WordPress plugins, themes, security tips, and tutorials to help you build and optimize your blog. Simple guides for beginners.
Pretty Links Review: Is It the Best Affiliate Link Management Plugin for WordPress? Let me share my hands-on experience. I’ve been familiar with Pretty Links for a while. I researched it thoroughly before I ever started doing affiliate marketing. So when I launched The Income Plug (my public blogging journey), I didn’t go in blind….
If you’ve just joined your first affiliate program and you’re staring at that long, ugly tracking URL, wondering what on earth to do with it, this post is for you. Affiliate link management is one of those things that looks more complicated than it is. And because most tutorials assume you’re either a complete beginner…
This is Version 3 of The Income Plug. Not a first attempt at blogging. Not a first attempt at building an online income. This version is the one being built with full transparency, every tool, every decision, every result shared in real time, so you don’t have to navigate this blind. And one of the…
I need to tell you something I’m genuinely embarrassed about. Years ago, I discovered Systeme.io when they first launched. I used it on multiple projects, loved every second of it, and joined their affiliate program. Their offer was and still is one of the best in the industry: 50% recurring commission. Lifetime recurring. As long…
When I was choosing an email marketing platform for The Income Plug, Kit (formerly ConvertKit) and MailerLite were both at the top of my shortlist. I didn’t just glance at a comparison chart and move on. I went deep. I watched hours of YouTube reviews. I read comparison articles, dozens of them. I joined Facebook…
I’ve failed with 3 of the 4 themes I’m about to recommend. Let that sink in. Astra? I used it for The Income Plug Version 1. Quit. Deleted everything. I tried again with The Income Plug Version 2, using the same theme, Astra. Quit AGAIN. Deleted AGAIN. Blocksy? I built a GORGEOUS Amazon Associates product review…
I want to be upfront with you about exactly why I’m writing this comparison of GeneratePress vs. Astra because it matters. I’ve used Astra. The Income Plug ran on it for two full versions (v1 and v2). Both were eventually deleted, not because of the theme, but for personal reasons and because of where I was…
I’ve used both Yoast SEO and Rank Math on real websites. Not test sites. Not demos. Real blogs. Yoast powered my previous Amazon Associates product review site, the one with the beautiful Blocksy theme that I eventually abandoned due to burnout. I used Yoast for months. Optimized every post with it. Watched those green lights…
Choosing between Kadence and Astra was one of my toughest decisions when building this version of TheIncome Plug. Here’s what makes this comparison different: I’ve actually used both themes extensively. I ran versions 1 and 2 of The Income Plug on Astra. I loved it. When I decided to start fresh with version 3, I…
Choosing web hosting was one of my first big decisions when launching The Income Plug. Get it wrong, and you’re stuck with a slow site, security headaches, and a customer support team that ghosts you at midnight. Get it right, and you have a solid foundation to build on for years. The problem? There are…