8 Beginner Tips That Will Help You With Using WordPress
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WordPress is a platform that allows anyone to create their own website. You're able to design it how you want and add the features you need. Among the groups that use WordPress include businesses, bloggers, and online sellers. Nearly one-third of the top 10 million websites use WordPress. While it might seem complicated to get started at first, keeping a few ideas in mind can make the process simpler. Here are some tips that will help you if you're a beginner with WordPress.

1. Find hosting.

Hosting is what allows a website to go live. Because of that, it's crucial to find a host. When choosing one, consider if the host can handle the amount of traffic you expect. You should also know if they do a good job avoiding any downtime or crashes. Additionally, the host you choose should help you have a fast site speed. Once you've settled on a host, you'll choose which type of hosting plan you want. The more expensive plans will have more features, but you should choose one that provides you all the tools you'll need.

2. Install an SEO plugin.

SEO is an essential part of any website's success in gaining a larger audience. If you don't have SEO, your site will likely not rank high in Google's search results. An SEO plugin can analyze your content to see if you're following proper guidelines when it comes to optimizing your writing. It may offer suggestions such as including your keyword in the title or shortening some of your sentences for readability. You can go to the WordPress Plugin Directory and select an SEO plugin that works best for you. Sometimes, it can also be helpful to seek out professionals to help optimize your site. You can learn about what a professional can do for you at Cary Digital Marketing Agency.

3. Look at theme demos.

Themes are the foundation of your website's design. Looking at theme demos can help make the process easier. It allows you to view the theme, and in some cases, also try it out before having to commit to it. While you can customize WordPress, you'd need to be skilled at coding or work with a developer. If you're unable to do those two things at this time, it's best to just start with a theme you like. When you see a theme that looks nice to you, click either "Live Demo" or "View Demo" to see how it looks online. If it still looks good to you, you can import it and edit the demo content to make it uniquely your own.

4. Install Google Analytics.

All website owners should keep track of their progress in growing organic traffic and getting traffic overall. Google Analytics is a tool that records your data, tracks your performance, and offers insight on how people are interacting with your website. Among the insights include how long people are staying on certain pages and how high your bounce rate is. It can help you develop a content strategy based on which pages people are staying on the longest. You can download a free version of the plugin to start. Then, you'll be able to see your traffic data from your WordPress dashboard.

5. Compress images.

When images are compressed, file size is reduced, and your site can run faster and save storage space. Visitors will be less likely to bounce from a site that has fast speed. Site speed is also one of many factors that Google focuses on when deciding who to rank on the first page. There are many tools online that will compress your images for free. Among them include Optimizilla and Image Resize. You'll upload the image you want to be compressed, and then download them once they've been optimized. There are also WordPress plugins that will do this automatically whenever you upload a photo to your site or you can use other online apps that compress your images for free.

6. Keep plugins limited.

Plugins can be good for adding functions to your website. Some of the main ones you might need include newsletters, contact forms, and live chats. Nonetheless, you also need to make sure you have a balance. If you have too many plugins, that can slow your site down and put you at a greater security risk. When choosing a plugin, only install the ones that will benefit your website and your users. There's no need to pick all of the interesting or cool ones that you see. Think of plugins like a weight that your website is carrying. The less weight it has to carry, the quicker it will be to go. Since plugins can be made by anyone, you'll have to look for reviews to analyze the quality of them.

7. Update regularly.

Every few weeks, there are new notifications of updates that need to be made on your website. If you don't update your website, it can become outdated and even vulnerable to software bugs. You can get this task done in only a few seconds. All you have to do is go to your WordPress dashboard, and it will inform you of what needs to be updated. Sometimes, it can be the version of WordPress you're using, a plugin, or your theme. Right next to what needs to be updated, there will be an "update now" button you can select. Once you click it, the update will proceed, and then, you'll be done.

8. Keep your site secure.

Security is the top priority of any website. Updating is only one way to keep your site protected. You should also have an SSL certificate. It encrypts sensitive data such as log-in and payment information. Visitors are typically warned against using a non-secure site, and Google avoids ranking sites that don't have SSL. A good hosting provider will offer you a plan that comes with free SSL security.

Starting a WordPress website can be an exciting endeavor to pursue. You get to share content with people all over the world, and you have the potential to profit from it. Following these beginner tips will help you have an easier time getting started with WordPress.