When it comes to running a successful WordPress site, there are certain things you simply can’t overlook. In this blog post, we’ll dive into the 5 must-do things on your WordPress site that will help you optimize its performance, improve its security, and boost its SEO.
From setting up backups to optimizing images, these tips will help you take your site to the next level.
Whether you’re a seasoned WordPress user or just starting out, don’t miss out on these essential tips that will help you make the most out of your site.
- Setup WordPress SEO – WordPress SEO plug-ins edit parts of your website’s code structure, making it easier for search engines to crawl and index. How important is that you ask? Well, considering search engines are the top traffic source for most websites, VERY important. These plugins allow you to do things like edit your meta descriptions and title tags, optimize your social metadata, and find internal linking opportunities. A wide range of plugins is available, all with their own features and benefits. My favorite: AIOSEO
- Setup Backups – You have a lot riding on your website. For most companies, it is the lifeblood of their business. Like it or not, stuff happens. If you are like me, you never make mistakes (HA!), but let’s pretend you do. Let’s pretend you delete a huge chunk of important content by accident. If that were to happen, a backup would be there to rescue the hours of your hard work. It would also help protect your site from things like malware, host failure, or a newly applied update that goes haywire. Most backups are straightforward and easy to use. Make sure you always run the backup prior to any changes or updates you do to your site. My favorite: UpdraftPlus
- Keep the plugins and WP software up to date – Unlike Ron Popeil’s inventions, WordPress is not ‘set it and forget it’. The software updates help keep your site secure from malware and hacking. Besides that, older versions of WP and old plugins can be a drag. Literally. Making sure you have the newest updates for WP and your plugins can help keep things moving along and avoid downtime, as well as assure you of seamless interfaces with other software. ONCE AGAIN! Always back up the site before updating the plugins or software.
- Install Google Analytics – The question of the day: Why have a site if you don’t know how it’s performing? Right?! Google Analytics tells you how your site is performing. It tells you who is visiting, how many people are visiting, what pages they are visiting, how long they are visiting, and where they found your website. So, why is this important? This one hits home for me, big time. Thanks to my Google Analytics, I found out that 75% of all social media traffic was coming to my website from LinkedIn. So, I spend more time and money posting on LinkedIn. TAKEAWAY: It makes it so much easier to plan your marketing efforts and dollars when you know where your audience is.
- Delete unused themes or plugins – The act of removing themes and plugins you aren’t using goes beyond good housekeeping. It can keep your site safe and operating faster. Safe because old themes and plugins can be leveraged to maliciously exploit your site. This means you are more vulnerable to malware attacks. Scary, right? Removing what you are no longer using helps reduce the risk of these threats. Speed is the other reason. Not only does good speed on your site make it a more pleasant experience for your visitor, but speed is also particularly important to Google. Google rewards you by how fast your site loads. The more drag you have on the backend of your site with unused stuff, the slower it loads. EASY STUFF: WP makes doing this extremely simple! All your unused WordPress themes and plugins are in your admin panel. Just one click, and POOF! They are gone.
Have specific questions on any of these topics? Book a discovery call with me today.
