Online blogs are growing exponentially. WordPress is the most popular choice when it comes to blogging. While WordPress is terrific, it can overwhelm some users. Read on to learn all of these things.
WordPress is full of options, features and tools that you can use to improve your blogging site. You will get more choices when you do this. It will make your posts different than others. You should also see a Screen Options on the Admin page. That will help you with formatting.
Avoid designs that are commonplace. Although creating an individual design takes more time, it will make your website look more personalized. Make a site that’s as unique as your business.
Video blogging is easy with WordPress. This will require you to make special preparations, but it will be worth the effort. Visitors to your site will appreciate how visual a video is. A video can show them things that the written word just can’t convey, and as a result, it can be a very powerful tool.
Set a schedule when you’re ready to post. If you are aware of your posting time, your motivation will increase. You could write a lot of posts at once and then use the WordPress scheduling feature to post them for you.
When you are ready to start posting, create a schedule. If you are aware of your posting time, your motivation will increase. In fact, it is possible to create a whole week’s or month’s posts in one day, and then utilize the scheduling feature to get WordPress to upload your postings for you.
Eliminate any content that is not adding value to your blog. This will ensure your site remains user friendly. An excellent plugin that can aid you in removing spam from your site on a daily basis is Akismet.
If you have a lot of comments and other content that is not adding value, delete it. This will ensure your site remains user friendly. The plugin “Askimet” can make the process of identifying spam quite easy.
The posts that you make appear in the order you make them, unless you specify. To change it, modify the date. The date is always on the top, right-hand corner of every blog post. Click the date, edit it, and save it to reorder its position.
There may be times when you devote hours to your WordPress blog only to believe that you neglected to save your changes. That’s most likely false. Clear your cache to see if that fixes the problem. Refresh your browser while holding down your shift key to make your changes appear.
Do you get many comments on your posts? If you do, it may be hard to go through the comments for you and visitors. Use a plugin to add page numbers. This makes for a more organized site that is easier to navigate.
Do you get many comments on your posts? If you do, it can be cumbersome to sift through all of them. Consider a page number plugin to simplify this. It will be easier to navigate your site, and it will look more organized.
You can improve your search engine rank by spending a few extra minutes with your pictures as you upload them. Make sure that your title tags are clearly indicated. When visitors “pin” something on Pinterest, the title you used is exactly what will show on their screen.
Rank higher with the search engines by paying careful attention to the images that you upload. Always use titles and alt text tags. If a viewer pins your picture on Pinterest, your title is what will appear on their screen.
Don’t share your WordPress passwords with anyone. Also, be sure to only download plugins you have obtained from trustworthy sites. Always look at reviews prior to installation. Everything will be lost if your site is hacked.
Create a suitable greeting and heading at the very top of your home page on your site. This allows you to communicate better with your audience. Your webpage will be less automatic looking, and will be accessible via the Greet Box plugin.
Be certain that your plugins are always up to date. These are a great tool that will make your website more powerful. Just as with regular software, they are updated. Not updating your site means you will not have access to upgrades and the plugins may not work as they should.
Let your users easily share your content via email. Additionally, make it easy for your users to share with their Facebook and Twitter friends. WP-email plugins are a great way to accomplish this.
Only install the plugins that you really need. Plugins are great, but each one slows your load time a little bit more. This can impact how your site ranks on search engines. Slower sites don’t usually rank as well as those that are faster.
Do not use “admin” as a possibility for a user name. You are risking bot attack if your username is something generic like administrator or admin. This causes your blog to be at a security risk. If you have usernames that are administrator or admin, delete them. Find creative user names that you can remember.
Make sure you are always using the latest WordPress version. Updates offer patches that will strengthen the security of the site. Older versions of WordPress leave you vulnerable to attack by malware. Always make sure to install the updates supplied by WordPress to keep your site secure.
Use titles and descriptions that are descriptive. These are a few of the things your readership will see first when using search engines. That’s why they’re very important. You can use SEO software called Scribe to get more control on these elements in your site. You can then edit some of these items to make sure more people come to your site.
Schedule your postings in advance of when you want to publish them. You can have a post added to your blog at any time, and you don’t even need to be near your computer. You find this on the edit screen. Look for the “Publish” button. There, you will find “publish immediately.” Input the military time, day, month, and year that you want your post to be published. Click OK. Check “Schedule For” and press “Schedule.”
Make sure your plugins remain updated. WordPress plugins can add unique features to your site. They need to be updated just like traditional software. You might miss out on important updates that keep the plugin working properly.
Nobody wants to manually approve comments anymore. Akismet can take care of that for you! You can choose to get emailed whenever a comment is left, but should not use manual approvals. You are not actually saving time, otherwise.
Only install the necessary plugins that you need. The more you have, the more time it will take for your site to load. Things can really get bogged down, which can harm your rankings in the search engines. Slower sites don’t usually rank as well as those that are faster.
Don’t use the drop-down menu when you are selecting a header. Keyboard shortcuts are the way to go! Press down the CTRL button, followed by a number ranging from one to six. This will save you time if you’re constantly using headers.
Only use the most recent updated WordPress version available. There are security patches included in updates that will eliminate any vulnerabilities. Your site can be at risk for malware attacks if you’re not using the most current version. Therefore, always install any updates that WordPress rolls out to ensure that your site is secure and tight.
When searching for plugins, check their reviews. Keep in mind that anyone with coding ability, good or bad, can make a plugin. It is not a great idea to use plugins that have many known issues. A high rating and a lot of downloads usually signal that a plugin is safe.
Always make a backup of your blog. This should be done regularly. Use a plugin like Xcloner to help you with the process. Create a back up of your blog using any method that you are comfortable with; just be sure to create multiple backups. It would be disastrous to lose your whole blog.
Does the clutter of WordPress bother you? Try turning off buttons you don’t use. Go to the “Screen Options” menu found at the very top of WordPress. You will see a menu to click that gives you the ability to turn off/on what you need and don’t need.
Connect your posts with a plugin that internally links, so that your readers see more information to read on your website. These plugins allow you to list three or more links to each of your posts.
Single Click
Use the scheduler tool to schedule the publishing of your blog posts. For posts already written, you can set them up to post on different days and times, even if you aren’t near your computer. Visit the “edit” screen and find the “publish” box. Beneath that, look for “Publish Immediately.” Change that so that it will change it to the time and date you want to publish it. Select OK. When a screen appears for the “schedule for”, check it on and press “Schedule” if the info is correct.
Certain hosts allow you to install WordPress quickly and easily with a single click. This will save you a lot of hassle from having to create your own database separately. A single click could mean the host creates both your blog domain and your database associated with it.
Read reviews of a plugin you want to use. Remember, anyone who can program is able to create a plugin. Do not use a plugin with many issues associated with it. A high rating and a lot of downloads usually signal that a plugin is safe.
You need to enable comments for your WordPress blog. This engenders some community spirit, and you get to know a bit more about your readers. You can moderate comments before you approve them so that you prevent spamming on your blog.
There are a variety of authoring tools for blogs that should be tried out. What’s your opinion of the WordPress dashboard? Consider Windows Live Writer or another program that does blog authoring. Many more efficient tools which are WordPress compatible exist. Give a couple of them a try to figure out which one is most effective for you.
Don’t forget about the “Read More” option. Nobody wants to reach the front page of a blog only to find a massive amount of text. Allow visitors to click to read more if they choose to. Not doing this could cause the blog to appear messy and overwhelming.
Remember that you can add a “Read More” button. This will limit the amount of text that you see on the homepage. You want to let visitors be able to access more information if chosen. Failing to do so could make your blog look uninviting and cluttered.
While a plugin may not be free, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try it. Think about what the plugin does and how much time it would save to see if the cost is worth it. If you get lots of features for little money, it is a worthwhile expense.
Use an identical second database if you would like to test changes without messing with the live site itself. This keeps those changes from potentially damaging your entire site causing lost sales.
You can test changes to your site before you make them live by duplicating it in an additional folder and database. This way, you won’t inadvertently make poor changes to your site.
Remember, you are not required to handle all the work on your site by yourself. If you could bring on someone, either voluntarily or for hire, who can save you time by getting the work done right the first time, it’s worth it to get them to join you on your project.
It’s not necessary for you to do all your site work alone. Hire or trade work with someone to get the job done.
Do your research before planning your WordPress blog. For example, find WordPress blogs, forums and Facebook groups where you can ask questions and get expert advice. Whether your issue is with a theme, plugin, or general knowledge, they can help you figure your problem out.
If you’re writing a post that isn’t all the way done, holding it in unpublished mode should be done. This enables you to continue to make changes until it’s ready for the public eye. Only publish when it’s finished.
WordPress has an Export function you can use to regularly create backups of your content. Having a backup allows you to easily recover your site in the event of a server error.
Reading this article has undoubtedly increased your understanding of WordPress. A lot of people use it, but not many people are truly well-versed in it. This article should be of great assistance as you begin to navigate WordPress.
Eliminate all the plugins and themes your aren’t currently using to boost security and ensure the quickest load time for you website. These may have security flaws that go unnoticed if you do not even realize that you have these themes and plugins. If this happens, you would be vulnerable to code injections, and this could ruin your website.