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Target Website Visitors More Effectively With SmartCrawl’s Location-Based Redirects

No one likes to be given the runaround…especially potential customers looking to buy from you! Learn how to use SmartCrawl‘s Location-Based Redirects to automatically send your site visitors to the right place based on their location.

If you run a simple site, you can easily direct visitors to different sections of your site using elements like navigation menus, breadcrumbs, keyword linking, and hyperlinks, to name a few.

But… what if you run global or multilingual sites where visitors need to be directed to pages based on their location or language?

Not a problem!

SmartCrawl Pro (our smart and powerful SEO plugin) comes with a powerful built-in URL redirection tool that lets you automatically redirect traffic from one URL to another. This is great if you have changed a page’s URL and wish to keep traffic flowing to the new page.

The plugin’s new Location-Based Redirects feature now extends the power of URL redirections by also letting you easily direct your website visitors to specific pages based on their location.

In this tutorial, we’ll show you how to use SmartCrawl’s new geolocation features:

Let’s jump right in…

Why Use Location-Based Redirects?

Geolocation-based URL redirects can be a powerful tool for website owners to enhance user experience and improve their online business.

Before we look at how to set up location-based redirects on your site, let’s look at several practical examples of why you would want to use geolocation with URL redirections:

Multilingual Content

If you have different versions of your website set up for different languages, you can use geolocation to automatically redirect visitors to the appropriate language version of your site. For instance, you can redirect users from France to the French version of your site, while sending visitors from Spain to the Spanish version.

Geo-Specific Landing Pages

If your business has multiple physical locations (e.g. a store chain), geolocation can increase foot traffic by directing users to their nearest store or office.

Content Localization

Do you run a news-based website? Use Geolocation to redirect users to local news or content relevant to their region and enhance engagement.

Load Balancing

Websites with multiple server locations can use geolocation to redirect users to the server nearest to them. This helps to reduce page load times and improve site performance.

Legal Compliance

Ensure compliance with local laws and regulations. For instance, your website can redirect users to GDPR consent pages if they are from the European Union.

Event Promotion

If you manage an event portal website, you can increase attendance at events by automatically redirecting users to pages about local events, seminars, or conferences happening in their region.

Targeted Ad Campaigns

Use geolocation redirects to show different advertisements based on the user’s location, ensuring that your ads are more relevant and effective.

The above are just some examples of how geolocation-based URL redirects can improve user experience, increase engagement, and drive business growth by delivering personalized, location-specific content and services.

Now that we have looked at why you should use location-based redirects, let’s look at how to set these up using SmartCrawl.

How To Set Up Location-Based Redirects

With SmartCrawl, you can now add Geolocation-based rules to URL redirects to ensure that your users see the most relevant content based on their locations.

Note: This is a SmartCrawl Pro feature. If you are currently using the SmartCrawl free version of the plugin, consider upgrading to Pro by becoming a member.

To do this, go to SmartCrawl Pro’s Advanced Tools section and click on the URL Redirection tab.

SmartCrawl - Advanced Tools: URL Redirection
Set up location-based URL redirects in SmartCrawl’s Advanced Tools section.

Click on the Add Redirect button to access the Location Rules feature

SmartCrawl - Add Redirect
Set up location rules in the Add Redirect screen.

Note: To use SmartCrawl’s location-based redirection you will need access to Maxmind’s GeoLite2 Database. See our documentation section for step-by-step details on how to set up and configure a free Maxmind account.

Maxmind Geolite Signup Form
Sign up for a free Maxmind account to access the geolocation database.

After signing up for your account, enter your license key into SmartCrawl’s Location-based Rules settings to activate the feature.

SmartCrawl Location-based Rules settings
SmartCrawl Location-based Rules settings

Once the geolocation feature has been activated, SmartCrawl will automatically fetch the latest data from GeoLite2 each week.

With the license activated, you can now set up location rules by going to Advanced Tools > URL Redirection > Add Redirect > Location Rules and clicking on + Add Rule.

SmartCrawl Add Redirect Rules
Click on + Add Rule to set up location rules.

In the Location Rules screen, choose whether to set up From or Not From rules to either include or exclude locations and specify the URL to redirect visitors.

SmartCrawl Location Rules - Countries
SmartCrawl Location Rules – Countries

The From and Not From options allow you to set up very specific redirects.

Notes:

  • SmartCrawl currently allows you to set up location rules for countries only. Future plugin updates will include more granular options.
  • The feature follows a “top-to-bottom” order of processing rules, so rules at the top of the list are processed first before the next item below it, and so on.
SmartCrawl Location Rules - From/Not From options
SmartCrawl Location Rules – From/Not From options

The location-based redirects you set up will display in the URL Redirection table with a “globe” icon for easy identification. (Tip: Hover over the global icon to view the options you have set up.)

SmartCrawl URL Redirection list
Location-based redirects display with a globe icon.

To edit or delete your redirects, click on the gear icon next to the item.

Edit redirects.
Easily edit or delete your redirects.

Smart Post and Page Selection For Redirects

Another new and useful feature of SmartCrawl is smart post and page redirects.

Previous versions of the plugin included only a New URL field for adding destination URLs for redirection…

SmartCrawl pre-version 3.8 Add Redirect screen.
SmartCrawl’s Redirect tool prior to version 3.8.

From SmartCrawl version 3.8 onward, in addition to the new Location Rules tab described earlier, you will find that the Advanced redirection section (which includes labels and Regex options) has been moved to its own tab, and two additional Redirect To options have been added to the URL field: Post and Page.

SmartCrawl's post-version 3.8 Add Redirect screen.
SmartCrawl’s post-version 3.8 Add Redirect screen with smart Post and Page selection.

The Smart Post and Page selection tabs allow you to create redirections to existing posts or pages on your site more easily.

Simply start typing in a keyword and SmartCrawl will bring up a list of posts or pages from your site that you can select and redirect visitors to.

SmartCrawl Smart Post and Pages feature.
Start typing a keyword to see all the existing posts and pages you can redirect visitors to.

With this time-saving feature, you don’t have to search your site then copy and paste destination URLs…SmartCrawl’s smart engine will do the searching for you.

After selecting a post or page in the Redirect To field, select a Redirect Type from the drop-down menu, then click on the Apply Redirect button.

SmartCrawl - Smart Page redirect
Redirecting visitors is now faster and easier in SmartCrawl.

Coming Soon…New Features and Improvements

SmartCrawl is the only plugin you need to automate all of your WordPress SEO needs and it just keeps getting better.

Future versions of SmartCrawl’s URL Redirection tool will include new features and improvements like:

  • New redirections types (e.g. 307 Temporary Redirect, 410 Content Deleted, 451 Content Unavailable for Legal Reasons)
  • Automated notifications to create a redirection when a post is deleted or drafted
  • Bulk editing/deleting redirects.
SmartCrawl - Advanced Tools
Stop telling everyone where to go…send them there instead with SmartCrawl’s Location-Based Redirects!

WPMU DEV members get access to everything, including all of our Pro plugins. If you need help setting up URL redirections, check out SmartCrawl’s documentation or reach out to our 24/7 expert support team.

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Off To New Adventures (July 2023 Wallpapers Edition)

Often, it’s the little things that inspire us and that we treasure most. The sky shining in the most beautiful colors at the end of a seemingly endless summer day, riding your bike through a light rain shower on a hot afternoon — or maybe it’s a scoop of your favorite ice cream that refuels your batteries? No matter what big and small adventures July will have in store for you this year, our new collection of wallpapers is bound to cater for some inspiration along the way.

More than twelve years ago, we started this monthly wallpapers series to bring you a variety of beautiful, unique, and inspiring wallpapers every month. It’s a community effort made possible by artists and designers from around the globe who challenge their creative skills to cater for some good vibes on your screens. And, well, it wasn’t any different this time around.

In this post, you’ll find their wallpaper designs for July 2023. All of them come in versions with and without a calendar and can be downloaded for free. To make the month even more colorful, we also compiled a selection of July favorites from our wallpapers archives at the end of this post. A huge thank-you to everyone who submitted their artwork — this post wouldn’t exist without you!

  • You can click on every image to see a larger preview,
  • We respect and carefully consider the ideas and motivation behind each and every artist’s work. This is why we give all artists the full freedom to explore their creativity and express emotions and experience through their works. This is also why the themes of the wallpapers weren’t anyhow influenced by us but rather designed from scratch by the artists themselves.
  • Submit a wallpaper!
    Did you know that you could get featured in our next wallpapers post, too? We are always looking for creative talent.
Under The Enchanting Moonlight

“Two friends sat under the enchanting moonlight, enjoying the serene ambiance as they savoured their cups of tea. It was a rare and precious connection that transcended the ordinary, kindled by the magic of the moonlight. Eventually, as the night began to wane, they reluctantly stood, their empty cups in hand. They carried with them the memories and the tranquility of the moonlit tea session, knowing that they would return to this special place to create new memories in the future.” — Designed by Bhabna Basak from India.

DJ Little Bird

Designed by Ricardo Gimenes from Sweden.

In Space

Designed by Lieke Dol from the Netherlands.

Unleash Your Inner Grandmaster

“Hey there, chess champs and rook-ies! Today, we’re rolling out the red carpet for the grandest celebration in the chess universe. It’s World Chess Day, where we celebrate the brain-bending battles, knightly maneuvers, and epic pawn sacrifices that keep us coming back for more! Step into the realm of kings and queens, where the fate of nations is decided over a checkered battlefield. Chess, the ultimate game of mental gymnastics, proves that you don’t need biceps of steel to flex your strategic muscles!” — Designed by PopArt Studio from Serbia.

Cross The Bridge

“On this trip around the world, we return to Europe, specifically to London. We walked through its streets and decided to cross the bridge to enjoy both sides of the city. We may take one of its famous red buses or take a walk along the Thames. In any case, we have a whole month to become true Londoners.” — Designed by Veronica Valenzuela Jimenez from Spain.

Swim Swim

Designed by Rebecca Curiel.

Flat Design ’s-Hertogenbosch

“I admire artwork that is made using simple shapes and colors in Illustrator, also known as flat design. The amazing things you can make with these simple shapes are just mind-blowing. The buildings in the artwork come from my hometown ’s-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands. I am most proud of the great cathedral on the left. The number of hours I’ve put into it is not normal.” — Designed by Mitch van Trigt from the Netherlands.

Motion Sickness

Designed by Ricardo Gimenes from Sweden.

Underneath The Banana Tree

“July is the time to relax. What about having a rest underneath a… banana tree, lala la la? You know this song? Yes it’s about a mango tree, but never mind.” — Designed by Philippe Brouard from France.

Book Imagination

“Everyone’s imagination when reading books is different. One person thinks of a village and another of a city. That’s the beauty of reading.” — Designed by Britt van Falier from the Netherlands.

Oldies But Goodies

Our wallpapers archives are full of timeless treasures that are just too good to be forgotten. So here’s a small selection of favorites from past July editions. Please note that these designs don’t come with a calendar.

Melting July

“Welcome to the sweltering July — the month when it’s so hot that even the fruits are edgy. Our ice-creamy, vibrantly-colored monthly calendar is melting as the temperature rises, so make sure to download it as quickly as possible!” — Designed by PopArt Studio from Serbia.

Hotdog

Designed by Ricardo Gimenes from Sweden.

Meeting Mary Poppins

“This month, we travel to London with Mary Poppins to discover the city. We will have great adventures!” — Designed by Veronica Valenzuela from Spain.

Birdie July

Designed by Lívi Lénárt from Hungary.

Summer Season

“I’m an avid runner, and I have some beautiful natural views surrounding my city. The Smoky Mountains are a bit further east, so I took some liberties, but Tennessee’s nature is nothing short of beautiful and inspiring.” — Designed by Cam Elliott from Memphis, TN.

The Ancient Device

Designed by Ricardo Gimenes from Sweden.

Summer Cannonball

“Summer is coming in the northern hemisphere and what better way to enjoy it than with watermelons and cannonballs.” — Designed by Maria Keller from Mexico.

Eternal Summer

“And once you let your imagination go, you find yourself surrounded by eternal summer, unexplored worlds, and all-pervading warmth, where there are no rules of physics and colors tint the sky under your feet.” — Designed by Ana Masnikosa from Belgrade, Serbia.

A Flamboyance Of Flamingos

“July in South Africa is dreary and wintery so we give all the southern hemisphere dwellers a bit of color for those gray days. And for the northern hemisphere dwellers a bit of pop for their summer!” — Designed by Wonderland Collective from South Africa.

Riding In The Drizzle

“Rain has come, showering the existence with new seeds of life. Everywhere life is blooming, as if they were asleep and the falling music of raindrops have awakened them. Feel the drops of rain. Feel this beautiful mystery of life. Listen to its music, melt into it.” — Designed by DMS Software from India.

Less Busy Work, More Fun!

Designed by ActiveCollab from the United States.

Taste Like Summer

“In times of clean eating and the world of superfoods there is one vegetable missing. An old, forgotten one. A flower actually. Rare and special. Once it had a royal reputation (I cheated a bit with the blue). The artichocke — this is my superhero in the garden! I am a food lover — you too? Enjoy it — dip it!” — Designed by Alexandra Tamgnoué from Germany.

Day Turns To Night

Designed by Xenia Latii from Germany.

Heated Mountains

“Warm summer weather inspired the color palette.” — Designed by Marijana Pivac from Croatia.

Tropical Lilies

“I enjoy creating tropical designs. They fuel my wanderlust and passion for the exotic, instantaneously transporting me to a tropical destination.” — Designed by Tamsin Raslan from the United States.

Sweet Summer

“In summer everything inspires me.” — Designed by Maria Karapaunova from Bulgaria.

Summermoon

Designed by Erik Neumann from Germany.

Fire Camp

“What’s better than a starry summer night with an (unexpected) friend around a fire camp with some marshmallows? Happy July!” — Designed by Etienne Mansard from the UK.

Island River

“Make sure you have a refreshing source of ideas, plans and hopes this July. Especially if you are to escape from urban life for a while.” — Designed by Igor Izhik from Canada.

Captain Amphicar

“My son and I are obsessed with the Amphicar right now, so why not have a little fun with it?” — Designed by 3 Bicycles Creative from the United States.

It’s Getting Hot

Designed by Ricardo Gimenes from Sweden.

Alentejo Plain

“Based in the Alentejo region, in the south of Portugal, where there are large plains used for growing wheat. It thus represents the extensions of the fields of cultivation and their simplicity. Contrast of the plain with the few trees in the fields. Storks that at this time of year predominate in this region, being part of the Alentejo landscape and mentioned in the singing of Alentejo.” — Designed by José Guerra from Portugal.

An Intrusion Of Cockroaches

“Ever watched Joe’s Apartment when you were a kid? Well, that movie left a soft spot in my heart for the little critters. Don’t get me wrong: I won’t invite them over for dinner, but I won’t grab my flip flop and bring the wrath upon them when I see one running in the house. So there you have it… three roaches… bringing the smack down on that pesky human… ZZZZZZZAP!!” — Designed by Wonderland Collective from South Africa.

Heat Wave

Designed by Ricardo Gimenes from Sweden.

My July

Designed by Cátia Pereira from Portugal.

July Rocks!

Designed by Joana Moreira from Portugal.

Frogs In The Night

“July is coming and the nights are warmer. Frogs look at the moon while they talk about their day.” — Designed by Veronica Valenzuela from Spain.

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Swing Into April (2023 Wallpapers Edition)

New month, new wallpapers! To cater for a fresh dose of colorful inspiration every month, we embarked on our monthly wallpapers journey over 12 years ago. It’s the perfect occasion for creatives to put their design skills to the test, indulge in a little project just for fun, or tell a story that matters to them. Of course, it wasn’t any different this time around.

In this post, you’ll find beautiful, unique, and inspiring wallpapers for April 2023 created with love by artists and designers from across the globe. All of them are available in versions with and without a calendar and can be downloaded for free. At the end of the post, we also compiled a little best-of from past April editions for you. Maybe you’ll rediscover one of your almost-forgotten favorites in there, too? A big thank you to everyone who shared their designs with us! Happy April!

  • You can click on every image to see a larger preview,
  • We respect and carefully consider the ideas and motivation behind each and every artist’s work. This is why we give all artists the full freedom to explore their creativity and express emotions and experience through their works. This is also why the themes of the wallpapers weren’t anyhow influenced by us but rather designed from scratch by the artists themselves.
  • Submit a wallpaper!
    Did you know that you could get featured in our next wallpapers post, too? We are always looking for creative talent.
The Loneliest House In The World

“March 26 was Solitude Day. To celebrate it, here is the picture about the loneliest house in the world. It is a real house, I found it on Youtube.” — Designed by Vlad Gerasimov from Georgia.

April Showers

“April Showers bring hedgehogs under flowers!” — Designed by Danaé Drews from the United States.

Kitten Season

“Lover of cats and it is indeed the season!” — Designed by Shannon Corr from New York.

Puddle Splash

“I designed this playful and fun wallpaper inspired by nature that is present during the early spring.” — Designed by Marla Gambucci from the United States.

Le Printemps Est Rose

“Spring has arrived in Paris. We go to the Sacré-Cœur and enjoy the sunset or the sunrise. There it seems that time has stopped.” — Designed by Veronica Valenzuela Jimenez from Spain.

Fresh Kicks

“Spring time means the nicer weather is rolling in, so that means the nice shoes roll out as well.” — Designed by Alex Shields from the United States.

I “Love” My Dog

Designed by Ricardo Gimenes from Sweden.

To Be Or Not To Be?

“Capture the essence of Bard’s time with this William Shakespeare calendar for April. With intricate details and period-specific clothing and accessories, this calendar is a stunning work of art that transports you to the world of Elizabethan England.” — Designed by PopArt Studio from Serbia.

Free As A Bird

“In this beautiful weather, these kids are enjoying their moment freely, just like a bird in an endless sky.” — Designed by Kasturi Palmal from India.

First Day Of Spring

“April is my birthday month! Creating this wallpaper was a reminder of the new beginnings spring brings!” — Designed by Marykate Boyle from the United States.

Spring Doodles

Designed by Kristina Zenga from the United States.

An Eerie Village

“I designed the wallpaper to bring an eerie atmosphere, strange occurrences, and mysterious happenings. The houses and buildings may be dilapidated and abandoned, with overgrown vegetation and creaking doors. There might be strange symbols etched on the walls or the ground, and street light may be seen flickering in the darkness. The villagers along with the animals might appear suspicious and reclusive, adding to the overall feeling of unease. In an eerie village, it often feels like something is not quite right, and the sense of foreboding and danger can be palpable. Hope you like this wallpaper! :)” — Designed by Hrishikesh Shome from India.

Goose Picnic

“I love fashion and nature, so I wanted to combine those two ideas into the wallpaper. I wanted something bright and colorful.” — Designed by Jennifer Flynn from the United States, NJ.

Spring Moonlight

“The days are getting warmer, and so are the nights!” — Designed by Gabrielle Ziegler from the United States.

Granthagar

“The history of libraries began with the first efforts to organize collections of documents. Topics of interest include accessibility of the collection, acquisition of materials, arrangement and finding tools, the book trade, the influence of the physical properties of the different writing materials, language distribution, role in education, rates of literacy, budgets, staffing, libraries for targeted audiences, architectural merit, patterns of usage.” — Designed by Bhabna Basak from India.

Ice Scream

Designed by Ricardo Gimenes from Sweden.

Bright Intricacy

Designed by Nick Morrow from Pennsylvania.

Flower Shop

Designed by Allison McDermott from the United States.

The Slimeguy

“April brings with it a fun warmth, it reignites childlike wonder with the world around us. I wanted to capture that in the energy of this happy Slimeguy, as well as with my mostly yellow-toned colors. He leaps forth onto your screen with an abstract warmth and energy one can only find in the springtime.” — Designed by Jad Tindall from United States.

Spring Moon Moth

“Lunar moths, much like spring itself, represent new beginnings and fresh starts. In April, the nights are still crisp and cold, but you can finally start to see the stars.” — Designed by Anna Warkentin from the United States.

Long-Awaited Blooming April

“Long-awaited spring inspired our designers to create a set of wallpapers dedicated to its blooming and greenery. We have more April wallpapers in our selection.” — Designed by MasterBundles from Ukraine.

Oldies But Goodies

From wallpapers celebrating cherry blossom season to love messages to coffee, chocolate, and rainy days, below we compiled some April favorites from 12 years of wallpapers posts. Please note that these designs don’t come with a calendar.

Swing Into Spring

“Our April calendar needs not mark any special occasion — April itself is a reason to celebrate. It was a breeze creating this minimal, pastel-colored calendar design with a custom lettering font and plant pattern, for the ultimate spring feel.” — Designed by PopArt Studio from Serbia.

Dreaming

“The moment when you just walk and your imagination fills up your mind with thoughts.” — Designed by Gal Shir from Israel.

Coffee Morning

Designed by Ricardo Gimenes from Sweden.

Clover Field

Designed by Nathalie Ouederni from France.

Ready For April

“It is very common that it rains in April. This year, I am not sure… But whatever… we are just prepared!” — Designed by Verónica Valenzuela from Spain.

Happy Easter

Designed by Tazi Design from Australia.

Sakura

“Spring is finally here with its sweet Sakura’s flowers, which remind me of my trip to Japan.” Designed by Laurence Vagner from France.

Rainy Day

Designed by Xenia Latii from Berlin, Germany.

The Perpetual Circle

“Inspired by the Black Forest, which is beginning right behind our office windows, so we can watch the perpetual circle of nature, when we take a look outside.” — Designed by Nils Kunath from Germany.

Inspiring Blossom

“‘Sweet spring is your time is my time is our time for springtime is lovetime and viva sweet love’, wrote E. E. Cummings. And we have a question for you. Is there anything more refreshing, reviving, and recharging than nature in blossom? Let it inspire us all to rise up, hold our heads high, and show the world what we are made of.” — Designed by PopArt Studio from Serbia.

An Era Of Metals With Sense Of Touch

“In the future we can expect that machines will have emotions and they will start loving nature and flowers.” — Designed by Themesvillage from London.

A Time For Reflection

“‘We’re all equal before a wave.’ (Laird Hamilton)” — Designed by Shawna Armstrong from the United States.

Spring Fever

“I created that mouse character for a series of illustrations about a poem my mom often told me when I was a child. In that poem the mouse goes on an adventure. Here it is after the adventure, ready for new ones.” — Designed by Anja Sturm from Germany.

Yellow Submarine

“The Beatles — ‘Yellow Submarine’: This song is fun and at the same time there is a lot of interesting text that changes your thinking. Like everything that makes The Beatles.” — Designed by WebToffee from India.

In The River

“Spring is here! Crocodiles search the hot and stay in the river.” — Designed by Veronica Valenzuela from Spain.

Ipoh Hor Fun

“Missing my hometown’s delicious ‘Kai See Hor Fun’ (in Cantonese), that literally translates to ‘Shredded Chicken Flat Rice Noodles’. It is served in a clear chicken and prawn soup with chicken shreds, prawns, spring onions and noodles.” — Designed by Lew Su Ann from Brunei.

Sweet April Showers Do Bring May Flowers

“Discover the seasonal fruits and vegetables in April: artichoke and beans walking in the rain!” — Designed by Vitaminas Design from Spain.

Citrus Passion

Designed by Nathalie Ouederni from France.

Wildest Dreams

“We love the art direction, story and overall cinematography of the ‘Wildest Dreams’ music video by Taylor Swift. It inspired us to create this illustration. Hope it will look good on your desktops.” — Designed by Kasra Design from Malaysia.

Relax!

“…and enjoy your Easter holidays with some good chocolate.” — Designed by Ricardo Gimenes from Sweden.

Springtime Sage

“Spring and fresh herbs always feel like they compliment each other. Keeping it light and fresh with this wallpaper welcomes a new season!” — Designed by Susan Chiang from the United States.

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The Magic Of February (2023 Wallpapers Edition)

As designers we usually turn to different sources of inspiration, and, well, sometimes the best inspiration lies right in front of us. With that in mind, we embarked on our wallpapers adventure more than eleven years ago. The idea: to provide you with unique and inspiring desktop wallpapers each month anew. Wallpapers created by the community for the community.

We are very thankful to all artists and designers who have contributed and are still diligently contributing to this challenge, who tickle their creativity to keep the steady stream of wallpapers flowing. This post features their artworks for February 2023. All wallpapers come in two versions — with and without a calendar — and can be downloaded for free. At the end of this post, we also compiled some February “oldies but goodies” from our archives for you. Maybe you’ll discover one of your almost-forgotten favorites in there, too? Enjoy!

  • You can click on every image to see a larger preview,
  • We respect and carefully consider the ideas and motivation behind each and every artist’s work. This is why we give all artists the full freedom to explore their creativity and express emotions and experience through their works. This is also why the themes of the wallpapers weren’t anyhow influenced by us but rather designed from scratch by the artists themselves.
  • Submit a wallpaper!
    Did you know that you could get featured in our next wallpapers post, too? We are always looking for creative talent.
Plants

“I wanted to draw some very cozy place, both realistic and cartoonish, filled with little details. A space with a slightly unreal atmosphere that some great shops or cafes have. A mix of plants, books, bottles, and shelves seemed like a perfect fit. I must admit it took longer to draw than most of my other pictures! But it was totally worth it. Watch the making-of.” — Designed by Vlad Gerasimov from Georgia.

Mesmerising Spring

“Mesmerising Spring Rain by Clean Sky Rain Library.” — Designed by Bhabna Basak from India.

This Is Really A Wild Place Up Here

“In times of never-greater hype around the future of technological advancements, we go back to another tech revolution of the past. February 9th marks the day of Apollo 14’s landing on the moon, the third in NASA’s crewed space program. Our February calendar design aims to connect the tech endeavors of the present and past and serve as a reminder that innovation should always be used for a good cause.” — Designed by PopArt Studio from Serbia.

Panettone 278 U

Designed by Ricardo Gimenes from Sweden.

Love Is In The Air

“February comes with Valentine’s vibes. Valentine’s week begins on February 7 which is celebrated as Rose Day and lasts until the most important day, Valentine’s Day, on February 14. This week, from the 7th to the 14th is likewise called the Love Week, Valentine’s Week, or the Romance Week. So I decided to design this wallpaper to remind everyone to enjoy the loving vibes throughout this week.” — Designed by Hrishikesh Shome from India.

Winter In Dubai

“Winter in Dubai is less winter. There we can enjoy pleasant temperatures while we watch the sunset. Did you sign up?” — Designed by Veronica Valenzuela from Spain.

Moments That Are Everything

“February is the month of love. There are moments that don’t seem like anything but are everything.” — Designed by Kasturi Palmal from India.

Happy Maha Shivratri

“Discover your hidden potential and inner self as you meditate on the thought of reaching closer to Lord Shiva on the occasion of Maha Shivratri.” — Designed by ThemeSelection from India.

Paper Hearts

“Happy Valentine’s Day!” — Designed by Viktor Hanacek from Czech Republic.

Farewell C/2022 E3 ZTF

“On February 1, the recently discovered comet C/2022 E3 ZTF is at its nearest position to Earth. Whaouh, it’s not every year we can see a comet in the sky and this one will return in… well, we’ll never see it again. Farewell little comet!” — Designed by Philippe Brouard from France.

Robocopter

Designed by Ricardo Gimenes from Sweden.

Flowers And Snowflakes

“Our designers decided not to overuse the topic of Valentine’s Day and used its basic attributes and a pure pastel blue color scheme for the wallpaper instead. But if you still need more red and pink colors, check out our listicle with more options.” — Designed by MasterBundles from Ukraine.

Love Balloons

“Valentine’s Day is coming!” — Designed by Viktor Hanacek from Czech Republic.

Oldies But Goodies

Whether it’s a brave icebreaker that confronts even the most adverse weather conditions, a piece of design wisdom, or, well, french fries — many things have inspired folks from across the globe to create a February wallpaper for our monthly series. Below you’ll find a little best-of from our wallpapers archives. Please note that these wallpapers don’t come with a calendar.

Magic Of Music

“Please visit Vladstudio website if you like my works!” — Designed by Vlad Gerasimov from Russia.

Love Is In The Play!

“Forget Lady and the Tramp and their spaghetti kiss, ’cause Snowflake and Cloudy are enjoying their bliss. The cold and chilly February weather made our kitties knit themselves a sweater. Knitting and playing, the kitties tangled in the yarn and fell in love in your neighbor’s barn.” — Designed by PopArt Studio from Serbia.

True Love

Designed by Ricardo Gimenes from Sweden.

Principles Of Good Design

“The simplicity seen in the work of Dieter Rams which has ensured his designs from the 50s and 60s still hold a strong appeal.” — Designed by Vinu Chaitanya from India.

Love Is Worth Fighting For

Designed by Maria Keller from Mexico.

February Ferns

Designed by Nathalie Ouederni from France.

Time Thief

“Who has stolen our time? Maybe the time thief, so be sure to enjoy the other 28 days of February.” — Designed by Colorsfera from Spain.

Dark Temptation

“A dark romantic feel, walking through the city on a dark and rainy night.” — Designed by Matthew Talebi from the United States.

French Fries

Designed by Doreen Bethge from Germany.

Good Times Ahead

Designed by Ricardo Gimenes from Sweden.

The Great Beyond

Designed by Lars Pauwels from Belgium.

Farewell, Winter

“Although I love winter (mostly because of the fun winter sports), there are other great activities ahead. February, the last winter month, this year is even one day longer. But I don’t mind. Thanks, winter, and see you next year!” — Designed by Igor Izhik from Canada.

Snow

Designed by Elise Vanoorbeek from Belgium.

Love Angel Vader

“Valentine’s Day is coming? Noooooooooooo!” — Designed by Ricardo Gimenes from Sweden.

Ice Cream Love

“My inspiration for this wallpaper is the biggest love someone can have in life: the love for ice cream!” — Designed by Zlatina Petrova from Bulgaria.

The Boy Who Will Never Grow Up

Designed by Ricardo Gimenes from Sweden.

Dog Year Ahead

Designed by PopArt Studio from Serbia.

“Greben” Icebreaker

“Danube is Europe’s second largest river, connecting ten different countries. In these cold days, when ice paralyzes rivers and closes waterways, a small but brave icebreaker called Greben (Serbian word for ‘reef’) seems stronger than winter. It cuts through the ice on Đerdap gorge (Iron Gate) – the longest and biggest gorge in Europe – thus helping the production of electricity in the power plant. This is our way to give thanks to Greben!” — Designed by PopArt Studio from Serbia.

Febrewery

“I live in Madison, WI, which is famous for its breweries. Wisconsin even named their baseball team “The Brewers.” If you like beer, brats, and lots of cheese, it’s the place for you!” — Designed by Danny Gugger from the United States.

Balloons

Designed by Xenia Latii from Germany.

Like The Cold Side Of A Pillow

Designed by Sarah Tanner from the United States.

Minimalistic Love

“This minimalistic love logo is designed from geometric shapes, where the heart represents the letter ‘O’ and love. The anchor represents the letter ‘V’ very delicately and stylish and it symbolizes your wanderlust. The anchor is a symbol of adventure and travels.” — Designed by Antun Hirsman from Croatia.

Winter Wonderland

“In February, nature shows its creativity. Our artwork occurs when it is being drawn.” — Designed by Ana Masnikosa from Belgrade, Serbia.

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On The Edge Of November (2022 Desktop Wallpapers Edition)

November tends to be a rather gray month in many parts of the world. So what better remedy could there be as some colorful inspiration? To bring some good vibes to your desktops and home screens, artists and designers from across the globe once again tickled their creativity and designed beautiful and inspiring wallpapers to welcome the new month.

This monthly wallpapers challenge has been going on for more than eleven years already, and we are very thankful to everyone who has put their creative skills to the test and contributed their artworks to it — back in the early days, just like today.

The wallpapers in this collection all come in versions with and without a calendar for November 2022 and can be downloaded for free. As a little bonus goodie, we also compiled some timeless treasures from past November editions at the end of this post for you. Enjoy!

  • You can click on every image to see a larger preview,
  • We respect and carefully consider the ideas and motivation behind each and every artist’s work. This is why we give all artists the full freedom to explore their creativity and express emotions and experience through their works. This is also why the themes of the wallpapers weren’t anyhow influenced by us but rather designed from scratch by the artists themselves.
  • Submit a wallpaper!
    Did you know that you could get featured in our next wallpapers post, too? We are always looking for creative talent.
Anbani

“Anbani means alphabet in Georgian. The letters that grow on that tree are the Georgian alphabet. It’s very unique!” — Designed by Vlad Gerasimov from Georgia.

Cozy Autumn Cups And Cute Pumpkins

“Autumn coziness, which is created by fallen leaves, pumpkins, and cups of cocoa, inspired our designers for this wallpaper. You can find more calendar options in our collection.” — Designed by MasterBundles from Ukraine.

A Jelly November

“Been looking for a mysterious, gloomy, yet beautiful desktop wallpaper for this winter season? We’ve got you, as this month’s calendar marks Jellyfish Day. On November 3rd, we celebrate these unique, bewildering, and stunning marine animals. Besides adorning your screen, we’ve got you covered with some jellyfish fun facts — they aren’t really fish, they need very little oxygen, eat a broad diet, and shrink in size when food is scarce. Now that’s some tenacity to look up to.” — Designed by PopArt Studio from Serbia.

Snoop Dog

Designed by Ricardo Gimenes from Sweden.

Sunset On The Mississippi

“After a long day, a walk along the Mississippi renews our soul, and more, if we do it in great company.” — Designed by Veronica Valenzuela Jimenez from Spain.

No Shave November

“The goal of No-Shave November is to grow awareness by embracing our hair, which many cancer patients lose, and letting it grow wild and free. Donate the money you typically spend on shaving and grooming to educate about cancer prevention, save lives, and aid those fighting the battle.” — Designed by ThemeSelection from India.

Star Wars

Designed by Ricardo Gimenes from Sweden.

NOvember

“I created simple geometric lines which can refer to the month’s name. I chose sweet colors so the letter ‘o’ looks like a donut. It’s a nightmare, NO donut for NOvember!” — Designed by Philippe Brouard from France.

Oldies But Goodies

Umbrellas, autumn winds, mushrooms, and, well, cats, of course — a lot of things have inspired the design community to design a November wallpaper in the years we’ve been running our monthly series. Below you’ll find a selection of oldies but goodies from the archives. Please note that these wallpapers don’t come with a calendar.

Colorful Autumn

“Autumn can be dreary, especially in November, when rain starts pouring every day. We wanted to summon better days, so that’s how this colourful November calendar was created. Open your umbrella and let’s roll!” — Designed by PopArt Studio from Serbia.

The Kind Soul

“Kindness drives humanity. Be kind. Be humble. Be humane. Be the best of yourself!” — Designed by Color Mean Creative Studio from Dubai.

Me And The Key Three

“This wallpaper is based on screenshots from my latest browser game (I’m an indie games designer).” — Designed by Bart Bonte from Belgium.

Time To Give Thanks

Designed by Glynnis Owen from Australia.

Tempestuous November

“By the end of autumn, ferocious Poseidon will part from tinted clouds and timid breeze. After this uneven clash, the sky once more becomes pellucid just in time for imminent luminous snow.” — Designed by Ana Masnikosa from Belgrade, Serbia.

Moonlight Bats

“I designed some Halloween characters and then this idea came to my mind — a bat family hanging around in the moonlight. A cute and scary mood is just perfect for autumn.” — Designed by Carmen Eisendle from Germany.

Mushroom Season

“It is autumn! It is raining and thus… it is mushroom season! It is the perfect moment to go to the forest and get the best mushrooms to do the best recipe.” — Designed by Verónica Valenzuela from Spain.

On The Edge Of Forever

“November has always reminded me of the famous Guns N’ Roses song, so I’ve decided to look at its meaning from a different perspective. The story in my picture takes place somewhere in space, where a young guy beholds a majestic meteor shower and wonders about the mysteries of the universe.” — Designed by Aliona Voitenko from Ukraine.

Sad Kitty

Designed by Ricardo Gimenes from Sweden.

November Nights On Mountains

“Those chill November nights when you see mountain tops covered with the first snow sparkling in the moonlight.” — Designed by Jovana Djokic from Serbia.

Hello World, Happy November

“I often read messages at Smashing Magazine from the people in the southern hemisphere ‘it’s spring, not autumn!’ so I’d like to design a wallpaper for the northern and the southern hemispheres. Here it is, northerners and southerns, hope you like it!” — Designed by Agnes Swart from the Netherlands.

Outer Space

“This November, we are inspired by the nature around us and the universe above us, so we created an out-of-this-world calendar. Now, let us all stop for a second and contemplate on preserving our forests, let us send birds of passage off to warmer places, and let us think to ourselves — if not on Earth, could we find a home somewhere else in outer space?” — Designed by PopArt Studio from Serbia.

Captain’s Home

Designed by Elise Vanoorbeek (Doud) from Belgium.

Welcome Home Dear Winter

“The smell of winter is lingering in the air. The time to be home! Winter reminds us of good food, of the warmth, the touch of a friendly hand, and a talk beside the fire. Keep calm and let us welcome winter.” — Designed by Acodez IT Solutions from India.

Deer Fall, I Love You

Designed by Maria Porter from the United States.

Sailing Sunwards

“There’s some pretty rough weather coming up these weeks. Thinking about November makes me want to keep all the warm thoughts in mind. I’d like to wish everyone a cozy winter.” — Designed by Emily Trbl. Kunstreich from Germany.

A Gentleman’s November

Designed by Cedric Bloem from Belgium.

Hold On

“We have to acknowledge that some things are inevitable, like winter. Let’s try to hold on until we can, and then embrace the beautiful season.” — Designed by Igor Izhik from Canada.

The Collection Of Birds

“The collection of birds are my travels. At each destination I buy a wood, bronze, stone bird, anything the local bazaars sell. I have all gathered at a modest vitrine in my house. I have so much loved my collection, that, after taking pictures of them, I designed each one, then created a wallpaper and overdressed a wall of my living room. Now my thought is making them as a desktop wallpaper and give them to you as a gift.” — Designed by Natasha Kamou from Greece.

November Fun

Designed by Xenia Latii from Germany.

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How to Create a WordPress Popup Based on Location (Step by Step)

Do you want to create a WordPress popup based on the location of your visitors?

Creating WordPress popups based on location helps you deliver the right marketing message, to the right people, at the right time. This means a better user experience and more revenue for your WordPress site.

In this tutorial, we’ll show you how to create popups based on a user’s location and add them to WordPress.

How to create a WordPress popup based on location

What Are Location Based Popups?

Location based popups are similar to standard popups, but they only display for visitors from specific locations.

So, visitors from the US will be shown different popups than visitors located in the UK or in Spain.

You can narrow down your location targeting even further, and target specific states and cities. This way visitors in Florida can be shown a different popup than visitors in California.

This process is known as geotargeting, and it lets you encourage your visitors to take specific actions on your site based on where they live.

Why Add WordPress Popups Based on Location?

Using location-based popups in WordPress gives your visitors a highly relevant experience. It shows your visitors that you understand their needs and can lead to better conversions.

This level of personalization can help you reach your website goals, like growing your email list or making money online.

Using geolocation popups can help your business website in a lot of ways.

  • Boost website credibility by showing visitors you’re aware of their location
  • Run eCommerce coupons and specials for visitors in certain areas
  • Promote local events and conferences to your visitors
  • Highlight products that are relevant to visitors in different locations

How to Create a WordPress Location-Based Popup

The easiest way to add popups to your WordPress website is using a plugin.

We recommend using OptinMonster. It’s the best WordPress popup plugin in the market with over 1.2 million users.

You can use the OptinMonster drag and drop editor to simply create a popup campaign in minutes. Plus, you can easily personalize your popups based on what page their viewing, actions they’ve taken on your site, and more.

The first thing you’ll need to do is install and activate the plugin. For more details, see our guide on how to install a plugin in WordPress.

The OptinMonster plugin acts as a link between your WordPress site and the OptinMonster software.

Once the plugin is activated, you’ll have a new menu item called ‘OptinMonster’ in your WordPress admin dashboard.

Open OptinMonster dashboard

Click ‘OptinMonster’ to open your OptinMonster dashboard.

Then, click ‘Launch Setup Wizard’ to connect your site to OptinMonster. If it’s your first time, then you can create a new account for free.

OptinMonster launch setup wizard

After you’re done going through the setup wizard, your site will now be connected to OptinMonster.

To create your location based popup navigate to OptinMonster » Campaigns.

Then, click ‘Add New’ to create a new popup campaign.

Add new OptinMonster popup campaign

Once you’ve done that, select the ‘Popup’ campaign type.

Next, you’ll select the campaign template. Your template forms the foundation for the design of your popup. So, choose a template that closely resembles the design you want.

For this tutorial, we’ll select the Checkout template. Once you find a template you like, hover over it and click ‘Use Template’.

Select OptinMonster template

Then, you’ll need to name your campaign.

This name won’t appear in your design. Instead, it’s to help you remember what kind of campaign you created.

Start building popup

Next, click ‘Start Building’.

This will bring you to the OptinMonster app, where you can customize the appearance of your popup.

Customize location based popup

You can totally customize your popup by adding new blocks, text, headings, and more. Just click on the element you want to edit and the options menu will appear on the left.

Once you’re satisfied with how your location based popup looks, click ‘Save’, then click on the ‘Display Rules’ tab at the top of the screen.

Set popup display rules

This is where you’ll set your location triggers.

The default rule is your popup will appear on any page after a visitor is on the site for 5 seconds.

You’ll need to change the first rule to the visitor’s physical location. To do this, click on the ‘time on page’ display rule, then select ‘Physical Location’.

Set physical location rule

Now you can set the popup to display for visitors who are in a specific location.

You also have the option to include or exclude visitors who are in an EU country.

Popup visitor location settings

We’re going to set the rule so the popup will show when a visitor is in Las Vegas, NV.

Next, click ‘Validate’.

Set visitor location

Now, a popup will appear that lists available locations based on what you entered. Simply select the location you want and then click ‘Next Step’.

OptinMonster also gives you the option to add an animated effect or sound on the next screen, but we’ll leave the default settings.

Once you’ve done that, click ‘Next Step’ again, and you’ll be taken to the summary page where you can review your location popup settings.

Location popup display rules summary

If your settings are correct, then navigate to the ‘Publish’ tab and switch the ‘Publish Status’ from Draft to Publish.

Next, click ‘Save’ and exit the screen.

Publish location popup

Your popup based on your user’s location will now be live on your site.

If you want to create multiple popups based on location, then follow the same process above and change the ‘Display’ rules to the new user location.

With OptinMonster, you can have multiple popup campaigns running at once and provide a targeted experience for all your visitors.

We hope this article helped you add a WordPress popup based on location to WordPress. You may also want to see our list of the best email marketing services and best live chat software to boost your sales.

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

The post How to Create a WordPress Popup Based on Location (Step by Step) appeared first on WPBeginner.

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Fresh Inspiration For March And A Smashing Winner (2021 Wallpapers Edition)

More than ten years ago, we embarked on our monthly wallpapers adventure to provide you with new and inspiring wallpaper calendars each month anew. This month, the challenge came with a little twist: As we announced in the February wallpapers post, we’ll give away a smashing prize to the best March design today.

Artists and designers from across the globe tickled their creativity and designed unique and inspiring wallpapers for this occasion. As usual, you’ll find all artworks compiled below — together with some timeless March favorites from our archives that are just too good to be forgotten. But first, let’s take a look at the winning design, shall we? Drumrolls, please...

Submit your wallpaper

Did you know that you could get featured in one of our upcoming wallpapers posts, too? We are always looking for creative talent, so if you have an idea for a wallpaper for April, please don’t hesitate to submit it. We’d love to see what you’ll come up with. Join in! →

And The Winner Is…

Botanica

With Botanica, Vlad Gerasimov from Russia designed a wallpaper that beautifully plays with color, shapes, and texture to give botanical illustrations a modern twist:

“It’s been almost a year since I published a wallpaper. 2020 has been tough! Anyway, this is something I made just to get back in shape. And, I’ve been trying a new drawing app, Pixelmator Pro — excellent so far. Hope you like the picture!”

Congratulations, dear Vlad, and thank you for sharing your artwork with us! You won a ticket for one of Vitaly’s upcoming online workshops (Designing The Perfect Navigation, New Adventures In Front-End, or Smart Interface Design Patterns) — we’ll get in touch with you shortly to sort out the details.

More Submissions

A huge thank-you also goes out to everyone who took on this little creativity challenge and submitted their wallpaper designs this month. We sincerely appreciate it!️ So without further ado, here they are. Enjoy!

March For Equality

“This March, we shine the spotlight on International Women’s Day, reflecting on the achieved and highlighting the necessity for a more equal and understanding world. These turbulent times that we are in require us to stand together unitedly and IWD aims to do that.” — Designed by PopArt Studio from Serbia.

St. Patrick’s Day

“On the 17th March, raise a glass and toast St. Patrick on St. Patrick’s Day, the Patron Saint of Ireland.” — Designed by Ever Increasing Circles from the United Kingdom.

Spring In Moscow

“If you think of Moscow, you think of winter, snow… but why not spring?” — Designed by Veronica Valenzuela Jimenez from Spain.

Smells Like Spring Spirit

“We’re looking forward to springtime and cultivating a better future!” — Designed by Milica Aleksic from the United States.

Colorful March

“I used bold colors because it makes people smile and I integrated a handmade touch to humanize my wallpaper.” — Designed by Guylaine Couture from Canada.

Earth Hour Day

“I think this is an important date, and this year there’s going to be more activity on social media during this hour. Climate change affects us more and more, so every important day that reminds us that we only have one planet and that we should do everything to help it is important.” — Designed by Pedro Gonçalves from Portugal.

BatPig

“BatPig isn’t as fast as Batman. That’s why there are so many messages on the Bat-Signal.” — Designed by Ricardo Gimenes from Sweden.

Stay Home

“The character is the Dungeon Master from the old TV series ‘Dungeons & Dragons’. The show focused on a group of six friends who were transported into the titular realm and followed their adventures as they tried to find a way home with the help of their guide, the Dungeon Master. He is happy because these days everybody says ‘Stay at home’.” — Designed by Ricardo Gimenes from Sweden.

Learn To Fight Alone

“I believe it’s very important that your family/friends lift you up in moments of success and in moments of doubts. The bond you create with them is very special. However you can’t rely on them to help reach your goals. You have to fight alone and this is how you become stronger every day.” — Designed by Hitesh Puri from India, Delhi.

Tacos To The Moon And Back

Designed by Ricardo Gimenes from Sweden.

Spring Awakens A New Hope

“With March comes spring, nature awakens, and along with it comes new hope that soon we will leave this difficult period behind and replace masks with smiles.” — Designed by LibraFire from Serbia.

Sail The Night Sky

Designed by Hannah Joy Patterson from South Carolina, USA.

Oldies But Goodies

Birds singing, flowers blooming, the great unknown, and, well, pizza — a lot of different things have inspired the community to design a March wallpaper in all those years that we’ve been running our monthly series. Below you’ll find some almost-forgotten favorites from the past. (Please note that these wallpapers don’t come with a calendar.)

Bunny O’Hare

“When I think of March, I immediately think of St. Patrick’s Day and my Irish heritage… and then my head fills with pub music! I had fun putting a twist on this month’s calendar starring my pet rabbit. Erin go Braugh.” — Designed by Heather Ozee from the United States.

Wake Up!

“Early spring in March is for me the time when the snow melts, everything isn’t very colorful. This is what I wanted to show. Everything comes to life slowly, as this bear. Flowers are banal, so instead of a purple crocus we have a purple bird-harbinger.” — Designed by Marek Kedzierski from Poland.

Ballet

“A day, even a whole month, isn’t enough to show how much a woman should be appreciated. Dear ladies, any day or month are yours if you decide so.” — Designed by Ana Masnikosa from Belgrade, Serbia.

Queen Bee

“Spring is coming! Birds are singing, flowers are blooming, bees are flying… Enjoy this month!” — Designed by Melissa Bogemans from Belgium.

Questions

“Doodles are slowly becoming my trademark, so I just had to use them to express this phrase I’m fond of recently. A bit enigmatic, philosophical. Inspiring, isn’t it?” — Designed by Marta Paderewska from Poland.

The Unknown

“I made a connection, between the dark side and the unknown lighted and catchy area.” — Designed by Valentin Keleti from Romania.

Spring Bird

Designed by Nathalie Ouederni from France.

Spring Is Inevitable!

“Spring is round the corner. And very soon plants will grow on some other planets too. Let’s be happy about a new cycle of life.” — Designed by Igor Izhik from Canada.

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

“March the 2nd marks the birthday of the most creative and extraordinary author ever, Dr. Seuss! I have included an inspirational quote about learning to encourage everyone to continue learning new things every day.” — Designed by Safia Begum from the United Kingdom.</p

Awakening

“I am the kind of person who prefers the cold but I do love spring since it’s the magical time when flowers and trees come back to life and fill the landscape with beautiful colors.” — Designed by Maria Keller from Mexico.

Marching Forward!

“If all you want is a little orange dinosaur MARCHing (okay, I think you get the pun) across your monitor, this wallpaper was made just for you! This little guy is my design buddy at the office and sits by (and sometimes on top of) my monitor. This is what happens when you have designer’s block and a DSLR.” — Designed by Paul Bupe Jr from Statesboro, GA.

Let’s Spring!

“After some freezing months, it’s time to enjoy the sun and flowers. It’s party time, colours are coming, so let’s spring!” — Designed by Colorsfera from Spain.

Pizza Time!

“Who needs an excuse to look at pizza all month?” — Designed by James Mitchell from the United Kingdom.

Sakura

Designed by Evacomics from Singapore.

Keep Running Up That Hill

“Keep working towards those New Year’s resolutions! Be it getting a promotion, learning a skill or getting fit, whatever it is — keep running!” Designed by Andy Patrick from Canada.

Never Leave Home Without Your Umbrella

“I thought it would be cute to feature holographic umbrellas in a rain-like pattern. I love patterned wallpapers, but I wanted to do something a little fun and fresh with a pattern that reminded me of rain and light bouncing off an umbrella!” — Designed by Bailey Zaputil from the United States.

Colorful

“In some parts of the world there is the beauty of nature. This is one of the best beaches in the world: Ponta Negra in the North East of Brazil.” — Designed by Elisa de Castro Guerra from France.

Daydream

“A daydream is a visionary fantasy, especially one of happy, pleasant thoughts, hopes or ambitions, imagined as coming to pass, and experienced while awake.” Designed by Bruna Suligoj from Croatia.

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How to Add Categories and Subcategories in WordPress

Recently, a reader asked us how to create subcategories in WordPress.

In WordPress, your posts can be organized into different categories and tags. You can even create subcategories for further organization.

It’s important to use categories and subcategories correctly, so you can help your readers find the content they’re most interested in. Proper content categorization can improve your website’s SEO rankings as well.

In this article, we’ll show you how to add categories and subcategories in WordPress, step by step.

Adding categories and subcategories to WordPress

Understanding Parent and Child Categories in WordPress

Categories are a powerful tool. They’re not just a way to sort your content. They also help you develop a proper site structure that is meaningful and semantic. This is great for your WordPress SEO.

Important: If you’re not clear about the difference between categories and tags, take a look at our guide on categories vs tags. This explains why categories and tags are different, and how to use them correctly.

Now you might be wondering why and when would someone need to use child categories (subcategories) on their WordPress website?

Let’s say you’re creating a travel blog for different destinations around the world. You might want users to be able to find articles by both country and city.

For example, you might have an article about the best waterparks in the United States. It would make sense to use ‘United States’ as the category for that post.

But you might also have articles about the best places to eat in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and more.

This is where you can use child or sub categories. ‘United States’ can become a parent category, and the cities can become child categories.

Child and parent categories in WordPress

A post filed under a child category doesn’t need to also be filed under the parent category. In our example, we could have left ‘United States’ unchecked and just put the post in the ‘New York City’ category.

If you file a post under the child category but not under the parent category, then your post will appear only on the archive pages of the child category. This is particularly helpful when you want to avoid duplicate content.

Having said that, let’s take a look at how to add both regular categories and child categories in WordPress.

Adding a Category in WordPress

You can easily add a new category in WordPress when writing a post. In the Document panel on the right hand side, open up the Categories tab.

Then, you can simply click the ‘Add New Category’ link to create your new category.

Adding a new category in the document settings of a post

Once you click the link, two new boxes will appear where you can add your category. For a regular category, you don’t need to select anything from the Parent Category dropdown.

The boxes to add your new category are now visible

Once you’ve typed in the name for your category, click the ‘Add New Category’ button.

The box for that category will then be automatically checked for your current post. You can uncheck it if you want.

The new category has now been added to your site

You can also add a new category without editing a post.

Simply go to Posts » Categories and add your new category. This is handy if you want to create all your categories before adding content.

This method also lets you edit the slug (URL) for your categories. You can delete and rename categories here, too. You can even give them a description. See how to to add SEO keywords and descriptions in WordPress.

Adding a new category under Posts - Categories in WordPress

Adding a Child Category (Sub Category) in WordPress

You can add and edit child categories in exactly the same way you added your parent categories.

When you’re editing a post, open up the Categories tab and type in the name for your child category. Select the category that you want to use as the parent from the dropdown list.

Adding a new child category while creating a post

Similarly, you can also go to Posts » Categories to add child categories. Just type in the name for your child category and select the parent category from the dropdown menu.

Adding a new child category under Posts - Categories

Your child categories can also have their own child categories, if you want. For instance, we might decide to develop a category structure that used continents, countries, and cities, like this:

A list of child categories with their own children

Here, Europe is a category, with the United Kingdom and Spain as child categories. These then have their own child categories: York and London for the United Kingdom, and Barcelona and Madrid for Spain.

Categories on the same level within a parent category are sometimes called “sibling” categories. For instance, United Kingdom and Spain are sibling categories here.

Categories can only have one parent. You can’t add one sub-category under two different parent categories.

SEO Benefits of Category Based Site Structure

Your category URLs will look something like this:

http://example.com/category/united-states/new-york-city/

This is meaningful and helps search engines and visitors understand what your page is about. You also get a chance to add keywords into your URL. Keywords help people find content on search engines.

WordPress also allows you to easily change the /category/ prefix your category URLs. You can even remove it completely if you want.

Simply go to Settings » Permalinks page and scroll down to ‘Category base’ section.

Changing category base section

Here you can enter the prefix you would like to use and click on the Save Changes button to store your changes.

The ‘category’ prefix in your category URLs doesn’t add any benefit to your SEO. You might want to get rid of it by installing the FV Top Level Categories plugin. Simply install the plugin and it will remove the word ‘category’ from your category archive pages’ URLs. Instead, they’ll look like this:

http://example.com/united-states/new-york-city/

Important: If you decide to change category base on an existing WordPress site, then you’ll need to set up redirects to avoid 404 errors for search engine visitors. For more detailed instructions, please follow our guide on how to change the category base prefix in WordPress.

How to Display Categories and Child Categories in WordPress Sidebar

You can add a widget to your WordPress sidebar or footer to show a list of categories. In your WordPress dashboard, go to Appearance » Widgets.

Adding a new widget to your sidebar

If you haven’t changed your widgets from the ones that WordPress puts there by default, you should see the Categories widget already in place. If not, you can drag and drop it from the list of Available Widgets on the left hand side.

Dragging and dropping the categories widget into place on your sidebar

By default, the widget will show all your categories in a flat list, in alphabetical order:

A flat list of categories

Tip: Categories will only display on the list if you’ve assigned at least 1 published post to them.

You can change it to show the child categories (subcategories) beneath their parent categories, if you want. Simply check the ‘Show hierarchy’ box in the widget like this. Don’t forget to click the Save button.

Check the 'Show hierarchy' box to list child categories beneath their parents

On your site, you should now see your parent categories with the child categories nested beneath them.

A hierarchical list of categories in WordPress

Tip: If your sidebar changes don’t show up, you might need to clear your WordPress cache.

Aside from the default category widget, you can also create custom category menu links using the WordPress navigation menu. After that, you can add that menu in your header menu, sidebar, footer, or other menu locations.

We hope this tutorial helped you learn how to add categories and child categories in WordPress. You may also want to take a look at our article on how to create an email newsletter to grow your website traffic, and our comparison of the best WordPress page builders to create custom layouts.

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Inspiring Wallpapers For February 2021 And A Little Creativity Challenge

Did you know that this February is the perfect month? Well, layout-wise at least: It starts on a Monday, ends on a Sunday, and has exactly four full weeks. To fill these four perfectly aligned weeks with some life, artists and designers from across the globe challenged their creative skills and designed beautiful and inspiring wallpaper calendars for your desktop and mobile devices.

The wallpapers in this post come with and without a calendar for February 2021, and, as a little bonus goodie, you’ll also discover some familiar faces here and there: February favorites from our archives that are just too good to be forgotten (please note that these designs don’t come with a calendar). A huge thank-you goes out to everyone who shared their artworks with us this time around! It’s fantastic to see how this monthly wallpapers series still tickles your ideas after all these years that we’ve been running it.

Get Creative And Win A Workshop Ticket

Now before you scroll on to find your favorite design for this month, we’d love to invite you to a little creativity challenge: Get your pens, paintbrushes, camera, or favorite illustration tools ready and design a wallpaper for March 2021. Or maybe you have some doodles or sketches lying around that are too good not to be shared? Now’s the opportunity to turn them into a wallpaper and brighten up someone’s day. As a reward, we’ll give away a ticket to one of Vitaly Friedman’s upcoming online workshops (Interface Design Patterns or Navigation) for the best design.

How To Join In

You have the full freedom to explore your creativity with your wallpaper, to let your imagination flow, and use your favorite tools. There are only a few things you need to know before you get started:

  1. Please design two versions of your wallpaper: one with and one without a calendar for March 2021. This way, your wallpaper remains useful even after the month has ended. The calendar should be in English.
  2. Make sure that the wallpaper contains a Smashing Magazine logo. You can download different versions of the logo at http://smashed.by/logos (ZIP, 736KB). (And, of course, please feel free to include your own logo, too.)
  3. Submit your design in as many different screen resolutions as possible.
  4. Fill in this form (no worries, it’ll only take a minute) to help us get your wallpaper published.

Once you have your assets and the form file ready, please bundle everything up in a ZIP file and send it to us via wallpapers@smashingmagazine.com. A Dropbox or Google Drive link works, too, of course.

The deadline is Thursday, February 25, 11:59 PM CET.

If you have any further questions, our Wallpapers Guidelines PDF has got your back. Please feel free to also take a look around the wallpapers archives for some inspiration.

So, What Can You Win?

The first prize is a workshop ticket for one of Vitaly’s upcoming workshops of your choice:

We’ll choose the best wallpaper among all entries and announce the winner in the March wallpapers post which will be published on February 28.

Have fun! We are already looking forward to seeing your artworks! ❤️

Dog Year Ahead

Designed by PopArt Studio from Serbia.

Good Times Ahead

Designed by Ricardo Gimenes from Sweden.

Out There, There’s Someone Like You

“I am a true believer that out there in this world there is another person who is just like us, the problem is to find her/him.” — Designed by Maria Keller from Mexico.

The Great Beyond

“My inspiration came mostly from ‘The Greay from’. It’s about a dog and an astronaut exploring a strange new world.” — Designed by Lars Pauwels from Belgium.

Happy Birthday Charles Dickens!

“Charles Dickens is most famous for writing Oliver Twist and A Christmas Carol. The 7th of February is Charles Dickens birthday, so to honour his birthday I created this wallpaper with a quote from my favourite book, Oliver Twist!” — Designed by Safia Begum from the United Kingdom.

In Another Place At The Same Time

“February is the month of love par excellence, but also a different month. Perhaps because it is shorter than the rest or because it is the one that makes way for spring, but we consider it a special month. It is a perfect month to make plans because we have already finished the post-Christmas crunch and we notice that spring and summer are coming closer. That is why I like to imagine that maybe in another place someone is also making plans to travel to unknown lands.” — Designed by Verónica Valenzuela from Spain.

February Ferns

Designed by Nathalie Ouederni from France.

True Love

Designed by Ricardo Gimenes from Sweden.

Lakefront Winter Dawn

“The winter sky just as the sun rises above the chilly lake can have some of the most amazing colors.” — Designed by Ernesto Perez from the United States.

Darwin Day

“Let’s celebrate Darwin’s birthday on February 12th.” — Designed by Dan Di from Italy.

Winter Music

“February 2nd is National Ukulele Day and this four-stringed Hawaiian instrument inspired us to wander into some warmer regions. The days are longer, the sun is shining through the clouds, the birds are chirping… However, her highness Winter has only begun, ready to bring tumult, and we ought to wait a couple more months until spring warms us.” — Designed by PopArt Studio from Serbia.

On The Light Side

Designed by Ricardo Gimenes from Sweden.

Free Your Mind

“People should have the right to believe and think what they want. They should be free in choosing their opinion. The wallpaper (especially the birds) reminds me of the great freedom we have in many countries of the world.” — Designed by Daniela Faltz from Germany.

It’s A Cupcake Kind Of Day!

“Sprinkles are fun, festive and filled with love… especially when topped on a cupcake! Everyone is creative in their own unique way, so why not try baking some cupcakes and decorating them for your sweetie this month? Something homemade, like a cupcake or DIY craft is always a sweet gesture.” — Designed by Artsy Cupcake from the United States.

Savannah Stroll

“February is a month focused on romance and as a southerner, I can’t think of a more romantic way to spend a day than strolling the historic moss-draped streets of Savannah, GA. Spending time sitting on a bench on one of the many beautiful squares, holding hands and people watching as you sip a cappuccino.” — Designed by Heather Ozee Designs from the United States.

Dark Temptation

“A dark romantic feel, walking through the city on a dark and rainy night.” — Designed by Matthew Talebi from the United States.

Principles Of Good Design

“The simplicity seen in the work of Dieter Rams which has ensured his designs from the 50s and 60s still hold a strong appeal.” — Designed by Vinu Chaitanya from India.

Balance

Designed by Ricardo Gimenes from Sweden.

Snowy Sunset

Designed by Nathalie Croze from France.

Minimalistic Love

“This minimalistic love logo is designed from geometric shapes, where the heart represents the letter ‘O’ and love. The anchor represents the letter ‘V’ very delicately and stylish and it symbolizes your wanderlust. The anchor is a symbol of adventure and travels.” — Designed by Antun Hirsman from Croatia.

Time Thief

“Who has stolen our time? Maybe the time thief, so be sure to enjoy the other 28 days of February.” — Designed by Colorsfera from Spain.

Ice Cream Love

“My inspiration for this wallpaper is the biggest love someone can have in life: the love for ice cream!” — Designed by Zlatina Petrova from Bulgaria.

Love Angel Vader

“Valentine’s Day is coming? Noooooooooooo!” — Designed by Ricardo Gimenes from Sweden.

Heart On A String

“For hopeless romantics that let others play with their heart.” Designed by Jacob Giesler from the United States.

Groundhog

“The Groundhog emerged from its burrow on February 2. If it is cloudy, then spring will come early, but if it is sunny, the groundhog will see its shadow, will retreat back into its burrow, and the winter weather will continue for six more weeks.” — Designed by Oscar Marcelo from Portugal.

Lucky Day

Designed by Ricardo Gimenes from Sweden.

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Blooming Colors And April Adventures (2019 Wallpapers Edition)

Blooming Colors And April Adventures (2019 Wallpapers Edition)

Blooming Colors And April Adventures (2019 Wallpapers Edition)

Cosima Mielke

Starting off the new month with an inspiration boost, that’s the idea behind our monthly wallpapers series which has been going on for more than nine years already. What makes it special: the wallpapers are created by the community for the community, and everyone who has an idea for a wallpaper design is welcome to submit it — no matter if they are experienced designers or aspiring artists.

For this April edition, people from across the globe once again took on the creative challenge to cater for some variety on your screens. The result: a colorful collection of unique and inspiring wallpapers dedicated to the big and small joys of April. All wallpapers come in versions with and without a calendar and can be downloaded for free. Thank you to everyone who participated!

As a bonus goodie, you’ll also find a little April best-of at the end of this post. Please note that these wallpapers come from our archives, and, thus, are only available without a calendar. Enjoy!

Please note that:

  • All images can be clicked on and lead to the preview of the wallpaper,
  • You can feature your work in our magazine by taking part in our Desktop Wallpaper Calendar series. We are regularly looking for creative designers and artists to be featured on Smashing Magazine. Are you one of them?

Further Reading on SmashingMag:

Dreaming

“The moment when you just walk and your imagination fills up your mind with thoughts.” — Designed by Gal Shir from Israel.

Dreaming

Inspiring Blossom

“‘Sweet spring is your time is my time is our time for springtime is lovetime and viva sweet love’, wrote E. E. Cummings. And we have a question for you. Is there anything more refreshing, reviving, and recharging than nature in blossom? Don’t wait. Go outside and enjoy this lovely flourishing season. Let it inspire us all to rise up, hold our heads high, and show the world what we are made of. It’s time to bloom!” — Designed by PopArt Studio from Serbia.

Inspiring Blossom

April Showers

Designed by Ricardo Gimenes from Sweden.

April Showers

Gentle Blooming

“After so many months of grey winter weather, I can’t wait to feel the warmth of sun rays on my skin, to see and smell the flavor of blooming flowers and trees… Thinking about all this inspired me to create these blooming flowers in gentle warm colors.” — Designed by Yuliia Bahniuk from Ukraine.

Gentle Blooming

Spring Serenity

“My inspiration was the arrival of spring that transmits a sense of calmness and happiness through its beautiful colors.” — Designed by Margarida Granchinho from Portugal.

Spring Serenity

Egg Hunt In Wonderland

“April is Easter time and I wanted to remind us that there’s a child inside all of us. My illustration is based on the story that fills our imagination since childhood, Alice in Wonderland, and joined to one of the most traditional customs in America at this time of year, the egg hunt. That’s how we get an ‘egg hunt in wonderland’.” — Designed by Patrícia Garcia from Portugal.

Egg Hunt In Wonderland

Wonderful Things

“If you need to find anything beautiful, there is no better place than nature. Everything in nature is unique and beautiful in its own way!” — Designed by Dental Expression from Lee’s Summit, Missouri.

Wonderful Things

In The River

“Spring is here! Crocodiles search the hot and stay in the river.” — Designed by Veronica Valenzuela from Spain.

In The River

Freedom

“My choice to represent the month of April was the 25th of April in 1974 in Portugal, also known as the great revolution for freedom (‘Revolução dos Cravos’). It started with a political and social movement, which deposed the dictatorial regime of the New State. This date will always inspire us and remind us that freedom is worth fighting for and that people united are stronger than any kind of tyranny. For this reason, my project is called Freedom.” — Designed by Mirella Damasceno from Portugal.

Freedom

Signs

Designed by Tatiana Campos from Portugal.

Signs

Happy Easter!

“Celebrated all around the world in Christian tradition, April is the month of Easter. For kids Easter is about bunnies and painted eggs. Because April is also the month of early spring I chose joyful colours to give life to this lovely Easter illustration.” — Designed by Joana Duarte from Portugal.

Happy Easter!

Hanami

“Every year around April, the cherry blossom marks the beginning of spring in Japan. There is a tradition of watching this phenomenon which the locals refer to as ‘Hanami’ — flower viewing. This event occurs for a short time because of the cherry blossom’s short lifespan. The concept of Hanami reminds us that we should appreciate and even celebrate life in all its beauty and fragility while we can.” — Designed by Tetyana Malakhova from Portugal.

Hanami

Aphrodite

“Every month of our calendar is named after a god or goddess. The month of April is named after Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love.” — Designed by Rita Falé from Portugal.

Aphrodite

From The Archives

A lot of things have inspired the community to create their April wallpapers in the past few years — be it a tasty bowl of soup on a rainy day or grabbing their bike and exploring new places. Below you’ll find some of these almost forgotten favorites. Please note that they don’t come with a calendar.

April Is The Nicest Month

“T.S. Eliot wrote in 1922 that ‘April is the cruelest month,’ but we quite disagree. April is the month when spring has finally come so nature starts blooming, providing us with more time to go out into nature and enjoy nice weather, long walks, and riding a bike. This is our message to you: go out and play. We surely will.” — Designed by PopArt Studio from Serbia.

April Is The Nicest Month

Wildest Dreams

“We love the art direction, story and overall cinematography of the ‘Wildest Dreams’ music video by Taylor Swift. It inspired us to create this illustration. Hope it will look good on your desktops.” — Designed by Kasra Design from Malaysia.

Wildest Dreams

No Winter Lasts Forever

“Here comes spring, breathing new life into the world around us.” — Designed by Norjimm Pvt Ltd from India.

No Winter Lasts Forever

April Insignia

“April — its first day reminds us that laughter makes life better. Nature also laughs, but it does so in daisies!” — Designed by Ana Masnikosa from Belgrade, Serbia.

April Insignia

Once Upon A Time

“April is the month of spring but also the month of books. ‘A book is a proof that humans are capable of doing magic.’ (Carl Sagan)” — Designed by Verónica Valenzuela from Spain

Once Upon A Time

Nikes On My Feet

“We got inspired by the song ‘Nikes on My Feet’ by Mac Miller, which was perfect for the upcoming month of April and the warm weather that spring brings. As Mac Miller said, ‘All I really need is some shoes on my feet…” — Designed by PopArt Web Design from Serbia.

Nikes On My Feet

Colors Of April

“My daughter was born in April so this month reminds me of that colorful, bright and precious moment.” — Designed by Izabela Grzegorczyk from Poland.

Colors Of April

Bad Bunny

“This bad bunny is just waiting for Easter.” — Designed by Izabela from Poland.

Bad Bunny

Springing

“It’s spring already, my favourite season! You can smell it, you can see it, you can feel it in the air. Trees blossom, the grass is smiling at the sun, everything is so eager to show itself.” — Designed by Vane Kosturanov from Macedonia.

Springing

Rainy Day

Designed by Xenia Latii from Berlin, Germany.

Rainy Day

Spring Fever

“I created that mouse character for a series of illustrations about a poem my mom often told me when I was a child. In that poem the mouse goes on an adventure. Here it is after the adventure, ready for new ones.” — Designed by Anja Sturm from Germany.

Spring Fever

Citrus Passion

Designed by Nathalie Ouederni from France.

Citrus Passion

Sweet April Showers Do Bring May Flowers

“Discover the seasonal fruits and vegetables in April: artichoke and beans walking in the rain!” — Designed by Vitaminas Design from Spain.

Sweet April showers Do bring May flowers

Ipoh Hor Fun

“Missing my hometown’s delicious ‘Kai See Hor Fun’ (in Cantonese), that literally translates to ‘Shredded Chicken Flat Rice Noodles’. It is served in a clear chicken and prawn soup with chicken shreds, prawns, spring onions and noodles.” — Designed by Lew Su Ann from Brunei.

Ipoh Hor Fun

Noisy Neighbors

Designed by Katerina Bobkova from Ukraine.

Smashing Wallpaper - April 2012

Jean-Cloud Van Damme

“Hope that this little cloud will make you laugh. Happy Fools’ Day everybody.” Designed by Marika Smirnova from Russia.

Smashing Wallpaper - April 2012

Umbrella Season

“In my neck of the woods, April means a lot of rain, and therefore a lot of umbrellas. I’ve noticed a lot of pretty unique umbrellas out there, especially when I walked to class in college. Happy Umbrella Season!” — Designed by Angelia DiAntonio from Ohio, USA.

Umbrella Season

Join In Next Month!

Please note that we respect and carefully consider the ideas and motivation behind each and every artist’s work. This is why we give all artists the full freedom to explore their creativity and express emotions and experience throughout their works. This is also why the themes of the wallpapers weren’t anyhow influenced by us but rather designed from scratch by the artists themselves.

Thank you to all designers for their participation. Join in next month!

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Cassidy at T3chFest and on the React Podcast

Our very own Cassidy Williams in Spain at T3chFest! How cool. As so many people have done, Cassidy picked some gorgeous designs from Dribbble to rebuild. She had the audience choose, and then live coded that sucker in professor mode!

And don't miss Cassidy and Michael Chan chatting over on the React Podcast Episode 40:

Can't get enough? Cassidy and Marie just talked about our Babel 7 upgrade over on CodePen Radio.

The post Cassidy at T3chFest and on the React Podcast appeared first on CodePen Blog.