Are you intimidated by WordPress? Are you overwhelmed trying to figure out all of the different aspects of the site? If so, you are in luck. This article has some information to help you get started. Once you have read it, WordPress should be de-mystified for you. Then, you can start improving your site.
Be sure to stay on top of updates! Many updates to add-ons or WordPress are security-based, meaning your site could be compromised if you don’t update the software. If it’s telling you a new update is available, install it as soon as possible to protect your site from harm.
If you plan to start a WordPress blog, make sure to offer readers more than just content. Even if you say many useful things, engaging readers with text may be quite difficult. Implementing videos and pictures would be a great idea since this is a great attention grabber.
Make the most of your titles and your descriptions. Any time you share posts on social media sites, a description and title may be required. These are important in terms of good search engine optimization, so don’t just toss out titles and descriptions randomly. Give it some thought and optimize with good keywords.
It is relatively easy to include video blogging in your WordPress site. Spending a little extra time preparing your website will save you time in the long run. Visitors to your site will appreciate how visual a video is. A video can do so much more than the written word can when it comes to communication.
Always upgrade WordPress as soon as possible. Hackers will target WordPress because of the large number of users. Updating WordPress as soon as updates are available can be one of your most valuable security tasks. The longer you wait to update, the better opportunity for hackers to get into your business.
When you use different tags for the topics on your blog, keep in mind that these are strictly for searching the content on your blog. Search engines can’t use these. If you want your pages to be searchable on Google, you have to install an SEO-type plugin such as Headspace.
Eliminate any comments or content that detracts from your site’s purpose. This will ensure your site remains user-friendly. Akismet is a plugin that can keep spam off your site.
It can happen where you have made changes to your blog on WordPress, only to think that the changes weren’t saved. That’s most likely false. To remedy this, try clearing your browser’s cache. Make sure to press the shift key on your keyboard as you do it, and the issue should have been solved.
Posts are always shown chronologically until you say otherwise. If you want to rearrange the list, you’ll have to change the date first. To do this, open a post so that you can see its date near the top-right. Changing the date and saving it will re-position it.
WordPress has many keyboard shortcuts, which make working with posts a snap. For example, ctrl-c allows you to copy text, while ctrl-x lets you cut it. Ctrl-v will paste it somewhere else. Ctrl-b is bold, ctrl-i is italic, and ctrl-u is underlined. These basic keyboard shortcuts will save you much time if you memorize them.
Do not forget about Facebook. Visitors to your site should be able to leave comments or register with your site through their Facebook accounts. Some plugins will help you get things rolling on your page, and they are easy to download and use. Since so many people are on Facebook, it is important to ensure that your page incorporates the social media site somehow.
Consider using a password manager. Choosing a secure password for your blog is important. Your password must be difficult to guess and changed regularly. Unfortunately, a password that’s hard to crack can be just as difficult for you to remember. Password managers can be used to generate and keep track of your passwords randomly.
Don’t forget to back up your blog. This should be done regularly. Xcloner is a wonderful WordPress plugin designed just for this purpose. Use the plugin or site you’re confident in for blog backup, but be sure to backup in many places. It would be terrible if you lost everything.
Remember that social media is integral to the success of both blogs and websites today, so you should install social networking plugins that allow you to share your content through your accounts. Facebook Connect is one example of an excellent tool to use to repost your content to your Facebook account.
You can schedule blog posts using WordPress. This way, your posts will be published while doing other things. Just have a look at your EDIT screen. Here you will see the PUBLISH box. If you choose to publish immediately, your blog posts will be published the minute you submit them. Insert military times. Also, make sure you include years, months, and days. Choose the “OK” option. Check the “Schedule For” page and then hit “Schedule.”
If you find that writing new posts is cluttered and confusing because of all the stuff on your page, clean it up! Use the Screen Options link to choose what shows on the composition page and what remains hidden. Many of your plugins may add content you don’t want, so remove it there.
Use the Comments tab in the WordPress dashboard sidebar to keep tabs on who is posting what on your site. This will save you the hassle of getting an email every time someone says something in reply to a post. In the end, you just don’t have time for that!
Conclusion:
As you can see, WordPress does not have to be intimidating. If you follow these suggestions, you can learn how WordPress works. Once you have that knowledge, you can create a successful site. Your visitors will be impressed with the navigability of your blog. The return traffic created by the professional appearance is just what you need.