BioTrillion is a healthtech startup developing a digital biomarker platform to detect neurological diseases using computer vision/machine learning. Our mission is to enable ordinary consumers to take control of their own health outcomes using their smartphones. We’re a 3 year old company with a very small, all-remote team (4 as of today); we’re about to close a new round of funding to help us rapidly scale and grow.
Roles:
* Jr./Sr. Computer Vision/Deep Learning engineers
* iOS/CoreML engineers
* Business and technical interns.
The jobs page on our site says we’re looking for 7+ years of experience, but that’s only for senior roles – we’re absolutely hiring junior devs too, so if you don’t have that much experience please apply anyway.
Internal links are a crucial part of a successful SEO strategy.
Small but mighty, simple yet complex, internal links help navigate users through your digital content and give search engine crawlers information about how your website works.
Internal links are found on almost every page on the internet. You’re probably already using them, even if you don’t know it. (Hint: there’s a few included in this intro,)
If you want to optimize your content for SEO, you need to understand how internal links work, where to place them, and why they matter.
In this post, we’ll dive into internal linking and cover best practices.
What Is Internal Linking?
Internal links are links from one page to another within a single domain.
These are different from external links, which point to pages on a different website.
Every website with more than one page should be connected through internal linking.
Think of your website’s home page. In the top navigation, you likely have a menu that links to other internal pages. This could be your About, Shop, and Contact pages.
This internal linking structure is essential for SEO because it establishes a site architecture and improves your link equity.
Having multiple web pages attached to a singular domain improves your chances of being ranked by allowing search engine crawlers to index more content.
Internal linking is a simple issue of site design and architecture, and the search engines expect it. All websites have a design and architecture that keeps them structured logically, such as this common silo model.
But as long as you have a strong internal linking structure, your website will be crawled, indexed, and ranked by search engines.
Internal linking is also an important part of your user experience, as it allows users to uncover related information or find what they are looking for, which improves dwell time.
5 Reasons Internal Linking Is Good for SEO
Internal linking is one of SEO’s most valuable weapons.
As advanced as the algorithm is, there are still simple changes that will give you an immediate boost in SEO without gaming the search engines.
Internal linking is one of them. It’s not a trick or a gimmick, and it’s certainly not hard to do.
Here are some of the benefits.
1. Helps Google Index Your Site
Google’s crawler follows link paths throughout the internet to find and index websites.
If your website has strong internal linking, the Google crawler has an easier time finding new content you publish.
Google’s bots regularly crawl the web for fresh content. If your content is woven together with multiple internal links, crawling happens a lot faster.
As a result, your content will get indexed faster, too.
Improved crawling and indexing can boost your SEO.
2. Increases Backlink-Earning Potential of Deep Content Pages
Take a look at where most of your website’s backlinks are coming from. You’ll probably see a lot of links that send users to your homepage.
When you compare the homepage backlinks to deep page backlinks, this is what you usually see:
Unfortunately, too many home page backlinks are bad for SEO. We call this over-optimizing, and it should be avoided.
What you want to see is the pie chart reversed. The majority of your external links should point at deep internal pages, not your home page. That’s because the homepage doesn’t generally include the type of detailed information users search for.
When a website doesn’t actively publish and promote new content, its link profile looks like this:
Most of the links on the website go to social profiles or standard pages such as “About” or “Contact.”
This provides very little SEO value to the site.
If you create a strong internal linking structure, you can boost the link juice earning potential of the internal pages, by creating clear click paths and indexation throughout the website.
Why? Because you are increasing the overall crawl priority throughout the site with better distribution of your links.
3. Internal Linking Spreads the Strength of the Site to Internal Pages
When your website receives a link to the homepage, some of the link value is passed on to internal pages.
This is often referred to as “link juice.”
If Page 1 then links to Page 2, the “link juice” flows from Page 1 to Page 2, helping it rank higher in the search engine results page (SERP).
The more tightly-knit a website’s structure (through internal linking), the better the overall site will perform in search.
4. Internal Linking with Optimized Anchor Text Is Good for SEO
An internal link is a simple string of HTML that links one website page to another. It looks like this:
<A HREF = “http://www.example.com/internalpage“> an article on cat food </A>
When you create an internal link with anchor text, as opposed to with an image or navigational text, however, the value of the internal link goes up.
Anchor text improves the value of the link by adding keywords and content to the linking process. Google isn’t just looking at an A HREF tag. They are also looking at the anchor text that is part of that link.
The days of keyword stuffing anchor texts are long gone. But, there is value in optimizing your internal anchor text.
Anchor text that flows well with the overall content, versus over-optimized anchor text, is best.
5. It Provides Value to Your Users
This is the most important point of all. Internal linking is an SEO technique, yes. But, it’s more than that.
Ultimately, internal linking is useful for users.
Think about it this way: When you’re researching a topic, do you check one source or multiple?
Do you enjoy exploring other content that reinforces your understanding of the topic?
Maybe, you just like the writing style of the article you’re reading and want to read more work by the same author.
Internal linking on a site increases the value of each piece of content by backing up claims and leading the user to related information.
While it may not drive conversions directly, internal linking does have a place within the marketing funnel—carrying people to a target destination.
As an added bonus, you can help readers stay on your site longer and increase their trust in you by using internal linking.
SEO is about user optimization, not just technical tweaks and sneaky tricks.
Even if you don’t care about the technical value of internal linking, at least do it for your users.
Internal Linking Best Practices
Now, it’s time to get into the nitty-gritty. How do you do internal linking? What’s the best method for creating the biggest value with links?
There are two things you need in place first:
Written content on the site: Even if you have a single article, that’s okay. That’s your starting place. If you don’t have any written content but want to create some, check out our The Ultimate Guide to Writing Epic Content.
Continually writing new content for the site: Getting into a regular publishing schedule is important for internal linking to be effective.
Okay, let’s get into it.
Link to and From Content-Heavy Pages
The best internal links are those that connect one article to another. This creates a strong internal linking structure deep within the site.
If you have good site architecture, you’ll have enough links to the site’s main pages, such as the homepage, About page, Contact page, etc.
You don’t need more links to these pages.
Obviously, if you’re trying to drive conversions using a squeeze page or sales page and the opportunity is right, link to it.
For the most part, I recommend creating links in and among long-form articles. This automatically spreads your internal linking naturally.
Create Text Links Using Anchor Text
What kind of internal links work best?
It’s simple: Links with descriptive anchor text.
What do we mean by descriptive anchor text?
You’re familiar with anchor text, right? An anchor text is the word or words that link to another page. They typically appear as blue text to the reader.
Each of those examples is associating the subject of the link with relevant phrases. The first anchor text contains “10 most important SEO techniques,” which is the subject matter of the article you’re linking to. The second anchor text has the phrase, “Google’s algorithm has been updated,” and the linked article contains information about Google, Hummingbird, algorithms, and updates.
Here are three things not to do with your internal linking:
Do not try to create an exact match between the anchor text and the link target. This technique, known as “exact match anchor text” has been associated with SEO penalties via the Penguin update. Today’s search engines are sensitive to the regular use of exact match anchor text because it wouldn’t frequently happen in regular content. It appears unnatural because it is.
Do not use phrases like “click here.” This adds no value. Anchor text needs to be related to the linked page in some way.
Do not link more than one sentence. An entire hyperlinked paragraph is unsightly and makes for a poor user experience. Just stick to a few words or a phrase when using anchor text to point to an internal link.
Add an Appropriate Number of Links Per Page
When you write a new piece of content, you should include five or more links to old articles. This is really important to your internal linking strategy and how the search engines review and rank your content.
Why?
Websites have a “freshness value” that Google detects and uses as part of its ranking algorithm.
Pinging old pages with a new link helps to boost its likelihood of increasing rank in the SERPs. In the eyes of the search engines, readers who follow your internal links are actually “refreshing” your older content by showing it’s still relevant.
However, be careful not to over-stuff your content with links.
According to Moz, search engine crawlers have a limit of 150 links per page. After that, they stop spidering.
Overstuffing your page with links could negatively impact your SEO.
Be sure to link, but don’t overdo it. This will help both the search crawlers and your user experience.
Update Old Articles With New Internal Links
You’ll get the most power from internal linking if you combine it with another SEO technique—updating old content.
When you update old content, Google’s crawler sees it again, indexes it again, and may increase its ranking in the SERPs.
We always recommend updating your old articles regularly. Here is a good process to follow on your old blog articles:
Add a new paragraph of content at the beginning, explaining your updates.
Add several new paragraphs throughout, adding additional or updated information.
Remove or replace outdated stats or information.
Add several new internal links to content you’ve recently created.
Add links in places where it’s logical and value-added.
Remember, internal linking isn’t only about linking new content to older content. It’s also about circling back to older content and creating internal links that connect to your newer work.
You’re accomplishing two things by doing this.
It updates old content, which improves its ranking value.
It creates an internal link between an old established page on the site and a new not-so-established page.
Add Links Where It Makes Sense
Now that you’ve learned so much about internal linking, you’re probably wondering where you should put your internal links?
It’s tempting to get lazy and throw them in at the end of an article: “For more awesome content, click here!”
Don’t do that, please. Or at least, don’t do just that.
Instead, look for areas in the content where the subject matter overlaps. These are logical points of connection to create an internal link. For example, you can add links to define complex terms or explain a related topic.
Think of internal links as a reference point that improves the experience of the reader.
Only Add Dofollow Links
Don’t add a nofollow tag to your internal links. Nofollow links do not have any impact on the search engine rankings of the destination site.
Some articles in our blog have super high conversion rates. The content is compelling, and the CTAs are so powerful that users convert in droves.
We always make sure to link internally to these pages.
This is where internal linking has more than just SEO value. It can have revenue value, too. The more visitors you can drive to a high-converting page, the more conversions you’ll have.
Take Site Navigation and Information Architecture Into Consideration
Site navigation and internal linking go hand in hand.
Internal links define site architecture and hierarchy by creating funnels that direct users through your website.
Ultimately, this is an important part of your UX/UI and will impact how long people stay on your web pages and how often they come back.
When building an internal linking strategy, consider the most important content on your site and how you’re promoting it.
If you have a piece of cornerstone content that you want more eyes on, point more internal links to it.
Create Lots of Content
The best way to have a healthy internal linking structure is to have lots of internal pages.
When you create lots of content, you’ll have lots of linkable content. The more links to the more places, the better your internal linking strategy will be.
Remember, simply having a lot of web pages doesn’t equal a robust internal linking strategy.
While internal links are essential to your website navigation, repeatedly linking to your homepage won’t move the needle on your SEO score.
Whatever your strategy, do it well and do it often.
Internal Linking Practices to Avoid
Now that you know how to use internal linking correctly, let’s review some of the practices to avoid.
Adding too many links to your content can be detrimental to your score. Remember, Google does not crawl pages that have more than 150 links. It’s also important to note that your header, footer, and menu links are included in your on-page link count.
Don’t overdo it!
Keyword stuffing in anchor text is another internal linking practice to avoid. This black hat tactic was popular in the past, as SEO’s thought it would improve their chances of ranking.
Using internal links in header text should also be avoided. Links in headers signal spam to Google crawlers and can negatively impact your SEO.
Finally, be sure to check all of your internal links before posting them. Broken links don’t spread any link juice and signal to Google that your website is low quality.
Internal Linking FAQs
How many internal links should I include per post?
There’s no set number, but 5-10 for every 2,000 words is a good best practice. Remember, Google won’t crawl pages with more than ~150 links, so be careful about overstuffing your content.
Should I add internal links to my pages with more or less traffic?
According to Databox, internal links can spread link juice from low-traffic web pages to high-traffic ones. That being said, it’s also important to point as many links as possible to your cornerstone content so it benefits from increased traffic.
What is an example of internal linking?
Internal linking is a link that points to another page within the same domain. Internal links show up as hyperlinks, like this: Tips for building better evergreen links.
Are internal links backlinks?
No, internal links stay within your website domain, they do not come from an external source. Backlinks are external links that point to your domain.
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Summary of Internal Linking Guide
Internal linking is a core part of a solid SEO strategy. When done right, it enhances the user experience and can help you rank higher in the SERPs.
While internal links are part of any strong website design, it’s important to find ways to include internal links in your content to ensure you’re getting the most out of your content. Make sure to use optimized (but not over-optimized) anchor tags, and add internal links that provide users with more information about a topic they’re interested in.
What internal linking practices have you found to be the most effective?
Disclosure: This content is reader-supported, which means if you click on some of our links that we may earn a commission.
Here’s some good news–you can get a website up and running without spending a dime.
Yes. Free web hosting exists, and I’ll show you how to get it.
You’ll be able to launch a website with a few clicks, but don’t expect anything fancy.
Some of the trade-offs with free web hosting include: ads on your site (that don’t make you money), a cap on how much traffic you can get, sudden downtimes, and little to no customer support.
There’s some really great cheap web hosting options that will help you build a site without tradeoffs for a few bucks a month.
But if you really need a 100% free web hosting solution, check out my recommendations below.
#1 – WixReview — Best Free Web Hosting With Website Builder
When it comes to building a simple blog or an online portfolio that highlights your work, Wix is the best intuitive website builder you can count on.
With the help of its simple drag-and-drop interface, you can create a simple website in minutes. Wix takes care of your website through free hosting so long as you don’t mind having Wix brand ads displayed on your pages.
And if you don’t want to build your own site, all you need to do is answer a few questions. The platform’s Artificial Design Intelligence (ADI) will then automatically generate a website with a design based on the answers you give.
You’ll get a great looking page in a few minutes, and from there you can fine-tune it the way you want. Editing within Wix is easy, and you’ll be surprised at how many options you have.
Although free accounts can only use the Wix subdomain, there are enough templates and apps you can choose from to add a little bit of personal touch to your website.
Should you decide to create a website with Wix, you will get a storage space of 500 MB and a bandwidth of 500 MB, enough for a low-traffic site like an online portfolio.
If you want more flexibility, you can upgrade to premium plans anytime to access custom domain, email, and ecommerce features.
Premium plans also eliminate ads so your website will look more professional and less cookie-cutter.
But even with ads, Wix has plenty to offer that will put the spotlight on your content. Whether you’re a writer, designer, or photographer, Wix remains the best website builder to help you establish an online presence without touching any code. Sign up now.
#2 – Square OnlineReview— Best Free Ecommerce Hosting Platform
Square Online is a free ecommerce platform for aspiring entrepreneurs who are still getting their feet wet with online selling. Unlike big names in the industry, Square Online lets you sell unlimited products without paying recurring fees.
It’s free to set up your online store hosted by Square Online. You’ll pay a fee for transactions on the site, but it’s only a small percentage of your total sale.
Your still making money on your free Square Online site, which is pretty great considering you still pay transaction fees on paid hosting platforms as well.
The drag-and-drop editor only offers four customizable themes, but you get an assurance that every design follows your industry’s best practice. Without touching any code, you can create your online store with a responsive design that fits in any device.
Square Online also offers the following to help you get started with your business:
Square POS integration so you can automatically import your product catalog and let it sync with your online store for a seamless inventory management
Payment processing system that accepts all major credit cards, Google Pay, and Apple Pay
In-house and on-demand delivery
Instagram integration
Free SSL security
SEO tools
In exchange for hosting your online store for free, Square Online requires a small commission fee of 2.9% + 30¢ for each product sold. Should you decide to scale your business, you can leave the free plan and move to the premium plans starting at $12 per month.
Through a new feature called Square Online Checkout, sellers also have the option to sell their products and receive payment using only a link instead of a website.
Whether you’re an established brick-and-mortar store owner or just starting from scratch, Square Online has all the basics to help you navigate the unfamiliar world of ecommerce with ease. Start now.
#3 – DreamHostReview— Best Free Web Hosting for Nonprofits
DreamHost believes in every nonprofit organization’s advocacy so much that they’re giving them a shared hosting plan at no cost.
Aside from free web hosting, DreamHost also provides US-based charitable organizations with the following:
Free domain
Free backups
Free shopping cart installation so you can accept donations with ease
Unmetered transfer and unlimited monthly visitors
Free SSL certificate to keep online transactions secure
To create a free hosting account, DreamHost does not require any credit card details and needs just your billing address for verification purposes.
You also need to attach a 501(c)(3) determination letter, a document from the United States IRS proving your tax-exempt non-profit status under the applicable sections of the tax code.
Since it’s a free account, you won’t have access to reliable 24/7 customer support. However, DreamHost’s dedicated help center and ticketing system offset this, which more than meets the need for straightforward troubleshooting solutions.
Should you want more control over your account, nonprofit organizations can also avail themselves of a 35% discount off DreamHost’s managed WordPress hosting plans. This means you can host your site under a paid plan for as low as $11 per month.
#4 – WordPress.comReview— Best Free WordPress Hosting Service
Often confused with the open-source software WordPress.org, WordPress.com is the free platform where non-technical users can create websites.
Since it is powered by the same robust and world-class infrastructure behind nearly half of the world’s websites, WordPress.com is the best place to learn how to manage a website while you’re still not ready or able to pay for a hosting service.
Setting up a website is easy. You can select a WordPress subdomain and choose from any of the available themes.
Just like Wix, WordPress.com also displays ads to sustain its free platform. While the ads may sometimes be annoying, this is a small price to pay for all the other features that WordPress.com has to offer:
3 GB storage space so you can publish both text and beautiful images
Unlimited bandwidth
Free SSL certificate for an additional layer of security
Optional backups so you can save your files on your hard drive
While it has excellent performance for a free hosting platform, WordPress.com can’t beat the paid version in terms of flexibility. The WordPress CMS installed on websites in paid hosting plans gives you direct server access and freedom to install plugins and themes of your choice.
Still, WordPress.com is good for starters, especially if you only want a simple, stripped-down website to showcase your writing portfolio or personal diary.
#5 – GitHub Pages Review — The Best Free Static Web Hosting for Developers
Anyone with basic coding skills is already familiar with GitHub, an open-source platform where developers store their coding projects. GitHub Pages is where you can take these codes from the repository, have them go through a build process, and turn them into a simple static website.
A static website is ideal for those who prefer a small website that doesn’t need to be updated regularly. It’s also perfect for students who want a test site to play around with or present for their school projects.
GitHub Pages is completely free, yet it comes with a range of outstanding features:
One site per GitHub account
Unlimited project websites
1 GB of storage plus 100 GB bandwidth every month
Standard github.io subdomain or custom domain name you own
Free HTTPS to prevent others from tampering with your traffic
Built-in integration with Jekyll, a popular static site generator, for more customization options
To build your static website, all you need to do is sign in to your account and create a new repository. You can then use the Jekyll Theme Chooser to pick from one of the pre-made themes.
If you don’t like your theme or your static website’s content, no need to worry as changes are a simple edit and push away. You can make these changes either via the web or locally on your computer.
Whether you’re a developer or a non-techy looking for easy-to-follow instructions, GitHub Pages has all the tools you need to create a free static site.
What I Looked at to Find the Best Free Web Hosting
Before we proceed, you have to remember that there’s no such thing as a free lunch.
In the case of a free web host, it has limitations that don’t appeal to everyone.
Free web hosting is designed to meet the needs of a niche market like a new hobby blogger who doesn’t intend to earn from his website or a student looking for a free platform where she can test her web development projects.
With that being said, you can’t use the same criteria in selecting a paid hosting plan when zeroing on the best free web hosting to suit your needs.
Remember, you get what you pay for. And in the case of a free web host, you shouldn’t expect to receive round-the-clock support, daily or on-demand backups, and 100% uptime guarantee, among others.
However, some free options are a cut above the rest. Use the following parameters to figure out whether a free web hosting service is worth a try.
Custom Domain
Most companies are willing to host your website for free so long as you’re also willing to use a subdomain.
For instance, Wix is a popular website builder that requires its free users to use a subdomain (e.g., neilpatel.wix.com).
A subdomain doesn’t look professional nor is it good for branding. So, unless you only want a stripped down website you can play around with, it would be better to opt for a company that can host your custom domain for free.
A custom domain is one that you own (e.g., neilpatel.com). You can purchase it from a domain registrar or from any hosting provider that also offers domain registration on the side. Domains are inexpensive, and you’ll need to renew them annually.
If branding is your top priority, make sure to find a free web host that gives you the option to stand out in a sea of other freely hosted websites.
Security
While advanced security features don’t exist in free web hosting platforms, they should at least offer a free SSL certificate.
SSL (secure sockets layer) is a technology that encrypts the information that passes through your website. It protects your site visitor’s sensitive data like passwords and credit card data from outside intruders.
If you’re launching a basic ecommerce site on a free hosting platform, a free SSL certificate is non-negotiable. However, some free web hosting services only offer a self-signed SSL, which misleads users into thinking that it’s the same as the industry-standard SSL certificate.
A self-signed SSL is issued by servers and not by trusted authorities like Comodo, Digicert, and Let’s Encrypt. Since it’s not a standard version, websites with self-signed SSL will still show security warnings to visitors.
Hence, a self-signed SSL defeats the purpose of an SSL certificate even though it offers the same level of encryption. Especially if you’re planning to sell a product through your website, having a self-signed SSL is no better than not having an SSL certificate at all.
Storage and Bandwidth
As a rule of thumb, never go with free web hosting unless you’ll use it for a basic website with little to no traffic.
A free web host isn’t designed to handle huge traffic volume. This is why it’s important to read the fine print of the hosting provider’s terms and conditions before signing up.
Unfortunately, a lot of free hosting providers tend to mislead clueless users by including “unlimited storage” and “unlimited bandwidth” in their list of features.
Disk space or storage space is the amount of server space allocated to your website files, while bandwidth is the amount of data allowed to transfer from the server to your visitors in a given amount of time. If your website is hosted in a free platform, your disk space and bandwidth are best described as low and never “unlimited.”
“Unlimited bandwidth” is a promotional tactic by free hosting providers based on the assumption that sites on a shared server will not use up the available resources, which is rarely the case.
Instead of being swayed by these superficial features, pay more attention specifically to file size limit and CPU limit.
A file size limit is the maximum file size your website can upload, while the CPU limit refers to how much of the server’s central processing unit (CPU) your website is allowed to use.
Free web hosting providers can temporarily shut down your site without warning, so make sure you know exactly what and how much your limitations are.
Ads
The only reason why free web hosting continues to exist is because of the business behind it. And a business requires a source of revenue.
Some of the more popular free web hosts sustain their platform through ad space. This monetization method may be effective, but it comes at the expense of your visitors.
You have no control over what appears on the advertisements or where they’re placed. Not to mention ads, in general, tend to be obtrusive and take the joy out of consuming your content.
If you want free hosting but care about your site’s aesthetics and user-friendliness, you can opt for a company that supports their free platform through other means, such as the sales of premium hosting plans.
Customer support
Support for websites hosted in a free web host is limited at best. Unless you already have both the budget and need to upgrade to premium plans, there’s nothing else you can do.
When looking for the best free web host to entrust your website, choose one with an active community forum.
Check the latest posts and see how fast the response time is. The more active users the service has, the quicker you’ll get a resolution to any problem you might face in the future.
In addition to a community forum, some free web hosts also have a self-service knowledge base where users can quickly get answers to their most basic questions.
Conclusion
Nothing beats a paid hosting plan for all the extra support, features, and functionality. Still, if you need free web hosting or if you want to try out different web hosts before committing to an investment, there are some good free options available.
These are my top choices if you are looking to get online without spending a dime:
Disclosure: This content is reader-supported, which means if you click on some of our links that we may earn a commission.
More people blog on WordPress than any other platform. If you want to stand out from the crowd, you need the right theme.
WordPress themes determine the layout of your blog, the impression it has on visitors, and how easy it is to navigate.
There are a lot of WordPress themes to choose from. Over the years, I’ve experimented with dozens of themes across my sites. As one of the internet’s most successful bloggers, I know what works.
Here’s my latest take on the seven best WordPress themes for blogs. This page is always getting updated as new themes come out and others outlive their use.
Keep reading to find my top picks along with a buyer’s guide that will help you make sense of your many good options.
#1 – Olsen Review – The Best WordPress Theme for Lifestyle and Fashion Blogs
If you are a lifestyle or fashion blogger looking for a place to store all of your content among a focused layout with crisp fonts, Olsen is the perfect theme for you.
It takes very little work to pull off a very professional blog. You’re not going to break the mold with something people have never seen before–Olsen’s strength is in it’s familiarity. Readers will immediately be comfortable with your layout, knowing how to navigate and share your content.
Providing a fluid and peaceful reading experience, Olsen is the theme for anyone who wants their images to stand out next to their content. Tell a story with more than just words.
Olsen is completely customizable and is the perfect place to show off your best work.
Two unique elements this theme offers are a Featured Content slider and an Instagram footer widget. Both elements are great for sharing your work with readers.
The Featured Content slider is a little different from the average Featured Content add-on. This element allows you to pick up to six images or posts and include them at the front of your blog. The reader can navigate this slider by clicking the left or right arrow.
The Instagram footer widget is unique and doesn’t appear in any other theme on this list. This is the perfect add-on for a fashion or lifestyle blogger who wants to showcase their photos. It shows the widget at the bottom of your blog and features your most recent Instagram posts in a large single row.
The downside is for people who want the Instagram feature for free. Unfortunately, you must pay for the theme or buy a plan to use it, but we think this trade-off is worth it.
You can get started with Olsen today for free. Upgrading to Olsen Pro is only $34.30 for a full year. There is also a Club Membership, which gives you access to many more themes and plugins, and it’s only $48.30.
#2 – Extra Review — The Best for Most Standard Blogs
If you are looking for a WordPress theme that lets you do it all–and have an easier time doing it–then Extra is my top recommendation.
With some themes, you can get pigeon-holed into a certain style or format. With Extra, you never have to worry about limits or boundaries.
Blogs of any type, digital magazines, portfolios, online stores–really any kind of blogging experience you are looking to deliver is possible with Extra.
Extra is from Elegant Themes, the same people who make Divi, which is the most popular WordPress theme in the world. If you are looking to build a unique website on WordPress, Divi is a great choice.
However, if you are specifically focused on finding a theme for WordPress blogging, go with Extra. It gives you the same foundation as Divi, but it’s been optimized for bloggers.
The most important aspects are the new modules within the Divi Builder that help you curate your content for readers, including post feed, post carousel, post slider, and tabbed posts. All of these are tied to the categories you set and easy to arrange in an appealing layout.
Publishing the striking blog on the left is as easy as filling in the intuitive layout on the right.
With Extra you get the Divi Builder ability to create everything visually, but it’s within a framework that makes blogging easier. It’s a true drag-and-drop editor that lets you build elegant posts and pages very quickly.
Start from one of more than 800 pre-made layouts and customize virtually every aspect from there. Colors, fonts, sizing, spacing, sizing is easy to adjust with clicks, not code. Whatever you design is fully responsive to any screen size. No extra work or double-checking on your part.
Here are some of the other ways that Extra helps people take their WordPress blog to the next level:
Built-in ratings and review system
Customizable menus and headers
Automatic WordPress updates
24/7 customer support
Optimized for WooCommerce
Social media integration
All of these features work together beautifully. Your blog readers are greeted by an enticing layout and your site is effortless to navigate. They can read, review, rate, and share your posts across other channels.
Extra is available for purchase through a membership to Elegant Themes. That means for one price, you get access to Divi, Extra, as well as Bloom (email plugin) and Monarch (social media plugin).
This is a complete set of tools that can power your entire website with a modern and integrated blog.
Elegant Themes memberships are $89 per year, or $249 for a lifetime subscription. This includes 24/7 premium support and unlimited usage of every product.
The company is constantly adding new features. I’m talking about fresh layouts every week and new tools to help your blog stand out.
#3 – Newspaper Review — The Best for Breaking Stories
Some people need a simple blog that showcases their portfolio. Others need a platform that delivers new content to their readers on a daily basis, whether they are breaking stories about their brand or community.
I’m talking about a blog experience where visitors show up to find a new arrangement of content every morning. If this describes you, then Newspaper is the WordPress theme for your blog.
It is the number one bestselling news theme of all time, and for good reason. You can use any kind of content or social media integration–it’s all going to look sharp.
Beginners and professionals will love how easy Newspaper is to use. Whether you want to get set up in minutes or craft a trendsetting design, you’ll find the theme very accommodating.
Include sound, moving images, and other features to engage your audience with no more than a few clicks. And, you can rest assured that none of the changes you make will slow your site down.
This is true even if readers are on their phone, as Newspaper is completely integrated with the Google AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) plugin.
Instead of a slow, cluttered experience–as you might get with another news-style WordPress theme–all of your readers can enjoy what you publish. Given how much traffic comes from mobile-users, this is a big deal.
None of this will require coding, so your whole team can take advantage of the theme. No graphic design degree necessary to edit images. With Newspaper, it’s a snap to create eye-catching, on-brand images that develop your story.
This means less steps to make sure your content, logos, headers, and footers are all working together to deliver a positive blog experience for your readers. And if you are constantly updating, the time-savings adds up quick.
With Newspaper, you can eliminate hours from your monthly workflows and free up your team to create.
Despite being able to do so much, management remains quite simple. Quickly gain mastery over your blog and use the great features included with Newspaper like:
100+ pre-built websites
1,000+ pre-made templates, pages, posts and sections
Unlimited sidebars
Live search display
WooCommerce shortcodes
Membership paywalls
Rating and review system
Monetizing your blog is incredibly easy with banner ads, Google Ads, and Adsense. All ads are responsive, and Newspaper starts you off with 14 predefined and 5 custom spots. You can place ads where you want without disrupting the flow of your blog.
Pricing for Newspaper starts at $59 for a regular license. This includes free future updates and 6 months of premium support. You can extend support for a full year for $17.63.
There’s a ton included with the price, but if you want to add other plugins to optimize SEO, open an online store, or increase security, you can rest assured that Newspaper theme will integrate smoothly.
Akea is a WordPress theme from GoodLayers, a company that empowers bloggers who live by the “less is more” mantra.
Over the years, the company has released some of the greatest minimal blog themes. It’s best for people who don’t want too much information and stimulation a negative and expect readers with similar tastes.
You get total control over how your content is exhibited. Play with the spacing between items on your page. Tweak the size of thumbnails used for your blog. Use a single image to fit any screen size with the 100 percent fluid layout.
Customize it until you get it just right. With Akea, you don’t have hundreds of templates, but you don’t have to squeeze anything into a pre-built mold. Instead, you get a relatively small selection of blog layouts and each one is an open field.
Upload your own font. Bring in any video, quotes, galleries in a slider. Make a bold impression using a few commanding content elements arranged just the way you like.
If you’re looking to jam the most content per square inch into your blog, this is not for you.
This isn’t to say you can’t include sidebars, or menus, or give your readers tons of options. With Akea, that’s all easy to do. It’s just really focused on the minimal style, so all of these elements are unobtrusive and clean.
You get a floating navigation bar, so your readers always have quick access to more content, but you are never overloading them at any point.
That’s the spirit of Akea, which comes with a trim feature set designed for you to start making it your own immediately. Some of the essentials include:
Drag-and-drop page builder
Unlimited customizable sidebars
14 blog layouts
Social media integration
WooCommerce integration
Custom skin colors for page sections
While you get comparatively few templates compared to other options, there’s a lot you can do with each one.
Akea starts at $54. It includes free lifetime updates and premium customer support for the first six months.
Because Akea is a newer theme, there are fewer reviews of the theme than some of the others I recommend. But GoodLayers has always done a solid job, and Akea works well with the latest plugins and WordPress updates.
This means less work on your end to make sure everything is running smooth, as the modern integration decreases problems and potential security issues.
It’s also fully compatible with the WordPress Gutenberg editor, which is now standard for all new sites. This is going to save a lot of time and make the final product look better with less configuration.
#5 – Pearl Review — The Best Corporate WordPress Theme
Pearl is an incredibly feature-rich and flexible WordPress theme that’s got enough options to outfit any business.
I recommend this to people whose blog is part of a larger website. Pearl is kind of overkill if you just need a blog, though you could make an incredible blog with it.
On that note, it might be a good option if you are hitting your limits with your current WordPress theme. If there’s features and functionality you can’t swing now, Pearl will help you get there.
To put it simply, with Pearl you’re not making compromises–you’re making a blog that’s tailored to fit the needs of your industry and goals. Pearl offers an astonishing range of demos for virtually every vertical: agency, beauty, ecommerce, law, music, software, and more.
Each of these demos has been carefully designed to include a suite of features and layout to meet the challenges businesses face.
The Pearl Viral demo, for example, showcases your posts according to how popular they are, with professional category tags to help readers find what they want.
For a business in the entertainment industry, the out-of-the-box power of this blog layout and styling is obvious. The same is true for everyone of the many industries Pearl supports.
And your blog will be totally tied into the rest of your site, which is a must if blogging is a part of your business outreach. Readers can react to posts, leave a reply, share it on social media, or get drawn further into your site and company offerings.
You can add more than 55 different types of shortcodes (UI blocks) into your posts. This includes things like a music player, calls to action, events lists, icon boxes, galleries, pricing tables, and a lot more.
This is huge for corporate users who need a range of ways to communicate and interact with their audience. Some of the other standout features include:
Visual Composer drag-and-drop builder
Mega menus with three drop down levels
Customizable headers and footers
800+ fonts
Custom icons
Sidebar builder
24/7 with live chat
There’s really not much you can’t do with Pearl, and most of it can be accomplished without writing a line of code.
And all of this is available for the price of $59 for a regular license with free lifetime updates. Six months of maintenance is included, with additional coverage available for purchase.
If you need a high-functioning blog, bear in mind that Pearl includes a number of premium plugins for free. You get WPBakery, Booked Appointments, Ninja Popups–in total it’s about $325 worth of premium plugins based on the going rates.
Pearl is a very reasonable price for what you get, and you’ll have to spend less moving forward.
For as popular as food blogs are, they can be tricky to create if you are using a multi-purpose theme.
You can do it, for sure, but it’s going to take a lot more work. And it’s probably not going to come out as well as if you had just started with a WordPress theme built specifically for food blogs..
TinySalt is just that. It’s got every feature and formatting capability you need to blog in this space.
Where a recipe would be difficult to get the formatting correct with an ordinary WordPress theme, TinySalt gives you turnkey options to produce this niche type of content immediately.
Breakdown your most complicated dish into a series of simple steps. Include photos where you think it will help. Add a button early in the post to let readers jump straight to the recipe.
And you don’t have to spend any time getting all of this to flow on your blog. TinySalt has 12 demos you can import to your website. Mix and match to deliver the exact experience you are looking for.
Readers can quickly search through your recipes with a convenient filter, or browse your beautiful blog. When they find one they like, they can print, rate, and share them with their friends on social media.
If they decide against a certain meal, your blog can automatically recommend related recipes at the end of a post.
Don’t let the Tiny in the name fool you, this theme is packed with potential. You get:
32 blog variations
10 post templates
Recipe videos
Unlimited colors
900+ fonts
Featured recipes slider on your homepage
All TinySalt is missing is your recipes and imagination.
TinySalt starts at the low cost of $39 for a regular license. Future updates and six months of premium customer service is included at that price. Ongoing support is available if you need it.
At that price, it’s not hard to turn a profit with TinySalt, even if it’s just a side-hustle for now.
You’ll be able to see your own products with WooCommerce, or promote items through advertising and affiliate marketing. It’s also compatible with MailChimp, which means you can turn your food blog into a newsletter to build your subscriber base.
Eliminate the complex configuration that goes into food blogging and take your site to the next level. Stop cooking with the wrong equipment and get TinySalt today.
#7 – ConsultingWP Review — The Best for Promoting Your Business
I really like ConsultingWP for businesses that want their blog to make a splash.
Whether you are looking to make connections for providing services, or to get your brand out to the world, this is an empowering WordPress theme for business blogs.
You get tools to build that anyone at your company can use on day one. You’re not going to have to hire out a professional or lean on a single person in-house to keep everything looking great.
Never touch code and never compromise on the finished product.
Simply browse through the hundreds of templates offered by ConsultingWP, find the one you like, and begin importing it. You’ll have complete control over what plugins and options you want to bring over to your new blog.
From there, you can customize the blocks, fonts, headers, layout, and so on on. Instead of having to mess around editing PHP or CSS files, everything is a few clicks.
Up to this point, what I’ve described is a very good WordPress theme for blogs, but where ConsultingWP steps away from other easy/powerful options is the business-focused feature set.
One of the most useful is the Cost Calculator Builder, which lets clients price out your services on your blog. Instead of having to call for a quote (which can be a tricky step to get people to take) people can investigate on their own using the simple calculator.
Normally, creating an interactive form like this would take some serious effort. And, if you wanted to make changes to your pricing, it might be a hassle to get it right.
With ConsultingWP, you have full control over this simple feature. Run promotional pricing without worrying it’s going to break your site and confuse potential clients.
Some of the other fantastic built-in elements include:
eRoom Zoom meetings and webinars
Professional booking for appointments
100+ page templates
500+ theme options
Customizable menus
Events manager
24/7 customer support
For businesses, the all-in-one feature set is really attractive. I mean, you can do all of this with a hodge-podge of third-party plugins, but there is zero guarantee they are going to work well together. At best, you’d have a lot of maintenance to keep things running smooth without slowing your site to a crawl.
With ConsultingWP, on the other hand, businesses get a toolkit that’s been designed to work in harmony. This means less work for better results.
Starting at $59 a regular license, this is a great deal. Trying to match the feature set by downloading individual plugins would be far more expensive and frustrating.
A regular license comes with six months of premium customer support. You can choose to extend support for an additional cost.
If you are looking for a professional blog that establishes your business as a leader in your space, I highly recommend ConsultingWP.
What I Looked at to Find the Best WordPress Theme
Now that you know our seven best theme recommendations, it’s important to understand what matters.
Make the right decision by following these considerations.
Know Your Blogging Niche
It sounds self-explanatory, but it’s relevant when choosing the perfect theme. Today we looked at the seven most common blogging niches, and how each theme suited for those niches is different.
When choosing a theme, you must know your blogging niche because you don’t want to install TinySalt if food blogging is your focus. Different niches require different themes with distinct features, layouts, and designs.
I would suggest creating a list of your most passionate hobbies and start there.
Customization is Key
Having a customizable theme is crucial for an easily-navigated blog.
It’s okay if you are not interested in investing money into your blog. However, many free themes have limits on customizing, whether for headers, colors, or layouts.
Every theme on this list is customizable to some extent, some more than others, so it’s important to look into the nitty-gritty before installing.
Features
Every theme listed here today has some incredible features that work best for its particular niche. However, some themes have more unique elements than others, and it’s critical to weigh whether you need them.
Paid themes are more likely to have more unique elements, such as Olsen with the Instagram footer widget, and the premium plugins that come free with Pearl.
If you know you won’t need an Instagram footer, it’s best to keep your money in your pocket.
Some basic features that are imperative for most blogs include:
Custom colors
Site logo
Flexible display
Classic menu
Widgets
So, make sure you look for these when installing any theme.
Conclusion
Running a successful WordPress blog isn’t easy. Having the right theme helps a lot.
Here’s the complete list of my top recommendations:
Extra is a great all-in-one blog solution that’s going to cover most people. No matter what direction you take, you’re always going to get the latest features to experiment and engage your audience.
Some of my recommendations work really well in particular niches, like Olsen and TinySalt, whereas others play to a certain style. Akea favors minimal content with maximum impact, whereas Newspaper is going to give readers dozens of posts to read at every turn.
ConsultingWP and Pearl are safe bets for any business blog. I’d lean toward the former if you are looking for something sleek for your company, and toward the latter if your blog is part of a more complex site.
BioTrillion is a healthtech startup developing a digital biomarker platform to detect neurological diseases using computer vision/machine learning. Our mission is to enable ordinary consumers to take control of their own health outcomes using their smartphones. We’re a 3 year old company with a very small, all-remote team (4 as of today); we’re about to close a new round of funding to help us rapidly scale and grow.
Roles:
* Jr./Sr. Computer Vision/Deep Learning engineers
* iOS/CoreML engineers
* Business and technical interns.
The jobs page on our site says we’re looking for 7+ years of experience, but that’s only for senior roles – we’re absolutely hiring junior devs too, so if you don’t have that much experience please apply anyway.
Motorsport UK head David Richards said on Thursday he had been asked to stand for president of the International Automobile Federation, Formula One’s governing body, and had not ruled anything out.
Do you dream of starting your own small business but have no clue how to finance it? The number one thing that stands in the way of those who want to start a business, assuming they already have an idea of the type of business they want to start, is that they have no money. A general rule of life is it takes money to make money. While in a way this is true, it’s not always as cut and dry as it seems. Find out how to start a small business with no money.
No Money? No Problem! Try These Tried and True Tips for How to Start a Business with No Money
Ok, so let’s be real. It actually does take money to start a business. However, it doesn’t have to be money you already have. In fact, it doesn’t even have to be your money at all! Here are some creative ideas for how to start a small business with no money, or rather, how to get the money you need to make your small business dreams come true.
So, you do need money to start and grow a business, and we are going to show you how to get it. Yet, you don’t have to wait to start. Start your business now, and grow it from the ground up.
1. Start Small
Facebook was started by college roommates in their dorm room, Microsoft was birthed in a garage by a college drop out, and Hewlett- Packard got started with less than $600. These are just a few of the many major companies that started out very small and with little capital. After all, how many people actually remember that Amazon used to be an online bookstore?
Starting small is essential, especially if you are wondering how to start a small business with no money. Cut out as much overhead as you can and focus on getting your product to the customers.
2. Keep Your Day Job…For Now
It will be a challenge for sure, but working your business outside of your regular working hours, while keeping your current job if you have one, will allow you to put any profit from your business back into your business. In essence, your business will be funding itself.
3. Keep Early Marketing Simple
In the early stages, simple is best. Offer free samples, leverage word of mouth, and start a Facebook page. As you build funds, you can increase your marketing strategy as well.
Be strategice as well. There is no need to market to the masses initially. Keep it narrowed down to the market that you know will be interested.
How to Start a Small Business With No Money: Leverage Your Assets
Now, you do need to figure out how to get the funding you need. If you have no money, you may struggle to get a small business loan. As you are starting small and building revenue, consider what assets you can leverage to get the cash you need.
There is always the option to use your home or land as collateral for a loan. Pretty much any bank will do that. Yet, that understandably makes many uncomfortable. There are some better options.
401K Financing
401K financing is a flexible and powerful way to leverage assets that are in a 401(k) plan or IRA. In as little as 3 weeks you can actually invest a portion of these funds into your own business. Then, you not only have more control over the performance of your retirement plan assets, but you also have the working capital you need.
This type of program even has the blessing of the IRS. In fact, they have their own term for it. It’s called a Rollover for Business Startups (ROBS).
You do not have to submit financials or have good credit to get approval. In fact, all the lender will ask for is a copy of your two most recent 401(k) statements.
If the plan has a value of more than $35,000, you can get approval. This is true even if you have bad personal credit. You can get however much of your 401(k) is “rollable.”
The plan you use cannot be from a business where you currently work. It will have to be from previous employment. Also, you can’t still be contributing to it.
Equipment Financing
This is a great option if you need equipment for your business and have no money to purchase it. Equipment financing allows you to purchase or borrow hard assets for your business using said asset as security for the loan. You can use it to buy or lease any physical asset. This can include items like an industrial freezer in a restaurant or an oven or a company car. You name it.
How to Start a Small Business With No Money: Use a Guarantor
What if you have no money and no assets? What then? You still have options. The easiest way to get funding for a business if you can’t do it on your own is to use a guarantor. Many entrepreneurs have friends or family that will sign a loan with them. Doing so tells the lender that, if you default, your guarantor will be responsible for the payments.
This is a better option for many, because the guarantor isn’t out any money up front, and they only have to pay if you do not. Keep reading for one of our favorite options for guarantor funding.
What if there were a way to fund your business with 0% interest? The Credit Line Hybrid allows you to fund your business without putting up collateral, and you only pay back what you use. Generally, you do need a personal credit score of 680 or above, and you can’t have any liens, judgments, bankruptcies or late payments. However, if you do not meet the requirements, you have the option to take on a credit partner, which is in essence a guarantor. And yes, you can often get 0% interest for up to 18 months!
The great part is, this program reports payment to your business credit profile, meaning you build your business credit score regardless of whether you have a guarantor or not.
How to Start a Small Business With No Money: Other Options
If you do not have assets, your personal credit is not great, and you can’t find a guarantor, all is not lost. Here are some other possibilities.
Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding allows you to access tons of investors at once, and test the market at the same time. You market your business on the platform, and anyone who wants to can invest in the company. Some platforms will even accept donations as low as $5 or $10 dollars, though most do require more. With rewards-based crowdfunding, you get a trinket of thanks for your donation. This may be anything from a thank you note to a free product. With equity-based crowdfunding, which almost always requires $500 or more, investors get a piece of the company. There are a ton of crowdfunding sites to choose from, you just have to pick the one that will work best for your business.
One unique program is Kiva. The money you get has to be repaid, but the loan is crowdfunded. The interest rate is 0%, so even though you do pay it back, it’s free money. You have to get at least five of your family and friends on board to donate to your business, and then you have to lend $25 to another company on the Kiva platform.
After that, submit a thorough business plan and you could be well on your way to a 0% interest loan.
Angel Investors
Now, an angel investor from an angel firm is going to want to know you have some money already, likely. But you don’t need to go through an angel firm, because anyone can be an angel investor. That includes friends and family, even your mom! So, this is definitely an option if needed.
Is it Even Possible to Start a Small Business Without Money?
In the strictest terms, no. You have to have funds to start a business. However, there are ways to fund your business without having money in the first place. While knowing how to start a small business with no money is important, it is always important to understand how to set your business up to get the funding it needs into the future as well.
The key to that is to start building business fundability from the beginning. As you consider funding options for your small business startup, look for those that will help you build fundability. As you set up, set your business up in a way that will help it become more fundable. These things are best done at the beginning.
You can discover what funding options are available to you right now, and get a head start on fundability by speaking with one of our business credit experts. Try a free consultation now!
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