Wednesday, 2 April 2025

How to Add Trust Badges to Checkout Pages in WordPress (& Boost Sales)

Looking to boost your online store’s conversion rates? You’re not alone. When we first started selling products online, we noticed that many visitors would abandon their carts right at checkout.

The reason? They weren’t sure if they could trust our website with their payment information.

That’s when we discovered the power of trust badges. After adding them to our checkout pages, we saw an immediate improvement in sales. These small but powerful symbols help reassure customers that their transactions are secure and legitimate.

And fortunately, adding trust badges to your WordPress checkout pages isn’t complicated at all. Whether you’re selling physical products or digital downloads, this step-by-step guide will show you how to set up trust seals in WordPress.

You’ll learn which badges work best and where to place them for maximum impact. By the end of this tutorial, you’ll have everything you need to boost your store’s credibility and increase your sales.

Add Trust Badges to Checkout Pages in WordPress (& Boost Sales)

Before we dive into the beginner’s guide, here are some quick links to help you navigate to the sections that you’re interested in:

What Are Trust Badges?

Trust badges are visual elements or icons designed to reassure visitors that your website or online store is secure, reliable, and credible. You have probably seen them on checkout pages, product pages, or even website footers.

They often include badges like ‘Secure Checkout,’ ‘Money-Back Guarantee,’ ‘Verified Seller,’ or ‘Free Shipping.’ These symbols act as subtle but powerful signals that help customers feel safe making a purchase from your store.

Trust badges

Trust badges are especially important for online stores because customers are sharing sensitive information like credit card details.

A well-placed trust badge, such as one showing your site uses SSL encryption or is backed by a reputable payment processor, can ease concerns and help to reduce cart abandonment.

Even small design choices, like adding a PayPal or Stripe logo, can have a big impact on customer confidence.

Trust badge for Stripe

WordPress makes it easy to add trust badges using plugins, widgets, or even custom code.

Whether you run a WooCommerce store or sell digital products with Easy Digital Downloads, adding trust badges is a simple step that can directly affect your sales.

The Benefits of Using Trust Seals in Your Online Store

Adding trust badges to your WordPress site is about more than looking professional. It also gives your customers the confidence to take the next step.

When visitors trust your site, they are more likely to stick around, make a purchase, and even return for more.

Here are some key benefits of using trust badges on your site:

  • ✔️Reduce Cart Abandonment: One of the biggest reasons customers abandon their carts is fear of fraud or security concerns. Displaying trust badges like ‘Secure Checkout’ or ‘SSL Secured’ reassures them that their information is safe.
  • ✔️Boost Conversions: Trust badges directly impact your sales. When customers see that your store is verified or offers guarantees, they feel more confident buying from you. In fact, a study found that adding trust badges to checkout pages increased conversions by up to 42%.
  • ✔️Build Credibility: Badges like ‘Verified Seller’ or those from well-known payment processors (like PayPal or Stripe) make your site look more credible.
  • ✔️Encourage Repeat Purchases: When customers have a positive, trustworthy experience, they are more likely to come back. Badges like ‘Money-Back Guarantee’ or ‘100% Satisfaction Guaranteed’ tell buyers that you stand by your products and can build long-term loyalty.
  • ✔️Improve Perceived Value: Trust badges also improve how customers view your products and services. A badge like ‘Free Shipping‘ has a psychological boost because users love the idea of getting more value without additional cost.

Types of Trust Badges That You Can Use

You must keep in mind that not all trust badges are created the same, and each serves a specific purpose to address different customer concerns. From security to shipping guarantees, the type of trust badge you use can make a big difference in how customers perceive your store.

Here are some of the most common types of trust badges used on WordPress sites.

Secure Checkout Badges

One of the biggest concerns for customers when it comes to online shopping is whether their personal and payment information is safe. This is where secure checkout badges come into play.

These badges, often displayed as a padlock icon or labeled with ‘SSL Secured,’ let shoppers know your site is using SSL encryption to protect sensitive data.

SSL Protected badge

In WordPress, secure checkout badges can be automatically added if you are using a reliable SSL certificate.

Many hosting providers even include SSL for free.

SSL certificate in OptinMonster

Pairing this with a visible badge on your checkout page makes it clear to customers that their payment details are safe from hackers or breaches.

Payment Processor Badges

Another layer of reassurance comes from using payment processor badges. Logos from trusted payment providers like PayPal or Stripe tell customers that their transactions are being handled by well-known and secure systems.

For instance, we use a ‘PayPal Verified’ logo on the MonsterInsights checkout page. This immediately ensures customers that they have the option to pay securely through a trusted platform.

PayPal Verified badge

This simple addition can make all the difference when a hesitant shopper is deciding whether or not to complete their purchase.

Credit Card Logo Badges

Another idea for trust badges is to display credit card logo badges on your checkout page. These badges, like Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and others, let customers know that they can securely make payments using their preferred card.

It helps visitors feel more confident about sharing their payment information since they recognize these major payment brands. It is a simple way to show that your website supports safe and secure transactions.

Add credit card badges

We recommend placing these card logos where they are easy to spot, like near the payment options or checkout button.

Customer Satisfaction Badges

Customer satisfaction badges are a great way to boost confidence and encourage people to make a purchase. These badges signal to potential buyers that your store values their experience and offers reliable services.

For instance, Money-Back Guarantee is a customer satisfaction badge that reassures customers that if they are not happy with their purchase, they can get their money back.

Money back guarantee badge

Similarly, a Free Shipping Badge can instantly make your store more appealing. It is an easy way to increase conversions by highlighting a benefit that many customers look for when shopping online.

You can also add a Verified Seller Badge if you have a store on a platform like Etsy. This will allow you to show that your store is credible and trustworthy.

Trusted seller badge

Client and Partner Logo Badges

Displaying your clients’ logos on your website is a powerful way to build credibility and trust.

When potential customers see that well-known brands or companies work with you or are using your product, it gives your business a stamp of approval.

For example, at OptinMonster, we show a list of logos of all the famous brands that are using our product.

Client brands logos

Third-Party Endorsement Badges

Third-party endorsement badges are another tool for improving your credibility. They show that your business has been recognized or approved by an external organization or expert.

These badges act as independent validation that your products or services meet certain standards, making potential customers feel more confident about their purchase decisions.

For instance, seals from trusted organizations, like the Better Business Bureau (BBB) or security certification seals (like Norton or McAfee), can go a long way in reassuring customers that your site is safe.

Third party endorsement badge

If your business has won any industry awards or been featured in top publications, then you can also show these badges. They will serve as proof that experts or influencers in your field recognize your business’s quality and success.

Method 1: How to Add Custom Trust Badges to Checkout Pages in WooCommerce (Custom Code)

If you’ve already designed your WooCommerce checkout page and want to add trust badges to it, then this is the method for you. It’s also a free method if you don’t want to invest in a dedicated WooCommerce plugin like FunnelKit (Method 2).

We’re going to be working with custom code here, which can be a bit risky and even break your website. That’s why we’re going to use WPCode.

It is the best WordPress code snippets plugin on the market. After thorough testing, we have concluded that it is the easiest and safest way to add custom code. To learn more, see our WPCode review.

Note: Keep in mind that you will also need to add your own trust seal images to the WordPress media library. For details, see our guide on how to properly add images in WordPress.

First, you need to install and activate the WPCode plugin. For step by step instructions, see our tutorial on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Note🚨: The plugin also has a free version that you can use for this tutorial. However, upgrading to the pro plan will give you access to smart conditional logic, block snippets, and a cloud library of code snippets.

Upon plugin activation, head over to the Code Snippets » + Add Snippet page from the WordPress dashboard.

Here, click the ‘Use Snippet’ button under the ‘Add Your Custom Code (New Snippet)’ option.

Choose 'Add Your Custom Code (New Snippet)' option

You will now be directed to a new screen where you must add a code snippet name. This name will only be for your identification and will not be shown to any users.

Then, choose ‘HTML Snippet’ as the ‘Code Type’ from the popup.

Select 'HTML Snippet' in WPCode

Go ahead and add the following custom code into the ‘Code Preview’ box:

<div class="wpcode-trust-badge" style="text-align: center;">
        <img src="/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/trust-badge.png" width="100" alt="Trusted" />
</div>

After that, be sure to replace the placeholder image URL with the URL of your trust badge image to display it correctly on the checkout page.

Keep in mind that you’ll need to upload the trust badge image to your WooCommerce store and retrieve its URL from the WordPress media library. If you’re unsure how to do this, check out our tutorial on how to get the URL of images you upload in WordPress.

You can add as many trust badge images as you like.

Add the trust badges code snippet and your images URLs

Now, scroll down to the ‘Insertion’ section and choose the ‘Shortcode’ option.

Then, toggle the ‘Inactive’ switch to ‘Active’ and click the ‘Save Snippet’ button.

Choose the Shortcode option and save your snippet

Once you do that, WPCode will generate a shortcode that you will be adding to your WooCommerce checkout page.

Simply click the ‘Copy’ button and store the shortcode somewhere safe.

Copy Shortcode

Now, open your store’s checkout page in the WordPress block editor.

Related Post🔍: If you are just getting started with creating a store, then see our WooCommerce made simple guide for in-depth instructions.

Here, you need to choose a suitable place within the checkout block to display your trust badge, ensuring it’s highly visible to customers.

While the ‘Shortcode’ block isn’t available in this section, the trust badge shortcode will still work correctly when placed inside a ‘Paragraph’ block.

Add shortcode within the checkout block

Finally, click the ‘Update’ or ‘Publish’ button to store your changes.

Now, visit your WooCommerce store to see the trust badges in action.

Preview of trust badges in WooCommerce

Method 2: How to Add Trust Badges to WooCommerce Checkout Pages (Plugin Method)

If you want to add trust badges to your WooCommerce checkout page without using custom code, then FunnelKit Funnel Builder is a great option.

It comes with professionally designed checkout templates that already include trust badges, helping you create a high-converting checkout experience with minimal effort.

Keep in mind that this version will involve creating an entirely custom WooCommerce checkout page. So, if you just want to add trust badges to your existing checkout page, then please go to Method 1.

We’ve tested FunnelKit a lot over the years, and it’s a great tool for improving your WooCommerce store. For details, see our complete FunnelKit review.

First, you need to install and activate the FunnelKit Funnel Builder plugin. For details, see our tutorial on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Note🚨: Most of the checkout page templates will be locked in the free plan. That’s why we recommend using the FunnelKit Pro version.

Once you’ve activated the plugin, you need to go to the FunnelKit » Store Checkout page and click the ‘Create Store Checkout’ button.

The FunnelKit builder WooCommerce plugin

You can now choose from any of FunnelKit’s professionally designed checkout page templates.

To take a closer look at the trust badges for each template, simply click the ‘Preview’ button.

Preview templates

We’re using the Hific template, which has multiple trust badges related to security.

When you find a template you want to use, go ahead and click on the ‘Import This Funnel’ button.

Click the Import This Funnel button

Doing this will show a prompt on the screen.

Go ahead and click the ‘Activate’ button. Once you do that, type in the name for your store’s checkout page.

How to create a custom WooCommerce checkout page using free WordPress plugins

You will now be able to edit the checkout page according to your liking.

For step-by-step instructions, see our guide on how to customize checkout pages in WooCommerce.

Customizing the WooCommerce checkout page on your online store

Once you are done, head back to the Store Checkout page and click on the ‘Draft’ button.

Then, choose the ‘Publish’ option from the dropdown menu.

Publishing a custom checkout page to your online store

Now, visit your WooCommerce store to see the custom checkout page.

Here, you will see the trust seals at the bottom.

Funnelkit checkout page preview

For more details on getting the most out of FunnelKit, see our guide on how to make a high-converting sales funnel in WordPress.

Method 3: How to Add Trust Badges to Checkout Pages for Digital Products

If you sell digital goods with Easy Digital Downloads (EDD), then it’s actually super easy to add trust badges to your checkout pages. You’ll just need to make sure that you first have a functional store for selling digital downloads in WordPress.

You’ll also need the WPCode plugin because it comes with built-in EDD locations that make it even easier to add trust badges to your store.

Note🚨: Keep in mind the EDD specific locations are only available in the pro version of WPCode. If you use the free plan, then you can use the shortcode method instead.

Important: Keep in mind that you will also need to add your own trust seal images to the WordPress media library. For details, see our guide on how to properly add images in WordPress.

First, you will need to install and activate the WPCode plugin. For details, see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon plugin activation, visit the Code Snippets » + Add Snippet page and choose the ‘Add Your Custom Code (New Snippet)’ option.

Then, select ‘HTML Snippet’ as the code type.

Select 'HTML Snippet' in WPCode

Now, simply add the following custom code into the ‘Code Preview’ box:

<div class="wpcode-trust-badge" style="text-align: center;">
        <img src="/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/trust-badge.png" width="100" alt="Trusted" />
</div>

Once you do that, make sure to add the URL of your trust badge image from the media library. If you’re not sure where to find it, then please see our guide on how to get the URL of images you upload in WordPress.

Then, scroll down to the ‘Insertion’ section and choose the ‘Auto Insert’ mode.

Auto inserting a custom WordPress code snippet

After that, you need to expand the ‘Location’ section and switch to the ‘eCommerce’ tab.

Next, scroll down to the ‘Easy Digital Downloads’ section and select the ‘After the Checkout Cart’ option. Now, your trust badges will automatically be added to your EDD checkout page.

Choose After the checkout cart as location

If you’re using the free version of WPCode, then you’ll need to copy the WPCode shortcode and paste it into your checkout page. For details, see our guide on how to add shortcodes in WordPress.

Go ahead and toggle the ‘Inactive’ switch to ‘Active’ from the top.

Then, click the ‘Save Snippet’ button to store your settings.

Save your EDD trust badges snippet

Now, visit the checkout page in your digital downloads store.

Here, you will notice that the trust badges are showing in your chosen location.

Preview of trust badges in EDD

Bonus Tips for Using Social Proof in Your Online Store

Using random icons on your checkout page won’t automatically boost conversions. Instead, you need the right trust signals in the right places.

Here are a few tips to get the most out of social proof in your WordPress store:

  • 🎨Match the Badges to Your Store’s Design: Trust badges should stand out just enough to grab attention without clashing with your design. Avoid oversized, pixelated, or mismatched badges that make your checkout page look cluttered.
  • 🔥Test and See What Works Best: Not all badges work the same for every store. Try different placements, designs, and messaging to see what resonates with your customers. A/B testing can help you find the perfect combination.
  • Show more social proof with customer reviews. Showing positive reviews from happy customers can also convince shoppers to complete their purchases. For details, see our guide on how to show Google, Facebook, and Yelp reviews in WordPress.
  • 💰Show real-time purchase notifications. Showing users that other customers are buying your products can convince them to do the same. Learn how to do this in our guide on how to create a live sale notification in WooCommerce.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post How to Add Trust Badges to Checkout Pages in WordPress (& Boost Sales) first appeared on WPBeginner.



from WPBeginner https://ift.tt/unzQqNB
More links is https://mwktutor.com

Tuesday, 1 April 2025

How to Keep Personally Identifiable Info Out of Google Analytics

Recently, we discovered something alarming while auditing one of our clients’ websites. Email addresses and phone numbers were showing up in their Google Analytics reports, exposing sensitive visitor information that they never intended to collect.

Collecting personally identifiable information from users can be a major issue. Not only does it violate privacy regulations like GDPR, but it also puts your business at risk of hefty fines and losing the trust of your customers.

But here’s the good news: preventing personally identifiable information (PII) from ending up in your analytics is actually quite straightforward once you know how.

We’ve spent years working with Google Analytics across hundreds of websites, and we’ve developed a foolproof system to keep sensitive data out of your reports. In this guide, we’ll show you exactly how to protect your visitors’ privacy while still getting all the valuable insights you need from your analytics data.

How to Keep Personally Identifiable Info Out of Google Analytics

What Is Personally Identifiable Information, and Why Should You Protect It?

Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is any data that, when combined, can reveal a person’s identity.

Some common examples of PII include:

  • Full name (first and last)
  • Email address
  • Phone number
  • Home address
  • Credit card information
  • Login credentials (usernames and passwords)
  • IP addresses (when linked to individuals)

The problem is that PII often sneaks into Google Analytics through URLs.

Let’s say that users submit personal details on contact forms or login pages on your WordPress site. This data can be embedded in the URL of the next page they visit.

The URL might look like this:

www.example.com/contact-us/thanks?email=personal@information.com.

In that example, we can see that the URL shows the user’s email address.

Why Should You Keep Personal Info Out of Analytics?

Privacy laws like GDPR are serious about protecting personal data. That’s one reason why Google doesn’t allow businesses to collect or store PII.

If your Google Analytics account is capturing PII, you could end up in trouble, facing hefty fines or having your account suspended.

And it’s not just a technical issue – it can have real consequences for your business. Users expect businesses to respect their privacy. But if they feel their data isn’t safe, they might take their business elsewhere.

That’s why it’s so important to keep PII out of your Google Analytics data.

With that in mind, we’ll show you how to keep personally identifiable information (PII) out of Google Analytics. Here’s a quick overview of the 2 methods we’ll share with you:

Ready? Let’s get started.

Method 1. Using a Plugin to Keep Personally Identifiable Info Out of Google Analytics

Google Analytics can be overwhelming to navigate, especially when trying to ensure compliance with privacy regulations.

Managing cookie consent, anonymizing IP addresses, and adjusting privacy settings can quickly become overwhelming. For many people, sorting through these settings and ensuring compliance is no easy task.

If you’re a WordPress user, then we have good news for you.

MonsterInsights is the best WordPress analytics plugin, and it integrates seamlessly with Google Analytics 4 (GA4). With its Privacy Guard feature, it offers privacy-friendly tracking that you can manage directly from your WordPress dashboard.

ℹ️ Quick note: MonsterInsights powers our conversion tracking at WPBeginner, helping us monitor traffic, forms, buttons, referral links, and more with ease. See why we love it in our detailed MonsterInsights review!

Step 1. Install and Activate the MonsterInsights Plugin

First, let’s get started by creating a MonsterInsights account. Just head over to the website and click the ‘Get MonsterInsights Now’ button.

MonsterInsights' homepage

You can then go ahead and choose a plan. For this tutorial, we recommend the Plus plan or higher, as it includes the Privacy Guard feature to help with compliance.

After signing up, you can install and activate the MonsterInsights plugin on your WordPress site. For step-by-step instructions, see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Step 2. Connect MonsterInsights to Your Google Analytics Account

Upon activation, you’ll need to connect the MonsterInsights plugin to your Google Analytics account.

In your WordPress dashboard, you need to go to Insights » Launch the Wizard to start the setup.

The MonsterInsights setup wizard

After that, you’ll select the category that best describes your website.

MonsterInsights gives 3 options – business site, publisher (blog), or eCommerce (online store).

The MonsterInsights setup wizard

After selecting a category, simply click ‘Save and Continue’ to proceed.

On the next screen, you can click ‘Connect MonsterInsights’ to start the connection process.

How to connect WordPress to Google Analytics using MonsterInsights

Then, you can follow the prompt to sign in to your Google Analytics account.

Upon signing in, you can select the website you want to track from the dropdown menu.

Connect WordPress site to Google Analytics using MonsterInsights

From here, go ahead and click the ‘Complete Connection’ button. MonsterInsights will then automatically install Google Analytics on your WordPress website.

For details, feel free to refer to our guide on how to install Google Analytics in WordPress.

Step 3. Enable the Privacy Guard Feature

Keeping Personally Identifiable Information (PII) out of your tracking doesn’t have to be complicated.

With MonsterInsights’ Privacy Guard, you can do it in just a few clicks!

This feature automatically scans your website for sensitive information. It checks for any private details and prevents them from being stored in your analytics reports.

These details can be:

  • Form submission data, such as personal information entered in contact or registration forms.
  • URL data, which is the full web address of the page, including the domain name, path, and any additional information.
  • Query parameters, which are the bits of data in URLs, like “?id=1234.” They often track specific user actions or provide extra information to the website.

To do this, let’s navigate to the Insights » Settings » Engagement tab.

The Engagement tab

From here, you can go ahead and turn on the ‘Privacy Guard’ switch – that’s it!

MonsterInsights will now help protect personally identifiable information and keep you compliant with privacy laws.

Enabling Privacy Guard

⚠️ Important Disclaimer: No plugin can guarantee 100% legal compliance because every website is different. We strongly recommend consulting an Internet law attorney to ensure your site meets all legal requirements for your location and specific use case.

This is not legal advice – just a friendly heads-up to help you stay informed!

Method 2. Keeping Personally Identifiable Info Out of Google Analytics

In this method, we’ll guide you through configuring the settings that you need to keep PII out of Google Analytics directly from its dashboard.

This option is best for advanced users, as it gives you full control over the setup.

Additionally, since this method isn’t limited to WordPress, you can follow along even if you made your website with a different website builder.

First, you’ll need to sign in to your Google Analytics account.

Signing in to Google Analytics

Go ahead and click on the ‘Sign in to Analytics’ button.

In the dashboard, let’s hover over the sidebar and click the ‘Admin’ menu.

Locating the Admin menu

Once inside, you’ll want to locate the ‘Data collection and modification’ section.

After that, let’s click on ‘Data streams.’

The Data Streams menu

This will take you to the table, which lists all your data streams.

Now, you can select your website from the list.

List of data streams

This will open the ‘Web stream details’ slide-in.

From here, let’s scroll down to the ‘Events’ section and click ‘Redact data.’

Redact data menu

On the next screen, you will see the ‘Redact data’ menu.

The ‘Choose what to redact’ section of this slide-in has two switches at the top.

Let’s first redact email addresses by flipping the switch. Google Analytics will then automatically exclude email addresses from the data it collects.

Enabling email redact

Then, you can filter out other PII by entering query parameters.

To do this, you’ll need to enable the switch for ‘URL query parameter.’ Then, you can enter your query parameters in the respective field.

For example, here, we added ‘name,’ first_name,’ ‘last_name,’ and ‘ip_address.’

Enabling URL query parameter redact

Once everything looks good, you can save your settings.

Google Analytics will now help protect PII and keep your site privacy-compliant.

⚠️ Important Disclaimer: Configuring settings manually in the GA4 dashboard requires precise knowledge of which data needs to be redacted.

This can be tricky, and even a small mistake may result in sensitive information being collected.

We recommend thoroughly reviewing your data collection settings to ensure all PII is properly excluded. Always take the necessary precautions, as improper configuration could lead to compliance issues.

Bonus Tips for Privacy Compliance on Your Website

Keeping personal info out of analytics reports is just one way to comply with privacy regulations. We also recommend following these tips:

For more details, just see our complete guide to GDPR compliance for WordPress users.

FAQs About Keeping Personally Identifiable Info Out of Google Analytics

Keeping PII out of Google Analytics is important for privacy and compliance. If you still have questions, feel free to take a look at some quick answers to common questions:

How does Google handle user data and privacy concerns?

Google takes privacy seriously. It anonymizes data and complies with strict regulations like GDPR.

While Google provides tools to help businesses protect user privacy, it’s ultimately up to the businesses to make sure they don’t collect personally identifiable information (PII).

Does Google Analytics collect personally identifiable information?

Not by default. But if you’re not careful, PII can sneak in through URLs, form submissions, or custom tracking settings. That’s why it’s important to set things up correctly.

Do all sites with analytics need cookie warnings?

Yep! If your site tracks users with cookies (like Google Analytics does), then privacy laws like GDPR and CCPA require you to show a cookie notice and get user consent.

Further Reading: More Analytics and Tracking Guides

Understanding how to keep PII out of Google Analytics is just the beginning! If you want to fine-tune your tracking, improve data accuracy, and stay compliant with privacy laws, then check out these helpful guides:

📊 Google Analytics 4: A Beginner’s Guide – Learn how to set up GA4 on your WordPress site and make the most of its powerful features.

That’s all there is to it! We hope this guide has helped you learn how to keep personal info out of Google Analytics. You may also like to see our guide on how to get a custom email alert in Google Analytics or our expert pick of the best WordPress GDPR plugins.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post How to Keep Personally Identifiable Info Out of Google Analytics first appeared on WPBeginner.



from WPBeginner https://ift.tt/DLTY9bz
More links is https://mwktutor.com

Monday, 31 March 2025

WPBeginner Spotlight 10: WordPress 6.8 Preview, New AI Tools, and Plugin News

March has been a busy month across the WordPress ecosystem. We’re excited that WordPress 6.8’s first release candidate (RC1) is now available for testing, and we’ve also seen innovative new features roll out for popular plugins.

AI continues to be a recurring theme — from smarter form calculations in WPForms to StoreAgent’s automated WooCommerce helpers.

There’s also a wave of quality-of-life improvements worth mentioning. Uncanny Automator now integrates with Discord and RSS, AIOSEO added new crawl controls, and WP Simple Pay has made Stripe compliance easier for users.

Whether you’re a developer, site owner, or just like keeping up with the latest tools, there’s plenty to catch up on this month.

ℹ️ WPBeginner Spotlight brings you a monthly roundup of the most important WordPress news, updates, and community happenings. 📅✨

Got something to share? Whether it’s a new product launch, a significant update, or an exciting event, reach out to us through our contact form, and your news could be featured in the next edition! 💬

WordPress News for March 2025 - WPBeginner Spotlight

WPForms Adds AI-Powered Calculations for Smarter Forms 🪄

Creating complex calculation forms just got a whole lot easier. WPForms now includes a powerful AI Calculations feature that builds custom formulas for you.

You can chat with the WPForms AI Assistant to create dynamic, real-time formulas in seconds. Just describe what you want to calculate in simple terms — no syntax or logic-building needed.

Create a calculation formula using AI

It works great for eCommerce pricing, event quotes, tuition fees, and more. Simply type in your request, and the AI does the rest.

This new feature builds upon WPForms’ existing AI tools. You can generate entire forms with a single prompt, fill in field choices automatically, and even translate forms into other languages in seconds.

WordPress 6.8 Release Candidate Now Available. Final Release Expected April 15, 2025 🎉

The first Release Candidate (RC1) for WordPress 6.8 is now available for testing. This marks a significant step toward the final release, which is scheduled for April 15, 2025.

This update brings a lot of enhancements aimed at improving site performance, security, and user experience.

Key features in WordPress 6.8 include:

  • Speculative Loading: This feature predicts and preloads resources that users are likely to access next. This results in faster page load times and a smoother browsing experience.
  • Enhanced Password Security with bcrypt: WordPress 6.8 transitions to bcrypt for password hashing. This provides improved security against brute-force attacks and aligns with modern security standards.
  • Block Editor Improvements: Users will benefit from better block interactions, more style controls, and an improved editing experience. These features will make content creation more intuitive and flexible within the block editor.

Developers and testers are encouraged to explore the Release Candidate now. This will allow you to get familiar with the new features and ensure compatibility with themes and plugins ahead of the final release.

For a comprehensive overview of what’s coming in WordPress 6.8, including detailed features and screenshots, you can read about What’s Coming in WordPress 6.8: Features and Screenshots.

StoreAgent Launches AI Assistants for WooCommerce Stores 🤖

Josh Kohlbach, a longtime name in the WordPress and WooCommerce space, has launched StoreAgent — a set of AI-powered tools designed to save store owners time and effort.

Instead of just chatting with AI, StoreAgent acts like a smart co-worker that can handle real tasks for your online store.

Storeagent.ai - WooCommerce AI agents

These AI agents can write product descriptions, create short summaries, suggest tags, and even monitor your store’s content. They can also summarize reviews and help with customer Q&As, all from inside your WooCommerce dashboard.

Josh says the goal was to go beyond ChatGPT-style chatboxes and build something that feels more like an actual assistant.

StoreAgent is the first step in that direction—a collection of AI agents that do the boring work, help you stay creative, and suggest ways to improve your product pages.

StoreAgent works on a pay-as-you-go credit system, and new users get 500 credits for free. A Shopify version and other platform extensions are also in the works.

PushEngage Adds AI Campaigns and WooCommerce Order Notifications 🔔

PushEngage just made it easier to boost customer engagement and save time. They’ve added two big features to their push notification plugin: AI-powered message generation and automated WooCommerce order notifications.

The new AI tool helps you write high-converting push messages in seconds. Just enter your goal, and the system generates optimized text that’s ready to send.

It’s ideal for marketers who want results without spending hours on copywriting. ✍️

Create push notifications with AI

The WooCommerce update is even more exciting for store owners. You can now send push alerts for order events like purchases, processing updates, and delivery notifications.

This helps keep customers in the loop, reduces support tickets, and even alerts your team internally.

Send cart abandonment push notifications in WooCommerce

You can also recover abandoned carts or request reviews automatically with follow-up campaigns. Overall, these new features are designed for store owners who want more repeat traffic and fewer missed sales.

Uncanny Automator Adds RSS and Discord Integrations ⚙️

Uncanny Automator, the most powerful WordPress automation plugin, has added two new integrations. It now allows users to automate actions using RSS feeds and send automated messages straight to Discord channels.

The new RSS integration lets you trigger actions when a feed updates or create a feed from actions on your site. For example, you could automatically post new blog content to Slack, Discord, or a newsletter tool — all without touching a line of code.

Uncanny Automator RSS integration

On the other hand, the Discord integration is great for online communities. You can set it to send channel messages when users complete a course, submit a form, or place an order.

It’s perfect for membership sites, LMS platforms, or WooCommerce stores that want to keep their audience informed in real time.

Plus, these new features work seamlessly with Automator’s existing integrations. That means you can connect RSS and Discord with tools like LearnDash, WPForms, BuddyBoss, WooCommerce, and more.

AIOSEO Adds Advanced Crawl Controls for Better SEO 🚀

All in One SEO, the popular WordPress SEO toolkit, just got a major update. This new release brings powerful new tools that help you clean up crawl data, block unwanted bots, and improve your site’s performance.

One standout feature is the upgraded Crawl Cleanup. It lets you limit the length of internal search URLs. You can also remove emojis and spam patterns from search terms. Plus, it can redirect pretty search URLs to raw formats.

All of this helps prevent duplicate content and wasted crawl budgets.

Search cleanup

You can now also stop search engines from crawling internal search pages entirely. AIOSEO automatically adds disallow rules to your robots.txt file for common search query patterns like ?s= and /search/.

AI Crawlers are on the rise, and all this crawling could affect website performance. AIOSEO’s new bot-blocking feature lets you block known bad bots or AI crawlers that may use your content for training without permission. These settings are built directly into the plugin’s robots.txt editor for easy access.

Block bad bots in AIOSEO

AIOSEO also updated its Query Arg Monitor to improve how UTM parameters are handled. Now, UTM links automatically redirect using # fragments instead of ?. This setup keeps analytics intact while avoiding duplicate URLs in search results.

WP Simple Pay Adds Stripe Compliance Alerts and Smarter Pricing Options 💳

WP Simple Pay just rolled out new features to help WordPress users manage Stripe payments more confidently.

The latest update includes Stripe alerts within the WordPress dashboard, flexible pricing rules, and payment limits to keep your checkout forms clean and compliant.

Stripe compliance notifications

The standout feature is the in-plugin Stripe account notifications. Instead of checking your Stripe dashboard every day, you’ll now see important alerts directly inside WordPress. These include payment verification issues, compliance reminders, and other account requirements — all in real time.

They’ve also introduced required price options, letting you add mandatory fees or add-ons to any payment form.

Required pricing options

This is perfect for things like support fees, booking add-ons, or one-time setup charges. You can build more transparent and flexible pricing models without writing custom code.

And if you’re worried about fraud or regulatory limits, there’s a new feature for setting custom amount maximums. You can cap donation sizes, limit gift card values, or prevent accidental overpayments — all directly from the visual payment form builder.

MonsterInsights Adds Cart Abandonment Reports to Help You Recover Lost Sales 📈

MonsterInsights, the #1 Google Analytics plugin for WordPress, has introduced new Cart Abandonment reports that give store owners more visibility into what’s being left behind.

Instead of guessing which products are getting dropped at checkout, you can now see exactly what’s being abandoned — and when.

Product abandonment report

The new reports are split into two key sections. The Products report shows which items are being abandoned, how often, and how much revenue is potentially being lost.

On the other hand, the Daily report helps you spot trends by showing peak abandonment times and revenue impact by day.

Cart abandonment by day

It’s a helpful tool for store owners, marketers, and product managers who want to fine-tune their strategy and recover missed sales. The insights can guide inventory planning, promotional timing, and even design changes at checkout.

If you’re using MonsterInsights Pro, just update to the latest version and head to eCommerce » Cart Abandonment in your WordPress dashboard to start exploring your reports.

In Other News 🗞️

  • WPConsent, a powerful privacy compliance plugin for WordPress, now supports Google Consent Mode V2. It can now automatically adjust Google tags based on user consent to improve privacy compliance. The update also introduces improved consent log management by allowing easy export of records in CSV format.
  • The popular WordPress page builder plugin, SeedProd, has added 15 new industry-specific themes. They have also upgraded their Image Carousel block with support for custom headers, subheadings, and clickable buttons.
  • WooCommerce is preparing Product Editor v3 to align with WordPress Data Views and Forms. They also advise developers to pause beta work for now.
  • The popular WordPress backup and migration plugin, Duplicator, has introduced new features to streamline backup management. These include automatic backup log cleanups and one-click deletion options.
  • UpdraftPlus, a leading WordPress plugin developer, have expanded their portfolio by acquiring Burst Statistics, a privacy-friendly analytics plugin. This acquisition follows UpdraftPlus’s commitment to improving website management tools while prioritizing user privacy.

OptinMonster – Convert Visitors into Subscribers & Customers

OptinMonster

OptinMonster helps you grow your email list and boost conversions with high-converting popups and campaigns. Use smart targeting and a drag & drop builder to show the right message to the right person at the right time — no coding needed.

  • Hostinger, the popular WordPress hosting company, has launched Horizons. This AI-powered web app builder enables users to create custom web applications without coding knowledge.
  • HeroThemes has launched the Heroic KB Chrome Extension, which allows users to access their knowledge base directly from the browser toolbar. This tool is designed to enhance productivity by allowing customer support teams to quickly search and view knowledge base articles without switching tabs.
  • The popular WordPress code snippets plugin, WPCode, has introduced a Snippet Shortcode Finder. It allows users to locate where specific shortcodes are used across their WordPress site. Additionally, the update improves the WooCommerce integration by allowing users to run code snippets based on cart contents.
  • Formidable Forms has introduced a GDPR Compliance field, which makes it easier to get explicit user consent in WordPress forms. This feature makes sure that data collection aligns with privacy regulations.
  • Envira Gallery has added a Search Addon and a Vertical Focus Layout to improve image browsing and presentation. The search feature helps users find photos quickly using tags or descriptions. Meanwhile, the new layout highlights a featured image alongside a scrollable thumbnail strip for a more immersive gallery experience.

WPBeginner Maintenance Services 🛠️

WPBeginner's WordPress Maintenance Services

Let us take the stress out of maintaining your WordPress site. With our WordPress Site Maintenance service, we handle everything — from backups and speed checks to ongoing security and updates. You stay focused on your business, while we keep your site in top shape.

  • Wholesale Suite has introduced a new interface for its WooCommerce Invoice System, which allows store owners to manage invoices directly within the Payments tab. This update streamlines the invoicing process by grouping invoice tracking, payment status monitoring, and PDF invoice downloads in a single, user-friendly location.
  • Smash Balloon has introduced integrations with WPForms and Formidable Forms, which allow users to collect and display customer reviews directly on their WordPress sites. This feature lets users make custom review submission forms and provides greater control over user-generated content.
  • WP Mail SMTP has introduced push notifications that alert users immediately on their devices when emails fail to send. This feature makes sure that critical alerts are not missed.
  • WPForms has introduced File Upload Restrictions, which lets users control access to files uploaded via forms. This feature allows for restrictions based on WordPress user roles, individual users, or password protection.

New Plugins

  • WPConsent – A lightweight yet powerful WordPress plugin for managing user consent and complying with privacy laws like GDPR and CCPA. It supports multiple consent types and integrates with popular cookie plugins.
  • Duplicate Post by AIOSEO 🔥 – Finally, a powerful Duplicate Post plugin for WordPress that allows you to easily duplicate posts and pages with a single click. It also features scheduled revisions for seamless content updates without affecting the live version.
  • ClassifAI – A free plugin that uses AI to automate tasks like content tagging, image labeling, and more. It integrates with ElasticPress, WordPress core features, and many popular plugins.
  • Remove Empty Shortcodes – A simple plugin that automatically strips out empty shortcodes from post content to keep things clean and error-free without making changes to the database.

That’s a wrap for this month’s WPBeginner Spotlight! We hope you enjoyed catching up on the latest news and updates from the WordPress ecosystem.

Got a product launch, feature update, or cool project you think we should cover? Send us a message, and we might feature it in our next edition.

We’ll see you again next month with another round of WordPress news. Thanks for reading and being part of the WPBeginner family!

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post WPBeginner Spotlight 10: WordPress 6.8 Preview, New AI Tools, and Plugin News first appeared on WPBeginner.



from WPBeginner https://ift.tt/fLXBTDx
More links is https://mwktutor.com