WordPress may be a little difficult to use when you’re just starting out. If you don’t understand how to use this platform properly, you can definitely feel overwhelmed or create a site that seems less than satisfactory. Prevent yourself from looking inexperienced by reading the following advice.
Choose a design that is relatively unique when making your WordPress blog; don’t just choose the design everyone else is using. Although creating an individual design takes more time, it will make your website look more personalized. Your site should be unique and reflect your personality.
If you have a lot of comments and other content that is not adding value, delete it. This will make your website fresh and professional. An excellent plugin that can aid you in removing spam from your site on a daily basis is Akismet.
Does one of your posts have a lengthy title? If so, use permalink to clean it up. For instance, an overbearing or difficult URL would be along the lines of “Top Tips For Parents of Unruly Children.” Rather than writing that, have your permalink be “discipline-tips-children” or something similar that captures your keywords.
Simplify your URL by eliminating special characters. They give search engines difficulty when they are spidering your site, so try to eliminate them altogether. Try shortening all URLs to avoid overwhelming visitors. Try using only keywords.
Make sure to spend some time learning before even installing WordPress. The more you’re able to do in advance, the more you’ll be better prepared when you start. Understand the basics of SEO and content creation before starting your site.
Your post will automatically appear chronologically, unless you stipulate otherwise. First you must modify the date, then you can rearrange the list. Do this by opening a post. You’ll see the date in the top right. Changing the date and saving it will re-position it.
Review your content for irrelevant material and remove it. Your visitors will appreciate your efforts. Akismet is one of the better plugins for filtering out spam.
Search engine ranks can be boosted with just a little more time spent while adding photos. Putting in alternate text and title tags is crucial. If your image goes on Pinterest, you will get more exposure.
Make sure the URLs for your posts do not have special characters in them. Spiderbots may have difficulty with them. Use short URLs that don’t baffle and confuse your readers.
Make sure descriptions and titles are targeted. As a visitor arrives at your page, they will see both of these things almost immediately. They are crucial to your site. Use Scribe, from SEO software, to exert greater control over this on WordPress created sites. You can get more visitors by editing these things.
Posts are always shown chronologically, until you say otherwise. You must alter the date if you wish to reorder the list. To do this, open a single post and look for the date near the top right. Click on the date, change it and then save your post in order to change its position.
Update your plugins regularly. You can make a powerful website using plugins. Just like any other software, however, they need to be updated. Not keeping up with the latest versions can mean that versions you have now will suddenly stop working or cause other problems.
Better your search engine rankings by taking a couple minutes with pictures before uploading them. Use the alternate text and title tags on each one. If your readers “pin” you on Pinterest, that title will automatically show on their screen.
Search Engine
Make sure that your greeting is appealing for your WordPress site. Not only does this personalize your website, it welcomes guests based on how they found your blog. This will make things look less robotic on your webpage and can be accessed with the WP Greet Box plugin.
Do not use more plugin installations in WordPress than you need. When you add too many plugins, it can slow your website down. The web site will load more slowly and affect your search engine rank. Optimized websites perform best in search engine rankings.
Allow visitors to email your articles to themselves. This is essential so that they can easily share your content with others. You can do this by using a WP-Email plugin.
Use an internal linking plugin to connect your posts together, giving the reader more content to enjoy on your site. These plugins add lists between three and five links beneath the posts based on your tag’s relevancy to each post.
You shouldn’t pick a username such as “admin”. The more simple your user name, the easier it is for your site to be hacked. That’s a security risk. Go to your “user” page and erase anything that has to do with usernames that contain “administrator” or “admin”. Choose a new username.
Approving comments manually is an obsolete procedure. Let Akismet filter out the spam for you. Make sure that “manual approval” does not have a check mark beside it so that the comments go up automatically. If you don’t do that, there really is no point in using Akismet.
Never use an outdated version of WordPress. Updates usually contain patches that solve security issues and get rid of vulnerabilities. Malware is often able to infiltrate WordPress sites that do not have the latest updates. That’s why you should always download WordPress updates, to make sure your website is secure.
Are you challenged to publish on schedule? You can write something in advance and schedule it to publish at the time and date of your choosing. If you open a new post, there is an option for a future article. You can write your posts without worrying about remembering to post them.
You can give more content to the reader by using internal linking plugins on your website. These plugins add lists between three and five links beneath the posts based on your tag’s relevancy to each post.
Read user reviews of plugins. Anyone who can program can make their own plugin. You do not want to use a plugin that has many reported bugs and flaws. Look for ones that have high ratings and have been heavily downloaded.
You can schedule blog posts using WordPress. For posts already written, you can set them up to post on different days and times, even if you aren’t near your computer. Go to your Edit screen and locate the Publish box. Under that, you should see “Publish Immediately.” You can input the date and time you want your post to be posted. Pick OK. Click on the ‘schedule’ button on the ‘schedule for’ screen to plan schedule your blog posts.
Are you sick of WordPress clutter? Eliminate a few of the boxes appearing on the page. Do this from ‘Screen Options’ near the top of your window. Click this to access a drop-down menu where you can turn boxes on and off.
No one manually approves comment any longer. Akismet can take care of that for you! Allow comments to post without having to have approval in order to simplify things. Failing that, you won’t really save any time.
Allow comments on your WordPress site. This allows you to interact better with the people accessing your site, evoking a sense of community. You can make it so that the only comments that show up are ones you approve, in case you’re worried about spam.
You don’t have to use the standard dro-down menu when choosing a header. Keyboards shortcuts will save time. To use, simply use CTRL and the numbers 1 through 6. For bloggers who always use headers, this shortcut saves a lot of time.
Blog Authoring
Certain hosts allow you to install WordPress quickly and easily with a single click. That will help you to avoid the problem of dealing with a separate database. The host will also be able to make you a blog domain.
Blog authoring tools are very valuable. Is the WordPress dashboard not to your taste? Try a blog authoring program like Windows Live Writer. There are a variety of efficient WordPress-compatible tools. Try using a couple of them and find one you like.
You should allow visitors to post comments on your site. This builds a sense of togetherness, and it also allows you to know a bit more about your traffic. There are plugins that will require comment approval before they show up on your site. This will keep spammers and advertisers away.
Before building a site on WordPress, put a plan together. Write down what you want out of your blog and what you want readers to gain from it. This lets you start out great instead of having to make changes later.
Highlight your own comments. People frequently express concerns or ask questions in blog comment sections. It’s easy for comments to be overlooked if there are many other comments. Highlight an author’s comments in a distinct color. That way, these comments are easy to spot.
Don’t forget about the “Read More” option. This allows your visitors to view a few lines of a blog post before deciding whether or not to read the entire post. Let visitors read more by clicking if they choose. If you don’t do this, they might be turned off by your blog.
Make a plan for your WordPress site before you make it. Know what you want from your site and consider what your readers expect. This will give you a clear picture of what you want your site to look like from the get go.
Use pictures on your website. Remember that many people only look at the pictures and never read the words. This will give your site a lot of interest. Make picture descriptions with text tags so search engines have an easier time finding it.
Just because a plugin has a price, that isn’t a reason you should overlook using it. Think about how much time the plugin will save you. If it offers you a ton of features at a low cost, it’s worth it to pay the price to have more time on your hands.
Plugins that cost money to download may still be of value. Compare the value of your time to that of the plugin’s cost, and decide on the right approach. If it is rich in features, paying a little bit is still worth your money by saving you time.
Keep a post unpublished if you have it written out but don’t want to publish yet. You can make changes on it that the public cannot see during this time. You then publish the blog post when you are completely satisfied with it.
Plan well and use all available resources to set up the very best WordPress site. For example, seek out WordPress forums, blogs and groups on Facebook where people ask questions and receive advice from experts. No matter whether you’ve got problems with themes or plugins, they can help.
When using the export function available in WordPress, remember that you will also need to backup your images as well as any other files your site uses. You can use a file transfer program or hosting account’s control panel interface to copy your content.
If you’re not ready to post what you’ve written, store it as unpublished until you are ready. You can make changes on it that the public cannot see during this time. You can publish these posts whenever you are ready to do so.
Make sure you existing plugins are compatible prior to upgrading. If your plugins are essential, wait to upgrade until more testing is done. If you don’t, you may lose important plugins that you use often.
Include tags on all of your images and links to take good advantage of SEO potential. Clear names for categories are usually what people need to see when looking in search engines. For example, “WordPress tips for beginners” or “best WordPress plugins” might have drawn you into this article!
If you aren’t using themes or plugins then you should remove them for security purposes. Some irrelevant plugin may have a security flaw that can damage your site. Code injections could occur and your site will be ruined.
You cannot learn everything about WordPress immediately, but you sure have a great start. You will be an improved blogger by using the tips above. With time and effort, you’ll be a master user in no time.
Keep in mind that everything you publish is going to be on the Internet forever. A political rant, for example, will be out there forever. Before posting, ask yourself if you want that connected with your page.