So you’ve just installed your child theme because you made some customizations to your WordPress theme files which you want to preserve, right? You head over to Appearance < Themes and activate your new child theme. From first appearance, your website might look normal but as you look closer you realize some of your theme colors are different, your background is missing, or some other formatting looks off. You realize you have lost all of your settings in Customizer from your parent theme.

How to restore your WordPress customizer settings from your parent theme

Don’t panic! There is a relatively easy way to import your old customizer settings from your parent theme into your child theme. The first thing you might want to consider is putting your website into maintenance mode while you work on it. This will let your visitors know you are working on the website.

Next, you’ll want to head to your plugins page in WordPress and search for Customizer Export/Import plugin. This nifty little free plugin will allow you to export your customizer settings from your parent theme and import them into your child theme.

How to use the WordPress Customizer Export/Import plugin to restore your theme settings

After you have activated the plugin:

1. Head over to Appearance < Themes (in the long sidebar menu on the left of your WordPress admin screen) and switch your WordPress theme back to the parent theme.
2. Head over to Appearance < Customize and scroll down the bottom where you will find the words Export/Import. Click on these words.

3. Click on the export button and save the file to your computer.

4. Head back over to Appearance < Themes and reactivate your child theme.
5. Go back to Appearance < Customize and scroll back down to click on Export/Import.

6. This time you are going to import the file you saved on your computer into your child theme.

Congratulations! Your website should be looking just like it did when you had the parent theme activated.

Do you still need help with this issue? Feel free to contact me for a free quote:

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It’s never enjoyable to see your WordPress website suddenly go completely white on you while you’re trying to make an update. You wonder if your WP site is lost forever? Is it broken? Will it ever come out of this maintenance mode? The good news is, this message is not nearly as ominous as it looks and it can be fixed quite easily.

Why am I experiencing this WordPress problem?

If you are experiencing the Briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance. Check back in a minute problem right now, it’s probably because you just tried to update your WordPress software and plugins. When you start the update process, WordPress creates what should be a temporary .maintenance file in your WordPress root folder which generates this message. But sometimes the WP update process doesn’t go as smoothly as it should so the .maintenance file doesn’t get deleted, and the maintenance mode page doesn’t go away.

How to fix a stuck WordPress Maintenance mode page

• Take a deep breath and don’t panic! This error does not mean your WP site is broken.
• Wait a few minutes. Depending on your server’s speed and the number of plugins you are updating, you may have to wait a few minutes before you see your WordPress website come back to life.
• If after 3-5 minutes you are still seeing this briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance, check back in a minute page, it’s time to take further action.

How to delete the .maintenance file so that your WP site can come back online

1. Open up your FTP program and connect to your website or log into your file manager.
2. Navigate to your WordPress root folder.
3. Look for the .maintenance file and delete it.

4. You should see your website come back online immediately!

5. Make sure you look at your dashboard page to check if all your plugins and software updated correctly.

Don’t forget to backup your website before attempting updates.

While this particular problem is not serious, there are other more critical issues which can occur when updating your WordPress site. It’s very important to backup your website before you attempt an update. Trust me on this, I’ve learned the hard way!

Are you still seeing the Briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance. Check back in a minute. page? Let me introduce myself. My name is Rob! I deal with these problems every day. Shoot me a message below to get a fast and free quote.

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Error establishing a database in WordPress is a common problem.

I’ve been using WordPress for more than 13 years now and I still love what it can do. Using this hugely popular CMS, it is relatively easy to throw up a good looking website in a matter of hours. But even though I consider myself a WordPress guru, it also sometimes drives me absolutely crazy. The error establishing a database connection WordPress problem is a good example of an issue I have experienced many times over the years. So rest assured, you are not alone!

What causes the error establishing a database WordPress problem?

Ninety-nine percent of the time, this error is due to an incorrect WordPress database username or password. It is very easy to enter in your username or password incorrectly so you really need to pay attention to what goes where in the configuration file. But first you need to know where the database configuration file is in your WordPress installation.

How to fix the error establishing a database WordPress issue

1. Navigate to your WordPress root folder using FTP or a file manager (most commonly cPanel)
2. Look for the file wp-config.php

3. Download the file in FTP or edit it in your file editor (always make a backup of your file before you start editing!).

4. Look for DB_NAME and make sure your database name is entered correctly in between the apostrophes. If you’re not sure what your database name is, please look for it in MYSQL Databases in cPanel.

5. Look for DB_USER and make sure the username is entered correctly in between the apostrophes. If you’re not sure what this username is, you can find it under MYSQL Databases in cPanel. Make sure that your database has a username assigned to it and that this user has all the necessary privileges.

6. Make sure the DB_PASSWORD is entered correctly in between the apostrophes. If you’ve forgotten what the password is, you can reset it under MYSQL Databases.

7. In the VAST majority of WordPress installations, ‘localhost’ should be the correct setting for DB_HOST. But if you are sure you have entered your database credentials correctly and you are still having trouble, you might want to check with your host to make sure localhost is correct.

What if I’m still having the WordPress database error problem?

In a small number of cases, it’s possible the database may be corrupted. You can repair the database by navigating to PHPMyAdmin in Cpanel.

Navigate to your database, select all of the tables, and click on repair tables.

Are you still having database connection issues or do you need help locating your database username and password?

Check with your host to make sure your MYSQL database server is up and running!

I fix WordPress issues all day long and I can help you! Shoot me a quick message below or call 918-766-9699 to get fast help! If you’re the skeptical type, take a look at my raving reviews!

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Since I first published this a few years ago, thousands of people looking for help with a stuck text and visual editor on WordPress have visited this page. I have also assisted many people with this issue on their websites.

While all my instructions below for solving this WordPress visual editor issue remained the same, I have added a step to make sure you have properly updated your WordPress theme.

I also wanted to let you know that I am available to solve this common WordPress issue for a flat $75 price. I do the work first, you pay when you’re satisfied.

I recently experienced this WP error myself

So I just had this issue today on one of my own websites. The editor in my WordPress pages and posts was stuck on visual. I was unable to switch back and forth between the text and visual editors. I also noticed that all of the text in my pages were in the color white which was very strange.

What did I do first? I panicked of course! Just kidding. Having fixed this issue on many WordPress websites, I knew right away what I needed to do.

Here’s how to solve the problem

Let me preface this by telling you that you MUST backup your WordPress installation before you try any of these steps. Using a free plugin like Updraft Plus will give you the peace of mind that you need to fix this issue.

Here are the steps that you should follow to troubleshoot a stuck visual editor in WordPress. After each step, refresh a post or page to see if you can switch between the visual and text editors.

1. Clear your cache – if this doesn’t work, go ahead and disable your cache for the time being while you troubleshoot this problem.
2. Update or reinstall WordPress –  If for some reason, you are unable to reinstall WordPress through the dashboard, you will need to manually install a fresh copy through FTP or your file manager.
3. Update your WordPress plugins and themes
4. Make sure your theme was updated correctly. Many WordPress users are using paid themes which may not update automatically with the rest of the plugins and themes.
5. If you get to this step without success, you will need to take some more drastic steps to diagnose the problem. If you run a busy website, you may want to consider 1). putting the site in maintenance mode or 2). copying your site to another location where you can run some tests.
6. Disable ALL of your plugins and reactivate them one-by-one – yes, this sounds horrible, doesn’t it? But chances are high that you WILL discover that one of your plugins is acting up. When you identify the misbehaving plugin you will probably need to find an alternative and/or contact the plugin’s author to report the issue.

The solution to my stuck WordPress editor today was reinstalling the latest version of WordPress. Now I am able to switch back and forth between the two editors seamlessly. Problem solved!

This post was originally published in 2016. It was updated in September, 2020.

I can solve your WordPress problem for a flat fee of $75.00. Shoot me a quick message right now.

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While it’s great to let the web developer take care of most of the grunt work, you need to be involved in a few aspects yourself in order to ensure you retain control of your domain and files.

First, you need to purchase the domain name using an account you control. Purchasing a domain name is very easy. NameCheap, GoDaddy, and Siteground are just a few of the websites offering domain registration services. Sign up for an account and purchase the domain name yourself. This should not cost any more than $16.00.

Second, you should purchase your own web hosting. Again, there are many companies out there (like BlueHost, Siteground, and GoDaddy) which make this process easy, even for the most technically challenged people.

Why should you make these purchases on your own?

It’s simple! Control of these accounts can mean the difference between your site appearing on the web or vanishing into the ether! If you have a falling out with your web developer (which happens far more often than you might think) and he or she has control of these accounts, this person wields a lot of power.

You need to be able to maintain control of your website domain and hosting should something turn sour in your relationship with the web developer.

At Maneo Web, I am committed to being a trusted partner, but NEVER a co-owner or manager of your site. Your website belongs to you and you should have the right to do with it as you please.

Need help building a new website or getting back control of an existing one? Contact me here. I am standing by to help!

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They want me to be a magician. I am not a magician. No web developer is.

There are some basic measures you need to take for SEO. They are as follows:

• You need good, fresh content. In other words, update your website once in a while!
• Each page needs to have a good title and a description meta tag. Keyword meta tags are no longer necessary.
• Your site needs to be mobile friendly.
• Your site needs to be running SSL (https).

If you’ve done all of this, then relax! There is another important factor which is out of your control. 

The age of your domain!

That’s right. Brand new domains are not going to rank very high on Google. The older your website gets, the more Google will trust it. 

So what can you do in the meantime to drive content to your site? 

If you are selling products, I would suggest using Google Adwords to bring customers to your site. Yes, you have to pay-per-click but if you use Adwords correctly, you can very finely tune the people visiting your site. No other ad service rivals Google in terms of traffic quality. 

Sure, perhaps your website will make it to the first page of Google someday but it’s never a good idea to stake your whole business model on SEO. SEO can change very quickly. You want to make sure you have another way to bring in visitors.

If you are not selling products and don’t want to spend money on advertising then you need to look to social media to get the word out. Start with your own social media accounts. Ask your friends to spread the word. You can also join forums and post on other people’s blogs.

Become the expert in your field. People will visit your website to learn from you. Then hopefully they will share your website with others. 

Do you need help with the basics? Or do you want to set up a Google Adwords campaign? Contact me here. I am standing by to help! 

The post What you need to know about SEO appeared first on Website Issues, WordPress errors, Maneo Web.

I don’t like Joomla and I never have. I always try to steer clients who are considering Joomla to WordPress or Drupal. Even Wix is a better option in my opinion. If you want to know more about my reasons for this, feel free to contact me.

This particular error, however, can’t necessarily be blamed on Joomla. It often has something to do with a misconfiguation in your configuration.php file, a problem with your PHP version, or with your database itself.

I encountered this failed to start appllication, error start the session error on a recent project. I immediately logged into phpMyAdmin and noticed my clients mysql database was 10 megabytes over the host’s limit!

I contacted the host to increase the maximum database size limit and suddenly the website came back to life! The issue was that because the database was oversized, Joomla could not write any information to it (including sessions).

This may not be the reason why your site is showing this error but it’s definitely worth checking out.

If you need some help debugging your Joomla issues, feel free to contact me here.

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Last week, two clients sent me emails they received from website hosts warning them to take action.

The first one looked like this:

I immediately logged into his website host and found no evidence of his website reaching the resource limits recently or ever. Not even close in any category! I told him to ignore the warning but to let me know if he received another one.

The second email I received from a client is downright deceptive in my opinion. Here is what it looked like:

I had rebuilt the client’s website (from scratch) on another host, and this was the old website host trying to scare him into thinking his site was going to get taken down for copyright infringement. Notice how they offered him a “special reactivation offer”.

I called this website host up and gave an unfortunate sales representative a piece of my mind about the scare tactics used in this email. The representative claimed my client was never supposed to get this email, that it was all a big misunderstanding.

I wasn’t buying it for one moment.

You do need to pay attention to these types of emails but don’t take action (especially when you are being asked for more money) until you have verified whether the basis of the warning is true. Sometimes you are just being squeezed for more money.

Do you have a question about your website host? Click here to ask me.

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MailChimp SPF & DKIM are often overlooked

Did you know there is a very important setting in MailChimp that many people miss before they start sending out emails? This setting is often overlooked because most people don’t know what it is for or how to use it.

You need to know about the MailChimp SPF and DKIM settings because they could help improve your email deliverability and as MailChimp puts it, “make your campaigns look more professional.”

What am I talking about? Well if you login into MailChimp, click on your username (in the top left corner), click account, click on settings, and then click domains, you’ll see something like this:

On your screen, you will see that your domain is probably not yet authenticated. So what’s this all about and why do you need to authenticate?

Well you need to remember that the big email servers like Gmail and Yahoo are always watching out for fraudulent emails. When you use MailChimp, the emails are coming from your email address (@yourdomain.com), but it is MailChimp (not your domain) which is actually sending the emails.

Because of this, some email services may flag your emails as spam because they can’t verify the email is coming from your domain.

When you authenticate your domain with DKIM and SPF, you are “providing evidence” to email services that you are who you say you are. You are telling these services that you are allowing MailChimp to send emails on behalf of your domain. This important step will improve your deliverability rate.

So how do you actually authenticate your domain? MailChimp provides some good instructions on how to do this. You’ll need to login to the DNS manager for your website (website zone editor or Cpanel) and add the necessary records which are as follows:

DKIM: Create a CNAME record for k1._domainkey.yoursite.com with this value: dkim.mcsv.net.

SPF: Create a TXT record for yoursite.com with this value: v=spf1 include:servers.mcsv.net ?all

It might take a day or two for MailChimp to recognize these records. In our experience, however, it usually only takes a few minutes for MailChimp to authenticate your domain once you have added the records.

For optimal MailChimp performance, we recommend all of our clients authenticate their domains with DKIM and SPF records. If you need help with this, please feel free to contact us.

Reference: https://mailchimp.com/help/set-up-custom-domain-authentication-dkim-and-spf/

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In this fast paced impatient world, a slow website can kill your business. People don’t like to wait for pages to load. They want the information now.

I have already written about the importance of choosing a good host for your website. I have also recommended the implementation of CloudFlare. But there is another factor which many people often overlook. Sometimes a slow website just needs some more memory.

The default memory allocation for WordPress is 40 megabytes. Unless you are running a simple website with a minimalistic theme and few plugins, this may not be enough memory. Your visitors may experience slow page loads and even error pages.

Fortunately, there is a simple way to fix this memory problem. You can tell WordPress to use more memory. Here’s how:

You need to access the root folder of your WordPress installation either via your Cpanel file manager or FTP. Open the file called WP-CONFIG.PHP

Add this right before the line that says, “Happy Blogging”:

define('WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '256M');

Make sure you save the file.

Usually, this should do the trick. This is telling WordPress to use more server memory.

Sometimes, you may have to also modify the PHP.INI file (which is also found in the root) or you may have to contact your host and ask them to increase the server memory limits.

If you need help or have questions, please click here to contact me.

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