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internet

How to redirect WordPress

So you’ve decided that you want to freshen up your site, maybe by adding or removing a few pages, moving to a new domain, changing your permalink structure, whatever it might be. While researching how to make those changes you also came across instructions saying that you need to follow the changes up with redirects. Suddenly you find yourself lost as to how that is done. 

Maybe you’ve only heard about redirects, maybe you know a thing or two about them, but what you don’t know is how to implement them in WordPress. Since a lot of people find themselves in the same situation of lacking both theoretical and practical knowledge on redirecting, we’ve decided to make this article somewhat of a crash course.

Here, you will learn the basics of redirects and the easiest method of implementing them in WordPress. Without further ado, let’s get started.

The basics of redirects

A good definition for redirects that doesn’t go into too much technical detail is that redirects are basically mapping one URL to another one. Now, why is that mapping necessary? After you make a change on your website that involves changing a URL you end up with broken links. 

Setting up a redirect in that spot is what will fix the broken links and tell a browser that the old URL is no longer available and that a new one is going to be used, permanently or temporarily. After seeing a redirect, a browser knows not to send traffic to the old URL anymore but to the new one instead. 

Redirects are used for both internal and external links since both types are affected by the changes in URLs, but are especially important for external links. When it comes to internal links you can try your best to manually fix them if you have the time, but with external links, you can only hope that the person who runs the site that is now displaying one of your broken links will answer your email in which you are asking them to repair it.

Redirects are also crucial for maintaining your site’s SEO and traffic rates. When they aren’t put in place, your visitors get stranded in 404 pages meaning less traffic is reaching your site and its online reputation and SEO are deteriorating more and more with every non-redirected visitor.

But users aren’t the only ones hitting the 404 pages. Without redirects, search engine crawlers are also getting the “404 page not found” error while doing their regular checkups. When that happens, they notify Google which will then reconsider if your site deserves its current SERP rank, since it obviously isn’t serving its visitors with the proper user experience.

At this point in the article, I think you have an idea of why redirects should be used. To help you better understand when they are to be used here are some specific use cases.

  • You changed the name of a page, moved it to another section, maybe added a keyword that will improve its SEO, and now its URL is no longer the same.
  • The names of some of your pages get constantly misspelled and you want your visitors to end up on your page regardless of the misspelling.
  • You deleted a page or merged it with another one.
  • A page/site is under maintenance and shouldn’t be accessed until the maintenance process is finished.
  • You moved from HTTP to HTTPS.
  • You changed your domain name.

Now that you know why and when redirects are used, the last thing you need to know about them before jumping into the implementation aspect is that redirects come in different types. The following are the most known and commonly used redirect types.

301 redirects 

A 301 redirect is used for permanent changes when you aren’t planning to use the original page again. 301 redirects might be the most frequently used ones which besides visitors also transfer 90% of the SEO and traffic from the old page to the new one.

302 redirects

302 redirects are used for redirecting traffic to a new page but only for some time, not forever since the change you made is not going to be a permanent one. This type of redirect keeps the SEO and rank on the old page and doesn’t transfer any of it to the new one. They are used for sites/pages that are under maintenance, when doing updates or tests, and also for pages displaying temporary content like sales and special offers.

303 redirects

These redirects are sort of a replacement for the 302 redirects but can also prevent refreshing, resubmissions and bookmarking of pages. 303 redirects are very useful for sites accepting online payments which have a need to redirect people to external resources such as PayPal.

307 redirects

Very similar to 303 redirects, the only major difference is that 307 redirects don’t change the information of POST method requests when redirecting. 307 redirects also fall into the category of temporary redirects.

308 redirects

308 redirects are closely related to both the 303 and 307 redirect type since they are permanent but can also do everything 307 redirects can.

For you, it’s important that you know about and understand the use of 301 and 302 redirects since those two types are the ones you will be using 99% of the time.

Redirecting using a plugin

Redirecting in WordPress can be done in two ways, manually and using a plugin. Since the plugin method is faster, less complicated and more commonly used, in this article, we will only cover that method. The manual one is more for the people who know how and like to deal with code.

The plugin we would recommend for you to use is WP 301 Redirects. WP 301 Redirects is a popular plugin by WebFactory Ltd that was created with the aim of helping you resolve all issues related to redirects and 404 errors in the easiest way possible. Besides being very user-friendly and easy to use, another great thing about this plugin is that it has the ability to monitor your site for changes in the URLs of all its posts and pages.

If a change is registered, the plugin will automatically set up a redirect rule for it without requiring any action from you, meaning that when you have this plugin activated it’s virtually impossible for your visitors to end up on a 404 page. The 404 pages will be reserved only for the bad bots trying to reach your site since this plugin will simply ignore them by turning off automatic redirection in their case. But you don’t have to worry that Google’s bots will be treated the same, they are whitelisted so they will be free to crawl your site even if this plugin is activated.

Along with all the help this plugin will give you when it comes to redirecting, it will also give you a detailed insight on the traffic that is going on your site through its built-in charts, so you can quit using any external analytics tools. For any problem or issue you might face while using this plugin, on disposal you have an in-house support team ready to give you fast answers and guidance at any time. To learn more about the plugin and find a price plan best suited for you, visit https://wp301redirects.com/.

Implementing the redirects 

Since this is a method executed using a plugin, logically the first step will be to install the plugin. Once you have it installed, a section dedicated to the plugin should appear in the Settings section of your WordPress dashboard.

The process of setting up redirects using the 301 Redirects plugin is very simple. Using a spinner box, you will first choose the type of redirect you want to implement. Next, in the “redirect from” input field, you will enter the old URL, and in the “redirect to” field, you guessed it, the new URL. 

Because this plugin wants to make the process of redirecting as simple as it can be, it will also give you a list of your site’s pages from which you can simply select a page(and not have to manually type in its URL) in case you wish to redirect to or from one of them.

After saving the redirect rule, your work is done, and your redirect has been implemented. All redirect rules can, of course, be easily deleted or edited if necessary. Also, using this plugin you have the option of uploading redirect rules in a CSV file and with that set up multiple redirects at once.

Conclusion

Making changes to your site is something that has to be done and that will ensure your site is an up-to-date and highly functioning one. But as much as making the changes is important so is following them up with redirects, otherwise, they might bring more harm than good to your site’s valuable traffic and online reputation. That is why we hope, that with the information this article gave you and with the assistance of the WP 301 Redirects plugin, redirect issues, broken links, loss of traffic and other redirect related issues will be a thing of the past at least in the case of your own site.

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internet

3 Legal Liability Issues for the Internet of Things

The Internet of Things (IoT) is more than a buzzword, it’s a lifestyle. With smartphones, smart homes, smart TVs, and more it seems like people want to be constantly connected.  With new technology, however, comes a new approach to the legal liability part. IoT comes with challenges that require creative solutions. These can be partially addressed by thinking about the impact of first movers on non-standardized device creation. Here is what you need to know:

1. Your Work, Your Product

Product liability is one of the first things to focus on when discussing its impact on the legal landscape. In doing this, an organization that creates technology needs to think ahead. First off, sometimes stuff break or end up not working right. This basic malfunction can cause a house thermometer to malfunction in the winter leaving a house without heat and causing the family to relocate. Secondly, if someone from the outside hacks into the product, they could take control of it and impact the lives of people in an unfortunate manner, such as accidents, human losses etc. Every scenario must be taken into account. Finally, the product or the server is hacked leading to stolen personal data. This can lead to identity theft, which exposes sensitive credit card information or identity information of any kind.

2. So Much IoT, So Little Time

Most of the time, liability needs to be traced back to the source of the problem. In the case of IoT, this is increasingly difficult. IoT development relies on incorporating multiple chips or devices interconnected between each other. This leads to a nightmare when trying to determine the legal root problem of a security breach.  For example, if your smartphone is connected to a chain of routers, this creates multiple “blind spots” from where an attack could occur.

According to legal experts at SteinPag, “the interconnectedness of IoT causes serious negligence issues. With so many parties involved, determining which device is at fault can be challenging. This means that as lawsuits arise, there is also a lot of finger-pointing involved. With the lack of solid laws at this point, finding standards of accountability is determined by adjudication.”

3. Go Speed-Racer

People crave more technology. This drives companies to create or design it. To meet demands means to consider that the creation process is moving much faster than the standards and regulations involved. While there are compliance laws and standards for traditional technology, the IoT landscape still lacks many of them. With no requirements, there’s no specific duty to which the devices can be held accountable for. Moreover, many of the companies driven to create these devices do not have the security built into the applications. This leads to a proliferation of vulnerable devices that are not held to any specific standards, making the connection to liability blurry.

As it appears, liability for IoT devices remains an uncharted territory, for the moment. Increasingly more people want to connect to smart devices, which is good business for many companies and startups, especially. However, IoT providers should pay more attention to the sensitivity nature of developing gadgets and devices, and make sure they meet regulations, in order to avoid lawsuits and liability issues.

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internet

What Is "Internet Of Things" And The Challenges We Face

If you have been following the technology section of news, you may have come across this term quite a few times. Notwithstanding the massive changes to our lifestyles since the advent of the internet, technology gurus have predicted that we have barely scratched the surface of the possibilities. “Internet of Things” is expected to be the next massive revolution in the technology space.

So what exactly is IoT? At a simplistic level, it refers to interacting with various devices and gadgets over the internet. For instance, did you forget to switch off the lights while you started off on your long vacation? A simple tap on a mobile app should do that for you with IoT. But that’s again the tip of the iceberg. Here is a quote from a recent article on Metro that should give you a better idea of where we are headed:

“Your alarm wakes you at the correct time after checking your schedule and adjusting itself for traffic and transport delays. Your coffee machine begins brewing, the heating and hot water turn on (adjusting the temperature according to the weather) and the car starts de-icing the windscreen.”

The Internet of Things, or Thingternet as we like to call it will definitely revolutionize the world over the next decade. According to a Gartner study, IoT will bring in close to $1.9 trillion worth of economic value add by 2020. That’s nearly 30 billion devices connected to the internet by then.

While the prediction appears exaggerated at the moment, we will get there with the right infusion of technology infrastructure. Enterprises today have already connected through high speed business internet plans to make them ready for the deployment of IoT at the workplace. This however cannot be said for domestic consumers. Although the average broadband speed in the US is a good 24.5 Mbps, some parts of the country still have extremely low speed internet connections. A lot of potential use-cases with IoT come in a domestic household environment and in the absence of a sufficiently good internet infrastructure, IoT may not take off.

The priority for governments across the world over the next 5 years needs to be on enhancing their internet infrastructure. Going by Gartner’s prediction, we are predicting a scenario where nearly 30-50 billion devices could be fitted with IoT within the next six years. That’s a massive addition of client devices to an already crowded ecosystem. It will be interesting to see how governments act on building the infrastructure in time for us to truly bear the fruits of the IoT innovation.

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internet

Best Online Study Tools For Students

The classroom is changing. Students no longer have to be present physically in front of the teacher to learn their subjects. And the subjects themselves are no longer defined simply by the textbooks. Interactive learning tools have drastically changed the schooling landscape and have also helped students understand complex concepts using more illustrative and engaging techniques that were not available even ten years ago.

Besides the changing landscape inside the classrooms, students are also being exposed to new dynamic learning methods outside of it, online. Here are three tools that have made learning extremely important for students. And best of all? They’re free.

Wikipedia : There can be no list on online educational tools without a mention of Wikipedia. This not-for-profit site of 12 years has enabled every one of us to become an educator and a learner at the same time using the system of crowdsourced knowledge. Information on every single thing that students learn in class can be got from here. As every student who has passed out in the past ten years will vouch for, Wikipedia has been a boon when it comes to preparing your term papers. The only downside to Wikipedia is that it is prone to false information due to which it is many times not considered to be a valid source of reference. You could always pick other online elearning tools while preparing your term papers. StudyMode is a popular service that millions of students use to write their term papers. The service also comes with a Citation Generator that will help you organize your sources much better on your paper.

Internet Public Library : Students may no longer visit the school library as much as they would have a decade or two back. But the use of the library to study outside the prescribed textbook has never been better. The Internet Public Library is an open source online library that houses tons of reference material on a wide variety of topics for every conceivable topic of study.

Project Gutenberg : This is a project driven wholly by volunteers who have been seeking to digitize all books that are available in the public domain. The project was started in 1971 and today holds over 42,000 ebooks that are primarily text books or classics. If you are looking for a free text book to supplement your school book, Project Gutenberg is where you should be looking.

Are there any more free elearning tools that you are aware of? Tell us about it in the comments below.

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internet

How the Internet Works – Infographic

There is no doubt that the internet has made our lives amazingly simple in the past decade or two. However behind the glossy user interfaces, there lies the very same complex network of wires and computers that have been running your other essential services for years. Here is a nice little infographic that explains the wonderfully complex backend of what lies behind each of these cool websites you visit. Click to open the image in full size.

Courtesy: Open-Site.org

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Google internet Web

How Big Is The Internet?

Google has an overwhelming presence on the internet and it is very unlikely that any of us remains untouched by their service yet. Even if you do not use their search engine, it is likely that you read blogs on blogspot, watch videos on YouTube, or read emails on Gmail. Despite this massive presence, do you know that Google has only tracked 0.004% of all data that constitutes the internet? Read on

Total number of people using the internet : 1.9 billion
42% of these users are from Asia
Total volume of data on the internet today : 5 million terabytes
Data volume indexed by Google : 200 terabytes (0.004%)
Total number of domain registrations : 193 million
46% of these domains are .com

Where does all this unindexed Google data lie? My assumption is that a good chunk of them must be secured information – email, document attachments,etc. But again, these alone cannot be 99.994% of the internet. What are your thoughts?

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internet

Internet User Distribution Across Countries

What percent of the world’s total internet users come from USA? or China, Japan or India for that matter? According to reports from Cisco, China and USA alone contribute more than a third of the total internet users in the world. By that same measure, China and Japan together constitute one-fourth of the total users. Now, here is a tabulation of the top countries in terms of internet users and the percent of internet users they contribute to the total world numbers.

1. China : 20.8%
2. USA : 13.1%
3. Japan : 5.5%
4. India : 4.7%
5. Brazil : 3.9%
6. Germany : 3.1%
7. UK : 2.7%
8. Russia : 2.6%
9. France : 2.5%
10. South Korea : 2.2%
11. Iran : 1.9%
12. Italy : 1.7%
13. Indonesia : 1.7%
14. Spain : 1.7%
15. Mexico : 1.6%
16. Turkey : 1.5%
17. Canada : 1.4%
18. Philippines : 1.4%
19. Vietnam : 1.3%
20. Poland : 1.2%

According to this study, there are close to 1.734 billion internet users across the world. That makes the United States and China the only two countries to have more than 100 million internet users in their region.
2.

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internet

Worldwide Distribution Of High Speed Internet Connection (> 5Mbps)

Akamai has released its latest report detailing the state of internet broadband across the world. Not surprisingly, south east asia, especially Japan and South Korea feature prominently in the list of countries with the fastest internet speeds. Akamai notes that of the top 100 cities in the world with fastest internet speeds, 59 are in Asia.

Here is how the fastest internet connections are distributed across the different countries. According to Akamai, over 20% of the internet connections worldwide can be termed high speed of over 5 Mbps.

South Korea : 65%
Japan : 60%
Romania : 48%
Hong Kong : 45%
Sweden : 42%
Latvia : 41%
Denmark : 41%
Netherlands : 40%
Canada : 34%
Belgium : 33%

Conspicuously absent in the top ten list are the countries from the developed world – USA and UK. United States though features at number 14 with close to 25% of internet connections in USA at a speed of over 5Mbps.

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internet

Average Website Traffic Statistics

If you own a website, you may well be convinced of the plain fact that your website cannot hide itself from Google. There are so many products like Adsense, Google Analytics, Webmaster tools, toolbar,etc. from Google that are so needed for our website that it so happens that Google gets to know about how our website is performing one way or the other.

It is hence interesting to know Google’s measurement of the top 1000 websites on internet – this is likely to be the closest we get to the actual numbers. This ranking has been done based on Google’s traffic estimates which gives us an idea of the traffic levels required for your website to reach one of these top numbers.

Average monthly uniques to be in the
Top 1000 websites : 4.1 million
Top 500 websites : 7.4 million
Top 100 websites : 22 million
Top 50 websites : 41 million
Top 10 websites : 230 million
Top 1 website : 540 million (Facebook)

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internet

Number Of Internet Users In Brazil

A recent report published by ComScore shows that internet users in Brazil – those who are less than 15 years old – constitute as much as 12% of the total internet using population. This report pegs the total number of users in this South American country at 40.7 million. Note that this number is only users accessing internet from a home or work location. The actual number that includes people accessing internet from universities, public cafes,etc. is close to 73 million.

Here is how the 40.7 million users are split up age-wise.

06-14 : 4.8 million
15-24 : 10.4 million
25-34 : 12.4 million
35-44 : 7.6 million
45-54 : 3.8 million
55+ : 1.6 million

I have not put down the numbers in percent terms because I do not think the percentage will hold like-wise for the overall population (including those accessing internet from universities and public cafes). Most of these users not included in the study are likely to be between 18-35 years and hence the percentages may significantly vary for the actual population.