Given the massive popularity of blogs these days, it should come as no surprise that the platform known as WordPress has gotten lots of attention. But, to really put WordPress to good use, it is necessary to acquire a bit of education about it first. Keep reading to learn a great deal about how this product can help you.
Rank higher with the search engines by paying careful attention to the images that you upload. Be sure to add alternate and title tags to every picture. If your readers “pin” you on Pinterest, that title will automatically show on their screen.
Be sure to choose unique, difficult to hack passwords and keep them secure. It doesn’t matter if you are a free WordPress blogger of a paid, self-hosted WordPress blogger: it is important to keep your passwords strong and secure. In this way, you will not have to waste valuable time cleaning up sabotage and changing passwords. This will help ensure that your blog is a success.
Your WordPress is nothing without plugins, and lucky for you, there are plenty to choose from. However, it is very important that you use caution when installing plugins and keep in mind that they aren’t disposable. You can uninstall them, but most of the time they will still affect your content and leave shortcodes behind.
When you are choosing a WordPress template to use, pick something that gets frequent updates. You do not want to use a template whose creator has abandoned updates because sometimes you have to address security issues. A creator who is proactive in updating his template will give you a better product.
Back up your blog on a regular basis. This is an important step in ensuring that you don’t lose your entire blog. Xcloner is a great plugin that you can use. Use whatever site or plugin you’re comfortable with to back up your blog, but make sure you back it up in more than one location. It would be a shame to lose your whole blog.
Most visitors to your WordPress site will have some type of social media account, whether it is Facebook or Twitter. If they see something and want to share it on their accounts, you want to make that process as easy as possible. Therefore, download a plugin that allows for social sharing.
Some visitors may want to share one of your posts with friends or family members through their email. Unless you have a plugin in specifically for that purpose, the user may not find the process very easy. Therefore, install one ahead of time so that your visitors are not frustrated.
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.
Always back up your WordPress files and database regularly. Although your website has backups, they may not do backups as frequently as you would like. You can find plugins that can make the back up process much easier. When you have your files and database backed up, you can easily restore your site if anything happens to it.
Sticky the posts the you want to stay at the top of your page. If there are posts you want your visitors to see first, sticky them by going to the ‘visibility’ option on the ‘edit posts’ screen. Choose to sticky the selected messages to the first page, and that is it.
Try to manage your comments. No one wants to look at spam. Don’t let the spam in your blog’s comment sections get out of hand. Try to eliminate spam entirely or, at least, keep it to a minimum. Install a plugin that can cut down on spam. Delete any spam that slips through in your comments.
If you have made a mistake in spelling of a name in multiple posts, or just want to change a certain word across your site, use the Search and Replace plugin to do the job for you. The time it takes to do this manually is horrific, so instead let the plugin get it done.
Evaluate plugins carefully before you install it in your WordPress account. Plugin creation is not regulated, and anyone in the world with the right skill can create a plugin and make it available to the public. To make sure that the source is reliable, read the reviews and pay special attention to the negative comments.
Bloggers nowadays are always looking for ways to get the most out of their online efforts. WordPress is part of a successful strategy for many such individuals, provided they have taken the time to learn all that it has to offer. Hopefully this article has offered a valuable foundation of knowledge for readers of all stripes.