Watermelon Web Works, LLC

11/01/2026

WordPress “Updating Failed: The Response Is Not a Valid JSON Response”—How to Diagnose It.

You've encountered the dreaded “Updating Failed: The Response Is Not a Valid JSON Response” error in WordPress....

Learn how to diagnose the 'Updating Failed: The Response Is Not a Valid JSON Response' error in WordPress and get your site back on track.

10/16/2026

Our SEO Reports Look Good. Why Aren’t We Getting Leads?

What I look for after 20+ years in the business when rankings and traffic are improving, but the business isn’t feeling it—and where AEO and AI can help....

SEO reports look good, but no leads? Learn how targeting, AEO, topical authority, and website improvements connect search visibility to leads.

09/22/2026

When Your Nonprofit’s WordPress Volunteer Leaves | A Recovery Plan

There is a sentence I hear from nonprofits far more often than I should: “The person who handled our website is gone, and we’re not quite sure how any of it works.”...

When Your Nonprofit’s WordPress Volunteer Leaves | A Recovery Plan -

09/16/2026

There Has Been a Critical Error on This Website: What to Do Next

You visit your website and find a blank page with one deeply unhelpful sentence: There has been a critical error on this website....

Seeing “There has been a critical error on this website”? Learn what caused it, what you can safely check, and when to call a WordPress developer.

09/01/2026

WordPress for Nonprofits: Raise More and Save Time

Practical ways to raise more, save time, and build something that lasts. I founded Watermelon Web Works to serve nonprofits....

Put WordPress to work for your nonprofit: build monthly giving, use Google Ad Grants, recruit volunteers, save staff time, and protect your website long-term.

08/18/2026

How to Stop a WooCommerce Carding Attack (And the Root Cause We Nearly Missed)

If your WooCommerce or Magento store is under a carding attack, you need to stop the abusive checkout traffic at the edge, make sure CAPTCHA failures block rather than approve payments, and add fraud controls at the payment gateway....

A WooCommerce carding attack can overwhelm checkout and bypass CAPTCHA failsafes. Here’s how we found the cause—and how to stop it.

08/04/2026

Zapier vs. a Custom API for WordPress CRM Integrations: When You’ve Outgrown No-Code Automation

A prospect fills out a form on your WordPress site. They see the cheerful little “Thank you!” message....

A prospect fills out a form on your WordPress site. They see the cheerful little “Thank you!” message. Marketing records a conversion. Everyone goes home believing that a lead now exists in Salesf…

07/23/2026

Core Web Vitals Failed: When Speed Plugins Make High TTFB Worse

A client sent me a PageSpeed Insights report recently. Their WordPress site was failing its Core Web Vitals assessment, Google was complaining about server response time, and the score had become a bit of an obsession....

A client sent me a PageSpeed Insights report recently. Their WordPress site was failing its Core Web Vitals assessment, Google was complaining about server response time, and the score had become …

07/04/2026

You are running a business website, keeping it maintained, optimized, and secure. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a demand letter from a law firm arrives accusing your company of violating the Cal…

07/04/2026

Unexpected Legal Risk for Website Owners: C**A Demand Letters Are Targeting WordPress and Other Business Websites

You are running a business website, keeping it maintained, optimized, and secure. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a demand letter from a law firm arrives accusing your company of violating the California Invasion of Privacy Act, or C**A....

You are running a business website, keeping it maintained, optimized, and secure. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a demand letter from a law firm arrives accusing your company of violating the Cal…