The StackOptic Blog
Practical guides on identifying website technologies, SEO and GEO, web performance and lead generation — from the team behind StackOptic.
What Is WCAG? A, AA, and AAA Explained
WCAG is the web accessibility standard. Here is how its POUR principles and success criteria work, and the real difference between levels A, AA and AAA.
What Is a Content Security Policy (CSP) and How to Set One
A practical guide to Content Security Policy: the header that limits which sources can load on your site, mitigates XSS, and how to roll one out safely.
What Is Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) and How to Improve It
Largest Contentful Paint measures how fast a page's main content renders. What LCP is, what counts as good, what causes a slow score, and how to improve it.
What Is Schema Markup, and Which Types Do You Need?
Schema markup is structured data that helps search and AI understand your pages. Here are the key schema.org types to use and how to add and validate them.
What Is E-E-A-T and How to Improve It
E-E-A-T is Google's quality framework: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trust. What each letter means, why it is guidance, and how to improve it.
How to Write a Title Tag and Meta Description That Rank
Title tags and meta descriptions are the first thing searchers read. Here is how to write them for length, clarity and clicks, with weak-vs-strong examples.
What Is an SSL Certificate and How to Check Yours
A plain-English guide to SSL/TLS certificates: what they prove, how the trust chain works, the types (DV, OV, EV), and exactly how to check your site.
What Is Local SEO and How to Improve It
Local SEO is how businesses rank for location-based and near me searches. Here is what it is, how Google ranks local results, and how to improve yours.
How to Tell if a Website Is Built with Next.js
Next.js leaves clear fingerprints: /_next/static/ asset paths, a __NEXT_DATA__ script and React underneath. Here is how to detect it in under a minute.
How to Find a Company's Email Address and Contact Info
Legitimate ways to find a business email and contact details: the website, WHOIS, LinkedIn, search operators and finder tools, plus how to verify and comply.
How to Make Your Website Load Faster: A Practical Guide
A prioritised guide to a faster site: measure first, then cut page weight, optimise the critical path, cache and use a CDN, and reduce server response time.
What Is Web Accessibility and Why It Matters
Web accessibility means building sites people with disabilities can use. Here is what it covers, who it helps, and the ethical, legal and business case.
What Is Green Web Hosting and How to Choose It
Green web hosting runs on renewable energy in efficient data centres. Here is what it means, how to verify a host, and how to choose without greenwashing.
How to Tell What CMS a Website Is Using
A practical guide to identifying the content management system behind any site — WordPress, Drupal, Joomla or headless — from source, headers and tools.
How to Find Out What Analytics a Website Uses
How to detect the analytics and tracking tools a website runs — Google Analytics, Tag Manager, Meta Pixel and more — from the page source and network requests.
How to Check a Website's Traffic (Free Estimation Methods)
You cannot see another site's real analytics, but you can estimate its traffic. Here are the free tools and signals to gauge how much traffic a website gets — and how reliable they are.
How to Find Out How Old a Website Is (Domain Age & History)
How to check a website's age using WHOIS registration dates and the Wayback Machine — plus what domain age really means for trust and SEO, and where it misleads.
How to Tell If a Website Uses Cloudflare (or Another CDN)
How to detect whether a site sits behind Cloudflare, Fastly, CloudFront or another CDN — using response headers, DNS and a few quick checks — and why it matters.
How to Find a Website's IP Address (and What It Reveals)
Several quick ways to find any website's IP address — ping, nslookup, browser devtools and online tools — plus what the IP actually reveals about hosting, location and CDNs.
Is This Website Safe? How to Check a Site Before You Trust It
A practical checklist for deciding whether a website is safe before you shop, sign up or share data — from HTTPS and reputation to phishing red flags and privacy.
SPF, DKIM and DMARC Explained: How to Check Your Email Security
A clear guide to the three records that protect your domain from email spoofing — SPF, DKIM and DMARC — what each does, how they work together, and how to check yours.
How to Add FAQ Schema (and Why It Boosts AI Visibility)
FAQ schema turns your questions and answers into structured data that AI engines can quote directly. Here is how to add valid FAQPage JSON-LD, test it, and follow the rules.
What Is a Website's Carbon Footprint, and How to Measure & Reduce It
Every page view consumes energy and emits carbon. Here is what a website's carbon footprint is, how it is measured, and the most effective ways to make your site lighter and greener.
INP (Interaction to Next Paint) Explained: The Responsiveness Metric
INP replaced FID as a Core Web Vital in 2024. Here is what Interaction to Next Paint measures, what a good score is, what causes poor INP, and how to fix it.