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WordPress 5.5 is out now! Start from the new block editor, native image lazy loading in WordPress core, and extensible core sitemaps to additional improvements for developers, it brings several features long-awaited by the WordPress development professionals. 

The version has also broken various records considering the contribution and its usage. 

• There are 805 people, from 58 different countries and 215 different companies, contributed to WordPress 5.5, which is something we have never seen before. 
• It is also found that there are approximately 38% new contributors in WordPress 5.5 source code. 
• In terms of usage, roughly 1,636,068 websites are using WordPress 5.5 out of which 1,635,941 websites are live.

Of course, the statistics are impressive. But there are a couple of issues experienced by the website owners post-upgrade. 

If you have recently upgraded to WordPress 5.5 and are experiencing hiccups, you are not alone! While WordPress 5.5 brings a lot of changes that will greatly affect the way WordPress development was carried out earlier, it has affected thousands of old websites badly. 

So, what is wrong with the WordPress 5.5 update?

There are a couple of issues that have frustrated the website development professionals across the globe.

• jQuery Migrate issues

With the recent update, WordPress has deprecated jQuery Migrate 1.x. Although WordPress has previously disclosed such a major update, the developers and site owners were not prepared for it. This has resulted in broken websites and left woo-commerce development teams with problems on their website.

• Issues with plugins and themes

With the recent update from WordPress, they have introduced an update in the JavaScript library. This has introduced a lot of issues for the WordPress website development professionals who were using outdated plugins or themes. It is practically not possible for the developers to fix the issues since many plugins or themes are not functioning properly after the update.

• Trouble with pagination

Though this issue is not observed on a large scale, it is still the major one since it has affected some websites. Since many old plugins and themes are using query param, pagination is some websites that are not working properly due to conflict in the use of the word “Page”.

• Problems with classic editor

The WordPress has introduced the Classic Editor Plugin to overcome Gutenberg editor and leverage from the classic and old-styled WordPress editor. With more than 5 million active downloads, it has become the most popular plugin so far. However, after the WordPress 5.5 update, the editor is not working properly. 

Many professionals associated with woo-commerce development services have reported improper functioning of the visual editor. Since the visual editor is more suitable for the beginners, it might be a pain point for them to begin with content creation because it requires the knowledge of HTML. 

• Sitemaps are not working properly

Additionally, some website owners have reported the issues in sitemaps. In case your website requires more than one XML sitemap, you probably get the error of non-existent sitemaps created on your website. However, this bug might be addressed by WordPress 5.5.1 release introduced in the September month.

Okay, but is there any way-out to overcome these issues?

Well, there are two ways to overcome the issues discussed:

• Enable jQuery Migrate Helper Plugin 

More than 90,000 websites are experiencing issues after WordPress 5.5 update and installing the jQuery Migrate Helper plugin can be a great alternative for the professionals associated with the WordPress website development. This plugin will act as a bridge to allow the woocommerce development team to use the old or outdated plugins or themes with the new version.

All you have to do is to go to Plugins -> Add New -> Search for the Enable jQuery Migrate Helper and activate it.

• OR downgrade to an older and stable version of WordPress

This is a by default solution available for the woo-commerce development professionals to overcome the issues faced after WordPress 5.5 update. Of course, this is not a permanent solution for the problems experienced, but it will provide more time to wait for the stable version or fixes for the issues reported. 

You can take help from the woo-commerce development company to help you downgrade the version MANUALLY or you can use the WP downgrade plugin to do it on your own.

With the help of these approaches, you can easily overcome the bugs or issues faced after WordPress 5.5 update. 

Apart from the issues discussed, some website owners often reported problems with lazy loading. The feature is designed to help WordPress development teams to save bandwidth, but some websites have reported that it is not helping with it. The possible reason behind this is because many plugins often have lazy loading implemented, which is conflicting with the lazy loading feature introduced in WordPress 5.5. In such a case, the possible solution to overcome the issue is to disable/deactivate the plugin or disable the WordPress 5.5 lazy loading functionality.

In a nutshell, it is highly recommended to keep your eyes on your website performance after WordPress 5.5 update to encounter the possible issues and fix it on time with the help of ways suggested in this post. Did the update hamper your website function? Do you feel you need technical assistance from the professional WordPress website development company? Or do you need help to upgrade? Get in touch with our WordPress development experts to work together with you!

Website Development trends are ever-changing. What keeps things interesting for the sector essentially, is the speed of novel innovations and developments in technology. Staying informed can help your business stay ahead of the curve.

This makes trend spotting a salient task. So here’s a list of trends to watch out for in 2020. 

Progressive Web Apps (PWA)

Progressive Web Apps have effectively made web browsing user friendly and easy. PWAs are built from web technologies such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, etc., but retain the functionalities and the feel of the native app. What makes PWAs great is its ability to offer features like offline support, push notifications, etc., mimicking the features of a native app.

PWAs are made desirable by their low cost, responsiveness, and adaptability across screens and its loading speed.

They tackle almost everything a  consumer dislikes about websites and brings the sufferable website experience closer to seamless app experience.

Some examples of popular and successful PWAs are Twitter, Forbes, Starbucks, Uber, Pinterest. These companies have experienced a decrease in users drop out.

You don’t have to be a massive business, to implement PWA, they work equally well for smaller businesses.

Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)

Just like the general consensus around optimization, Google algorithm supports optimized pages with quick loading speed. This makes Accelerated Mobile Pages a must-have solution for all web pages.

AMPs is an open-source project, developed to improve the speed and readability of content pages on mobile. Accelerated Mobile Pages essentially display only the content and static images, omitting other complex elements. The loading speed accentuates user experience, reducing the bounce rate caused by unresponsiveness. AMPs also rate better on search as Google rewards reduced bounce rate and increased onsite activity.

AMPs are a boon for content-heavy website design, blogs, articles, etc. If your website is information-heavy, this could be an essential function to consider.

Voice Search Optimization

Web Development trends are seeing a fast-paced shift towards voice-controlled applications. Aren’t we all acquainted with Alexa, Siri, or Google Home? However, this trend can be traced beyond Siri and Alexa, as more than half of all smartphones and IoT are capable of hearing voices and executing commands.

In no time, they shall be capable of recognizing the voices of different people and provide customized AI-based experience for individuals.

According to a Quoracreative study, Voice-based shopping is expected to amount to $ 40 billion by 2022.

Voice Search Optimization is easy, thus quickly changing behavioral patterns of the consumers, leaving developers perplexed about optimizing voice applications for their digital products.  

API-first development

Application Programming Interface is a software intermediary that allows two or more applications to interact with each other efficiently. A primary example of a well functioning API would be Facebook and Messenger. Most of the delivery apps also use API to seamlessly integrate Google Maps with their interface.

The API-first development is more efficient than the traditional approach as the traditional approach is heavier on the cost and more time consuming. The introduction of multiple wearables and their integration with other traditional devices calls for a greater need for API-first development.

Motion UI

Motion UI is a library for creating quick eye-catching CSS animations and transitions. The seamless modern designs are good at capturing the user’s attention. Its flexibility makes it ideal for website design and development. Its compatibility with the JAVAScript framework makes it widely acceptable. Motion UI could help your web development if you are looking for easy, clean animations.

Cyber Security

Date security is one of the biggest priority and challenge for most mid to large-sized businesses. 

According to Global Market Insights Inc., the cybersecurity industry is expected to generate over $300 Billion in business, by 2024.

Technological advancement in AI has changed the face of cybersecurity. Malicious activities have become easier to detect with AI-based security systems. Companies are training AI to detect unusual behavioral patterns, by analyzing patterns within the network. This helps AI to react to any suspicious activity promptly.

As per the founders, 80% of telecom companies rely on AI for cybersecurity.

Blockchain database security decentralizes the data, making it difficult for hackers to locate it. Institutions like NASA protect their data by using Blockchain technology. If your business model accumulates user data, this could be an ideal solution for your company.

Which of these trends are best suited for your business?

Stay sharp and sustain yourself against the competition by analyzing these important, fast-paced, and exciting trends in time.

Artificial Intelligence is undoubtedly a technological breakthrough of the 2010s, and it doesn’t look like the excitement is going to fade off in the upcoming years. The technology is not just promising for better business results, but it also uplifts the human experience as a whole. Starting from Healthcare, Retail & Ecommerce, Food, and Real Estate to the Manufacturing, AI’s role and significance is unprecedented in terms of industrial applications. 

While digital IQ, smart homes, AI-powered business process and hybrid workforce are a few of the key AI applications trending these days, using AI and machine learning in marketing has gained a lot of traction recently. Today, digital marketing is not limited to social media marketing or traditional digital marketing services or tools. In fact, majority of the digital marketing automation platforms today are leveraging from AI and machine learning algorithms to bring more intelligence analyzing data and automate the manual processes. Marketing and sales give more priority to AI and ML than any other department in the enterprise.

Do you know?

• Netflix has managed to save approx. $1 billion in 2017 with the help of machine learning to enable personalized recommendation.
• 61% of marketers believe that artificial intelligence is the most important aspect of their data strategy.
• In survey conducted by Statista, AI was the second most effective digital marketing technique to the marketers worldwide.
• According IDC, approximately $5.9 billion will be invested by the retailers in AI-based marketing and customer service offerings to enhance buyer’s experience.

And many more interesting statistics available that proves how AI can help marketers to understand sales cycle effectively and consumer behavior to get better sales results. Want to know how AI is benefiting the digital marketers to boost their digital marketing services or social media marketing strategy? Let’s explore how artificial intelligence can help digital marketers to craft their digital marketing plan and what are the possible applications of the technology in digital marketing.

How AI can reshape the digital marketing?

With the detailed insights and predicting capabilities, digital marketers and organizations are leveraging from AI to boost up their marketing efforts. It is not just about reducing the costs but utilizing the technology can greatly help in optimizing marketing efforts and improve the effectiveness of the marketing campaign. Apart from this, AI can also help digital marketers in the following ways:

• Enable marketers to understand their target audience better. AI and machine learning algorithms can help marketers to predict user patterns, consumer behavior, and aid personalization to their marketing campaign. 
• Bring an excellent user experience. Artificial Intelligence has the capability to analyze consumer behavior and predict they expect and need.
• Boost up productivity. Marketing automation is the key advantage of AI. It helps you automate all the manual tasks, which in the end help saving time and resources carrying out the repetitive process.
• Impactful marketing. With AI, you don’t have to worry about what is going to happen in the future since it brings an edge to predict the possible events and outcomes. This helps you design a more effective and meaningful marketing strategy.
• Better ROI and outcomes. AI enables marketers to understand consumer behavior more effectively and helps in content creation and curation. This helps the businesses to reach the right audience with more personalized content and offers.

Such benefits have encouraged many digital marketing professionals and organizations to go for AI. In a survey from Salesforce, it is found that 51% of marketers have already started using AI by applying it in a variety of ways. Let’s explore what are the different ways AI and ML are revolutionizing the digital marketing landscape.

Content Creation and Curation

Yes, it is very much possible with the help of AI. Of course, it does have certain limitations, but there are a number of areas in which AI-based content creation can be of great help. Moreover, it can also curate the contents. With the help of tools like Wordsmith, Articoolo, and Quill, many popular organizations are creating content that can help them in lead generation for their own website. Associated Press, Forbes, Washington Post, BBC, CBS, The New York Times, and Reuters have already started implementing such AI-based content creation and curation techniques.

Email Marketing 

Personalization is the key parameter to achieve desired success in email marketing and AI can help personalize email marketing campaigns based on consumer behavior and preferences. With the help of machine learning, it is possible to analyze the consumer data and identify the best ways to connect with them.

Real-time Customer Support

With the help of AI-based chatbots, companies can greatly reduce the time to respond to customer queries and concerns. Today, human-like interactions are possible by using machine learning, deep learning, and neural language in a chatbot. This way the companies can provide real-time support and better user experience while improving brand loyalty.

Automated Ads

When it comes to digital advertisements, AI has changed the way it was carried out earlier. By combining machine learning and predictive analytics, digital marketing professionals can automatically optimize paid ads with AI, customize their advertisements based on consumer preferences and behavior captured. Moreover, it is possible for marketers to optimize ads based on the brand and business agenda.

Mixed Reality Integration

Another interesting application of the AI is mixed reality integration. With the help of augmented reality tools, it is possible for marketers to provide a more personalized experience to potential customers and drive more value.

Apart from the above-mentioned use-cases, digital marketers are often utilizing AI in semantic search, dynamic pricing, PPC ad campaign, predicting consumer behavior, design a website, and more.

Final Note

There is no denying that artificial intelligence is an incredible technology that can do wonder in digital marketing services. Using AI and machine learning in marketing can help marketers and businesses achieve better results and improved customer experience. Still, confused about how AI can help in digital marketing and social media marketing strategy? Get in touch with our digital marketing USA experts to know how we can reshape your digital marketing strategy using Artificial Intelligence.

The advent of Artificial Intelligence is commonly understood as a rather recent phenomenon. Contrary to the notion, AI has been around for the better part of the past century. However, the meteoric rise of developments in the sector, make it worth our while to understand the current accolades of AI and its future. The terms artificial intelligence imply artificially simulated intelligence. AI refers to intelligence exhibited by machines that are programmed to mimic human action, reasoning, problem-solving, rational thought, and other characteristics of human intelligence. Our society is experiencing a paradigm shift as AI continually grows, capturing a higher market share. Humanity has undertaken an exciting journey into the unknown, awaiting unique challenges, that shall bait us into rethinking not only our business models, but our social models as well.

The global artificial intelligence market is expected to grow up to almost $60 billion, by 2025.
(Source: Accenture)

Just like every industry across trades, AI has found itself applicable in the world of Web Designing. With the world swiftly transitioning towards digital, it has become more imperative than ever, for businesses to create a strong digital footprint, giving them authenticity and helping them drive their business efficiently. Artificial Design Intelligence (ADI) challenges the traditional methods of web designing, eliminating the need for excessive cost, time, and labor. The advent of AI Web Designing is a rather recent phenomenon. One of the first consequential events in this sector was the launch of Grid. Far from perfect, Grid served as a gateway to innovation in the sector. Soon followed by the leaders of the industry like Adobe, Firedrop, Wix, Squarespace, Bookmark, B12, Tailor Brands.

Enhancing User Experience with Artificial Intelligence

Contrary to ancient wisdom, web designing has shifted focus from aesthetics to user experience. This shift has paved the path for concepts like AI-powered bots, conversational user interfaces, etc. AI essentially learns from computing and analyzing large sets of data, deriving solutions for otherwise complex tasks. In regards to website design, AI has the ability to scan the web and source content from existing websites, social media profiles, mentions. It can also learn what makes similar websites successful. And based on your goals for your website, it can create a basic draft in just a few minutes. Most websites and applications today are dependent on AI algorithms, partially if not completely, to increase performance. One of the widest spread AI functionality used by most websites and apps is chatbots. The integration of AI-based chatbots on websites has seen multifold growth in the past 5 years. The growth in the popularity of chatbots has paved the way for sophistication with the new chatbots applying natural language processor (NLP) systems to indulge in more meaningful conversations with the users. 

According to Gartner’s report, 85% of customer interactions by 2020 will be handled by AI chatbots, and a total of 2.3 billion hours of business and consumers will be saved through chatbots, by 2023. 

AI tools help in providing customized content to the user, by analyzing their consumption patterns. These tools help the businesses to better cater to visitors with personalized ads, blogs, offers, etc to drive up the conversion rate. UX is quickly moving towards a more mobile-friendly environment, making the application of voice search optimization through AI more appealing.

User Interface and Artificial Design Intelligence

Are we there yet?

AI helps in analyzing the visitor’s usage patterns, thus providing them with a UI subtly tweaked for them. These seemingly minor changes enhance user satisfaction on a macro level. As of today, human creativity and design triumphs over ADI, but with rapid growth in strides, this can change soon. 

AI today is capable of enhancing the website and its search capabilities, meanwhile also helping you manage and organize your inventory, and improving your customer outreach with personalized user experience. These are especially desirable qualities for businesses with e-commerce. Optimizing everyday conversations and queries with AI-powered algorithms and reaching out to your target customer base can be an element that makes your business successful. Since most website owners require new designs to supplement their product launches or upcoming events, an AI working in the background works as a perfect solution to stay updated and remain competitive in the market.

Giants like LinkedIn, Facebook, Amazon, Netflix are heavily dependent on AI for their digital operations. LinkedIn uses an advanced AI algorithm to complement its seamless navigation. Their recent algorithm has made job seeking and profile optimization easier and more accurate.

80% of Netflix streaming is a result of algorithm-based recommendations.

Recent political instances have made us more conscious about our digital privacy, and often, AI constantly analyzing our digital behavior can seem like a violation. Despite the growth of our digital consumption, we still crave human interaction. And however sophisticated the AI response management systems maybe, it’ll be a while until they completely replace the humans, by humanizing themselves.

The only way through singularization is to learn and adapt. AI is advancing at an unprecedented rate and shall continue to do so. We have to redesign our businesses and social structures to coexist and benefit from Artificial Intelligence. AI shall eventually replace the long labor chain involved in website development and maintenance, but as of now, we are not there yet.