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What’s Coming in WordPress 6.2 (Features and Screenshots)

WordPress 6.2 Beta arrived a few days ago and it is expected to be released on March 28th, 2023. It will be the second major release of 2023 and will come with significant new features and improvements.

We have been closely monitoring the development and trying out new features on our test sites.

In this article, we’ll give you a sneak peek into what features are coming in WordPress 6.2 with details and screenshots.

What new features are coming in WordPress 6.2

Note: You can try out the beta version on your computer or on a staging environment by using the WordPress Beta Tester plugin. Please keep in mind that some of the features in the beta may not make it into the final release.

Here is a quick overview of changes coming in WordPress 6.2:

  1. Full Site Editor Comes Out of Beta
  2. Browse and Choose Templates to Edit
  3. Add Custom CSS to Your Theme or Specific Blocks
  4. New and Improved Navigation Menus
  5. Colors to Indicate Template Parts Being Edited
  6. See Styles for All Blocks in The Style Book
  7. Copy and Paste Block Styles
  8. Classic Widgets Import as Template Parts in Block Themes
  9. Separate Sub Panels for Block Settings and Styles
  10. A New Distraction-Free Mode is Introduced
  11. Improved Pattern Insertion with New Categories
  12. Miscellaneous Changes
  13. Under The Hood Changes

Full Site Editor Comes Out of Beta

The new full site editor feature in WordPress will come out of beta with the final release of WordPress 6.2.

Site editor comes out of beta

This completes a significant part of the WordPress development roadmap.

The site editor feature is now stable for the community to create block-based themes and experiment with their own WordPress websites, plugins, or themes.

Note: Full site editor is available with block themes that support this feature. You can try it out even if you are using the older classic editor with a block-enabled theme.

Browse and Choose Templates to Edit

Previously the Site Editor loaded the Home template of your theme by default. This left many beginners wondering which template or template part they needed to edit.

With WordPress 6.2, the site editor will load the template preview window first. From here, you can browse different templates and see a preview of what it looks like.

Template browser

Then you can simply click on the Edit button to start working on the selected template.

Once you are done editing the template, don’t forget to click on the Save button to make your changes go live.

After that, you can click on the WordPress logo in the upper-left corner of the screen to bring back the template browser sidebar.

Site editor navigation

Now if you need to edit a different template, then you can choose it from here. Otherwise, you can simply click on the WordPress logo again and exit the Site Editor.

Add Custom CSS to Your Theme or Specific Blocks

In the last few WordPress releases, the site editor hid the ‘Theme Customizer‘ which made it difficult for users to add custom CSS to their themes.

WordPress 6.2 will allow users to switch to the Styles panel and select Custom CSS from the menu.

Custom CSS in site editor

From here, users will be able to save Custom CSS that applies to their entire theme.

What if you wanted to save custom CSS that only applied to a specific block?

WordPress 6.2 will also allow you to add custom CSS for specific blocks. From the Style panel, click on the Blocks menu.

Block styles

On the next screen, you will see a list of blocks. Simply click on the block where you want to apply your custom CSS.

Under the block styles, click on the Additional CSS tab.

Block styles custom CSS

If you want to conditionally add CSS or keep your custom styles outside of theme specific settings, then we recommend using the free WPCode plugin.

New and Improved Navigation Menus

Adding navigation menus in the full site editor has been a bit difficult for users. WordPress 6.2 will try to solve this by improving the way users can create and manage menus while using the site editor.

First, instead of editing the menu items inline, you can now add, remove, and edit menu items in a subpanel under the Navigation block.

Managing menu items in block panel

From here, you can add a new menu item by clicking on the Add Block (+) button. You can also just drag and drop menu items to rearrange them.

Want to create a new blank menu or reload an older one? Simply click on the three-dot menu and then choose a menu you created earlier or create a new one.

Manage menus

Colors to Indicate Template Parts Being Edited

WordPress 6.2 will also highlight the template part that you are editing, and that changes will be made on a side-wide, global scale.

The element will be bordered in a color and have a template part icon attached.

Template part editing in site editor

This will help users realize that instead of editing the specific page or post, they are now editing a template part and this change will affect other pages on their site as well.

See Styles for All Blocks in The Style Book

The site editor in WordPress 6.2 will ship with a ‘Style Book.’ Simply switch to the Styles panel and then click on the style book icon.

This will show you all the blocks, and how they are styled in your theme.

Style book shows all block styles at one place

You can locate a block much more quickly this way, and then click to edit it directly.

After that, you can change its appearance and style and customize it to your own requirements.

Edit block directly from style book

Copy and Paste Block Styles

Now that editing block styles and appearance has become so much easier, there is a need to easily copy and paste these styles.

WordPress 6.2 will allow you to simply copy block styles by clicking on block options and then selecting ‘Copy Styles’.

Copy styles

After that, you can click to edit a different block and select ‘Paste styles’ from the block options.

Your browser will ask for permission to allow your website to view the contents of the clipboard. You need to click ‘Allow’ to continue.

Paste styles

Classic Widgets Import as Template Parts in Block Themes

Users with classic widget themes lost their legacy widgets when they switched to a block theme. WordPress 6.2 will provide a nice fallback to that by converting legacy widgets into special Template Parts when switching themes.

You’ll need to enter the site editor and edit the template where you want to import the widgets. After that, create a new template part by clicking on the Add New Block button (+).

Import classic widgets in block themes

From the template part settings panel, click on the Advanced tab to expand it and you’ll find the option to import a widget area from your previous theme.

Separate Sub Panels for Block Settings and Styles

With WordPress 6.2, the editor will show two sub-panels for a block. One for the block settings and the other one for styles.

This will help users understand where they need to look if they want to change the appearance of a block.

Sub panel for Styles

A New Distraction-Free Mode is Introduced

Historically, WordPress has always provided options to hide the formatting buttons and toolbars on the post editor screen.

However, WordPress 5.4 made the editor full-screen by default. This allowed users to have a much cleaner writing interface, but there was no distraction-free mode.

WordPress 6.2 will remedy that and will come with a completely clean and calm distraction-free mode. Users will be able to choose it from the editor settings.

Launch distraction free mode

Once chosen, the distraction-free mode hides all editor control elements.

As you can see below, toolbars, side panels, and the top bar are nowhere to be seen.

Distraction free editor in WordPress 6.2

Improved Pattern Insertion with New Categories

WordPress 6.2 will simplify the Pattern Insertion panel. Instead of showing previews and a drop-down menu of categories, it will show the categories first.

Pattern insertion

There are two new categories of Patterns added for the Header and Footer sections.

Clicking on a category will show you the available patterns that you can use.

Browse patterns in a category

You can then just click to insert a pattern into your template and start editing it.

For more details, see our tutorial on how to use patterns in WordPress.

Miscellaneous Changes

Download Link For Media Files – The media screen will now show a Download File link in the list view.

Download file link in the Media Library

Openverse Integration to Add Free Images – Openverse offers royalty-free open-source images.

With WordPress 6.2, users will be able to find and add those images from Add New panel.

Openverse Integration

New Icon for the Settings Panel – The icon to display the settings panel previously used a gear icon.

It is now represented with a panels icon.

Settings icon

Under The Hood Changes

There are a ton of changes in WordPress 6.2 intended for developers. Here are some of the changes that you will find in the update:

  • Faster updates by moving directories instead of copying them. (Details)
  • A new switch_to_user_locale() function is introduced. (Details)
  • Create autosave revisions only when content is changed. (Details)
  • Add a style variation tag to themes that use style variations. (Details)

Overall WordPress 6.2 beta 1 includes 292 enhancements, 354 bug fixes for the editor, and more than 195 tickets for the WordPress 6.2 core.

We hope this article provided you with a glimpse of what’s coming in WordPress 6.2.

Comment below to let us know what features you find interesting and what you’d look to see in a future WordPress release!

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 What’s Coming in WordPress 6.2 (Features and Screenshots) first appeared on WPBeginner.

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The Difference Between the :where() and :is() CSS Selectors

The CSS selectors :where() and :is() are two pseudo-classes that allow you to select elements based on their relationship with other elements. Although they sound similar, they are different in terms of functionality and syntax.

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The :where() pseudo-class was introduced as part of the CSS Selectors Level 4 specification and allows you to select elements based on the presence of other elements that match a specific condition. In other words, you can select elements based on the relationship between elements in a DOM tree. For example, you can use the :where() selector to select a list item li only if it is the first child of an unordered list ul:

li:where(:first-child of ul) {
  background-color: yellow;
}

On the other hand, the :is() pseudo-class is part of the CSS Selectors Level 3 specification and allows you to select an element if it is one of several different selectors. It is similar to the logical OR operator, in CSS. For example, you can use the :is() selector to select a p element if it is either the first child of its parent or has a class of highlight:

p:is(:first-child, .highlight) {
  background-color: yellow;
}

It’s important to note that the :where() selector has better browser support than the :is() selector, and that the :is() selector should not be used in conjunction with the :not() pseudo-class.

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The Dos and Don’ts of Domain Registration

When it comes to domain registration, there are some dos and don’ts of how to go about it properly. This article shows you what you need to know to lead you to a good domain name.

It goes without saying, choosing a domain name is a crucial decision. After all, it’s your website’s calling card that you want to be attractive, relevant, and effective. It can boost SEO, increase your brand awareness, and raise the number of site visitors when created well.

A good domain establishes authority and credibility, reinforces brand identity, and promotes your business. On top of that, you want to ensure it’s safe!

This article covers the Dos and Don’ts of domain registration to help ensure your domain name is top-notch and sets up your site for success.

We’ll cover:

After reading this article, you should know… wait for it… what to do.

Dos

Pick Correct Domain Extension

Deciding upon the perfect Domain Extensions, aka TLDs (top-level domains), will affect your online presence and overall business.

Beyond .com, there are numerous other domain extensions available. Everything from .edu, .gov, .blog – and plenty more. Each extension can be used to associate with your brand (e.g. .org is great for organizations).

Pick a domain extension related to your business, organization, or personal site – whatever it may be. This lets readers know what your website is about from the very beginning.

A safe bet is typically .com if you can’t decide on other extensions that might be more beneficial. It’s the most popular extension and is recognized universally.

However, go with your niche if you want to be more specific.

Make It Easy and Foolproof

Don’t go crazy and make a domain that’s hard to type or not easy to remember. Be sure to make it foolproof because, well, typos happen to the best of us.

If you choose a domain that’s different or painful to type, it will hurt your business and brand.

Misspelled domains lead visitors to the wrong site, 404 errors, and frustration. If you’re lucky, they may try again to find your website. But, chances are, they’ll give up and you lose a visitor.

Avoid slang (“4” instead of “for”), and don’t use words with numerous spelling options. Don’t mix numbers with words, avoid abbreviations, and don’t use homonyms (e.g. “write” and “right”).

In a nutshell, use common vocabulary, and make it easy to spell and type – without the user having to think about it too much.

Make Sure It’s Registered In Your Name or Business

When registering domain names, you often don’t second guess the registration process and may overthink what name to put it under. However, it’s essential to put it under your name or business — depending on your purpose.

This ensures that you’ll have control over it for the long term. You can keep or sell it as long as you want.

If it’s under someone else, you may have to buy it from an individual or company. It’s best to ensure you’re in control right from the start.

Make a Memorable Impression

Making a good first impression is important and easy to do with a good domain. There are just a few things you should do. After all, your domain will be out there in the ether with millions of others, so it’s important to be seen amongst the competition.

One is to make it unique – so it stands out. Whatever your domain is, having it be unique and memorable is a key factor. Something catchy is especially important (e.g. boredpanda, JoeKnowsCoffee).

Think of one of your favorite websites. Does it have a catchy title? Chances are, it does.

Also, it’s best to keep a domain as short as possible; however, if a longer domain makes yours stick out and “pop”, it may be worth doing.

Use Keywords

Like domain extensions, Keywords in your domain name help tell visitors what your website is about.

An example might be if you run a WordPress development agency, insert ‘agency’ and ‘WordPress’ (or ‘wp’) somewhere in the name.

If you need assistance with coming up with a domain name, there are tools like Zyro or NameStudio to help generate a name for you. They work by simply inputting keywords and then coming up with names.

Also, a lot of domain providers offer ideas for a new domain. For example, when you enter a new domain with us, we give you some suggestions for what you might want to use.

Domain suggestions
These are just a few examples.

Whatever name you choose, keep in mind that keywords can help show what type of website you are, making it more likely that a visitor will be interested in stopping by.

Make It Long-Term

Considering your website and domain are for the long-term, it’s important to contemplate a domain name and not rush it.

After all, you’ll use this for your brand and SEO for years! So, choose something relevant to your business that will continue to work down the road.

A good example of what NOT to do would be to name your company BobsFurniture2023.com or something with a specific time stamp.

Your domain should define your business, so ensure your domain has lasting appeal.

Know Your Market

If you know your target market, coming up with a domain name is easier.

This is another example of keywords – choose words that relate to your audience. For example, do you have a pet shop in Palm Springs? Maybe PalmSpringsPets.com. It’s relatable for the audience you’re after, memorable, and simple.

And the more specific, the better.

Be Creative

Get creative when choosing a domain. Why? Because you’ll be more memorable and attract visitors.

Wordplay, synonyms, and catchy combinations can do a lot to make your website stand out. Think of some of the most popular websites – like YouTube, TikTok, or DuckDuckGo. Each one has a creative edge to it that is memorable.

So, get creative and create unique words, phrases, and ideas when deciding on your catchy domain.

Keep It Safe

Finally, in our Dos — when registering a domain, use a reliable domain provider, lock your domain name, and activate domain privacy. Be safe.

You can do much to keep your domain protected from being hijacked and taken over. Read our Ultimate Guide to Domain Name Security for more information.

Now that you know what to do, it’s time for the…

Don’ts

Use Certain Characters

Using unnecessary characters, such as hyphens, symbols, and numbers is a death knell for some websites.

These often make for a sloppy longer address that doesn’t come across as professional. Also, they’re hard to type and pronounce. So, don’t use certain characters (like the ones mentioned).

That said, IF you need to use a special character, try to limit it (one would be best).

If you’re using numbers, try to make them sequential (e.g. 123) or recognizable so that it’s easy on the eyes of visitors.

Special characters, complicated numbers, and symbols can frustrate a user trying to type it in, and they may bail on getting to your website sooner rather than later.

Be Complex, Long, Bland, or Hard to Type

We mentioned long domain names could be okay if they’re relevant but don’t make them complex, bland, or hard to type (which we also touched on).

A good example is if you’re, let’s say, a physicist. “Physicist” isn’t exactly an easy word to spell if you’re not used to doing so, so you’d probably want to avoid a domain name like “localphysicist.com” or something like that.

If it’s not clear by now – the easier, the better. Long domains can work but have a good reason if going that route.

Be Trendy

It might be tempting to use buzzwords, but they often don’t have staying power. Things can rapidly go from the hottest trend to nothing tomorrow. Just think about viral videos, songs, shows, etc. One minute they’re hot – the next, they’re not.

So, don’t be too trendy with your domain, even though it might seem cool and mainstream at the time.

Try to Be Like Someone Else

Once in a while, someone tries to make their domain similar to a popular one to ride on their success.

This tactic is usually pretty obvious (e.g. if you name your site Bamazon.com – or something like this) and it will ultimately hurt your reputation and brand. Plus, it gets old – fast.

This is your time to shine with your unique domain, so don’t try to ride someone else’s coattails.

Buy All of the Extensions

Owners of businesses want to protect their brand, and buying up almost any combination of extensions for a domain can be tempting. It helps ensure no one else will grab them.

But don’t buy all the extensions. As enticing as that is, it’s not necessary.

This can cost you thousands of dollars, and the benefits are few. There is practically no way you can buy up all the extensions, so you might as well not even attempt it.

Your brand will be fine with your chosen domain, and, more than likely, no schmuck will steal your thunder by choosing another TLD with your name attached.

If you’re buying a new domain name or one used before, you should check out the backlink history completely. The backlink history of a domain is important because it can affect how it will rank.

If there are hesitant backlinks in the past, search engines might remember them and negatively impact rankings. The backlinks could’ve been blocklisted for spam or other bad activity.

There are backlink checkers, like Majestic, that can ensure you have a solid domain with no unsavory history.

Doing the Dos and Don’ts for Domains

When it comes to domain registration, these Dos and Don’ts can help ensure you have success. Whether picking the right TLD, excluding special characters, or security, there’s a lot to consider. After all, this domain is in it for the long haul.

Consider registering a domain with us for security, selection, and wholesale price. You have domain management in The Hub, 24/7 support, client billing options, resell capabilities, and more!

Be aware of what to do when deciding on a domain, and you’ll be domain-ate online.

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How to Start an LLC in North Dakota in 8 Simple Steps

Most aspiring business owners don’t fully understand business law, but ZenBusiness and Incfile make it easy to file documents and start doing business. ZenBusiness can help you file for as little as $0 (plus state filing fees), or you can register with Incfile right now for free.

Business structures range in complexity from sole proprietorships (simplest) to corporations (most complex). Limited liability companies (LLCs) are right in the middle—they provide the personal liability protection of a corporation but have fewer formalities.

For North Dakota residents and aspiring business owners, forming an LLC is a smart way to protect your personal assets from business debts and liabilities. Establishing an LLC can be relatively straightforward, but it’s important to understand the basic requirements for forming an LLC in North Dakota before doing so.

This article explores the eight essential steps for starting an LLC in North Dakota.

How to Start an LLC in North Dakota in 8 Simple Steps

The 11 Best LLC Services for Starting an LLC in North Dakota

There are plenty of online LLC formation services out there, meaning you won’t have to navigate the confusing world of business law by yourself. But trust us—they aren’t created equal, so we created a list of the 11 best LLC services to cut through the noise.

Click here to read our full, in-depth reviews of each of these LLC services and which might be the best for your needs.

Start a North Dakota LLC in 8 Easy Steps

A sole proprietorship won’t cut it if you plan to make a living or start a side hustle. The additional liability protection that LLCs provide is essential for business owners, and in North Dakota, the formation process is relatively simple.

  1. Choose a unique business name for your LLC
  2. Appoint a registered agent
  3. File Articles of Organization
  4. Draft an operating agreement
  5. Apply for an EIN
  6. Set up a business bank account
  7. Obtain necessary business licenses and permits
  8. Stay current with annual reports and franchise tax requirements

The exact process for forming a North Dakota LLC may differ depending on your situation, but this framework covers the basics. If you need help navigating the formation process, enlisting an attorney or professional service can make the process easier and ensure that your LLC is compliant with all state regulations.

Step 1: Choose a Unique Business Name for Your LLC

You can’t form an LLC without naming it, but the reality is that the name doesn’t matter as much as you think—it just needs to accurately represent your brand in a way that resonates with potential customers.

You can use a few strategies to come up with a name:

  • Use your own name (or a catchy combination of your first and last names).
  • Try to create a memorable business name that accurately reflects the nature of your products or services (e.g., “Mountain High Travel” for a travel agency).
  • Combine two relevant words or phrases (e.g., “Style and Grace Boutique” for a clothing store).
  • Invent a word or use an unrelated term in a creative way (e.g., “Apple” for a computer company).

If you aren’t sure where to start, plenty of online business name generators can help you brainstorm.

A list of 15 suggested North Dakota business names from ChatGPT
Use ChatGPT to come up with business name ideas.

ChatGPT is a newer tool you can use to generate business name ideas. In the example above, we asked it for ideas for a marketing agency, and it returned 15 responses (some of which were surprisingly useful). Since this software is free to use and generates outputs in seconds, you could play with it all day until you come up with the perfect name.

No matter which route you decide to take, it’s important that the LLC name abides by the following criteria:

  • It must include “Limited Liability Company,” “LLC,” “L.L.C.,” or some variation thereof
  • It may not contain language implying government agency affiliation
  • It must be distinguishable from existing LLCs
  • It may not include certain restricted words, such as “bank” or “university”

You can check the existing business names in North Dakota by searching the state’s business entity database.

Step 2: Appoint a Registered Agent

Your LLC must have a registered agent to legally do business in North Dakota. A registered agent is simply an individual or organization authorized to receive service of process on behalf of your LLC.

The state’s regulations require the following:

  • The agent must be a resident of North Dakota or a corporation authorized to conduct business in the state
  • The agent must have a physical street address in the state
  • The agent must be available during regular business hours to accept service of process and other important documents
ZenBusiness landing page for hiring a North Dakota registered agent
Hiring a registered agent service like ZenBusiness ensures you won’t miss important compliance deadlines.

You can appoint yourself as the registered agent for your LLC, or you can hire a registered agent service to handle everything for you. If you decide to self-appoint, make sure that you are always available to accept service of process and other documents related to your business.

Note: We advise against appointing yourself as a registered agent. There are several advantages of using a registered agent service, not least of which is that they provide invaluable legal protection at a very affordable price. Plus, registered agent services typically offer other useful services, such as mail forwarding and document filing.

Step 3: File Articles of Organization

North Dakota Secretary of State website prompts for starting a new business
The North Dakota Secretary of State website asks a series of questions and makes submitting your Articles of Organization as easy as possible.

Articles of Organization is a legal document filed with the Secretary of State that officially establishes an LLC in North Dakota. When you register your North Dakota LLC online with FirstStop, the Secretary of State’s website, it will automatically provide you with a link to set up an account and submit the form.

Every state has similar requirements for the filing of this document, but the North Dakota Articles of Organization must include the following information:

  • LLC name
  • Registered agent’s name and address
  • Management structure (member-managed or manager-managed)
  • Names and addresses of LLC members and managers (if applicable)
  • Name, address, and signature of the organizer
  • Purpose of the LLC
  • The date the LLC will begin business (on or later than the filing date)
  • The date on which the LLC will dissolve (if applicable)
  • Signatures from all parties involved

This document is meant to be simple and concise—it should not be more than one or two pages long. The North Dakota Articles of Organization can be filed online or by mail, with a fee of $135. Depending on how you choose to file it (online, by mail, or by fax), the processing time can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks.

Once you have submitted your Articles of Organization, the state will review them and notify you if any changes need to be made. Once all requirements are met, the Secretary of State will issue an order granting authority for your LLC to transact business in North Dakota.

Step 4: Draft an Operating Agreement

An operating agreement is a legal document that outlines the members’ and managers’ rights, responsibilities, and duties in an LLC. It specifies several aspects of how the business will be managed, including but not limited to:

  • Profit sharing
  • Voting rules for decisions regarding the company
  • What will happen if members or managers leave
  • Dispute resolution procedures
  • Capital contributions of members

The operating agreement does not have to be filed with the state—it can stay private among members and managers. However, having an operating agreement is critical because it serves as a legal document that clearly outlines everyone’s roles in the company and can serve as evidence if any disputes arise in the future.

Another risk of not having an operating agreement is that your LLC is subject to state default rules, which may not be ideal for your business. In the event of a dispute, it’s best to have a written document in place that outlines how disagreements will be addressed.

Example of a free online LLC operating agreement template
A free online template is the best way to draft your operating agreement quickly.

Like Articles of Organization, an operating agreement doesn’t need to be complicated. You can use a free online template to get started or hire an attorney to help you draft a custom agreement that fits your specific needs.

Step 5: Apply for an EIN

An Employer Identification Number, or EIN, is a unique nine-digit number assigned to each business by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). It is used for tax identification and reporting purposes and for filing taxes.

An EIN is similar to an individual’s Social Security Number in that it identifies the business and allows the IRS to keep track of taxes paid by the LLC. To apply for an EIN, you must fill out Form SS-4 online or by mail and submit it to the IRS. The application is free and takes only a few minutes to complete.

There are several times when you will need to use your EIN:

  • Setting up a business bank account
  • Filing taxes each year
  • Hiring employees
  • Applying for business licenses and permits

If you work with clients on a contractual basis, you may also need to provide them with your EIN as a part of the agreement.

Step 6: Open a Business Bank Account

It’s important to keep your personal and business finances separate, which is why you should open a business bank account for your LLC once it is formed. This will allow you to track your income and expenses accurately and easily.

When choosing a bank for your LLC, keep in mind that not all banks are the same. Some may offer special services or discounts for businesses, so shopping around and comparing different options is important before choosing one.

When opening a bank account for your business, you will need to provide the following information:

  • Your EIN
  • The Articles of Organization
  • Your driver’s license or another form of photo ID
  • Proof of business address

When it comes to business banking, you have a few options. You could go the traditional route and use a brick-and-mortar bank, or you could opt for an online business banking institution like Brex, Mercury, or Divvy. Choosing the latter means fewer fees, better benefits, software integrations, and a generally better user interface with built-in functionality for your business.

Step 7: Obtain Necessary Business Licenses and Permits

Before you can start operating your business in North Dakota, you will need to obtain any necessary licenses and permits. This may include a general business license as well as specific permits related to your industry or profession.

Businesses that sell consumer goods must also apply for a sales tax permit, which is issued by the state’s Department of Revenue. The purpose of this permit is to collect and remit sales tax from customers.

For many basic businesses, you won’t need to worry too much about obtaining additional licenses and permits. However, permitting is a significant element of your registration process if you operate in one of the following areas:

  • Foodservice
  • Construction and home services
  • Childcare
  • Tobacco and alcohol sales
  • Transportation services
  • Medical and health-related businesses
  • Professional services (e.g., accounting, legal, engineering)

You can find a full list of business licenses and permits for North Dakota here.

Step 8: Stay Current With Annual Report and Franchise Tax Requirements

All North Dakota LLCs—both domestic and foreign—must submit an annual report to the Secretary of State by November 15th of each year. This is in addition to their initial registration with the Secretary of State.

Fortunately, it’s easy. You can file your report online at the FirstStop page on the official website for a fee of $50.

Unlike some states (e.g., California), North Dakota LLCs don’t have to pay additional franchise taxes. However, depending on the industry you are in and its income level, there may be other business taxes that you need to file.

Final Thoughts About Starting an LLC in North Dakota

Forming an LLC in North Dakota doesn’t have to be difficult or time-consuming. By following the eight steps outlined above, you can successfully launch your business and get it up and running in no time.

Even if you don’t consider yourself a business expert, there are plenty of resources and guides available to help you along the way. It’s important to take your time, research thoroughly, and determine the right legal structure for your business.

Don’t forget, registering an LLC in North Dakota is just the first step of many: you must also stay up to date with filing requirements and obtain any necessary licenses or permits. If you forget this, you could face fines, penalties, and potential business closure or suspension.

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Custom Metadata Types With Validation Rules [Video]

Custom metadata types and validation rules are both powerful features in Salesforce that can help maintain data quality and consistency. But did you know that you can combine them to make your data management even more efficient? In this video, we'll show you how to use values maintained in custom metadata types as part of your validation rules. 

First, we'll explain what custom metadata types are and why they're useful for creating custom settings in Salesforce. We'll also show how to create a custom metadata type and how to maintain values in it.

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High Throughput vs. Low Latency in Data Writing: A Way to Have Both

This article is about how Apache Doris helps you import data and conduct Change Data Capture (CDC) from upstream databases like MySQL to Doris based on Flink streaming. But first of all, you might ask: What is Apache Doris and why would I bother to do so?

Well, Apache Doris is an open-source real-time analytical data warehouse that supports both high-concurrency point queries and high-throughput complex analysis. It provides sub-second analytic query capabilities and comes in handy in multi-dimensional analysis, dashboarding, and other real-time data services.

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Integrating AWS Secrets Manager With Spring Boot

In a microservices architecture, it’s common to have multiple services that need access to sensitive information, such as API keys, passwords, or certificates. Storing this sensitive information in code or configuration files is not secure because it’s easy for attackers to gain access to this information if they can access your source code or configuration files.

To protect sensitive information, microservices often use a secrets management system, such as Amazon Secrets Manager, to securely store and manage this information. Secrets management systems provide a secure and centralized way to store and manage secrets, and they typically provide features such as encryption, access control, and auditing.

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How To Extract a ZIP File and Remove Password Protection in Java

Creating ZIP files is, by design, a simple and highly intuitive process. Users on any major operating system (Windows, Linux, Mac, etc.) can combine numerous folders full of bulky files in just a few clicks, instantly reducing bundles of documents into manageable, compressed archives which makes storing and sharing that content far less burdensome. Opening ZIP files is just as easy: a downstream recipient of a ZIP file only needs to download and extract (or “unzip”) the file’s contents to access the content contained within. Password protection is the icing on the cake: anyone can quickly secure their ZIP archive with a personalized password, ensuring only those with exact permissions can access the archive’s contents.

This ease of use has made .zip an extremely popular solution in both limited and large-scale file-sharing scenarios. One person might create a single ZIP archive with 10 files they need to share with their colleague, while another might create dozens of ZIP files containing hundreds of files each, with multiple layers of directories in each file.  

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Integrating Blackbox Exporter in Datadog, Prometheus, and Grafana for Custom Metrics

When exploring the capabilities of Blackbox Exporter and its role in monitoring and observability, I was eager to customize it to meet my specific production needs.

Datadog is a powerful monitoring system that comes with pre-planned packages containing all the necessary services for your infrastructure. However, at times I need a more precise and intuitive solution for my infrastructure that allows me to seamlessly transition between multiple cloud monitoring systems.

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Dynatrace Perform: Day One

I attended Dynatrace Perform 2023. This was my sixth “Perform User Conference,” but the first over the last three years.

Rick McConnell, CEO of Dynatrace, kicked off the event by sharing his thoughts on the company’s momentum and vision. The company is focused on adding value to the IT ecosystem and the cloud environment.

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Understanding Static Code Analysis

Static code analysis is a method of debugging that involves reviewing source code prior to running a program. It is accomplished by comparing a set of code against one set or several sets of coding rules. Static code analysis is frequently done as part of software testing (also known as white-box testing) during the security development lifecycle's implementation phase (SDL).

What Is Static Code Analysis?

In many different development environments, static code analysis software is used to perform an automated standardization test. Code legibility is a common concern among developers. If a developer writes a chunk of code that is sent to a software tester, the code should be understandable and digestible. 

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O11y Guide: Building an Advanced Dashboard

The ongoing series covering my journey into the world of cloud-native observability continues in this article, where I'm continuing to explore an open-source dashboard and visualization project. If you missed any of the previous articles, head on back to the introduction for a quick update.

After laying out the groundwork for this series in the initial article, I spent some time in the second article sharing who the observability players are. I also discussed the teams that these players are on in this world of cloud-native o11y. For the third article, I looked at the ongoing discussion around monitoring pillars versus phases. In the fourth article, I talked about keeping your options open with open-source standards. In the fifth article in this series, I talked about bringing monolithic applications into the cloud-native o11y world. In my sixth article, I provided you with an introduction to a new open-source dashboard and visualization project and shared how to install the project on your local developer machine. In the seventh article, I explored the API and tooling provided by the Perses project. Then I spent time in the next article covering the open dashboard specification that you need to follow to start creating your first dashboard. Finally, in the previous article, you built your very first dashboard.

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Test Automation for React Native Applications

For over two decades, test automation has been helping software development teams reduce the workload and hence, the strain on time and resources teams experience, especially when in a release frenzy. Automated testing not only helps speed up the testing and feedback loops but also boosts ROI from testing and thus bringing cost savings for the company.

24% of internet survey respondents claim to have seen a return on their investment in test automation within the first six months. Test automation is a starting point if your business is undergoing a digital transformation/modernization effort.

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Leverage Lambdas for Cleaner Code

This article demonstrates a real-life example of Java refactoring aimed at achieving cleaner code and better separation of concerns. The idea originated from my experience with coding in a professional setting.

Once Upon a Time in a Production Code

When I was working on code persisting some domain data, I ended up with the following:

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HTTP 1 vs. HTTP 1.1 vs. HTTP 2: A Detailed Analysis

HTTP 1 vs. HTTP 1.1 vs. HTTP 2: Key Differences Between the Three HTTP Versions

Comparisons are common, and it is nothing different in the cybersecurity world. One such technology is hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP). This is why there is a constant tug-of-war of HTTP 2 vs. HTTP 1. But even before HTTP 1.1 or HTTP 2 came into existence, there was HTTP. However, as the Internet evolved and became more complex, the need for development came with it.

What limited the existing HTTP is the lack of support for persistent connections, thus resulting in increased latency and decreased performance. Due to all these reasons, HTTP 1.1 came into development and became the standard for HTTP communication on the web.

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How to Restrict Content By Member in WordPress

How to Restrict Content By Member in WordPressAre you looking to limit/restrict access to certain parts of your WordPress site? In this article we’ll show you how you can restrict your site’s content based on who is logged into your website using popular WordPress plugins. In other words how to setup a membership style website with WordPress. There are many reasons to create a […]

The post How to Restrict Content By Member in WordPress appeared first on WPExplorer.

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UNSET Session And Destrpy Session Question

Hiya,

Is this:

function unset_sessions()
{
    //All Sessions on the script ....
    UNSET($_SESSION['registration_form_display']);
    UNSET($_SESSION['registration_form_button_clicked']);
    UNSET($_SESSION['domain']); //Form Input
    UNSET($_SESSION['domain_email_account']); //Form Input
    UNSET($_SESSION['domain_email']); //Form Input
    UNSET($_SESSION['password']); //Form Input
    UNSET($_SESSION['errors']); Displays errors underneath the form.
    echo __LINE__; echo '<br>';//DELETE
}

unset_sessions();

the exact same as this:

session_destroy();

I ask, because sometimes the 1st one fails to unset or NULL the values of some sessions such as this:

$_SESSION['registration_form_display

And I have to destroy session. Shall I opt to destroy the sessions instead to wipe-out displaying on form previous form inputs ?

Why I created sessions for user inputs.
Let's say user filled-in 2 form fields correctly and missed 1 or input is wrong on one. When they hit the SUBMIT button, script displays errors and indicates what the error is on which particular field. But only after page reloads on submit button click.
So, if form not filled properly and submit button is clicked then form is reloaded on screen for user to correctly fill-in form before trying to submit again.
As for those fields filled correctly, clicking the submit button would delete the inputs and so I dump the inputs to the sessions and then on page load (after clicking submit button) I repopulate the input fields with their previously correct inputs.
That's why I use sessions on forms.
And yes, I do not dump passwords onto sessions or cookies.

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SiteGround vs. Bluehost

If creating a website using WordPress is your plan, a strong web hosting service built around WordPress is necessary. SiteGround and Bluehost are two of our favorite options for web hosting for WordPress.

SiteGround is especially useful for creating an ecommerce site that uses WordPress. Bluehost is extremely easy to use, ensuring you can operate a basic website within several minutes. And both options have excellent starting price points, so you can build your site on a budget.

SiteGround vs. Bluehost

SiteGround and Bluehost Compared to the Best

Through our research to find the 10 best WordPress web hosts, we placed both Bluehost and SiteGround on our list. Our top pick, however, went to Hostinger, which we found to be the most affordable WordPress web hosting option that still offers strong features. If you sign up for Hostinger today, you receive a 30-day money-back guarantee, and you may be able to receive three months of hosting for free.

  • Hostinger – Most affordable WordPress web host
  • Bluehost – Best for creating your first WordPress website
  • GreenGeeks – Best for eco-friendly website owners
  • WP Engine – Best for hosting multiple WordPress sites with tons of traffic
  • Nexcess – Best for effortless website staging
  • SiteGround – Best for ecommerce websites with easy site migration
  • Flywheel – Best if you want experts to migrate your site for you
  • Kinsta – Best for managing unexpected surges in traffic
  • Scala Hosting – Most freebies in every WordPress hosting plan
  • Cloudways – Best for flexibility and extensive options

SiteGround vs. Bluehost High-Level Comparison

SiteGround and Bluehost have quite a few similarities. Both offer managed and unmanaged web hosting services, shared hosting, WordPress hosting, and dedicated hosting. 

We believe both web hosting services are a good choice for a wide range of potential users. They both offer low initial hosting prices and rank highly on our list of the best web hosting providers. 

At a high level is where they slightly differ, though. Bluehost is a slightly better choice for those who need top-notch customer service and built-in marketing tools, especially for novices. SiteGround caters nicely to those with pretty simple website needs while delivering easy-to-use site migration processes, especially for ecommerce websites.

Products and Services Offered by SiteGround and Bluehost

SiteGround has several different types of hosting available. Its WordPress hosting is especially notable, as it offers options specifically made to work with WordPress. You don’t have to download or configure WordPress on your own when you take advantage of SiteGround’s services in this area.

SiteGround also offers WooCommerce hosting, which is an ecommerce platform built on WordPress. Cloud hosting is another option available from SiteGround. To learn more about the services available, check out our detailed SiteGround review.

In addition to its WordPress hosting services, Bluehost’s claim to fame is low-priced website hosting through shared hosting. Bluehost has both managed and unmanaged shared hosting platforms, ensuring you can find the best option for your needs and budget. Bluehost’s various shared hosting plans are extremely versatile, allowing you to generate the perfect setup.

Another key service from Bluehost is its VPS hosting. You receive dedicated server resources, and you can select the amount of dedicated RAM, CPU, and disk space for your website from the virtual private server. Bluehost also offers a dedicated hosting plan, which is the top-end hosting service it has available. Our Bluehost review breaks down the various services available in even more detail.

Company Health and Stability of SiteGround and Bluehost

Both Bluehost and SiteGround are strong companies with a long track record of serving customers.

Bluehost began hosting services in 2003 from its headquarters in Orem, Utah. More than 2 million websites make use of Bluehost web hosting services. Bluehost partnered with WordPress more than 10 years ago, allowing it to provide high-end customer service to its WordPress hosting customers. Bluehost did have a hacking incident in 2015, but it recovered. 

SiteGround was founded in 2004 in Sofia, Bulgaria, making it almost the same age as Bluehost. SiteGround maintains data centers worldwide, including in the United States, the UK, and Australia. SiteGround provides hosting for about 2 million domains worldwide.

As a Bulgarian company, SiteGround does not publicly disclose its ownership group. Endurance International Group owns Bluehost. Neither SiteGround nor Bluehost are publicly traded.

SiteGround vs. Bluehost Pricing Comparison

Both SiteGround and Bluehost offer a wide range of pricing options, helping you find the right features that fit your budget. Both services also provide extremely low introductory prices for the first year, but the prices increase quite a bit in the second year and beyond.

Both also offer some free benefits for subscribers in the first year, including a free domain and a free automated backup. You need to pick the right pricing tier if you want these extra benefits.

Pricing Structure of SiteGround and Bluehost

Bluehost offers WordPress, shared, dedicated, and VPS hosting. Once you select the type of hosting, you can then pick among a few pricing tiers within each hosting service. Bluehost offers a discount of about 35% to 70% for the first year of hosting before prices rebound to regular rates. 

Within each pricing tier in Bluehost’s shared hosting plans, for example, you can select the specific number of websites you want to use, the amount of SSD storage, and whether you want to use multi-site management tools. 

SiteGround offers web hosting, WordPress hosting, WooCommerce hosting, and cloud hosting. As with Bluehost, you can select among various pricing plans within each hosting service. Expect to receive a discount of up to 80% for the first year with your SiteGround package before it reverts to the regular price. 

Within the pricing tiers in the web hosting plans from SiteGround, you can pick the number of websites available, the number of monthly visits, the amount of storage space you have available, and other items.

Cost Comparison of SiteGround and Bluehost

Both Bluehost and SiteGround have pricing plans ranging from those for clients planning to run a single, small blogging website to those running dozens of large ecommerce websites.

Because both SiteGround and Bluehost offer WordPress web hosting, we’ll compare those plans to give you an idea of how they each handle pricing for similar services.

SiteGround offers a larger initial discount with its WordPress web hosting services, but that discount lasts only 12 months. Bluehost’s prices are quite a bit lower when the prices revert to the regular price after the first year. If you are looking for a site host that you will keep for the long run, Bluehost is the better value. Additionally, Bluehost also has an initial three-year discount option that’s even cheaper than its one-year option.

Bluehost also has a more powerful top pricing tier than SiteGround. It offers 100 GB of SSD storage in its top tier versus 40 GB of storage in SiteGround’s top tier for WordPress web hosting. 

Trials and Guarantees for SiteGround and Bluehost

Neither Bluehost nor SiteGround offer a free trial period for any of their web hosting services. However, both offer a 30-day money-back guarantee on the price of certain hosting subscriptions. 

With Bluehost, your 30-day refund period only applies to the cost of the hosting service. If you subscribed to a pricing plan that included a free domain name, Bluehost deducts your refund amount by a domain fee. This ensures you maintain control of your domain name. If you cancel after the 30-day initial period, you cannot receive any refund of what you paid.

SiteGround offers a 30-day money-back guarantee for shared hosting plans and a 14-day money-back guarantee for cloud hosting plans. If you sign up for a plan that includes a free domain name, you cannot receive a refund for the cost of the domain name. 

SiteGround vs. Bluehost Core Criteria Comparison

As we researched the best options for website hosting with WordPress, we settled on measuring each tool against several key criteria. Our research showed that these are the most common criteria that the majority of people need to have for success with their WordPress web hosting options.

We wanted to delve into the criteria beyond the obvious ones. We purposefully did not include website loading speed as a core criterion, for example, because any hosting service should excel in this area. The same goes for uptime for the website.

Check out our list for more information on how Bluehost and SiteGround stack up against our favorite web hosting with WordPress tools in these core criteria.

Multi-Site vs. Single-Site Hosting – Bluehost Wins

Example of Bluehost Maestro in WordPress dashboard
Bluehost Maestro helps you manage multiple websites for your clients more efficiently.

Although some people simply want a single website running from WordPress, you should think about your potential growth plans. You may end up needing to run multiple websites. If so, you will want a hosting provider that can accommodate all your different sites.

We like Bluehost for those seeking multi-site hosting at a great price. It allows you to create as many websites as you want at its Choice Plus pricing tier, which starts at $5.45 per month for the first year, which is almost three-quarters off the renewal rate of $19.99. Bluehost’s Choice Plus has a helpful multi-site management tool called Maestro and 24/7 customer service. 

SiteGround is actually cheaper in its GrowBig tier, which costs $4.99 per month for the first year. However, its renewal rate is $24.99 per month, which eats up the first-year savings versus Bluehost in less than two months. SiteGround does have 24/7 customer service, which is helpful.

Customer Service – Bluehost Wins

Bluehost customer service landing page
Bluehost has a strong customer service team available by phone or chat around the clock.

Although most web hosting for WordPress tools is easy to use, you may find yourself needing to reach out for help on occasion. Finding a host that provides excellent customer service is important. Availability at any time of the day or night is also a key consideration because you never know when you may need help.

Bluehost offers 24/7 customer service via telephone or live chat. The phone number is easy to find, so you don’t have to waste time searching for it. Even though Bluehost focuses on unmanaged hosting, its customer service operates at an impressive level.

SiteGround’s customer service isn’t quite as easy to access, but it still performs well. The primary means of help is through a live chat session 24/7, but phone support is also available. However, you must receive a one-time verification code to use telephone customer service.

Managed vs. Unmanaged Hosting – Tie

SiteGround WordPress hosting landing page with headers that say "Managed Security & Updates" and "Amazing Performance"
Having a managed WordPress hosting service gives you higher levels of security and customer service than unmanaged services.

Deciding whether you want managed or unmanaged WordPress web hosting is an important consideration. Although most web hosting with WordPress is unmanaged, you also have some managed site options. Sites run faster, have a higher level of security, and have more responsive customer service teams with managed hosting. However, they also cost more than unmanaged hosting.

Bluehost only began offering managed hosting options recently, but it jumped into this market with quick success. It works especially well when you want to use marketing tools with your website, like analysis of your site traffic and suggestions for SEO. SiteGround is one of the least expensive managed WordPress hosting options around. However, it is only useful for sites with limited traffic.

For unmanaged hosting, either Bluehost or SiteGround are good choices. They both deliver extremely low introductory prices before increasing in price in year two and beyond. You also continue receiving limited customer service capabilities with SiteGround and Bluehost in the unmanaged arena.

Site Migration – SiteGround Wins

Example of SiteGround Migrator tool in WordPress dashboard
Moving an existing website to SiteGround is an easy process, as it has a free migrator tool.

It’s common to need to move an existing website to a web host with WordPress. Because this is so common, you might expect most WordPress web hosts to make this process easy. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. Without a simple migration process, you may make an error or waste a lot of time migrating your old site.

SiteGround offers site migration as an important aspect of its service, and it excels in this area. Transferring your old site to SiteGround is easy, and SiteGround provides the help you need. Its migration tool is free to use.

Bluehost also allows you to migrate your existing site for free. It offers a dedicated tool for migrating the site, although we slightly prefer SiteGround’s tool. Should you need help from the Bluehost support team, you can reach out at any point during the migration.

Final Verdict – Bluehost Wins

Our research shows that Bluehost is the winner against SiteGround for WordPress web hosting. Both SiteGround and Bluehost hang their hats on low price points and ease of use, but Bluehost slightly outdoes SiteGround in these key areas. Additionally, Bluehost has built a large user base on the strength of its customer service, which is always appreciated when you need help.

Both Bluehost and SiteGround are strong options, as both made our list of the top web hosts for WordPress. But we give Bluehost a slight nod in this comparison.