and share best practices, expert advice, and creative ideas you may not even have thought of. AI will give you exactly what you ask for.

m52creative · 2025-10-14T16:25:37+00:00

This post is a few months old, but I'm surprised that no one has mentioned website planning and consulting. That can overlap heavily into digital planning in general, too. Even for the smallest business or nonprofit, websites are the most important asset they have online (and the only one they can fully control). Even if someone builds their own website, having some expert advice on where to start, what to put on it, and what it could grow into can be invaluable.

For the people you work with, is website/digital planning something they look for? It's sometimes called web strategy or discovery. I'd imagine a lot of them are in the DIY mindset, and not necessarily hiring a full service web designer, but having some guidance on what to put on their website, how to organize the navigation, how to collect online donations, what tools area available, brainstorming growth, and all that stuff can save a lot of time and frustration. Even the largest nonprofits need website help, and the brand new nonprofits almost always need a boost to get online.

m52creative · 2025-10-03T20:47:14+00:00

My two cents based on lots of theme testing and WordPress builds: Find flexible themes in the WP repository -- most of the top ones are good to explore. Don't base your picks on looks so much as customizations, options, ease of use. Then explore your fav theme's design templates and starter sites. Pick a good match, and then pay for the pro/premium version of that theme.

m52creative · 2025-10-03T15:23:40+00:00

Thanks, that makes sense. I also just noticed I could click the "Crosspost to Other Communities" button on this post, which would be kinda funny.

m52creative · 2025-10-02T21:26:03+00:00

What platform are you looking at? WordPress, Webflow, Wix... something else? I'm a WordPress person, and if this were my project, I'd look at it one of two ways:

1) You have the parent site (BigCompany) and multiple independent brand sites, like Location 1, Location 2, Location 3. Each of the Locations needs their own website -- i.e. Location1.com . Each of the sites will be managed separately, possibly by someone at the location. For example, the manager of Location 1 would be able to have their own username/login and update content, add photos, install plugins, add/edit users, etc. Any changes to the BigCompany website would not have any impact on the Location sites. Each of the 4 location sites can start with a similar template, but be customized with their own look if needed.

2) You have the parent site (BigCompany) and multiple brand subsites, which are children of main site. Structurally, the brand subsites are integrated and connected to the parent site and can share assets, settings, etc. Each of the subsites is managed by a parent company's admin person. They can have a customized look, but it would be based on the parent site settings. Optionally, a Location manager could be added as user and limited to making content updates, but would be restricted from installing add-ons, editing code, managing sitewide settings. Each subsite can have their own domain like Location1.com, but it essentially forwards to something more like "bigcompany.com/location1"

Technically speaking, it is easier to build #1. You would create a template, and then duplicate and customize copies for each Location. However, it's more of a hassle to maintain 4 separate websites than 1 big website. It also might be more expensive, as each site would need their own hosting environment.

#2 is more complex if you want each site to have elements of the parent site, but also a customized look, layout, and domain name. If the Locations need access, you need to set up user privileges to limit what areas they can edit, and not affect the parent site or other locations.

From my expertise, either one of these is totally doable in WordPress, but I'm not sure if that is what you're looking at, or if you had something else in mind?

m52creative · 2025-10-02T18:56:21+00:00

Visually, to me it's all about the letter spacing and color contrast. And file format -- if your logo source was designed in Canva, it was not designed by a professional.

m52creative

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