•There are so many plugins, features, and tools that make websites better, safer, and more interactive. This webinar will explore: – Key plugins to enhance the user experience – Essential tools to help design, monitor, and secure the site. – Best practices and tips for creating the best user experience possible – How to find areas to tweak to bring those improved experiences forward.

1. Website Essentials:
Things Every Library Website Should Have
Brian Pichman

2. Description
• There are so many plugins, features, and tools that make websites
better, safer, and more interactive.
This webinar will explore:
– Key plugins to enhance the user experience
– Essential tools to help design, monitor, and secure the site.
– Best practices and tips for creating the best user experience
possible
– How to find areas to tweak to bring those improved experiences
forward.

3. Plugins
• Plugins I look for are:
• Help with security or page load
• One’s that connect to services I
use already (we will get to that
shortly)
• Other Requirements
• Enhance the user experience
• Are regularly updated
• Review the reviews!

4. Wordfence
• Firewall for your WordPress Page
https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordfence/

5. WP Activity Log
• Keep an activity log of logins,
posts, edit of posts, and more
https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-security-audit-log/

6. WP Scheduled Posts
• Schedule Posts – view in a nice
calendar
• Auto share new posts to Twitter,
Facebook Pages, or LinkedIn
https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-scheduled-posts/

7. Yoast
• SEO Optimization
• Helps you format and update your
content to properly display on
Google and improve searchability.
https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-seo/

8. Optimizing Your Site – Use a CDN
https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/why-you-need-a-cdn-for-your-wordpress-blog-infographic/?display=wide

9. Do you currently have a CDN?
• https://www.cdnplanet.com/tools/cdnfinder

10. ShortPixel
• Optimize your images and boost
site performance and SEO
ranking, with a plugin for
automatic image compression
• Properly size and smart-crop
pictures to fit in placeholders
with the ShortPixel Adaptive
Images plugin
https://wordpress.org/plugins/shortpixel-image-optimiser/

11. Autoptimize
• Integrates with ShortPixel
• Cleans up your code to allow
sites to load faster
• It can aggregate, minify and cache
scripts and styles, injects CSS in
the page head by default but can
also inline critical CSS and defer
the aggregated full CSS, moves
and defers scripts to the footer
and minifies HTML.
https://wordpress.org/plugins/autoptimize/

12. Cloudflare
• There’s a plugin that you can use
with cloudflare:
https://wordpress.org/plugins/w
p-cloudflare-page-cache/
• Also works with Autoptimize

13. Setting Up Cloudflare

14. Monitor and Secure
• Use tools to make sure your site
stays up and running
• Security of your site ensures
people trust going to your site

15. Site 24x7
• Monitor Server / Services
• Receive automated Phone Calls,
Slack alerts, and email
notifications when things go
“bump”

16. https://www.site24x7.com/casestudies/libchalk.pdf

17. Freshping
freshping.io

18. Secure Your Site with HTTPs
• Improves Site Security
• Encrypts the data while people are
on your site
• Builds trust for end users that
you’ve taken the right steps to
“own” the site domain
• Simple Process to do (Free:
https://letsencrypt.org/ )
• Paid certs offer more security and
have a more formalized process.
Not always needed for libraries.

19. Immunify 360

20. Back Ups
• Have a backup process
• Lots of WordPress Options
• Server Level Back Up preferred option
• NEVER EVER save your back up to the same
place your site is running
• A back up that’s never been tested isn’t a back up.

21. Improving User Experience
• Patrons Want:
• Clean easy to view design
• Speed Of Site Load
• Be Able To View On Phone
• To Find Your Site on
Google/Google Maps
• Chat Options

22. Designing Site
• Always use a Content Management System (CMS) like WordPress or
Drupal.
• Leverage templates (themeforest.net)
• Take a look at appsumo.com for plugins and tools to help extend your
site’s functionality (everything from SEO to page rendering).

23. Testing Page Load
• https://gtmetrix.com/
• Identify page speed,
size of site, and where
improvements can be
made.

24. Other Tools:
• https://tools.pingdom.com/
• Test page speed
• https://app.k6.io/
• Stress test your site – how many
sessions can your site handle at
once.

26. Webmaster Tools (Search Console)
• Check for broken links,
performance, and mobile
friendliness

28. Setting Up Google / Google Maps
• Use Google Search Console
(formally Google Webmaster
Tools) to fix broken links, SEO
targeting, and more.
Paid for Tools:
• https://ahrefs.com/ (Expensive)
• https://serpwatch.io/pricing/
• https://business.google.com/create

29. Google Analytics: Tracking Code
• Easy to Implement and Install – JavaScript added to each page you
want tracked OR use a Plugin:
• WordPress
• https://wordpress.org/plugins/google-analytics-for-wordpress/
• Drupal
• https://www.drupal.org/project/google_analytics
• Mailchimp
• (https://mailchimp.com/help/integrate-google-analytics-with-mailchimp/

31. Track Visitor Activity
• The idea of a tracking code is it allows you to understand where your
users came from, how long they stayed on the site, and some basic
information about them.
• Each time a visitor arrives at your site, it is called a “Session”
• Sessions end after 30 minutes of inactivity
• Depending on the integration when using a plugin, you can track
other types of data like how users flow through a check out process,
errors they run into, and more
• You can filter the data you receive
• For example, filter out traffic from Employees who visit the site while at work.

33. Site Chat and Support
• Intercom – Expensive but most robust, lots of AI capabilities
• Tawk.to – Free, easy to set up, can integrate with Slack

34. Website Hosting
• When looking at hosting, things to consider:
• Uptime (how frequently is the service going down)
• Access and Features (CPanel)
• Actual Storage Allotment (no such thing as “unlimited data”)
• Costs – $120-250 per year average cost for most vendors)

35. General Thoughts and Comments
• Landing Page
• Quick access to search
• Highlight the main links (don’t
over clutter with link options)
• Overall Site
• Avoid “library” jargon
• Weed content just like books
• Accessibility Testing:
• https://www.webaccessibility.com
• https://wave.webaim.org

36. Using Chrome Developer Tools
• Looking for areas to tweak and improve
• Look For Broken Images
• https://libchalkhosting.com/demo-page/

37. Questions
• Brian Pichman
• Email: BPichman@evolveproject.org
• Twitter: @BPichman