WordPress For Beginners – 11 Tips For Getting Started
WordPress is a powerful and flexible platform that can be used to run almost any type of website. It is easy to install, configure and use.
However, even with all its versatility, WordPress can still be intimidating for beginners. That is because it has many features and settings that you don’t need to know about until you make them part of your site.
Below are tips for getting started with WordPress as a beginner;
Choose a good web hosting service
If your website doesn’t load quickly and reliably, visitors will leave in frustration. If your hosting provider is not reliable, consider switching to a different company with better uptime guarantees or even hosting your site on WordPress’s servers.
Choose a theme
When you first install WordPress, it comes with a built-in theme called Twenty Fifteen. You can change this theme to any other theme if you like. This can be done by going to Appearance > Theme in the admin area of your site. Once on this page, click on “install themes” and search for the theme name or browse through the available themes. Once you find one you like, click Install then Activate to make it yours.
Don’t forget to update your plugins and themes
It’s easy to forget that plugins and themes are software, just like any other. They can contain bugs, security vulnerabilities, or other problems. When you install a new plugin or theme, you should always check its changelog to see if there have been any recent updates.
In some cases, you may be able to update your plugin or theme directly from its admin page. But if not, you’ll need to download the new version from the developer’s website and upload it to your site yourself.
Start adding content to your site
Create pages on your site and fill them with useful information that’s relevant to your niche.
Write blog posts and publish them on your site. Add images, videos and other files that are not written articles or pages but still help tell your story or provide value to readers who visit your website.
Set up your permalinks
As a WordPress beginner, you might not be familiar with permalinks. Permalinks are the permanent links to your posts and pages. They are important for SEO, user experience, and search engine ranking.
Here is how to set up your permalinks in WordPress:
Step 1: Go to Settings > Permalinks in your dashboard.
Step 2: Select Custom Structure from the dropdown menu and add %postname% into the text field below it (the %postname% will show the post name). Click Save Changes.
Get familiar with the dashboard
The WordPress dashboard is where you will spend most of your time when working with the platform. Here, you can edit your site’s content, update settings and plugins, add new pages and posts, and more.
Optimize your site for speed and search engines
When it comes to SEO, you need to make sure that your website loads quickly to improve its ranking on the Google search engine results page (SERP). People who land on your page find it easy and fast to navigate through it and go back quickly if they want something else otherwise they will search for other options.
Add social media sharing buttons to your site
These buttons allow visitors to share your content on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Google+. This means that even if they aren’t ready to subscribe right away, they will still be able to take action on their terms.
Make sure to back up regularly
This is the most important thing you can do to protect your website. If you are not backing up, you could lose everything in an instant if something goes wrong.
There are many options when it comes to backing up your site, but we recommend using the UpdraftPlus plugin or something similar to do so automatically. This way, you don’t have to worry about remembering to back up regularly.
Don’t change too many things at once
This can cause problems with compatibility between different plugins or themes and may require additional troubleshooting efforts on your part (or someone else’s). Always make sure that whatever change you make works properly before adding something else new to your site!
Security
WordPress comes with several built-in security measures that help protect your site from hackers and spammers who want to exploit vulnerabilities in WordPress core or plugins so they can install malware or send spammy messages to visitors on your site. Make sure these are enabled and up-to-date so you do not fall victim to attacks from malicious hackers who want access to your data or want to use your website as a platform for distributing their content without getting permission first.
Conclusion
WordPress is a great platform for building and maintaining your website. It is also a powerful option for beginners as it provides many popular yet powerful features out of the box, turning your WordPress into a full-fledged publishing platform.
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