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WP Engine acquires StudioPress, maker of the Genesis framework for WordPress

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WordPress hosting company acquires maker of popular framework for building WordPress sites.

WordPress hosting company WP Engine has acquired StudioPress.

StudioPress is the creator of the Genesis framework for WordPress site design/development. Domain Name Wire is built on the Genesis framework.

This marks the first acquisition WP Engine has publicly announced since Silver Lake Partners bankrolled the firm with $250 million earlier this year.

Silver Lake was one of the three private equity firms to invest in GoDaddy in 2011. WP Engine is a direct competitor to GoDaddy.

WordPress.com and domain names – DNW Podcast #169

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Kellie Peterson talks about what WordPress.com is seeing as a domain name registrar.

dnw-podcastWordPress.com operates a domain name registrar with a unique characteristic: almost all of the domain names it registers are for end users that put them to use with a live website. Kellie Peterson, who manages the registrar, explains what she is seeing with both new top level domains and .com and discusses user behavior. Also: .Web is (maybe) a go, GoDaddy changes Whois, Equifax domains and more.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:12 — 21.8MB) | Embed

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WP Engine banks $250 million from PE that bought GoDaddy

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WordPress hosting company takes a big investment from a company that knows the hosting space.

There was quite a bit of buzz here in Austin yesterday after WordPress hosting service WP Engine announced a $250 million investment from Silver Lake Partners.

That’s a big number by Austin standards, and might be the biggest single raise by a local tech company since HomeAway banked that much in 2008.

Local press pointed out that Silver Lake is the company that helped Austin-based Dell go private. But there’s also a connection to the hosting/domains business. Silver Lake was one of three private equity groups that bought/invested in GoDaddy in 2011.

Silver Lake definitely understands the hosting space and its business mechanics. The PE firm’s involvement means that WP Engine could be on the same course as GoDaddy when it comes to going public.

I remember when WP Engine was just a few person startup in Austin, so it’s nice to see it grow. It now employs 500 people with most of them in Austin. The company has 75,000 customers and $100 million in annual revenue.

Lisa Box, formerly with Oversee.net and Endurance International Group, is currently Vice President Strategic Alliances and Business Development at WP Engine.

How to reduce comment spam on your WordPress website

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Allowing comments on your WordPress website is a great way to boost interactions between yourself and your loyal readers.

In fact, comments provide you the opportunity to engage directly with those who are reading your content and can provide some great insight into what type of content readers like, pain points your readers have, and things your readers would like to see more of.

However, your website’s comments can get out of control if not managed properly.

[clickToTweet tweet=”Take control of your website’s comments now before they ruin your website.” quote=”Take control of your website’s comments now before they ruin your website.”]

If you fail to moderate your site’s comments, you run the risk of your comment section being overrun by spam, which looks unprofessional and can turn even the most loyal readers away from not only commenting on your posts, but also reading your content.

In addition, spam comments with malicious links in them will harm the user experience if a reader clicks on them thinking there is something useful behind the links, only to find out they have been redirected to an unsavory website. Your reader may then start to lose faith in your blog, despite the fact you didn’t place that link there.

If you are looking to provide a healthy interaction between your site visitors, and keep readers coming back for more, it is important you moderate your comments thoroughly.

Luckily, there are some really easy ways to moderate your comments without having to hassle with too much manual moderation, which can be time-consuming.

To find out how to keep your sanity, and your comments under control, keep reading. Click to continue reading…

7 Signs Your WordPress Website Has Been Hacked

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One of the reasons WordPress is so popular as a content management system is because of its airtight security (read: it’s rare ability to be hacked). But the truth is, 136,640 attacks are happening per minute to WordPress websites across the globe.

That’s a scary thought.

[clickToTweet tweet=”No matter how secure you think your WordPress website is, it is always going to be susceptible to attack.” quote=”No matter how secure you think your WordPress website is, it is always going to be susceptible to attack.”]

In fact, weak passwords, domain or hosting level breaches, insecure themes and plugins, and even an outdated WordPress core may cause your website to become more vulnerable than normal.

But the thing is, how can you tell if your website has fallen victim to hackers?

Fortunately, there are some surefire ways to tell if your WordPress website has been hacked. And, by familiarizing yourself with the most common signs, you will be able to identify an attack quickly and easily, and get started on a solution right away. Click here to continue reading…