So you have a limited budget for creating your website and you are quite tech-savvy. Most likely you will decide to build your website yourself on WordPress. After all, it is a widely used platform, where most of the tasks can be done by an enthusiast DIY business owner, without writing even one line of code.
Seems appealing? And it certainly is. But even though WordPress is not a very complicated platform for the self-maintenance website, you can still end up making some mistakes that can potentially harm it.
But fear not, we’ve prepared a list of 10 most common beginner WordPress mistakes. Avoid these and you are good to go.
1. Not choosing the WordPress theme wisely.
It may be very appealing to choose something free from the depository, but that’s not always the best choice. While choosing a theme pay attention to its reviews and to when was the last time it was updated. The problem with free themes is usually that the creators stop updating the theme at some point. And as WordPress is constantly being updated to keep up with the security and functionality news, it is absolutely crucial that your theme creators do the same.
Another thing to check is whether the theme looks equally nice on all the devices and whether it is optimised in terms of page load speed.
2. Installing an unnecessarily big amount of plugins.
One of the reasons why WordPress is so popular is its plugin depository, where you can find a plugin to do virtually anything. But installing a big amount of plugins might put your website at risk. First of all, plugins can significantly slow your website. Secondly, you will need to keep all of them updated, so more routine work for you. And third, plugins might not be coded in the best possible way (again, always check the reviews before installing) and can potentially even break down your whole site. So, choose and install your plugins wisely.
3. Not changing your login from “admin” or using a very easy password.
WordPress is one of the most popular platforms in the world, no surprise then that the hackers would choose it as one of the first targets. By not choosing a secure login and password you are leaving the front door of your website wide open for those who might want to harm it.
4. Not setting up automated backups.
In case the worst happens – your website is hacked or broken by an unfortunate choice of plugin – you know what would make you feel good? Having a “fresh” backup that you can use to restore your website with just a couple of clicks. You can use the solutions that your hosting company provides, or even use a plugin (yes, it is OK to use a plugin for this matter).
5. Not changing permalinks.
Permalinks are the URLs that your pages will have. Just by looking at the name, you can guess that they should be permanent. So, it’s important to choose a suitable permalink structure from the beginning to avoid wide-scale changes in URLs after your website goes live. Do to so, you need to go to “Settings” - “Permalinks” and choose the structure. We recommend always choosing the “Post Name” option, this way your URLs will coincide with your pages names.
6. Not using a child theme.
If you need to customise a little the theme you are using, you might need to add some code to the theme files. If you do it directly on the theme files, next time your theme will be updated, all the changes you’ve made will disappear. To avoid this, you need to create a child theme for your website’s theme and make all the changes only within the child theme. This way you will be able to update your theme without losing your customisation. There are plenty of articles, explaining how to do it, just search in Google “create child theme WordPress” and you will definitely have all your questions answered.
7. Not deleting the default content.
When creating a site on WordPress, it automatically creates a “Sample Page” and a “Hello World” post. These are pages with thin content, duplicate for numerous other websites, so you definitely will be better off, deleting them.
8. Not changing the tag line.
Similarly to the previous point, by default, the tag line of your website says “Just another WordPress Site”. And while we are passionate advocates for SEO optimisation and creation of appropriate title and description for each page, if you don’t have the possibility to do it now, at least make sure to customise your website title and tag line in its settings.
9. Not making updates.
Having a WordPress website, means you need to keep an eye on updates, as you need to maintain your WordPress version, your theme and all of your plugins updated. If you skip this step you are leaving your website potentially vulnerable for hackers.
10. Not optimising your images for web.
Site speed is very important, it influences your Google rankings and what’s more important, if your site takes too long to load, users won’t wait for it and will never see your content. Uploading images to the website exactly as they are, will slow your website immensely. So, be sure to optimise them for web (using Photoshop, an online solution like, for example, TinyPNG or even a plugin).
If you need additional clarification on any of the points above, feel free to reach out and we will happily give you some more tips on this matter.
For more information, bespoke strategies and efficient digital marketing solutions, just contact the Clarity’s girls through info@yourdigitalclarity.com or visit our website at www.yourdigitalclarity.com.
