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BasicThingsYouMustPutinPlacebeforePublishingaPoston
YourWordpressBlog
Letmebehonestwithyou,WordPressisabrilliantplatform forcreatingwebsitesandblogs.It’srelativelyeasytomaster,itpacksatonoffeatures,andontopofallthat,it’salsoreallycustomization-friendly,sotospeak.
Inotherwords,ifyouwanttochangeanythingaboutit–andIdomeananything–WordPressallowsyoutodosoinonewayortheother.
Thefollowingguidecoversalotofground,andgetsyouthroughtheprocessofWordPresscustomizationfrom starttofinish.
Let’sbeginwith:
AfterYou’veInstalledYourWordPressWebsite(oraBlog)Okay,soatthispoint,youhaveyourwebsitelaunched–asin,madeavailable fortheworldtosee–youhaveyourWordPressthemeselected,andeverythinglooks moreorless likeyouimaginedit.
Sonowisthetimetotakecareofsomeimportant,yetnotthatobviousstepsthatwillhelpyoumakeyoursitelookexactlylikeyouwantit,makeitsafer,easiertomanage,andoptimizedforthesearchengines.
Herearetheindividualsteps:
1.SetpermalinkstructureOrrather,set correct permalinkstructure.
ThethingisthatWordPresscomeswithdefaultpermalinkstructureoutofthebox,butit’snotthemostoptimizedone.That’swhyyoushouldfixitrightuponmakingyoursiteavailabletotheworld.
Ifyougotoyour wp-admin/Settings/Permalinks, you’llseethis:
This“Plain”permalinkstructuredoesn’tletyoucreatedescriptiveURLsforyourpostsandpages,whichisbadnotonlyforSEO,butalsoforyourvisitors.Changethatsettingtotheone labeled“Postname”(visibleabove).
2.MakesurethesiteisvisibletoGoogleThisisaquickcheck,butaveryimportantone,ifyouwantyourwebsitetoeverrankinGoogleforany
keyword.
Goto your wp-admin/Settings/Reading, andmakesurethatthefollowingcheckbox remainsunchecked:
3.GetsitebackupstakencareofBackupsarealwaysyourmostimportantassetincaseanythingbadhappenstoyoursite.
Whoknows,maybeonedayyourhostingplatform failsandyou’lllosethesitetemporarily.Ormaybeitfallsvictim toahacker’sattack.Thosethingssometimeshappen,buttheyarelesspainfulifyouhaveaworkingbackupstoredsomeplacesafe.
Theeasiestwaytohavethistakencareofistoinstallabackupplugin,andthenletitworkonautopilot–backingupyoursiteeverydaywithoutyoursupervision.
Forafreesolution,tryout UpdraftPlus.Foratop-tiersolution–onethatalsooffersarangeofadditionalsecurityfeatures–gowith VaultPress.
4.EnabletrafficanalyticsAsawebsiteowner,youneedtoknowhowmanyvisitorsyouactuallyhaveatyoursite,andhowtheyareaccessingit.Butthat’sonlythetipoftheiceberg.There’sso,somuchmorethatyoucanlearnaboutyourpeople.
Luckilyforallofus,themostin-depthanalyticstoolisavailableforfree.I’m talkingaboutGoogleAnalytics.
Youcanhookituptoyoursitebygoingto GoogleAnalytics’officialwebsite andfollowingtheirgettingstartedguide.
Tomakethefinalintegrationstepseasier,getthefree MonsterInsights plugin.
5.GetasecuritypluginInallofWordPress’glory,it’salsoaplatform that’softenavictim tohackerattacksormalicioussoftwarethattriestotakeadvantageofvarioussecurityholesinonewayortheother.
Unfortunately,duetoWordPress’popularity,thoseattackshappenmoreofteneachyear.Eventhoughtheplatform itselfisnotwhatyou’dcallbadintermsofsecurity,wecanstillmakethingsalotbetterwithanadditionalsecurityplugin.
TheoneIrecommendiscalled iThemesSecurity –afreeplugin.Thegoodthinghereisthatitoffersmostofitsmagicrightoutthebox,sothere’snearlynone initialsettinguptodo.
6.EnablecachingandconnecttoaCDNThosetwotechnologiesusuallygotogether,sincetheybothimpacttheperformanceofyoursiteanditsspeed–thetimeittakestodeliverthesitetoyouraudience.
Inshort,whenavisitorenterstheaddressofyoursiteintotheirbrowserbarandpressesEnter,alotofthingshappen.Manyofthem canbeoptimizedtoeffectivelymakethewaitingtimeshorter.Andthatindeedmatters.Forinstance,it’s reportedinastudy that47%ofpeoplewon’twaitlongerthan2secondsforawebsitetoload…whereby“won’twait”Imeanthattheywillleaveandgotosomeothersiteinstead.
CachingandCDNsaretwoofthemosteffectivewaystofixthat.
First,caching.Initself,it’safairlyboringtopic,butitscoreisthatittakessomeofyourwebsitecontentandstoresitinawaythatallowsthatcontenttobeservedquickerwhenthenextvisitorasksforit.
ACDNstandsforContentDeliveryNetwork.Basically,it’sanetworkofserversthattakeyoursite’sstaticcontent(suchasimagesorothercontentthatdoesn’tchangethatmuch)anddeliverittoyourvisitorsfrom theserverofthenearestgeographicallocation.
Now,howtogetallthatgoodness:
Cachingissomethingyoucanenablebyinstallingaplugincalled W3TotalCache (free).It
worksmostlyonautopilot,sothere’snoneedtogothroughitsmanypagesinthe
WordPresssettingsmenu(butIstillrecommendyouatleastreadthem tofindout
what’spossible).
WhenitcomestoaCDN,Ihavetwoalternativerecommendations(getjustone):
o Ifyou’relookingforafreesolution: CloudFlare (suitablefornewWordPresssites).
o Ifyoudon’tmindinvestinginyoursiteperformance: KeyCDN (greatevenifyour
sitestartsgrowinginthefuture).
Iurgeyoutoreadsomemoreaboutbothofthesetopics.Allthesolutionsrecommendedheredoquiteabitofexplainingintheirdocumentations/ websitematerials.
7.CreatenewuseraccountsAftertheinitialinstallationofyourWordPresssiteisdone,youendupwithasingleuseraccount–themainadministratoraccount.
Firstorderofbusiness:makesurethattheusernameissecure.
Yes,theusername.We’renotevengettingintothepasswordsyet.
Longstoryshort,ifyourusernameisanythinglike“admin”,or“siteadmin”,or“administrator”,oranythinglikethis,itispoorforsecurityandyouneedtoscrapit!
Todothis,youactuallyneedtogoto wp-admin/Users/AddNew, andaddacompletelynewAdministratoruseraccount.Onlythistime,maketheusernamenotobvious.
Deletetheoldadminaccountonceyouhavethenewoneadded.
Secondorderofbusiness:makesurethatyourpasswordfortheadminaccountissafe.Here’sa great
quickguideonthat.
Thirdorderofbusiness:createaseparateEditoraccountforyourself.Thisaccountyouwilluseforallcontentcreation/editingpurposes.Anapproachlikethatismuchsaferthanusingyouradminaccountforeverything.Thiswayit’slesspossible tomesssomethingupbyaccident.
Todothis,gotoyour wp-admin/Users/AddNewagain,andcreateacompletelynewaccountselectingtheuserroleofEditor:
CustomizeYourThemeThispartisprobablythemainthingonyouragendawhenitcomestolaunchingaWordPresssitethatfitsyourneeds100%.
Imean,witheveryWordPresstheme,nomatterhowqualityitisandwhatawesomefeaturesitoffers,there’salways something.There’salwaysthatlittle,orslightlybigger, something thatyou’dliketochangebeforeyoucanhonestlycallthefinalresult“yours”.
Andthatisexactlywhatwe’rediscussinginthissection oftheguide.
1.ThelimitationsFirstthingsfirst,theindividualcustomizationsthatwe’rejustabouttogothrough,won’tbeavailableineverysingleWordPressthemeonthemarket.Basically, yourspecificthemeselectionwillhighlyimpactyourabilitytofollowthroughwithcertainchanges.
Unfortunately,oldthemes,orthemesthathaven’tbeenupdatedinawhile,won’thavethatmuchtoofferyouintherealm ofcustomization.Fornewand/ormodernWordPressthemes,thisisn’tanissue.
2.UnderstandingtheWordPressCustomizerInshort,everymodernWordPresstheme allowsyoutocustomizevariousdetailsofitsappearanceandfeaturesthroughthebuilt-inWordPressCustomizer–it’savailableinWordPressrightoutthebox.
Inotherwords,manyofthecustomizationswe’representinginthisguideinvolvetheCustomizerinonewayortheother.That’swhyit’simportanttogetyourselffamiliarwithit.
YoucanaccesstheCustomizerbygoingto wp-admin/Appearance/Customize.Thisiswhatyou’llseeintheleftsidebar:
Ontheright-handside,there’sthepreviewofyoursite–itchangesinrealtimeasyoudoanymodifications.
Dependingonthethemeyou’reusingandthe ,you’llseemoreorfewermodulesintheCustomizer’ssidebar,sodon’tworryifyoursidebardoesn’tlookquiteliketheexampleabove.
Tobegin,justspendacoupleofminutesbrowsingthroughtheindividualsectionsintheCustomizerandcheckoutwhatawaitsthere.
Okay,nextstep:
3.Setacustom headerTheheadertogetherwiththelogoare,byfar,themostidentifiablepartsofanyWordPresswebsite.
Dependingonyourtheme,theheaderandthelogomightberegardedasonething.Inthiscase,youcanhandlethem bothinoneplace,butherelet’skeepthingsstandardizedformostscenarios–henceseparatingthetwo.
Toworkwithyourheader,gototheCustomizer,andthenclickontheboxlabeledeither“Header”,“HeaderImage”, orsomethingsimilar(thischangesfrom themetotheme).
Ifit’syourfirsttimethere,you’llprobablyseesomethinglikethis–akanotmuch:
Tobegin,justclickthe“Addnewimage”button.ThisworksjustlikethestandardWordPressuploaderformedia,nothingfancy.
Thereisasmallcaveat,though.You’llnoticethatWordPresssuggestscertainimagedimensionsfortheheaderimage.Example:
Dependingonyourtheme,thosenumberswillvary.Now,thecaveatisnottopayattentiontothatatall.
Yep,you’rereadingthisright.
Whatyouactuallydoisalwaystrytopick ahigh-quality,high-resolutionimage,andthenscaleitdownafterwardsusingWordPress’owntools.
Forexample,Iwentwithaniceimagethat’s1920×1080–somorethantherecommendeddimensions.Afteruploadingit,Ijustclick“SelectandCrop”:
Atthispoint,WordPressprovidesmewithitsownsetoftoolsformakingsurethatmyimagefitsthetheme’sspacelimitations:
Andjustlikethat,Ihaveaheaderimage:
4.SetyourlogoandfaviconToset/uploadyour sitelogo,gototheCustomizer,andclickontheboxlabeled“SiteIdentity”(unlessthere’sadedicatedboxlabeled“Logo”orsomethingsimilar).
There,you’llseethis:
Twothingswe’regoingtodohere: (a) setthelogo, (b)setthesiteicon.
Startingwiththelogo.Firstoff,settingasideallthemarketingandbrandingqualitiesofyourlogo,from apurelytechnicalpointofview,agoodlogoshouldbesavedasatransparentPNGfile(asin,withoutabackground).Onceyouhavesuchanimage,justuploaditbyclickingon“Selectlogo”.YouwillagaingettouseWordPress’toolsforcroppingandadjustingthefinalimage.Here’smyresult:
Thenextstepissettingthesiteicon,alsoknownasFavicon.Traditionally,thebestideaistotakeyourlogo,removeanytextfrom it,andthensetitasthesiteicon.Thisworkswellbecausesiteiconsoccupyverylittlespaceinthevisitor’sbrowserbar,sothesimplertheyare,themorereadabletheywillbe.
Touploadyoursiteicon,justclickon“SelectImage”intheSiteIconsectionofthesidebar.Oncedone,you’llseesomethinglikethis,alongwiththepreviewoftheicon:
5.AdjustcolorsSomeWordPressthemesletyoucustomizethedefaultcolorsusedforthingslikethewebsitebackground,links,maintexts,secondarytexts,andmore,dependingonthespecifictheme.
Youcandothisallinthe“Colors”sectionoftheCustomizer:
Apartfrom that,youcanalsochoosefrom somepre-definedcolorschemes–visibleintheimagebelow.
Iencourageyoutoexperimentwiththisandselectcolorsthatgoalongwithyourbusinessidentityandbranding.
6.Setacustom backgroundAtthisstage,mostWordPressthemessupportcustomizablebackgrounds,whichincludesnotonlysettingthecolors–asmentionedinthepreviouspoint–butalsocustom backgroundimages.
ThisisdoneinCustomizer’s“BackgroundImage”section.
Onceyoupickupabackgroundimagefrom yourharddrive,you’llseethis:
Someimportantdetails:
BackgroundRepeat –thisdefineswhathappenswhenthevisitorscrollsdownthepage
andeventuallyrunsoutofyourbackgroundimage.
BackgroundPosition –prettyselfexplanatory,butswitchbetweenthem toseethe
difference.
BackgroundAttachment –here, Scroll meansthattheimagewillscrollalongwiththerest
ofthesitecontent. Fixed meansthattheimagewillalwaysstayinoneplace.
7.Additionaltheme-basedcustomizationsSincetherearethousandsofthemesavailableoutthere,andmanyofthem addtheirownblockstotheCustomizer,coveringallimaginablepossibilitiesinthisguideissimplyimpossible.
Soatthispoint,IjustwanttoencourageyoutobrowsethroughalltheCustomizersectionsavailableinyourcurrenttheme,andexperimentwithwhatyoufindthere.
Justtogiveyouanexample,here’showmanyadditionalCustomizersectionsyoucancomeacrossinsomeofthemorefeature-richthemes:
8.PluginstouseforthemecustomizationHere’salistofotherusefulthemecustomizationsyoucanenable byinstallingsomeinterestingplugins:
PageBuilderbySiteOrigin.Greatforaddingentirelycustom contentelementsandcustom
layoutstoyourpagesandposts.Oneofmyfavoriteplugins.
NextGENGallery.Createandshowcasegreat-lookingimagegalleries.
ContentViews.Nicepluginifyouwanttodisplayyourblogpostsasagrid,ratherthanthe
standardWordPresslist.
UniqueHeaders.Createoriginalheadersforindividualpostsandpages.
ShortcodesUltimate.Addcustom contentblockstoyourwebsitecontent(suchasbuttons,
lightboxes,lists,tooltips,andmore).
Portfolio.Useittoshowcaseyourwork/projects.Greatforbusinesswebsites.
RelatedPosts.Averynicewaytodisplaylinkstorelatedcontentrightbelowyourposts.
Custom Sidebars.Createuniqueandcustomizedwidgetareasthroughoutyourpostsand
pages–morethanwhat’savailableinWordPressbydefault.
EasyGoogleFonts.Trulyawesomepluginifyourcurrentthemedoesn’tallowyoutochange
thedefaulttypography.
StrongTestimonials.Acoolplugintohaveifyou’rerunningyourWordPresssitefora
businesspurposeandyou’dliketoshowcasetestimonialsfrom yourclients.
SimpleCustom CSS.Lastbutnotleast,areallyusefulpluginifyouwanttogetintosome
moreadvancedcustomizationsinvolvingtweakstotheCSSstylingofyoursite.
Setup“Menu”and“Widgets”Idon’tthinktherearemanywebsitesouttherethatdon’thaveanymenusatall.Maybethosesmall,business-card-likeonepagers,butthat’sreallynottheeffectwe’regoingforinthisguide.
So…youneedmenus!
Here’showtoworkwithmenusinWordPress:
Gotoyour wp-admin/Menus.Thisiswhereeverythingtakesplace.Beginbycheckingtheindividualpagesthatyouwanttohaveinthemenu,andthenclick“AddtoMenu”,likeso:
Atthispoint,youwillseeyournewpagesontheright-handside.Thecoolthinghereisthatifyouwanttorearrangethepages,everythingworkswithdrag-and-drop.Butthemainthingtodohereistoassignthemenutooneoftheavailablelocationsandsaveit.Likeso:
Rightnow,youhaveyournewmenucreatedandassignedtothemainmenuarea.
Formorevariety,youcanalsocreateseparatemenusforthingslikeyoursocialmediaprofiles,oranythingelsethatmakessense.WordPressdoesn’tlimityouinanywayhere.
Butwheretodisplayallthoseadditionalmenus?–youask.Thisiswherewidgetscomeintoplay.
AllWordPressthemescomewithatleastonewidgetarea,butusuallymore.Widgetareasdefinethespecificspaceswithinyourthemedesignwhereyouareallowedtodisplaycustom blocksofcontent.
Youcanseewhatthisisaboutbygoingto wp-admin/Appearance/Widgets.Thereareavailablewidgetsontheleft,andwidgetareasontheright.Whatyoudoisquitesimple:justgrabablockfrom theleftanddraganddropitsomewhereontheright.
Reallycoolstuff,andeasytouse.Followingthispath,youcan,forinstance,takeallofyouradditionalmenusanddisplaythem aswidgets.
Butwidgetsgoactuallywaydeeper.Ihighlyencourageyoutocheckoutthewidgetsyoucurrentlyhaveavailable(dependsonyourthemeandplugins),andseewhatcoolstuffyoucanplacethroughoutyoursitedesigntomakeitmoreinterestingtothereaders.
Confirm YourWebsiteis“Mobile-Friendly”PleasebearwithmeasIsaythis,butinmyopinion,makingsurethatyourwebsiteisoptimizedformobileviewersismoreimportantthanmakingsurethatit’soptimizedfordesktop.
It’snotthatIwholeheartedlybelieveintheprincipleitself,butIdobelieveinrawdata.Itjustsohappensthatmobiletrafficisnowbiggerthandesktoptraffic(dataconfirms).Thismeansthatbynothavingamobile-optimizedsite,you’repotentially losing websitetraffic.
Okay,enoughpreaching.Sowhatto do?
First,youneedtocheckifyourcurrentdesignismobile-friendly.Thereareacoupleofwaystodothat:
1.Gotoautomatedtests.Twopopularsolutionsinclude:
Mobile-FriendlyTestbyGoogle
MobileFriendlinessTestToolbyBing
There’snoinferiortoolamongthesetwo.It’sagoodideatouseboth,andseewhattheyhavetosayaboutyoursite.
Simplygotoanyoftheabove,enteryourwebsiteURL,andwaitfortheresults.Takesonlyaminute.
Ifyou’relucky,bothGoogleandBingwillsaythatyoursiteisoptimized.That’sgood.Youcanstopreadingthissectionoftheguide.
Ifnot,youwillbegivensomesuggestionsandtipsonwhatyoucandotoimprovethesituation.I’m notgoingtogothroughthosehere,sinceeverywebsitescenarioisdifferent,andanythingI’dshareherewouldn’tbeapplicableinmostcases.Soinshort,justfollowthetipsgivenbyGoogleandBing.
Note.It’sworthtochecknotonlythemainURLofyourwebsite–thehomepage–butalsoasmallsetofsubpages,particularly:
yourbloglisting,
examplesingleblogpost,
examplesinglepage,
anycustom landingpageyouhave.
2.Domanualtests.Youcancarryoutthemanualtestsyourself.Theyaremoreaboutyourownsubjectiveimpressionofthesite’smobile-friendliness,ratherthandata-basedcalculations.
Tobegin,gototheWordPressCustomizer.There,takealookatthebottom leftcorner:
Thosebuttonsallowyoutoswitchbetweencommondevicesizes,soyoucanseehowthesitebehaves.It’saveryhandytool,anditletsyouseeifeverythingisinorder.Makesurethat:
alltextsarereadable,
imagesaren’ttoobigortoosmall,
ideally,therearenohorizontalscrollbars,
thebalancebetweenimagesizeandtextsizeiscorrect(sooneisnotoverpoweredby
theother),
themenusworkproperly(sometimesit’sanissuewithmobiledesign).
Apartfrom WordPress’owntool,youcanalsousetheoptionsavailableintheChromebrowser.Togetthegoods,gotothemainmenuandaccessthe“Developertools”,orjustpressCtrl+Shift+ionyourkeyboard(Win).
From there,youcanclickthe“Toggledevicetoolbar”button:
Afterdoingso,youwillbeabletoalternatetheviewingmodebetweenspecificpopulardevices.Forinstance,youcanviewyoursitelikeitappearsontheiPhone6Plus,iPhone5,Nexus5X,andmore.
IencourageyoutousebothChromeandWordPress’toolstoreallyexaminehowyoursitebehaves,andcheckifeverythingisinorder.
3.FixthingsIfyourcurrentthemedoesn’tpassthemobile-friendlinesstest,unfortunatelythere’snotmuchyoucandowithoutgettingyourhandsdirtyandgoingthroughalotofsourcecode.
Inanextremescenario,youmighthavetopickanotherWordPresstheme.Afterall,ifathemeisnotmobile-friendlyapproaching2017,itdoesn’tlookgoodonitsreputation.
Butdon’tpanic!Youcanstillexperimentwiththefollowing.Therearetwoalternativepathsyoucantakeifyoudon’twanttochangethemes:
(a)Experimentwith“tune-up”plugins:
EasyGoogleFonts–ThisoneIalreadymentionedearlier.Youcanuseittochangeyour
typographysettingsinordertomaketextsmorereadableonmobile.
ResponsiveMenu –It’llhelpyoufixyourmenusandmakethem mobile-friendly.
AdaptiveImagesforWordPress –It’llhelpyouloadyourimagesmoreeffectivelyonmobile.
(b)Getamobileplugin:
There’saplugincalled WPtouch.Onceenabled,itcheckseveryvisitorcomingtoyoursite,andifthey’reonmobile,itdisplaysthem aseparate,alternativeversionofyoursitedesign.
Again,ittakesovertheappearanceofyoursiteonmobilecompletely,soyourvisitornolongerseesyourcurrentWordPresstheme.
Ifyoudon’twanttochangeyourmaintheme,andyoursiteisstillnotmobilefriendly,thentheWPtouchpluginisprobablythebestsolution.
SetUpYourHomepageForalongtime,WordPresshasneglectedthewholeideaofhomepagesaltogether.Youronlyoptionsweretoeitherhavethedefaultbloglistingasyourhomepage,ortotakeoneofyourstandardpagesandassignitasthehomepage.
Thesedays,however,wehavealotofoptions.Someofthem comingfrom “team themes”,othersfrom“team plugins”.
Let’sdealwiththemesfirst.
Dependingonthethemeyou’recurrentlyusing,youmighthavesomecustom homepageoptionsavailable.Examplefrom apopularfreetheme:
Allofthosesectionsmarkedheretakecareofcustomizingaspecificpartofthehomepage.Again,thoseoptionsaredifferentfrom themetotheme,sowewon’tgetintothem.Ido,however,encourageyoutocloselyexaminewhat’savailableinyourcurrenttheme.
Inanutshell,ifthethemeoffersanyhomepagecustomizations,usethem aswidelyasyoucan.
Ifnot,there’saworkaround.
Startbycreatingtwonewpages:
callthefirstoneHOME;leaveitblank(nocontent);publishthatpage,
callanotheroneBLOG;alsoleaveitblankandpublish.
Thengoto your wp-admin/Settings/Reading.There,assignHOMEasthe“Frontpage”andBLOGasthe“Postspage”,likeso:
Atthispoint,whenyougotoyourmaindomain,you’llseeablankpage.
That’swherepluginscomeintoplay.Ifyouwanttokeepthingsfreeandonabudget,therearetwooptions:
thepreviouslymentioned PageBuilderbySiteOrigin,
and LiveComposer.
I’m usingtheformer.Onceyouinstallandactivateit,whenyougobacktoedityournewHOMEpage,you’llseeanewtab:
Whenyouclickit,you’llgototheSiteOriginbuilder.Thisiswhereyoucansetcustom layoutsandcontentelementsonyourhomepage.
Someexamplecontentblocksyoucanuse(justasmallportionofwhat’savailable):
Ingeneral,Isendyouoverto SiteOrigin’sdocumentation andexamples.Thosedocswillshowyouhowtousetheplugineffectively.
Here’sanexamplehomepagebuiltthisway:
Asyoucansee,tuningupyourhomepagecanbealotoffun.Generally,Idon’trecommendyoutoworkwithyourtheme’ssourcecodetotweakthehomepagemanually.Evenifyousomehowmanagetogetthevisualeffectthatyouwanted,youcanneverpredicthowthechangesaregoingtobehaveonceyouupdateWordPress,orevenwhenviewedonotherdevices.Workingwithyourtheme’sorplugins’nativefeaturesdoesn’tcausethesameproblems.
CreateIMPORTANTPagesinWordPressSpeakingofthehomepage,it’salsoworthmentioningwhatotherpagesyoucanuseonyourWordPresssiteapartfrom themainone.
Here’saquicklist,mainlyjustheadlines–I’llletyoufigureoutwhatyoucanputonallthosepages:
About
Contact–letyourvisitorscontactyou.
Portfolio.
Servicesandproducts.
Team.
Clienttestimonials.
Toolsandrecommendations.
Coupons.
Contentarchive.
Support.
Career.
Advertising.
WordPressSEO(andwhatyouneedtodo)SEOisacrucialelementformostwebsitesontheweb,andalsoacrucialpartofwebsitecustomization. Frankly,withoutSEO,it’smoredifficult foryouraudienceorcustomerstofindyouviaGoogle.Notgood!
Now,therearetwosidestoSEO:
On-pageSEO.
Off-pageSEO.
Off-pageSEOisabouteverythingyoudooutsideofyoursite…thingsliketalkingaboutyourbrandelsewhere,convincingpeopletolinktheirsitetoyours,gettingsocialmediasharesforyourcontent,etc.
Let’sleavethatfornow.
On-pageSEOisabouteverythingyoucandotooptimizeyourindividualWordPresspagestobemoreGoogle-friendly.Thisiswhatwe’regoingtocoverhere.
WordPresscomeswithsomebuilt-inSEOoptimizations,butnotalot.That’swhyyouneedaplugintoboostthingsup.Themostpopularandthebestoneiscalled YoastSEO.
Thatpluginisincrediblyfeature-rich.Tocoverallthosefeaturesherewouldrequireaguideofitsown,soI’m justgoingtofocusontheabsolutelycrucialstuff,andthenletyoudofurtherreading/tuning-upifyou’reinterested.
Let’sbeginwithgoingto wp-admin/SEO.Thenswitchtothe“General”tab,andviewthe introductiontour.ItwillexplainhowtoworkwiththemainsectionsoftheplugintomakeyourWordPresssiteoptimized.
Afterthat,go througheachoftheothertabsandprovidetheinfoyou’reaskedfor.The“WebmasterTools”tabisparticularlyimportantasitallows youtohookupyoursitetotheGoogleSearchConsoleandBingWebmasterTools(bothdeliver crucialinsightsaboutyoursite’sSEOhealth).
Next,goto wp-admin/SEO/Titles&Metas,andfillinallyourpreferredpagetitlesandmetadescriptions.Thishelpstooptimizethedefaultversionsofthosepages.Ifyou’renotsureaboutsomeofthetoggleswitches,youcansafelyleavethem withtheirdefaultvalues.
Thenextsection– wp-admin/SEO/Social –iswhereyoucanhookupyoursocialmediaprofiles,andenablebothFacebookOpenGraphandTwitterCards–thosewillhelpyougetyourcontentmorevisibleonthoseplatforms.
Next,goto wp-admin/SEO/XMLSitemaps.Basically,theonlythingyouneedtodothereismakesurethatthesitemapsareenabled(thetoptogglebutton).XMLsitemapsareusedbyGoogletonavigateyourwebsite,andeventuallygettoyourindividualpostsandpages.
Atthisstage,you’reprettymuchdonewiththemainsettings,butyoushouldalsohavealookintoyourindividualpostsandpages,andtweaktheirspecificSEOparameterstoo. Inshort,whenyougotoeditanypostorpage,you’llnowseethisboxatthebottom:
(a)–themainSEOsnippetthat’svisibleinGooglesearches.Tweakthisfirst.
(b)–themainfocuskeywordofthepage.Setittothephrasethat’sthemostimportant
foryouwhenitcomestothatspecificpage.
(c)–tipsonhowtooptimizeyourpagebasedonthefocuskeyword.
(d)–additionaltabofferingtonsofusefultipsonhowtoimprovethepage’sreadability.
Note.It’s crucial totweaktheSEOparametersforyourmostimportantposts/pages,includingthehomepage!
AddSocialMediaIntegrationThelastthingwe’regoingtotakecareofwhenitcomestotweakingandcustomizingyourWordPresssiteisgettingsomepropersocialmediaintegration!
Socialmediaisjustessential.It’showabigpartofyouraudienceeverfindsyourcontent,anditalsohasanimpactonyourSEO(thishasbeenprovenbyMoz.com sometimeago).
Longstoryshort,yourgoalwithsocialmediaintegrationisto:
makeiteasyforpeopletoshareyourcontent,
makethoseindividualsharesoptimized,
sharecontentyourselfeffectivelyandattherighttime,
beonallthemainsocialnetworks,
makeiteasyforpeopletofollowyou,
trackyoursocialmediapopularity.
Herearethetoolsthatwillhelpyoudoso:
Share/likebuttons. Thebestwaytogetyourselfsomeofthoseistousethe ShareButtons&Analytics
byGetSocial plugin.It’sfree,anditgivesyouasetofverygood-lookingandfunctionalbuttonsfor
allnetworks.Plus,youcanplacethosebuttonsinvariousplacesthroughyoursitedesign(no
matterwhatthemeyouuse).
Postingyourcontentautomatically. Averyneattrickyoucanimplementtomakeyourworkwith
socialmediamucheasieristogetyourselfsomekindofanauto-postingplugin.TheoneI
recommendiscalled ReviveOldPost.Afterashortconfiguration,itwillpickarandom postfrom
yourarchives,andshareitacrossyoursocialmediaprofiles.
Makeyourshareslookgood. Bydefault,ifsomeonesharesyourcontentonsocialmedia,the
shareitselfincludes justthetitleofthepostandalinktoit.However,ifyougetaplugin
like WPSSO,youcanincludeimagesintothestructureoftheshares,plusmakethem muchbetter
lookingandthusmuchmorelikelytobespread.
Followbuttons. Lastly,youneedsomenicefollowbuttonsthatwillencourageyourvisitorstoadd
youasa socialmediafriend.There’sagreat generatorforTwitterhere,andaplugintogeta similar
thingforInstagram.
Don’tforgettoVisithttps://engineeringbasic.com forBasicsinEngineering
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