The Stallion Responsive WordPress SEO Theme is the best All In One SEO package for WP blogs and WP powered websites. Stallion is much more than a WordPress theme, the WP SEO package protects your hard earned off-site SEO using advanced on-site SEO techniques like no other WordPress SEO solution. WordPress On-Page SEO There are two elements to search engine optimization, on-page or on-site SEO and off-site SEO or off-page SEO. On-page or on-site search engine optimization: What we do on our websites, we have full control over this aspect of search engine optimization and Stallion includes dozens of SEO features to increase search engine traffic. Off-site or off-page SEO search engine optimization: Any off-site promotion that has an SEO […]
Continue Reading Stallion SEO Theme
Full Width Screen
Hi David.
With the current trend to have full screen width websites is there any way to do that with Stallion?
I’m just about to build out a directory site along these lines http://www.glasscompanynearme.com/ and wondered if I could recreate something like that using the power of Stallion SEO theme.
Looking at the theme layout options it seems that 760 is the largest content width.
I’ve had Stallion for years but haven’t been active for some time (stupidly ceased all my sites a couple of years ago) and am only just getting back into using Adsense sites for potential Rank and Rent.
Just feel that the expectation from visitors these days are full width sites.
Thanks David
Full Width Screen
Stallion Responsive The Holy Grail SEO Layout
The quick answer is no, the max width is the 1,000px wide no sidebars layout set under the “Layout Options” : “Sidebar Layout” – “12 – Main Content : No Sidebars”.
With this setting in a Desktop device the main content width is around 1,000px and the left and right widget areas drop below the main content into two widget areas: two side by side footer widget areas.
There are several reasons why there isn’t say a 1,300px wide layout or a fluid layout.
To have 12 desktop layouts with varying types of left/right sidebars and main content widths whilst using the exact same SEO HTML output (the main content loads high in the code no matter which layout is set) is REALLY difficult to achieve: look up the “Holy Grail Layout”, Stallion Responsive uses a custom SEO version of the holy grail layout (took me weeks to iron out all the CSS layout problems, was a huge achievement getting it to work for 12 layouts). I doubt any other theme can achieve the same as the Stallion Responsive Holy Grail SEO Layout for so many different layout sizes.
If you compare the code source (the HTML output in a browser) of a Stallion Responsive left sidebar layout vs a Stallion Responsive right sidebar layout you will find they are identical : achieved using different CSS files only.
The Stallion Responsive HTML output is:
Head Area : Home Page Link, Tagline…
Main Content : Most Important Content (we want this high in the HTML code)
Left/Right Sidebar : Widgets, Sitewide Content Not Important (we want this low in the HTML code)
Footer : Widgets, Sitewide Content Not Important (we want this low in the HTML code)
Navigation Menu : Sitewide Links, Not Important (we want this low in the HTML code)
Social Network Links : Stallion loads an iFrame with Facebook, Twitter links… for SEO reasons
The above is important SEO wise, main content is high in the code source and less important content is pushed to the bottom (loads last).
If you use a random WordPress theme with a left sidebar layout, the vast majority of the time you’ll find the HTML code for the left sidebar loads above the main content.
Head Area : Home Page Link, Tagline…
Navigation Menu
Left Sidebar
Main Content : This is in the wrong place
Footer
If you use a random WordPress theme with a right sidebar layout, the vast majority of the time you’ll find the HTML code for the right sidebar loads below the main content.
Head Area : Home Page Link, Tagline…
Navigation Menu : Ideally would be lower
Main Content : This is almost in the right place
Right Sidebar
Footer
If you use a random WordPress theme with a left and right sidebar layout, the vast majority of the time you’ll find the HTML code for the left sidebar loads above the main content and the right sidebar loads below the main content.
Head Area : Home Page Link, Tagline…
Navigation Menu : Ideally would be lower
Left Sidebar
Main Content : This is in the wrong place
Right Sidebar
Footer
The Stallion Responsive Holy Grail SEO Layout is as good as it gets SEO wise, doesn’t matter which layout is set the HTML output is always the SEO version and to achieve this requires a fixed width and I had to choose a maximum width due to header/banner image sizes. For non Stallion Responsive theme users you might take always from this is avoid using themes with a left sidebar, they aren’t as SEO friendly.
All the Stallion Responsive headers and banner images have a maximum width of 1,000px. This a compromise between having flashy features (big image at the top of a page) and image size (smaller image sizes are better SEO wise). Had we started with a 1,300px wide header image rather than 1,000px wide it would have a negative SEO impact.
On Layout Width Trends
The trend has moved towards mobile first design (smaller layout widths), not wide layouts per se (Desktop output is becoming secondary) as more users are accessing the web using mobile and tablet devices.
Stallion Responsive has 12 mobile/tablet device sizes covered to account for the vast majority of mobile phones and tablets on the market today. Any device width below 800px on the screen has the browser output (what you see on the webpage):
Head : title of site, Header/Banner Image, responsive navigation menu
Main Content
Sidebar Widgets
Footer Widgets
It still uses the same SEO HTML output listed earlier, the CSS code outputs all the different layouts without changing the HTML output that Google cares about.
Since mobile first design is the new norm I’m planing in the future to start again from scratch (not planned exactly what to do yet and it’s a while away).
Currently working on pulling out a LOT of the SEO features from the Stallion Responsive theme to put them in the Stallion WordPress SEO Plugin (which is free) and other plugins. In the next Stallion WordPress SEO Plugin release (working on version 3.1.0) the meta boxes (found on Post Edit screens etc…) for Stallion Responsive SEO titles (and Yoast SEO and All In One SEO titles/meta descriptions etc…) and Stallion Responsive Keyphrases (1-4) are part of the plugin.
The current plan is to remove those meta boxes from Stallion Responsive 8.5 (the next theme update) so users can install the Stallion SEO Plugin to access those SEO features.
Other theme developers will also be able to create new themes which use the Stallion WordPress SEO Plugin features that are currently only available in Stallion Responsive.
The plan is to do the same with other SEO features, for example the Stallion Responsive Layout Option : Display Widgets has been significantly improved and added to a new plugin called Display Widgets SEO Plus (it’s free). The new plugin has a lot more widget logic options, works with the WPML language plugin, BuddyPress/bbPress and WooCommerce (it’s much better than the Stallion Responsive built in version).
By breaking Stallion Responsive up into modules (stand alone plugins) will make updates far easier for me. I currently have to do huge theme updates and though Stallion Responsive is awesome SEO wise, the SEO features are all locked into one SEO theme.
When it’s all broken up it will be possible to create new themes (or modify current themes) to use Stallion Responsive features (via plugins) without using Stallion Responsive: a fluid width design with a right sidebar layout for example wouldn’t need the full Stallion Responsive Holy Grail SEO layout code as it wouldn’t have a left sidebar version: could then have a wider (fluid) main content area.
Don’t ask when, it’ a huge amount of work as it’s taken about 10 years to put all the SEO features into one theme :-)
David
Stallion Responsive The Holy Grail SEO Layout
Full Width Screen - Now I Understand Why Not!
Thank you David for, as always, a comprehensive response to my query.
With the recent announcement from Google that they are creating separate indexes for mobile searches (https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/oct/14/google-desktop-search-out-of-date-mobile) and the %age of searches on mobile overtaking desktop searches it makes perfect sense to optimise for that, so I’ll sacrifice full width for full SEO optimisation.
The reason I’m going to try and use Stallion for this project is Adsense and SEO, so I’m certainly not going to jeopardise that.
I’m sure I’ll find a way to present the pages as I want them within the 1000 limit.
Also look forward to future developments when you get time to separate out and put them into Stallion SEO WordPress plugin, which I use on all my other sites.
One final thing. I use Project Supremacy (PS) SEO plugin on my sites (it’s along the lines of Yoast and AIO but incorporates Schema and page content optimisation within their Projects module.
Because of the flexibility within PS I’m able to turn off most of the SEO functions and allow Stallion to “do it’s thing” whilst still allowing me to use other key features.
Fingers crossed for this when I get there.
Thanks again.
Nigel
Full Width Screen - Now I Understand Why Not!