13 Best Gumroad Alternatives (Cheaper + More Powerful)

Are you looking for a Gumroad alternative to create an online store?

Gumroad is a popular eCommerce platform that lets you sell digital products, online courses, and membership-only content. However, their service isn’t flexible, and they recently increased their fees by quite a lot.

In this article, we’ll share the best Gumroad alternatives and competitors that you can use to sell digital products and make money online without the high costs.

Why Do You Need an Alternative to Gumroad?

Gumroad is a self-hosted eCommerce platform where you can upload your products and start selling. You don’t need a hosting service, a payment service, or an online store to sell digital goods.

While it is beginner-friendly, there are several drawbacks to using Gumroad.

For starters, the platform now charges a flat 10% fee for every sale. These charges are in addition to the transaction fee.

Previously, the percentage would decrease as your revenue grew. However, the new pricing change takes a significant amount of your income.

For creators, this means aside from your local government taxes, now you’re going to be paying a Gumroad tax which simply isn’t acceptable.

Besides that, Gumroad doesn’t offer much flexibility compared to other eCommerce solutions.

For instance, you don’t get features for cross-sell or upsell products to boost sales. If you’re selling online courses, then Gumroad is at a disadvantage as it doesn’t include a learning management system (LMS).

Other alternatives to Gumroad provide more features for personalizing your online store and providing a better customer experience.

That said, let’s look at some of the best Gumroad alternatives.

1. MemberPress

MemberPress is the best WordPress membership plugin that lets you sell subscription-based digital products and online courses.

It’s a great alternative to Gumroad, as the plugin is user-friendly. You can easily create a membership site, set up multiple subscription levels, and control who can access content and products.

MemberPress also offers a built-in drag-and-drop course builder functionality to create and sell online courses. Besides that, it includes a virtual classroom feature, which produces an immersive learning experience.

Another feature offered by MemberPress that you won’t find in Gumroad is automatic drip content. The plugin allows you to release paid content to subscribers over time or once they’ve cleared a particular module.

MemberPress also integrates with other popular WordPress plugins. For instance, you can track your site’s performance by combining it with MonsterInsights or create your affiliate marketing program by connecting it with AffiliateWP.

Pricing: MemberPress pricing starts from $179.50 per year with their Basic plan. If you want more features like quizzes and premium integrations, then you can go for the Pro plan.

2. Easy Digital Downloads

Easy Digital Downloads (EDD) is another Gumroad alternative you can use for selling digital products like ebooks, plugins, software, PDF files, and more.

The plugin is best for bloggers, developers, marketers, artists, designers, and other creators to sell products online. It offers powerful features and allows you to create beautiful digital goods stores.

You can start with EDD for free with SiteGround EDD hosting or just try the free version from their website.

We use Easy Digital Downloads ourselves to sell our MonsterInsights and WPForms software, which shows just how powerful the plugin is. Plus, there are managed hosting services that come with EDD pre-installed.

Other than that, Easy Digital Downloads offers multiple extensions. You can easily integrate different payment services, email marketing tools, messaging services, and more.

The best part about using EDD is that it has a software licensing feature. It allows you to sell SaaS products, apps, and other tools with proper digital rights.

Pricing: Easy Digital Downloads premium pricing plans start from $99.50 per year. However, you can also use a free version of EDD to get started and start selling online.

3. WP Simple Pay

WP Simple Pay is the best Stripe payment plugin for WordPress, and you can use it to accept online payments without setting up a shopping cart.

It’s a great alternative to Gumroad, as you can sell digital products by simply adding a payment form using the plugin. The best part, WP Simple Pay offers a free version. You can accept one-time or recurring payments directly from your WordPress site.

With WP Simple Pay, you get 13 payment methods in 135+ currencies spread across 45+ countries. Some popular methods include credit card payments, ACH debit payments, Google Pay and Apple Pay services, and more.

You can also offer to buy now, pay later payment plans using WP Simple Pay. The plugin supports Klarna and Afterpay/Clearpay, which allow customers to pay in installments. This is great if you’re selling high-value or luxury products.

Pricing: WP Simple Pay premium plan starts from $49.50 per year with the Personal plan. If you want to add recurring payments or buy now, pay later options, then you’ll need the Pro license. To get started, you can also use a WP Simple Pay Lite version for free.

4. WooCommerce

WooCommerce is the most popular eCommerce plugin for WordPress. It is an open-source platform that you can use to create any kind of digital store.

For instance, it lets you sell physical products online, set up membership plans, offer digital downloads and affiliate products, create dropshipping stores, and more.

The best part is that there are many themes designed for WooCommerce. This allows you to fully customize and control the design of your eCommerce store.

Another advantage of using WooCommerce over Gumroad is that you can use built-in options or third-party plugins to upsell and cross-sell products, recover cart abandonments, offer discount codes, free shipping, and more by using powerful tools like FunnelKit.

Plus, it easily integrates with different payment services and third-party plugins. WooCommerce also offers premium extensions. You can easily optimize your store for SEO and boost search engine rankings to attract more visitors.

To create a WooCommerce store, you’ll need WordPress hosting and a domain name. However, many hosting companies like Bluehost come with WooCommerce pre-installed.

Pricing: WooCommerce is a free eCommerce platform you can use as a Gumroad alternative. While the plugin is free, you’ll still need to pay for website hosting. Please see our guide on how much does an eCommerce store cost for more details.

5. WPForms

WPForms is the best drag & drop online form builder, and it can be an excellent alternative to Gumroad if you want a simple way to accept credit card payments.

It lets you easily build payment forms, so you can accept credit card payments using Stripe, PayPal, Authorize.net, and Square payment gateway.

Aside from that, WPForms also integrates with hundreds of email marketing services, so you can automatically add your customers to your marketing automation drip campaigns.

You can use WPForms to accept both one-time as well as recurring payments, and the best part is that it doesn’t charge any additional transactional fees.

Pricing: While WPForms has a free version, you will need the WPForms Pro plan which costs $199.50 to accept payments.

6. LearnDash

LearnDash is one of the best LMS plugin for WordPress and allows you to run online courses. The plugin offers powerful features to manage your courses, add quizzes, run surveys, and easily accept online payments.

Since Gumroad doesn’t offer a learning management system, LearnDash is an excellent alternative for anyone looking to sell online courses.

With LearnDash, you get a drag-and-drop course builder and multimedia support to run webinars, videos, and tutorials. The plugin also lets you add badges and rewards using different gamification tools. This helps make your lessons engaging.

Pricing: LearnDash premium plans start from $199 per year for 1 website.

7. ConvertKit

ConvertKit is a popular email marketing and eCommerce platform built specifically for creators. They allow you to easily sell digital products, run paid newsletters, sell recurring subscriptions, and even set up tip jars.

The best part is that you get an integrated eCommerce and marketing platform, so when someone becomes a customer, you can send them automated email sequences, targeted marketing, and other subscriber engaging content.

ConvertKit is a hosted platform so it comes with a landing page builder, custom form templates, and it allows you to get unlimited traffic.

Pricing: ConvertKit is free to use for up to 300 subscribers, but your pricing will increase based on the number of subscribers you have. To access the CreatorPro tools, you will need to upgrade to the $25 per month plan.

8. Teachable

Teachable is another popular course-building platform that lets you create and sell online courses. You can use it as an alternative to Gumroad to market and promote your online courses.

It is similar to LearnDash and provides a complete solution for creating courses. What makes Teachable different is that it is a hosted platform, so you don’t have to worry about managing any additional software or installing updates.

Teachable is beginner friendly to use and offers a drag-and-drop course builder. It also takes care of online payments and offers multiple payment options. Other features provided by the service include integration with third-party marketing and analytics tools.

Pricing: You can get started on Teachable for free, but it will charge a $1 to 10% transaction fee. There are also premium pricing plans starting from $29 per month.

9. Thinkific

Thinkific is similar to Teachable and also a self-hosted platform to sell online courses. It is easy to use and is a fitting Gumroad alternative to creating courses.

It offers a drag-and-drop course builder that is very easy to use. Plus, you get different themes and templates to get started quickly. Thinkific also allows you to create subscription-based programs, landing pages, and a membership community.

Besides that, it also easily integrates with 40+ different tools and platforms like MailChimp, Shopify, Google Analytics, and Salesforce.

Pricing: Thinkific offers a 6-month premium plan for $196.

10. Payhip

Payhip is another Gumroad alternative that you can use as an eCommerce platform. It lets you sell digital downloads, online courses, memberships, coaching, and physical products.

Besides that, it offers a lot of customization, which isn’t available in Gumroad. For instance, you can use the store builder to create a beautiful and professional online business site within minutes.

If your customers are from Europe or the United Kingdom, then the platform will take full responsibility for complying with the value-added tax (VAT) laws. It will automatically detect their location and apply the correct sales tax or VAT amount to their transaction.

Other features offered by Payhip include different marketing tools to boost conversion rates. For example, it lets you add coupons, cross-sell or upsell products, order bumps, add referrals and affiliates, and show customer reviews to add social proof.

Pricing: Payhip offers a free plan that you can use to get started. However, Stripe and PayPal will charge a 5% transaction fee in the free plan. There are also premium plans starting from $29 per month.

11. Sellfy

Sellfy is the next Gumroad alternative on our list, and it helps you create a storefront for selling digital and physical products. It lets you promote your products anywhere online. Simply embed the Sellfy checkout process on your own website and market your digital goods.

You can also launch a print-on-demand merchandise store using Sellfy. Simply design, create, and sell using different storefront themes. Other than that, you can use it to sell digital downloads and subscriptions.

What makes Sellfy different from Gumroad is that it includes built-in marketing features like upselling, email marketing, and discount codes. Plus, it offers more customization features compared to Gumroad.

Pricing: Sellfy offers premium pricing plans starting from $22 per month (billed annually), and you get a 14-day free trial.

12. BigCommerce

BigCommerce is a popular eCommerce platform, and you can use it as a Gumroad alternative.

It is a fully hosted eCommerce service that easily integrates with WordPress. You can use it to sell all kinds of digital and physical products.

The service automatically creates different pages for your store, including a shopping cart, sign-in page, account area, sales page, and more.

What makes BigCommerce different is that it lets you sell products across various channels like Amazon and social media platforms like Instagram. Plus, the eCommerce solution doesn’t charge any transaction fees and lets you choose from multiple payment gateways.

Pricing: BigCommerce pricing plans start from $29.99 per month, and you get a 15-day free trial.

13. Shopify

Shopify is the last Gumroad alternative on our list. It is an all-in-one eCommerce solution that you can use to create an online store. It offers more customization options and third-party integrations compared to Gumroad.

With Shopify, you don’t have to worry about web hosting, security, backups, updates, and caching. It does this for you, so you can focus on uploading products to the site and promoting them.

Shopify offers pre-built themes that you can use to set up a store. Plus, it makes it easy to manage inventory and accept online payments from a single platform. You can even use Shopify with WordPress to sell products online.

Pricing: Shopify pricing starts from $1 per month with the Basic plan. However, if you want low transaction costs and advanced features, then there is an Advanced plan costing you $299 per month.

Which Gumroad Alternative Should You Use?

After comparing different eCommerce solutions, we believe MemberPress is the best Gumroad alternative. It is a paid WordPress plugin that helps create subscriptions, sell digital products to premium members, and set up online courses without any extra fees.

If you’re looking for a free alternative to Gumroad, then we highly recommend Easy Digital Downloads. You can use its free version to get started and start selling digital products like ebooks, PDFs, spreadsheets, videos, digital art, apps, plugins, and more.

If you’re looking for a simple solution that lets you accept online payments without the complexity of creating a shopping cart, then WP Simple Pay is your best option.

On the other hand, if you’re looking to create an online store from scratch and have full control over it, then WooCommerce is the best option. You get more customization options, online store management features, and integrations compared to Gumroad.

We hope this article helped you find the best Gumroad alternative. You may also want to read our guide on how much does it cost to build a WordPress website and must have WordPress plugins for business sites.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post 13 Best Gumroad Alternatives (Cheaper + More Powerful) first appeared on WPBeginner.

How to Add Venmo in WordPress & WooCommerce

Recently one of our readers asked if it was possible to add Venmo to collect payments in WordPress?

Venmo makes it super easy to accept payments on your website. It is convenient, user-friendly, and is already used by about 70 million people. Letting people use a familiar payment method can increase conversions in your online store.

In this article, we will show you how to easily add Venmo in WordPress.

Why Use Venmo as a Payment Gateway

Venmo is a popular mobile payment service owned by PayPal which is the most popular and trusted online payment gateway in the world. Currently, Venmo is only available in the U.S.

If you have a WooCommerce store based in the United States, then adding Venmo as one of the payment gateways is the right option for you because it allows your customers to make a purchase from their mobile phones without any hassle.

Not only does Venmo easily connect with users’ bank accounts, but the service also does not charge any fees for sending money from your Venmo balance or linked balance. These are big reasons why many U.S. residents opt for this mobile payment app.

Popular brands like Amazon, Macy’s, Walmart, and Samsung also offer Venmo as a payment gateway to their customers. With that being said, let’s see how you can easily add Venmo to WordPress.

Method 1. Add Venmo in WordPress Using Payment Plugins Braintree

You can seamlessly integrate Venmo with your WooCommerce store using the Payment Plugins Braintree For WooCommerce plugin.

This WooCommerce plugin allows you to easily add Venmo as a payment gateway to your online store.

First, you need to install and activate the Payment Plugins Braintree plugin. For further instructions, check out our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, head over to Braintree Gateway » Settings from your WordPress admin dashboard.

This will actually direct you to WooCommerce ‘Payments’ page. You can also reach this page by heading to WooCommerce » Settings. The only difference will be that if you go through the WooCommerce menu item, the page will not have the Braintree logo.

Here you will see all the Braintree gateways that you can integrate into your site. Simply click the ‘Venmo’ tab.

Now that you’re on the ‘Braintree Venmo Gateway’ tab, you will see an ‘Enabled’ checkbox at the top.

You need to make sure that it is checked. This will allow your site to accept Venmo payments through this plugin.

Next, go to ‘General Settings’ and fill in the details to set up your Venmo Gateway. For example, you can change the title that appears to users, the icon, or add a short description of the payment method.

After that, simply click the ‘Save Changes’ button at the bottom of the page to save your changes.

Now, Venmo has been added to your WordPress site, and you’re ready to accept payments in WooCommerce.

Method 2. Add Venmo in WordPress Using the Checkout With Venmo Plugin

Another way to add Venmo in WordPress is by using the ‘Checkout With Venmo On WooCommerce‘ plugin.

It is a well-known plugin used for integrating Venmo into WordPress.

The first thing you need to do is install and activate the ‘Checkout With Venmo On WooCommerce‘ plugin. For help, check out our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Once the plugin is activated, go to WooCommerce » Venmo from the WordPress admin dashboard.

This will open up the ‘Venmo’ tab on the WooCommerce ‘Payments’ page.

Here, you will find the ‘Enable VENMO’ option at the top of the page. Make sure that you check the box.

If you click the ‘test’ link next to the title, you will be directed to the Venmo account page where you can sign in and create your account. You will be able to ensure all your settings are correct before attempting to take real payments.

Next, simply fill out the details in the form below and then click on the ‘Save Changes’ button at the bottom of the page.

Congratulations! You’ve successfully integrated Venmo into WordPress.

That’s it! We hope you learned how to add Venmo to WordPress. You may also want to check out our article on the ultimate WooCommerce SEO guide and our expert picks for the best WooCommerce plugins to help grow your store.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post How to Add Venmo in WordPress & WooCommerce first appeared on WPBeginner.

How to Create a Custom Facebook Feed in WordPress

Do you want to create a custom Facebook feed in WordPress?

A custom feed allows you to show posts from your Facebook page or group on your WordPress website. This can make your site more engaging and encourage visitors to follow you on Facebook.

In this article, we’ll show you how to easily create a custom Facebook feed in WordPress.

Why Create a Custom Facebook Feed in WordPress?

With almost 3 billion monthly active users, Facebook is the biggest social media site in the world. As a website owner, you may have already created a Facebook page or group where you engage with your audience.

However, people who only visit your website won’t see your Facebook posts. By adding a custom Facebook feed you can show visitors what’s happening on your group or page.

This can make your website more engaging and interesting, especially if you post multimedia content to Facebook such as videos and images.

It’s also a great way to promote your Facebook page or group, which will help you get more Facebook likes and grow your following.

If you’re using the Facebook remarketing/retargeting pixel on your website, then you can also show targeted ads to your visitors.

Having said that, let’s see how to add a custom Facebook feed to your WordPress site.

Installing a Custom Facebook Feed Plugin

The best way to add a custom Facebook feed to your WordPress website is by using the Smash Balloon Custom Facebook Feed plugin.

This plugin lets you show Facebook content and comments directly on your site, and even combine posts from multiple Facebook feeds. It also makes it easy to display powerful social proof, by embedding Facebook reviews and community posts on your website.

The first thing you need to do is install and activate the Smash Balloon Custom Facebook Feed plugin. For more details, see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

In this post, we’ll be using the pro version of Smash Balloon as it allows you to show videos and photos in your Facebook feed, choose different layouts, filter your feed based on post type, and more.

However, there’s also a free version that allows you to create a custom Facebook feed for WordPress, no matter what your budget.

Upon activation, you’ll need to go to Facebook Feed » Settings and enter your license key into the ‘License Key’ field.

You’ll find this information under your account on the Smash Balloon website.

After entering the key, click on the ‘Activate’ button.

Connect Your Facebook Page or Group to WordPress

Smash Balloon Custom Facebook Feed allows you to create multiple feeds from your different Facebook pages and groups. You can even merge feeds to create a custom feed.

To create your first feed, go to Facebook Feed » All Feeds and then click on ‘Add New.’

Smash Balloon lets you display posts from your timeline, photos, videos, albums, events, and more. For this guide, we’ll create a ‘Timeline’ Facebook feed but you can select any feed type you want.

After choosing a feed type, click on the ‘Next’ button.

Now, you need to select the Facebook page or group where you’ll get the content from.

To get started, click on ‘Add New.’

On the next screen, choose whether you’re creating a feed from a Facebook page or group.

Then, simply click on ‘Connect to Facebook.’

This opens a popup where you can log into your Facebook account and choose the pages or groups that you want to use in your feed.

After making your selection, click on the ‘Next’ button.

Once you’ve done that, Facebook will show all the information that Smash Balloon will have access to, and the actions it can perform.

To restrict Smash Balloon’s access to your Facebook account, simply click any of the switches to turn them from ‘Yes’ to ‘No.’ Just be aware that this may affect the content that you can show in the custom Facebook feed.

With that in mind, we recommend leaving all these switches enabled.

When you’re ready, click on ‘Done.’

After a few moments, you should see a message that you’ve successfully linked your WordPress website to Facebook. You can now click on ‘OK.’

With that done, Smash Balloon will return you to the WordPress dashboard automatically.

How to Create a Custom Facebook Feed in WordPress

You will now see a popup with the group or page you just linked to your WordPress website. Simply select the radio button next to your source and then click on the ‘Add’ button.

If you accidentally closed the popup, then don’t panic. You can simply refresh the tab to reopen the popup.

Once you’ve done that, you’ll be returned to the Facebook Feed » All Feeds page.

Just like before, click on the ‘Add New’ button and then choose the type of custom Facebook feed you want to create, such as Timeline, Photos, or Videos.

Then, click on ‘Next.’ Now, under ‘Select a Source’ you’ll see your Facebook group or page as an option.

Go ahead and select the page or group, and then click on ‘Next.’

You can now choose the template that you want to use as the starting point for your feed. All of these templates are fully customizable so you can fine-tune them to perfectly fit your WordPress blog or website.

We’ll be using the ‘Default’ template, but you can use any template you want.

After choosing a design, click on the ‘Next’ button.

Smash Balloon will now go ahead and create a Facebook feed based on your source and chosen template. This is a great start, but you may want to fine-tune how this feed appears on your website.

How to Customize Your Facebook Feed

The Smash Balloon Custom Facebook Feed plugin gives you lots of ways to customize your feed. With that in mind, it’s worth seeing what changes you can make.

On the Facebook Feed » All Feeds screen, find the feed you just created and click on its ‘Edit’ button, which looks like a small pencil.

This opens the feed editor, which shows a preview of how the custom Facebook feed will look on your website.

On the left-hand side, you’ll see all the different settings you can use to customize the feed. Most of these settings are self-explanatory, but we’ll quickly cover some key areas.

To start, you can change how your posts are displayed by clicking on ‘Feed Layout.’

On this screen, you can switch between different layouts, such as masonry and list, and change the feed height. As you make changes, the preview will update automatically so you can try different settings to see what works best for your website.

By default, the feed will show the same number of posts on desktop computers and mobile devices such as smartphones.

However, mobile devices usually have smaller screens and less processing power, so you may want to show fewer posts on tablets and smartphones. To do this, just type a different number into the ‘Mobile’ field under ‘Number of Posts.’

You can preview how your changes will look on desktop computers, tablets, and smartphones using the row of buttons in the upper-right corner.

By trying out different layouts you can create a custom feed that looks great, no matter what device the visitor is using.

By default, the Facebook feed shows fewer columns on smartphones and tablets, compared to desktop computers. This helps all your content fit comfortably on smaller screens.

However, after testing the mobile version of your WordPress website, you may be unhappy with how the columns look on smartphones and tablets. If this is the case, then you can adjust the columns by changing the numbers in the ‘Columns’ section.

When you’re happy with the changes you’ve made, click on the ‘Customize’ link at the top of the menu.

This will take you back to the main Smash Balloon editor.

Next, you can click on ‘Color Scheme‘ in the left-hand menu and take a look at the different colors you can add to the Facebook feed.

By default, Smash Balloon uses a color scheme inherited from your WordPress theme, but you can also choose ‘Light’ or ‘Dark,’ or even create your own custom color scheme.

By default, Smash Balloon adds a header to your feed, which is your Facebook profile picture and the name of your page or group.

To change how this looks, click on ‘Header’ in the left-hand menu.

On this screen, you can change the size and color of the header, hide or show your Facebook profile picture, and more.

If you want to remove the header completely, then click the toggle to turn it from blue (enabled) to grey (disabled).

Next up is the ‘Posts’ screen. Here, you can change how the individual posts are displayed inside the custom Facebook feed.

For example, you can switch between regular and boxed styles, change the background color, add a boxed shadow, and more.

By default, Smash Balloon doesn’t include the Facebook ‘like’ button in your feed.

To encourage more visitors to follow your Facebook page, you may want to add this button by selecting ‘Like Box’ from the editor’s left-hand menu.

After that, simply click on the ‘Enable’ button so that it turns blue. Now, if you scroll to the bottom of the preview you’ll see a ‘like’ button.

You can style this area using different settings. For example, you can choose whether the button appears at the top or bottom of the feed, and whether to include the cover photo from your Facebook page.

When you’re happy with how the ‘like’ button looks, you can move on to the ‘Load More Button’ screen.

The ‘Load More’ button encourages visitors to scroll through more of your Facebook feed.

For this reason, you may want to make the button more eye-catching by changing its background color, text color, and label.

Another option is to remove the ‘Load More’ button completely by clicking on the ‘Enable’ toggle so that it greys out.

Disabling the ‘Load More’ button is useful if your Facebook feed is time-sensitive. That wat, visitors don’t need to scroll through your previous posts that don’t apply to them.

When you’re happy with how the custom Facebook feed is set up, don’t forget to click on ‘Save’ to store your changes.

You’re now ready to add the Facebook feed to your WordPress website.

How to Add Your Custom Facebook Feed to WordPress

You can add your custom Facebook feed using a block, widget, or shortcode.

If you’ve created more than one custom feed, then you’ll need to know the feed’s code if you’re going to use a block or widget.

Simply go to Facebook Feed » All Feeds and then look at the feed=”” part of the shortcode. This is the value you’ll need to add to the block or widget, so make a note of it.

In the following image, we’ll need to use feed=”1″.

To use this shortcode in a page or post, you can use the ‘Custom Facebook Feed’ block in the content editor.

Simply open the page or post where you want to show the feed. Then, click on the ‘+’ icon to add a new block and start typing ‘Custom Facebook Feed.’

When the correct block appears, click to add it to your page or post.

The block will show one of your feeds by default. If you want to use a different feed instead, then simply find ‘Shortcode Settings’ in the right-hand menu.

You can now add the feed=”” code to this box. After that, click on ‘Apply Changes.’

The block will now show your custom Facebook feed, and you can publish or update the page to make it live on your website.

Another option is to add the feed to any widget-ready area, such as the sidebar or similar section. This is an easy way to show the custom Facebook feed across your whole site.

To get started, go to Appearance » Widgets in the WordPress dashboard. Then, click on the blue ‘+’ button.

You can now find the ‘Custom Facebook Feed’ widget.

Then, just drag it onto the area where you want to show the feed.

Again, Smash Balloon will show one of your custom Facebook feeds by default.

To show a different feed, type the feed’s code into the ‘Shortcode Settings’ box and then click on ‘Apply Changes.’

You can now click on the ‘Update’ button.

To learn more, see our step-by-step guide on how to add and use widgets in WordPress.

Finally, you can add the custom feed to any page, post, or widget-ready using a shortcode.

Simply go to Facebook Feed » All Feeds and copy the code in the ‘Shortcode’ column. You can now add this code to your site.

For more information on how to place the shortcode, please see our guide on how to add a shortcode in WordPress.

We hope this article helped you add a custom Facebook feed in WordPress. You may also want to see our guide on how to add web push notifications to your WordPress site, or check out our list of the best social proof plugins.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post How to Create a Custom Facebook Feed in WordPress first appeared on WPBeginner.

How to Easily Enable WordPress Debug Mode to Fix Site Errors

Are you looking to enable the debug mode in your WordPress site?

You might encounter different errors when working with WordPress themes, plugins, or custom codes. Using WordPress debug mode, you can easily fix these issues.

In this article, we’ll show you how to easily enable WordPress debug mode to fix site errors.

Why Enable WordPress Debug Mode?

Sometimes a WordPress plugin, theme, or custom code like PHP or JavaScript can cause conflicts on your website. This can lead to different errors, and you may notice that your site isn’t functioning properly.

Now, you can always deactivate and uninstall multiple plugins to see which one is causing the error. Similarly, you can also switch to a different WordPress theme or remove the custom codes to find the root cause of the error.

However, all of this takes a lot of time. You’ll have to rule out each plugin individually, change multiple themes, and edit custom codes.

An easier way of fixing website errors is by enabling WordPress debug mode. It shows a log of all the errors and warnings on your website. This way, you can pinpoint issues on your WordPress site and fix them quickly. It even uncovers errors that might not be visible otherwise.

That said, let’s look at how to enable the WordPress debug mode. We’ll show you 2 methods. You can use a WordPress plugin or manually view the debug mode.

Method 1: Enable WordPress Debug Mode Using a Plugin

An easy way of enabling debug mode is by using the WP Debugging plugin. This method is recommended for beginners and those who aren’t comfortable working with website files.

WP Debugging is a free WordPress plugin that works out of the box. By using this plugin, you won’t have to edit your website files manually.

First, you’ll need to install and activate the WP Debugging plugin. For more details, please see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, you can go to Tools » WP Debugging from your WordPress dashboard. Next, ensure that the ‘Set WP_DEBUG to true’ option is enabled.

After that, you’ll see a ‘Debug Quick Look’ option added to your admin bar at the top.

Go ahead, hover over it, and then click the ‘View File’ option.

This will open the log file with all the errors on your website. You can then find out what’s causing issues on your site and quickly fix them.

When you’re done debugging your website, don’t forget to disable the plugin.

Method 2: Manually Enable WordPress Debug Mode

The second method you can use to enable WordPress debug mode is editing the wp-config.php files. This method is more advanced and suitable for users who are comfortable editing website files.

We recommend creating a backup of your website before editing files. This way, you can easily restore your website in case anything goes wrong.

To access the website files, you’ll need a file transfer protocol (FTP) client for Mac or Windows.

For this tutorial, we’ll use the FileZilla FTP service. If you need help, then please can see our guide on what FTP is and how to use it.

Once you’re logged in, simply go to the public_html folder. Here, you’ll find the ‘wp-config.php’ file.

Alternatively, many WordPress hosting services also let you manage your site files using the cPanel.

For instance, in Bluehost, you can visit the ‘Advanced’ tab and then go to File Manager.

From here, simply access the public_html folder from the panel on your left.

After that, scroll down to the ‘wp-config.php’ file.

Next, you can right-click the file and download it on your computer. It’s smart to make a copy of the file as a backup, just in case anything goes wrong.

After that, open the file using any software or tool like Notepad or Sublime Text.

Once the file is open, scroll down to the ‘That’s all, stop editing! Happy publishing‘ line and add the following code before that:

define( ‘WP_DEBUG’, true);
define( ‘WP_DEBUG_LOG’, true);

Don’t forget to save the file before closing it.

Next, you’ll need to upload the wp-config.php file back to your website server using the FTP client.

For more details, please see our guide on how to use FTP to upload files to WordPress.

To view the error logs for your website, you’ll need to view your website files and navigate to the public_html/wp-content/debug.log path. Simply download the file and view it in a notepad software to see issues on your site.

Once you’re done debugging your site, you can disable the debug mode.

To do that, repeat these steps and then remove the code you added to the wp-config.php file or edit the following code to have a false value:

define( ‘WP_DEBUG’, false);

We hope this article helped you learn how to easily enable WordPress debug mode to fix site errors. You can also see our ultimate WordPress SEO guide for beginners and our expert tips on how to improve WordPress security.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post How to Easily Enable WordPress Debug Mode to Fix Site Errors first appeared on WPBeginner.

How to Improve Your 404 Page Template in WordPress (2 Ways)

Do you want to improve your 404 page template in WordPress?

By replacing the default WordPress 404 page with your own design, you can improve the visitor experience and keep people on your site for longer.

In this article, we’ll show you how to customize your 404 page template in WordPress.

Why Improve Your 404 Page Template in WordPress?

Most WordPress themes come with a basic 404 template, including the default WordPress ones. For example, in the following image, you can see Twenty Twenty-Two’s 404 page.

However, most of these default templates are simple and don’t show any content from your site. This means that anyone who lands on your 404 page is more likely to leave your WordPress website, which will increase your bounce rate.

This is bad news for your WordPress SEO, and may affect where your site appears in the search engine rankings.

That being said, it’s a good idea to create a 404 page with your own content and branding.

For example, at WPBeginner we show a custom image and encourage visitors to contact us, so we can fix the 404 error. The sidebar also has links to our social media profiles and even some information about an ebook download.

This is also a chance to promote your most popular posts or products from your online store. In this way, your 404 page can add value for your visitors, which will increase pageviews and reduce bounce rate.

If you’re looking for inspiration, then we’ve collected the best 404 error page design examples for you to look at.

Note: Even if you design an engaging and helpful page, you’ll still want to fix any 404 errors. Here, it helps to track your 404 pages and redirect them.

With that said, let’s take a look at how you can improve your 404 page template in WordPress.

Video Tutorial

If you’d prefer written instructions, just keep reading. You can also use the quick links below to jump straight to the method you want to use.

Method 1. Create a Custom 404 Page in WordPress With No Code (Recommended)

The best way to improve the 404 page template is by using the SeedProd page builder plugin.

SeedProd is the best landing page builder for WordPress. It lets you create, edit, and customize your WordPress pages without writing any code.

With this plugin, you can easily create a custom 404 page using a wide range of professionally-designed templates.

The first thing you need to do is install the SeedProd plugin. For more details, see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Note: There is a free version of SeedProd available, but we’ll be using the Pro version since it lets you replace your theme’s built-in 404 template.

After activating the plugin, SeedProd will ask for your license key.

You can find this information under your account on the SeedProd website. After entering the license, click on the ‘Verify Key’ button.

Once you’ve done that, go to SeedProd » Landing Pages. In the ‘404 Page’ section, click on ‘Set up a 404 Page.’

You can now choose a template for your 404 page.

To preview a design, simply hover your mouse over it and then click on the magnifying glass.

When you find a design that you like, just click on ‘Choose This Template.’

We’re using the ‘Oh No 404 Page’ template, but you can use any design you like.

After selecting a template, you’ll be taken to the drag-and-drop builder, where you can start customizing the 404 page.

On the left side of the screen, you’ll find blocks and sections that you can add to your design. The right side of the page is the live preview.

Most 404 templates already have some blocks, which are a core part of all SeedProd designs.

To customize any of these ready-made blocks, simply click to select the block in your layout. You can then customize the block using the settings in the left-hand menu.

To add a new block to your design, simply find the block in the left-hand menu. Then, drag it onto your layout. You can now customize the block following the process described above.

To start, you’ll typically want to add your own website logo to the 404 page.

To replace the SeedProd logo with your own branding, simply click to select the placeholder logo in your layout. Then, hover over the image in the left-hand menu and click on the ‘Select Image’ button.

This launches the WordPress media library, where you can select any image or upload a new file from your computer.

Many 404 templates also display your site’s main navigation menu by default. If you have multiple menus, then you may prefer to show a different menu instead.

To make this change, simply click on the ‘Nav Menu’ block in your template. You can then open the ‘Menu’ dropdown and choose any menu from the list.

For more information, please see our guide on how to add custom navigation menus in WordPress themes.

You can create any design simply by adding and customizing blocks. However, when someone arrives at your 404 page, they may be confused about what to do next.

With this in mind, we’ll show you how to promote your most popular posts and create a contact form, so visitors can report any broken links or missing content.

To start, add a ‘Headline’ and a ‘Text’ block to your design. You can then type your message into the text editor in the left-hand menu.

For example, in the following image, we’ve created a headline that explains the page can’t be found and a ‘Text’ block that suggests reading some posts or using the contact form.

Next, we’re going to change the ‘Back To Home’ button so it encourages people to check out a particular post instead of going to the general homepage.

You might include a link to the most popular post on your WordPress blog or the one that helps you make the most money online blogging.

To customize the button, simply click to select it in the page layout. Then, type the post’s URL into the ‘Link’ field.

To change the text that appears on this button, simply type into the ‘Button Text’ box.

Once you’ve done that, click on the ‘Advanced’ tab. Here, you can change the button’s color, size, and more.

Add Your Most Popular Posts to Your WordPress 404 Page

Next, you can add a list of your most popular posts to the 404 page. Since these articles are popular, there’s a good chance visitors will find something they like.

You can create this list automatically using the MonsterInsights plugin. It’s the best analytics solution for WordPress used by over 3 million websites.

MonsterInsights can see which posts get the most visitors and add them to your 404 page. For more details, see our guide on how to display popular posts by views in WordPress.

After activating MonsterInsights, you can display your most popular posts by adding shortcode in WordPress. In SeedProd’s left-hand menu, simply find the ‘Shortcode’ block and drop it onto your layout.

Then, click to select the ‘Shortcode’ block. This will open the settings window to the left. Next, copy the following shortcode:

[monsterinsights_popular_posts_widget theme=”beta”]

Then, in the box labeled ‘Content,’ paste it into the text area labeled ‘Shortcode.’

By default, SeedProd doesn’t show a preview of your most popular posts inside the page editor, so you’ll need to click on the ‘Preview’ button in the upper-right corner. This opens your design in a new tab.

If you prefer to preview the popular posts list inside the page editor, then simply click on the ‘Show Shortcode Preview’ switch.

In the above shortcode, we’re using theme=“beta” for our list, but MonsterInsights has a few different themes that you can use.

To see the different themes, go to Insights » Popular Posts in the WordPress dashboard and then click on ‘Popular Posts Widget’.

You can now click on the different themes to see a preview.

When you find a design that you want to use, simply update the shortcode in SeedProd. For example, if you want to use the ‘Alpha’ theme then you would need to type in:

[monsterinsights_popular_posts_widget theme=”alpha”]

Add a Contact Form to Your WordPress 404 Page

You may also want to add a contact form so visitors can reach out if they can’t find what they’re looking for. This form also gives people an easy way to report broken links, so you can fix them and improve the experience for future visitors.

For more information, please see our complete guide on how to fix broken links in WordPress.

The best way to add a contact form to your site is by using the WPForms plugin. It’s the best contact form plugin for WordPress and comes with a user-friendly drag-and-drop form builder.

For more details, see our step-by-step guide on how to create a contact form in WordPress.

Once you’ve created a contact form, it’s easy to add that form to your 404 page. Simply find the ‘Contact Form’ block and drag it onto your design.

Then, open the ‘Select a Form’ dropdown and choose your contact form from the list.

The page editor will now show a preview of the contact form.

You might want to add some text introducing your contact form or encouraging visitors to get in touch.

To do this, simply add a ‘Headline’ or ‘Text’ block above your contact form and then type in the text that you want to use.

When you’re happy with how the 404 page looks, it’s time to publish it.

Simply click the dropdown arrow next to ‘Save’ and then select ‘Save as Template.’

When asked, go ahead and type in a name for the template. This is just for your reference so you can use anything you want.

After that, click on ‘Save Template.’

In the next popup, click on ‘Return to Page Editor.’ You can then click on the ‘X’ button in the upper-right corner to close the SeedProd page editor.

At this point, you may see a popup asking whether you want to publish your new 404 design. If you’re happy to go ahead, then click on ‘Yes, Activate.’

If you don’t want to publish the template right now, then click on ‘No, Close’ instead.

After that, you can publish the design at any point by going to SeedProd » Pages. Here, click on the switch in the ‘404 Page’ section so it shows ‘Active.’

To see your 404 page in action, just add /404 to the end of your domain name.

After publishing your custom 404 page, it’s a good idea to track how people are engaging with that page. This allows you to see what’s working and what isn’t working, so you can fine-tune your 404 design to get more conversions and engagement.

To learn more, see our beginner’s guide on how to install Google Analytics in WordPress.

Method 2. Create a Custom 404 Page in WordPress By Adding Code

If you don’t want to use a page builder plugin, then you can create a custom 404 page using code. However, just be aware that any mistakes in your code can cause common WordPress errors, or even break your site.

With that in mind, this method isn’t recommended for beginners. It’s also a good idea to back up your site before using this method, just in case you encounter any problems.

To get started, you’ll need an FTP client such as FileZilla, or you can use the file manager supplied by your WordPress hosting provider.

If this is your first time using FTP, then you can see our complete guide on how to connect to your site using FTP.

After connecting to the server, go to /wp-content/themes/ and then open the folder for your current WordPress theme.

If this folder already has a 404.php file, then you can go ahead and open that file in any text editor, such as Notepad.

If your theme doesn’t have a 404.php file, then you’ll need to create one. After that, go ahead and open the file in a text editor app.

You’re now ready to create a custom 404 design using code. You can create all sorts of designs, but here’s some simple examples to help you get started.

Display Most Popular Posts on 404 Page

A list of your most popular posts can encourage visitors to check out your site’s best content.

You can create this list using WordPress Popular Posts. It’s one of the best popular posts plugins for WordPress and comes with template tags that you can add to your 404.php file.

First thing you need to do is install and activate the WordPress Popular Posts plugins. For more details, see our step by step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, you can add a list of popular posts to your 404 page using the following template tag:

<?php wpp_get_mostpopular(); ?>

Display Most Commented Posts on 404 Page

This plugin can also display the posts that have the most comments.

In your 404.php file, simply find the area where you want to show your most commented posts, and then add the following template tag:

<?php wpp_get_mostpopular(“range=all&order_by=comments”); ?>

You can also check out our guide on how to display most commented posts in WordPress.

Display Recent Posts on 404 Page

Another option is to show your site’s most recent posts. This can be particularly effective if you post time-sensitive blogs, for example if you run a news aggregator website.

There are several different ways to display recent posts in WordPress, but the easiest way is adding a template tag to your 404.php file:

<?php wp_get_archives( array( ‘type’ => ‘postbypost’, ‘limit’ => 10, ‘format’ => ‘custom’, ‘before’ => ”, ‘after’ => ‘<br />’ ) ); ?>

Display Random Posts on 404 Page

Do you want to show a random list of posts on your custom 404 page?

Then simply add this code to your 404.php file:

<ul>
<?php
$posts = get_posts(‘orderby=rand&numberposts=5’);
foreach($posts as $post) { ?>
<li><a href=”<?php the_permalink(); ?>” title=”<?php the_title(); ?>”><?php the_title(); ?></a>
</li>
<?php } ?>
</ul>

Add Monthly Archives with Compact Archives

If you have lots of content, then it may be impossible to show all those posts on your custom 404 page.

One option is to organize your content into monthly archives. Visitors can then click to explore content from different months and years.

Here at WPBeginner, we display our monthly archives on our 404 page using the Compact Archives plugin. This helps visitors browse all of our content, without overwhelming them with a long list of posts.

For more details, see our guide on how to create compact archives in WordPress.

After activating the Compact Archives plugin, simply add the following code to your 404.php file:

<p><strong>By Date</strong></p>
<ul>
<?php compact_archive($style=’block’); ?>
</ul>

Now, when a user lands on your 404 page they’ll see your compact post archives.

We hope this article helped you improve your 404 page template in WordPress. You may also want to see our guide on how to set up Google Analytics goals for your WordPress site and our expert pick of the best virtual business phone number apps.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post How to Improve Your 404 Page Template in WordPress (2 Ways) first appeared on WPBeginner.