10 Smart Ways to Effectively Secure Your WordPress Website

You’ve worked hard to create your website and likely spent a ton of time and effort maintaining it. Your site may even be vital to your livelihood — you need those sweet, dollar, dollar bills to keep your business afloat.

And that, friends, is why making your website as secure as possible is vitally important.

So let’s get real about security. 

WordPress is an excellent, secure platform out of the box, but there’s more you can (and should!) do to keep your site safe from creepsters with malicious intent. Many of these security enhancements are easy to implement and can be performed manually in mere minutes. Others simply require installing a particular plugin.

In this article, I’ll guide you through 10 different strategies for upping the defenses on your WordPress fortress. But first, let’s go a little more into the weeds on why website security should matter to you.

Securing a WordPress Site? Partner with DreamHost

Leave migrating your site, installing WordPress, managing security and updates, and optimizing server performance to us. Now you can focus on what matters most: growing your website.

Check Out Plans

Why Taking Steps to Secure Your WordPress Site Is Vital

If you’re looking to create a secure site (an obvious “no duh”), choosing WordPress as your platform is an excellent way to start. It’s not only a flexible, powerful platform for building websites — it’s also remarkably secure out of the box.

That’s because WordPress developers care about security and are dedicated to “hardening” the core platform as much as possible. Plus, they frequently release security-focused updates and patches, which will be automatically downloaded and installed on your site. This means your site will be well-equipped to deal with any new threats that pop up.

Related: The Difference Between WordPress.com & WordPress.org

Of course, no platform can be 100% secure. Hackers are hard at work trying to find their way into even the most well-protected sites (if only they’d use their powers for good, amirite?) And since WordPress powers more than 30% of the web, it’s popular enough to be a constant target. 

It should go without saying, but if baddies do manage to break into your site, they can cause a lot of damage.

For example, they can steal or otherwise compromise sensitive information, install malware, make changes to your site to suit their needs, or even bring it down entirely. This is harmful to both you and your users, and if you’re running a business,  it can mean lost customers and revenue.

Not good at all.

It’s vitally important to take additional steps to secure your WordPress website. You’ll want to put just as much time and effort into this endeavor as you spent designing your site in the first place (if not more). Fortunately for you, dear reader, there are lots of simple, quick ways to improve your site’s security, as well as some more complex techniques you may want to employ. 

Related: How Much Does It Actually Cost to Set Up a WordPress Website?

10 Smart Ways to Effectively Secure Your WordPress Website

Hopefully, I’ve convinced you about the importance of maintaining a secure WordPress website. If not, I’m going to have to re-enroll in Persuasive Writing 101. Please don’t make me do that. 

Glad you’re convinced (wink, wink). 

Throughout the rest of this article, I’ll introduce 10 handy strategies for making your site safer and reducing the chances of it being compromised. Plus, I’ll point you in the right direction to get started with each technique.

You don’t have to implement every suggestion on this list — although you certainly can — but the more steps you take to secure your site, the lower your chances will be of encountering a disaster down the road.

1. Use a Quality Host

You can think of your web host as your website’s street on the Internet — it’s the place where your site “lives.” 

Like a good school district matters to your kid’s future (so they say; I turned out fine), the quality of your website’s home base counts in a lot of big ways.

A solid hosting provider can impact how well your site performs, how reliable it is, how large it can grow, and even how highly it ranks in search engines. The best hosts offer many useful features, excellent support, and a service tailored to your chosen platform.

Related: 13 Simple Ways to Boost SEO on Your WordPress Website

As you’ve probably already guessed, your web host can also have a significant impact on your site’s security. There are several security benefits to choosing a solid hosting service, including:

• A quality host will constantly update its service, software, and tools to respond to the latest threats and eliminate potential security breaches.
• Web hosts often offer various targeted security features, such as SSL/TLS certificates and DDoS protection. You should also get access to a Web Application Firewall (WAF), which will help monitor and block serious threats to your site.
• Your web host will most likely provide a way to back up your site (in some cases, even carrying it out for you), so if you’re hacked, you can easily revert to a stable, previous version.
• If your host offers reliable, 24/7 support, you’ll always have someone to help you out if you do run into a security-related issue.

This list should give you a good starting point to work from when looking for a host for your new site, or even if you’re thinking about changing hosts. You’ll want to find one that offers all of the features and functionality you’ll need, plus has a reputation for reliability and excellent performance.

DreamPress is WordPress-specific hosting that’s fast, reliable, scalable, and, of course, secure. DreamPress includes a pre-installed SSL/TSL certificate and provides a dedicated WAF designed with rules built to protect WordPress sites and block hacking attempts. You’ll also get automated backups, 24/7 support from WordPress experts, and Jetpack Premium — a plugin that can add many additional security features to your site — at no additional cost.

With DreamPress, you’ll be able to rest easy knowing that your site is protected. Our hosting service even takes care of many of the following security-enhancing steps for you — although we still encourage you to read on to learn what extra measures you can take.  

After all, safety first, kids!

Get More with DreamPress

DreamPress Plus and Pro users get access to Jetpack Professional (and 200+ premium WordPress themes) at no added cost!

Check Out Plans

2. Switch Your Site to HTTPS

Let’s talk more about an SSL/TLS certificate. This enables you to switch your site to HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) — a more secure version of HTTP. These are important security concepts to understand but simple to grasp even if you’ve never heard of them before.

HTTP is the protocol that transfers data between your website and any browser trying to access it. When a visitor clicks on your home page, all of your content, media, and website code are sent through this protocol to the visitor’s location. 

While this is necessary, of course, it does introduce some potential security issues. Baddies can try to intercept the data while it is in transit and use it for their own nefarious purposes.

HTTPS solves this problem! It does the same thing as HTTP but also encrypts your site’s data while it’s traveling from one point to another, so it can’t be easily accessed. 

Initially, HTTPS was used mainly for sites handling sensitive customer information, such as credit card details. However, it’s becoming increasingly common for all sites, and big names such as WordPress and Google have been pushing for its widespread implementation. 

To switch your site over to HTTPS, you’ll first need an SSL/TLS certificate. This communicates to browsers that your site is legitimate and its data is properly encrypted. You can also get one for free from certain sites, such as Let’s Encrypt.

A quality host will typically provide an SSL/TLS certificate as part o your hosting package. In fact, at DreamHost, we offer Let’s Encrypt certificates for free with all of our hosting plans!

Once you have an SSL/TLS certificate installed on your site, you’ll simply need to implement HTTPS. Your host may take care of this for you, although it’s also fairly easy to do yourself. If you’ve chosen to go with DreamPress, the stretch limo of hosting, your site will be created using HTTPS from the start. Roll out!

3. Create Secure Login Credentials

This one is a “no s***, Sherlock” suggestion, but folks, it’s really important to select your login credentials carefully. Like really, really important! 

Why? This makes it harder for a sketchy weirdo to break into your site. You probably have plenty of experience choosing strong usernames and passwords for other accounts across the web — doing the same for your WordPress website is a big deal.

When you create your site, you’ll be given the opportunity to create a login username and password. The username will default to admin, although you can change it if you’d like (and probably should). But since there are various ways for people to find out what your WordPress username is, you can stick with the default option if you want to. 

Your password, however, is crucially important, and you’ll want to choose a strong one. There’s recently been a U-turn of sorts on how to choose a strong password, with a recommendation of a simple four-word phrase trumping the classic mixture of random letters, numbers, and symbols. It’s a method that has been popular in some circles for a while.

If all the talk of choosing a password makes your head spin, we recommend sticking with WordPress’ own password generator as it automatically generates an (almost) ironclad password directly within the WordPress back end. Just be sure to record your credentials somewhere safe, like an encrypted password manager, so you don’t forget them.

If you’ve already created your site and chose less-than-ideal login credentials initially, you can still change them without too much trouble. You can alter your username by creating a new user, giving it the administrator role and attributing all your content to it, and then deleting your original account.

As for your password, you can simply go to Users > All Users from your WordPress admin dashboard, click on your username and enter a new password on the Edit User screen.

4. Enable a Web Application Firewall

You’re probably familiar with the concept of a firewall — a program that helps to block all sorts of unwanted attacks. Most likely, you have some kind of firewall on your computer. A Web Application Firewall (WAF) is simply a firewall designed specifically for websites. It can protect servers, specific websites, or entire groups of sites.

A WAF on your WordPress site will function as a barrier between your website and the rest of the web. A firewall monitors incoming activity, detects attacks, malware, and other unwanted events, and blocks anything it considers a risk. #winning

Related: What Is Malware and How Can You Protect Your Site from It?

If you’ve opted for our DreamPress package, you can relax; you won’t need an additional firewall. DreamPress includes a built-in WAF that will monitor your site for threats and block malicious users and programs from gaining access. No action required on your part.

DreamHost also offers DreamShield, our in-house malware scanning service. When you enable DreamShield on your hosting account, we’ll scan your site weekly for malicious code. If we find anything suspicious, you’ll be notified immediately via email.

Protect Your Website with DreamShield

For just $3/month, our premium security add-on scans your site weekly to ensure it is free of malicious code.

Enable DreamShield

5. Implement Two-Factor Authentication

Before we move on, there’s one more technique to address: two-factor authentication (which also goes by two-step authentication and a variety of other, similar names). The term refers to the two-step process you’ll need to follow when logging into your site. This takes a little more time on your end but goes a long way towards keeping hackers out.

Two-factor authentication involves using a smartphone or other device to verify your login. First, you’ll visit your WordPress site and enter your username and password as usual. A unique code will then be sent to your mobile device, which you’ll need to provide to complete logging in. This enables you to prove your identity by showing you have access to something solely yours — such as a particular phone or tablet.

As with many WordPress features, two-factor authentication is easy to add with a dedicated plugin. Two Factor Authentication is a solid choice — it’s created by reliable developers, compatible with Google Authenticator, and will enable you to add this functionality to your site without fuss.

Another choice is the Two-Factor plugin, which is well known for its reliability and was built mainly by core WordPress developers. As with any plugin in this category, the learning curve is a little steep, but it will get the job done and is very secure. If you’re willing to spend a little money, you can also check out Jetpack’s Clef-like premium solution.

Whatever route you choose, make sure to plan ahead with your team if relevant, since you’ll need to gather their phone numbers and other information to get started. With that, your login page is now secured and ready to go.

6. Add New Plugins and Themes Carefully (And Update Them Often)

The ready availability of themes and plugins is one of the best things about using WordPress. With these handy tools, you can make your site look just right and add nearly any feature or functionality you can think of. 

Not all plugins and themes are created equally, though.

Developers who aren’t careful or don’t have the right level of experience can create plugins that are unreliable or insecure — or, just downright sucky. They might use poor coding practices that leave holes hackers can easily exploit or unknowingly interfere with crucial functionality.

This all means you need to be very careful about the themes and plugins you choose to add to your site. Each one should be vetted to ensure it’s a solid option that won’t hurt your site or cause problems. There are many elements to keep in mind, but the following advice will help you select quality tools:

• Check user ratings and reviews to learn whether other people have had a good experience with the plugin or theme in question.
• Take a look at how recently the plugin or theme has been updated. If it’s been longer than six months, chances are it isn’t as secure as it could be.
• Install new plugins and themes one at a time, so if anything goes wrong, you’ll know what the cause was. Also, be sure to back up your site before adding anything to it.
• Get your plugins and themes from trustworthy sources, such as the WordPress.org Theme and Plugin Directories, ThemeForest and CodeCanyon, and reliable developer websites.

Finally, your work isn’t done once you’ve installed the plugins and themes you want to your site.

You’ll also need to keep them up to date to ensure they work well together and are secured against the latest threats. Fortunately, this is quite easy — you’ll simply need to go to your WordPress dashboard, look for the red notifications telling you there are themes and/or plugins with available updates, and click on update now next to each one.

You can also update your plugins in a batch by selecting all of them and then hitting the update button, either here or in the WordPress panel. This is a quicker option, but keep in mind, updating all of them at once could make it more difficult to diagnose any problems that arise as a result of the updates. If you’re making sure to only choose reliable plugins and themes, however, this shouldn’t be a problem.

Before we move on, it’s worth mentioning that you should also keep WordPress itself up to date. Smaller patches and security updates will be added automatically, but you may need to implement major updates on your own (again, this is very simple to do). This probably goes without saying at this point, but DreamHost handles these updates for you, so you won’t need to worry. 

Remember: leaving WordPress or any of your themes and plugins out of date is a risk you don’t want to take.

Related: How to Create Your First WordPress Plugin

7. Configure Your File Permissions

Let’s talk technical for a moment. 

A lot of the information, data, and content on your WordPress site is stored in a series of folders and files. These are organized into a hierarchical structure, and each one is given a permissions level. The permissions on a WordPress file or folder determine who can view and edit it and may be set to allow access to anyone, only to you, or almost anything in between.

File permissions are represented by a three-digit number in WordPress, and each digit has a meaning. The first digit stands for an individual user (the site’s owner), the second digit for the group (for example, members of your site), and the third for everyone in the world. The number itself means that the user, group, or world:

• 0: Has no access to the file.
• 1: Can only execute the file.
• 2: Can edit the file.
• 3: Can edit and execute the file.
• 4: Can read the file.
• 5: Can read and execute the file.
• 6: Can read and edit the file.
• 7: Can read, edit, and execute the file.

So if a file is given a permissions level of 640, for example, it means the primary user can read and edit the file, the group can read the file but not edit it, and everyone else cannot access it. This may seem overly complicated, but it’s important to ensure that each person only has the level of access to your site’s files and folders you want them to have.

WordPress recommends setting folders to a permissions level of 755 and files to 644. You’re pretty safe sticking to these guidelines, although you can set up any combination you’d like. Just remember that it’s best not to give anyone more access than they absolutely need, especially to core files.

You’ll also want to keep in mind that the ideal permissions settings will depend somewhat on your hosting service, so you may want to find out what your host recommends. 

Note: You should be very careful when making changes to your permissions levels — choosing the wrong values (like the dreaded 777) can make your site inaccessible.

8. Keep the Number of Users on Your Site Low

If you’re running your WordPress site solo, you don’t need to worry about this step. Just don’t give anyone else an account on your site, and you’ll be the only person who can make changes.

I call this strategy “With my, by myself.”

However, many humans like other people and do eventually add more than one user to their website. You may want to let other authors contribute content, or you might need people to help edit that content and manage your site. It’s even likely you’ll find yourself with an entire team of users who’ll regularly access your WordPress site and make their own changes.

This can be beneficial in many ways and is sometimes even necessary. However, it’s also a potential security risk. 

The more people you let into your site, the higher the chance that someone will make a fat-finger mistake or that a user will cause problems just to be a putz. For this reason, it’s smart to keep the user count on your site as low as possible while not hampering its ability to grow. In particular, try to limit the number of administrators and other user roles with high privileges.

Here are a few more suggestions:

• Limit each user to only what permissions are necessary for them to do their job. Obvs.
• Encourage users to use strong passwords (remember No. 3?).
• Try to stick with one administrator, if possible, and a small group of editors.
• Give users who have left the site or no longer need access the boot.
• Consider downloading a plugin, such as Members, which provides a user interface for WordPress’ role and capabilities system.

9. Track Your Admin Area Activity

If you’ve got multiple users, it can be a good idea to keep tabs on what they’re all doing on the site. Tracking activity in your WordPress admin area will help you spot when other users are doing things they shouldn’t and can indicate whether unauthorized users have gained access. 

When a weird change has been made or something suspicious installed, you’ll want to be able to find out who was behind the activity. Plugins got you covered.

Most larger security plugins don’t provide this functionality out of the box, so you’ll want to find a dedicated solution. If you’d like to take a hands-off approach, Simple History lives up to its name by creating a streamlined, easy-to-understand log of important changes and events on your site. 

For more involved tracking features, you can also check out WP Security Audit Log, which keeps an eye on just about everything that happens on your site and offers many useful, premium add-ons.

Once you have a suitable plugin installed, it’s a smart idea to check the log periodically for anything out of the ordinary. If something happens on your site that you weren’t expecting or bugs suddenly pop up, look through the most recent activity. 

Related: Looking for a WordPress security plugin? Here Are 13 Great Options to Keep Your Website Safe

10. Back Up Your Site Regularly

I’d be lying if I said there was a magic solution for protecting your website from all threats. Even if you implement every suggestion on this list, there’s still a chance you may experience a security breach on your site. 

Hackers are good at what they do. 

You’ve just got to beat them at their game. A comprehensive security plan means preparing for what you’ll do if the worst happens, even while you’re trying to ensure it never does.

Backing up your site on a regular basis is the simplest and best way to safeguard it in the event of a disaster. If you have a recent backup handy, you can restore your site to the way it was before it was hacked or otherwise harmed. This will help you fix the issue and move on as quickly as possible.

Of course, you’ll want to be smart about the way you create and use your backups. The following tips are a good start:

• Keep more than one backup. A good rule of thumb is to have at least three recent backups on hand at all times since it’s possible your most recent backup could have issues you haven’t yet noticed.
• Save your backups in multiple external locations, such as cloud storage and physical hard drives.
• Set up and stick to a consistent backup schedule. The frequency and timing are up to you, although there are plenty of solid recommendations you can follow.

In addition to your regular backup schedule, it’s always smart to create an extra backup of your site before making any changes to it. So (nudge, nudge) before implementing any of these security-boosting techniques, make sure you have a recent backup ready to go.

Ready to Tackle WordPress Security Issues?

Whether you need help navigating the WordPress dashboard, fixing incorrect database credentials, or dealing with a brute force attack, we can help! Subscribe to our monthly digest so you never miss an article.

Sign Me Up

WordPress Security: Locking It Up

True fact: if your website is hacked, you’ll spend hours (even days!) trying to repair the damage. You may permanently lose data or see your personal information compromised — or worse, your clients’ data.

That’s why you’ve got to put a whole lotta time and energy into making sure that situation never occurs. Otherwise, you’re likely to lose valuable business and income while trying to repair the damage.

These 10 WordPress security tips should help. Some are simple tweaks. Others affect your entire site, such as switching to HTTPS or adding an SSL certificate. Of course, you’ll also want to make sure your site runs on a secured WordPress host.

Our DreamPress hosting (with free WordPress migration) is specifically designed for the WordPress environment. Plus, if you ever do encounter a security issue, we’ve got you covered with automatic daily backups, a weekly malware scan, and our support team of WordPress experts!

The post 10 Smart Ways to Effectively Secure Your WordPress Website appeared first on Website Guides, Tips & Knowledge.

source https://www.dreamhost.com/blog/secure-your-wordpress-website/

How to Make a Minecraft Server with DreamCompute (In 3 Steps)

Minecraft is a rare game with the longevity to still be wildly popular over nine years after its initial release, boasting 126 million monthly players. However, if you’ve ever wanted your own block kingdom, the technical aspects of making a Minecraft server may make it seem like you’re dealing with a real-life Enderman.

Fortunately, there are ways to make the process fast and easy. 

DreamCompute is our cloud computing service that can help you set up your own Minecraft server. With just a few simple steps, you’ll be ready to launch your Minecraft world.

In this article, we’ll discuss some of the reasons you might want to make your own Minecraft server and cover the technical aspects of the process. Then we’ll provide you with three easy steps to get it up and running with DreamHost. Let’s go! 

The Benefits of Making Your Own Minecraft Server

Minecraft servers let you play the game either online or in a local network. It’s like a subset within the larger game that is yours to customize as you see fit. You’re free to build inside of it on your terms. 

There are lots of benefits to making your own server. For one, you have full control. You can use any mods you want to customize your gameplay. Creating a unique environment with these tools can be advantageous if you’re looking to start your own YouTube channel. 

It doesn’t have to be just you, either. Having your own server enables you to build a community. You can invite people you want to join you in-game for a multiplayer adventure. If you’d rather keep to yourself, you can still share your custom designs with the world. 

To top it all off, creating your own Minecraft server can be a pretty painless experience. You might be surprised by how accessible the process can be. With a little bit of guidance, you’ll have your own space up and running in no time. 

Why You Should Use DreamCompute for Your Minecraft Server

You probably have a few options when it comes to server hosts. They might seem similar at first glance, especially if you’re just starting out. However, there are some important differences to be aware of before you make your choice.

The first thing to look for in a host is whether it offers a cloud-based server. These are generally a better choice than more traditional local servers, as they don’t directly tax your computer’s resources. Typically, this translates to smoother, improved gameplay. 

Tech support might also have an easier time navigating a cloud server than a local server if you run into any trouble. Plus, having a cloud server means you won’t have to worry about keeping your computer running at all times for other server members who want access to it. 

Our DreamCompute service offers cloud servers for Minecraft with competitive features. It’s suitable for both simple and complex configurations, offering impressive speeds for all users. It also has a straightforward and predictable billing system to prevent any nasty surprises at the end of the month.

Further, it’s flexible enough to grow with if you need to change any aspect of your account. Rest assured that any alterations you need to make will get the support they need. 

If you already know you’re looking for premium performance and control, you might want to check out DreamHost’s dedicated server option. It offers impressive benefits, such as fully-managed, cross-platform cooperative play. However, if you’re just looking for a basic server setup, we’ve got you covered there too. 

Get Minecraft Hosting That Scales

DreamCompute is the ideal solution for Minecraft servers that require fast speeds and consistent uptime.

See Plans

What to Know Before You Get Started

There are a couple of tools you’ll need to get started. First, make sure you have a downloaded copy of Minecraft ready. You’ll also need to set up a DreamCompute account.

You also might find some knowledge of servers to be informative since it will help you understand exactly what’s going on in each step. However, if you’re a beginner, don’t fret! The process is very accessible, and our guide is here to help. 

Related: Want to Play Minecraft With Friends Across Devices? Set Up a Bedrock Edition Server With DreamHost

How to Make Your Own Minecraft Server with DreamCompute (In 3 Steps)

Once you have all the resources you need, just follow these three simple steps to create your own Minecraft server.

Step 1: Create a Security Group

The first thing you’ll want to do is create a security group. This is a set of rules that define network access and will allow or prevent traffic into your Minecraft server according to your preferences. All you need to do is adjust some settings.

To get this started, navigate to your DreamCompute dashboard and click to expand the Network option on the left-hand side.

Next, you can click the Security Groups button and then select Create Security Group. This will bring up a window where you can add a name and description. We’ll be using “Minecraft” for both in this walkthrough, but feel free to get creative with yours.

Once you’ve finished filling in those fields, click on Create Security Group to move on to the next step. You’ll then be presented with the options to create rules for this new group.  

Step 2: Manage Your Rules

In the new group, click on the Manage Rules button on the far right. Next, select Add Rule to bring up the following screen.

There are a lot of options on this page, but you don’t have to worry about them too much. If you’re looking to quick-start your server, you can just fill it in the same way we did above.

Specifically, we suggest selecting Custom TCP Rule in the first field, Ingress in the second, and Port in the third. Under Port, enter the number “25565”; this is the default port for Minecraft.

Next, make sure the bottom two fields are set to CIDR and “0.0.0.0/0” respectively. Once you’re ready, click on the Add button.

Step 3: Create a Virtual Machine (VM)

For the last step, you’ll need a Virtual Machine (VM). Anything with Java will suffice. We’ll be using Ubuntu-14.04 for this walkthrough, and we recommend using it if you’re unsure which solution to choose.

You can then navigate back to your DreamCompute dashboard, and under the Compute menu, click on Instances. Next, select the Launch Instance button on the far right. This will bring up a screen that looks something like the following:

Try not to get overwhelmed by all the options! There are only a few that you’ll need to deal with. Start by naming your server in the top field under Instance Name. We used “My New Minecraft Server,” but you can name it anything you like.

Click Next to move on.

From the provided list, select Ubuntu-14.04. The search function can be helpful here if you’re having trouble finding it. Then you can click on the up arrow to move your selection into the Allocated section. To make sure that your instance does not immediately run out of disk / storage space, adjust the Volume Size (GB) to be 10 GB and then click on Next to browse to the Flavor section.

You can also use the search function here to find a specific ‘Flavor’ you’re looking for. If you’re not sure which is best for you, we recommend the Lightspeed option. It has 4GB of RAM, making it a solid choice for most users. 

Next, select the up arrow next to your chosen Flavor to move it into the Allocated category. Click on Next until you get to the Security Groups section.

This section is an easy one. Simply click on the arrow next to the Minecraft security group we created earlier, so it’s listed under the Allocated category as shown above. 

Click on Next to get to the Key Pair section. If you’ve already imported a Key Pair into your DreamCompute project, use the arrow next to that key to assign it to your instance. Otherwise, use the “Create Key Pair” button to create a new Key Pair and then assign that Key Pair to your instance (this is used for emergency connections and for making additional adjustments to the MineCraft server). 

That should be all you need to do before switching to the Configuration section.

At this point, you’ll be brought to a page with a blank field titled Customization Script. On it, you can copy and paste the below code:

#!/bin/bash

apt-get update && apt-get -y install wget screen openjdk-7-jre-headless

su - ubuntu -c 'wget https://s3.amazonaws.com/Minecraft.Download/versions/1.8.9/minecraft_server.1.8.9.jar -O ~/mcserver.jar'

su - ubuntu -c 'echo 'eula=true' > ~/eula.txt'

su - ubuntu -c 'screen -S mcserver -d -m java -XX:+UseConcMarkSweepGC -XX:+UseParNewGC -d64 -Xms512M -Xmx2G -jar mcserver.jar'

You can also load the script from a file. However, you might find that the copy and paste method is quicker and easier.

Keep in mind that the -Xms512M -Xmx2G part of this code is what tells Java the minimum and maximum allowed memory for the Lightspeed flavor we chose earlier. As such, it may not be suitable for other Flavors.

After you’ve entered that code, click on Launch Instance. Sit back, relax, and give your server a few minutes for the setup process to complete. Once that’s done, your server will be online and ready to go!

To add your new server to your client, you can open Minecraft and click on Multiplayer > Add Server. Name it whatever you’d like, and provide the IPv4 address of the VM you set up earlier. 

If you want to modify the default server settings, you can log into your server via Secure Shell (SSH) as “ubuntu.” This will give you access to a server.properties file where you can change the message of the day, spawn different creatures, adjust the maximum number of players, and more.

Be Awesome on the Internet

Join our monthly newsletter for tips and tricks to build your dream website!

Sign Me Up

Build Your Minecraft Realm

Minecraft offers nearly endless opportunities for creative freedom. If you want to take full advantage of all it has to offer and elevate your game to the next level, making your own Minecraft server is the way to go.

In this article, we covered three simple steps for setting one up using DreamCompute:

1. Create a security group for your new server.
2. Adjust the network access rules.
3. Set up your VM to finish the process.

Can’t wait to create a world of your own? DreamCompute can help you set up your own Minecraft server in a matter of minutes. Get ready to grab your pickaxe and get out there!  

The post How to Make a Minecraft Server with DreamCompute (In 3 Steps) appeared first on Website Guides, Tips & Knowledge.

source https://www.dreamhost.com/blog/host-minecraft-server-on-dreamcompute/

3 Ways to Debug Tech’s Diversity Gap in 2021

Silicon Valley is struggling with a bit of an image problem. That image? Straight, white, male.

In 2018, women filled only 25% of all computing-related occupations — which is about the same percentage that we saw in the 1960s. For African-American and Hispanic populations, the representation in these fields is far below the national distribution.

And at the intersection of race and gender, the state of women in tech is even bleaker: 65% of women in computing occupations are white, 19% are Asian/Pacific Islander, only 7% are African American, and 7% are Latina.

In 2021, computer programmers are meritocratic winners who wield considerable power in society. Engineers at Facebook — or more precisely, the algorithms they program — decide what news we see and what ads we get served.

(If you think that ads aren’t linked to economic opportunity, think again.)

Many formerly analog tasks — hailing a taxi, dimming the lights — now rely on code that only programmers can hope to understand fully. If women and minorities are left out of coding jobs now, that omission could have ramifications on the structure of our society for years to come.

It’s clear by now that social and environmental forces contribute to the differences in earning potential for women and minorities, and that these forces also hold the same people back from careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). 

What needs to be done? Let’s take a look at how to debug the diversity gap.

DreamHost Takes Inclusivity Seriously

We regularly report on diversity, accessibility, and representation in the tech workforce. Subscribe to our monthly newsletter so you never miss an article.

Sign Me Up

1. Give Every Student Access to Computer Science Classes

Early exposure to skills is crucial for securing a job in one of the best-paid and fastest-growing industries around. Yet, the majority of U.S. high schools are not teaching computer science classes. 

Some schools in the U.S. are exposing young people to the basics of programming, which serves to improve their familiarity and comfort with these subjects. But to open the doors of the tech meritocracy to the underprivileged, coding needs to be taught in public schools as early as possible — even in elementary school.

As you’d expect, there are a lot of barriers to this.

Because the U.S. public education system depends heavily on local control, it’s impossible to design and implement sweeping changes to curricula in one fell swoop. National standards like Common Core and testing-focused federal programs like No Child Left Behind often leave little room for enrichment classes or electives.

In some cases, nonprofits and businesses are stepping in to fill the gap. For instance, Google pledged $25 million to support programs that help Black and Latino students access computer science education. But a charity initiative here or there isn’t likely to create broad-based change.

Related: What it’s Like to Be a Black Woman in Tech — Q&A with Kaya Thomas

2. Expand the Scope of Nonprofits

We’ve certainly been entering the Era of the Nonprofit for the past few years, and nonprofits that aim to teach coding to women and people of color abound. A few examples: 

• #YesWeCode
• Girls Who Code
• Black Girls Code

Lack of access to training isn’t the only issue these groups face. For instance, in the case of underprivileged youth, a major challenge is the limited access some of these underrepresented students have to computers.

But the hurdles extend beyond the physical, especially when it comes to connecting students with jobs that utilize their training. Limitations experienced in this realm — such as the absence of a professional network or an unfriendly corporate culture — can prevent any would-be software engineer or developer from thriving. Successful nonprofit coding programs will be those that succeed in the final stretch: job placement, hiring, and support during the transition.

Related: 6 Things Women in Tech are Tired of Hearing

3. Retain Diverse Talent

It’s not just a lack of candidates in the pipeline that’s keeping representation low; it’s also a lack of retention. Support needs to continue after coders become established in their careers. At 10 to 20 years into their tech careers,  56% of women leave the field — at a quit-rate double that of men.

Why are they leaving? 

One small study found that the most common reasons women leave tech jobs are a lack of opportunity for career growth, poor management, and the gender pay gap. Older research cites poor workplaces including few opportunities for development and training, little support for outside-of-work responsibilities, and undermining bosses.

A 2019 study published in Nature found that nearly half of women in science leave after having their first child, compared to 23% of men. Clearly, something needs to be done to better support parents in STEM fields, particularly working mothers.

There are a number of ways to support and retain female and minority coders, starting with simply calling out their accomplishments and good ideas. Nonprofits that encourage professional networking, like Women Who Code, can certainly help women find their tribe in the industry. Still, in the end, it will be up to tech companies themselves to enact policies to retain female talent.

Related: 30 Ways to Be an Ally for Women at Your Tech Company

The Reality of the Diversity Gap

The tech industry is booming, which, in theory, should mean more demand for programming labor. But with barriers to intercontinental communication quickly vanishing, more and more programming and web-design jobs based in the U.S. are being outsourced to lower-paid workers in other countries. 

In fact, computer programming jobs are projected to decrease by 9% over the next eight years in the U.S., even as the computer technology industry is expected to grow by 11%.

Whether computer programming serves to be an equalizer or perpetuator of inequality in the U.S. may depend on how fast minority groups can participate and get a “piece of the pie,” so to speak, before the available opportunities shrink.

The bad news is that it’s looking like underrepresented groups will still have to try twice as hard for a shot at the same jobs, which is truly unfair.

There is good news too. 

Related: 9 Black Innovators Who Made a Huge Impact in Tech

People are more aware than ever that the diversity gap in tech (and beyond) is a real problem. Ultimately, the U.S. education system will adapt, nonprofits will grow, and more female and minority students will find — and stay in — careers in computing-related tasks.

After all, diverse teams are the only way companies will keep up with the changing demands of a world where computers are not going away.

The post 3 Ways to Debug Tech’s Diversity Gap in 2021 appeared first on Website Guides, Tips & Knowledge.

source https://www.dreamhost.com/blog/ways-to-debug-tech-diversity-gap/

How to Create an Editorial Calendar for Your Blog

The majority of marketers use content marketing. Approximately 70% to be more precise. But is it working?

Not quite.

The Content Marketing Institute’s latest B2B content marketing report found that only 5% of marketers rate their efforts as “extremely successful.” A not insignificant 15% said they were “minimally successful,” and the majority — 58% — said they were merely “moderately successful.”

These numbers have changed little in recent years.

So what are we doing wrong? What can we do to get better results from our content marketing?

One way to start is to create (and use) an editorial calendar.

Why? Because CMI’s study also shows that the more strategic we are with our content marketing, the more likely we’ll hit our goals.

In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about creating a calendar to guide your content plan. If you’re looking for advice on a specific topic, feel free to jump ahead:

• What Is Content Marketing?
• What’s an Editorial Calendar?
• Why Do You Need an Editorial Calendar?
• The Types of Editorial Calendars
• Editorial Calendar Strategies
• Building Calendar-Based Workflows
• Managing Your Editorial Calendar

Ready to learn how to build the ultimate blog calendar? Let’s dive in!

What is Content Marketing?

Content is anything you create and make public across any channel that serves to educate or entertain, rather than directly selling a product.

This could be (but isn’t limited to):

• Blog posts
• Video
• Tweets
• Facebook posts
• Web content
• Instagram posts and stories
• Webinars
• Podcasts
• White papers
• Case studies

The list is almost endless.

Content marketing is when the content you create is used for the purpose of marketing. Indirect marketing, to be more precise. It’s used to drive website visits, get in front of new audiences, and generally increase brand awareness and loyalty.

It’s not to be confused with product marketing, which is used specifically to promote products.

Related: How to Create a Content Marketing Strategy

What’s an Editorial Calendar?

When you have numerous channels to create, organize and publish content for, it can get complicated quickly.

This is where an editorial calendar can help.

In short, an editorial calendar is a document that helps you track and manage the content you’re creating and publishing. Traditionally it may consist of the following:

• Content ideas
• Content you’re working on
• Publication dates
• The channel the content is for
• The name (or names) of the people working on said content

More advanced editorial calendars will also help you understand your content’s impact and its value on your business.

So you may also want to include:

• The success of each content piece
• Reports that break those successes down according to type of content
• Visualized data for helping you make informed decisions based on past successes (and failures)

There is no one solution. Each business is going to require a different setup, depending on its strategy and business goals.

Take Your Blog Editorial Calendar to the Next Level

Whether you need help choosing a blogging platform, creating an editorial process, or developing a content strategy, we can help! Subscribe to our monthly digest so you never miss an article.

Sign Me Up

Why Do You Need an Editorial Calendar?

Now you know what an editorial calendar is, let’s look at some of its benefits.

An Editorial Calendar Helps You Keep Everything in Check

Consistency is key in content marketing. And it’s something most companies struggle with — especially when many people work on one project.

At any one time, your content team might comprise of a strategist, writer, editor, social media practitioner, designer, and potentially even a developer.

That’s a lot of plates to be spinning.

It Helps You Keep Your Publishing Frequency in Check

What does your posting schedule look like? One post a week? Two posts a week? Lots of companies publish multiple times a week. Many of those are publishing across multiple platforms.

It’s not hard to see how things can get messy fast.

An editorial calendar helps you create a publishing schedule. It also helps you — and your team — stick to that publishing schedule.

It Helps You Keep Track of the Type of Content You’re Publishing

When you’ve already invested in content marketing, it can be really tempting to just keep pressing publish across different platforms. Unfortunately, this strategy is far from helpful when it comes to what works, and what doesn’t.

Don’t just click publish and move on.

Use an editorial calendar so you can look back and analyze old content. By aligning this data with your KPIs and business goals, you can improve future content for a better chance of meeting your business goals and boosting your bottom line.

Related: Keep Your Content Fresh: How to Repurpose Old Blog Posts

It Helps Multiple Team Members Work Towards the Same Goals

As mentioned earlier, content marketing is rarely delivered by one person — it’s usually a combined effort across a team of specialists.

Of course, while a cross-team approach tends to result in a higher output of better quality content, if mismanaged, that team can end up working in silos. All collaboration flies out the window.

An editorial calendar helps get the whole team invested in all stages of content production. It also makes it easier for them to view and track results.

Types of Editorial Calendars

There are two types of editorial calendars:

1. Software-based calendars. These have the caveat of a subscription fee.
2. An editorial calendar you create yourself, usually in a spreadsheet. That could be in Excel or Google Sheets.

Let’s look at some examples.

Software Editorial Calendar Tools

CoSchedule

CoSchedule is one of the biggest names in editorial calendars, and rightly so. They’re constantly improving their product and have been for many years.

Here are a few features that might interest you:

CoSchedule allows you to see everything in one place so you can get a complete overview of all content marketing activities. It also has an awesome UI. It’s simple, looks fantastic, and keeps things uncluttered, which is important if you have a busy schedule and lots of moving parts.

CoSchedule also allows you to share your plans with stakeholders, whether that be a client, line manager, or CEO. You simply grab the sharing URL, and they’ll be able to see both planned and published content.

It allows you to be flexible. No matter how well you plan, there will always be times when necessary to swap and change. Maybe something significant takes place in your industry that turns your original plan on its head (we’ve all had to pivot our businesses thanks to COVID-19). How can you get the necessary changes in motion without having to talk to everyone involved?

It is super simple with CoSchedule. They have a nifty drag-and-drop feature, which means you can change plans on the fly — and notify all relevant team members just as easily.

Trello

Odds are you’re at least somewhat familiar with Trello. Based on Kanban workflow management, it’s been on the scene for a number of years now. With index cards, you can create a workflow that has full transparency and cuts out unnecessary communication.

Trello isn’t a stand-alone content calendar, however — the software is so flexible it can be used for pretty much anything. So why use it as an editorial calendar?

Well, for one, it’s free!

While Trello has paid plans, there’s no cost to get started and you only need to upgrade to access specific features. The free version should more than suffice for small teams, while the first tier of the paid version is quite affordable if you need extra features.

You can also make it your own.

A lot of similar software forces you to use it as it comes — i.e., how the designers put it together. With Trello, you’re free to create an editorial calendar that suits your processes and your business.

Want to save time? Trello can help with that too.

Not only does it have its own gallery of templates, but other users can (and do) share their templates. You can then take one of these templates and use it as a base for your own calendar.

Trello also boasts Google Docs and Dropbox integrations. This means you can view both drafted and completed content directly within the tool — no more digging around for the document that a team member created and accidentally popped into the wrong folder.

Contently

If your team needs more than what a tool like Trello can offer, Contently might be the answer. As you might suspect though, it comes at a price.

Contently has the standard calendar features you’d expect to see. It works similarly to CoSchedule and has an equally simple interface.

So why the hefty price tag?

It has features that you just don’t see in other software.

• The ability to document content goals and audience personas
• Track important SEO keywords
• Search and social listening — allowing you to stay ahead of the competition and target trending topics
• It allows for taxonomy and tagging — crucial when you have a ton of content being published
• It includes performance analytics — you can see what’s performing well and adjust your strategy accordingly

For those running a big team, Contently is a great choice.

Related: 7 Steps to Identify a Target Audience for Your Online Business

Pros of Software-Based Editorial Calendars

You Can Connect Them to Other Software

Publishing across multiple platforms can quickly get complicated. Things become easier when you use an editorial calendar that can connect with your other software. This might include (but isn’t limited to):

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram
• WordPress
• Mailchimp

The ability to publish directly from the software to the chosen channel is a massive time saver.

They Don’t Take Long to Set Up

Most online editorial calendars are a breeze to set up — unlike creating your own spreadsheet or document.

Usually, you just need to click a few times, and you’re ready to go. Most online calendars also have tours to help with onboarding — both for yourself and for your team.

Cons of Software-Based Calendars

They Can Be Expensive

As with anything that makes your life easier, it rarely comes for free. That said, when you’re deciding between software or spreadsheets, you need to take into account time saved and how much that time is worth to you.

Less time spent on admin = more time for content creation.

Related: 36 Brilliant Blogging Tools to Help You Write Better, Publish More, and Increase Traffic

Spreadsheets

An alternative solution is to use a spreadsheet.

You can use Excel for this, but you may be better off opting for Google Sheets, as the real-time collaboration makes managing your calendar much more efficient.

Are there any spreadsheet templates you can use to get started? You bet!

• Editorial Calendar Templates for Content Marketing: The Ultimate List
• Free Editorial Calendar Template
• Content Calendar — Editorial Planning for Content Marketing
• Get Your Free Editorial Calendar Template NOW!
• Editorial Calendar Template 2021

Pros of Spreadsheet Based Editorial Calendars

They’re Flexible

Regardless of how your team operates, you can create an editorial calendar to fit your exact needs. You get to choose what’s in your calendar and how it functions.

They’re Free

A huge percentage of businesses in the world use Microsoft, so getting hold of it is super easy. And Google Sheets is free for everyone with a Google account, so you’ve got no excuses there.

Cons of Spreadsheet Based Calendars

Communication and Collaboration

Collaboration is tough, especially in Excel. We’d only recommend using Excel if you have a very small team or no other options.

With Google Sheets, collaboration is somewhat easier, but it’s still limited compared to what’s offered by most software content planning solutions.

Automation Can Be Tough

One of the key advantages of software solutions is that many admin tasks are automated — from notifying team members to collecting data.

It’s much trickier to introduce automation within spreadsheets.

You've Got a Blogging Schedule. Now Let's Talk Hosting

When you partner with us, your website is in good hands! Our services pair friendly expertise with top-notch technology to give you all you need to succeed on the web.

See How We Deliver

Editorial Calendar Templates

If you need some inspiration before creating your editorial calendar, then look no further. These examples should give you all the insights and inspiration that you need:

• How to Create a Social Media Content Calendar: Tips and Templates
• 10 Expert Tips for Creating an Effective Content Calendar

Editorial Calendar Strategies

Before you start getting stuck into creating your editorial calendar, here are a few more things to consider.

• Understand capacity. You need to make sure your team isn’t over or underworked. This means knowing how long specific tasks take and how many hours your team members have available. This helps streamline processes and makes for happier employees.
• Work towards goals. You need to set out your business goals before entering the first piece of content into your calendar. These goals need to be communicated to the wider team and referenced in tasks.
• Know your content mix. Before you get cracking, establish which channels you’ll be using. Knowing which channels resonate best with your audience will help you focus effort in the right places.
• Be detailed. The tasks in your content calendar MUST have detailed briefs. This assists with autonomous working and staying on track.
• Understand consistency and tone. This is another thing you need to set out from the start in a brand style guide. You may find you need to change your tone for each channel you use. You can then reference these each time you add a task to your calendar.

Related: Take Your Content Strategy Up a Level with a Content Audit

Building Calendar-Based Workflows

Next, you need to look at the kind of workflow you want to build for your team. Here are a few things you need to be thinking about.

• Ideas. You need a place within your calendar to store blog post ideas. Ideas can easily get lost or forgotten, so make sure to document each topic idea for future reference.
• Deadlines. An editorial calendar relies on hard deadlines to keep it flowing. From the get-go, your team should understand how planning and deadlines work and that they need to stick to them.
• Keyword research. It doesn’t matter whether you’re working on a blog post or writing tweets; keyword research is essential.
• Review and sign off. How do you see this part of the process panning out? If it all takes place in the editorial calendar it improves workflow significantly. Plan it in from the start.
• See it through. This might sound obvious, but you need a way to flag missed deadlines. And you need to know why so you can adjust the strategy moving forwards.
• Review and start again. As well as tagging content that’s missed deadlines, you need to come up with a way of tagging successful and failed content right inside your calendar. This helps you learn from your successes and identify mistakes.

How to Manage Your Editorial Calendar

You should now be at the stage where you’ve chosen how to deliver your plan (software or spreadsheet). You should know how you are going to build the workflow and how to document everything.

Is there anything else?

Yes. How to get your team on board. Here’s some food for thought:

• What’s the plan? Are you going to onboard the team together or do it one by one? How do you get buy-in from different departments? You need to set yourself a plan and document it so you can confidently communicate the plan to your team.
• Is everyone in the know? This is easily forgotten. Your team will be in the know, but those that aren’t directly involved may need to be aware of what’s happening too. For example, the CEO may look at the process and calendar once and never again — but if they know how it works, it can help when it comes to reporting.
• Communicate. This is key. Communication has to happen inside the calendar for optimum workflow. You need to stress this to the team.
• Stick to the plan. You’ve set it out. You’ve added to the calendar. It’s now your job to make sure everyone sticks to it and uses the calendar in the way you intended.

Related: From the Experts: 20 Great Blogging Tips

Create Your Blog Content Calendar

When it comes to editorial calendars, there is no perfect solution. No one way of working that will suit every organization or team. What works best for you will depend on factors such as the size of your team, how much content you’re producing, the channels you use, and your budget.

You can invest in cheap or free editorial or project management software. You can upgrade to enterprise solutions. Or you can save money and create your own bespoke system using Google Sheets or Excel.

What does apply across the board is that you need a content calendar if you’re creating content. You’ll be fuelling better collaboration, improving efficiency, and helping you and your team track results to make smarter decisions moving forwards.

The post How to Create an Editorial Calendar for Your Blog appeared first on Website Guides, Tips & Knowledge.

source https://www.dreamhost.com/blog/how-to-create-editorial-calendar/