Using wordpress can be daunting if you do not know where to begin. There is so much information, much of it confusing to the layperson. If you do not know how to maximize your results with WordPress guide, you have come to the right place. The following ideas can help you successfully navigate wordpress.
Utilize Add-Ons for Enhanced Functionality
Check out add-ons to find simple tools which will make your site or blog better. For example, you could add a calendar to your side menu bar in order to share events which would be interesting to your readers. You can also find many great add-ons which provide control for advertising, turning your site into a revenue maker.
View Your Site from a Visitor’s Perspective
When you are done with your site, check out how it looks from a visitors standpoint. Did you get across everything that you wanted? Go to your site from someone else’s computer to get their point of view and write down the changes that you will need to make to continually improve the aesthetics.
Always upgrade WordPress as soon as possible. Hackers will target WordPress because of the large amount of users. Updating WordPress as soon as updates are available can be on of your most valuable security tasks. The longer you wait to update, the better opportunity for hackers to get into your business.
Don’t forget to use spellcheck. It may seem obvious now, but many people forget to do it. When using the WordPress editor to post to your blog, make sure you take advantage of its spellcheck function. Even if you have already proofread your post, a quick and simple spellcheck couldn’t hurt.
Sidebars are generally packed full of useless information. To help streamline them and only include information that your visitors want, navigate to Appearance & Widgets. Remove everything from your sidebar that does not get more people on your list, make visitors take an action or make you money. By paring down your sidebar, your WordPress site will become successful.
The URLs of your blog posts should not have special characters. Special characters annoy search engine spiders, so it’s best not to have any. You also need to abbreviate URLs so they do not overwhelm readers.
Remember to make good use of the footer area at the bottom of your WordPress blog pages. In this area you can include additional information about yourself and/or your copyright. You can also add a link to another page if you wish. Different themes give you more use of this area, so choose your themes carefully to maximize the value of your page footers.
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 underline. These basic keyboard shortcuts will save you a lot of time if you memorize them.
If you don’t like your theme, change it! There are thousands of free themes available online which allow you to quickly and easily change the look of your site without having to know much about HTML coding. Be sure to choose themes from reputable sites to ensure they don’t affect the security of your software.
Having a theme for your WordPress site can make it much more professional. There are plenty of websites that allow you to download themes for free. However, it is very important that you download themes from a trusted source. Not doing so can result in you installing outdated or malicious codes.
Use images properly on your WordPress site. They can add everything from beauty to interest to your pages. Use their alternative text tags and title tags properly. Don’t settle for generic descriptions. You need to make them specific so that your visitors know exactly what they are. This also helps them figure out what your site is about.
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 up on the composition page and what remains hidden. Many of your plugins may add content you don’t want, so remove it there.
Make sure that you keep any plugins or themes you are using on your blog up to date. Exploits and general weaknesses in the security of a plugin or theme are almost always found eventually. Updates will keep them running smoothly and securely, but it’s important that you remember to keep them updated.
If you need a host to keep your WordPress blog on, pick one that comes with installation tools that are compatible with WordPress. This way, you won’t have to create a separate database. This one click can have the host create its domain for you and its database.
Your first WordPress plugin install should be Jetpack. The plugin extends the usability of WordPress in a lot of important ways. For instance, it gives you some basic analytics on the main page of the dashboard. It also increases your social media options for your website and adds in contact form options.
When you have a question about how to create something in WordPress, consider visiting one of the many user forums that have been set up on the web. These online communities are often created by WordPress experts who just want to bring together people with a similar goal. When you post a question, it is not uncommon that you will get several very helpful responses.
Always extensively examine your blog before and after adding a new theme or plugin. New plugins can have some nasty and unintended side effects. Identify these before they cause you any issues. After installing a new theme or plugin, look your site over carefully. Make a few test posts to ensure that your blog is functioning as it should.
For the novice wordpress user, this article was chock full of new ideas as WordPress Guide. Now that you have read it, you ought to have a better idea of how to make your site more appealing. Implement these suggestions into your site. You will notice that your traffic increases and you will get more return visitors.
