Utilizing WordPress is not quite as simple as it may appear. Particularly if you haven’t used it before, a little background knowledge can come in handy. Remember that by learning more about WordPress, the better the blogger you will be. The following advice will improve your foundation of knowledge about WordPress.
The Title and Alt keys are helpful to know. text when you upload images. This way, you can add a lot more keyword phrases to your content, and visitors who have images disabled on the computers will get a good idea of what is there.
Make sure that you do not choose the same design as everyone else that has a WordPress site. While it is tempting to save time, your viewers will not get the best impression. You want to differentiate your website by enhancing the uniqueness of your business.
When you are set to post, set a schedule. You can stay motivated when you know how to post. You can actually make all of your posts for a week in one day. You can then schedule it so WordPress will upload some of these posts at a later date.
Spend some time getting to know all of WordPress’s tools and options. For instance, clicking on the visible Kitchen Sink button can offer more choices for formatting posts to make them more unique. There is also a Screen Options tab located on the admin pages of your site. Use that to control all kinds of formatting elements.
Eliminate any comments or content that detracts from your site’s purpose. This makes your site user-friendly for people of integrity who visit it. One great plugin to filter spam is Akismet.
Be sure to use Title & Alt. Use both title and alternate text when uploading your images to your site. You can put SEO phrases in these places, and those people that can’t see pictures on your site will know what should have been there.
You might find one day that you think you’ve made a lot of changes to your blog that haven’t been saved. This most likely is not true. You may have a full browser cache that is interfering with your WordPress website. Press and hold the Shift key when refreshing the browser for changes to show.
It is relatively easy to include video blogging in your WordPress site. You must do some preparation; however, it’s worth it. Most Internet users are very visual. People enjoy videos, and a video that explains things well can grab their attention faster than words can.
Your post will automatically appear chronologically, unless you stipulate otherwise. In order to rearrange things, dates will need to be changed. Open any of your individual posts and go to the date near the top right-hand corner to change the date. Click and change the date, then save the post. This changes where its position will be.
Learn what you can before installing WordPress. The more you’re able to do in advance, the more you’ll be better prepared when you start. Learn about SEO, creating content using plugins.
Are you getting as many comments as you’d like? 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.
Never use the term “admin” or anything similar for your username. When you are showing as “admin”, your site has a higher chance of being targeted by bots. It’s a security risk. Delete usernames that appear with “administrator” or “admin” on your user pages. Choose a new username.
Optimizing the images that you upload to WordPress can give your site rank a boost. Use the alternate text and title tags on each one. Remember, the title you select will be what your visitors see if they hover the mouse over your image.
Security is key to a WordPress site, so be sure to keep passwords to yourself. In addition to that, you need to get your plugins from reputable sites and you need to go over reviews prior to installing them. If your site is hacked or attacked with malware, you could lose the whole thing.
Use a minimal number of plugins. Of course plugins are cool and fun, but each one that is added increases the time it takes your website to load. Things can really get bogged down, which can harm your rankings in the search engines. Slow websites do not rank very well in the search engines when compared to sites that are optimized to load quickly.
Organize your media library and keep it that way. It’s tempting to upload pictures into the library directly, however, things can easily get disorganized. Set up folders right at the outset, and put images into the correct folders. This will make searching for a particular image much easier.
Always back your files up! You need to back up your blog often. Think about utilizing a plugin such as Xcloner. 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.
Routinely update your plugins. It is possible to make your website more powerful by utilizing WordPress plugins. But just like regular software, they get updated. Not updating your site means you will not have access to upgrades and the plugins may not work as they should.
When choosing a post header, forget about using the menu that drops down. Use shortcuts on your keyboard. Press CTRL, then pick a number between 1 and 6. This is a great time saver if you like to use headers.
Never use an outdated version of WordPress. Updates are necessary because they patch security vulnerabilities. Your site is more vulnerable if you use an old version. Install all updates WordPress offers in order to ensure the best security.
Read user reviews of plugins. Lots of people know how to create plugins. You don’t want to install a problematic plugin. The best thing to do is to use those that have high ratings and many downloads since this signals that they are safe.
Blog Posts
When seeking a place to host your WordPress blog, find one that allows you to install WordPress by clicking one button. This will prevent the need to create a separate database. A one-click install can create the domain of your blog that you had chosen, then create the appropriate database.
In WordPress, you can schedule blog posts in advance. It is possible to have posts published at specified times, no matter where you happen to be. Find the Publish box in the Edit screen. If you choose to publish immediately, all of your blog posts will be published the minute you submit them. You can input the date and time you want your post to be posted. Hit “OK.” If all of the information is the way you desire, select “Schedule.”
Your WordPress site should have comments enabled. People will feel more involved and you can learn about them as well. There are plugins that will require comment approval before they show up on your site. This will keep spammers and advertisers away.
It can be difficult to keep up with scheduled blog posts. You can even write a blurb in advance and post it at a time of your choosing. As you open up the posting area, you’ll notice the option to select a future posting time. Therefore, write away and get everything taken care of ahead of time.
Highlight any comments the author makes to a blog post. There are often concerns and questions in the comments. It can be far too easy to overlook such a question because it is lost in a group of others. Be sure an author’s comments are highlighted in a contrasting color. Using this method will make the comment section easier to read.
Avoid using a drop-down menu to choose headers for your blog posts. Use the keyboard shortcuts. By depressing the CTRL key along with a numeric key between 1 and 6, you can get different options. This is a great time saver if you like to use headers.
Remember that you can add a “Read More” button. A wall of text on the front page of your blog looks unprofessional. Show your visitors a “read more” link that they can click. Failing to do so could make your blog look uninviting and cluttered.
Have you had enough of the clutter involved in WordPress? You need to turn a few of those boxes off that are on the page. You can do so via the “Screen Options” button at the top of the WordPress window. Click this and you will see a drop-down menu. This lets you choose the boxes you want to see.
Make good use of images when you blog. One image can convey many ideas. Your site will be 10 times more attractive. Be sure that readers and search engines both notice your images through good use of titles as well as alt text tags in describing it.
You need to enable comments for your WordPress blog. This builds a community and gives you more information about your readers. There are plugins for approving comments before they post on the site, which can help you avoid spammers and advertisers.
It may be worth it to spend money on some plugins. Consider how much your time is worth and then compare that to the cost of the plugin. If you feel that you are getting a lot for the price, it may be worth it.
Experiment with a number of blogging platforms. Is the WordPress dashboard not to your taste? Try a blog authoring program like Windows Live Writer. There are many tools that are compatible with WordPress while being much more efficient. Try out a bunch of these and then decide on the best tool for you.
To work on sites and changes without live updates, copy it all to another identical database. This way, you can test out changes without risking the health of the existing site.
Keep in mind that a “read more” option is always a possibility. Visitors aren’t going to want to dive into lengthy text right off the bat. The “Read More” option gives visitors the opportunity to continue reading the posts they find most interesting. Failure could leave your blog cluttered and uninviting.
Keep in mind that you don’t personally have to work alone on your site. If possible, consider doing all you can to spread out the work.
Make sure to place images on your website. A picture’s worth a thousand words. This will make your site more dramatic. Make sure to take advantage of title as well as alternate text tags when describing the picture, making it clear for your readers and search engines.
If you are working on a post not ready for publication, you can save it as a draft or in unpublished mode. You can still modify them, but the public can’t see them. You then publish the blog post when you are completely satisfied with it.
Remember, you are not required to handle all the work on your site by yourself. You can hire someone or get a volunteer to take care of some of the tech work so that you don’t go through a lot of trial and error.
Utilize WordPress’ Export function to give your site a regular backup. This will make sure that your site has a database of historical backups, allowing you to choose an older, clean copy of your site if you get hacked, or the most recent backup in case of a server crash.
WordPress can be difficult if you do not understand how to use it. However, this article has given you helpful advice. Just implement what you learn here, and you will be on the road to success!
When you use the Export function in WordPress, don’t forget to also backup all images and other files associated with your site. To do this, log onto the FTP server or control panel and then copy the folders there.
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