July 2019

Overview

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Total Impressions
0
Total Clicks
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%
CTR

Marketing Objective: To increase brand awareness and drive consideration for Clive Daniel as a premier choice in luxury home design and lifestyle space. 

  • During this second month of managing your marketing campaigns, we’ve seen continued improvements, delivering 175,441 (up by 36,539) impressions to your target audience, and drove 6,645 engaged visitors to your website.
  • Overall, all of your digital campaigns had strong click-through performance and achieved CTRs well above industry benchmarks. 
  • This performance has improved overall traffic to your site by 24% compared to July of 2018.
MARKETING OBJECTIVE

Marketing Objective: To increase brand awareness and drive consideration for Clive Daniel as a premier choice in luxury home design and lifestyle space. 

  • During this second month of managing your marketing campaigns, we’ve seen continued improvements, delivering 175,441 (up by 36,539) impressions to your target audience, and drove 6,645 engaged visitors to your website.
  • Overall, all of your digital campaigns had strong click-through performance and achieved CTRs well above industry benchmarks. 
  • This performance has improved overall traffic to your site by 24% compared to July of 2018.

Google Ads

Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

0
Total Impressions
0
Total Clicks
0
%
CTR

Retargeting

0
Total Impressions
0
Total Clicks
0
%
CTR

SEM campaigns targeted to your key markets areas; Boca Raton and Naples delivered over 41,500 impressions and 761 visitors to your website. The click-through rate (CTR) for your SEM ads (4.03%) is 24% over the average CTR reported by Wordstream (3.25%) for the ‘home furnishings’ vertical.

Campaign Analysis

  • 76.36% of the visitors from your paid search ads in July were new to the Clive Daniel website.
  • Top keywords for your non-branded terms were “interior design” with 147 clicks followed by people looking for “interior designers” with 63 clicks.
  • Quality scores of several terms have slowly been increasing while these 3 terms still have low scores:
    • Interior decoration
    • Interior decor
    • Home automation systems
  • The number of digital competitors within searches increases around 9:00 am.
  • Within the current budget, your ads are shown with less frequency around 2 pm hour.

Your retargeting ad click through rate (.56%) is 17% over the average CTR reported by Wordstream (.48%) for the ‘home furnishings’ vertical. Although this is lower than last month that is due to a drop in daily budget since the campaign didn’t start on the first and there was “more budget per day” spent in June than in July.

New ads for retargeting using the images sent over to the Social team are available here:

This is a preview of the ads.  there are variants in there that are being generated.  2 sets of images x 4 headlines x 3 description lines x 6 different ads means = 144 different combinations of possible ads. These ads are currently paused per review.

Impressions – Number of times an ad was shown to a user.

Clicks – How many times a person clicked through to the site.

Click Through Rate (CTR) – Ratio of clicks to impressions – a way to evaluate the interaction of the search user to the ad.

Impression Share – an estimate of how often your ads are showing vs. the total number of searches on your search terms.

Google Ads Overview

ImpressionsClicksCTRImpr. Share
Search15,1736124.03%32.50%
Retargeting26,397149Less than 10%

Ad Group Performance by Clicks

ImpressionsClicksCTR
Retargeting26,3971490.56%
Interior Design6,9801512.16%
Interior4,483811.81%
Furniture1,747774.41%
TM1,14229325.66%

Ad Performance by Device

ImpressionsClicksCTR
Mobile Devices22,8983491.52%
Computers14,1392751.94%
Tablets4,5331373.02%

Top 30 Keywords

Keyword(s)Ad GroupImpressionsClicksAvg. Position
clive danielTM5841671.57
interior designInterior Design6,7091451.72
clive danielsTM433921.64
interior designersInterior2,749582.81
daniel furnitureTM44141.85
furniture stores in naples flFurniture220141.71
interior designsInterior728131.98
furniture stores Naples FlFurniture292111.81
naples furniture storesFurniture106102.07
best furniture storesFurniture214102.37
clive daniels furnitureTM4991.76
clive daniel furnitureTM3191.94
furniture stores naples flFurniture28671.89
furniture stores naplesFurniture11772.61
furniture stores in naplesFurniture7452.41
design servicesDesign21052.44
furniture in naplesFurniture25732.15
home automationHome Automation43033.47
interior decoratorsInterior18932.69
interior design firmInterior Design8421.56
interior decorateInterior13322.45
interior designersInterior Design8723.28
interior designers naplesInterior6922.19
top furniture storeFurniture3212.32
clive daniels designTM111.00
design interiorDesign12411.36
furniture onlineFurniture12312.95
home design ideasDesign4111.71
home interior designInterior Design3111.62
interior decorInterior11011.24
HIGHLIGHTS

SEM campaigns targeted to your key markets areas; Boca Raton and Naples delivered over 41,500 impressions and 761 visitors to your website. The click-through rate (CTR) for your SEM ads (4.03%) is 24% over the average CTR reported by Wordstream (3.25%) for the ‘home furnishings’ vertical.

Campaign Analysis

  • 76.36% of the visitors from your paid search ads in July were new to the Clive Daniel website.
  • Top keywords for your non-branded terms were “interior design” with 147 clicks followed by people looking for “interior designers” with 63 clicks.
  • Quality scores of several terms have slowly been increasing while these 3 terms still have low scores:
    • Interior decoration
    • Interior decor
    • Home automation systems
  • The number of digital competitors within searches increases around 9:00 am.
  • Within the current budget, your ads are shown with less frequency around 2 pm hour.

Your retargeting ad click through rate (.56%) is 17% over the average CTR reported by Wordstream (.48%) for the ‘home furnishings’ vertical. Although this is lower than last month that is due to a drop in daily budget since the campaign didn’t start on the first and there was “more budget per day” spent in June than in July.

New ads for retargeting using the images sent over to the Social team are available here:

This is a preview of the ads.  there are variants in there that are being generated.  2 sets of images x 4 headlines x 3 description lines x 6 different ads means = 144 different combinations of possible ads. These ads are currently paused per review.

GLOSSARY

Impressions – Number of times an ad was shown to a user.

Clicks – How many times a person clicked through to the site.

Click Through Rate (CTR) – Ratio of clicks to impressions – a way to evaluate the interaction of the search user to the ad.

Impression Share – an estimate of how often your ads are showing vs. the total number of searches on your search terms.

DETAILED METRICS

Google Ads Overview

ImpressionsClicksCTRImpr. Share
Search15,1736124.03%32.50%
Retargeting26,397149Less than 10%

Ad Group Performance by Clicks

ImpressionsClicksCTR
Retargeting26,3971490.56%
Interior Design6,9801512.16%
Interior4,483811.81%
Furniture1,747774.41%
TM1,14229325.66%

Ad Performance by Device

ImpressionsClicksCTR
Mobile Devices22,8983491.52%
Computers14,1392751.94%
Tablets4,5331373.02%

Top 30 Keywords

Keyword(s)Ad GroupImpressionsClicksAvg. Position
clive danielTM5841671.57
interior designInterior Design6,7091451.72
clive danielsTM433921.64
interior designersInterior2,749582.81
daniel furnitureTM44141.85
furniture stores in naples flFurniture220141.71
interior designsInterior728131.98
furniture stores Naples FlFurniture292111.81
naples furniture storesFurniture106102.07
best furniture storesFurniture214102.37
clive daniels furnitureTM4991.76
clive daniel furnitureTM3191.94
furniture stores naples flFurniture28671.89
furniture stores naplesFurniture11772.61
furniture stores in naplesFurniture7452.41
design servicesDesign21052.44
furniture in naplesFurniture25732.15
home automationHome Automation43033.47
interior decoratorsInterior18932.69
interior design firmInterior Design8421.56
interior decorateInterior13322.45
interior designersInterior Design8723.28
interior designers naplesInterior6922.19
top furniture storeFurniture3212.32
clive daniels designTM111.00
design interiorDesign12411.36
furniture onlineFurniture12312.95
home design ideasDesign4111.71
home interior designInterior Design3111.62
interior decorInterior11011.24

Social Media Advertising

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Reach
0
Total Impressions
0
Total Engagement
0
Total Clicks
0
%
CTR
Facebook Ad
  • Your social media Facebook campaigns reached over 46,000 unique individuals and served 105,543 impressions to your target audience within their newsfeed.
  • 3,800 visits were driven to your website from your Facebook ads  compared to 3,114 in June.
  • Your CTR of 3.72% is 413% higher than the average CTR on Facebook which is reported at .90%. We were able to maintain this phenomenal CTR with two versions of creative in the ad set: a carousel ad and a single image ad.

Campaign Analysis:

  • Since we added two types of creative, we were able to improve the number of clicks received in July. To maintain this success, we’d like to introduce video ads. According to a recent study published by Facebook, a combination of video and photos in ad sets increases the performance of campaigns.
  • Due to the increase of impressions, the CTR decreased in July.

Reach – The total number of users reached through paid Facebook ads this month.

Impressions – The number of times your page posts (organic and paid) were served to people in their news feed this month.

Clicks – The total number of paid link clicks driven by Facebook ads this month.

CTR (click-through rate) – The ratio of users who click on a page ad to the number of users who were served the ad.

Social Media Overview

ReachImpressionsClicksCTR
Social Media42,60994,4343,7974.02%
HIGHLIGHTS
Facebook Ad
  • Your social media Facebook campaigns reached over 46,000 unique individuals and served 105,543 impressions to your target audience within their newsfeed.
  • 3,800 visits were driven to your website from your Facebook ads  compared to 3,114 in June.
  • Your CTR of 3.72% is 413% higher than the average CTR on Facebook which is reported at .90%. We were able to maintain this phenomenal CTR with two versions of creative in the ad set: a carousel ad and a single image ad.

Campaign Analysis:

  • Since we added two types of creative, we were able to improve the number of clicks received in July. To maintain this success, we’d like to introduce video ads. According to a recent study published by Facebook, a combination of video and photos in ad sets increases the performance of campaigns.
  • Due to the increase of impressions, the CTR decreased in July.
GLOSSARY

Reach – The total number of users reached through paid Facebook ads this month.

Impressions – The number of times your page posts (organic and paid) were served to people in their news feed this month.

Clicks – The total number of paid link clicks driven by Facebook ads this month.

CTR (click-through rate) – The ratio of users who click on a page ad to the number of users who were served the ad.

DETAILED METRICS

Social Media Overview

ReachImpressionsClicksCTR
Social Media42,60994,4343,7974.02%
CREATIVE

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

0
Organic Sessions
0
Organic Pageviews
0
Avg. Session Duration

July Optimizations

  • For July, we implemented the Yoast plugin on the site. This auto generated a sitemap that we were able to successfully submit to Google Search Console.

August and September Optimizations

  • In August, we developed copy orders for the top level pages of the site such as the homepage, residential and commercial pages, and the hospitality page. The optimized copy should be ready by October.
  • With the copy being written, we will begin to investigate a solution for the social media plugin that displays Clive Daniel’s social media handles.
  • There appears to be a bug with the current plugin that is creating a 404 error code for each page.
  • We plan to find a different plugin that will work better with the current site.

Organic Sessions – Refers to the number of times users viewed the site. A user can have multiple sessions, and a session can have a number of page views.

Organic Pageviews- The number of times an organic user viewed a page.

Organic Session Duration – The average amount of time organic users spent on the site for each session. An increase in time may indicate that
users are spending more time reading your content. A decrease may indicate users are finding what they need in a more efficient manner.

Search Queries- These are the top phrases users are searching to get to your site.

Notes: Branded keywords typically have the highest click-through-rate (CTR). If branded keywords have a low CTR, it may be due to a subdomain or other websites owning space in search results for your brand name, such as review sites.

Broad intent (short-tail) keywords will carry low CTR due to the volume of searches. Long-tail keywords tend to have higher CTR and are more valuable.

SEO Overview

Organic SessionsGoal CompletionsGoal RatePageviewsAvg. Session Duration
2,86130.10%11,0992:41

Top Landing Pages

Landing PageOrganic Entrances
/1,765
/boca-raton/109
/clive-daniel-home-opens-boca-raton-store/79
/cdh2-designer-outlet/70
/the-goods/70
/naples-portfolio/66
/what-about-us/57
/interior-design/35
/portfolio/33
/hospitality/27

Top Queries

ImpressionsClicksCTRPosition
clive daniel90739343.33%2.68
clive daniel home59127947.21%2.42
clive daniels29412843.54%2.80
clive daniels naples1104036.36%3.33
clive daniels furniture boca raton1053533.33%2.82
clive daniel furniture693144.93%2.38
clive and daniel502856.00%2.80
clive daniel home naples842732.14%3.01
clive daniel home boca522038.46%3.38
clive daniel warehouse421535.71%3.64
clive daniels furniture store371540.54%2.05
clive daniels naples fl361438.89%1.72
clive daniels naples florida381436.84%2.37
clive daniel naples florida271140.74%2.37
clive daniel boca raton821012.20%3.40
clive daniel naples521019.23%2.94
clive daniel outlet naples281035.71%2.04
clivedaniel211047.62%1.95
clive daniels boca raton21942.86%1.81
clive daniels furniture28932.14%3.29
HIGHLIGHTS

July Optimizations

  • For July, we implemented the Yoast plugin on the site. This auto generated a sitemap that we were able to successfully submit to Google Search Console.

August and September Optimizations

  • In August, we developed copy orders for the top level pages of the site such as the homepage, residential and commercial pages, and the hospitality page. The optimized copy should be ready by October.
  • With the copy being written, we will begin to investigate a solution for the social media plugin that displays Clive Daniel’s social media handles.
  • There appears to be a bug with the current plugin that is creating a 404 error code for each page.
  • We plan to find a different plugin that will work better with the current site.
GLOSSARY

Organic Sessions – Refers to the number of times users viewed the site. A user can have multiple sessions, and a session can have a number of page views.

Organic Pageviews- The number of times an organic user viewed a page.

Organic Session Duration – The average amount of time organic users spent on the site for each session. An increase in time may indicate that
users are spending more time reading your content. A decrease may indicate users are finding what they need in a more efficient manner.

Search Queries- These are the top phrases users are searching to get to your site.

Notes: Branded keywords typically have the highest click-through-rate (CTR). If branded keywords have a low CTR, it may be due to a subdomain or other websites owning space in search results for your brand name, such as review sites.

Broad intent (short-tail) keywords will carry low CTR due to the volume of searches. Long-tail keywords tend to have higher CTR and are more valuable.

DETAILED METRICS

SEO Overview

Organic SessionsGoal CompletionsGoal RatePageviewsAvg. Session Duration
2,86130.10%11,0992:41

Top Landing Pages

Landing PageOrganic Entrances
/1,765
/boca-raton/109
/clive-daniel-home-opens-boca-raton-store/79
/cdh2-designer-outlet/70
/the-goods/70
/naples-portfolio/66
/what-about-us/57
/interior-design/35
/portfolio/33
/hospitality/27

Top Queries

ImpressionsClicksCTRPosition
clive daniel90739343.33%2.68
clive daniel home59127947.21%2.42
clive daniels29412843.54%2.80
clive daniels naples1104036.36%3.33
clive daniels furniture boca raton1053533.33%2.82
clive daniel furniture693144.93%2.38
clive and daniel502856.00%2.80
clive daniel home naples842732.14%3.01
clive daniel home boca522038.46%3.38
clive daniel warehouse421535.71%3.64
clive daniels furniture store371540.54%2.05
clive daniels naples fl361438.89%1.72
clive daniels naples florida381436.84%2.37
clive daniel naples florida271140.74%2.37
clive daniel boca raton821012.20%3.40
clive daniel naples521019.23%2.94
clive daniel outlet naples281035.71%2.04
clivedaniel211047.62%1.95
clive daniels boca raton21942.86%1.81
clive daniels furniture28932.14%3.29

Outlook

Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

  • Your opportunity to show up in searches related to your business is limited by budget.  
  • The most common search terms for your non-branded keywords are related to furniture stores + location (geo-targeted terms) and interior design.
  • Implement a dedicated landing page for the lowest three performing keywords to help solidify your presence in these areas.

Retargeting

  • We are off to a good start with building your retargeting audiences for possible segmentation at a later time.
  • CTR for the retargeting is right on target at 0.56%  
  • Retargeted visitors have a typical session duration of 31 seconds and see 1.86 pages upon returning
  • Lifestyle ads with a call to action (CTA)  could improve campaign performance for your retargeting campaign. We would recommend providing 2 or 3 versions of the ads. The images are currently being pulled from the website, it would be helpful to have a 1:1 ratio logo image to be used as well. 
  • We have noticed a significant amount of missed opportunities due to the limited budget. We would recommend increasing the retargeting budget to a minimum of $660 / month for the amount of website traffic and the size of your site 

Social Media Advertising

  • We will use the assets you provided for hospitality and residential promotion in the following months ads.
  • Video is also highly impactful in social environments while driving an increase in engagement and brand recall. We would highly recommend adding video that reflects more promotion of Clive Daniel services and eventually products. 
  • Due to the success of this campaign, we recommend retargeting the audience used for July’s ads in the coming month. 
Start MonthTimeframe to CompleteTask(s)Status
June 20191 MonthInitial AuditCOMPLETE
July1 MonthHTTP to HTTPS installationCOMPLETE
July1 MonthYoast Plugin InstallationCOMPLETE
July1 MonthUpload sitemap to GSCCOMPLETE
August - September/October3 MonthsOn Page Optimizations - Home Page - Residential Interior Design - Commercial Interior Design (New) - Hospitality Page
September1 MonthReplacement for social media plugin
September1 MonthSchema Optimization
October1 MonthLink Structuring to important pages
November2 MonthsOptimization of Location Pages - Naples - Boca Raton
November1 MonthRestructure of URLS to reflect page content
December1 MonthBio Pages, Blog posts - Title Tags - Headers - Meta Descriptions
January1 MonthBlog Optimization - header formatting, links, markup
February1 MonthAuthority building
March1 MonthTBD
April1 MonthTBD
May1 Month12 Month Review

Background

Studio has been asked to test ecommerce on http://www.clivedaniel.com. The initial phase is an audit of the website to see if the current setup would support adding WooCommerce to conduct the tests.

Recommendation

Based on the information gathered during this audit, the current website cannot support ecommerce until specific issues have been remediated. Once those issues are resolved, further testing would be required to
see how WooCommerce integrates within the current theme and site structure.

Audit Notes

Methodology
Testing http://www.clivedaniel.com using a combination of automated tools (Health Check & Troubleshooting plugin, Sucuri SiteCheck, WPScan, SSL Labs Checker) and manual investigation.

Results
Hosting
It’s unclear where the site is being hosted. Some reports show GoDaddy, other indicators point to Starfield Technologies / Talbot Services Corp. The host is running outdated versions of PHP and MySQL, and does not
appear to have a CDN enabled for asset delivery.

Versions
WordPress
The site is running WordPress 4.9.10; the latest version is 5.2.2 (as of July 1, 2019). It cannot be upgraded beyond 4.9 unless PHP is on a newer version.

PHP
The server is running PHP 5.3.24, which is no longer supported by the
developers. The lowest version that WordPress can run on is PHP 5.6, and PHP 7.3 is recommended for its speed and security.

MySQL
The server is running MySQL database engine version 5.5.51. The minimum recommended version is 5.6, and the latest is 8.0.

WordPress
The site is running an old version of WordPress and is using a “kitchen sink” theme. Content is added to pages through various methods, including widgets, custom HTML, and theme settings. Some sections rely
solely on the theme’s page builder.

Upgrading to 5.0 and newer defaults to the new block editor, which changes the way content is created. If the current theme doesn’t support the editor, use the Classic Editor plugin until it does.

There are several plugins and themes that haven’t been updated. The themes should be removed since they’re not being used at all; some premium plugins that are bundled with the theme are also outdated and many versions behind the latest release. They may require an update to the theme itself, which is often an additional cost.

Theme
The theme is a site builder from Muffin Group called BeTheme. Each page is pieced together from a combination of hand-coded HTML and custom fields inside the page builder.

The theme says it supports WooCommerce, but it’s unclear to what extent.
There are several custom post types with no content or test content only (Offer, Slides, Testimonials, Layouts). I can’t be certain where they’re coming from but it appears to be the theme.

Plugins
There are 2 contact form plugins installed: Contact Form 7 and Fast Secure Contact Form.

Contact Form 7 has 3 forms which are configured incorrectly and may not work as expected.

Fast Secure Contact Form is no longer available, and may not be maintained. It was removed from the WordPress Plugin Directory for guideline violations related to malicious code, and is not available at the link provided in the plugin settings.

WPBackItUp backup plugin is installed and active, but no backups have been created.

Quick Redirects plugin is used for 4 redirects, 3 of which are supposed to go to an “Under Construction” page but don’t work.

There are 2 slider plugins installed, not including the one bundled with the theme: LayerSlider WP and Revolution Slider. Both are used in different places, the theme slider is not used.

Admin
There is only one user on the site, which means there is only one person managing the whole site, or everyone shares the same admin login. Neither of those are good options.

Mail Check test failed to send an email from WordPress admin. The server may be configured incorrectly, or an external sender may be required (like SendGrid, Mailgun, or Amazon SES).

Ecommerce
BeTheme states that it supports WooCommerce, but not to what extent. It’s unclear if there’s support for the newest version of WooCommerce and the templates it uses.

The website has a valid SSL certificate that expires July 24, 2020, but the site isn’t set up to serve SSL by default. Ecommerce requires that at a minimum the checkout page be protected with TLS/SSL, and it’s recommended that all pages on the are served securely.

Recommendations
Although WooCommerce can run on WordPress sites as old as version 4.7, there are several other issues with the site that should be addressed before attempting to add ecommerce. Beyond a complete rebuild of the site with a custom theme and plugins, these are the most immediate changes we recommend to make the site to increase security and performance – two areas that directly impact ecommerce:

  1. Upgrade PHP to at least version 7.2. The site should be tested in a sandbox environment before doing this. If unable to upgrade, consider switching to a host that can.
  2. Enable a CDN to speed up site loading. If the current host doesn’t provide a CDN, consider switching to one that does or paying for a separate CDN service.
  3. Upgrade WordPress to 5.2. This will enable the block editor by default, and enable us to use WooCommerce blocks for displaying products.
  4. Test the theme with the block editor. If it’s not compatible, install and activate the Classic Editor plugin.
  5. Make the site use TLS/SSL by default for all requests.
  6. Remove the Fast Secure Contact Form plugin and migrate any of the data to Contact Form 7.
  7. Remove all unused plugins and themes.
  8. Consolidate and remove duplicate plugins.
  9. Put a backup and recovery plan in place, either using the existing plugin or a backup system provided by the hosting company.

Note: All testing should be done on a test server before making changes to the live site. That can be a local development environment or a sandbox copy of the site.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

  • Your opportunity to show up in searches related to your business is limited by budget.  
  • The most common search terms for your non-branded keywords are related to furniture stores + location (geo-targeted terms) and interior design.
  • Implement a dedicated landing page for the lowest three performing keywords to help solidify your presence in these areas.

Retargeting

  • We are off to a good start with building your retargeting audiences for possible segmentation at a later time.
  • CTR for the retargeting is right on target at 0.56%  
  • Retargeted visitors have a typical session duration of 31 seconds and see 1.86 pages upon returning
  • Lifestyle ads with a call to action (CTA)  could improve campaign performance for your retargeting campaign. We would recommend providing 2 or 3 versions of the ads. The images are currently being pulled from the website, it would be helpful to have a 1:1 ratio logo image to be used as well. 
  • We have noticed a significant amount of missed opportunities due to the limited budget. We would recommend increasing the retargeting budget to a minimum of $660 / month for the amount of website traffic and the size of your site 

Social Media Advertising

  • We will use the assets you provided for hospitality and residential promotion in the following months ads.
  • Video is also highly impactful in social environments while driving an increase in engagement and brand recall. We would highly recommend adding video that reflects more promotion of Clive Daniel services and eventually products. 
  • Due to the success of this campaign, we recommend retargeting the audience used for July’s ads in the coming month. 
SEO
Start MonthTimeframe to CompleteTask(s)Status
June 20191 MonthInitial AuditCOMPLETE
July1 MonthHTTP to HTTPS installationCOMPLETE
July1 MonthYoast Plugin InstallationCOMPLETE
July1 MonthUpload sitemap to GSCCOMPLETE
August - September/October3 MonthsOn Page Optimizations - Home Page - Residential Interior Design - Commercial Interior Design (New) - Hospitality Page
September1 MonthReplacement for social media plugin
September1 MonthSchema Optimization
October1 MonthLink Structuring to important pages
November2 MonthsOptimization of Location Pages - Naples - Boca Raton
November1 MonthRestructure of URLS to reflect page content
December1 MonthBio Pages, Blog posts - Title Tags - Headers - Meta Descriptions
January1 MonthBlog Optimization - header formatting, links, markup
February1 MonthAuthority building
March1 MonthTBD
April1 MonthTBD
May1 Month12 Month Review
WEB AUDIT

Background

Studio has been asked to test ecommerce on http://www.clivedaniel.com. The initial phase is an audit of the website to see if the current setup would support adding WooCommerce to conduct the tests.

Recommendation

Based on the information gathered during this audit, the current website cannot support ecommerce until specific issues have been remediated. Once those issues are resolved, further testing would be required to
see how WooCommerce integrates within the current theme and site structure.

Audit Notes

Methodology
Testing http://www.clivedaniel.com using a combination of automated tools (Health Check & Troubleshooting plugin, Sucuri SiteCheck, WPScan, SSL Labs Checker) and manual investigation.

Results
Hosting
It’s unclear where the site is being hosted. Some reports show GoDaddy, other indicators point to Starfield Technologies / Talbot Services Corp. The host is running outdated versions of PHP and MySQL, and does not
appear to have a CDN enabled for asset delivery.

Versions
WordPress
The site is running WordPress 4.9.10; the latest version is 5.2.2 (as of July 1, 2019). It cannot be upgraded beyond 4.9 unless PHP is on a newer version.

PHP
The server is running PHP 5.3.24, which is no longer supported by the
developers. The lowest version that WordPress can run on is PHP 5.6, and PHP 7.3 is recommended for its speed and security.

MySQL
The server is running MySQL database engine version 5.5.51. The minimum recommended version is 5.6, and the latest is 8.0.

WordPress
The site is running an old version of WordPress and is using a “kitchen sink” theme. Content is added to pages through various methods, including widgets, custom HTML, and theme settings. Some sections rely
solely on the theme’s page builder.

Upgrading to 5.0 and newer defaults to the new block editor, which changes the way content is created. If the current theme doesn’t support the editor, use the Classic Editor plugin until it does.

There are several plugins and themes that haven’t been updated. The themes should be removed since they’re not being used at all; some premium plugins that are bundled with the theme are also outdated and many versions behind the latest release. They may require an update to the theme itself, which is often an additional cost.

Theme
The theme is a site builder from Muffin Group called BeTheme. Each page is pieced together from a combination of hand-coded HTML and custom fields inside the page builder.

The theme says it supports WooCommerce, but it’s unclear to what extent.
There are several custom post types with no content or test content only (Offer, Slides, Testimonials, Layouts). I can’t be certain where they’re coming from but it appears to be the theme.

Plugins
There are 2 contact form plugins installed: Contact Form 7 and Fast Secure Contact Form.

Contact Form 7 has 3 forms which are configured incorrectly and may not work as expected.

Fast Secure Contact Form is no longer available, and may not be maintained. It was removed from the WordPress Plugin Directory for guideline violations related to malicious code, and is not available at the link provided in the plugin settings.

WPBackItUp backup plugin is installed and active, but no backups have been created.

Quick Redirects plugin is used for 4 redirects, 3 of which are supposed to go to an “Under Construction” page but don’t work.

There are 2 slider plugins installed, not including the one bundled with the theme: LayerSlider WP and Revolution Slider. Both are used in different places, the theme slider is not used.

Admin
There is only one user on the site, which means there is only one person managing the whole site, or everyone shares the same admin login. Neither of those are good options.

Mail Check test failed to send an email from WordPress admin. The server may be configured incorrectly, or an external sender may be required (like SendGrid, Mailgun, or Amazon SES).

Ecommerce
BeTheme states that it supports WooCommerce, but not to what extent. It’s unclear if there’s support for the newest version of WooCommerce and the templates it uses.

The website has a valid SSL certificate that expires July 24, 2020, but the site isn’t set up to serve SSL by default. Ecommerce requires that at a minimum the checkout page be protected with TLS/SSL, and it’s recommended that all pages on the are served securely.

Recommendations
Although WooCommerce can run on WordPress sites as old as version 4.7, there are several other issues with the site that should be addressed before attempting to add ecommerce. Beyond a complete rebuild of the site with a custom theme and plugins, these are the most immediate changes we recommend to make the site to increase security and performance – two areas that directly impact ecommerce:

  1. Upgrade PHP to at least version 7.2. The site should be tested in a sandbox environment before doing this. If unable to upgrade, consider switching to a host that can.
  2. Enable a CDN to speed up site loading. If the current host doesn’t provide a CDN, consider switching to one that does or paying for a separate CDN service.
  3. Upgrade WordPress to 5.2. This will enable the block editor by default, and enable us to use WooCommerce blocks for displaying products.
  4. Test the theme with the block editor. If it’s not compatible, install and activate the Classic Editor plugin.
  5. Make the site use TLS/SSL by default for all requests.
  6. Remove the Fast Secure Contact Form plugin and migrate any of the data to Contact Form 7.
  7. Remove all unused plugins and themes.
  8. Consolidate and remove duplicate plugins.
  9. Put a backup and recovery plan in place, either using the existing plugin or a backup system provided by the hosting company.

Note: All testing should be done on a test server before making changes to the live site. That can be a local development environment or a sandbox copy of the site.

Palm Beach Post Studio