Rochester Free Websites

09/06/2025

“My Website Menu Is Broken!” — WordPress Navigation Fixes for Beginners
You’ve just launched your new WordPress site. It looks decent… but there’s one glaring issue: the menu doesn’t work. Maybe the links go nowhere. Maybe the dropdowns don’t drop down. Maybe the menu doesn’t show up at all.

This is one of the most frustrating beginner problems — but it’s easier to fix than you think.

Here are the most common reasons your WordPress menu is broken and how to fix each one.

🔗 Problem: You Didn’t Assign a Menu to a Location
This is the #1 mistake beginners make. WordPress doesn’t automatically know where to place your menu.

✅ Solution:
Go to Appearance > Menus.
Under “Menu Settings,” make sure your menu is checked to appear in the correct location (like “Primary Menu” or “Header Menu”).

If it’s not assigned, it won’t show up — even if you built it perfectly.

🧭 Problem: You Haven’t Created a Menu Yet
Sometimes users are confused because they added pages, and assume they’ll automatically appear in the menu.

✅ Solution:
Still in Appearance > Menus, click “Create a New Menu.”
Name it (e.g., “Main Navigation”) and start adding your pages from the left-hand side.
Click “Save Menu,” then assign it to a display location as mentioned above.

⚙️ Problem: Your Theme Uses a Custom Header Builder
Some themes, like Astra or Divi, don’t use WordPress’s default menu system. They include a visual header builder where you manually add the menu block.

✅ Solution:
Go to your theme’s settings or “Customize” panel, and check how the header is built. If it uses a block or builder system, you’ll need to add the menu inside that layout — not through the standard menu settings alone.

🧩 Problem: A Plugin Is Interfering
Sometimes a plugin — especially page builders or header customizers — messes with the menu’s display or function.

✅ Solution:
Temporarily deactivate your plugins one by one and check your site each time. If disabling a plugin makes the menu work, that’s your culprit.

You can then either configure that plugin properly — or ditch it for something more beginner-friendly.

🎯 Final Tip: Keep Your Menu Simple
Too many items in the menu make it cluttered and hard to use — especially on mobile. Aim for 4–6 key links max. Put less important pages in the footer or submenus.

If your navigation isn’t working, you’re not alone. Fixing it might take 10 minutes — and we’re happy to guide you.

👨‍💻 Want a clean, working website menu without the headache?
Visit www.rochesterfreewebsites.com and we’ll build it right from the start.

06/06/2025

“My Website Menu Is Broken!” — WordPress Navigation

Fixes for Beginners
You’ve just launched your new WordPress site. It looks decent… but there’s one glaring issue: the menu doesn’t work. Maybe the links go nowhere. Maybe the dropdowns don’t drop down. Maybe the menu doesn’t show up at all.

This is one of the most frustrating beginner problems — but it’s easier to fix than you think.

Here are the most common reasons your WordPress menu is broken and how to fix each one.

🔗 Problem: You Didn’t Assign a Menu to a Location
This is the #1 mistake beginners make. WordPress doesn’t automatically know where to place your menu.

✅ Solution:
Go to Appearance > Menus.
Under “Menu Settings,” make sure your menu is checked to appear in the correct location (like “Primary Menu” or “Header Menu”).

If it’s not assigned, it won’t show up — even if you built it perfectly.

🧭 Problem: You Haven’t Created a Menu Yet
Sometimes users are confused because they added pages, and assume they’ll automatically appear in the menu.

✅ Solution:
Still in Appearance > Menus, click “Create a New Menu.”
Name it (e.g., “Main Navigation”) and start adding your pages from the left-hand side.
Click “Save Menu,” then assign it to a display location as mentioned above.

⚙️ Problem: Your Theme Uses a Custom Header Builder
Some themes, like Astra or Divi, don’t use WordPress’s default menu system. They include a visual header builder where you manually add the menu block.

✅ Solution:
Go to your theme’s settings or “Customize” panel, and check how the header is built. If it uses a block or builder system, you’ll need to add the menu inside that layout — not through the standard menu settings alone.

🧩 Problem: A Plugin Is Interfering
Sometimes a plugin — especially page builders or header customizers — messes with the menu’s display or function.

✅ Solution:
Temporarily deactivate your plugins one by one and check your site each time. If disabling a plugin makes the menu work, that’s your culprit.

You can then either configure that plugin properly — or ditch it for something more beginner-friendly.

🎯 Final Tip: Keep Your Menu Simple
Too many items in the menu make it cluttered and hard to use — especially on mobile. Aim for 4–6 key links max. Put less important pages in the footer or submenus.

29/05/2025

“I Can’t Find My Page on Google!” — WordPress SEO Fixes for Beginners
So you built a beautiful WordPress website. You’ve added your pages, a logo, even a blog post or two. But when you search for your business name or services on Google… crickets. You’re not showing up at all.

This is super common for WordPress beginners — but the good news? It’s usually easy to fix.

❌ Problem: You Forgot to Turn Off "Discourage Search Engines"
During setup, WordPress gives you the option to discourage search engines from indexing your site — and many people forget to turn this off once they go live.

✅ Solution:
Go to Settings > Reading in your WordPress dashboard.
Scroll to the bottom and make sure “Discourage search engines from indexing this site” is unchecked.
Hit Save. Done!

🔍 Problem: You Don’t Have an SEO Plugin
Search engines need help understanding your site. That’s where an SEO plugin comes in — it adds things like meta tags, XML sitemaps, and structured data to boost your visibility.

✅ Solution:
Install a plugin like Yoast SEO or Rank Math. These tools will walk you through optimizing every page and post. Don’t worry — it’s beginner-friendly and includes a readability checker too.

🗺 Problem: You Don’t Have a Sitemap Submitted to Google
If Google doesn’t know your site exists, it can’t rank it. You need to submit your sitemap to Google Search Console — think of it as introducing yourself at a party.

✅ Solution:

Create a Google Search Console account

Add your website

Submit your sitemap (usually found at yourwebsite.com/sitemap.xml)

Sit back while Google crawls and indexes your site

🧼 Problem: Your Site Doesn’t Have Enough Content
Google ranks pages based on helpful content. If your site only has a homepage and a contact page, it’s not giving search engines enough to work with.

✅ Solution:
Add blog posts, service descriptions, FAQs, or even a “Who We Are” page. Every piece of content is another reason for Google to notice you.

TL;DR:
Uncheck the “Discourage search engines” setting

Install an SEO plugin like Yoast or Rank Math

Submit your sitemap to Google Search Console

Add more content to your site

It’s not magic — it’s just a few smart steps. If you want your free Rochester website to work hard for you, make sure it’s searchable.

Need help with setup or SEO? Rochester Free Websites has your back.

29/05/2025

“Why is My WordPress Site So Slow?” — A Beginner’s Guide to Speed Fixes

One of the most frustrating things for new WordPress users is realizing their freshly launched site feels… slow. Maybe it takes forever to load, or the images stutter into view. You might think it’s your hosting, or WordPress is just sluggish. But most of the time, the issue lies in a few beginner mistakes — and thankfully, they’re fixable!

Let’s walk through the most common causes of WordPress slowness and what you can do about them — without needing to become a tech wizard.

⚡️ Problem: Your Images Are Too Large
A huge culprit of slow sites is oversized images. When you upload a photo straight from your phone or camera, it could be 4MB or more — that’s massive for a web page. If you have five of those on your homepage, your visitors will be stuck waiting… and waiting.

✅ Solution: Always compress your images before uploading. Use a tool like TinyPNG or install a plugin like Smush or ShortPixel to automatically resize and compress them.

🧩 Problem: Too Many Plugins
Plugins are great — they add new features to your site. But for beginners, it’s easy to go overboard. Too many plugins can slow things down and even cause conflicts between them.

✅ Solution: Keep only the essential plugins. Audit your site once a month. If a plugin isn’t being used, deactivate and delete it. Focus on quality over quantity.

🌐 Problem: Cheap or Bad Hosting
Free or shared hosting might sound appealing when starting out, but if your site is crawling, your host might be the bottleneck. Some hosts put too many sites on one server, slowing all of them down.

✅ Solution: For local users in Rochester, I recommend using a hosting provider that’s optimized for WordPress like SiteGround or Bluehost. If you’re working with me on a free site, I can help you find hosting that won’t choke your speed.

⚙️ Problem: You Didn’t Install a Caching Plugin
Every time someone visits your site, WordPress builds the page from scratch — unless you use caching. Caching saves a copy of the page so it loads faster next time.

✅ Solution: Use a free caching plugin like WP Super Cache or W3 Total Cache. It’s one of the easiest speed boosts you can give your site.

🛠 TL;DR:
Compress your images before uploading

Keep plugins lean and clean

Choose reliable hosting

Install a caching plugin

Starting a website shouldn’t feel like walking through quicksand. With a few simple tweaks, even beginners can run a fast, professional WordPress site.

Want help? Rochester Free Websites is here to get you up and running . 💻

19/09/2023

9 in 10 shoppers search new brick-and-mortar businesses online...

19/09/2023

If your business is not online. Customers can't find you.

Choose to be seen. Choose to be successful.

19/06/2023

Do you need a Google Business Profile?
Short answer: Yes.
Long Answer: Yeeeeeeeeeees!
For just $50, you can add a Google Business Profile to your Website Package.

Wondering if Google My Business is worth all the work? Check out our article on GMB (now known as Google Business Profile) from ForeFront Web!

19/06/2023

It's official. All testing is done, we are LIVE!

06/04/2023

Does my business even need a website? Yes, and for many reasons. Forbes has a great article about it.

If you don't have a business website, what are you waiting for?

05/04/2023

Websites not only make you easier to find, but it helps your business look more professional, organized, and trustworthy. We provide FREE, one-page, responsive websites so that you can showcase your products and services to customers across the internet.

In about TWO WEEKS, you can have a Google-searchable, responsive website that puts your company in front of millions of potential customers. Our designs can compete with any paid service on the internet, but you don’t have to spend a penny to reap the benefits of a professionally-designed website.

We provide FREE, one-page website to showcase your products and services to customers easily and quickly in the greater Rochester Area.

05/04/2023

Websites not only make you easier to find, but it helps your business look more professional, organized, and trustworthy. We provide FREE, one-page, responsive websites so that you can showcase your products and services to customers across the internet.

05/04/2023

Let's get this fun started!