WebMatros

Spread Your Wings Online

GeneratePress Review – a Simple, Fast & Flexible WordPress Theme

In this GeneratePress review, I’ll share my recent experiences using this lean, page builder friendly WordPress theme. So far, I’m enjoying it a lot! So much so that I’m currently finishing my first GeneratePress-based website, and have another in the making. I’m also working on this site (for my music production project, Tazmanian Ninja). All three websites were […]

Hestia Theme Review – Better than Before

This in-depth Hestia theme review expands on my extensive WordPress theme comparison What’s the Fastest WordPress Theme for Your Page Builder? In that comparison, Hestia didn’t do too well. In fact: it came in last, performance-wise! Fortunately, ThemeIsle (the makers of Hestia) were quick to shoot me an email, wanting to find the cause and […]

What’s the Fastest WordPress Theme for Your Page Builder?

With WordPress page builder plugins like Beaver Builder, Divi Builder, and Elementor constantly evolving, becoming more and more powerful tools for new and pro web designers alike… What’s left for the WordPress theme to handle? The answer? Your site’s header, footer and stuff like search results, archives, tag and category pages. But even those can now be handled […]

A CoSchedule Review by a Happy Content Marketer

Ahhh… Content marketing and social media marketing: either you love it – or you hate it. Or somewhere in between. Me? Honestly I can sometimes feel overwhelmed by it. Hence I always strive to simplify it as much as possible. I even made it a challenge and shared the journey. Truth is, I’m not a […]

Elementor Pro 2’s New Theme Builder vs Beaver Themer

Anyone who has looked at Beaver Themer can see that Elementor Pro 2’s theme builder feature is conceptually a carbon copy clone of Beaver Themer. The main selling point of Elementor Pro 2 is its included theme builder. “Included” is the key word here. Elementor’s theme builder is a surreptitious attempt at matching (i.e. blatantly […]

A Blissful Social Warfare Review – Social Media Icons Done Right

Social media icons should be a simple, trouble-free affair. Yet I’ve had my fair share (pun intended:) of problems with them. Indeed, social media icons are a necessary evil: temperamental and occasionally problematic – yet more or less mandatory for most websites. We want visitors to share our content – so it makes sense to […]

Is Yoast Premium Worth It? My Underwhelmed Review

When I recently realized the Yoast Premium upgrade would let me optimize each piece of content for multiple keywords, I was thrilled. That’s a feature I’ve been wanting for years! While doing keyword research, I often find several keywords to target. Typically alternative spellings or long-tail variants of the main keyword. The thought quickly crossed my […]

Thrive Architect Review – a Landing Page Builder for Marketers

Now that you’ve been assured of my integrity and heartfulness, here are my experiences with Thrive Themes (and in particular Thrive Architect) – or as they’d say in Germany: my “Thrive Themes erfahrung” :o) Thrive Themes isn’t German, though. It originates from Switzerland. Thrive Themes often make me think of Germany (even though they’re from […]

Beaver Themer Review – the Limitless Pill for Beaver Builder

If you’ve read my Beaver Builder review and Divi vs Beaver Builder speed comparison, you’ll know that I’m a big fan of Beaver Builder (and less so of Elegant Themes’ Divi – even with the improvements in Divi 3). Beaver Builder is a flexible and powerful WordPress page builder – without the complexity seen in other WordPress themes and […]

Need a Color Scheme? Spectrum by Eigenlogik is a great ColorSchemer Studio alternative!

Update, May 21st, 2017: ColorSchemer Studio has been discontinued. Fortunately, Spectrum (a great alternative to ColorSchemer Studio) is still available and was recently updated to add compatibility with macOS Sierra. The app hasn’t changed much (if at all) UI-wise since this review below was published, so it’s still as valid as ever (and I still […]

Simplero vs Teachable vs Kajabi – a Simplero Review Based on 8 Years of Experience

November 2018 Update:I sadly can’t recommend Simplero any longer, due to repeated, severe disappointment in some of their business practices I’ve experienced on behalf of myself AND some of my clients. Want an example? How about this: raising prices 4x (FOUR times!) and telling your loyal customers to pay up or move somewhere else??? Insanely […]

Divi vs Beaver Builder – Which is the Fastest WordPress Page Builder?

You do want a fast website, right? Most of us do. It’s with great pride that I hereby welcome you to the fully updated and revised Divi vs Beaver Builder WordPress theme speed test! Note: for reference, I’ve archived the 2016 version here, as a PDF you can download should you wish. To speed up […]

The Latest in Managed WordPress Hosting: a StudioPress Sites Review

Despite my intergalactically high intelligence (no less! ?) I must admit I hadn’t seen this one coming. Yet, now that it’s here: it’s an obvious move by Rainmaker Digital (formerly Copyblogger) to release a hosted WordPress service, in the “tradition” of WP Engine, Flywheel, Pressable, and Media Temple, to name a few of the big-name players. […]

The Best MailChimp Alternatives in 2017 – a ConvertKit Review by WebMatros

In this fresh ConvertKit review, I’ll explore one of the absolute best MailChimp alternatives in the email marketing automation arena: ConvertKit. What are its pros and cons? Is it a viable MailChimp alternative? Or just a dumbed-down ActiveCampaign copycat? Read on! To bring you as much value as I can with this review, I looked […]

Is the CoSchedule Headline Analyzer worth your time? [VIDEO]

As part of my ongoing Rainmaker Marketing Challenge and initiative to rid myself of the many marketing tools I’ve been using – I’ve been wanting to test the accuracy of the CoSchedule Headline Analyzer. I’ve used it numerous times when crafting headlines for my blog posts, call to actions, headlines for landing pages, Hello Bars […]

Headway Themes 4 Review – Revised and Twice as Ranty

Update on April 2, 2019:Redirected links to the Headway fork “Blox” to this post instead, as the project seems abandonware. My alternative recommendations below still hold true! Update on February 13, 2018:As a Headway Themes alternative, I still recommend Beaver Builder (as mentioned below). However, while writing my review of Thrive Architect, I felt a strong […]

The FULL Beaver Builder Review

I recently designed a client website using the infamous Beaver Builder plugin, including the Beaver Builder theme. If you need a WordPress page builder, I recommend you read this, my full Beaver Builder review – in which I pit it against Divi, Thrive Architect and the Headway WordPress theme. As you could read in my recent Divi review, […]

My (brutally honest) Divi Review – a Troubled WordPress Page Builder

In this brutally honest Divi theme review, I look at the pros and cons of a popular but troubled WordPress Page Builder. Divi ain’t dumb, it’s just a theme with an attitude. Why? Read on! When Google in early 2015 announced that “website mobile-friendliness” would soon be included as an SEO ranking signal in Google’s […]

A New Genesis Framework Review (on the Rainmaker Platform)

Note! This is just one of my Rainmaker posts – Be sure you check out everything I’ve written on the New Rainmaker Platform! As you could read in my previous blog post, I recently switched this, my whole website – from being a self-hosted WordPress installation on Media Temple hosting – to Copyblogger’s relatively new Rainmaker Platform. Rainmaker is a remixed WordPress-version, tailor-made for […]

Media Temple WordPress Hosting Review

This is my freshly updated 2015 review of Media Temple’s managed WordPress hosting offer. So much has happened since I published the first review, just one year ago. Enjoy reading it – and let me know what you think! (in the comments) Tip! Check current hosting discounts, offers and coupon codes here » A year ago, Media Temple launched […]

HitTail – a Google Keyword Tool for the Lazy Ones

Keyword research takes time. Too much time! Can HitTail help? I say it can, and here’s exactly why it’s such a powerful Google keyword tool for your website! Fresh for 2015, this HitTail review (one that I’ve been wanting to write for a while now) will show you a unique Google keyword tool that’s built […]

Fastest Managed WordPress Hosting Comparison – WP Engine vs Flywheel vs Media Temple vs Synthesis

Important!There’s an updated, vastly expanded version of this speed test comparison, to find the fastest WordPress hosting. Check it out! In this mammoth, epic managed WordPress hosting comparison, I share with you who I’ve found to be the fastest managed WordPress hosting provider. I ‘ll pit WP Engine vs Flywheel vs Media Temple and Synthesis. An exciting fight for sure! Tip! Check current […]

This WP Engine Review is the One to Read if you Care about Your Website

This will be one of the best WP Engine reviews you’ll ever read. I’ll do my best to make it so. Read on! Tip! Check current hosting discounts, offers and coupon codes here » Web hosting relationships – and their relation to your WordPress web hosting woes You know the story. Just like romantic relationships, most […]

My Honest Dynamik Website Builder Review (updated)

This is an updated and revised review of my original Dynamik Website Builder review. Disclaimer: Since I already own and use several other WordPress theme frameworks, I asked Cobalt Apps for a complimentary license, so I could write this review. So in a way, this review has been sponsored by Cobalt Apps. Rest assured though: This review is in no […]

Headway 3.6 beta – hopefully room for improvement?

The Headway theme holds so much promise. It’s the only theme framework that really does deliver what it says on the box. Using Headway, you can – in real life, not some upbeat marketing fantasy universe – design your own WordPress website, without coding. That’s why I’m such a big fan of Headway and recommend it so […]

Ghost vs WordPress (What I Miss Most in Ghost)

Unlike seemingly everyone else within the web design / web development community and across the global blogosphere, I’ll have to admit that I still haven’t installed Ghost – John O’Nolan‘s new, slick blogging platform (that began as a Kickstarter project) out to challenge WordPresss’ position as the world’s number 1 blog software. Why haven’t I […]

PageLines DMS Review – a WordPress Theme Revolution?

PageLines DMS was “secretly rumored” for a while, and some weeks ago, some official info was finally launched. The PageLines team have definitely held their cards close to their chest, in an almost Apple-like top-secret fashion. Probably due to two reasons: 1. To avoid getting ripped off before even entering the market. Andrew Power’s confabulatory blog […]

Thesis 2.1 and The Future of DIY Web Design

As most regular followers of my site will know, I was not impressed with the long-awaited release of the Thesis 2.0 theme framework for WordPress. Matt Cutts (Google’s SEO representative) and Sugar Rae Hoffman (a former Thesis evangelist) and many others have also jumped ship after the disastrous Thesis 2 release. Pre-launch, I had high […]

Headway 3.5 Wrappers: Fluid header, footer and everything in between!

No WordPress theme framework is perfect. And even more true: No WordPress theme framework is perfect for everyone. That said, I overall like the Headway theme more than any other WP theme. It’s flexible, innovative and a huge productivity booster… But alas – it’s not perfect! I have a widescreen monitor… Gimme a widescreen theme […]

Review of the Canvas WordPress theme framework from WooThemes

This is a review of the Canvas WordPress theme framework from well-known premium WordPress theme makers WooThemes. A framework is a clean theme, ready for you to skin/customize with your own design preferences. Why use a theme framework? The benefit of a theme framework is that you start from a more or less blank starting […]

The Soliloquy WordPress slider plugin – Does it kick SlideDeck 2 in the pants?

I’m a SlideDeck 2 user, a mammoth, very flexible WordPress slider plugin. I’d never heard of the Soliloquy WordPress slider plugin until I read about it on Chris Lema’s blog. According to Chris, Soliloquy is considerably faster than my usual go-to slidedeck plugin, SlideDeck 2. When I also came across a video about Soliloquy, made by the […]

Is SlideDeck 2 the worlds best WordPress slider plugin?

Sliders, slideshows, slidedecks… Whatever you call them, they’re ubiquitous. They’re everywhere. For good or for bad. Mainstreamed and popularized by Apple. So if you have a WordPress website, chances are that you’ll also want or need a WordPress slider plugin of some sort. But which one? Free or premium? Simple or advanced? Basically, the way […]

PageLines theme framework – Does it beat Headway?

I’m a huge fan of the Headway theme framework, but I’ve been asked by a few readers for my opinion on the PageLines theme framework. I’ve had the chance to work with the PageLines theme for various web design clients during the last couple of years. Both PageLines v. 1.x (branded “PageLines PlatformPro”) as well as […]

Best of the Best WordPress Hosting? My Media Temple (gs) review

If you’re a small business owner like me, you probably also have a few websites. Your business depend on them being online, accessible, stable and reliable. Tip! Check current hosting discounts, offers and coupon codes here » Choosing a web host can be a frustrating experience! And I’ve been there: Horrible support and unstable, slow servers, […]

Making It All Work – The New Testament of GTD

Productivity guru David Allen is the man behind the Getting Things Done productivity system, aka GTD. A phenomena with many fanatic fans and dedicated followers. Some even say GTD is the holy grail of personal productivity. When I first “read” David Allen’s first book Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity I got intensely […]

Pump up your business with The Pumpkin Plan by Mike Michalowicz

A few years ago I was at the annual entrepreneur fair Iværk & Vækst here in Copenhagen, at which a guy called Mike Michalowicz was booked to deliver a talk on entrepreneurship. When Mike entered the stage I must admit my first thought was something along the lines of: Oh no… That guy looks exactly […]

Why I love my Fuji X100 camera

I love my Fuji X100. First of all, it has saved me a lot of money. I was strongly considering a Leica M9 or Leica M9-P. Thanks to the wonderful guys in the Photografica camera-store here in Copenhagen, I had a chance to play around with, and shoot with, both the FujiFilm X100 and the Leica […]

Review of the Sony HDR-XR500/520 video camcorder

I visited a Sony store in Barcelona back in March and I remember how surprised I was to find that Sony products suffer from such poor design nowadays. I had heard Sony Vaio laptops was praised for their design, yet to me they looked extremely cheap. Shiny plastic, in an uncool way. It just screams […]

IntenseDebate Review – Short and Sour

This morning I’ve had a rather intense debate with myself;-) Should I uninstall the IntenseDebate blog commenting system, recently purchased by Automattic the WordPress kings. After some internet research I found out it was not just me. Other people have had problems with spam not getting filtered properly, comments not showing but was supposed to. […]

Gary Fong Lightsphere & Cactus V2s

This morning I was woken up by the mailman who had a package for me, from China. Whoohah, I was instantly on, as I knew that could only be… something good… something I’ve been looking forward to… something… from… Gadget Infinity! Any Strobist fan knows that Gadget Infinity is heaven for both your photography, wallet, […]

Deep! Search Your Images by Color

Ironic Software earlier today released version 1.0 of their new app called Deep of which I’ve been a beta tester. If you don’t know Ironic Software, they’re the makers of Leap and Yep. Don’t know Leap and Yep? Well, first of all they’re both apps made exclusively for Mac OS X, so Windows users need […]

Curio! The App Any Creative Must Have

If you are a creative, working on a Mac computer, you are already familiar with Adobe’s Creative Suite and possibly some of Apple’s pro applications, like Final Cut Pro and Motion. You may even be using Apple’s iWork suite, using Pages for layout and writing as well as the amazing Apple Keynote for presentation slides (and so […]

Keep it cool with the Rain Design mStand

Get on with the ergonomics Being in front of a laptop for 8-10 hours a day (yes I have a lot of work to do these days) 6 days a week, will almost certainly rear its ugly head at some point in the future, as severe back pains, neck pains, the works… So, today I […]

Review of the ColorMunki Photo from X-Rite

Back in May 2008, when I was first introduced to the ColorMunki, via the Inside Digital Photo podcast, I laughed out loud. The name sounded silly and it looked funny. But in the following days, I could not get my mind off the monkey. Something kept me fascinated. I felt the ColorMunki was The Missing […]

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