WordPress is used by a vast audience for good reason. The fact of the matter is that it is very user friendly. If you want to have a successful blog, then WordPress is a great step to take. Keep reading for a few tricks on making WordPress work for you.
Don’t choose a design that’s identical to what others that have a WordPress website use. It can be tempting to do this since it saves lots of time, but it will not give users the best impression of you. You want to show how your site is different from everyone else.
Avoid designs that are commonplace. While using something that others already have up is simple, it doesn’t create a great first impression of your site. Creating a site that showcases the uniqueness of your business is critical.
Take some time to familiarize yourself with all the tools and options available to you when blogging with WordPress. 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. Use this to control a wide variety of formatting elements.
WordPress is full of options, features and tools that you can use to improve your blogging site. For instance, the button “kitchen sink” gives you a plethora of choices for formatting and importing content into your posts. Also check out “screen options” for admin functions. This can help you control various formatting elements.
Make sure you learn everything you can prior to installing WordPress. When you plan ahead, the better your site will be. Find out more concerning search engine optimization, well-written content and the nuances of WordPress so you have an easier time building a blog.
Make sure to use both alt text and title tags. text when you upload images. This is good for SEO, and it allows people who have disabled images to know what the images are about.
Eliminate any comments or content that detracts from your site’s purpose. That way, the site stays suitable for the interested folks who read it. A good plugin to include which can help filter daily spam on the site is Akismet.
WordPress is something that people can use to get video blogs onto their sites. It’s worth the extra preparation. Visuals grab your readers’ attention. Videos can convey things words cannot, so they are very useful.
Make sure the URLs for your posts do not have special characters in them. Special characters annoy search engine spiders, so it’s best not to have any. While utilizing keywords, make sure you keep those URLs short as well.
Clean up any unnecessary comments and content on your website. That will help you to keep the site friendly to people who are looking at it. You can filter spam every day with the plugin known as Akismet.
Unless you dictate differently, your posts always show up in a chronological order. You can change the order of this list by changing the dates on your blog posts. You can see the date when you open up a post. To change the posts position, click the date and change it.
Do many people comment on posts you write? If you do, it may be hard to go through the comments for you and visitors. Use a plugin to insert page numbers in the comments area. That will improve navigation and make your site look better organized.
Do your posts get comments from lots of people? If this is the case, it can be hard to sort through them all. Simply create pages by adding a plugin for that purpose. This makes for a more organized site that is easier to navigate.
Better your greeting at the very top of your site in WordPress. That makes for a better connection with visitors, since you will be able to personalize a message. Your webpage will be less automatic looking, and will be accessible via the Greet Box plugin.
You can help your site’s rank on the search engines by simply taking a few minutes when adding images to your site. Always remember to add alternative text and title tags. If your image goes on Pinterest, you will get more exposure.
Use targeted titles and descriptions. Search engines direct web traffic to these pages first. That heightens their importance. You can use Scribe, which will help you control this on WordPress. This lets you edit pages to gain more readers.
Let your users easily share your content via email. This is important to promote exposure, since many readers cannot use social media sites at work. This is accomplished by using the WP-Email plugin.
Make sure to always organize your media library. If you just upload images randomly it’ll get out of control and disorganized. Start off with a good folder structure and stick to it. Later on, when you want to reuse an image, it’ll make the search a whole lot easier to deal with.
Do not share your password. Be certain your plugins always come from reliable sites with good reputations. Otherwise, you are vulnerable to hackers and malware.
Make sure that your plugins remain up to date. The WordPress plugins give you a great way to boost your website’s power. They will need to get updated though. If you skip over these updates, you’ll miss important updates. Worse, you could be operating with certain bugs in your current edition.
Always update your plugins. The plugins are what makes WordPress so great. However, as with any other software, there are updates. If you don’t make sure you have the latest version, you may not be getting as much as possible out of the plugin.
Current Version
Only install WordPress plugins you will actually use. Plugins can add a new dimension to your website, but they also increase the time it takes for your home page to load. This has a negative affect on your traffic and your search engine rankings. Slow websites tend not to rank as well as ones that have been optimized for performance.
Using the most current version of WordPress is very important. Updates include patches that make your page less vulnerable. Your site can be at risk for malware attacks if you’re not using the most current version. So keep your website’s WordPress install up to date to make sure you are as secure as can be.
Make sure you have the most current WordPress on your website. Updates will eliminate vulnerabilities. Using an older version of WordPress opens up your site to malware attacks. To keep your site secure, use the newest version of WordPress.
Remember to back your blog up. Back up your blog on a daily basis. Xcloner is a great plugin to use with WordPress to do this. Be sure to back your blog up in multiple spots. It would be disastrous to lose your whole blog.
Think about scheduling post publishing in advance by 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. Look for the Publish box on the Edit screen. Then, you’ll see the choice to “publish immediately.” Select the time and date you want it to be published. Choose the “OK” option. When you spot your “schedule for” screen, select it and then hit “schedule” if things look right.
Make sure that you write your blogs in advance. You can be sure that they are posted on a regular schedule even if you are away. Find the Publish box in the Edit screen. Beneath that, look for “Publish Immediately.” Select the time and date you want it to be published. When the correct time and date are on your screen, select ‘ok’. When the “Schedule For” screen comes up, check it, and hit “Schedule” if it’s correct.
When searching for plugins, check their reviews. Don’t forget, anyone who knows programming can build these plugins. Avoid plugins with a lot of reports of bugs, flaws and security holes. A plugin that has numerous downloads and high ratings will probably be safe to use.
You no longer have to manually accept comments. Instead, let Akismet perform that job for you. Naturally, you could manually check comments, but it is easier to have them delivered to you for approval before posting. If you do not do this, you will waste lots of time.
Tired of the clutter on WordPress? Just disengage a few of the boxes on your page. You can do so via the “Screen Options” button at the top of the WordPress window. Click that link to get a menu which helps you control which boxes appear.
When choosing a post header, forget about using the menu that drops down. Rather, use shortcuts on your keyboard. Press Ctrl and single number from one to six for several options. This can save time if you frequently use headers.
Think about highlighting any comments left by a blog post’s author. People often ask questions or express concerns in comment sections. Responding to one of these questions can easily be overlooked, swallowed up in a sea of comments. Highlight all author comments using a different color. This makes them easy to find.
You will discover the reason so many people prefer WordPress as you become comfortable with it. Use the tips you’ve read here to get the most out of WordPress. The blog you create will look more professional and be more interesting when you know how to use the platform.
Create a plan prior to beginning work on your WordPress site. Write down everything you want your site to do and what you want to convey to readers. This will help you build a blog that covers your needs rather than you trying to tack a lot of things on at a later date.