Whether you are an individual or running a multinational business website, we know WordPress is your all time platform choice. The reason is obvious WordPress is flexible and is open source platform. The WordPress platform is pretty easy to use and install. But sometimes WordPress can take you longer than you think. Before you get started with WordPress we want you to be prepared with some of the common Do’s and Don’ts for using WordPress.
Do’s
- Consider buying a premium theme
Though free themes are much affordable, it may not have all the functionalities you are looking for. The biggest advantage of a premium theme is that you get maximum features and unlimited customization options. Also premium themes come with time to time updates and support. - Setup a Permalink Structure
In terms of SEO and ranking, the permalink structure is an important part of your WordPress website. It serves benefits to your visitors as well.Consider the following example:
https://www.sampleblog.com /?p=95315/
https://www.sampleblog.com /dos-and-donts-when-using-wordpress/It is quite obvious that the second URL is easier to understand than the first one. The search engine understands in the same way. It is recommended that you change the Permalink structure of your website from the settings to make it effortless for your users and search engines to understand.
- Use Social Media for Promoting your Website
As you begin to build your online presence social media is one of the key tools to reach maximum of your audience. Most of the new website goes unnoticed but you can help your site get noticed by using social media. Social media platforms such as Facebook & Twitter have come a long way over the past few years so that the brands can promote their business website.This can help your website drive more traffic and also help getting indexed more quickly. A large number of visitors can come to your website through social media. So, to establish your business successfully online you should promote your website on social media.
- Purchase Good WordPress Hosting
A lot of companies offers cheap web hosting services but fail to match your website requirement. That results in slow website, downtime etc. But how do you decide whether a web host is good or bad?
There are many factors involved while choosing a web host. Some key feature that matters are bandwidth, disk storage, server uptime, money back-guarantee, customer support and so on. Remember, while choosing your WordPress hosting provider choose the one that suits your website needs. Always pick the best cheap WordPress hosting which is not only cost-effective but also provides hassle free hosting so that you can focus on your business. - Have a Backup Plugin
What if someday your website suddenly crashes and you have nothing left? Creating a backup of your WordPress website is the best thing that you can do. It gives you peace of mind and can save you from a disaster. It is your responsibility to take backup of your website. There are plenty of free and paid WordPress plugins available for backup and these plugins are quite easy to use.
Don’ts
- Use Copyrighted Data
Not only the text, but also videos and pictures that are protected by the copyright laws are not supposed to be used without the permission of the owner. It will be considered illegal. It can not only put you in trouble, but also lead to lawsuits.If you use someone else’s copyrighted material, you may have to pay the monetary damages, and you may be guilty of copyright infringement.
- Use all the Default Widgets
By default WordPress comes with some default widgets. This helps you perform basic actions such as videos, text, images and a lot more. Very few of these widgets are actually utilized. With all the unnecessary widgets things will get messier and it will become difficult for you to find the one you actually want to use.Get rid of these unnecessary widgets. You can unregister a widget that you don’t want to use. These unregistered widgets won’t appear in your widget lists again.
- Forget to Change the Default Title and Tagline
Title and tagline are one of the crucial factors that help in identifying your website. It tells your audience and search engines what your website is about. Even though they may not show in your theme, they are prone to appear in search results. It just makes your website look unprofessional and doesn’t affect much really. You can change this under Settings>General in your WordPress dashboard. - Just Set and Forget
Just because WordPress is a simple business model, doesn’t mean you can sit back while the magic happens. WordPress is constantly upgrading its products and services and your business is supposed to evolve with it. Don’t just get stuck with old features try adding some more new features to you website every now and then to gain more benefits.Never let you site become stagnant. Make sure you upgrade to all the latest changes and features to maintain your audience interest and keep site up to date.
- Ignore Your Website Security
Websites can commonly be exposed to hackers. Web attacks are a growing threat among many website owners. Hackers can break into any site in so many ways and can seriously impact your website. Right from stealing private data, taking control of your website or implementing any of the web attacking methods your site can be exploited in many ways.Your site may become vulnerable to attackers if proper measures are not taken. You may not understand the importance of the security of your website unless your site has been hacked. The more you take care of your security the harder it is for a hacker to enter your website. Some security measures that you can take for your WordPress website is regularly updating WordPress, keeping strong passwords, guard against attacks, installing security plugins etc.
Summary:
If you are using WordPress as your website platform then you have selected a brilliant one. These do’s and don’ts are constructed to help you in the journey with your WordPress website. Let this article be your guide while you use WordPress.