Enhanced Customization

Out of the box, the Kadence Table Block offers significantly more styling options, allowing you to fine-tune every aspect of your table’s appearance. From fonts and borders to colors and spacing, you have complete creative control.

Pro Features for Power Users

While the free version is packed with tools, upgrading to Kadence Blocks Pro unlocks even more. Pro users gain access to features like sticky headers, footers, and first-column options, keeping your tables intuitive and user-friendly on all devices. Future updates promise even more advanced functionalities, making the Kadence Table Block a long-term solution for all your data display needs.

Why Choose the Kadence Table Block?

• Lightweight and Responsive: Built to perform without slowing your site.
• Comprehensive Styling Options: More control than the core table block.
• Blocks Inside Cells: Add buttons, images, or other blocks seamlessly.

Ditch the limitations of the core table block and embrace the flexibility of the Kadence Table Block. Whether you’re displaying simple data or crafting a complex layout, Kadence empowers you to make tables that are functional, responsive, and elegant.

And if you still need convincing, we’ve taken an extra step and added the three following table designs to the Kadence Pattern Hub. So all you have to do is a few clicks to get these beautiful tables displaying data on your site.

• Basic Table data

• Comparison Chart

• Pros and cons

Getting Started with the Table Block

1. Add a new Table (Adv) Block to your page and select the initial number of Rows and Columns to include (this can be adjusted later). 
2. Click on any of the added table cells to add any block into your table.
3. Once your content is added, you can easily adjust the order and style of your table down to the last detail.

It really is that easy! For more fine tuning, check out our full documentation.

Transform Your Tables Today

Don’t settle for basic. Upgrade to the Kadence Table Block and start building tables that are functional, responsive, and visually engaging. And if you want even more, go Pro for sticky options, advanced styling features, and much more! Grab a Kadence Bundle and start elevating your data displays today!

In this article, we’ll show you how to set it up without any coding and cover some best practices to ensure your dynamic content works effectively! 

What is dynamic content? 

Dynamic content in WordPress is any content that changes automatically based on things like user behavior, time, location, and other data. Unlike static content, which shows everyone the same thing, dynamic content personalizes the experience for each visitor.

While it might sound too good to be true, you really don’t need to be a coding expert to implement dynamic content on your WordPress site. With tools like Kadence Blocks, it’s much easier than you’d think, and we’ll give you a step-by-step breakdown in the coming sections. 

Why is dynamic content crucial for your WordPress site?

For starters, it makes your site more engaging. People are more likely to stick around (and come back!) when they feel the content speaks to them. And as we now know, that’s exactly what people expect these days.

Plus, dynamic content saves you time. Instead of updating every page on your site manually, you can make changes on the back end that show up everywhere instantly without any coding. 

Here are some ways you might use dynamic content:

• Greeting users by name when they log in.
• Showing different menus to different types of users.
• Displaying related posts that actually match what someone’s reading.
• Offering deals that are only available for a limited time.
• Adjusting content based on user roles or login status. 

Essential tools for creating dynamic pages: Kadence Blocks Pro and alternatives

Now, picking the right plugin should depend on what you need, your tech skills, and your budget. Let’s take a look at some options to help you make the best choice for your dynamic WordPress site.

Kadence Blocks Pro: For powerful site-building and dynamic content

Kadence Blocks is a WordPress website builder plugin that makes it easy to build personalized, data-driven websites without — you guessed it — needing to write any code.

One of the best things about Kadence Blocks is how it extends the core block editor. It adds essential design and layout tools that allow you to create unique, responsive content, including advanced dynamic content capabilities. While it works great with the Kadence Theme, you can use it with most WordPress themes out there.

The Dynamic Content feature lets you pull in content from all sorts of places — post data, custom fields, user information — you name it. You can use this with various blocks, including the handy Dynamic HTML block.

We’ll provide a detailed step-by-step guide in the coming sections, but here’s a quick look at how it works:

1. Choose your dynamic source in the block settings. This could be a post title, featured image, or custom field. For this example, we’ll use an image. 

2. Use blocks like Dynamic HTML or Advanced Text to display your dynamic content.

3. Add conditional logic if you want. This means you can show different content based on things like user role or post type. 

But that’s not all! Kadence Blocks also offers a powerful set of features that make it a great tool for website creation:

• With Kadence Blocks Pro, creating a no-code website is so much easier. It lets you design stunning sites with a simple drag-and-drop builder, which is great for both beginners and pros. Building your dream site has never been simpler.
• The Design Library is your new go-to collection of professional templates. Browse, pick your favorite, and customize it. A perfect time-saver and creativity boost all in one!
• Kadence supports custom post types and fields, letting you add dynamic content anywhere. This means you can easily showcase your portfolio or create a product catalog. 
• Built for speed and efficiency, Kadence loads only what’s necessary for each page. You can optimize your site without compromising design or function with lazy loading and easy-to-use performance settings. Even with dynamic content, everything runs smoothly. 
• You can easily fine-tune your site for different screen sizes with mobile-friendly design options. Adjust layouts specifically for tablets and mobile, with live previews right in the WordPress editor. This way, your site looks great on any device.

With over 400,000 users, Kadence Blocks is a proven favorite. It’s packed with features for dynamic content, design, and speed. If you’re looking for an all-in-one tool for your next WordPress project, it’s definitely worth a go!

Other dynamic content plugins to consider: JetEngine, Toolset, and Dynamic.ooo 

While Kadence Blocks is a great option (if we do say so ourselves), it’s not the only choice out there. Let’s take a look at a few other popular dynamic content plugins you might want to consider.

1. JetEngine

JetEngine, created by the team at Crocoblock, is a tool for building dynamic websites. It offers a wide range of features that allow you to create various types of dynamic content, including: 

• Custom post types and fields: You can set these up right from your WordPress dashboard. No need to write any code — just point and click.
• Dynamic listings and grids: Want to show off your content in a cool way? JetEngine lets you create flexible, filterable content listings and grids. Plus, you’ve got options for pagination, sorting, and ajax loading.
• Advanced filtering and search: Users can search with multiple fields, and there’s even a live search feature. They can save their searches, too.

One of JetEngine’s strengths is its compatibility. Whether you’re using Elementor, Gutenberg, or Bricks, JetEngine works well with each of them.

While JetEngine provides a great set of advanced features, there’s a lot to learn, and it can be overwhelming for beginners. Some users have also noted that using too many dynamic content elements significantly affected their loading speed. This potential performance impact is an important consideration when deciding whether JetEngine is the right tool for your project.

2. Toolset

As the name suggests, Toolset isn’t just one plugin — it’s a whole set of them, all designed to help you create complex WordPress sites without any coding. Here’s what Toolset is great at: 

• Custom post types and fields: You can create and manage these easily. You can even set up repeating field groups and parent-child relationships between post types.
• Flexible templates: Design custom templates for your content using a visual editor. This works for single posts, archive pages, and even WooCommerce product pages.
• Complex sites: Toolset is great for data-heavy sites. Think membership sites, directories, or real estate listings. You can create advanced search forms, custom user roles, and even let users submit content from the front end.

Like JetEngine, Toolset works with both the block editor and popular page builders. So, you’re not locked into any particular way of building your site. One thing we like about Toolset is their 30-day “no questions asked” refund policy. It gives you a chance to really dig in and see if it’s the right fit for your project.

One of the main disadvantages of Toolset is that its Views component, which is used for creating custom content displays and loops, offers a relatively small number of pre-defined layout options. This can be somewhat restrictive for designers and developers who are looking to create more diverse or complex layouts for their dynamic content. 

3. Dynamic.ooo

Dynamic.ooo focuses on enhancing Elementor with dynamic capabilities. Here’s what you get with this plugin: 

• Numerous dynamic features for Elementor: We’re talking over 150 dynamic capabilities. You can create really personalized, context-aware content within Elementor.
• Dynamic shortcodes: These work with a range of page builders, not just Elementor. You can use these shortcodes to insert dynamic content anywhere on your site, even in areas not typically editable with Elementor.
• A user-friendly interface: It’s designed to be easy to use, even if you’re new to dynamic content. The plugin integrates effortlessly with Elementor’s interface, making it feel like a natural extension of the page builder.

Like Toolset, Dynamic.ooo also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee for new purchases. However, keep in mind that Dynamic.ooo is primarily geared towards Elementor users. If you’re not using Elementor, you might not get the full benefit of this plugin. 

Wrapping up: Why Kadence Blocks Pro stands out

After looking at all these options, you might be wondering which one to choose. While each plugin has its perks, we still believe Kadence Blocks Pro offers the best overall package for most users. Here’s why: 

• Ease of use: Kadence Blocks Pro has a great balance between powerful features and user-friendliness. You don’t need to be a tech expert to create dynamic content with Kadence. One long-time user perfectly captures the essence of what makes Kadence special: “I’ve been using Kadence for five years now. I simply do not use anything else for WordPress builds. The theme and plugins that come with it are quick and powerful, enabling me, as a very limited coder, to achieve what I need for my clients. It integrates with every other plugin that I have needed it to, and the staff is fantastic and very quick in helping you with any issues that are beyond the Kadence remit.” 
• Performance: Kadence is built with speed in mind. It’s lightweight and optimized for performance, so you can add dynamic elements without slowing down your site.
• Versatility: It extends Gutenberg’s functionality without overwhelming you with too many options. It gives you the tools you need to create dynamic content without unnecessary extras.
• Compatibility: While some plugins are tied to specific page builders, Kadence works great with the standard WordPress editor. This gives you more flexibility in how you build your site.
• Continuous improvement: The team behind Kadence is constantly working on updates and new features. When you choose Kadence, you’re not just getting a plugin — you’re getting ongoing support and development.

How to create dynamic content with Kadence Blocks Pro

1. Setting up custom post types and fields

Let’s start with custom post types — they’re enhanced versions of regular posts and pages that make it easy to add structured content to your site without reinventing the wheel every time. While Kadence doesn’t handle these directly, it integrates well with popular plugins like Advanced Custom Fields (ACF), MetaBox, or Custom Post Type UI.

To set up your custom post types and fields:

1. Install and activate a custom post type plugin. As an example, we’ll use ACF. 
2. To create a new custom post type, go to ACF > Post Types in your WordPress dashboard.

3. Create a new custom post type by clicking on Add New. We’ll use “Travel Destinations.”

4. Make sure that your custom post type supports features like title, editor, thumbnail, etc. You can configure this by turning on Advanced Configuration for your custom post type.

5. Now, it’s time to define some custom fields for your post type. Think of these as additional information boxes for your posts. For our “Travel Destinations” example, we want fields for location, the best time to visit, travel tips, and photos. To add a new custom field, navigate to ACF > Field Groups and Add New. 

6. Create relevant custom fields. For example:
   1. Field Label: “Location” (Field Type: Text)
   2. Field Label: “Best time to visit” (Field Type: Text)
   3. Field Label: “Photo” (Field Type: Image)
   4. Field Label: “Travel tips” (Field Type: Text Area)

7. Set the location rules to show this field group if the post type is equal to “Destination.” 

When you link these custom fields to Kadence Blocks, you can automatically populate travel directories or destination listings, making it easy to keep everything up-to-date. Have a new travel destination to feature or recent information about an existing location? Update it once, and it’ll appear everywhere it needs to!

Want to see this in action? Check out our detailed video tutorial on setting up custom post types and fields. 

2. Implementing Dynamic Content Using Kadence Blocks

Now, let’s get into the main feature: Kadence Blocks Pro and its dynamic content capabilities. The Dynamic Content feature is a core functionality within Kadence Blocks that allows various blocks to pull and display dynamic data across your site, including text, buttons, links, and lists.

You can add Dynamic Content wherever you see the Dynamic Content icon, which looks like a stack of hockey pucks and appears either in the Block Toolbar or next to a Block Setting. 

Kadence supports dynamic content in various blocks. For example, you can use dynamic links in the Advanced Button block or display dynamic images in the Advanced Image block. 

We’ll focus on the Dynamic HTML Block, which allows you to show content dynamically based on various sources. It can display:

• Text content from custom fields.
• Images (like product photos or team member headshots).
• Links to related content.
• Formatted content (maintaining HTML structure).

Here’s how to use it:

1. In the block editor, click the + icon to add a new block. Search for “Dynamic HTML” and select the Kadence Dynamic HTML block from the list.

2. In the block settings on the right sidebar, set the Source to determine where your dynamic content is coming from. By default, it is set to “Current Post,” which is usually what you want. However, we want to pull information from the custom post type we just created, so we’ll set the source to the location field “Koh Phi Phi.” If your HTML Content is set to Post Title, this will grab and populate the title of your field. 

3. Let’s say you want the featured image to appear. Add the Image (Adv) block, navigate to Image Settings and Enable Dynamic Image. 

4. Click on the Dynamic Content icon again, select Post Custom Field under Image, choose “Koh Phi Phi” under Image Source, and select Photo for the Custom Field. 

5. Now, it’s time for the fun part! You can adjust the style settings, set options for content alignment, adjust font size, customize the text color, and more. 

Curious about Kadence’s Hooked Elements? Watch our video on how to use this feature for even more dynamic content options. 

To make sure your dynamic content works correctly:

• Preview your page to check if the dynamic fields (for example, custom fields like travel tips or description) are populating correctly.
• Test across devices to make sure the content displays properly on mobile, tablet, and desktop.
• If you’ve set conditional logic, like a user role, be sure to test with different user accounts.

Another thing to keep in mind is that Kadence’s post relationships feature allows you to create connections between different types of content on your WordPress site. This function enhances your site’s dynamic capabilities and improves content organization.

For example, if you manage a travel website, you might have separate sections for local attractions and hotels. The post relationships feature lets you link these content types automatically. When a visitor views a hotel page, they’ll see a list of nearby attractions. Similarly, on an attraction’s page, links to nearby hotels would appear. 

Thanks to this interconnectedness, visitors can navigate through your site more efficiently, finding additional information that matches their interests without extensive searching. This feature saves time for both content creators and users and creates a more engaging browsing experience.

Remember, it’s important to plan your content structure and relationships thoughtfully. Spend some time mapping out how everything connects. This effort will really pay off when you begin building. 

Best practices for dynamic content implementation

Let’s talk about some best practices that’ll help you make the most of your dynamic content. We can’t cover everything, but these are the big ones you’ll want to keep in mind:

• User experience: Keep design elements consistent across your dynamic content. This ensures your site is easy to navigate and has a cohesive look. And when content changes, make sure it happens smoothly. Jarring transitions are the digital equivalent of stubbing your toe!
• Personalization: Dynamic content is great for personalization, but remember to use data responsibly. Always respect user privacy and be upfront about how you’re using their information. And don’t forget to update user profiles regularly. Fresh, relevant content keeps your visitors engaged.
• Testing and monitoring: Be sure you’re not just setting up your dynamic content and forgetting about it. Keep an eye on your site’s performance and user engagement metrics. It’s important to regularly check how things are going. Make sure to test across different devices and browsers. What works on one platform should work well on all of them.
• SEO considerations: Make sure your site is crawlable and use structured data to give search engines a clear picture of what you’re offering. This way, your dynamic content can help boost your search rankings, too.
• Accessibility: Design your dynamic content with accessibility in mind. Provide alternative text for dynamically loaded images and ensure your content is compatible with screen readers. This approach makes your site more inclusive and user-friendly for everyone.

Create your WordPress site with dynamic content using Kadence Blocks today

Kadence Blocks offers some great tools for adding dynamic content to your WordPress site. The Dynamic HTML block is especially useful, letting you create personalized experiences for your visitors without needing to dive into complex code.

These features do more than just make it easier to manage your site’s content. They allow you to create interactive, tailored experiences that your visitors will appreciate. It’s an effective way to keep people engaged with your site and encourage them to return.

Curious about how dynamic content could improve your site? Why not give Kadence Blocks a try? It could be just what you need to make your WordPress site more engaging and user-friendly!

In 2022 alone, holiday sales reached nearly a trillion dollars, showing just how much excitement (and spending!) this season brings. With so many shoppers primed to find the best deals, the question is: Is your website ready? 

Prepping your site for Black Friday doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Whether you’re looking to increase online sales, showcase irresistible deals, or ensure a seamless shopping experience, Kadence has the tools to make it happen. 

We’ve put together a complete guide to help you get your site ready and make the most of this year’s shopping events. Let’s dive in.

Preparing your site

For most retailers and ecommerce sites, there is an influx of website traffic during the holiday season. You may have visitors returning for those sweet deals or gift ideas. Either way, you need to be ready to convert as many of those visitors into customers as possible. Here’s what you should do to get started. 

Test and analyze your site

The first step to preparing your website for Black Friday/Cyber Monday is ensuring it’s fast, efficient, and easy for users to navigate and find what they are looking for. 

Start by viewing your website in an incognito window. Browse through your site the way a customer would to see if the user experience is up to par. 

• Does each page load quickly? 
• When you click on each link, does it take the user to the right place? 
• Did you test your checkout process? A smooth seamless checkout is less likely to result in abandoned carts. 
• Is there a way to reduce the number of clicks to purchase to increase conversions? Only ask for the information you need to complete the transaction and make it clear what types of payment you accept to eliminate user frustration.

If you want to take it a step further, you could run a quick page speed test. Google has a great user-friendly tool that will test your website’s desktop and mobile speed. It’ll even provide recommendations for improvement! After reviewing the suggestions, try your best to improve any metrics flagged by the page speed insights tool.

NOTE: If you are going to optimize your site for speed, just don’t obsess over chasing a “perfect” score. It can be easy to get lost in the weeds of trying to tweak every little thing and can sometimes distract you from other more important tasks. Do what you can to improve the user experience overall, but leave enough time to complete all of the other steps in this article as well.

Next, look at your primary site navigation. Is it optimized for the holiday sales season? 

Make sure that holiday offers are prominent, including top-selling items or most searched products. For many brands, the main navigation may look different during the holiday season and may revert afterward. The goal is to create easy and obvious paths for users to interact with sale offers. 

Finally, pull it all together with a site optimization and caching tool. Solid Performance is a free tool that helps you serve a faster website, with optimization and caching. 

Secure your site 

Shoppers need to feel safe making a purchase on your site. Display trust badges, SSL (lock icon), and secure payment icons prominently.

A security plugin can make a huge difference and give you and shoppers peace of mind. Solid Security Pro has everything you need with features such as brute force protection, passwordless login, 2FA, and a real-time WordPress dashboard. And don’t forget to keep all of your WordPress plugins updated!

Layer your security best practices with trusted payment processors, and you’ll have one less worry this holiday season.  

Planning your promotions

Once your website is ready for holiday traffic and sales, you’ll want to create a promotion plan.  

Setting clear goals

Black Friday is a long-standing tradition dating to the early 20th century and has evolved to kick off the holiday shopping season. It’s become the first day in a weekend-long major shopping weekend, culminating with Cyber Monday for ecommerce.

You can track the success of these promotions and your sales season by setting sales targets, inventory limits, and customer acquisition goals. 

• Sales targets: What revenue do you need to hit to consider this a successful holiday season? Set an overall sales target and individual goals for sales people (if you have them). Break goals further into online and brick-and-mortar sales if you have both location types. 
• Inventory limits: At what level will you sell through inventory? Does that get you to sales goals? Avoid carrying inventory past the holiday season when you must sell it at a deep discount. There’s a little magic in carrying just the right amount of product that you will get better at over time. 
• Customer acquisition goals: You should try to generate sales from existing and new customers. For continued growth, the latter is vital. Set a number or percentage of new customers that you want to reach this year. 

With all customer segments and sales, consider pairing promotions with upsell and cross-selling opportunities to maximize cart value for each shopper. Small items, inventory you need to move, or deeply discounted products are quick and easy for shoppers to impulse-buy at checkout. 

Remember to use SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound) goals in your planning so that you can track results and measure against prior years or efforts. 

Strategizing your offer types

Black Friday promos vary widely, and now is the time to think about what offers, discounts, or special things you may include for your online store. Pairing promotions with past customer testimonials can help turn a casual browser into a shopper. 

Popular options include:

• Deep discounts on specific items
• Doorbuster deals for limited hours
• Extended shopping hours for brick-and-mortar and extended sale windows online
• Social and cultural frenzy for specific, high-demand items to push on social media

Each different promotion should include unique calls to action that encourage immediate purchase by promotion type. Use microcopy for CTAs that’s more specific than “Shop” or “Buy” to encourage checkout. Consider phrasing that creates a sense of urgency, such as “Limited Inventory – Checkout Now.”

If you play your cards well, Black Friday can easily become your most financially successful day of the year.

Timing and countdown timers

Nothing helps convert a shopper like a sense of urgency. A countdown timer can provide this in an unobtrusive way, noting when a sale is about to begin or when a specific promotion might end. 

Countdowns build anticipation in advance of a sale, and enhance the sense of urgency to make a purchase when used on a product or landing page. 

The Kadence Countdown block is easy to configure and can create a sense of urgency to buy now since the deal is only available for a limited time.

Build your landing page

As you plan campaigns that lead to BFCM promotions, a landing page can be the most effective way to organize content and products designed for direct and quick conversions. 

A landing page is any page that your customer lands on when they find your site. Whether this be your home page, your shop page, or your BFCM promo page. A few key things that your landing page needs are inspiration, clarity, and mobile-first design.

• Inspiration: Use beautiful and trendy design styles that are eye-capturing and engaging. When a customer enters this page, they should be compelled to dive deeper into your site. Beautiful, clean design is key.
• Clarity: What are you selling? How will it benefit your customers? Be direct and have clear steps laid out. Don’t leave your customers guessing or you are sure to lose them.
• Mobile-first design: A large number of shoppers will hit your website and online sales from their phones. That experience has to be zippy as well. A fast theme, such as the Kadence Theme, can help. 

A few things to keep in mind as you design a landing page is to maintain visual branding and website design consistency so that the page looks and feels like it belongs to you, while streamlining content to be actionable and specific. (Consider choosing one key product to focus on.)

While every landing page might look a little different, the creation process is similar. Once you know what you want from a landing page, use Kadence Blocks to build a page within your WordPress website. 

Boosting sales with Kadence WP

Kadence WP has everything you need to create optimal landing pages that lead to holiday sales. Don’t forget that all of the best practices you use on your website as a while also apply to Black Friday/Cyber Monday landing pages and product promotion. 

Optimize your landing pages

After creating landing pages, optimize them! The most important thing you can do when creating BFCM landing pages is to stick to a single offer per landing page. 

Visual cues, copy, and direction should be clear and intentional. Don’t try to offer multiple options here. Having more than one offer could confuse users, while just one will help optimize the entire page. Any ads, social media posts, or links to the landing page should directly pertain to the content and offer on the page. 

Add social proof or testimonials to your landing page that support purchases, and consider a popup to help users complete the transaction. 

Finally, all CTAs on the landing page should lead toward the desired conversion. 

Enhance the ecommerce experience with Kadence Shop Kit

One of the most powerful things you can do for your business is create an online experience that is different from all the rest. Anyone can create a generic product page, but when a product page is intuitive and engaging, it stands out. 

Create custom product templates with Kadence Shop Kit to make your product pages really stand out. This is a game changer for WordPress WooCommerce sites. You can build out product pages that actually match your brand and engage with your audience. 

With Shop Kit, you can do so much more than create custom product templates. It also gives you the tools to create stunning product galleries, intuitive variation swatches, conditional cart banners, and tons more. Kadence Shop Kit makes developing engaging and immersive shopping experiences a breeze.

Don’t forget to use Product Badges to highlight key product details, such as low stock, on sale, or promoting special attributes. The feature gives you full control over the appearance and placement of badges, helping you enhance the shopping experience and improve product visibility in your store.

Create promotional blocks with Kadence Blocks 

You can help lead website visitors to promotional content and landing pages from within other parts of your website with sale banners, calls to action, and urgency indicators, too. 

These elements can help repeat customers gain familiarity with current promotions and offers and even lead to higher cart values!

Kadence Blocks allows you to use Hooked Elements to add content in different areas of a page, with unlimited customization options. This makes creating sitewide banners a breeze! Check it out for yourself with this live training video. 

Try conversion tools with Kadence Conversions 

In addition to promotional blocks, you can implement conversion tools throughout your website to help drive shoppers to key products. 

A simple reminder as a visitor moves through the website can help them find items that are most in demand or that drive your sales funnel.

Plus, shoppers are used to popups, announcements, and special offers. Those elements can sometimes convert when other opportunities do not. 

Kadence Conversions is a no-code WordPress block that lets you create all of these items with ease. Use it to increase sales, collect leads, and connect with visitors in more meaningful ways. Plus, it offers ready-made designs that you can drop in and use right away!

Promoting your Black Friday deals

What good is a sale if you don’t have customers? Spreading the word is everything when it comes to having a successful Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale.

Here are a few key questions to ask yourself when thinking about marketing your sale:

• What are you selling?
• What is your sale?
• Who is your target audience?

Once you know the answers to these questions, it’s time to get after it. Here are some marketing tactics to consider. 

Social media

Don’t downplay the power of social media. That’s where the people are, so you should be there too. Don’t just post about your sale; engage with your audience. Like, comment, DM – whatever it takes to create connection. 

People want to feel seen, like your sale was catered specifically for them. This is why it’s so important to put yourself in the shoes of your target audience and speak to them like you would want to be spoken to.

Email

The other marketing tool that can be your most effective is email campaigns. An engaged email list is your power tool. 

The first step here is getting customers to open your email. When crafting your marketing email, you will want a powerful subject line. Based on conversion rate research, words like “just,” “wonderful,” and “upgrade” are the most effective when added to your subject line. 

Once the email is opened, engaging content, beautiful photos and enticing content is what will keep your audience engaged. Then, to finish it off you will want a killer call to action and be sure to have an obvious button that links directly to your shop or landing page.

Advertising 

Finally, consider adding online advertising to your promotional mix to help reach a targeted audience that’s most likely to engage with your brand or buy your product. 

Advertising tactics could include social media advertising, search engine ads, or even traditional media buys. The most important consideration for product advertising is meeting potential customers where they are and advertising on channels and platforms they are most likely to use.

Tracking and analyzing performance

Your Black Friday Cyber Monday work does not end with a customer purchase! One of your biggest marketing assets is tracking and analyzing performance to see if you met goals and what you can learn for future campaigns. The work you do after the sale will set the foundation for a better campaign in the future. 

Go back to the SMART goals you set for BFCM campaigns and compare them to actual results. 

• How do actual numbers compare to goals? 
• What was your overall return on investment for campaigns?
• What worked well?
• Where are areas of opportunity in the future?

Many of the numbers you need to create baseline reports are available in Google Analytics. This is a free tool that you can set up on your website if you don’t have it already. 

Take a little time to reflect on these metrics and start planning for next year. While results and numbers are fresh, it is a good time to create starter goals for future campaigns. 

Crush your sale goals with Kadence WP

We hope this is your best Black Friday Cyber Monday ever. By preparing your site for traffic early, planning campaigns with intentional goals, and setting a promotional plan, you can set the groundwork for a strong holiday sales season. 

Kadence can help. Kadence Shop Kit gives you the ability to customize your shop experience to drive sales, Kadence Conversions can help you create flows that lead on-site visitors to promotions, and Kadence Blocks has elements and tools that make building landing pages that much easier. 

Get the full bundle of Kadence products today to supercharge your website and holiday campaigns!

When you’re trying to make your mark online, the fonts you pick are a big deal. They communicate your brand’s personality to visitors before they even read a single word. It’s no wonder the Font and Typeface Market is booming, with experts predicting it’ll hit a whopping $1293.04 million by 2030. People are catching on to the appeal of custom fonts, and here’s why:

• Unique fonts make your site look sharp and professional.
• They keep your brand looking consistent everywhere.
• The right fonts make your content easier to read.
• Different styles can set just the right mood for your site.
• Custom-looking fonts help you stand out from the crowd.
• Great typography keeps visitors glued to your content.

Now, you might be thinking, “Sounds great, but isn’t adding custom fonts to WordPress complicated?” Not anymore. With tools like those from Kadence WP, giving your WordPress site a typographic makeover is easier than ever. 

Ready to see how custom fonts can transform your site? Let’s start! 

The importance of font licensing

When picking out the perfect font for your project, there’s more to consider than just how it looks. Font licensing is a bit like the fine print of the typography world — it’s easy to overlook, but it’s a major part of the process.

Font licenses typically fall into two main categories: personal use and commercial use. Personal-use fonts are perfect for non-commercial projects that don’t generate income. Think personal blogs, school assignments, or those family reunion invitations you’ve been putting off.

Commercial use fonts, on the other hand, cover any scenario where you’re using the font for business purposes or to make money. Commercial licenses usually come with a price tag, but they give you the legal green light to use the font in your business activities.

For a WordPress site, you’ll want to opt for a commercial license. It’s the smart move to avoid any potential legal issues down the road. However, keep in mind that font licenses can vary significantly. Some might limit your site’s visitor count, while others could restrict how and where you use the font. Always take the time to read through the licensing terms to ensure you’re in the clear.

The consequences of using fonts without proper licensing can be severe, as illustrated by the high-profile case in 2017, when HypeForType, a font foundry, sued Universal Music for $1.25 million for using two fonts, Nanami Rounded and Ebisu Bold, in their logo without a proper license. This case highlights the potential financial and legal risks of using fonts without appropriate licensing, even for large corporations.

Don’t stress, though! There’s a wide selection of fantastic fonts out there with clear, flexible commercial licenses. Many are even free, so you can find the perfect typography for your site without breaking the bank or bending any rules.

Where to find custom fonts for WordPress

Before we dive deeper, let’s quickly cover the main font types you’ll encounter:

• Serif fonts: These have small lines or strokes at the ends of characters (like Georgia). They often convey tradition and reliability.
• Sans-serif fonts: These lack the small lines of serif fonts (like Helvetica Neue). They’re seen as modern and clean.
• Display fonts: These are decorative and best used for headlines or logos. They tend to be attention-grabbing but are less suitable for body text.
• Script fonts: These mimic handwriting or calligraphy. They can add elegance but should be used sparingly for readability.

You’ve probably also heard of web-safe fonts — those tried-and-true options like Arial, Times New Roman, and Verdana that properly display on virtually any device. They’re reliable, but they’re also… well, everywhere.

That’s why many brands are turning to custom fonts to make their websites stand out. But where can you find these typographic treasures? Here are some popular sources:

• Google Fonts: This is a massive collection of free, open-source fonts that work well with WordPress. With over 1,700 font families and more than 400 variable font families to choose from, Google Fonts offers an incredible variety of styles. 

• Adobe Fonts (formerly Typekit): If you’re looking for premium quality, Adobe is a very popular option. These fonts integrate smoothly with Adobe Creative Cloud which is a paid service, but the selection is truly top-notch. However, it’s worth noting that some users report negative impacts on site speed when using Adobe Fonts, so consider testing thoroughly before fully implementing. (More on site speed later.)

• Font Squirrel: Font Squirrel offers a wide selection of fonts you can use commercially without spending a dime. One of the major advantages of using Font Squirrel is its commitment to transparency in licensing (which we’ll explore in more detail in the next section). Every font on the platform is labeled as “100% free for commercial use,” which eases concerns about legal issues related to font usage in projects. (Double-check the terms of the license agreement though, just to cover your bases.)

• Fonts.com (now part of MyFonts.com and Monotype Fonts): If you’ve been around the web design block, you’re probably familiar with Fonts.com. However, as of March 2024, Fonts.com joined forces with MyFonts.com and Monotype Fonts. Luckily, all the fonts you knew and loved are still available, just under a new roof. In fact, this merger has expanded your typographic options. You can now access an even broader range of fonts (almost 50,000, to be precise), from free options to premium designs that will make your site stand out.

• CreativeMarket.com: Looking for a unique font? CreativeMarket.com offers an impressive selection of over 315,000 high-quality fonts from independent designers and foundries. You’ll find diverse styles for every project, all with commercial licensing. 

• Fontesk: If you’re watching your budget, check out Fontesk. It specializes in free fonts, but don’t think that means boring. Fontesk curates collections of distinctive typefaces, often showcasing hidden gems you won’t see elsewhere. Plus, they put a big emphasis on accessibility, which is always a win in our book.

• Independent designers: Have you considered the creators behind the fonts you use? Supporting indie designers like James Coffman, Floraine Rousselot, Lucas Descroix, Minjoo Ham, and more is a great way to get unique typefaces while nurturing the creative community.

• Custom-made fonts: For the ultimate in brand uniqueness, you could also have a font created just for you. It’s an investment, but it ensures your brand stands out in the best way possible.

Choosing the perfect font pairing for your brand

Font pairings can make or break your WordPress site’s visual appeal, so let’s talk about how to nail it.

First up, think about mixing and matching. Pairing a serif font with a sans-serif can create a beautiful contrast. Not sure where to start? Check out tools like Fontpair or Typ.io for some killer combinations. Adobe Fonts is another great resource that suggests font pairings.

But looks aren’t everything — readability is key. Consider these accessibility points:

• Go for fonts with clear, distinct letterforms to help visually impaired users. 
• Save those fancy script fonts for decorative touches only. They look great, but they’re tough to read in large chunks.
• Make sure there’s enough contrast between your text and background. The WebAIM Contrast Checker is a handy tool for this.
• Don’t go overboard — stick to two to three fonts max for consistency and better site performance.

Pro tip: Only load the font weights and styles (like regular, bold, and italic) you actually need instead of the entire font family. This helps your site load faster, and your users will be happier. 

And don’t forget, your font choices speak volumes about your brand. A sleek sans-serif might scream “modern,” while a classic serif could whisper “traditional”. Choose wisely!

Once your fonts have been selected, it’s time to upload the font to WordPress.

Methods for adding custom fonts to WordPress

Let’s explore two primary methods for adding custom fonts to your WordPress site.

Option 1. Adding custom font via Kadence Theme or Kadence Blocks

Many themes come with tons of built-in font options, making it as simple as selecting your preferred typeface from a dropdown menu.  

The Kadence Theme is an excellent example of this user-friendly approach. As a comprehensive WordPress theme, Kadence offers extensive customization options, including a wide range of typography choices. Even in its free version, Kadence provides 12 different professional font pairings, allowing you to give your website a unique personality right out of the box. 

In fact, many users have found Kadence’s font customization options to be superior to other popular themes. As one user shared on the WordPress Forum: “I moved from Astra and other themes because fonts, margins, and paddings work best only [on Kadence]. I can’t explain this magic, but the free theme has everything I need.” 

If you need even more variety than what the Kadence Theme offers, Kadence Blocks expands your options significantly, providing access to over 900 Google fonts. This wide selection ensures you find the perfect typeface to match your brand and design vision.

For those who want to take it a step further, upgrading to a Kadence bundle unlocks the Custom Fonts Plugin, which allows you to upload and manage custom fonts directly through the theme customizer. 

With Kadence Custom Fonts, you have multiple options for adding custom typography to your site. You can upload and use self-hosted fonts, or integrate with Adobe Fonts via Type Kit. When adding a new Custom Font, the first option you’ll see is Font Type. From this dropdown menu, you can select either to upload your own font or use Adobe Type Kit.

For self-hosted fonts, Kadence Custom Fonts automatically converts your uploads for broader browser support. If you’re using Adobe Fonts, always use the Type Kit option, as uploading Adobe font files directly violates its terms of service.

Regardless of which method you choose, Kadence Custom Fonts works smoothly with the Kadence Theme and Kadence Blocks, so you can start using your new fonts right away. Here’s how to get started:

Step 1: Install and activate the Kadence Custom Fonts Plugin. 

Step 2: Go to Dashboard > Appearance > Kadence > Custom Fonts. 

Step 3: Select Add New Custom Font. When adding a new custom font, you’ll first need to give your font a name in the Font Family Name field. This is how you’ll identify it later.

Step 4: You’ll see an option for Font Specific Style Name. Don’t worry if you’re not sure what this is — it’s okay to leave it blank. 

Step 5: Now comes the important part: uploading your font files. You’ll need to add the .woff and .woff2 versions of your font here.

Pro tip: Modern font formats like WOFF2 offer better compression, which helps with site performance. If you need to convert your fonts, the Webfont Generator at fontsquirrel.com can be a useful tool. Simply upload your font file, and it’ll generate the necessary web font formats for you.

Step 6: Want to make sure your site looks good even if your custom font doesn’t load? That’s where the Fallback Font Stack comes in. Use this to set backup fonts.

Step 7: Specify the Font Weight and Font Style to fine-tune how your font appears.

Step 8: If you want your font to work on older browsers, you can upload OTF, TTF, or SVG versions, too. This step is optional but can help with broader compatibility.

That’s all there is to it! Once you publish your new font, it will be available in your Kadence Theme and Block Settings. You can assign them to different elements of your site, like headings, body text, or specific blocks.

One of the great things about Kadence Custom Fonts is that it lets you self-host your fonts. This gives you more control over font loading and caching, which can help speed up your site. You’re not relying on external services, which means one less potential point of failure.

The plugin also makes it easy to add custom-looking fonts to your site and assign them through the theme options panel. This means you can maintain a consistent look across your entire site without having to edit CSS files manually.

Option 2. Adding custom fonts manually

For those comfortable with code, manual methods offer precise control over font implementation. Here’s how to do it:

1. Download your desired font files (commonly in .ttf or .otf format). Use an SFTP client like FileZilla or your hosting provider’s file manager to upload these files to a directory within your theme, such as wp-content/themes/your-theme/fonts.

2. Use the @font-face CSS rule in your stylesheet to define the custom font:

@font-face {
     font-family: 'YourFontName';
     src:
url('http://your-site.com/wp-content/themes/your-theme/fonts/YourFontFile.ttf') format('truetype');
     font-weight: normal;
}

3. Now, let’s put that font to work! Apply it to your desired elements like this:

body {    
     font-family: 'YourFontName', sans-serif;
}

Pro tip: Always use a child theme to keep your changes safe during updates. Some themes make this even easier with built-in font uploaders. And if you’re using Google Fonts, you can simply link them directly.

Related article: Everything you need to know about child themes

Other cool things Kadence offers for advanced typography

1. Use Kadence Theme’s built-in fonts

The Kadence Theme comes with a wide range of Google Fonts already built-in, offering user-friendly and intuitive typography controls. Here’s how to make the most of these pre-installed font options:

Step 1: Install the Kadence Theme

Go to your WordPress dashboard. Navigate to Appearance > Themes. Click on Add New, search for Kadence, and install it. 

Step 2: Access the Customizer

Once you’ve activated the Kadence Theme, go to Appearance > Customize. This opens the WordPress Customizer, where you can modify various aspects of your site, including your fonts. 

Step 3: Experiment with the typography settings

This is where the fun starts! Choose Colors & Fonts > Typography. Here, you’ll find a wide range of fonts for headings, body text, buttons, and links. 

Want to mix things up a bit? Try clicking on the folder icon next to Base Font. You’ll find some pre-configured font pairings, including a heading font and a body font, that play nicely together, giving your site a polished look without all the guesswork. Feel free to play around with these—you might stumble upon the perfect combo for your site’s style.

2. Advanced text styling with Kadence Blocks

As we said earlier, Kadence Blocks expands your options even further. In addition to accessing over 900 Google fonts, you can set different fonts for individual blocks and maintain consistency across your site. It’s also optimized for performance, loading only what’s necessary to keep your site running smoothly.

For those who want to get creative, the Text (Adv) Block offers powerful typography controls. Here’s what you can do:

Set typography controls (free) 

Within the Advanced Typography settings, you can select your preferred font family and customize the font weight. You’ll also find controls for letter spacing, line height, and font size — all adjustable for desktop, tablet, and mobile views to ensure your text looks perfect on every device.

Add text shadow effects (free) 

Add dimension to your text with customizable shadows. You can fine-tune the shadow’s appearance by adjusting the color and the X, Y, and Blur values. This feature is perfect for creating standout headers or adding subtle depth to your text.

Display multi-colored text (free) 

Apply Advanced Highlight Settings to create eye-catching multi-colored text. Simply select your text, choose your colors, and customize the background. You can even add borders and adjust the border radius for a polished look.

Here’s what it looks like in action: 

Control padding and margins (free) 

Take full control of your text’s positioning with padding and margin settings. These controls let you adjust spacing precisely, helping you create professional-looking layouts that work across all devices.

Add animations (Kadence Blocks Pro) 

Bring your text to life with scroll animations (requires Kadence Blocks Pro). Select your preferred animation style, then customize the duration, ease, and start delay. You can preview your animation right in the editor before publishing.

Here’s what it’ll look like: 

Use Typed Text effects (Kadence Blocks Pro) 

Create Typed Text effects. You can add this effect to your Advanced Text Block by highlighting the word(s), clicking on the View More drop-down icon on the Toolbar, and clicking on Typed Text.

The Typed Text feature lets you add multiple text strings that display in sequence. You can set it to loop, shuffle the order, or use smart backspace for a more natural effect. Plus, you can adjust the typing speed to match your site’s vibe. Have fun experimenting with these options!

Apply gradient effects (free) 

Beyond basic color settings, you can Enable Text Gradient under the Style settings to create stunning gradient effects instead of using solid text colors and backgrounds. 

Here’s what it’ll look like: 

Create a more unique WordPress site with custom fonts

Customizing your fonts is a great way to make your WordPress site pop. Beyond just looking good, these fonts give your site a unique identity that helps you stand out from the competition. The right choices can make your content easier to read and keep visitors interested. As a bonus, custom fonts are great for maintaining brand consistency across your entire site.

But here’s the thing — using custom fonts effectively is all about making smart choices. Keep these tips in mind:

• Pick fonts that match your brand’s personality.
• Stick to two to three fonts to keep things consistent and fast.
• Make sure everything’s easy to read, especially on phones.

Ready to give it a try? Tools like the Kadence Theme, Blocks, and Custom Fonts add-on can simplify the whole process. With its great typography controls, Kadence helps you incorporate custom fonts while keeping your site running smoothly.

Get started with the Kadence Pro Bundle today to unlock professional typography options!

Both platforms have gained quite a following, and it’s easy to see why. WordPress powers an impressive 43.5% of all websites on the internet. Squarespace, while not as widespread, has still captured 3.0% of the market. 

But what sets them apart, and more importantly, which one is right for you?

We’re here to help you figure it all out! In this article, we’ll break down the key aspects of both platforms, including user experience, customization options, advanced features, SEO tools, scalability, support, and pricing.

Full disclosure: As creators of a WordPress theme and plugin, we know that side of things inside out. But don’t worry — our goal is to help you make the best choice for your specific needs, whether that ends up being WordPress or Squarespace!

What is WordPress? 

WordPress.org is a self-hosted, open-source content management system (CMS). Unlike some all-in-one website builders, WordPress allows you to choose your own hosting provider. Don’t let that intimidate you, though! Most modern hosting platforms have made WordPress installation super easy, often requiring just a single click.

One of WordPress’s greatest strengths is its open-source nature. This means that a global community of developers is constantly improving and expanding its capabilities. The result? An ever-growing ecosystem of themes and plugins that can transform your site into virtually anything you can imagine.

Who should choose WordPress?

WordPress is for anyone who wants a website that’s as unique as they are. It’s perfect for those who appreciate a balance of user-friendliness and advanced capabilities and don’t mind a bit of a learning curve in exchange for greater control over their web presence. 

Now, it’s time to see if you recognize yourself in these WordPress-friendly profiles! If so, here’s what we think you’ll love about WordPress: 

• Bloggers and content creators: WordPress started as a blogging platform, so its content management features are understandably strong. You’ll enjoy the user-friendly block editor, extensive categorization and tagging options, and customizable themes designed specifically for blogs. Plus, the advanced user management and content visibility controls allow you to grow your audience while maintaining control over your content.
• Business owners and entrepreneurs: WordPress works well for businesses of all sizes. You can create professional websites, set up online stores with WooCommerce, or even build job boards. As your business grows, WordPress grows with you. You can easily add new features, handle more traffic, and set up networks of sites if needed. 
• Developers: If you like to code, WordPress gives you a lot to work with. Its plugin system lets you extend and modify how WordPress works, with thousands of hooks and filters at your disposal. You can create custom plugins to add new features or change existing ones. And remember how we said WordPress’ open-source nature is a strong suit? Well, here’s another reason why: You’re free to use WordPress for any kind of project, commercial or not, without licensing fees, making it a flexible choice for various development needs. 

What is Squarespace? 

Squarespace is a hosted website builder that’s gained quite a following, especially among small businesses and creatives. One of its biggest selling points is its user-friendly setup. All you have to do is sign up, and you’ll be ready to start building your site right away. 

Now, unlike WordPress, Squarespace is a closed-source platform. This means only Squarespace employees can modify the underlying code. As a result, you’re limited to the features and designs Squarespace offers. While there’s a good range of templates and built-in features, you can’t add functionality through third-party plugins like you can with WordPress.

But don’t let that worry you just yet! This closed nature has its advantages, including enhanced security and regular, platform-wide updates. Plus, everything you need — from hosting to SSL certificates — is included in one package. In the next sections, we’ll dive deeper into how Squarespace compares to WordPress in various aspects. 

Who should choose Squarespace? 

Do you value simplicity and design over extensive customization? Then, Squarespace is for you! Take a look at these Squarespace-friendly profiles and see if you spot yourself: 

• Visual artists and photographers: With high-quality, image-centric templates and advanced gallery options, Squarespace is a dream for showcasing visual work. You’ll appreciate the built-in image editor, lightbox presentation, and the ability to control focal points for perfect image cropping.
• Non-technical users: If you’re new to website design, you’ll love Squarespace’s intuitive drag-and-drop interface and pre-designed templates. The guided setup process and no-code editing capabilities make it easy to create a professional-looking site without technical know-how.
• Solopreneurs: Squarespace’s all-in-one platform includes hosting, design, and e-commerce capabilities. You’ll benefit from integrated business tools like scheduling and invoicing, plus built-in marketing features, including SEO and social media integration.

Key differences between Squarespace and WordPress

Comparing platforms: WordPress vs. Squarespace

Now that you’ve got a general idea of what WordPress and Squarespace offer, let’s break down each aspect of these platforms in detail so you know what you’re signing up for. 

1. User experience

WordPress

If you asked us what we love most about WordPress, we’d say it’s how it allows you to take full control of your site. You have the power to customize pretty much everything, from your website’s look to its functionality. While WordPress is known and beloved for its flexibility and customization, it does come with a learning curve. 

Unlike drag-and-drop platforms, WordPress requires users to navigate themes, plugins, and sometimes code to create a tailored site. While this may feel overwhelming at first, it also means nearly limitless possibilities as you get comfortable. 

When you first log into WordPress, you’ll be greeted by the dashboard. This is your command center, where you can access all aspects of your site. The left-side menu is your main navigation tool, providing access to posts, pages, media, comments, appearance settings, plugins, and more.

At first glance, the dashboard might seem scary with its numerous options and menus. But don’t worry — as you become more familiar with WordPress, you’ll appreciate having all these tools at your fingertips. The dashboard is also customizable, allowing you to add or remove widgets to suit your needs. 

The core of WordPress is its CMS, which is designed for posting regular content. This means that out of the box, WordPress doesn’t have a drag-and-drop editor like some website builders. Instead, it uses a block editor called Gutenberg. Gutenberg allows you to add various elements (or ‘blocks’) to your pages and posts. These can include text, images, videos, buttons, and more. 

One of the best things about WordPress, even if it seems like a big decision initially, is you get to choose your own hosting and domain. Instead of being tied to a single provider, you can select dedicated hosting services, like Liquid Web, and register domains through providers such as Namecheap or GoDaddy. This freedom allows you to select plans based on your specific needs for website speed, security, and scalability.

As you understand the basics, WordPress becomes a powerful tool that can adapt to your needs, allowing you to create a site that’s truly unique. For those willing to invest a little time in learning, WordPress offers a highly rewarding, customizable experience.

Squarespace

With Squarespace, you don’t have to find separate hosting or register a domain elsewhere, so getting started is straightforward. 

Squarespace offers an intuitive drag-and-drop interface. The Fluid Engine editor allows you to place elements precisely where you want them on your pages, offering a visual editing experience that’s both powerful and user-friendly. This approach is similar to what you’d experience when using WordPress with block builders like Kadence Blocks. 

When you first start with Squarespace, you’re greeted with a helpful onboarding process. The left side of the screen presents a list of every part of your site, while the right side offers a pop-up that guides you through initial customization steps. This walkthrough covers everything from setting your site title and logo to choosing fonts and colors, which is particularly useful for beginners. 

Squarespace’s dashboard is designed with simplicity in mind. Unlike some platforms where the dashboard grows more complex as you add features, Squarespace remains relatively consistent. It’s fast, intuitive, and doesn’t require extensive technical knowledge to navigate. Users can edit and change most aspects of their site from a single interface without constant page reloads.

While Squarespace offers a good balance of design flexibility and ease of use, it doesn’t match the extensive customization options that WordPress provides. Squarespace allows you to adjust layouts, add or remove elements, and tweak spacing and formatting, which is sufficient for many users. However, if you want unlimited design possibilities and complete control over your site’s functionality, you’ll find that with WordPress. 

Another important consideration is that with Squarespace, you don’t have full ownership of your site’s infrastructure. Your content is yours, but the code, templates, and hosting setup belong to Squarespace. So, if you decide to switch from Squarespace to a different platform later, you’ll likely have to spend some time rebuilding parts of your site.

2. Customization and design 

WordPress

WordPress offers extensive options to create a unique website, and themes are the starting point. 

While WordPress has a few default themes, we recommend exploring beyond these. The official WordPress repository hosts thousands of free themes, and you’ll be amazed at the variety. Can’t find exactly what you’re looking for? There are also numerous third-party marketplaces offering premium themes with even more features.

Once you’ve chosen a theme, it’s time to make it your own. WordPress’s built-in Customizer is a user-friendly tool that lets you tweak various aspects of your theme, including colors, fonts, and layout options, without touching code. 

For content creation and layout design, WordPress uses the Gutenberg block editor we mentioned in the previous section. We’re fans of this editor because it allows you to build pages using a variety of blocks. You can drag and drop a wide range of elements, from simple paragraphs and images to more complex components like buttons, columns, and embeds. 

However, while these blocks are a great starting point and offer flexibility for many users, we find they can be somewhat limiting for more complex designs. That’s why plugins like Kadence Blocks are so valuable. Kadence Blocks enhances the native Gutenberg editor by adding more design features and pre-made sections. You don’t need to know any code to use it, which makes it great for creating a look you love without dealing with the technical details.

For those of you who are comfortable with code, WordPress offers full access to the core files. You can work directly with HTML, CSS, PHP, and JavaScript to customize every aspect of your site, from its appearance to functionality. 

This flexibility and ease of use haven’t gone unnoticed by users. One G2 reviewer shared their experience: “I really like the customization control and the liberty it gives me to fine-tune my website as per my taste and needs. It opens up endless possibilities about the things that I can do for my business and customers.”

Squarespace

When you sign up to Squarespace, you get access to a collection of professionally designed templates. These look great on all devices, from phones to desktop computers, without you having to do any extra work. Currently, there are over 200 templates available, which is limited compared to WordPress’s thousands of themes. But hey, that could be a blessing in disguise if you suffer from chronic decision fatigue! 

Squarespace’s page builder, while not as flexible as some WordPress page builders, is intuitive and user-friendly. You can add various content blocks to build your pages, similar to WordPress’s Gutenberg editor. Just keep in mind that you won’t have as much control over things like positioning — it’s more about choosing titles, captions, and color palettes. This can make it challenging to create a truly unique design, especially if you have specific needs that don’t quite fit a ready-made template. 

For those with some coding knowledge, Squarespace does offer more advanced customization options through custom CSS and Developer Mode. However, these features aren’t as extensive as what WordPress offers and aren’t necessary or accessible for most users.

Nonetheless, we appreciate that Squarespace’s approach eliminates the need for separate plugins for features like e-commerce, analytics, or SEO. These are all integrated into the platform, which is perfect for users who are new to website building.

3. Advanced features

WordPress

WordPress is incredibly versatile and capable of handling everything from simple blogs to complex e-commerce sites. 

The plugin ecosystem is WordPress’s standout feature. With over 59,000 free plugins in the official repository, you can add virtually any functionality to your site. Custom blocks? Dynamic content? Specialized forms? WordPress has plugins for all these and more to help you tailor your site to your exact needs. 

For those venturing into online sales, WordPress doesn’t disappoint. WooCommerce, the platform’s most popular e-commerce plugin, transforms your site into a highly customizable online store. It’s also scalable, allowing you to start small and expand as your business grows.

There are tons of ways to make money with WordPress, too. You can easily display ads, include affiliate links, offer subscription-based content through Patreon, or even set up a membership site with MemberPress.  

Widgets are another key feature of WordPress, allowing you to display various elements in designated areas of your site. From recent posts in a sidebar to real-time SEO scores as you write, widgets add functionality and customization options to both the front-end and back-end of your site.

Squarespace

Squarespace takes a different approach to features and functionality. Instead of relying on plugins, it offers a suite of built-in tools designed to give you a ready-to-go experience.

The platform’s Extensions Marketplace adds extra functionalities, especially for e-commerce, shipping, accounting, and marketing. While it’s not as extensive as WordPress’s plugin library, it’s enough to cover most users’ needs. 

When it comes to e-commerce, Squarespace offers user-friendly features that are great for getting an online store up and running quickly. However, if you’re looking for highly specialized e-commerce features, you might find the options a bit limited compared to what’s possible with WordPress and WooCommerce.

For monetization, Squarespace allows you to add a paywall to charge for content access. You can also promote and sell digital products, giving you some flexibility in generating revenue.

However, the general theme here is that while Squarespace mostly matches up to WordPress’ offerings, it’s not quite there — at least not yet. A Reddit user summed it up nicely: “If you just need the basics, Squarespace will be easier. If you need scalability or flexibility, from directory, 

e-commerce, and just basically everything for your business, then WordPress is the way to go.”

That’s a spot-on take. Squarespace is great for many common needs, but if your site starts to grow and you want to do more complex stuff, you might feel a bit boxed in. WordPress, on the other hand, is super flexible. It’s like a blank canvas — you can keep adding to it and changing it as your needs grow.

4. SEO and marketing

WordPress

WordPress’s structure is inherently SEO-friendly, but it’s the plugins that really take things to the next level. Popular options like Yoast or Rank Math give you granular control over every aspect of your site’s SEO, from meta descriptions to XML sitemaps. We love how they provide real-time feedback as you write so you can optimize your content on the spot. 

Content marketing with WordPress is also highly effective. You can create custom post types, integrate with content collaboration platforms, and manage your content strategy efficiently. It’s essentially a full marketing toolkit built right into your website.

For email marketing, WordPress integrates smoothly with popular services like Mailchimp. This flexibility gives you plenty of options, allowing you to select the best tool for your specific needs.

WordPress’ approach to SEO and marketing has its pros and cons. On one hand, you have the freedom to choose the best tool for your specific needs. On the other, it means another integration to manage and potentially another cost to factor in. In our view, though, WordPress is tough to beat for serious marketers who want full control over their strategy. 

Squarespace

Squarespace includes basic SEO features by default, which are user-friendly and accessible for beginners. You can easily optimize page titles, meta descriptions, and URLs without needing to install additional plugins. 

However, advanced users might find these built-in SEO tools somewhat limiting. While they cover the essentials, they don’t offer the depth of customization that specialized SEO plugins provide for WordPress. For instance, WordPress users can customize XML sitemaps, which is particularly useful for larger websites, and have more granular control over page speed optimization through various plugins and customizations. It’s also worth noting that adding third-party SEO tools isn’t an option with Squarespace, which could be a drawback for those who want more control over their SEO strategy.

For content marketing, Squarespace offers basic blogging tools that cover the essentials, similar to WordPress. You can create and categorize posts, schedule content, and manage authors. 

These features are sufficient for many users, but they lack some of the advanced functionalities that dedicated bloggers or content marketers might be looking for. For example, its collection system (which organizes content like blog posts, products, or events) allows for some customization through custom fields, but is no match for WordPress’s custom post types and taxonomies. 

One aspect we do appreciate about Squarespace is its built-in email marketing tool. 

It’s useful for managing mailing lists and sending newsletters, all from within the same platform you use to manage your website. This integration can save a lot of time, especially for small businesses or solo entrepreneurs who want to keep their marketing tools streamlined.

5. Scalability and performance

WordPress

WordPress can handle just about any website size you can imagine. It powers everything from small personal blogs to some of the biggest sites on the web. You might even recognize a few, like NASA, The White House, and The New York Times Company. 

The great thing about WordPress is that it can grow with you. As your site grows, you can add more features and handle more traffic by picking the right plugins and hosting. 

This flexibility extends to performance, as well. With WordPress, you’re in control. Your site’s speed depends on your hosting choice and how you optimize it. While this means you have full control, it also requires you to pay attention to these factors.

The same principle applies to security. WordPress offers solid protection, but you need to be proactive. Plugins like Solid Security, Wordfence, and Sucuri can keep your site secure, offering peace of mind as your online presence expands.

Squarespace

Squarespace is great for small to medium-sized sites, but it might struggle if you’re planning to go big. The platform isn’t as flexible as WordPress for handling high traffic or complex site structures.

That said, Squarespace does offer decent performance out of the box. Your site will likely be fast initially, but as it gets more complex, you’ll notice some slowdowns. In fact, some users have reported challenges with site speed, particularly those with image-heavy sites or multiple integrations.

There have also been complaints about poor performance scores on speed testing tools, with users finding it difficult to optimize their sites beyond a certain point. Many have had to make tough choices, like removing certain features, just to maintain acceptable load times. 

While performance can be a bit of a headache as your site grows, Squarespace tries to make up for it in other areas. 

Security, for instance, is a strong point. As a closed-source platform, Squarespace handles most of the security aspects for you. They provide built-in SSL certificates for all Squarespace domains and connected third-party domains, ensuring a basic level of security for all sites. The flip side of this is you have limited control over how security is implemented, so it’s a case of convenience versus control.

6. Support and knowledge base

WordPress

WordPress has a massive user community, and that’s a big deal when you need support. There are numerous forums, tutorials, and documentation. No matter what problem you’re facing, chances are someone else has faced it, too, and already found a solution.

However, it’s worth noting that WordPress doesn’t offer direct support. Instead, you’ll get help from your hosting provider and the developers of your themes and plugins. For instance, if you’re using Kadence Blocks, you can join our Facebook community group and get direct feedback from other users! 

This might sound a bit intimidating at first, but don’t worry — the WordPress community is incredibly helpful and welcoming.

Squarespace

Squarespace offers 24/7 customer support via live chat and email. If you prefer having someone to talk to directly when you have an issue, this could be a major plus for you.

Fair warning, though: many users have reported challenges with Squarespace’s customer service, citing issues such as delayed responses and difficulty resolving complex problems. One Trustpilot review said, “Maybe the worst customer service experience of my life. It’s impossible to speak to anyone ever. The live chat is never available. (Demand too high). So you can email them and they never respond. Basically, there is no customer service at all!” 

Squarespace also has a help center and community forum, similar to WordPress, but it’s significantly smaller. You can still find solutions and tips there, which is helpful, especially if you’re ever struggling to get a response from the official support team.

7. Price

WordPress

WordPress itself is free, but there are some additional costs to consider. You’ll need to pay separately for hosting, a domain name, and potentially for premium themes and plugins. 

The good news is you can tailor these costs to your budget and needs. Want to start small? Go for basic hosting and free themes. Ready to invest more? Upgrade to premium options as your site grows.

Squarespace

Squarespace offers all-inclusive pricing plans. These cover your hosting, domain, and templates all in one package. It’s easy to budget for, which many users appreciate. Their plans start at $16 per month (billed annually) and go up to $49 per month for more advanced features. You can check out their full pricing details for more information.

Switching from Squarespace to WordPress

TL;DR: While Squarespace offers convenience, WordPress offers potential. It might take a bit more time to get used to, but once you do, the options for your website are endless. For those looking to build a powerful online presence that can adapt and evolve over time, WordPress is the clear winner.

Considering a switch from Squarespace to WordPress? It’s a smart move. WordPress offers all the features you’ve come to love in Squarespace, plus a whole lot more. You’ll gain access to unparalleled functionality, greater scalability, and the freedom to truly make your website your own.

The good news? Transitioning is quite straightforward! Here’s what you need to do: 

1. Start by finding a reliable WordPress host and installing WordPress. 
2. Use Squarespace’s handy ‘exporter’ tool to save your pages, blog posts, gallery items, text, images, and most other elements. 
3. Once you’ve got your content, head over to WordPress and use the Tools > Import tab to bring everything across.

For a detailed guide on importing your content from Squarespace, check out WordPress.com’s support article on the topic. With a bit of planning, you’ll be up and running on your new, more powerful WordPress site in no time.

Kadence Blocks: The game-changer for WordPress website builders

Even if you’ve spent hours reading reviews from every dark corner of the web, choosing between WordPress and Squarespace can still feel like a tough decision. WordPress’ learning curve might seem daunting, while Squarespace feels limiting. Luckily, Kadence Blocks offers a solution that combines the best features of both platforms. 

This plugin offers a simpler way to customize your site without compromising on flexibility. With Kadence Blocks, you get WordPress’s power alongside the user-friendliness that makes Squarespace so appealing. 

Kadence Blocks provides an intuitive interface within the Gutenberg editor in WordPress, along with advanced design and functionality features that can grow with your needs. Here’s how it fares in some of the main categories we’ve covered:

• Ease of use: Kadence Blocks simplifies the design process, making it accessible even for those with limited technical skills. When combined with the Kadence Theme and its starter templates, you can whip up fast and beautiful websites in minutes. The intuitive drag-and-drop interface and pre-built design library let you create visually stunning sites effortlessly. Additionally, Kadence’s AI starter templates help users generate professional-looking designs quickly, giving you a head start when building your WordPress site. 

• Customization and control: Despite its ease of use, Kadence Blocks doesn’t skimp on customization options. It offers extensive possibilities to tailor your site to your specific needs and brand identity. You can build unique layouts and control all design settings, giving you the flexibility to create exactly what you envision.
• Performance and SEO: Kadence Blocks contributes significantly to website speed, which is essential for performance, user experience, and SEO. It achieves this by loading CSS or Javascript only when needed, and only for the blocks used on a specific page. This approach minimizes unnecessary code and improves page load times.
• Advanced features: For users seeking more advanced capabilities, Kadence Blocks Pro offers additional features such as custom Pro blocks, custom fonts, and dynamic content. These tools provide even more options for creating sophisticated, high-performing websites.

Websites that thrive with Kadence Blocks on WordPress

Let’s look at a real-world example of Kadence Blocks in action. Posh Pennies, a vibrant blog focused on lifestyle, home decor, and DIY projects, has become the go-to source for readers looking for inspiration and budget-friendly tips to create beautiful spaces.

What sets Posh Pennies apart is more than just its clever DIY tutorials and elegant decorating ideas — it’s the presentation. The site’s attention to detail and aesthetics keep visitors engaged and coming back for more. 

So, what’s their secret? They’re using WordPress with the Kadence Theme and Kadence Blocks. This combination has given them the flexibility to create a blog that’s fantastic to look at but also quick to load and easy to use. And you know what? It’s working. Really well, in fact. Posh Pennies has been steadily growing its traffic, audience, and influence. It just goes to show what the right tools can do for a blog.

Katy Boykin, Product Marketing Manager at Kadence WP, says:

“Posh Pennies is a great example of how Kadence can help bloggers and businesses create a professional-looking site without needing to be tech experts. We’re all about making WordPress powerful and easy to use at the same time.”

Choose WordPress and Kadence for all your website-building needs

WordPress is the go-to choice for website building, and for good reason. It’s incredibly flexible and lets you customize pretty much everything. That’s why it’s the most popular content management system out there. Plus, with thousands of plugins available, you can add almost any feature you can think of to your site.

Kadence Blocks takes this flexibility even further. Working right inside WordPress’s Gutenberg editor, it makes creating complex layouts and designs super easy without needing any coding skills. It’s genuinely as close as you can get to having a professional designer at your fingertips.

And if you’re wondering about ease of use, rest assured, using WordPress with Kadence Blocks solves many of the technical hurdles that sometimes push people towards simpler options like Squarespace. You get all the power of WordPress, but with the user-friendliness of drag-and-drop builders. As an added bonus, Kadence ensures your site loads quickly and looks great on all devices.

Ready to elevate your website? Take the next step and explore Kadence Blocks today! Whether you’re creating a new site or switching from another platform, choosing WordPress with Kadence Blocks is a smart, future-proof decision that will set your website up for success.

This guide will show you how to create product pages that grab attention and drive sales. We’ll cover a range of methods, from WooCommerce’s built-in options to advanced features in Kadence Shop Kit 2.0! 

How to customize the WooCommerce product page: From built-in features to custom code

When customizing WooCommerce product pages, there are a few different paths you can take. Let’s break them down from the simplest to the most advanced.

1. Built-in WooCommerce features

WooCommerce comes with some basic features out of the box. You get your standard product title, description, price, and a simple image gallery. 

If you’re happy with a no-frills approach or just testing the waters of online selling, these features might be enough to get you started. But fair warning: they’re not the most unique or exciting options out there. You can display your products and make sales, but your pages will look a bit generic.

2. WooCommerce + Extensions

Popular extensions can offer greater customization and help you add some flair to your product pages. For example:

• Product Add-Ons allows you to offer extra options or upgrades for your products.
• Variation Swatches and Photos replaces dropdown menus with visual swatches, making it easier for customers to select product variations.
• Product Recommendations suggests related items to customers, potentially increasing sales.
• Size Chart for WooCommerce helps customers choose the right size by displaying detailed measurements.

While great for addressing specific needs, you’ll often need to combine several extensions to achieve your desired results. And that’s where it can get pricey. 

Most of these extensions cost between $49 to $99 per year, which might not seem too bad initially. However, the total can become substantial when you need multiple extensions to cover all your customization needs. For example, let’s say you need four different extensions at an average price of $75 each; you’d be looking at an annual expense of $300 just for these add-ons. 

Fortunately, there’s a more efficient and cost-effective alternative that can save you from this extension juggling act. For $99 a year, the Kadence Shop Kit gives you an immersive e-commerce experience, packed with customization tools like: 

• A custom template builder so you can make your pages look exactly how you want.
• Gallery styles that look great whether your customers are on their phone, tablet, or computer.
• Over 15 different modules that do everything from variation swatches to product recommendations. We’ll explore these features in more detail in the upcoming sections! 

3. Custom code techniques

For the tech-savvy folks out there, custom coding offers the ultimate flexibility in customization. WooCommerce recommends using CSS as your go-to method for styling product pages. Here’s a quick how-to:

1. Head to Appearance > Editor > Styles > Additional CSS in the Site Editor.

2. From here, you can tweak colors, fonts, links, and more.

Not keen on diving into the customizer? No problem! The row layout in the Kadence Blocks > Advanced tab lets you add custom code directly. 

If you want to learn more about CSS, the WordPress documentation is a great place to start. 

While custom code offers endless possibilities, it’s often time-consuming and overkill for most store owners. That’s why we would recommend using the Kadence Shop Kit instead! 

Editing your WooCommerce product page with the Kadence Shop Kit

So, what exactly is the Kadence Shop Kit? In basic terms, it’s a plugin that lets you customize your WooCommerce product pages. Instead of relying on clunky page builders, it enhances the WordPress block editor you already know and love. This allows you to create sophisticated,  conversion-boosting product pages using a familiar interface.  This is especially great for small businesses that want to compete with larger e-commerce platforms without breaking the bank or getting lost in complicated tech stuff.

Ready to see how it works? Here’s how to get started:

1. Install and activate the plugin. NOTE: You’ll need to download the Shop Kit plugin from the KadenceWP site since it’s a premium plugin.
2. Navigate to the Kadence Shop Kit settings in your WordPress dashboard and activate the Product Templates feature. 

3. Refresh your screen to update the WordPress admin dashboard. You’ll see a new “Woo Templates” section under the Products menu. 

4. Create a new product page template or modify an existing one using the enhanced Woo Template Blocks editor.

5. Add and customize elements like product titles, images, descriptions, and reviews.

6. Preview your template to see how it looks on different devices and make necessary adjustments.
7. Apply your custom template to specific products, categories, or globally across your store. You can do this by clicking on the three dots in the top right corner. Select Template Settings > Display Settings. 

When using Kadence Shop Kit, you’ll find that creating professional product pages becomes much easier. The plugin’s modular approach lets you enable only the features you need, keeping your site efficient and fast-loading. 

For small business owners frustrated with standard WooCommerce page limitations, Kadence Shop Kit offers a solid solution. It provides the means to create product pages that look professional and perform exceptionally well for user experience and conversions.

You can get the Kadence Shop Kit plugin on its own or as part of the Kadence Full Bundle. The Full Bundle also includes Kadence Theme Pro, Kadence Blocks Pro, and Kadence Conversions alongside Kadence Shop Kit 2.0. Together, these tools deliver advanced functionality for WooCommerce storefronts. 

But what is it really like to use Kadence products, and is it worth it in the long run? Here’s what one of our users, Lukas Cech, said on Trustpilot: 

“I’ve been a customer for 6+ years (first their free products, then quickly converted to paid). The Kadence team offers great, fast support, (and) quality products that I’ve been building websites with for many years. Their themes and plugins are reliable, well-coded, and well-priced. Their support experience is the best I’ve seen amongst WP products.”

Wondering how Shop Kit looks on a real website? In our Web Creator Community on Facebook, one of our users, Denison Carlos, shared an impressive transformation of his website, Volcom Peças, a Brazilian truck and bus parts store. The site originally used Elementor Pro for product pages, but after switching to Shop Kit and Kadence Blocks, he maintained the exact same layout while achieving significantly better performance. The site runs faster and lighter now, without any compromise to the design or user experience – showing just what Shop Kit can do for WooCommerce stores. 

Another great example is DIY Dream Site, which showcases how Shop Kit can create engaging and user-friendly product pages. Their implementation demonstrates the versatility and professional polish that Shop Kit brings to WooCommerce stores.

Simple tweaks for better WooCommerce product pages

As you can see, enhancing your WooCommerce product pages doesn’t need to be complicated. With Kadence Shop Kit, you can make quick, high-impact changes that boost customer experience and potentially increase conversions. Here’s a look at six often-overlooked tweaks that make a big difference:

Enhancing product imagery and galleries

Ever struggled with showing off your products from all angles? Kadence Shop Kit’s Product Galleries feature tackles that head-on. You can even replace the gallery with a slider! 

And don’t worry if you’re not a design pro — improving your product galleries is straightforward. Kadence Shop Kit Galleries lets you choose how your product image is displayed and where your gallery thumbnails are placed. 

You’ve got options like thumbnails below the image, beside the slider on the right or left, or even no thumbnails with images in a list. 

Want something different? Try a two-column grid, tile layout, or slider layout without thumbnails.

You can also enable custom sizes for gallery images, letting you set specific widths and ratios. Try playing around with transitions or image hover zoom. You’ll see how these little touches can make browsing more engaging for your customers.

Pro tip: We recommend focusing on mobile responsiveness. The Advanced Gallery Styles help you create layouts that look great on phones, tablets, and desktops. You can also use the preview feature to check your work before publishing. This way, you can ensure your customers get a smooth shopping experience, no matter which device they use. 

Optimizing product descriptions and information display

Great product descriptions can really make your items stand out. Just think about it — clear, benefit-focused write-ups help customers understand why they need your product. Want to make life easier for busy shoppers? Use bullet points and short paragraphs. It’s a simple trick that helps people find what they’re looking for quickly.

But why stop there? With Kadence Shop Kit’s Custom Global Tabs feature, you can add more tabs to your products. It’s like giving each item its own mini-brochure, showing off all the important details without overwhelming anyone. You can easily enable this feature in the Shop Kit settings. Just head to Products > Product Tabs in your admin panel and click “Add New Product Tab”. 

You’ll get the familiar Gutenberg editor to design your tab’s content using Kadence Blocks and Theme features. You can set the display type and priority of the tab, too. Want it on every product? Just one category? Or maybe specific items? You’ve got options.

And don’t forget about your category pages — they’re also prime real estate. Kadence’s Extra Category Descriptions feature lets you add more content there, which is good for your customers and gives search engines something to work with. 

When crafting all this content, hone in on important features and specs. Sprinkle in some relevant keywords, but keep it natural. After all, you’re writing for real people, not just algorithms. 

Placing reviews and social proof prominently

Did you know that a whopping 93% of customers read online reviews before buying? So, it comes as no surprise that customer reviews and social proof can seriously sway purchasing decisions. Here’s how you can make the most of this on your WooCommerce product pages:

• Use Kadence Shop Kit Advanced Reviews: This lets you customize how your reviews appear, putting the most helpful or recent ones at the top. You can add titles to reviews for extra context and even let customers vote on which reviews they find useful. The “Load More” feature keeps things organized by controlling how many reviews are shown initially. 

• Add product ratings: Pop the Product: Rating block from WooBlocks into your product template to display the rating of a product. You can tweak alignment, style, and spacing to fit your site’s look. It’s a quick way for customers to see how popular a product is.

• Encourage more reviews: Send your customers a friendly follow-up email after a purchase to ask for feedback. A small incentive like a discount code can work wonders. And make sure leaving a review is easy — the simpler, the better.
• Incorporate other forms of social proof: Sprinkle in logos of well-known clients or media mentions. Trust badges and security seals can also help customers feel safe about their purchases. User-generated content is another great option — customer photos or videos can boost credibility and showcase your products in action.
• Strategic placement of reviews: Put reviews front and center on product pages where they can help seal the deal. Show off your best ratings or testimonials on your homepage to make a great first impression. Use customer feedback in your email marketing campaigns to keep building trust.
• Respond to reviews: Jump on both good and bad feedback quickly. It shows you’re listening. And don’t be too discouraged by negative reviews! Just think of them as an opportunity to show off your stellar customer service.

Answering questions with variations and size guides

Have you noticed how a single unanswered question can make a customer hesitate? That’s the last thing you want on your product pages. 

Size guides and color options are important in reducing cart abandonment and keeping returns at bay. When customers know exactly what they’re getting, they’re more likely to complete their purchase without second-guessing.

Kadence Shop Kit’s variation swatches and product variation galleries are incredibly useful here. They replace those boring dropdown menus with visually appealing options. You can use color swatches, image swatches, text swatches, or radio buttons — whatever works best for your 

products. Plus, you can adjust swatch sizes and label displays to fit your store’s style.

These swatches let customers see and pick options easily, making it almost like browsing in-store. They simplify the selection process, giving shoppers a better sense of the item they’re considering. It’s especially handy for mobile shoppers!

As for size charts, they’re your best bet for avoiding fit-related returns. With Kadence Shop Kit, you can create detailed size guides for different product categories. Just head to the Size Chart menu, click “Add New”, and you’re off. You can include images, tables, or both in your chart. Then, you’ve got options for how to display it — as a button that opens a modal, or as a tab on your product page. You can even customize the colors to match your site’s style.

The best part? You can assign size charts to entire categories, so they show up exactly where you want them. Or, if you prefer, you can add them to individual products. It’s all about making sure your customers have the information they need to make the right choice. 

Creating urgency

WooCommerce’s built-in inventory management is a solid starting point for creating urgency. Display real-time stock status or low stock notifications to encourage customers to make decisions faster. For example, you can show “Only X left in stock” messages for low inventory items or use color-coded indicators to make it even more visible.

To take things up a notch, Kadence Blocks offers eye-catching countdown timers for your product pages. These timers are an effective way to create that “act now” feeling. You can set date-based countdowns for sales or promotions or use evergreen countdowns that start when a visitor lands on the page. 

Cross-selling is another powerful tool. Adding product recommendations with “Trending Now” or “Best Seller” labels can capture shoppers’ attention and increase sales. For an extra push, try using “Limited Edition” or “Last Chance” badges to create scarcity. To make these cross sells even more effective, consider implementing AI-powered recommendations based on browsing history.

Kadence also offers a handy feature for creating succinct notice messages called Snackbar Style Notices. These brief pop-ups, like a “View Cart” notification when someone adds a product, subtly guide shopper behavior and improve the overall shopping experience. 

You can also use these notices for limited-time offer announcements, stock status updates, or to create a sense of exclusivity with member-only deal notifications.

Personalizing add-to-cart buttons

Add-to-cart buttons might seem like a small, forgettable detail, but they’re actually super important for turning browsers into buyers. For example, if you run a bookstore, instead of the typical “Add to Cart” label, you could use Custom Labels to say “Add to Bookshelf” and highlight your brand’s personality. 

Now, let’s talk about colors and where you put these buttons. You want them to stand out but not in a way that clashes with your site’s style. For instance, a bright orange button might work great for a sports equipment store, grabbing attention and conveying energy. However, for a luxury watch retailer, a more subdued gold or deep blue could be more appropriate, maintaining elegance while still being noticeable. 

Highlighting products with custom badges

Shop Kit’s newest feature, Product Badges, gives you even more ways to grab your customers’ attention. To get started, just head to the Shop Kit page, click on the Product Badges tab, and toggle Enable Product Badges Options. 

Once Product Badges are enabled, you can add new badges by navigating to the Dashboard and going to Products > Badges. From there, click on the Add New Badge button at the top of the page to create a new badge.

When creating a new badge, start by selecting your Badge Type. Shop Kit offers four different options: you can use pre-made Kadence image designs, upload your own custom images, create text badges, or build custom HTML badges. Each type gives you full control over styling and placement on your product images.

These badges can highlight everything from sales and low-stock alerts to special features of your products. For instance, you might add an ‘Almost Gone!’ badge to create urgency for low-stock items, or a ‘New Arrival’ badge to spotlight your latest products. You can also use dynamic placeholders to automatically display information like sale percentages, keeping your badges up-to-date without manual updates. 

Create your perfect store with Kadence Shop Kit

We’ve explored various ways to customize your WooCommerce product pages. Now, it’s time to put these ideas into action. Kadence Shop Kit offers a powerful set of tools to help you do just that! 

This toolkit is packed with features for creating engaging product layouts. Whether you want to enhance your product images or design an intuitive layout, Kadence Shop Kit has the essentials. And the best part? You don’t need to be a coding expert to use it.

Kadence Shop Kit integrates smoothly with the WordPress block editor, so you can implement many of the customization techniques we’ve discussed without diving into code. Plus, the Kadence Shop Kit is built with intelligent code that keeps it lightweight. It only loads what you’re actually using, so you don’t have to worry about slowing down your site while you customize.

Ready to start creating high-converting product pages? Explore Kadence Shop Kit now to implement these customization strategies!

Why Choose CloudSprout?

CloudSprout doesn’t just look great—it’s engineered to perform. This template uses the popular bento grid design trend, creating a visually engaging layout that’s easy to navigate and helps organize content intuitively. Paired with a striking “dark mode” design, CloudSprout brings a deep, moody vibe to your site, adding a modern edge that’s on-trend and eye-catching.

Using the power of Kadence Blocks Pro, you’ll have the flexibility to create incredibly powerful and custom design without slowing down your website.

CloudSprout also uses the new Kadence Advanced Header/Navigation Blocks. If you haven’t tried out these amazing new blocks yet, now’s the perfect time! They offer the freedom to create fully customizable headers directly in the WordPress editor, and we’re sure they’ll become your go-to tools.

Here’s what makes CloudSprout a game-changer:

1. Highly Customizable Design

With Kadence’s intuitive drag-and-drop tools, you can customize every visual detail to perfectly reflect your brand’s identity. You can even adjust colors, fonts, layouts, and spacing with ease, ensuring every element aligns with your unique style and message.

2. Prebuilt Layouts and Designs

The CloudSprout starter template offers pre-designed pages and elements, complete with stunning content and royalty-free images. These ready-made layouts streamline the design process, saving you hours of work by eliminating the need to build pages or write content from scratch. Everything is ready for you—just personalize it with content unique to your business, and you’re good to go!

We’re especially excited about the new Linktree-style landing page, which can drive traffic to your website from social media platforms.

3. Optimized for Business Growth

Whether you need sleek contact forms, service showcases, or client testimonials, CloudSprout offers essential components to support business growth.

4. Accessibility and SEO-Friendly

CloudSprout isn’t just visually stunning—it’s designed with accessibility and performance at its core. Every element ensures that your website is usable by all visitors, including those with disabilities, creating a seamless experience for everyone. On top of that, CloudSprout is optimized for search engines, helping your site rank higher and attract more traffic.

How to Get Started with CloudSprout

Launching your new site is easy. With Kadence Blocks Pro and the Kadence Starter Template plugin active, select CloudSprout from the list of Starter Templates, and customize it to match your brand’s personality. You’ll also have access to royalty-free images and responsive layouts, ensuring your site looks fantastic on any device.

This Pro Starter Template is available in any of our bundles! Ready to build the website of your dreams? Get a Kadence Bundle and unlock access to stunning starter templates, premium design tools, and powerful features—everything you need to create a site that stands out. Grab a Kadence Bundle today!

That’s right—no more relying on limited theme settings, extra plugins, or tricky coding to get the header design you want!

What are the Advanced Header/ Navigation Blocks?

The Kadence Advanced Header/ Navigation Blocks are made up of three powerful blocks that work together to give you everything you need to build a customizable, professional-looking header and navigation. 

1. The Advanced Header Block lets you design adaptable headers, whether you need a sticky or transparent option to enhance your site’s look and functionality. 
2. The Advanced Navigation Block allows you to create dynamic menus, including sub-menus (dropdown menus) and mega menus, offering maximum flexibility for your site’s structure.
3. Finally, the Navigation Link Block lets you fine-tune individual nav links with precision styling to ensure every element aligns with your design vision.

Together, these three blocks form a complete solution for creating visually stunning and highly functional headers and navigation—all within the native WordPress block editor.

What makes these blocks truly groundbreaking is that Kadence is the first block plugin to seamlessly integrate with both: 

• Full-site editing (FSE) themes 
• Traditional themes, like Kadence 

So whether you’re using a modern FSE theme or a classic theme, you now have the flexibility and control to create the perfect header and navigation for your site.

How it works:

Watch Ben Ritner, founder of KadenceWP and Sr. Director of Product Development at StellarWP, recreate Webflow’s complex header using the new Kadence Blocks. This video will show you just how powerful these amazing blocks can be for your site!

Isn’t this new way of building site-wide headers exciting? Now, you may be wondering…

“What was the motivation for creating a header builder in Kadence Blocks when the Kadence theme already offers a header builder?”

That’s a good question!

While the Kadence theme’s header builder is a powerful tool and gets the job done for most users, it does have some limitations. By bringing a header builder into blocks, we wanted to solve two primary issues: 

1. We want users to have total control and flexibility over every design choice

With the Kadence Theme’s header builder, users could not, for example, add more than 2 buttons, add borders between header elements, or implement vertical headers without using some creativity (like putting desired blocks into the HTML widget) or adding custom code. 

With the Kadence Advanced Header/Navigation Blocks, we wanted to give users the ultimate flexibility and control over their header designs. Whether adding multiple buttons, creating borders, or building complex layouts like vertical headers, these blocks make it possible—all within the native block editor.

The second problem we wanted to solve was that…

2. We wanted to empower full-site editing (FSE) users to create reliable headers

Many FSE themes come with preset layouts and options that don’t offer the customization or advanced control needed for complex designs. Users often face challenges with responsiveness, advanced features like sticky or transparent headers, and the ability to fine-tune layouts without relying on custom code or third-party plugins. This lack of flexibility has made achieving unique, tailored header designs difficult.

Now, with the Kadence Advanced Header/Navigation Blocks, FSE users can enjoy the same level of customization as traditional theme users—without the limitations. You can create fully responsive headers with advanced features like sticky or transparent designs and fine-tune every detail directly in the block editor. This empowers users to build unique, reliable headers that are both visually engaging and functional. 

Key Features of The Kadence Advanced Header/ Navigation

With these robust features, Kadence ensures users can easily create headers that are both flexible and powerful, offering unmatched control and convenience for building custom sites.

Feature #1. Ease of Use

The Kadence Advanced Header and Navigation Blocks are designed for ease of use, enabling users to create simple menus quickly and efficiently. 

Onboarding is seamless, with a wizard-like experience and guided tutorials, ensuring users understand the header functionality right from the start. 

Users can start from scratch with a blank template or choose from a variety of pre-built designs, including basic headers, multi-row headers, and mobile-specific layouts. Prebuilt templates and the ability to import existing WordPress classic menus make the transition smooth. 

The visual header builder features intuitive drag-and-drop functionality for easy block positioning, while the navigation offers a hierarchical, visual menu editor with drag-and-drop ease.

Feature #2. Complexity Made Simple

The Kadence Advanced Header and Navigation Blocks offer complex header capabilities that allow users to design intricate mega menus featuring row layouts, icons, and multimedia elements.

We’ve taken the complexity of building a header and simplified it into a user-friendly experience that even non-techy users can enjoy. With mega menu containers, users can add a wide range of child blocks to build highly detailed menus with advanced styling. The blocks also support other Kadence blocks within headers, increasing functionality.

For mobile experiences, the feature includes specialized layouts and options for tablets and mobile devices. Additionally, it supports sticky and transparent headers, giving users even more flexibility for creative designs.

Feature #3. Multiple Editing Experiences, All in Sync

By combining the block editor with a visual builder experience, users can enjoy a dual approach for the header builder. This allows users to build headers either through the block editor or the Theme Customizer’s visual interface, providing flexibility to suit different workflows. 

For navigation, users can edit menus visually in the Gutenberg editor or in a hierarchical view like the classic menu editor. Both editing experiences are synced, ensuring changes made in one interface are reflected across all others, keeping everything consistent.

What features are available in the free vs. pro versions?

In the free version of Kadence Blocks, users gain access to the Header, Navigation, and Navigation Link blocks, along with starter header layouts for both desktop and mobile. Features include a visual header builder, sticky and transparent headers, advanced settings, and the ability to add any block to the header. It also offers a visual navigation builder, overall navigation styling, and sub-menu styling options.

The Pro version adds mega menus, navigation style overrides, highlight labels, images for navigation links, and an icon library with custom icon support for navigation links.

But that’s not all…

We also just released two additional new blocks: the Kadence Search (Adv) Block and the Kadence Site Identity Block

What is the Kadence Search (Adv) Block?

The Kadence Search (Adv) Block allows users to add advanced search functionality to their WordPress site. It offers extensive customization options, including the ability to choose between a standard search bar or a pop-up modal, tailor button designs, and adjust search inputs for posts, pages, or products. This block is compatible with various locations, such as headers, sidebars, and widgets, and includes advanced styling settings for complete design flexibility.

What is the Kadence Site Identity Block?

The Kadence Site Identity Block offers a flexible way to display and style your site’s logo, title, and tagline. Ideal for creating cohesive branding, it allows you to easily customize layout, typography, and alignment. With options to adjust logo size and add dynamic links, this block integrates seamlessly into headers, sidebars, or anywhere else you want to reinforce your brand. It also includes advanced customization features to ensure your site identity looks sharp across devices.

That brings the total number of new Kadence blocks released to five!!! We hope you’re really excited to try out these incredible new features.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s Next?

While this release brings a significant level of flexibility, it’s just the beginning. We have future plans to add more, and improve what we’ve started with. Some things to highlight are:

• Adding Headers to the Pattern Library—In a future release, we plan to allow users to add headers created with the Kadence Advanced Header/ Navigation Blocks to the Pattern Library.
• Account Block—We will provide a block that makes it simple to display a login popout modal if the user is logged out and custom account links if the user is logged in.
• Cart Block—While WooCommerce core offers a cart block that you can use in your header, its options are limited, and we know our users will want more, so we are planning to make this soon.
• Much More!

We’re excited to see what you build with these five new blocks. Join our Facebook Group and share your creations! 

• Need Guidance? Check out our self-paced help docs on building advanced headers with Kadence Blocks. 
• Need Support? If you get stuck, send us a support ticket. Our team is happy to help.
• Submit Feature Requests: If you want to submit feature requests you’d like to see added to these new blocks, submit one here: https://feedback.kadencewp.com/.

Ready to get started with Kadence Blocks to build your site-wide header and navigation?

To start building your website header with Kadence Blocks, simply install or update to Kadence Blocks 3.3.0 and Kadence Blocks Pro 2.5.0.

When you visit a website, you’re probably searching for specific information, like what a company charges for their product or ways to contact someone. The first place you’ll look is in the website’s top menu, also known as its navigation, menu bar, header, or nav bar. 

Without navigation, you wouldn’t be able to easily notice and click those pricing and contact pages or other important pages on the website. You may even have trouble finding the website in the first place! 

Website navigation is an essential asset on every website, including yours. It improves the user experience and even your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts. 

But not all navigation is created equal. It can be hard to get it right. After all, what exactly is website navigation? How should it look? What pages should be included? 

In this article, we dive into these answers and more. Let’s take a closer look at website navigation, best practices, and examples. 

What is website navigation, and why does it matter? 

Websites are a hub for information about you or your company. They usually have multiple pages, sections, and links so visitors can find what they are looking for quickly. Website navigation makes this possible. 

Your navigation is simply a list of links or menu of options that website visitors can select and go to. Plus, website navigation refers to the elements of menus, including the buttons and links, overall design, and copy. It can also refer to sub-navigation menus (or submenus), which provide even more options under main navigation menus. 

Website navigation is one of the key aspects of website design and showcases your most important web pages. 

Good website navigation helps guide users towards certain actions, like browsing your product pages or contacting you. Navigation also allows you to highlight the information and pages you want to emphasize.

Understanding and optimizing your website’s navigation has a lot of benefits. Here are some of the top advantages: 

• Improve user experience. When people go to your website, they’re probably searching for specific information, like what your pricing is or what services you offer. Your website navigation will probably have a main menu with “Pricing” and “Services” as clear options, leading users to easily find that information. 
• Higher engagement and retention. When visitors are easily able to locate information, they’ll probably stay on your site much longer. Websites with poor navigation drive users away since they can’t figure out how to get around the website. 
• Boost SEO. Website navigation helps more than just your users; it allows search engines to understand your website better. Navigation paints a clearer picture of how your site is structured and laid out. So, search engines will learn which pages are important and what your site is about. It won’t take much for them to start indexing your website! 

These benefits are great for increasing your site’s new users, engagement, and search rankings. 

But it’s important to remember that good website navigation ultimately increases your conversion rate. Website users will be more satisfied with the site, stay on it longer, and go through a seamless conversion process. 

Types of website navigation 

You know what website navigation is and why it’s important, but did you know that there are different types of navigation? That’s right–your site will most likely house multiple menus. 

Some of these menus may be part of or act as your website’s primary navigation menu. Your main menu refers to the primary list or menu. It’s usually located at the very top of your website as part of your website header. 

Your header may also feature your logo. Take ours, for example: 

Now, let’s check out the types of website navigation. 

Horizontal navigation bar 

A horizontal navigation bar is typically a thin bar or block that runs the entire width of your website. It lives on the top level of your website, above any images, graphics, or other web elements. 

A horizontal bar can either be a solid color, like black or white, or transparent (it will have no color and use the header image as the background, like the website pictured above). 

We recommend always including a horizontal navigation bar on your website. It’s the best way to show users (and search engines) what’s important. Plus, it’s easy to make and edit your navigation with Kadence Blocks! 

Dropdown menu 

A dropdown menu is pretty similar to other menus in terms of looks, but where it differs is by interaction. To see the menu, users must hover over it or click it.  

Dropdown menus come in all different sizes. Most often, they are used to change options on a website that doesn’t need a full, large menu. For example, if your ecommerce website features different languages or currencies, you can include a small dropdown menu so users can change those options if needed. 

Dropdowns are also a great solution for when you want to maximize screen space and minimize clicks. For instance, if you have a lot of pages and navigation items, you shouldn’t display all of them in your horizontal navigation bar. 

Instead, group options together or create a hierarchy. Doing so with a dropdown menu will help visitors find things more easily. Check out this example: 

We can see that this website is prioritizing Home Health as a menu option, but there are more pages that users might want to access from the main nav menu. However, these don’t need to be prominently displayed like the other more important pages. 

Hamburger menu 

Who would’ve thought we would start talking about hamburgers? Well, in this case, we’re talking about the hamburger that goes on your website, not on your plate. 

The hamburger menu is a lot like the dropdown menu, and it’s actually the most minimalistic menu on this list. 

This type of website navigation menu hides all navigation options behind three small horizontal lines (hence the name). After clicking the hamburger icon, users will see the navigation options. This type is most common for the mobile view of websites where space is limited. 

Vertical menu (sidebars)

Sidebar menus, also known as vertical menus, are navigation menus that live on the left or right side of a website. Like other types of menus, vertical navigation menus usually feature a logo and clickable links. 

These types of menus are usually more colorful to catch your eye. They may also be collapsible with a simple click. 

Sidebar menus are great for websites with more than a few navigation options. This type of menu also pairs well with the hamburger and dropdown menus. Check out this vertical main menu from A24: 

Footer navigation menu 

Unlike all of the other navigation menus we’ve touched on, footers are a little different. 

Your footer navigation menu is more hidden since users must scroll to the bottom of the page in order to see it. 

These menus also house more links and information than their counterparts. For example, you probably don’t want to put your social links in your horizontal main menu – that could distract users from your main pages or call-to-action buttons. But the footer is a great place to put those social links on display. Salesforce does this well: 

Think of your footer as a kitchen cabinet. You can put a lot of your kitchen items in there since they don’t need to be on the counter, but you still want to be able to access them. The same goes for your website. You want people to be able to see other pages, but they probably don’t need to be front and center in your main menu. 

The footer is also a good place to include legal information and privacy policy. 

12 Website navigation best practices 

So far, we’ve covered all of the essential information you should know about website navigation. Now, we’ll explore best practices so your navigation menus are as effective as possible – all while looking awesome! 

1. Set your logo to a modest size 

Navigation menus are meant to guide and show users what the main pages are. Besides those options, logos are present. 

Logos typically act as a link to your website’s home page or as a reminder of what website the user is on. They are not meant to be the focus of your navigation menu, and logos that are too large may even distract the user from taking a certain action. 

However, we often see site logos that are too large for the menu. 

As a best practice, be sure to set your logo to a modest size. It should not overpower your website or nav menus. 

It’s also important to note that your logo should always be readable. Don’t make it too small, and make sure it’s visible in front of your background or header color. We recommend sticking to a vector graphic (SVG format) for the most clarity. 

Example: Apple 

A great example of this best practice comes from Apple:

As pictured, the Apple logo is there, but it’s not the main focus on the menu. 

Pitfalls to avoid 

• Logos that are too small or large 
• Blurry logos 

2. Simplified and intuitive menus 

Besides a logo, your navigation menu will have some sort of list of options to choose from. If you’re including too many options, it can get overwhelming for your website users, especially if you do it for your top or main menu. 

We recommend including enough options to provide an intuitive, smooth user experience. 

You should also simplify the menu where possible. For example, if you have a physical location, you don’t need two menu options like “Contact Us” and “Find Us.” Instead, choose one or the other. 

You can also eliminate the “Home” tab in your nav menu. Your logo can act as a link back to your home page. 

Not only does a simplified menu avoid clutter, but it also can help increase your conversions. As mentioned, too many links and options may confuse users and cause them to not find what they’re looking for or bounce off of your website. 

Offering fewer options makes the conversion process much easier. 

Another aspect to consider is the layout of your navigation menu. An intuitive and user-friendly layout usually follows a simple formula: Your logo stays on the left side and your navigation options go on the right side or middle with a call to action, like this: 

We recommend following the same layout for your horizontal navigation menu. Many websites do the same, so your users already know how to navigate it. 

Example: Start Blogging 101

This great example comes from Start Blogging 101. As you can see, the site’s menu is condensed into just three options. They also use dropdown menus to organize the menu. 

Pitfalls to avoid 

• Cluttered and overwhelming menus 
• Repetitive pages and options 
• Odd menu layouts 

3. Use clear and descriptive labels 

We’ve covered how your menu should be simplified and intuitive in its design, but how you label menu options also matters. 

In her book Dare to Lead, Brene Brown says: 

This principle applies in your website’s navigation too. As a best practice, you should be as clear and descriptive as possible. Avoid using terms with vague interpretations. For instance, for your blog, don’t call it “Journal,” just name it “Blog.”

When possible, use common terms for pages and links. For example, when showcasing your work on your photography website, name that page “Portfolio” in your navigation menu. It’s a common name that your website visitors will recognize and resonate with. 

Using clear and descriptive labels isn’t just great for user experience. It’s also an important part of SEO and how you let search engines know what your website is all about. 

Example: Polly Jane Photography 

This photography website uses this best practice with a clear and concise menu. When you go to the site, you can see what each page is about just from the label. 

Pitfalls to avoid

• Ambiguous or confusing link labels 
• Using unique terms or phrases in your navigation menu 

4. Prioritize important pages 

When you make a list, you probably put the most important things first. And as we’ve said, your website navigation menu is like a list. The most important pages should be prioritized. 

If you’re doing a dropdown or vertical navigation menu, this is pretty straightforward. Simply put pages in a normal list order from top to bottom. 

If you’re using a horizontal navigation bar, the most important pages should be either on the left (starting) side or at the very end on the right side. When creating your list, remember that people read left to right.

Example: Beth Whitney Studio 

In this example, we can see that the most important goal of this website is to sell paintings and prints. Based on their position in the menu, gift cards and reviews are not as important for conversion in this case. 

Pitfalls to avoid

• Prioritizing pages that don’t lead to conversions or actions 
• Including pages in your nav menu that aren’t important to your users 

5. Include relevant calls to action (CTAs)

Here’s a question for you: What is the one action you want someone to take when they’re visiting your website for the first time? 

Website navigation is meant to help your website visitors find what they’re looking for. But that doesn’t mean you can’t encourage a certain action or lead them to a page. The best way to do this is through a call to action (CTA). 

A CTA in your nav menu is a best practice for a few reasons. On average, people spend about six seconds viewing a website menu. A good CTA offers a clear next step to keep them on the site longer and engage. 

Here are some ways to create a great CTA: 

• Adding a badge, like “new,” next to a menu item. 
• Making a unique button for your CTA. Use a different color from the rest of your menu to make the CTA button stand out. 
• Linking to an important page and using clear text. Add strong, descriptive text for your CTA, like “Contact Me,” “Book a Demo,” or “Get a Quote.”

You should include a CTA in your main menu and header. People typically scan pages in a Z pattern, so the top-right corner is prime real estate in your header navigation. Adding a CTA in that area is a great way to generate more conversions on your site.

Example: Dr. Donna Lamar 

As shown in this example, Dr. Donna LaMar wants folks to contact her, so that’s what her CTA drives users towards. Her website is using this best practice to its full potential! 

Pitfalls to avoid 

• Not including a CTA in your nav menu 
• Making the CTA blend in with your menu 
• Using the CTA for irrelevant pages 

6. Make your header visible 

This best practice may seem like a given, but sometimes we see websites with missing, hard to read, or disappearing navigation menus. 

As a rule of thumb, your nav menu should be visible on most pages and as users scroll through. The exception here would be conversion-focused landing pages. Those don’t need a full nav menu since you’re driving the user towards the page’s CTA. 

We recommend making your website header sticky. This means that the header never goes away and “sticks” to the top of the page. Enabling a sticky top nav menu will keep it visible at all times when users are browsing in desktop view. 

You can further customize and improve visibility of your header by using conditional headers. For example, you can have a fuller menu for new or logged out users and a more targeted, concise menu for logged in users if you have a membership website. 

Example: Liquid Web 

This website features a slider and collage as its header, but it keeps the menu centered with bright text so it’s easy to read. Plus, it’s visible on every page! 

Pitfalls to avoid 

• Not using a sticky header
• Not including a menu on most pages besides landing pages 
• Making the menu hard to read or see 

7. Implement search functionality 

We all want users to come to our websites with intention and then find what they’re looking for. What better way to help them than with a search function? 

Adding search functionality to your nav menu has several benefits, including: 

• A better user experience. People won’t go clicking and scrolling around aimlessly. They can simply use the search box to find exactly what they need. 
• Quicker searches and conversions. A search bar in your navigation keeps it visible and accessible at all times, allowing users to easily search when needed. This process gets them to pages quicker and reduces friction to increase conversions. We highly recommend a search bar for ecommerce websites for this reason! 

Search functionality doesn’t have to be a long or large search bar as we see on some websites. Instead, you could simply add a button with a magnifying glass or a link that says “Search.”

Example: DIY Dream Site 

This beautiful website doesn’t just have a great menu, but it also uses search functionality in the top right corner. This clear search bar with a magnifying glass indicates that users can search for what they need quickly. 

Pitfalls to avoid

• Not using a search bar on a large website 
• Making a distracting or large search bar 

8. Avoid displaying social media icons in your header 

Social icons are great additions to your website. It can help people stay in touch with you and grow your following. But, there is a best practice to keep in mind when it comes to website navigation and social icons: Avoid putting them in your header. 

Social media icons can be distracting. After all, it leads users away from your website and your ultimate goal of converting them into a subscriber or customer. This leads to higher bounce rates, lower conversions, and less engagement. 

And trust us; getting someone back on your website after taking them to social media is a tall order! 

If you want to include social media links on your website, try putting them on your contact page or even in your website footer. 

Example: Ruben Venturo 

This website uses a large footer to display additional information not found in the main menu, including social media links. 

Pitfalls to avoid 

• Putting social media icons in your top navigation menu
• Making your social media icons too prominent 

9. Optimize for mobile 

Did you know over 93% of people access the internet through their mobile devices? That’s a lot of people! 

Nowadays, it’s essential to have a mobile-friendly website. In fact, Google even takes a mobile-first approach to indexing and ranking:

“Google predominantly uses the mobile version of a site’s content, crawled with the smartphone agent, for indexing and ranking. This is called mobile-first indexing. While it’s not required to have a mobile version of your pages to have your content included in Google’s Search results, it is very strongly recommended.”

This best practice may be the most important one on this list. If your site and its navigation isn’t optimized for mobile, you’re excluding a lot of potential customers and hindering your SEO. 

Here are some tips for making a mobile-first site when it comes to navigation: 

• Make sure your menu is accessible. Sometimes, mobile menus may be too small and hard for users to click or navigate, or they may be too big and cut off words. Ensure your menu is visible and has enough space around it for options to be clicked easily. 
• Use a hamburger menu. As we’ve previously discussed, the hamburger menu is your best bet for mobile-friendly navigation. It’s a clear way to indicate where your menu is. 
• Simplify your nav menu. This point was one of the first best practices we’ve covered in this list, but it plays a huge role in optimizing your header for mobile devices. You’re working with a much smaller screen so make your menus clear and concise. 

Optimizing for mobile also goes hand-in-hand with other best practices, like using clear and descriptive labels, setting your logo to a modest size, and some more we’ll discuss soon. 

Example: Milestone Mom

The mobile version of this website uses a clear hamburger menu that’s easy to get to. Once you click it, it pops out and gives you all of the menu options you need, with plenty of space in between each one. 

Pitfalls to avoid 

• Not using a condensed hamburger menu 
• Having no mobile menu (yes, we’ve seen this before!)
• Giving too many options in your mobile menu 

10. Consistency across the website 

When it comes to web design, a lot of things need to be consistent. Your buttons, typography, color palette… we could go on, but one element that also needs consistency is your navigation. 

People like repetition. We’ve already mentioned that using common words and phrases in your nav menu will help users recognize what that page is. The design and the overall look are no different. 

No matter what menu style you’re using, you need to make sure it looks the same or similar on every page. If you’re using a vertical menu, keep it vertical. If you have a horizontal nav bar, provide the same menu options on every page. 

Here are some more tips for promoting consistency in navigation: 

• Use the same colors 
• Keep the same font size 
• Don’t change the label wording or order
• Set the menu to a certain size and keep it the same across the website 
• Keep the menu in the same place
• Use a template 

Consistency will not only help support a consistent look and feel across your website, but it’ll also give users a better experience. 

Example: Speak Up Conference 

In this example, we can see just how the menu is a seamless part of the website. It uses the same text and button colors and provides the same options on every single page. 

Pitfalls to avoid 

• Using inconsistent style elements 
• Changing the position of the menu 
• Changing up the size, style, or location 

11. Save less important pages for your footer 

We haven’t talked too much about footers yet, but this best practice is all about this type of menu. 

The footer menu is a lot more flexible in terms of website navigation. It can and should contain more information and links than other types of menus. 

As stated by the CEO of StoryBrand and New York Times bestselling author Donald Miller, your footer is like your junk drawer.  

That sounds a bit strange, but it works! To help make your footer an organized junk drawer, we recommend making your footer mega menu-style. 

This just means that all options in your footer should fall under a category and heading for more organization. Without these, your footer may be too overwhelming. 

Your footer is also the best place for those social media icons we mentioned. If you have a signup form or CTA for your email newsletter, this is also a great place for it to go. 

Example: The Stinky Pet Co. 

This ecommerce website has a great footer. The menu options are organized neatly on the left side, contrasting the main menu, which only has four options. 

By using this best practice, this website can help users find additional information without drawing attention to those pages in the main nav menu. 

Pitfalls to avoid 

• Not putting enough links in your footer 
• Not using a mega menu in your footer 

Bonus: Use data to inform your website navigation structure

If you’re ready to take your website header and navigation to the next level, this best practice is for you. 

You probably created your website’s navigation menu based on what pages you wanted to highlight. But it doesn’t need to be a guessing game. Whether you just want to see how it’s performing or enhance your website’s metrics, you should use data to inform your navigation structure. 

There are multiple ways to start collecting and analyzing this type of data: 

• Website metrics: Leverage Google Analytics (it’s free!) to see important metrics like engagement time, most popular pages, and conversions. You may find a good opportunity to prioritize a high-performing page in your nav menu, change up your CTA text, or move some links to the footer. 
• Heatmaps: Heatmaps are used for seeing just how your users interact with your website. They visually show where someone might click, how far they scroll, and how they move their mouse around the page. Heatmaps can provide valuable insight on how people use your nav menus and what could be improved. 
• A/B testing: You don’t have to change things constantly to test them. Instead, use a tool for A/B testing. These tools set up a control (which can be your current top menu, for example) with an experimental menu. This could include a whole new menu, different CTA, or various labels. You can then see what performs best and implement those changes. 

Data is a great resource for optimizing your website and its navigation, and some tools like Google Analytics are even free. 

Build your website’s navigation with Kadence Blocks 

As we’ve learned, one of the most important aspects of your WordPress website (and any website) is its navigation. It helps people find what they need, gets you the conversions you need, and gives a boost to your SEO efforts. 

With all of that said, this feels like the perfect time to tell you that we recently launched the Kadence Advanced Header/ Navigation Blocks, the only set of Gutenberg blocks that lets you build fully customizable headers directly in the native WordPress block editor. This release contains 5 brand new blocks, each one carefully crafted to empower you to create a fully customizable header and navigation.

You might be wondering how to go about implementing all of these great best practices. We have you covered.

The Kadence Advanced Header/ Navigation Blocks gives you everything you need to build beautiful headers exactly the way you want them. Check out the documentation below to get started with these powerful new blocks:

-Header (Adv) Block Documentation
-Navigation (Adv) Block Documentation
-Navigation Link Block Documentation
-Search (Adv) Block Documentation
-Site Identity Block Documentation

Wrapping Up

In conclusion, implementing best practices for website navigation is crucial to ensuring an intuitive and seamless user experience. Whether you’re designing for desktop or mobile, remember to prioritize clarity, simplicity, and accessibility. By optimizing your site’s navigation, you not only improve usability but also boost engagement and conversions.

Ready to revamp your navigation? Try out Kadence’s powerful Advanced Navigation Block and bring your design to life. Explore the full potential of Kadence Blocks today and create a site that truly stands out!

5 Reasons Why You’ll Love the Vital Vibe Starter Template

The Vital Vibe starter template uses the power of Kadence Theme and Kadence Blocks to provide a framework that showcases your online shop. Adding your unique content is easy!

1. Prebuilt Layouts and Designs

This starter template provides pre-designed pages and elements, complete with beautiful starter content and stock images. These ready-made pages simplify and accelerate the design and development process, eliminating the need to spend hours creating your own pages or text from scratch. With the Vital Vibe starter template, everything is set up for you—just customize it with the content unique to your business.

2. E-Commerce Ready

The Vital Vibe starter template is fully integrated with WooCommerce. With pre-built products and beautiful archive pages, all you have to do is swap out the content for your own and you’ll have a beautiful e-commerce shop up and running with just a few clicks!

3. The Events Calendar Integration

The new Vital Vibe starter template comes with The Events Calendar pre-installed. This powerful event management plugin provides calendars and essential WordPress tools for organizing events, making it ideal for locations offering a variety of accommodations. It also is a great way to showcase seasonal promotions.

The Events Calendar is feature-rich, ready to use right away, and fully customizable. It’s user-friendly and easily expandable to meet your needs.

4. Beautiful Pre-installed Images & Galleries

The Vital Vibe starter template comes packed with beautiful royalty-free images. You’ll also find stunning pre-installed galleries built using the Kadence Advanced Gallery Block. Use these images however you like, or swap them out for images of your own.

5. Global Color Palette & Fonts

One of the standout features of the Kadence Theme is how effortlessly you can update your website’s colors and fonts with just a few clicks. Here are two simple methods to achieve this:

1. On initial import of the starter template, you’ll be given the option to change your color scheme and font family. The default colors are fun and inviting but you can always choose adjust the colors to match your brand.

2. After import, from the Kadence > Dashboard in your WordPress admin dashboard, click the Customize link in the Global Colors box. From here, you can select the colors for your site’s Global Palette.

How to Get Started with the Kadence Vital Vibe Starter Template

Vital Vibe starter template is a Pro starter template. You will need Kadence Theme Pro and Kadence Blocks Pro to have access to this template.

Once you’ve installed Kadence Theme Pro, navigate to Kadence > Starter Templates in your WordPress Admin dashboard.

If you’re totally new to Starter Templates, click the Activate Starter Templates button. We’ll handle installing the Kadence Starter Templates plugin.

Next, navigate to the starter template on this page and click the Vital Vibe template in the library to get started.

You can then select the Style, and then choose to import the Full Site (only recommended for fresh WordPress installs) or Select Page.

Please Note: Full site importing is intended for new/empty sites with no content. Your site customizer settings, widgets, menus will all be overridden.

That’s it! All done. You now have the Vital Vibe starter template loaded onto your site. Whether you are a website design novice or you have a technology team to handle your website upkeep, this Kadence Starter template will make the job easier and more enjoyable for everyone. With a few clicks, you’re ready to customize, add your own content, and launch a beautiful new site.

Buy a Kadence Bundle!

Sign up for one of our bundles to access our Kadence plugins and themes, including Pro starter templates, like Vital Vibe! We’re always adding new starter templates to the Kadence experience, so your investment in Kadence Bundles will continue to provide new templates to make staying current with new design trends easier than ever. You’ll get access to an additional library of PRO starter templates that is ONLY included with one of our value-packed bundles, including the Essential Bundle, Full Bundle, or Lifetime Bundle. All of our purchases come with a 30-day money-back guarantee, no questions asked!